Just barely, out of my peripheral vision, was the faint clicking of the door knob. My fingers tightened around the quill in my hand. I let my vision flicker to the side, but diverted it within a second's grace. The faint tones of cologne wafted over.

"No," I replied, even though not a word had been said.

"Why, I've yet to breathe a word of greeting," his familiar tone was a deep velvet.

"Why bother?" I set my eyes back on the paper, "you hardly ever," I retorted with ease.

"That's quite true." he acknowledged, clicking his tongue. His distingue air seemed to seep through even those spoken words.

Behind, his shoes clicked against the smooth floorboards, intently making known his overbearing presence at a painstakingly slow pace. My pulse picked up, as if magnifying the sprint my heart was working at. I glanced back down quickly, the words I had formerly written blurred to merely lines upon lines of cursive penmanship. Jerk. He had done it again.

A bemused smile crawled up his face.

"That's hardly a way to think of your saviour, dear," his controlled tones punctuated the deathly silence.

"I said, no." I ignored his remark, yet I felt a biting pain pooling in my temples, slithering down to the nape of my neck.

"And I'd very much prefer the privacy of having my thoughts to myself," I added, with an indignant grunt.

I set my quill down and averted my line of sight. Pushing myself up from the chair, a wave of regret instantly hit. I hissed. It hurt.

"Surely, you'll reconsider it," he s an arm around me, resting his cold fingertips on the nape of my neck. 

Barely able to murmur a reply, I felt myself trembling — it was out of sheer will I hadn't collapsed.

"Hmm?" he drawled, inching those warm lips to my earlobe. 

He breathed deeply, sending shivers trailing down my spine. His nimble fingers found their way to my waist, ghosting his touch against the bodice of my dress.

"Surely, the least you could do is go along with my plans?" he whispered — a threat, a warning — the blinding ache spreading with every word.

Immobilised, I could hardly croak out an indignant grunt. A whimper escaped my lips as I gripped the edge of the desk for support.

"Your willpower is remarkable, to say the least," he commended, stepping away and lifting my head to his.

"But I won't lose," his eyes narrowed, steely gaze biting through all my facades.

Spinning on his heels, he made his way to the door. With every step came another wave of agony, until I was rendered helpless — crumpled into a fetal position on the floor.

"Especially not to you."

The door clicked shut behind him.

As soon as the lock snapped back into place, my affliction sapped out of me, along with him. I heaved a deep breath as my body eased — but I knew it wouldn't be for long. The faint undertones of his scent lingered still, encaged with me within these four walls.

A/N : Disclamer: the images used in all chapters/writing are not mine, credit to all the original sources and owners.