Read Online Before the Dawn by Kristal Lim - Free Book Online

her
surroundings looked like, she was in the Prince's arms once more
and his mouth had swiftly claimed hers.
    He kissed her so slowly that it felt like
sweet torture when each of her senses caught on fire. She had never
been kissed like this before. It made her want to be consumed
completely by the heat of his mouth and she wanted to consume him
in turn. Nothing else mattered except being possessed by this
passion between the two of them. His hand then slowly worked on the
ribbons and buttons of her dress and she did not resist at all when
his touch became bolder against her bare skin. There was a dim
corner in her mind that tried to tell her this was not something
she should be doing, that this was something she did not truly
want, but the velvet feel of his tongue seduced it into silence and
acquiescence. So she continued to let him kiss her and touch her,
and she followed quite willingly when he began to lead her to the
bed.
    He stopped kissing her for a moment so he
could stare into her eyes and ask, "Do you love me?"
    "Yes," the answer came easily from her lips,
and she did not doubt the truth of it at all. However, that dim
corner that had been silenced earlier stirred again. How could it
be true that she loved him? She did not even know him. She wasn't
the sort of person who went around thinking she was in love with
someone just because he had a handsome face. She had never been
that kind of girl. So what was she doing letting him kiss her like
this and saying that she loved him? Once these thoughts took root
in her mind, she found herself distracted by others. This, all of
this, did not feel right. It seemed too perfect, too arranged. This
was just some crazy dream. Wasn't it? She suddenly became very
confused while she tried to remember how she had gotten here, and
when he tried to reclaim her lips with another kiss, she pulled
away.
    "No." She shook her head. "No. What’s
happening here? This can't be real. I was somewhere—" She stared at
him with something like fear. Who was this man before her? What was
he doing to her?
    A look of alarm flashed in his eyes.
"Please," he begged. "Don't doubt this. Don't doubt me. Stay."
    But she began backing away from him. "What
are you doing to me?" she demanded, and she sounded scared now.
" Why are you doing this to me?" She suddenly noticed for the
first time that there were wet tracks on the floor. In the low
light, most were only dark smears that dully reflected what
illumination there was in the room, but one was in the shape of a
small foot, and it was in the exact spot she had stepped on just a
moment earlier. Aline then realized to her horror that her feet
were bleeding, and the pain almost overwhelmed her for a second.
However, she struggled against it valiantly and managed to remain
upright.
    "It is nothing," he tried to reassure her,
but she heard the lie in his voice. "Just stay and I will answer
all your questions. Please." He tried to reach for her and she
shied away from him in a panic. He looked stricken. "Rosamund, stay
with me," he pleaded.
    She froze. "I'm—not Rosamund," she said in a
whisper. "And I don't even know who you are."
    He said nothing, all emotion gone from his
face now as he regarded her coldly. "Yes," he finally admitted,
standing straighter as his handsome features took on a harsher
cast. "You are not Rosamund. But her heart sleeps within you, and I
will have her back!" He suddenly lunged towards her, hands
stretched out to grab her and prevent her from leaving. But she got
lucky and evaded him, then Aline kicked out wildly and managed to
make him lose his footing. While he was busy getting back to his
feet, she threw open the doors and ran for her life.
    The corridor seemed longer than it had been
before and her heart was pounding hard in fear as she prayed she'd
be able to make it to the ballroom without getting caught. Then she
could ask her friends and the other people she knew there to help
her get away from the Prince. The fear she