CHAPTER 564: TENSIONS

The very moment Jasmine heard those words, the hair on her back stood.

She instantly stopped touching her hair.

She wasn’t sure she had heard well.

"Pardon?" Xaden said.

"I said my lord." The girl said in a very sweet and seductive voice. "May I offer you a bath?"

She was well aware that in packs, servants were usually asked to offer to give Alphas a bath.

It wasn’t uncommon, but Jasmine couldn’t believe what she had just overhead.

"A bath." Xaden repeated.

"Yes my lord." The girl said in a more coy voice.

Jasmine tried her best to peep at them.

Sure enough, the girl was already massaging Xaden’s feet and her humongous cleavage was in plain view.

Xaden looked up and caught her looking.

Jasmine quickly turned her face away and resumed brushing her hair.

"You seem so tired and exhausted. Let me take care of you my lord." The girl said.

Jasmine brushed her hair aggressively.

She wasn’t sure the one who had lost a baby.

No one has asked her if she could be assisted with a bath.

She told herself that she wasn’t angry.

She was simply furious at the double standard.

"That is a very good offer." She heard Xaden say.

Jasmine felt as though her heart dropped in her stomach.

She went red in shame and the tears began to prick her eyes.

The humiliation.

She was here in the same room while this maid was going to give him a bath and obviously offer more services.

"Would you help me check the bath and see how hot it is?" She heard Xaden say.

Jasmine wanted to stab herself at the spot.

He was really accepting this.

Regardless of the fact she was here.

He still very much intended on shaming and humiliating her.

"Yes my lord." The girl said sounding excited and Jasmine heard the girl rise to her feet before running off to the bathroom.

She felt Xaden’s stare on her back and pretended as though she was interested.

"I think your hair is dry enough Jasmine." She heard him say. "The way you’re brushing it won’t it cut?"

She stopped and realized that she was so caught up in her well of emotions she was still furiously brushing her hair.

She looked down at her laps and sure enough strands of red hair sat.

She had indeed cut her hair.

She went red in anger.

"It’s still wet." She mumbled to herself as she continued to brush out her hair even though it was very dry enough.

She heard the door to the bath open and the girl re emerged looking very excited.

"The water was steaming hot." She began. "But I mixed in some cold water so it could be perfect for you."

"Thank you." He said.

Jasmine pretended as though she wasn’t listening, after all they acted like she wasn’t even present.

She heard him rise to his feet.

"I’ll like to bath on my own." To her surprise she heard him say.

Jasmine stopped brushing her hair.

There was a still and unusual silence in the room.

"Oh... uhm... err..." The girl stuttered. "Of course my lord."

Jasmine smiled inward.

"Would there be anything else you would want me to do for you?" The girl asked and in those words Jasmine could hear a hint of her sexual tension.

"Yes there is." Xaden said.

Jasmine frowned.

"The meal must be cold by now." He said. "I’m sure the lady would be starving by now and a cold food would be unpleasant."

"I see." The girl managed.

The lady.

Xaden was referring to her.

And when she turned to look at the tray of food by her left handed side, sure enough it no longer held steam sipping out.

"I can do that by lord." The girl said an obvious hint of disappointment in her voice.

"Good." He said and then Jasmine heard him walk from the bed before heading towards the bath.

When she was sure that she heard the door close did she finally have the confidence to turn around.

She looked at the girl who was now sulking.

She wondered if the girl knew that she was a servant just like her, or worse, a slave.

She also wondered if the servant was aware of her past with Xaden.

The audacity of the girl to even offer something as ridiculous as that when she was obviously here.

Not that Jasmine cared.

It was just inappropriate.

The girl grumbled to herself as she gathered the tray of food.

"Thank you." Jasmine said with a tight smile.

The girl didn’t return the smile and left the bedroom.

Jasmine sighed to herself now alone.

She made her hair into one single braid and then looked through the clothes that had been brought for her before finding a nice sleeping dress.

She put it on before going to sit on the reclining couch.

She gathered her feet together as she sat waiting for her meal to come.

She instantly regretted letting the servant girl go with the food.

She could have eaten by now and pretended to sleep by the time he came out of the bath.

Now she had to wait for the girl and most likely eat at the same time he did

She heard the water splash in the bath and then soon hot flashes of him naked came firing at her.

She went red in embarrassment and shook her head.

She wasn’t going to think of any of that.

She heard the door of the bath open and Xaden stepped out.

He had a towel wrapped around his waist and the rest of his body was...... naked.

She watched as his well chiseled chest was fresh with water and his perfectly lined muscles lay in perfect rhythm.

They made eye contact and in that very instant the door was flung open.

None other than the servant girl came in holding a large tray of food.

~~~~~~~~~~

The door slammed against the wall as the servant girl shuffled in, the weight of the tray pulling at her arms. She stumbled a little, then corrected herself, cheeks flushed not with embarrassment but something far more smug.

"I brought fresh food, my lord," she said, her voice pitched sweetly, eyes darting at Jasmine before quickly lowering.

Xaden’s jaw flexed. His towel clung precariously to his hips, droplets of water still carving paths down the ridges of his chest. Jasmine’s throat tightened as she turned her face away, clutching the edge of her braid as though it could tether her to composure.

"Set it down," Xaden said curtly.

The girl obeyed, but her hands lingered longer than necessary on the dishes. When she poured wine into the goblets, her fingers brushed along the rim nearest Xaden. He did not look at her, and that stung her more deeply than a slap. She faltered, then stepped back, curtsied too low, and slunk out of the chamber with one last burning glance at Jasmine.

The silence she left behind was unbearable.

Xaden strode past Jasmine without a word, the heat of his damp skin grazing the air as he reached for a goblet. He filled it, then poured another, sliding it across the table toward her.

"You should eat." His tone was flat, but not unkind.

Jasmine hesitated, but the smell of roasted meat and warm bread turned her stomach with hunger.

She shifted to the table, hands trembling slightly as she reached for a plate. For a while, neither of them spoke. The only sounds were the clink of cutlery and the faint crackle of the fire in the hearth.

But the silence said more than words.

Jasmine forced down mouthfuls, chewing woodenly, her mind still stuck on the servant kneeling at his feet, the coyness in her voice, the way Xaden had not chased her out immediately.

It made her feel like glass, fragile, transparent, useless.

When she was finished, she quietly set her utensils aside, rinsed her fingers in the bowl of rosewater placed at the edge of the table, and dried them on a cloth. She didn’t look at him.

Instead, she crossed the room and curled onto the reclining couch, her back to him.

Xaden’s brow furrowed. "What are you doing?"

"I’ll sleep here." Her voice was low but firm.

His confusion deepened. "The couch?"

"Yes." She clutched the pillow tighter to her chest. "I can’t share that bed with you. It was ordained for you, not me. I’ll not take what isn’t mine."

Xaden’s lips parted as though to argue, but no words came. He crossed the floor, each step deliberate, until his shadow fell over her.

"You’re being stubborn."

"I’m being respectful." Her chin jutted, though her voice wavered. "The bed belongs to you. I’ll sleep here. Do not—"

But she didn’t finish.

Xaden bent suddenly, sweeping her up in his arms before she could protest. Her gasp broke into the air, her fists instinctively pressing against his chest, but he didn’t falter. His hold was steady, unyielding, as though she weighed no more than a feather.

"Put me down!" she hissed, struggling, her braid slipping over her shoulder like a rope of fire.

"No." His answer was quiet, but it brooked no argument. He carried her across the chamber, the heat of his skin searing into her through the thin fabric of her gown.

With careful precision, he lowered her onto the bed, tucking the coverlet across her as though she might bolt

Her heart raced, fury and confusion battling in her chest. "Xaden—"

"You’ll sleep in the bed," he said firmly, meeting her glare with eyes dark and unreadable. "And you will not argue with me again."

Before she could spit out a reply, he turned from her.

His broad hands gathered the pillows scattered along the headboard, stacking them into his arms.

Without another word, he strode back to the couch, dropped them onto it, and lowered himself onto the cushions.

The couch groaned under his weight.

He lay on his back, arm folded across his chest, eyes fixed on the ceiling as though the night would pass faster if he refused to look at her.

Jasmine stared at him from the bed, her body taut with emotions she could not name. Shame. Anger. Relief. And something else she dared not think too deeply about.

Despite everything.

Why did he leave her feeling this way?