Rose thought it was silly that she had believed Caius would give her privacy; he hadn't given her any when the maids arrived earlier to clean her up and neither did he give her any privacy when they applied oils to her skin and combed her hair, so of course he wouldn't give her any privacy now.

The maids did try to keep her covered as best they could while they dressed her, but there was only so much they could hide from Caius's hungry eyes. He blatantly watched her like a hawk stalking its prey.

It was hard to pretend she couldn't notice his unwavering stare. Any time she glanced in his direction, his eyes were on her, staring intently.

The maids helped her into a simple dress. It wasn't as ceremonial as the blue one she had worn to dinner. At that thought, Rose realized she had no idea what had happened to it after she took it off last night. The servants probably took care of it, she thought.

"Thank you," Rose whispered to them as they stepped away after tying the waist ties.

The dress was a simple cream lace dress with ties on the sides that fastened behind her back. The dress stopped just below her calf. It was exactly what she wanted—comfortable and easy to move around in—but at the same time, she feared it might be too easy for Caius to take off.

The material looked like it would be too easy to rip and Rose feared it didn't do much to shield her from the crown prince's stare. However, she doubted anything could protect her from his hungry eyes.

As she had this thought, she turned to look at him and their gazes met. He smirked, and Rose jerked her head away. She said a quick prayer that he would get bored with her presence and send her away.

The maids bowed to Caius and fled the room. Rose didn't miss that they were terrified of him; their hands had shaken as they dressed her, and they had nervously kept looking from side to side. Surprisingly, despite their fear, they had done their jobs properly, just like earlier when they helped her clean up.

The doors shut loudly, zapping Rose out of her thoughts and she realized she was alone with Caius. She wiped her palms on her dress. It was winter, but she was sweating.

Caius was sitting on a high-backed chair next to the bed. He rested an elbow on the armrest and his chin on the back of his hand. He stared at her with a look of approval, then not-so-subtly licked his lips.

Rose grabbed the hem of her dress in terror. Would the crown prince show some decorum? He didn't hide his lust in the slightest, and this terrified her.

"What then would it be, little lady? What's your next demand?" Caius asked. He sounded utterly satisfied. If she listened deeply, she was certain she would hear him purr.

If Rose had ever wondered what a well-fed lion would sound like, she imagined it would sound exactly like Caius did right now. However, just because he sounded like that didn't mean he couldn't be hungry the next moment.

Rose shuffled on her feet. She wasn't sure of her choice, but she knew there was no way she would fall asleep. Firstly, he was seated too close to the bed, and if she knew anything about Caius, there was a very high chance he would join her—which would likely lead to another round that her body definitely couldn't handle.

"A game," she replied.

Caius raised a brow and looked toward the bed. Then he returned his gaze to Rose, and this time there was a smile on his lips.

"As the lady wishes," he said and slowly stood up.

However, instead of approaching the chessboard, Caius crossed the room to where she stood by the wardrobe. Her eyes flashed wide as he closed the gap between them. She should have seen it coming, but each time he still managed to catch her off guard.

Caius grabbed the small of her waist and pressed her into him just as he brought his head down and took her lips. Rose gasped against him, both from shock and the fact that he had just seized her breathing.

The kiss was gentle, lingering only for a moment before he pulled away and looked into her eyes. The moment felt heavy, and Rose was still in a daze from the sudden kiss.

"For every win, I want a kiss just like that."

Rose pulled out of his grasp, her back hitting the wardrobe. She wasn't sure she had heard right. Had the poison addled the crown prince's mind? She knew something was off, but she hadn't been able to quite put her finger on it.

She had to respond; he was looking at her with that odd look again—the one that said she had to be careful with her words, but not in a threatening way. It almost felt like it was in a pleading way.

"What do I get if I win, then?" Rose asked.

Caius scoffed, and Rose couldn't help but feel insulted. She wasn't that bad, she tied with him once. That counted as something. She lifted her gaze to glare at him, and this seemed to please him, not anger him.

"If you win," Caius said and stepped closer, his eyes sparkling, "you can have whatever you want."

Rose knew she shouldn't ask, but she wanted his word on it. "Even if I ask that you let me go?" she asked, looking from one of his eyes to the other.

Caius's eyes dimmed, and he briefly closed them. When he opened them, they were the same as last night—the ones that made her terrified. "Why would you want to leave?" he asked.

Rose stared at him in horror. He couldn't seriously be asking her that. Firstly, she was here against her will, leaving her father all on his own in winter with no one to cook for him. He didn't even have his wife anymore. She had too many reasons why she would want to leave.