Word Count: 1476

Tai is reading when I return home, lounging back on the couch.

"He's here again," I say instantly. The warm smile he offers me from the moment I step inside vanishes, replaced by a hint of anger and confusion.

"Marek?"

I nod as he advances on me, eyes sweeping over to check for injury. I'm still shaking, not having stopped since I ran all the way home. Whether Marek hung around to ensure I got home, I can't know, but I didn't stop to breathe until the shack was in my view. If Marek is to be believed, there is someone else following that has no affiliation with the rebels, and that's terrifying.

"He was warning me again, saying I was being followed," I tell him, not sure if there is any point in mentioning that I suspect that too. He knows already, and this just confirms that it's not my paranoia manifesting it.

Tai shakes his head, linking his fingers mine, the warmth from them spreading through me. Now that Marek is here, is Tau going to make us move immediately again? It would be smart, yet I'm starting to fear that running is futile.

"He's obsessed with you," Tai remarks. "I didn't think he would find us this quickly."

Marek seemed so bewildered at the idea that I didn't expect him to find us so quickly. It leaves me to wonder whether he is even returning back to the Jade Province to speak to Vaia. She can't possibly know that he has found us by now, right?

"It's chilling...knowing he's following us," I shudder, letting Tai pull me forward to embrace him. The feeling of his arms around me instantly soothe my anxiousness to a manageable level. He smells like the sea and the sand from where he spends all this time now, a scent I don't want him to rid of.

"We will move soon, I just need time," he murmurs, running his fingers back through my hair as I press my head against his chest. "I'm so close to having everything I need to get us safely back into the Jade Province, to my father."

I pull back, meeting his gaze, melting inside slightly as he cups the side of my face with his hand. "Are you going to be okay...seeing your father."

"We don't have any other choice," he admits, shrugging dismissively.

That, he isn't ready to talk about.

"I'm going to wash this horrible day off me," I say, releasing a breath along with all the tension I've been holding within me. Tai let's me go, the absence of his touch allowing the feeling of loneliness to creep back in. Regardless, I walk into the bathroom to runt he bath, letting it fill with hot water, adding bath salts to make it more fragrant.

As I strip down, I glance toward the bathroom door. I still haven't gotten used to living in such close quarters to Tai, even though it's been months. I wonder if he thinks about it too. That's how I know there is more between us than just a friendship.

Instead of focusing on that, I sink into the bath, letting the warmth of the bath wash away all my worries. It's hard to chase Marek out of my head. The only way I can rid of him is to sleep.

I don't even fight it, letting sleep envelop me.

I wake almost instantly, the water still hot, although some of the bubbles have dispersed. Rubbing my eyes, I blink blearily, unable to shake the haziness that has settled over my vision.

When I focus in front of me, I see Marek sitting before me, utterly naked beneath the surface of the water, nothing visible with the bath salts doing a good job staining the water. My mouth dries, body stilling as I meet his cold gaze as it glides over me.

Calling from a vacant place in my brain is the reality that this isn't real, that this is a just a demented part of my imagination.

"You've missed me," Marek murmurs, damp bronze strands littered across his forehead, silvery blue mark winking through.

I steady myself, hands gripping the cold porcelain of the bath. "You're wrong."

He bites the edge of his lip, leaning forward so the water stirs, brushing against my numb body. There's something about the way he looks at me that feels so real. It's so ingrained in my mind, leaving me unable to shake it. Marek is beautiful, each detail of his fact left perfectly memorised in my head.

"You still want me," he breathes, the water gleaming on his arms, shoulders and chest. My breath shudders as I try not to give into his seduction.

He reaches out, touching my leg under the water, the feeling so real I gasp. "Do you remember how my touch used to make you feel?"

A burning need rears up within me, to grab him and pull him toward me. Fight the urge, knowing this isn't real, knowing that I can kiss him in this moment and I will wake tomorrow feeling nothing but regret.

"Admit it to me, that you still want me," Marek continues, the firmness in his voice enough to convince me to admit it, to believe it.

The feeling of someone behind me makes me flinch, their hands smoothing along my shoulders and down my arms. I can't move, seemingly stuck in my spot, the water lapping against my breasts. Marek's eyes remain on mine, not bothered by whoever has joined the dream behind me.

"No Akara," they breathe in my ear. Blood heats my cheeks as I realise it's Tai, my stomach fluttering in response to his fingers as they pull my hair back, revealing my neck. "You want me. Just accept it."

My lips part slightly, as Tai kisses my neck, one hand on my arm and the other firmly wound through my hair.

"I can give you what you want...Let me give you everything," he murmurs.

As I open my mouth to say my response, to truly answer to my instincts, both Marek and Tai's touch disappears.

I jolt awake, gasping as reality lays itself upon me again. The bath is empty, no sign of anyone in the bathroom. Sighing, I pull my wary body from the cold water, draping a towel numbly over my shoulders.

There's no way I'm getting any sleep tonight.

***

Tai's cooking as I finally pull myself out of bed, head fuzzy as I emerge back into the light.

His cooking has really improved recently, the smell usually eliciting growls from my stomach, although this morning, I can't shake the nauseated feeling. Just seeing Tai, shirtless in the golden morning light that streams through the kitchen window, I feel my cheeks heating. I wish I could control my dreams, make it so Marek never reappears in them again.

"You look rough this morning," Tai notes as he turns to face me. His hair is mussed from sleep, shadows playing beneath them. I wonder what kind of dreams he has? I can imagine they would be more like nightmares.

"I feel rough," I mutter tiredly, collapsing onto a chair, resting the upper half of my body on our small dining table. "I had a weird dream."

"Everything okay?" he asks softly, leaning on the table, bracing himself up on his muscled arms. They never used to be so defined, although he never had to work a job with heavy labour. He's found a job at the same time as I have, pushing and pulling furniture around for wealthy people.

"I'll be okay," I assure him, sharing his smile.

His gaze lingers on me for a long moment, emerald eyes glowing brighter under the buttery sunlight, before he pulls away, turning his attention back to the cooking.

I wonder what his reaction would be if I told him about my dream? It's a manifestation of my conflict, as my mind fights to let go of the first man I ever loved.

Maybe he would laugh, or maybe he would kiss me. Nothing here is known for sure, but I know that cannot risk losing him.

Tai is the only thing I have right now.

💛••💛

If you guys want to read ahead, you can read more of KING'S SEDUCTION on Radish! It's chapters ahead of Wattpad (:

You'll will find it under KING'S POSSESSION on Radish, as season 2!

👑••👑

I'm officially rewriting Alpha Jasper's story now on Radish! It will be following the same storyline with the same characters, but with revised scenes and some new ones!

I love Jasper's story so much that I wanted to go back and rewrite it. I hope you guys will enjoy it, you can find it now on Radish (:

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~Midika 💜🐼