Chapter 27: Flirting? You don’t even know the word!
"What do you want?" Cass couldn’t help how annoyed he sounded. The taller man above him wore a breezy black shirt that barely closed at the top. His long hair swayed in the wind and Cass was annoyed at how much he looked like a model for one of the romance novels he’d read.
He was a male lead, after all, but that didn’t mean he had to be rational about this.
Draken narrowed his orange eyes at him, crossing his arms across his broad chest and Cass scowled when he realised that he couldn’t take his damn eyes off of him. Draken smirked.
"What do I want? Maybe a hello? It’s so good to see you Lord Draken? I don’t know, a greeting?" Cass rolled his eyes and crossed his legs.
"If you wanted that, you should have greeted me appropriately first, instead of calling me a vampire. Now, you are in my sunlight, so could you move?" Cass closed his eyes and waited, but the shadow blocking out his sunlight didn’t move. After waiting what felt like five minutes, he opened his eyes again to glare up at the smirking man above him.
"I feel like since your injury you’ve gotten snarkier. I don’t think it’s an improvement." Draken’s eyes began to glow and Cass rolled his own again.
"Gee. That’s great, but last time I checked, I didn’t need your approval for every little change in my personality." Draken’s jaw tightened and Cass let out a laugh. "Who knows? Maybe that hit knocked a few screws loose?"
"I didn’t think you had any screws to knock loose." Draken shot back and Cass gave him a pitying look.
"Oh, poor Lucy, did you forget? I’m very smart, so of course there were some screws to knock around. Unlike you, who I feel like if I hit you with a frying pan the pan would dent." Draken’s expression iced over.
"You’re pushing too much, Lord Blackburn. Watch what you say." He warned and Cass glanced around them, noticing that Sam hadn’t approached. He wondered why, but at the same time, was glad that Sam wasn’t close enough to hear them fight.
"Am I? I had no idea. I’ll make sure to be extra careful, since I had no idea you were so sensitive. Is that why you freaked out when our faces got too close last time?" Cass teased, and watched as the other man’s cheeks flushed.
"I was not-you just caught me by surprise!" He sputtered, shifting on his feet and Cass looked over the tall man, his cheeks pink and Cass couldn’t help but smirk.
"Oh, I’m sure you’ll be prepared next time then?" Cass asked, and Draken stumbled back.
"N-Next time? Lord Blackburn, we are married to the same woman!" He sounded scandalised, horrified, and Cass really threw his head back and laughed. It was just simply ridiculous that a being that was supposed to be as old as him was scandalised by something like two men potentially kissing.
Cass was sure that he’d experienced everything, but was this man, this beast, far more innocent than he thought?
Fuck. That was cute.
"I had no idea you had an adorable side to you, Lord Draken." Cass wasn’t sure what made him more flustered. The fact that Cass had called him by his title, or that he’d called him adorable. The bigger man was sputtering, and Cass continued to laugh at him, his shoulders shaking. "I don’t think I’ve seen you this shaken. I had no idea this was all it took." Cass continued, watching as the orange eyes of the man looming over him trembled.
In his fluster, he stepped out of Cass’ sunlight, and the warmth from it washed through him. He let out a soft, satisfied sigh and Draken flushed even more.
"Y-Y-You-!" Draken sounded almost angry, and Cass gave him an amused look.
"What has your underwear in a twist, Lord Draken?" Cass asked and he pointed an accusing finger at him.
"I like women!" He declared and Cass furrowed his brow in confusion.
"So?" He asked and Lord Draken gasped.
"D-Does it not even matter to you?" He was being the most ridiculous Cass was sure he’d ever seen him. Well, outside of that time a mouse had gotten into camp and the man had screamed like a banshee and nearly burnt the whole forest down.
Ah. What a fond memory for Lord Blackburn.
"What do you mean by that?" Cass asked, his humour fading slowly as Draken continued to be weird.
"W-Well, you are f-flirting so easily with-" Cass raised his hand, and Draken sealed his lips. Mostly because the humour had faded rapidly from Cass’ expression until he was glaring up at the other man.
"Flirting? Me? With you? Are you serious right now, Lord Draken, or are you trying to play a joke?" Draken sealed his lips, his orange eyes wide in surprise and Cass had a feeling he wasn’t going to respond.
Grumbling, Cass ran his hand through his hair, a deep well of anger filling his chest. This idiot thought he was flirting with him? Cass? With fucking Lucy? There was no fucking way. He may be attractive, but everyone around him was attractive. The guys all could pull whoever the fuck they wanted, but that didn’t mean Cass.
Cass knew how head over heels in love they were for Lady Fiona, and that alone dampened any kind of potential attraction he could have for them. Add to the fact that they all fucking hated him that really made sure that even if Cass couldn’t take his eyes off of their damn handsome mugs, he was never going to get his hopes up.
He’d never dated when he’d had his own body, why would he date when he had someone else’s? That felt a little strange, didn’t it?
"Lord Draken." Cass addressed him but his name, and Draken flinched. "I didn’t think I needed to spell it out for you, but let me make this clear. I do not care about who you find attractive, who you lust after, nothing in regards to your sexual preferences or desires. I never have, and I never will. My teasing doesn’t come from that place, and I can promise you, I wasn’t flirting with you." Cass uncrossed his legs before getting to his feet.
Draken was staring at him in shock as Cass adjusted his jacket, his movements jerky since he could feel the anger fueling him.
"Uh, you don’t...you weren’t..." Cass snorted, rolling his eyes as he met Draken’s orange gaze.
"Trust me, if I was flirting with you, you would have noticed far quicker than that. But, since you will never be on the other side of my affections, I guess I’ll forgive you for thinking so lowly of me." Draken’s jaw fell as Cass turned on his heel, heading down the path towards the gazebo. "Good day, Lord Draken." He called over his shoulder as he tried to walk as calmly as he could away.
That damn monster! Not only had he implied that Cass would pounce on anyone, he said that Cass was going to jump on him ! That fucking dumbass! How could someone live for so long and get such a wrong opinion about romance and things of that nature! Cass had read enough damn romance novels to know that he hadn’t been flirting.
He’d been teasing ! They were similar, but they were not the same! If he’d been flirting, they would have been closer, and Cass probably would have been touching that damn broad chest of his. And those giant, useless pectoral muscles of his. God, they probably felt a little squishy. Or were they firm?
Didn’t matter!
The man was too much of a damn idiot for Cass to even entertain the thought that he was flirting with him! How had he even scored a woman like Lady Fiona was beyond him. He probably just...demanded that she married him and she said yes because it would be worse for her if she said no. There was no way someone like Draken had any fucking game or pull.
Damn it. Now Cass was thinking about his damn dick. Fuck.
Shaking his head, Cass turned his attention to the bushes around him as he walked along the path towards the gazebo. He hoped that Draken had left the garden, or that if he was still following him, he’d just show up right now. He was too worked up to be rational about a response right now, and he felt like it would only get worse as time dragged on.
At least when it came to Draken.
He wasn’t sure how he’d respond if it was someone else who showed their face around him right now.
Stomping loudly down the path, Cass made his way to the pretty gazebo and stomped inside before he slammed his butt down on one of the benches inside. It was the first time he’d turned around since he’d left Draken by the fountain, and he was pleased to find that Draken had left the fountain and was instead chatting to Sam near the doors.
Cass crossed his arms and legs, frowning as he watched the two converse in the distance. His eyesight was good in this body, but not that good. He couldn’t see their expressions, so he couldn’t gauge if they were having a good conversation or a bad one.
It seemed he didn’t have to worry for long, since Draken patted Sam’s shoulder and went back into the castle. Cass harrumphed. Draken better not have been consoling Sam for having to work for him. Maybe for the old Lord Blackburn, but Cass was a different man. He was kind, considerate, and let them have breaks constantly. Sam was showered with food and drinks and even allowed to sleep in compared to when he’d worked for Lord Blackburn.
That, and Cass wasn’t an abusive piece of shit compared to Lord Blackburn. Those memories had been the hardest to observe. Watching how the hands he now possessed had hit and hurt those around him had been hard. Cass couldn’t exactly blame the guy, especially when memories of his Grandfather had trickled in.
Lord Blackburn hadn’t learned the behaviour for nowhere is what Cass wanted to say. It didn’t excuse his actions, but it at least made them make sense. Honestly, it worried Cass how calm the others who he had yelled, kicked, and hit were, and that they still worked for him.
As soon as he left this place, he was going to let them all go. He didn’t mind if they spread rumours about him. They were probably true. He just didn’t want to feel like he was keeping them here against their will anymore. It was a weight that was slowly settling on his heart the more he remembered.