Empty Eyes: Book 1

Chapter 20

The desert air gets incredibly cold at night, but Sasuke let me cuddle him under the heavy covers all night long so I barely noticed. I woke up to him running his fingers softly up and down my back as I lay against his chest. His scent surrounded me, making a small smile tug at my lips.

My eyes crept open and I noticed the prince was holding a book up with his free hand and reading in silence. He seemed to notice my awakening and dog-eared the page before sitting the book aside and pulling me closer against his body. Both of his muscular arms wrapped firmly around my body. The feeling of his bare skin against mine was something I'd never tire of. I smiled and nuzzled closer, feeling giddy about the uncharacteristic affection he was offering.

His chest rumbled as he spoke, "How'd you sleep?"

The royal's voice was raspy from being silent the whole time I slept and it made my stomach flip. I bravely lay a small kiss against his neck, "Just fine."

He pulled back a bit and I mirrored the action, worried he didn't want me to dote on him so freely, but instead he captured my lips and my anxiety melted away.

Sasuke spoke in an unsure voice once he pulled away, dark eyes searching my face, "About last night, I shouldn't have let things go that far. I knew you'd been drinking and-"

I gave him an embarrassed look and dipped my bright red face down against his chest, "D-Don't apologize! I already told you I wanted to do it."

I came back up and met his gaze head on to see he still looked unconvinced. "If anything, consider it payback for that night in your room."

He seemed shocked by my response for a moment before a small smirk crept onto his lips, "So we're even then?"

My face dropped and I tried to figure out where he was going with this, "I guess so, why?"

His smirk grew until it was almost a teasing smile, "So, since we're even and all, we don't have to do that kind of thing again, right?"

My mouth clamped shut and I shook my head before lightly slapping the firm muscles on his stomach and climbing out of his arms. He chuckled at my annoyance.

Matsuri arrived soon after Sasuke and I finished bathing with another beautiful Sunagakure outfit for me to wear. This one was a blood red dress with an array of colorful gems dangling from the hem. It was a halter top that ended on the upper part of my thighs, shorter than any dress I've ever worn.

To my horror, I realized Sasuke'd left a few marks on both my neck and body last night, but luckily this style of dress hid them all. He didn't even tell me until I noticed that I, too, had left a few marks on him and mentioned it while we were bathing.

I studied Matsuri as she applied sunblock to the pale skin of my bare legs, her movements precise. Her sun-kissed skin was clear, her brown eyes vibrant, and her shoulder length hair was thick and healthy. All in all, she was a very cute girl even by Konoha standards. A frown lay firmly on her lips and I was curious why.

"So, Matsuri, did you attend the festival last night?"

Her eyes flickered up to meet mine for a moment as though she was shocked I'd chosen to speak. Then she glanced uneasily over at Sasuke, who was sitting on the edge of the bed with his dark eyes locked onto her every move, "Yes, I was able to take the night off."

I smiled at her as she grabbed some sandals and started slipping them onto my feet, "That's great! Did you do anything fun?"

She met my gaze in a stronger manner and my smile evaporated when I noticed a bandage on her neck that her hair had been hiding. Without hesitation, I reached up and pulled the bandage back to confirm my suspicion.