My Protector | Meliodas

8. The Picnic

It was the final day of my father's trip, which meant I only had one more day alone with Meliodas.

My heart raced after thinking of our encounter yesterday, but he hasn't tried anything else on me. Mostly, he's been making phone calls and replying to emails from his room, only ever coming out for breakfast and the odd drink.

I sat in the drawing-room of the house with my notepad open in front of me. I stared down at my artwork and sighed.

It was a replica of Meliodas's tattoo - the dragon. Except the one on his back was jagged, dark, and moody, my dragon was smooth, flowing, and based around nature.

It was almost finished, and I thought I would show it to him when I was, despite the nerves that nipped at my stomach.

My head snapped at the sound of a door opening, then shutting, footsteps sounding down the stairs. The drawing-room door was located at the base of the stairs, and so when Meliodas reached the final step, his eyes glanced into the room.

When they found me, he stopped, his lips tugging into a small smile. I smiled back and looked back down at my page.

I heard his footsteps leave the door and I let out a sigh.

I think what was most confusing about all of this, was the fact that I did enjoy his presence. And I found myself excited, eager almost, for him to flirt or try something with me. It wasn't a reoccurring thing, and I always felt rather disappointed when he wouldn't give me anything apart from a smile or a brief exchange of pleasantries.

Without really thinking, I decided to stand up and follow him to the kitchen area, my sketchbook in hand. He was wearing a white button-up tucked into his black pants, with a loose black tie. I could almost see the black tattoo through his shirt, but he turned around before I could confirm for sure.

"Oh, hey," he smiled, raising his glass of juice to his lips. I smiled and nodded, before showing him my sketch.

"I uh- drew this, inspired by your tattoo," I murmured, watching his expression as he took the book from my hands. His eyes shimmered as he looked down at it, his smile growing into a full-on grin.

"This is really awesome, Y/N. I knew you could draw but wow, this is just amazing," he lingered his gaze on my face before it dropped back down to the page. I watched as his finger traced along with one of the harsh lines of the dragon's back.

"I'm really glad you like it," I laughed nervously, a weight lifting from my shoulders. He closed the book back up and handed it back.

"Hey, uh, do you want to go do something?"

"We aren't allowed to leave the house."

"We don't have to, we could grab some food and a blanket and go find a nice spot for a picnic if you wanted."

He looked bashful as he scratched the back of his neck, and I found my mouth opening in surprise. My stomach began fluttering as I thought about having a picnic with him. I nodded, trying to appear nonchalant.

"Sure, can I bring my art stuff?" I asked, and he nodded.

"Of course, let me get some stuff ready while you prepare your things."

~

I was so nervous coming down the stairs to meet Meliodas because I had done my makeup quickly, fixed my hair, and put on a light blue dress with puffy sleeves for our picnic. His eyes gazed me over, lingering a little too long on my feet again as sandals clung to them.

But after that, it was fine. He led me out the back door as he held a woven basket in one hand and a blanket in the other. I tried to pry my eyes from his veiny, muscular arms, but to no avail. He winked at me when he caught my stare.

"Will here do?" His voice called out as he strayed from the pebbled path toward a large fig tree, a while away from the house. I shielded my eyes with my hand and looked around, admiring the flower patches, trimmed bushes, and maintained grass. I nodded and bit my lip slightly, stepping onto the green and making my way toward him.

I waited as he flicked the blanket out with ease and lowered it onto the ground. He kicked off his polished shoes and placed the basket in the center of the blanket before he took a seat nearby. His head tilted to look at me, golden flecks on his face as the sun's rays peeked through the leaves.

"You gonna sit, Miss Liones?" He smiled, patting the spot next to him. I wrung my hands together before I took a seat where he gestured to, my hand almost touching his.

"What food did you bring?" I squeaked, frowning at my nerves. He chuckled and reached for the lid of the basket.

He began setting up a cheeseboard with a few different types of cheeses, some grapes, crackers, and kabana. My stomach almost rumbled as I watched him calmly glide the small knife through the last piece of sausage.

"That looks amazing," I breathed, widening my eyes as he pulled out a plate of fruit and two sandwiches with looked to be stuffed with roast beef, salad, and relish.

"I'm going to explode," I laughed as he unwrapped the sandwiches and set them out nicely on the cheeseboard.

It was a very big board.

Meliodas then grabbed a cracker and layered a piece of cheese and kabana on top. I watched curiously as he adjusted to face me, his eyes glinting with amusement.

"Open wide," he almost whispered, his hand coming closer to my face. I eyed him with my brows raised but decided to open my mouth.

He put the cracker into my mouth and watched as I struggled to chew it under his gaze. After I swallowed, I looked at the ground, my face hot with embarrassment.

"What about a strawberry?" He chuckled, plucking one from the glass plate. I almost glared at him but nodded. Something about him having his fingers so close to my mouth made me really excited.

I opened my mouth and looked into his eyes as he slowly fed me the strawberry, and I gasped slightly when his thumb ran across my bottom lip. He stared at my lips for a moment before he started laughing, causing me to frown.

"If you're just gonna tease me," I started and began to stand up, "I'm leaving."

Meliodas's hand darted out and gripped my wrist, and with a hard tug, pulled me into his lap. My weight obviously took him by surprise, and he fell back onto his back, with me on top.

My hair floated above his face and swayed slightly in the wind. A ray of sun hit one of his green irises perfectly, and I found myself lost in it.

I trailed my eyes all over his face, absorbing his perfect features and well-groomed facial hair. I couldn't resist running my finger along his cheek, which earned a falter in his composure. A visible shudder ran down his spine.

I smiled gently, trailing my finger toward his lips. I rubbed the pad of my index finger over the smooth, pink skin.

My heart pounded in my chest, so hard I thought he could feel it against his own. A smile graced his mouth and I couldn't help tracing the outline of it. He inhaled deeply through his nose.

"You're beautiful, Y/N. I'm sorry if that makes you uncomfortable, or if you find it inappropriate considering your father hired me to protect you. But with your permission, I'd like to fulfil my duty, while perhaps getting closer to you. The past few days have enabled me to confirm my feelings for you, and I know it is fast, but I hope you'll at least give me a chance. We can keep this from your father and your friends, it's completely your decision," his voice was quiet as he raised his hand and cupped my cheek.

This was moving too fast, but I couldn't stop myself from falling into his hand, a smile of my own appearing. I shut my eyes and inhaled deeply, the smell of his cologne familiar and sweet.

"Okay," I whispered, opening my eyes again to look at him. He relaxed into the blanket as he smiled even wider.

"Thank you, Y/N."