Evil Duke, Please Be Gentle!

"Pak!" He was still cursing her when the carriage suddenly increased the speed and before he could react, the carriage jerked and the girl that was sleeping soundly on the small seat was about to fall on the floor of the carriage.

But before she could fall off, he moved and sat on the ground with his back towards her.

Since his height was much. Her back hit his back but she did not fall down.

She had already braced herself for the fall. Since she was afraid that if she would sit suddenly or tired to save herself from the fall then he would realize that she was acting. But, the fall she was expecting did not come.

Her whole body turned stiff when her back touched his back. She wanted to turn and see what happened but she was too scared to do so.

"See! How dumb you are! I can not believe that you are still sleeping!" Although he was scolding her, he was still sitting on the ground to make sure that she would sleep comfortably.

He did not even notice the shards of the jar that had pierced his thighs when he sat suddenly.

He closed his eyes as his head leaned back to the seat where she was sleeping soundly.

Her back tickled as his hair started to touch her back from the strings that were covering her and she had to cover her mouth to muffle her laugh. Thank god that her torment increased soon enough, 

"My lord, we have arrived!" the coachman announced as he opened the door but was stunned when his eyes fell on his master, who was sitting down instead of the seat.

He blinked a few times to make sure that he was not dreaming but still he could not believe the scene in front of his eyes.

"Mm, you can leave!" Leo commanded and the man ran from there as if he had seen something he should not have seen.

Leo turned to look at the girl who was still sleeping soundly and called her "Evangeline!"

The stomach of Evan churned when she heard his velvety voice so close to her ears but she was not sure if she should wake up with one time calling or should she wait a bit and let him call a few more times?

Leo looked at her and sighed. Since she was not waking up, he held her in his arms and picked her up from the seat.

'Damn Leo! Call me a few more times and I will wake up! You do not need to help me! Trust me! Wake me up!' she shouted in her heart but continued to lay limp on his shoulders as he held her like she was a sack of potatoes.

"What will I do for you? Sigh!" 

"....." 'maybe just let me go!' she muttered as he kept her close to his chest. Once again she was back in his arms. She could feel his strong heart beat and surprisingly it is very soothing.

His musky smell and his strong muscles always made her feel safe that she could not explain.

Accepting her fate, she leaned further on his chest and enjoyed the service he was providing her.

If that had been before, Leo would not have thought much about it! But now that he knew about his feelings for her, he felt conscious about her touch. 

A jolt of electricity passed his body, when she leaned on him that his steps halted for a second before he came out of the carriage.

Everyone stopped in his tracks when their eyes fell on the man who was known for his cruel nature and cold behavior that even the colleagues of his father did not know how to talk to him.

He was famous for staying a foot away from the opposite gender, but here he was, walking with a foolish smile on his face with a girl leaning on his shoulders.

"Wow! Is that our master Leo!" 

"Yes, and the girl in his arms was his future wife! I have seen her at the tea party before."

"So, the rumors are true! Master Leo is totally smitten by the girl in his arms!" 

If it would have been any other time, Leo would have frowned that others had stopped working and were indulging them in the gossip but now that he heard praising their pair. He could not help but feel a bit of pride, his back only became straighter and his grip on the arms of the girl tightened. 

On the other side, Evan felt that this was the worst decision of her life. Why did she even prolonged the act? It was such a foolish plan!

She wanted to beat herself!

"Master Leo, your leg is bleeding. Did something happen?" asked a man and Leo stopped in his tracks and turned to look at his leg. 

He was about to deny that it was nothing severe but before he could do so, the girl in his arms had opened her eyes and staring at his face, 

"........."

"Where! What.. how!?" just as the words fell in the ears of Evan, that he was injured. her whole body shook and her eyes snapped open. She let go of his arms and with a slight pressure he let go of her.

She held his hand and stumbled upon her legs. She did not pay much attention to his stunned reactions as she was worried about him. So, she ran behind him and crouched on the floor to check his legs.

"How did you get injured suddenly? Oh my! The injury looks severe! How did it happen and why did you not react to it?" her eyes filled with worry when she noticed that his pants had already turned red. She flinched when she looked behind him at the small chain of red drops that had been left by him.

"So, you were awake all this time! Huh?"