Although she was still annoyed by his remark earlier, it was impossible to ignore the rough timbre that had captivated her heart years ago. Henry challenged her eyes, his

expression calm although she could see a trace of amusement in his eyes. He now knew the effect he had on her, that chauvinistic oaf.

Patting the spot beside him, Henry silently ordered her to sit down. Sniffing indignantly, Emmaline toyed with the idea of rebuffing his manner. In the end she obliged, sinking her bottom on the bunk while kicking off her soaked shoes. Emmaline then turned around and waited for him to say something as she gave her best glare.

Henry forced her back to face him, slowly raking his fingers through the knots of her tresses and smoothing her hair before finally drying it with his own towel. He was firm yet gentle as if he was afraid he would tug on the fine strands and hurt her.

“Would you like a piece of chocolate?” he offered politely, still rubbing Emmaline’s hair. His tone was friendly despite the formal way he asked.

It took the rumbles in her stomach to remind her she actually hadn’t had her breakfast. And lunch. She would be a fool to refuse.

“Yes, please.” came Emmaline’s meek answer.

Ceasing his activity for a few seconds, Henry stretched out his hand to fish a chocolate bar out of the jar on the desk across the bunk, thrusting it gently into Emmaline’s waiting hand. Smiling gratefully, Emmaline peeled off the wrapper and took an earnest bite, droopily closing her eyes in appreciation. The simple act didn’t escape Henry’s ever-vigilant eyes, and he couldn’t stop himself from smiling as he went back to drying her hair.

“What about you?” Emmaline queried between mouthfuls, chewing slowly on the sticky sweet caramel. She moaned her pleasure softly as the tip of her pink tongue licked the sticky remaining off her upper lip. The thing was very good. She had to ask the kitchen to buy her the particular kind and added it to the supply in her room. She shouldn’t have been surprised he kept a stash here. Henry’s sweet tooth was as bad as hers. “Not hungry?”

She careened her neck in an attempt to look at Henry’s face and pouted when Henry’s hands forcefully turned her head back to its initial position so he could finish his task properly. She cringed a little when she remembered the inappropriateness of their distance but dismissed the thought. Instead, she concentrated on the sheer pleasure of having Henry’s hands on her scalp. Could it be that he thought drying her hair properly was his mission? Emmaline mused, a smile playing on her lips.

How funny.

The Henry she knew wouldn’t care to do things as forward as drying a woman’s hair. He might have appeared arrogant and confident to the members of the opposite sex, but she knew the truth about his awkward personality. And the more she thought about it, the more tempted she was to speculate. For now, however, she was content with being spoiled. She had to admit she enjoyed this undivided attention.

Once again she tried offering the half-eaten chocolate bar silently to Henry, but the latter turned it down and pushed her hand away.

“Not hungry.” He finally stated flatly, flinging the already damp towel aside as he sauntered and once again crouched before the wooden trunk. His eyes shone triumphantly as he pulled out an ivory comb. With the object in his hand, he hurried back and began carefully combed the stubborn knots into smooth tresses, golden and shining under the lamp’s dim light.

Emmaline held the chocolate bar between her teeth as she took over the comb from Henry’s grip and set it aside casually, then proceeded to gather the thick shimmering hair and braided it carefully. She thought she saw a flash of longing in Henry’s eyes, but dismissed it as merely her imagination.

Frowning, she seized the end of her braid with two fingers, only realising that she didn’t have a ribbon or a tie to secure her hair. She finally gave up and flung the braid back unsecured. It slowly unravelled as it fell free on her back, the length almost reaching her bottom.

“How’s the chocolate?” Leaning on one of his elbows, his eyes never left Emmaline’s full and cherry red lips. Emmaline nodded and beamed pleasantly, answering Henry’s question with a question of her own, “Do you have more?” Henry merely lifted both eyebrows in response. This time he rose to his feet to fetch more chocolate bars, tossing them one by one at Emmaline.

Emmaline caught them expertly with both hands, rewarding Henry with a sweet grin before settling down with the chocolate bars. She opened the wrapper and thrust it in front of Henry’s face, her voice commanding.

“Eat.”

Although he seemed to be annoyed by Emmaline’s ever-persistent nature, Henry didn’t turn down the offer this time. He took the chocolate bar from Emmaline’s hand gingerly and had a bite. However, once he chewed on the caramel, pleasure clearly took over his mind as he savoured the bittersweet taste of the dark chocolate coat.

They ate the chocolate bars in silence, saved for only occasional glances. However, the growing silence grated on Emmaline’s nerves as she squirmed in discomfort, struggling to find a safe topic to discuss. Finally, when she could stand it no more, she grabbed the damp towel that Henry used to dry her hair earlier and threw it in Henry’s direction.