The shoulder straps, which Madame Marcel couldn't tear even with her teeth, gave way instantly under Kaian's hands. In a moment, the dress fell from my shoulders to my chest, then hung loosely around my corseted waist.
"What were you thinking, choosing this dress?" His voice carried an edge.
"I-I didn't choose it..." The words came out breathlessly.
Kaian's eyes glowed dangerously in the dim, curtained room.
"No?"
His gaze landed on my chest, where the tight corset had shaped everything beneath with deliberate precision. Following his eyes, I saw my own body—the soft curve of flesh pressed and held by delicate fabric.
My cheeks burned.
I'd never seen myself like this. Since arriving at Rowen Castle, I'd never worn anything like today's dress—so different from my everyday wardrobe. Now, under Kaian's passionate gaze, I felt exposed in a way that made me instinctively cover myself with both arms.
"Stop looking."
"Why?" He smiled, licking his lips with deliberate slowness. "I like what I see."
I'd known he appreciated my body, but never had I felt quite so... desired.
"Where is my usually proactive Duchess?" he murmured.
I had no answer.
His hands traced the vertical lines created by my corset, moving along my exposed skin with maddening intention.
"Huh." I shuddered as his fingers grazed my side.
"You feel it even through all that binding?"
"Don't tease me."
"Teasing you? No—you're tempting me." His hand moved to my chin, brushing my parted lips. "I'm being tempted, Claudel."
His voice had dropped to that dangerous register that made my knees weak.
"Say it," he commanded softly. "Tell me you want me. Right now."
The man said to be tempted was doing the tempting.
---
*No.*
The opening dance of the festival had been merely the beginning. There were still the cake ceremony at sunset, the ritual sharing of first drink, the fireworks when darkness fell. We were supposed to circulate among the people, celebrate, return to the castle at a reasonable hour.
It shouldn't have been possible for Kaian to have me pinned like this in his private chambers.
"Hurry," he urged against my neck.
But I was very fond of this man. And I was always longing for his affection, always soft to his words.
He was my husband.
This wonderful autumn festival was happening outside these walls. Kaian, Duke of Temnes, Lord of Rowen—my husband. The fact that we'd found a way to survive together, that I'd reached safety in his arms, made me face reality.
While a lord could do as he pleased to some extent, Kaian would never be lenient with me. Today's festival was a test of my position.
Everyone had watched me—the daughter of an enemy family forced upon their lord by royal decree. One wrong move, one poor impression, and my standing in Rowen territory would suffer indefinitely.
I lowered my head, ignoring the burning intensity of his gaze.
"I have to be there for the lighting ceremony. The cake. The evening drink."
"Ha."
The disapproving sound he made caused my lips to dry.
"I tried not to look," I admitted quietly, "but I couldn't stop myself."
His response was unexpected.
The subtle, gentle tone vanished. His kiss became intense—violent, almost. His large hands gripped the back of my head, pulling me close, nuzzling against my teeth as if he wouldn't even allow space for breath between us.
I didn't know what to do.
Kaian had never taken me like this before. He'd been a gentleman. Our time together had always followed a certain order, even during my illness. He'd never pushed, never forced—he'd always waited for my response.
But something was different today.
His hands, which had spent months carefully introducing me to the secret joys only a woman could experience, now moved with clear intent. They groped, demanded, leaving no doubt: if I didn't give willingly, he would take.
I tried to twist away from him, but the fleeting touch against my bare skin only made me feel like kindling set alight.
"Kaian," I gasped.
The grip on my body loosened slightly. His hand found the strap holding my corset, and he tore it away.
"No! If my dress is damaged, I can't return to the festival!"
I spun back and clung to him. "I have to wear it again—"
"Ahh!"
I trembled, my chin tilted back, hands gripping the fabric of his uniform as his mouth found the place he'd been staring at. My soft moans mixed with the sound of him kissing the curve of my neck where my ruby necklace had been.
After he'd satisfied himself for a moment, he lifted my chin to meet his eyes.
"Do you still think you can return to that festival?"
"How can you say something so irresponsible while giving me such feelings, my Lord?"
He didn't even flinch at my protest.
"So who makes you so beautiful? Who makes this last so long?"
"I beg your pardon?"
"I have no moderation when it comes to you."
"That's absurd."
But even as I protested, I felt something warm bloom inside me. He'd called me beautiful. Out loud. The words I was always starved for.
It was the first time.
"You really think I'm pretty?" I asked softly.
"Yes."
"Truly?"
"You are beautiful." He rested his forehead against my exposed shoulder, his body radiating heat. "Claudel. You corrupt me."
My eyes widened at those words.
"You always test me," he continued, his voice intense. "Always."
I didn't understand. I said nothing.
Kaian spoke with forced control as he slowly drew back. "It doesn't matter. Because you are my wife."
In that moment, I desperately wanted to understand what he meant. Corruption? Temptation? Was he worried about me? Thinking about me in ways I'd never imagined?
I'd believed I was alone in my feelings for him.
Was he also drawn to me?
"Tell me." His eyes blazed. "Say you want me. Now—I will be completely yours."
My heart raced.
"Hurry," he urged again.
Finally, immersed in pure emotion, I opened my mouth.
"I want you, Kaian. I want you."
The words that escaped unleashed something uncontrollable within both of us.
He pressed me against the wall and kissed me again—deeper, more demanding. His hands unbuttoned my skirt, then tore away what remained. As the fabric fell, my dress pooled around us on the floor.
He lifted me, carried me to the bed, laid me down with surprising gentleness.
When I reached for him, wanting to feel his body against mine, he simply held me instead. I swayed to the rhythm of his heartbeat, content in his embrace.
"I thought of this the moment I saw you today," he whispered.
Sweat traced down his neck, disappearing into his collar. His uniform remained pristine, barely wrinkled, while I was completely undone beneath him.
"Where can I take you? Where can we be alone?" His voice was rough with need.
"Kaian..."
I was lost to him. Several times I tried to reach for his clothes, embarrassed that only I was vulnerable, but eventually I surrendered to a pleasure that was both familiar and utterly foreign. My whole body was sensitive, tense, as though being touched by a stranger rather than my own husband.
"How can I hold back?" His voice was strained. "It's not even night yet."
My chin trembled. Kaian had always acted as though he could do as he pleased with me. Sometimes I'd sensed him holding something back, wondered what he was restraining. But experiencing his unhesitating desire terrified me even as it thrilled me.
Sensing my fear, he caught my breath with a gentle kiss—familiar, reassuring. The kiss of the Kaian I knew. I clung to him with both arms, grateful for this gentleness.
"Can't you take your clothes off?" I asked hesitantly.
"Why?"
"Because... because when you wear comfortable clothes in my bedroom, you're my husband. But like this—" I gestured to his formal uniform. "You seem unfamiliar. And if I say no, you'll be angry."
I remembered how furious he'd been when I'd called him "Duke" once out of courtesy in front of Irena.
Without response, Kaian finally began undoing the buttons of his outer coat. Gold buttons clicked open. The white shirt beneath clung to his body, damp with sweat. When he removed it, he immediately pulled me close, his lips finding the scar on my ankle where the crocodile had bitten me months ago.
His eyes focused on me as he traced the fading pink mark—the shape of fallen petals.
"Since you asked me to undress, grant me one wish," he murmured against my skin.
"What wish?"
"Three times," he whispered, pulling me back into his arms before I could respond. "Not once. Three times..."
His words, muffled against my cheek, sent a shiver through me.
How would I endure what came after?
---