CH 21.2

“I was about to leave you once I got you to lie down but I needed to tend to the flames.”

Oh, that’s why he was seated at the foot of her bed in front of the fireplace.

He wanted to set the fire for her sake so that she wouldn’t suffer from chills the whole night.

After staring at the flames licking the firewood, Cherryl turned her eyes to Cade. “Thank you—!”

She suddenly coughed.

Cade poured water from the pitcher towards the glass on the table and handed it to her.

When Cherryl accepted it calmly and drank the cold water, he showed signs of displeasure.

“Refrain from drinking if possible, My Lady. I don’t care about what you think of me in front of everyone.”

Drinking it quenched her thirst, making her feel much better.

Cherryl looked up at him as she rubbed her wet lips with the back of her hand.

“Is something bothering you, Your Grace?”

“Aren’t you supposed to tell me everything instead of addressing them in public?”

Cade shot back sourly as he tugged his cravat down his neck, letting it hang there.

Suddenly, he threw his head back and laughed.

“Why are you laughing?”

“You look like a mess.”

With his reproachful tone, Cherryl finally realized that she was, in fact, a mess.

Her pale legs were exposed under the tangled hem of her long skirts.

Her sensuous decolletage, which her fallen cape should have covered, boldly revealed the ivory skin around her chest.

Disheveled skirts, a hazy mind, and a man seated at the corner of her bed in the dark were already a dangerous combination.

Her heart fluttered at the erotic atmosphere which perfectly reminded her of a wedding’s first night.

“Can you bring me a blanket, Your Grace?” Cherryl asked, stroking her arms.

It would be awkward to cover herself with the bed sheet or a pillow.

Cade rose to his feet and grabbed the same blanket he had wrapped around Cherryl on the day she arrived at Carlsvik.

As he approached her closer and sat on the bed, his subtle masculine scent lingered in the air.

It was potent, refreshing, and unique.

“This would take a lot of work.”

Grinning, Cade covered her body with the blanket.

His amusement was so contagious that Cherryl couldn’t help but grin as well.

Cade’s hypnotizing gaze captured her for a moment and she couldn’t bring herself to look away.

His beautiful golden eyes were imbued with lust as his chest rose and fell a little faster underneath his tight shirt.

When Cherryl blinked, she felt something cool in her left hand.

Cade matched their fingertips until he had their hands slowly clasped together.

As she locked her small hands with his, Cade recalled his past urge to hold her hands like this and keep their pulses engaged.

Now, his wish was granted.

He lowered his gaze for a moment before allowing his eyes to close.

Cade’s thick eyelashes made him appear quite delicate.

However, his entire countenance was that of a brutal chief who commanded wild-lings and savages.

While observing Cade as if she was possessed, Cherryl felt a gentle tug from the hands she had been holding.

“Your Grace.” Cherryl breathed an uneven breath.

“Name, Cherryl.”

“……?”

“Call me by my name just like before.”

When did she call him by his name?

She tried to look back on the night’s events but she couldn’t.

Maybe, she was too drunk to remember.

Cherryl pushed her thoughts aside and responded to his demand.

“Cade.”

Uttering the man’s first name felt like a fluffy feather had tickled a corner of her heart.

However, she had no time to be puzzled by the strange sensation when Cade moved closer to kiss her on the cheek.

The quick friction of his soft lips against her skin turned her on but it also made her anxious.

Wait a minute.

This time, Cade’s handsome face was suddenly a hairbreadth away before he kissed her on the lips.

He licked her lower lip as if encouraging her to relax and then his hot, moist tongue gently pushed past her open mouth.

As Cherryl trembled in his deep kisses, one of his arms circled around her back.

A powerful shadow cast over her.

It was the kind of force that a woman’s strength couldn’t simply stop.

Nevertheless, the kiss was gentle and affectionate.

Cherryl wrapped her arms around Cade’s neck, loving the delicious friction she felt in their tight embrace.

She didn’t mind the blanket that he had wrapped around her if it had fallen down the bed.

Her heart became more desperate when she heard the moans she was making and the slow, wet sounds of their mixed salivas as they kissed.

The moment Cade felt tempted to push things further, he resisted the wild urge and slowly withdrew his lips from her.

Tantalized by the situation, Cherryl could only watch his protruding Adam’s apple as it moved up and down.

Cherryl was nervous at the fact that Cade could have easily lifted her skirts or groped the breasts spilling on her corset.

Exhaling a sweet breath, Cade opened his mouth to speak in a subdued voice.

“Are you afraid?”

She couldn’t quite understand what he meant when he didn’t mention any subject.

Was he asking her if she was afraid of him or was he talking about the cold, stark North?

Perhaps, was he referring to this moment?

Did he mean to ask if she was afraid to do it with him right now?

“A little bit,” Cherryl replied and added something vague. “I wasn’t this afraid as I imagined it to be.”

Her slender and delicate fingers trembled a little.

Cade chuckled as he clasped her hands to soothe her.”Are you still talking about the North? And here I assumed that response was about sleeping with a man before the wedding.”

So, she had guessed right that Cade meant the latter.

A smile had spread across Cherryl’s red lips.

“I’ve gotten quite used to the coldness in the North. Or, maybe I’m just not sober enough.”

Perhaps, Cade meant the cold.

The dark longing in his gaze caused his pupils to shake.

“Are you still drunk?”

“Hmm. I feel dizzy, and my hands are trembling a bit.”

Cade sighed as he searched her face with an unknown emotion.