CH 25.1

Cherryl pushed the palm of her hand on his chest.

“I’m not ready yet, Your Grace.”

“What do you need to prepare for?”

“My body, no, my mind is not ready yet.” She managed to come up with an answer as her shoulders shrunk from his lips, tickling her ears.

Honestly, she came close to wanting to sleep with the Grand Duke, but the desire was not enough to overcome her vague fear of inexperience.

That was why a part of her hesitated.

Cade, breathing hotly near Cherryl’s neck, slowly raised his upper body.

An unresolved thirst seemed to cross his sleek face.

Cherryl felt uncomfortable retreating after stimulating on impulse.

In the end, she couldn’t stand the awkward atmosphere, so she apologized.

“I’m sorry.”

“There’s nothing to be sorry about.”

“No, It’s my fault. I initiated it first.”

“That’s enough. Don’t put your head down for this.”

Cade reached over the skirts clustered near her waist to cover her bare legs.

While she was breathing hard, she had no idea that her messy dress had rolled up to her thighs.

Cade’s fingers brushed Cherryl’s light skin regretfully and soon fixed the hem of his clothes.

Then, he burst out laughing.

“I should apologize.”

“I kissed you first this time around. It’s not your fault.”

“If you know what I’m thinking right now, you probably won’t say that.”

He picked her up again and let her feet touch the floor.

Cherryl’s hair got messy when he held the back of her head during the kiss so he arranged it for her.

His touch seemed gentle and innocent compared to his countenance which failed to completely mask his desire.

After fixing her garments, Cade didn’t let go of her hand.

“Can I hug you?” He asked suddenly.

Cherryl suppressed her giggle with a pout.

A hug?

It wasn’t something that a man craving for a deeper intimacy a while ago would ask.

Cherryl circled her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly.

When she turned her head to the side due to height differences, Cade bent a little so that he could bury his face at the back of her neck.

As soon as she felt the sensual heat in the atmosphere barely subsided, she heard an animal whining outside the room.

Their eyes turned to the door at the same time.

Upon witnessing the creature scratching the door with his toenails while sniffing through the gap, Cherryl assumed it was the black wolf from earlier.

Did he want to join them in Cade’s office, too?

When Cade opened the door, a majestic wolf with a bunch of gray fur in his mouth entered proudly.

When she looked at it closely, Cherryl realized it wasn’t a bundle of fur but a small wolf.

“Oh, my!”

Two cute little cubs followed the large wolf.

“So cute~”

Smiling brightly, Cherryl knelt on the floor to caress the cub from his mouth.

Fortunately, the whining wolf that just entered the office with his wolf cubs broke the awkward atmosphere between her and Cade.

The large wolf pushed the rest of his babies towards her with his long snout as if showing them off.

“Did you come here just to brag about your cubs?” Cherryl asked jokingly and the wolf looked proud.

“Why don’t you name these wolves, Your Grace?” Cherryl suggested while patting the whining wolf.

Before she knew it, Cade was already pouring alcohol into his glass and smiled at her.

“Feel free to give them the names you want.”

“Hmm… What would be good?”

After thinking for a while, Cherryl came up with cute names.

The three wolf cubs were named ‘Ding’, ‘Dong’, and ‘Daeng’ while their father shall be called ‘Mo.’

It will be easier to call them if they have short names.

“Do you like the name ‘Mo’?” Cherryl asked, chuckling.

She glanced at Cade, but his face was devoid of any emotion.

He just stared down at her while leaning against the desk, drinking alcohol.

“Well.” Cherryl cleared her throat to hide her embarrassment.

Fortunately, Mo seemed to like the new name.

“Woof!”

He barked loudly and twirled in his place, wagging his black broom-like tail.

“What? Do you like your name?”

“Woof! Woof!”

Mo replied enthusiastically and proceeded to lick Cherryl’s hand.

Soon, he walked out of the office with his cubs.

“Then—-”

Cherryl blurted out as she rose until she noticed the pile of unread letters on his table.

“The letters still need to be sorted out.” Cade spoke casually, picking up a bundle of envelopes.

“I didn’t mean to share the work. You can go return to your residence now, My Lady.”

“I want to stay here, Your Grace. We agreed to check them out together.”

She didn’t mean to run away just because they kissed each other so passionately that they almost ended up in bed.

She was also curious about letters that the nobles had sent them.

After scanning Cherryl’s face to figure out her intentions, Cade spoke, “If you start getting tired, you can stop in the middle.”

He cleaned up the books on the table and created a space for her.

Cade sat on the sofa—-that could fit two people—-in front of the table and glanced at the seat next to him.

“Please sit down, My Lady.”

Cherryl sat next to him so she could begin writing letters of appreciation to the well-wishers.

She suddenly realized something else as she held the pen.

‘Wouldn’t it be better if they sat like this from the start?’

She was caught up in the man’s ruse.

The desire in Cade’s handsome face was wholly erased as he immersed himself in his task.

Why did he offer his thigh for her to sit on if the sofa had this much space in the first place?

Sarah shook her head in confusion.

Let’s just work.

The two checked their correspondence and shared their opinions until late at night.

She was too focused on their tasks that she didn’t even notice it was getting dark outside.

After lighting the candles too late, she continued to eat the refreshments the butler brought her.

How long had it been?