Chapter 10: Chapter “Did it hurt?” It had burned a little, but she shook her head. He gave a sigh of relief and kissed her temple, the intimate gesture making her heart swell. She had not expected to feel this way. She had anticipated pain and emptiness, the bitter feeling of violation – but none of that had come to pass. “Am I crushing you? One moment.” Riftan lifted himself and withdrew slowly. She felt something viscous leaking inside, making her recoil and draw her legs together. Riftan stopped her firmly. “R-Riftan...!” “Stay still. You must be tired. Let me clean you.” Riftan pulled the basin toward him and wrung out a wet towel before bringing it between her legs. She felt the cold towel gently wipe the junction of her thighs. “Are you sure it doesn’t hurt?” “It d-doesn’t.” Pain was the least of her problems – she had turned beet red. But Riftan seemed not to notice and simply continued to clean her groin with care before moving on to his own. She avoided his eyes and snatched up the blanket to cover herself, eliciting an amused snort from him. “You’ll get used to it soon enough.” With that, Riftan threw himself down next to her. Maxi squeezed her legs together in alarm. Unperturbed, Riftan moved to the center of the spacious bed and pulled her to his side with practiced grace. Pressed so close to his slick body, she squirmed. “R-Riftan...” “If you keep squirming like that, I’ll assume you haven’t had enough.” It was not an empty threat – she could feel him swell against her lower belly. She froze. Riftan nonchalantly slid an arm under her head to draw her closer, then pulled the blanket over their bodies. He slipped his fingers through her hair and closed his eyes. Maxi realized that he intended to sleep next to her. “R-Riftan...” “What’s the matter?” Riftan acted as if sleeping together in the nude was the natural order of things. Not knowing where to look, Maxi swallowed what she had wanted to say and only managed to whisper hesitantly, “G-Good night.” He must have fallen asleep, for he gave no reply. Watching the fluttering pulse on his thick neck, Maxi drifted into sleep. *** Maxi awoke to something pressing down on her bosom. Feeling suffocated, she blinked her eyes open in confusion to a tanned, muscular arm blocking her vision. She raised her head slightly to see Riftan fast asleep with his head buried in her hair. Memories of the previous night came rushing back. She blushed. Under the blanket, they were in a naked embrace, his long and sturdy legs entwined with hers. His arms were hugging her tight as if she were a pillow. Maxi had never known an embrace so passionate. Not even her own mother had held her. As her eyes roamed uneasily, it occurred to her that she should find something to wear before he woke up. If he woke up and found her like this... Burying her face in her hands, she recalled how she had writhed in his arms. How could she face him? She would rather throw herself out of the window! A proper lady would never have acted as she had. Even her nursemaid had preached to her that a wife’s marital duty was to stay as still as a corpse when submitting to her husband’s will. She felt the heat of shame spreading across her cheeks. Far from being corpse-like, she had writhed and moaned. Would he not think her a wanton woman? Anxiety washed over her. She could not let him see her like this. After cautiously freeing herself from his arms, she searched under the bed. Dressing like a proper lady might not be possible, but she at least had to cover her nakedness. She discovered a tangle of clothes pooled on the floor in the corner of the room. She desperately tried to grab them, but they were just out of reach. Not daring to wander about the room naked, she leaned over the edge of the bed with her arm outstretched. But instead of moving forward, she was yanked back. “What are you doing?” Maxi turned to him, surprised. She had thought he was asleep, but he was observing her through half-open eyes. When she tried to break free, his arm wrapped around her waist and nimbly rolled her toward him, pinning her under him. “R-Riftan... It’s m-m-morning...” “Yes, it’s morning. I was dying for you to open your eyes.” He pressed his lips to her eyelids as he spoke, causing her to jerk at the ticklish sensation. A mischievous smile spread across his face as he showered light kisses on her face and ears before moving to her neck, tickling her with the flutter of a butterfly’s wings. Flustered, she pushed his face away. “P-Please d-don’t... Let m-me p-put on some...” “Do you know how much I had to restrain myself the entire night?” He brought her hand to his lips and inserted her finger into his mouth. As his tongue savored her finger, she blushed to the tips of her ears. She had never known that her hands could be so sensitive. “If you knew how I felt every time you blush,” Riftan muttered to himself as he nibbled on the ends of her fingers, “You would never blush again.” Unable to bear the embarrassment, she hid her hands under the blanket. Riftan’s brows twitched, then he snatched the blanket away. Maxi screamed before curling up into a ball. “Why are you trying to hide?” “Th-The s-sun has risen! It’s so b-bright...” “All the more reason to let me see. I want to admire you in the light of day.” He pulled at her bent legs. She was embarrassed to the point of tears. It was hard to believe that she was entangled with a man in bed in broad daylight when just yesterday, she had been cowering in fear in her father’s castle. His hand roamed over her shoulders and breasts before roving down to her waist and settling between her thighs. His fingers slid easily into her, where she was still wet from the previous night. “Maxi... How was last night? It wasn’t so bad, was it?” “R-Riftan...” “You felt good, didn’t you?” She would die of embarrassment before she answered him. His fingers began to move dexterously in that most intimate of places. “For me, it was heaven. Do you know how hard it was for me to leave you three years ago? I wanted to throw the Dragon Campaign to the dogs and be with you. It was agony for me to rise from your bed, though I know you must have wanted me to disappear...” Maxi’s eyes went round with surprise, the shame of her nudity forgotten. A crooked smile appeared on his lips, and he grazed the tender spot under her collarbone with his teeth. “I still feel the same way. When I’m with you... I can’t hold back.” His teeth nipped her lightly, his fingers pushing in deeper. She reflexively tightened her legs around his arms, drawing out a satisfied moan from him. “It is your bad luck, being the wife of a man like me.” Maxi was convinced that she was the inadequate half in their marriage. As her father had said, the marriage was a blessing beyond what she deserved. Why, then, did Riftan think she was unfortunate? But her thoughts soon grew hazy, eclipsed by the heat kindling within her. Maxi panted, squeezing the fingers that had begun to move vigorously inside her. As his feverish gaze surveyed her body from head to foot, she could not avert her eyes. His fingers withdrew and were immediately replaced by the deep thrust of his length. “Ah...!” ... He let out a savage growl, biting her earlobe. “You’ll be the death of me, damn it.” She clutched tightly onto his iron-hard shoulders, feeling like a prey animal that had been captured by a hound. His grip dug into her thighs, spreading her to the brink of pain. Then he started to move steadily. The pillow soaked up her moans as he moved with the smooth, gentle cadence of a slow-flowing stream before abandoning his restraint to move wildly over her. At length, he climaxed and slumped onto her in a heap. She gasped for air, feeling his hot breath on her forehead. “I could do this for days.” “You’re h-heavy...” He seemed fully capable of pinning her to the bed for days with his powerful mass. Seeing her stricken face, he playfully bit her ears. “You taste so good here too.” After nibbling on her reddened earlobe, he dug his tongue into her ear. She shuddered at the touch of his wet tongue. “R-Riftan...!” “I love this. Had it not been for that accursed lizard, I could have bedded you every day and every night. We could have had children of our own by now!” “N-No more, stop... Ah!” ... Ignoring her protests, Riftan continued to brush his sweat-slicked body against hers while teasing her ear. Drained from the endless marital duties, Maxi was shocked to find Riftan again placing himself between her legs. Maxi almost burst into tears. She was considering whether she should try to faint when he suddenly stopped at the sound of someone banging loudly on the door.