He pressed his lips beneath her earlobe and gently sucked at the fluttering skin there. Her slender shoulders flinched and drew inward.
Slowly rubbing the tightly tensed muscles beneath his palm, he pressed his chest against the smooth line of her back. The sensation of bare skin against bare skin was unbearably stimulating.
“D-Don't...”
She murmured in a frail voice.
Letting the protest pass through one ear and out the other, he lightly nipped at her delicate shoulder before sliding his hand down beneath her waist.
She was soaked.
As he softly caressed the slick skin, slippery with the mingled fluids of both their bodies, the woman, who had been stiff as a board, began twisting helplessly.
He instinctively caught her wrist.
“What's wrong?”
“I told you to stop! I have no intention of doing that twice in one night!”
She cried out, her face drawn tight with apprehension.
Looking down at her through narrowed eyes, Varkas let out a quiet sigh before pulling the blanket over her.
“If Your Highness does not wish it, then I won't do anything else. Even so, please sleep in my bed.”
He wrapped her in the soft fabric and drew her back into his embrace.
Confusion and unease flickered across her small face.
Like a snail retreating into the safety of its shell, she hid beneath the blanket with only her face exposed, staring back at him with wary eyes.
“Why should I? By now everyone in this castle knows we've consummated our marriage. There's no reason for us to force ourselves to share a room if it's uncomfortable.”
He felt the languid warmth wrapped around his body vanish in an instant and fixed his gaze on her.
Had she not looked so painfully anxious, sharp words might already have escaped his lips.
Drawing a long breath, Varkas slowly stroked the curve of her rounded back.
“There's no reason not to share a room. It's perfectly natural for a married couple who have spent the night together to sleep in the same bed.”
“B-But we're...”
She trailed off, flustered.
Brushing the damp strands of hair from her face, he pressed his lips against her cooling cheek.
Perhaps his breath tickled her skin, because the slender nape of her neck—so thin it seemed he could encircle it with one hand—trembled softly.
Feeling his impatience steadily growing, he slowly stroked her lower abdomen over the thin blanket.
“We're no different.”
The moment he whispered beside her ear, he felt a faint shiver ripple through her body.
The face resting against the bridge of his nose gradually grew warmer.
Had it been bright enough, he would have seen a rosy flush spreading across her translucent skin like milky glass.
Feeling the desire he had only just satisfied rising once more, he gently caught her soft earlobe between his teeth.
She gasped sharply.
Her whole body quivered.
Since she didn't seem to dislike it, he slowly rubbed the flowerbud-like ear with his thumb before lightly brushing the tip of his tongue against the tiny opening.
She jolted violently and threw her head back.
“You said you wouldn't do anything else!”
“Am I not even allowed to touch you?”
Holding her small body snugly against his chest, he whispered against her forehead.
Her wide eyes trembled violently.
Realizing she was wavering, Varkas idly stroked her narrow waist through the blanket before lightly rubbing the shallow hollow around her navel.
She curled into herself even more tightly.
This time, however, it wasn't because of fear or tension.
It was because she was aroused.
The possibility that she might accept him one more time sent heat spreading through his stomach.
“Can I take the blanket off?”
“N-No.”
“Really not?”
Even in the darkness, he could clearly see her eyes darting about as she hesitated.
The corners of his lips lifted.
Slowly, he slipped a hand beneath the blanket and carefully parted her knees.