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He drew a deep breath.  But something was still troubling him.  So he didn’t tell her the story that she was seeking.  Instead, he asked her a question.

“Mi Sook.  Why did your father beat you before our wedding?”

She closed her eyes.  “Because one of the servants overheard part of my conversation with you.  And apparently reported it to him,” she admitted.  Grudgingly.

He furrowed his brow.  “Which conversation?”

“The part where I accused you of murdering your brother in cold blood.”

“Oh.”  He frowned.  “But why would he beat you over that?”

“Because he promised to beat me if I even mentioned my suspicions to you.  And I did hurl that accusation pretty loudly at your head,” she winced. 

She still felt chagrinned that she had ever believed Dan Se capable of such dastardly motives.

“Indeed.  You did.  I suppose he was afraid I wouldn’t marry you after you said such a thing,” he murmured.  He suddenly grinned.  “But he was wrong.”

She opened her eyes.  And emitted a harsh giggle.  Then she looked as surprised as he did at her laughter.

“Why did you marry me?  I mean, after I said something so atrocious.”

Ah, here they were.  Back to the story.

“Hmm.  Perhaps I shall save that answer for another time.”  Or simply answer it another way.  “You were wanting me to tell you a story, were you not?”

His fingers stroked her healthy cheek softly again.  The tenderness of his touch was undoing her.  And making her stomach flip upside down.  And causing her heart to yearn for more of him. 

She met his gaze again and nodded.  She really wanted to see herself through his eyes.  Quite curious about his forthcoming characterization of her – a woman whom he had been willing to marry and protect despite everything that had passed between them – she gazed steadily at him.  Waiting patiently for his story to begin.

She was unsettling him with that intense gaze.  He glanced away from her.  Even as his fingers continued to caress her soft skin.  He wished he could caress it all….  He glanced down at her body.  Hidden beneath those voluminous robes.

“Don’t you wish to take your robes off?” he asked suddenly.

“Hmm?”  A deep rose began to flood her face.

“Won’t you feel more comfortable without all those layers on?”

“Mm.”  She nodded.  It was true.  She wouldn’t have the weight of her robes pulling against her skin. 

But then she moved to stand up.  And moaned in pain.  Everything from her shoulders down hurt.  Except for the soles of her feet.  They had escaped punishment.

“Here,” he whispered.  “Let me help you.”

He reached out and began to peel her outer robe back towards her shoulders.  She climbed up on her hands and knees, and together they worked to free her from her bonds.  A few moments of simple struggle, and she sighed in relief as the second layer landed on the chair.  He smiled down at her, clad only in her undershirt and pantaloons now.  She was still quite covered, but Dan Se was enjoying the intimacy of the moment anyway. 

He stood up and removed his second robe too.  And then his shirt followed it, making the pile of their clothes grow higher.

She gasped inwardly as she stared at his bare torso.  She blinked rapidly several times as he lay down next to her again.  Her heart began to accelerate as all that naked skin drew closer to her.  Her eyes seemed riveted to his gorgeous muscles.  Finally, she closed her eyes in an effort to calm her excited nerves.

The man was glorious.  She wanted to reach out and touch him.  To slide her fingers down the smooth expanse of his abdomen.  To feel those muscles rippling beneath her fingertips.

He watched her with some amusement.  Her cheeks were flushing a becoming pink.  He wondered why.  Perhaps…because he was half-undressed?

“Mi Sook?” he whispered teasingly.  “Are you hiding from me?”

That got her goat. 

Her eyes popped open, and she glared at him.  “What a preposterous notion!” she ejaculated.  “Why on earth would I find it necessary to hide from you?”

She kept her eyes firmly fixed on his face.  Though the bare expanse down below kept tempting them to stray.

He was smiling at her as though he was hiding some special secret.  He reached out suddenly and touched her fingers.  She glanced down at his hand as it eclipsed hers.  A moment later, he had curled his fingers around hers, and he was tugging her hand towards him.  He pulled on it until her fingers brushed up against his chest.  And she discovered that his skin was every bit as soft as she had anticipated.  Fascinated by the silken feel of his skin beneath her fingertips, she glanced down at his bare torso again.

“I can’t touch you,” he breathed, “but that doesn’t mean that you can’t touch me.”

She swallowed as she kept her eyes hidden from his gaze.  For a few precious moments, she reveled in the feel of his soft skin before reluctantly pulling her hand away.

“Come now,” he urged her gently.

Her eyes collided with his.

“Keep your hand there, won’t you?  It’s warm.”  His lips flipped up in a lazy grin.  “It was warming me.”

I bet it was warming you.

She could feel her cheeks flaming.  She inwardly rebuked them, adjuring them to calm down.  And her heart with them.

Dan Se was, after all, just a man.  Wasn’t he?

But as her eyes delved his chocolate ones, she had to admit that he was more than that to her.  She was beginning to believe that maybe he was her hero too.  No one had ever protected her from her father.  Until today.  She felt a single bloom of love blossoming in her heart for him.  That was all she would acknowledge.  She ignored all the seeds swimming in the soil around that bloom.  They were ready to burst into brilliant color too. 

The man was magnificent.  Braving her scary appa for her. 

She felt a tear invading her eye.  So she closed them both.  And sighed.

And he felt that sigh all the way down to the depths of his soul.  “See?” he murmured jokingly.  “You want to touch me again.  Don’t you?”

Her eyes flew open.  “Of course not!” she exclaimed.  “Don’t be ridiculous.  It’s just that my hand is…”  She searched for an excuse.  Then she landed upon one.  “Cold!”

He chuckled, and his fingers grasped hers again.  “Excellent.  Because my midsection just happens to be cold too.”  Then he firmly planted her palm against his belly.  And held her hand there.  She glanced down in startled embarrassment then tugged on her hand.

“Ah-ah-ah,” he intoned.  “If you lie perfectly still – and keep your hand here – I shall tell you the story you’re so eager to hear.”

Gently fuming, she met his gaze.  But the tenderness those brown eyes were emitting swallowed her whole, and she calmed down.  She nodded and felt herself relaxing.

He felt it too and smiled.  “So, where was I?”

“At the beginning.  Start at the beginning.”