“At long last, my love, I have you to myself,” Yeo Wool murmured softly as he turned towards Sam Sook after lighting the lamp on the side of their bed.
The expression in his eyes made her stomach dip. And she briefly reconsidered their sleeping arrangements tonight. But she had promised him that she would join him in that big bed of his. And it was big. She stood for a moment looking down at it. Then she swallowed. And her eyes grazed his again.
“Are you nervous?” he whispered. Instantly picking up on her discomfort.
“I…no. Yes. I don’t know.” She heaved an exasperated sigh. “I feel so foolish!”
“When was the last time that you slept in a bed with a man?” he queried quietly.
Her eyebrows flew up. “Goodness! What a question?”
“Did I offend you?” he asked, surprised.
“No! No. I just…can’t remember,” she admitted reluctantly. “Se Ho was sick for so long…it must have been…five years ago?” Then she frowned. “I did lie down with him from time to time after he got sick. But we never even kissed. There was nothing intimidating about it at all.”
“Intimidating?” Yeo Wool gasped. “Am I intimidating?” He stood frozen. Staring at her.
And Sam Sook lifted her gaze to meet his again. She shook her head. “I do not think, Yeo Wool, that you could be intimidating even if you tried.”
She crossed the room towards him. Her heart thumping in her chest. She was nervous. But it wasn’t because of Yeo Wool. Or, at least, not due to fear of what he would do. She was afraid of her own responses. That she might rush into something for which she wasn’t ready. But…wasn’t that silly?
She had been raped once. That was true. But before that, she had enjoyed a healthy sex life with her husband. Even if it hadn’t been full of explosions and passion.
But when Yeo Wool kissed her, she felt the heat of his ardor. And the fervency of her own. And it puzzled her. For she had never responded to Se Ho that way. Of course, she’d been pitifully young when she’d first married him. And, though he had been kind to her, he had lacked any sort of heat. His attention towards her could more accurately be described as affection. Never fervor. No craving for her. Just a gentle regard.
His response had been just what she needed. By that time, she’d become afraid of men. And any passionate response would have terrified her. But Se Ho’s tenderness had comforted her. He had slowly and patiently led her along to deeper levels of intimacy. But she had never felt for him what she now felt for Yeo Wool.
And the intensity of her feelings now startled her.
“I’m glad to hear it. I will certainly not try,” Yeo Wool asserted strongly.
Sam Sook smiled at him then.
“What’s troubling you, my love?” he queried as he studied her odd expression.
She crumpled her brow. “I’m just…not sure what to do with them.”
“With whom?” he quizzed her.
“With all the feelings you stir up in me.”
He quirked two very dark eyebrows at her in surprise. “And just what feelings do I stir up in you?”
She glanced at his bed. And he got the drift. And worked very hard to bite back a satisfied grin.
“You stir the same feelings in me,” he admitted. Then wondered at the wisdom of that honesty.
“I do?” she gasped.
He nodded. “But you don’t need to fear. I am completely capable of controlling myself.”
“And if I decide that I don’t want you to?” she murmured provocatively.
Those elegant eyebrows slapped his hairline again. “I am completely capable of losing control too,” he uttered earnestly.
And she giggled. Which completely delighted him.
“But…I think that I shouldn’t get my hopes up tonight. Hmm?” he asked.
She lifted her chin before dropping it. Once. “I think that is wise.”
The trouble was that she’d found herself thinking of him nearly every moment of every day since he’d proposed to her. Yeo Wool was completely unexpected. After Se Ho had stopped touching her, she’d missed the comfort of his arms. But she hadn’t really missed the physical intimacy of their moments together. She had never truly enjoyed sex.
But when Yeo Wool kissed her, and sometimes when his fingers slid along her skin – in the most innocuous of ways: his reaching for her hand or stretching his own out to touch her arm – these odd sensations rippled through her. And disturbed something deep in her belly. Making her crave him. In the strangest – and most delightful – of ways. Those feelings seemed to promise some unknown fulfillment. An elusive delight. Something she had yet to experience. Something that she wasn’t even sure existed for a woman.
He smiled at her suddenly. And held out his hand towards her. “Shall we go to bed, wife?”
She chuckled then.
Wife. She hadn’t been called that for a long while.
She nodded and reached out to place her fingers in his. His own curled around hers, and he tugged her gently towards his bed.
“Shall I undress you? Or would you like to do that for yourself?” he asked. Then wondered if he was moving too fast.
She swallowed. “You want to remove my robes?”
He nodded. And a sober expression flooded his face. “If you want me to.”
Slowly, her adorable chin bobbed again.
So he drew her towards him before releasing her hand. Then he reached up to grasp the collar of her outer robe. He drew it gently back, away from her chest. As he pulled it down her arms, Sam Sook watched his sweet countenance. And she realized something shocking.
Yeo Wool was nervous. He was afraid of hurting her.
Her heart instantly melted. He seemed to have an astounding ability to turn her insides to putty.
He pulled the robe away from her before turning to toss it over a chair. Then he pivoted towards her again. And repeated the process with her second robe. After removing its sash. He was careful not to graze her torso in any way. After he’d thrown the second robe onto the chair, he returned his attention to her face and smiled down at her.
Her eyes flitted from his gaze towards his chest. “Would you like me to help you remove your robes too?” she finally asked in a bold whisper.
Boy, would I!
He wanted to answer in an exclamatory affirmative. But he didn’t wish to startle her. So he simply nodded and replied, “Yes, please.”
Surprising a giggle out of her again.
What was wrong with her? Was being nervous turning her into an adolescent girl again? One who couldn’t control her humor or her voice?
The tremors were back. The delicious ones that slid through her when he kissed her. And his lips weren’t even touching hers now. So why was the simple contemplation of removing his robes affecting her so strongly? Or was it merely the memory of him removing hers a few moments before that was causing her to quake?
Whatever it was, her hand was trembling as she reached up to touch the collar of his robe. But she found herself resting her palm over his heart instead as her gaze found his. And Yeo Wool was fighting against his own ripples. He didn’t fight very hard. Instead, he reached out and slid his arm around her waist. And drew her slowly towards him. She cooperated. She even lifted her face to his.
So he bent his head and brushed his lips across hers. And they both drowned in some very lovely sensations for quite a few moments as her arms found their way around his neck. And his robes stayed put for the time being.
But a little while later, her hands slid down to grasp the collar of his top robe. Then she drew it back off his shoulders. She leaned against him as she pulled it all the way off his arms. And Yeo Wool reveled in her closeness. His arms were still loosely holding her until he, quite reluctantly, let go to lose his robe. Her fingers fumbled with the sash of his under robe as he tossed the first one onto the pile that was forming on the chair. Finally, she tugged its knot open and threw the belt onto the stack of robes before removing his second robe. Once this long process was completed, they stood staring at one another for a moment.
Then he reached for her hand again and drew her towards their bed. He sat down on the edge of it. And tugged her close. She was still standing when she came to a stop before him. He reached out and slipped his arms around her after dropping her hand. He pulled her close and rested his cheek against her chest.
“Thank you, Sam Sook, for marrying me today. You have given me the very best gift of my whole life.”
She stared down in amazement at him as he glanced up at her a moment later. For there were tears shining in his beautiful eyes. And she knew that he meant every word.
She felt an answering moisture in her own eyes. But she was still surprised when she blinked a moment later, and twin tears dropped to fall onto his cheek.
“Oh!” she gasped. And her hand flew up to cradle his jaw as her thumb brushed her own tears off his skin.
And the expression of tenderness glowing from his countenance only increased infinitely.
“Come lie down with me, Sam Sook,” he whispered sweetly.
She glanced at the bed behind him. Then he released her and scooted across the bed so that she could crawl in behind him. She lay down next to him as her heart tripped along. But nervous as she was, she was reveling in being here. With Yeo Wool. In his room. And now in his bed.
She rested her cheek against her pillow and faced him. He smiled at her again. Setting her fears to rest. Which was a good thing, for he reached for her then. Slipping his arm around her waist and drawing them closely together. Then his mouth sought out hers. And Yeo Wool kissed her tenderly for several sweet moments.
But he’d already decided that he wasn’t going to trespass against her skin tonight. Her lips would get all of his love on their wedding night. Except for that which leaked from his arms as they cradled her against him a few minutes later. As Sam Sook fell asleep in his embrace. And this became the first night that she hadn’t spent alone – without a man, that is; two little munchkins didn’t count in this equation – in a very long time.
And Yeo Wool reflected upon the miracle that had returned his heroine to him. And brought her within the circle of his heart – and his arms – tonight. On the very day that she had pledged the remainder of her life to him. What had he ever done to deserve such an amazing miracle?
This beautiful bride.
That tiny, fatherless boy had grown up, and now – finally – he was no longer alone. That glowing girl of his youth was snuggled up against him. Feeding him hope for the future. And enabling him to give her two little girls the gift with which no one had ever been able to provide him.
An appa.
