“You’re not nervous, are you, Sam Sook?” Yeo Wool asked as he chafed his beloved’s hand while he gazed down at her. They were standing in her mother’s sitting room.
“To be marrying you?” she whispered. “Of course, I’m nervous!”
His brow crumpled in concern. “But I already told you. You have nothing to be nervous about. Just consider me your…bunkmate.”
“My bunkmate?” she asked in an amused tone. “Do you kiss all your bunkmates?”
“Absolutely not! Only the prettiest one,” he grinned.
And she giggled. “Yeo Wool…” There was a note of tender rebuke in her voice.
He reached out and drew her close to him as he bent his head to whisper into her ear. “Think of your daughters then, my love. And how excited they are to call me Appa.”
“Believe me, I’ve been able to think of little else since we told them! Neither of them will stop talking about you!”
“Excellent,” he grinned. “I have them well-trained already.”
This time a chuckle escaped her lips.
“But…truly…I am excited,” he admitted. “Tomorrow you will become my wife, Sam Sook. I can hardly wait. I’m going to be counting the hours until I can hold you in my arms all night long.”
Her heart melted as she stared up at him. The man had truly made off with her heart. How had he done that exactly?
He’d disposed of all her qualms and convinced her to sign her life – and her daughters – over to him. It was making her a tad nervous. Even though she was fairly certain that this was the right decision. The best path ahead of her.
He ran the tip of his nose across her cheek before finding her lips with his own. He kissed her sweetly for several long moments. Finally, she drew away from him.
“Yeo Wool, if you want a beautiful bride tomorrow, you’re going to have to let me go. So I can sleep.”
He chuckled. “Will you be able to?” He glanced around. “Perhaps I should stay tonight. Just to keep you company.”
She shoved lightly – playfully – against his chest. “You must go. A lady needs her beauty sleep. Besides,” she frowned, “this is my last night to snuggle in bed with my little darlings.”
He could hear the sorrow in her tone.
Two deep ravines popped up between his eyebrows. “Who says so?” he challenged her.
“What?” she glanced up at him in surprise.
“You think that because you’re marrying me, you can never snuggle your daughters in bed again?”
She shrugged. “My husband,” she gave him a tremulous smile, “is going to want me to snuggle him.”
“Yes, he is,” he unleashed his gorgeous grin on her. Then he argued, “Who says you can’t do both? Have you seen how big my bed is? I’ll lie on one side, and you can install the girls on the other side of you.”
“And we’ll all sleep crammed together?” she scoffed.
His shoulders bounced lightly up. “Why not?”
Her expression melted. “All right,” she murmured instantly. “A few more kisses for you, sweet man.”
Yeo Wool delighted in those tiny gifts before he slipped out into the cold night air. Leaving her alone at night for the last time. At least, until he was called away by the king.
He couldn’t wait until tomorrow afternoon.
Sam Sook was going to become his bride!
