Warmth had begun to seep into Minjae's skin.

"You can't sleep, Physician Kim, not yet," he whispered.

She didn't reply, only swayed her head from side to side. She was bone-weary, exhausted, and too weak to respond.

The towel on her head loosened. Seung dragged his upper torso out, unwrapped the towel, and freed her hair from the plaids that secured it. The wet, silky strands spread like a fan above the bed. Minjae protested as the temperature around her changed during the movement.

"I am right here," his mouth curved up, and he felt a shaft of pleasure at being needed by her. He pushed himself back in, again drawing her close.

"I didn't know you have such beautiful hair," he said softly, knowing she could hear him. "Are you still feeling cold?"

Minjae signalled 'no' with her head.

It had started to feel like a furnace inside the covers, but now he wasn't the only one sweating. Beads of perspiration appeared on her lips and gleamed on her forehead.

Minjae tossed her head, trying to throw off the cover. "No, you don't," he snuggled her semi-awake form and clamped her thighs with a heavy leg until she calmed down.

He dragged her even closer. The soft mounds of her breast squished against his hard chest.

An arm went around his midriff.

He sighed, dropping a kiss on the top of her damp head. His heart melted into something painfully vulnerable at the feeling of her chest moving with a reassuring rhythm against him.

Reality had hit him in the harsh, icy water of the Han River. His mind would never wipe off the image of Minjae sinking lifelessly into the water.

His father was gone, and no amount of revenge would get him back. Minjae was alive and with him.

Only you can keep her safe. Kim Da-Bom's words mocked him bitterly.

He had been so blinded by fury that not only did he not keep her safe, but he willfully put her in danger. Despite knowing the men who chased her meant harm, despite Kang Do pleading to let her escape to safety, he had made her a captive and then promised retribution while she watched helplessly.

Nausea roiled as he recalled her bravely facing his murderous gaze, pinned to the ground by his dagger, knowing that the assassins were after her, and yet not once had she asked him to let her go.

All the while pleading for another man's life.

The realisation that the men had meant to kill her twisted his inside into a knot.

She didn't deserve it, even if she was guilty of everything he thought she was. Seung did that with the woman he loved. What kind of man did it make him?

The truth was, he had poured all the hatred he had bottled up, made her a target of his bile, and punished her in pettiness for all her perceived transgressions against him.

Shame and remorse engulfed him.

"I am sorry, Minjae, I am so sorry," he whispered to her.

The arm around his waist tightened in response.

Deep inside him, he knew no one as selfless as Minjae would ever engage in anything that would harm anyone.

Nevertheless, the possibility that she might not be Kim Minjae was starting to creep into his subconscious.

Kang Do kept calling her 'My Lady'.

Perhaps her story held water. She could be a noblewoman turned runaway slave. Even her Hanyang presence could have a valid reason, like rescuing another woman.

However, Seung always believed his gut instinct, which told him she was also not a woman named Soo Hyun either; he could bet his life on it.

Espionage was his speciality; even a layman could see the tapestry of this story was tattered.

His father's killers had never been caught. Assassins didn't target slaves. Moreover, a minister who was executed for such a crime and his family destroyed would be an open knowledge. Getting the details would take him less time than boiling a kettle.

Then, it was also a matter of inconsistency. Even though her life story was a patchwork, there were nuggets of hard truth in what she shared with him over the past many months, and the puzzle didn't fit.

She would have merely been a child when all of this happened, so her feeling guilty about her past actions was a glaring note. One thing he was sure of was that she was married, and the possibility was that her husband rejected her when her family went down, though it still didn't explain her slave status.

Was her husband the one who had put those marks on her? She had been hit by spiked lashes, the kind that could kill grown, muscular men. He vowed he would destroy the bastard who had dared to touch her, no matter who it was.

Seung would be a hypocrite if he pretended he was not burning with the need to know everything about her. The sleuth in him would not rest until he figured out what made Minjae into who she was.

But today was not the time.

Minjae stirred again. She was so small, so soft. So vulnerable.

He had never felt this overwhelmingly protective about a woman before.

She snuggled closer, and his hands came to rest on the rounded curve of her hips. Seung had also never ached for a woman so brokenly. Seung closed his eyes, refusing to let his mind drift there. He brought his hand up and gently stroked her temple with his thumb.

And realised she was fully awake.

Her eyes fluttered open. A few of her hair strands fell across her face as she moved to look up at him, staring into his eyes, awareness flooding them like stars on a clear night.

"Do you know how badly you scared me, Kim Minjae?" he whispered to her.

She looked back at him unblinkingly. "Are you not angry, Dari?"

"Should I be?" He hummed, continuing to ease his thumb from the corner of her eyebrow bone to the hairline above her ear.

"You have a right to be," she stated simply. "Yet you saved my life."

He felt her nipples harden against his chest, and her breath came in short puffs that blew on his already scorching skin. However, she didn't make any effort to move away.

"And you saved mine," he murmured, his heart flapping like a songbird as he drank her in.

"So we are even," she addressed the bobbing ball in his throat.

He shook his head. "I put you in danger, so we are nowhere close to being even."

"With you there, I was never in danger," she smiled.

She had no idea how wrong she was, but he didn't push it. He was simply too grateful to have her safely in his embrace to ruin the moment.

"How do you feel?" He asked gently.

"I am sweating and uncomfortable," Minjae replied.

Seung pushed back the damp hair from her forehead, using a finger to tuck a thick band behind one ear.

"We need to be like this for a little more time; your temperature can still drop", he said softly. He moved a little away so he could look down at her face. "I hope the methods I employed passed your test, Physician Kim."

She nodded, red blooming her throat and face. She nestled under the covers, almost wearing him like a fabric, as if hiding herself from his penetrating gaze. He could feel every pulse, every cleft, every inch of the silk of her skin. "Yes, you did well, Dari. Often people die because those saving them are too tied with decorum," she said matter-of-factly, but she sounded like she was swallowing a rock.

"I don't know if I would ever want you to save a man's life in this fashion," Seung chuckled. "In fact, I completely forbid it."

Seung knew he was pretending they had not parted on that bitter note two weeks ago and that none of the terrible things had happened throughout the night.

"How did you take that other man out in the market?"

Her eyes widened. "You saw that?" She swallowed.

"I was planning to intervene when I saw the tall bastard fold like a pack of cards."

Lashes fanned her cheeks deliciously. "I know nerve points of limbs that can numb muscles temporarily."

"Needles?" Seung marvelled. He had heard of the art form but never met a master who employed it.

"Yes. Aboji knows a bit of it, and Kim Da Bom knows one handy trick, but I experimented further."

"Any other trick up your sleeves, Physician Kim?" His laughter gurgled.

"How long - I mean, how much did you see before that?" Minjae asked. Seung easily saw the fissures underneath her unconcerned question.

"Not too long," he evaded. "I didn't recognise you."

Minjae placed a hand over her heart and closed her eyes.

A twinge of jealousy wretched up his gut.

He eased away from her, reached for the kettle, and poured her tea.

"This is probably cold now, but it will help." He brought the cup to her. Minjae sat up, pulling the quilt, securing it with her arms and tucking the edges under her armpits. Her hair cascaded over her bare skin like a curtain, exposing the golden rounds of her curvy shoulders and shapely, slender arms. There was a small, dark mole where her clavicle joined her right shoulder.

Seung sucked in a raw breath and counted to ten. He was aware of her eyes taking in his naked upper torso and felt the back of his muscles flex in response.

"This is still hot," she sipped it delicately, trying equally to make a mundane conversation, a flush running across her neck down to her slender arms betraying her bashfulness.

He got back inside the quilt, the movement loosening it from her body, giving him a glimpse of her stunning breasts, peaked by erect, rosy shadows. Minjae's flush escalated, spreading like wildfire over her ivory skin, and she quickly pulled up the quilt. He looked away. He grabbed a dry towel and draped it over her shoulders, pulling the ends close to her chest.

"You are hurt!" She exclaimed.

Seung looked down at the thin line that ran horizontally on his upper arm.

"It's just a scratch," he said, glad to have his attention drawn away to something other than his painfully erect muscle threatening to sear a hole in his pyjamas.

"I have a balm in my knapsack," she looked around.

"It was soaked and would have added extra weight to you, so I had to let it go in the water," Seung said sheepishly. "But your dress had a couple of books and a scroll. They were wet, so I kept them aside. I didn't have time to dry them. I was too busy warming you," he flashed his dimple.

Minjae was quiet, but a shadow of a smile hovered on the corners of her mouth. She finished, and Seung took the cup from her hands and placed it on the side. He pulled the quilt up, lay down, dragging her to him. She didn't protest.

"I am sorry I could not save your knapsack, but as you can see, I worked very hard to save you. So, Physician Kim, can I have the rest of this night with you as a reward?" He asked huskily.

"Why?" A glint that suspiciously looked like laughter specked her eyes. "So you can do those awful things you promised that would make me wish -"

Seung's hand clamped her mouth. "Don't," he warned, a flush creeping up the strong column of his throat. He closed his eyes. "I had...I had thoughts....you don't want to know. They were not pretty. I was angry and -" he choked on the lump.

"And felt I betrayed you," she finished gently. "You would never hurt me," her voice was so dulcet and earnest that Seung felt a painful pressure behind his eyes.

"You say that after what I did to you and said?" It was more of an angry exclamation than a question.

"You didn't mean it. You don't have it in you to be cruel, even if you want to," she said, sounding so confident that his disgust for his actions nauseated him.

"You were afraid," he said, self-contempt flagellating him.

"For Kang Do, yes," she said. Her toe wriggled against his calf, "But not for myself."

His heart missed a beat.

"I can't tell you a lot, but.." she began.

"Don't," Seung said hoarsely. "Not right now."

She swallowed. Her eyes glistened. "I am the daughter of your father's killer," she completed her sentence stubbornly, the guilt in her voice clear that she whole-heartedly believed it.

Seung pulled her head under his chin, her tremoring voice touching a raw nerve. "It's not your fault. I also understand your desire to shield Kang Do. That's his real name, isn't it?"

He felt Minjae nod her head.

"If it wasn't for him, I would not be alive today," her gaze lingered on Seung for a moment. "Do you think he might have made it out alive?" The catch in her voice pricked him.

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He ran his fingers through her semi-dry hair, the strands sifting through his fingers like silk threads.

"I don't know," he replied truthfully. "But I hope so."

With a start, Seung realised he meant it.

He felt her relax like someone had unspooled her tightly wound body.

"Can you forgive Kang Do?" Minjae asked, a hopeful lilt underlining her mellifluous voice.

"I saw him take a knife for you. That man would protect you with his life. And I can't ignore the fact that he also saved my life when I walked in unknowingly to witness my father's murder." Seung played with a strand of hair absentmindedly. Kang Do was the most interesting slave he had ever met.

"But I have chased him in my nightmares for too long, Minjae. However, I needed some answers, and I got a few. They were not what I was looking for, but none of it would bring my father back. I almost lost you today and put you in danger trying to chase the shadows of my past that I can't change," Seung's voice was rough with self-recriminations. His hand cupped her face. "When I saw you sink in that water," Seung clenched his eyes, the muscle moving the small bone at the end of his jaw under his ear visibly, "it felt like my life would end if you were not in this world."

She placed a tentative hand on his cheek, her thumb brushing the tear trickling down the corner of his eye. "Please don't love me so much. I cannot love you back -"

"Shh. Do you remember what you told me when I pulled you out of the water?" He asked.

Colour flooded her cheeks. "I didn't think I would make it out alive. My body was shutting down."

"They say you always tell the truth when you are either drunk or have a close shave with death," Seung smiled.

"You also hallucinate and speak drivel," she sounded rattled, her emotions in disarray. She tried to move away.

Seung bit back a smile. "Shhh....I don't need you to love me. I have enough for both of us. Just stay with me," he said, tightening his grip on her waist and burrowing her head in his neck.

A finger tentatively followed the muscled line of his chest, the tip leaving trails of heat in its wake. The tremors travelled south, and he shifted painfully. It was almost as if she knew his sensitive points.

His mouth twitched, and he realised she probably knew which points to touch. The towel draping her was coarse against his hand, a sensual contrast of feeling against his other hand that lay on the buttery soft skin of her waist, heightening his senses.

"What would you have done if my father were alive?" She asked.

Midnight had settled in her eyes, and he fell captive to it.

"If that were the case, I would be aggrieved and want to go after him," he replied truthfully. His observant eyes noticed the colour leaving her face.

"But then, if he were alive, you would not have been left to your devices, and I might have never found you. So it worked out admirably."

"Are you - are you not curious at all?" Minjae asked, a confusing look filming in her eyes.

His face shadowed. "I am," Seung replied. "I won't lie to you. I am going to dig until I reach the truth, Minjae. But I don't want to ask you anything you don't want to tell."

"You accused me of being a spy," Minjae alleged. "What if -"

"Then I would like to know why you would get involved in something so dangerous. Besides," he paused and looked at her warmly, "You are an incredible woman. You would never do anything for personal greed."

"I have people who want to hurt me," she pointed out reasonably.

"Yes, but it's not because you are a spy. You were not expecting them, were you?"

She shook her head.

"I have my reasons to believe you, but also, I know you are not telling the complete truth." Seung didn't make it sound like an accusation.

Her chin shadowed the hollow at the base of her throat. "You don't know that."

He grasped her chin to lift her face.

"I do not want you to lie to me. You will get caught," he said, holding her gaze. He pushed the towel off her shoulders. Minjae's eyes widened in surprise. Seung ran the tip of his finger around the mole, making a rim around it. His hooded eyes took in her brightened eyes, his gaze following her lips, which parted to inhale the sharp breath.

"Soo Hyun..." he softly called. A faint smile played on his lips when she didn't respond, too preoccupied dealing with the sensations his touch aroused.

"Minjae -" she automatically lifted her eyes to him and saw his smile. Belatedly, she realised she had been outmanoeuvred.

Her throat moved visibly.

"Soo Hyun is not your name either," he said without judgement.

"I don't want to talk about my past, Dari, but I never tricked you," Minjae said, the thorn of hurt threading her voice.

"I am an ass. On second thoughts, I do not know if being tricked into loving you sounds all that bad," he chuckled. "It's better than you pretending I was invisible."

Flustered, Minjae looked away.

A thin film of perspiration glazed her neck, and it distracted him.

He moved his hand, slid it over her arm, and his finger traced one scar on her back. Her eyes widened in shock. She visibly shrank.

"Don't be ashamed of them. Did I not tell you they are a badge of honour, of courage?" he said tenderly. "I will not ask about your past or why you came to Hanyang. But I need you to answer me truthfully. Who did this to you?"

Her eyes flew open, a large, vulnerable pool of pain and indecision.

"Tell me," he commanded his voice a deep thrum, coaxing her.

"My Father," she whispered.

It was like a fist socking him. If someone had thrown a spear and shattered his ribs, it would have been less painful. An intense need to crush the hand that had held that leash blinded him.

"I had displeased him," she said, training her eyes on his jaw. He watched her eyes follow the swallow of his throat.

"Then I guess he should be thankful he is dead," Seung said dangerously. Anguish filled him as he imagined the young Minjae injured by the very man who should have been her protector.

Seung leveraged himself up and cradled his head in his hand, his elbow resting on the soft mattress. His arrowlike gaze delved deep into her.

"You are even braver than I imagined," Seung breathed.

Her gaze was an endless pool of wonder that locked with his, so close that he could see the fleck of light dancing with an emotion that turned her eyes into honey.

His pulse ratcheted up furiously. Seung held his breath, afraid to break the magic. His entire being was filled with feelings that overwhelmed his senses, making them feel raw and scabless.

A whimper escaped her lips as his fingers continued tracing the scars on her back, her skin sensitive to his touch. The quilt slipped to their waist. Her hair scattered as she shivered, the sensations having nothing to do with the cold. Her fingers curled on his chest, her lower part fused with him while her upper torso arched. The weight of her breasts shifted, bringing the column between them tantalisingly close to his mouth.

Seung felt fire spread through his veins and the beads of perspiration steam off his skin.

When he suddenly stopped the movement of his fingers, he could hear her silent protest.

She had just recovered from an accident. "Minjae, the innkeeper, gave you a dress that will fit you," he said feebly, trying to stop an axed tree crashing through the forest.

Minjae placed a finger on his lips. Then, she traced the rubbery softness with her thumb.

He strained painfully against her belly. He grasped her wrist. "You are not -"

She continued the torment with her fingers. "I am the physician."

"Does not mean you know everything about your body," he said roughly.

"Then I hope you will teach me, Commander Lee," she said, raising her eyes to meet his.

A minuscule slime of insecurity reared its head in Seung's heart.

"Are you planning to 'get this out of the way' Physician Kim?" Seung regretted his words the moment they came out, but he didn't take them back.

"What if I said yes?" She asked, a challenge in her eyes. "You said you would make it interesting."

His ribs cracked with the pressure behind them. Subtlety was never Minjae's strongest suit. And he loved it.

She pushed herself up and leaned in, closing her mouth on him.

Seung responded like a traveller parched. Her mouth opened to him like a flower offering nectar to a bee. His heart quickened, rolling out thumps until they thundered. She was a chasm of honey he was sinking into and could not get enough of. She arched, and her tongue snaked out. Seung flattened his hand on her back, drawing her closer as he shuddered with need. His hand slid down to her breast, lifting the soft, silken weight, moulding it in his rough palms that wrenched a sob out of her.

He lifted his face.

She opened her mouth to say something and then shook her head, visibly changing her mind.

Seung paused. He needed to be absolutely sure she wanted this. They were in an untenable situation where lust extinguished all other rational thoughts. His arm circled her, and his fingers tried another set of scars on her back.

"Tell me you want to be with me here, now," Seung said, the friction of the thin fabric of his pyjama only adding to the excruciating pressure of release, and raw desire dripped from his tone.

She turned and went flat on her back, forcing him to withdraw his hand from her scars and place it on her flawless waist. He spanned it but didn't move his hand. The points of her breast became hard like pebbles, standing out, inviting. Her eyelids drooped with the intensity of her feelings, her lips swollen from his onslaught.

"Yes, yes, I want to be here with you, Dari" she gasped, her gaze fast becoming unfocused.

He bent, his breath feathering one rose pebble, and she shivered in anticipation. "Who do you think of when I am doing this?"

"You, Dari," her voice was the melting vapour on a glass.

He took it in his mouth, and she bucked. "And now?"

She threaded her hand through his hair, grabbing at his scalp, an incoherent moan escaping her.

"Answer me," he ordered as his teeth came together to apply a slight pressure.

"You...ah!" She twisted her head in pleasure, her eyes clenched shut in ecstasy, her lips barely forming the words. He rewarded her by paying loving attention to its twin before leaving trails of his possessive assault on the underside of her breasts. She tasted salt and dew, and her skin was so hot, it was melting him softly. He was unravelling, and only an ironclad control borne out of sheer will held him in check."Say you want me, Minjae; I want to hear you say it."

Her face dissolved into defenceless lines of passion. "I want you, only you. I am yours, Dari," she whispered, looking so exquisite, so ethereally ravishing, that Seung had to force himself to hold back.

"Yes, yes you are mine! And don't you forget it!" Seung cried hoarsely. In reply, Minjae quietly tugged at the waist of his pyjamas.

With shaking hands, he untied the knot and peeled it away, revelling in the feel of her skin.

His mouth found her throat, not leaving an inch without tasting her deeply, his hands gliding in and out of her wild mass of damp hair. She writhed while his mouth tugged at the translucent peaks cresting her breasts, his tongue and teeth taking turns creating havoc, while his fingers slid down to her stomach and made a blaze around the rim of her navel that he knew would elicit a wild response. He was rewarded by a shudder that had her arch against his hand, the jet of pleasure shooting straight into his belly and down, threatening to burst his already overstretched arousal.

His fingers travelled down to her thighs, smoothing, grasping, and caressing until his fingers breached her wet, swollen core. She was so ready, so delightfully aroused, that he almost came off at the feel of her.

Minjae's eyes snapped open in shock, and she clasped her thighs together. "You - you can't, you are not supposed to -" she stammered.

He chucked devilishly and took in a deep breath. "I can, and I am." His tone gentled. "Open for me, darling," he coaxed. She could only moan in disbelief as his finger traced and rolled a small pearl she obviously had no idea existed in her own body. Using her heels, she pushed herself away. He pulled her down and held her as she whimpered and thrashed in protest. His fingers tested the slippery depth of her core, and his thumb teased the most sensitive point of her body.

And just like that, a jolt shook her, tremors rolling down her body as a powerful orgasm rocked her. Seung had to hold her down while her unfocussed eyes clouded in confusion at the aftermath of pleasure that still sent ripples through her body. Her toes curled, and her fingers clenched the sheet under them.

She went limp, but he restarted his next onslaught immediately. He swamped her with himself, not letting her take a reprieve. His mouth replaced his fingers. Minjae twisted away in a desperate bid to get away from sensations that seemed unbearable, but he was unrelenting. He watched with fascination as the crescendo of her need built once more, this time the thrill of anticipation increasing their pleasure manifold. Just when she was about to give in to the tumultuous sensation, he drew back.

Her eyes fluttered open in protest.

He touched her forehead with his. "I need you," he said hoarsely.

Her eyes gleamed, and she grasped her shoulders and raised her hips towards him. He entered her in a desperate swoop.

And tore past an obstruction.

Seung went rigid with disbelief as her head jerked back, her eyes clenching shut, and a cry of pain wrenched from her.

He knew his face was frozen in shock. Minjae bit her lip and avoided his gaze. Beads of sweat dripped from his forehead as he used the last of his willpower to withdraw, but Minjae wrapped her legs around him, preventing him.

"Please don't leave me, Dari," she pleaded tremulously. Her cry emanated from an unfathomable depth as if she spoke of something far beyond their present moment.

His resistance dissolved. "Never, Minjae, never," he vowed. His head hurt from the amount of control he exerted to not hurt her any further, but when she started moving with him, soothing his back as if he was the one who was hurting, he came undone, spiralling into a vortex of need outside his control. He picked up speed, and so did she. He felt her clench around and buck under him, shudder after shudder rolling through her. She dug small crescents into his back while she rode her tide, and he exploded with her, his release so powerful that his mind went blank, filled with a white light that made him feel he was floating.

A primitive thrill coursed through him at the thought that he was her first and only one, even though it raised more questions than answers and added a crater-sized hole to her story. Every pore in his body was alive and kicking. He gathered her close and noticed her tears.

Worried, he cupped her face, kissing the delicate crystalline beads on her long lashes. "I must have hurt you so much. Why did you not tell me?"

Minjae shook her head, placing her hand over his. "I am not crying because it hurt; it's because you have made me very happy."

A deep rumble of delight originating from somewhere deep inside his chest emitted from his lips. He smoothed her hair away and kissed the delectable mole on her shoulder.

"Are you upset I didn't tell you?" She asked tentatively.

"No, no, I am not. But if you had, I would have done it differently instead of trying to feast on you like a starving beast," he chuckled at her innocence. "But then, I have been starving for you for an eternity," he said huskily.

"Me too," she said, then blushed furiously at her admission.

"I know," he said gently, realising how much that cost her. He kissed her. "It's going to be much more interesting from now on, I promise," he said with a wolfish smile.

She scrunched her nose at him. "You only asked for the night, and I can see the day peeking, so-"

"This night gets over when I decide," Seung bit an earlobe. She gasped at the new sensation. He laughed at her expressions. "But right now, you must eat something and sleep."

Something struck her, and her eyes rounded. "Ko Yoon!"

Seung gave her a quizzical look.

"He must be mad with worry. I must get to him. We are supposed to return to Ganghwa."

"Ah! So that bastard is the culprit. I need to teach him a lesson or two for leaving you alone."

"I asked him to. I was-" Minjae bit her lip.

Seung sighed. "I will take care of it. You will not step out in the streets of Hanyang alone, and I will take you back to Ganghwa. Do you understand?"

Seung had no intention of letting her get out of sight at all. He left the chamber to dispatch a couple of messengers to Ko Yoon and Wang Jung. Their clothes were still drying, so Seung cleaned up in the common bathing room, wrapped a few towels, ignored curious looks, grabbed a tray of hot food and came back in.

His lips twitched. Minjae had already donned the borrowed dress from the previous night. There were several wet towels heaped on the floor.

"I asked the innkeeper to fetch you some hot water," he said mildly.

"Cold water is more invigorating," she shrugged, smiled demurely and ate ravenously. The seams of the sleeves cut close to her armpits, restricting her movements, but she still managed to look so graceful that it took his breath away.

"Why are you staring at me?" she flushed.

"You are exquisite," his words fell on her petal soft.

She barely finished the meal before he was on her. The ill-fitting dress came off in a flash.

He took his time showing her how infinitely interesting he could make it.

An hour later, she languidly stretched, drowsy, and sated.

And yawned.

"I am sorry; I should let you sleep," he was contrite.

"You should sleep too, Dari. You must be exhausted," a thumb caressed his jaw.

"I can't recall my duty being this invigorating ever," Seung chuckled. "Get some winks. I have an important meeting I can't miss. After I am back, you won't be sleeping for a while," he teased, flicking a thumb over a nipple and sighing with content as she bowed back with pleasure.

A shadow crossed her face, and she pulled the cover to her chin. "Where did you learn all those tricks?"

"Minjae, none of those women ever meant anything to me," he said, reading her correctly.

"That's hard to believe," she said unhappily, and his heart jumped at her jealous tone. However, he knew she was thinking of Han So-ye and didn't want anyone to spoil this precious moment.

"I think of all of them as teachers who taught me something valuable. However, it was just my body." He laced his fingers with hers and brought it to his chest, "Can you feel this beat for you, Minjae? It feels like my heart will burst with pleasure when I am with you," he quickly stamped his words with a kiss. "Question is, do you like those 'tricks'?"

It earned him a raised eyebrow and a sly smile. She turned to her side, curling up.

"Do you?" He growled in her ear.

"Too much," she laughed.

"Ah! It's just the beginning," he spooned her and kissed the delicious spot on her neck. "I love this mole," he said.

"You have one on your left shoulder blade," a soft arc curved her lips.

She was becoming less conscious of her scars, Seung noted with satisfaction. He realised he loved playing with the maze on her back, tracing them over and over again. Minjae shivered and twitched.

"I do?" He asked, surprised.

She nodded, spasming delectably again as he ran his finger down her spine. The cover slipped, exposing her back all the way down. He took in the dip of her tiny waist, the flair of her wide hips, and the line dividing her cushiony bottom.

His finger stopped. "You have another large one here," he observed oddly.

"Where?" she looked over her shoulder at him curiously.

"Right here," Seung pressed his finger at the base of her spine, right above the delectable line dipping lower, and swallowed.

His ears felt warm, and he snatched his hand back as if burned.