TSMT 74

Chapter 74

The Second First Night

“Ugh!”

Diana momentarily lost her balance as their lips collided. A firm arm wrapped around her waist. She couldn’t breathe for a moment under the desperate intrusion of his tongue.

It was a kiss unlike the one at their wedding—a completely wild, uncontrollable kiss. The clumsy, sloppy movements made it all the more raw and animalistic. Diana tried her best to match his kiss. When her tongue touched his, he shivered, tightening his arms around her.

The pressure made her gasp. Perhaps sensing her momentary discomfort, he loosened his grip slightly. He pulled back and looked at her. His violet eyes met her face.

Eyes blurred from the intensity of the kiss, cheeks flushed from shallow breaths, red lips glistening with saliva.

“Damn it.”

Giscard couldn’t meet her gaze and instead extended both arms to embrace her. For a brief moment, he drew in a deep breath in her presence.

He lowered the strap of her slip, revealing her pale, soft chest with just that one motion.

Heat like the breath of a fire god continued to brush against her neck. Diana watched as Giscard carefully touched her chest.

“Ann…”

A desperate voice whispered. Diana let that gentle, intimate calling of her name wash over her.

In her ears, she heard someone else’s words:

“You always whispered to me that I was stiff like a corpse and had no feeling when embraced.”

The words of Princess Levian.

A woman stiff as a corpse.

She didn’t deny it. Diana already struggled just to handle Giscard. She looked at him, imagining how he would embrace that corpse-like woman roughly. She squeezed her eyes shut.

Large hands stroked her hair. So softly that Diana wondered for a fleeting second if Giscard thought of her like a pet.

“If you hate it so much, you don’t have to do it.”

Diana opened her eyes at Giscard’s voice. He frowned as he looked at her, somehow seeming pained.

“I know you find me disgusting.”

“…”

“You, of noble blood, shouldn’t be with a slave like me.”

He had said something similar on their first night together. Diana realized he had stepped back for her. Even as he looked at her with heated eyes, he had given her space.

“And yet, aren’t you disgusted to be with me?”

“…”

“You, as king, shouldn’t lie with the daughter of a criminal.”

Diana stared straight at him. Giscard laughed, as if at the absurdity.

“I want to lie with you.”

“I’ll be stiff like a corpse.”

Ah, but now the threshold of her restraint had long been exceeded. She had tried to act calm, indifferent, but there was no way she could maintain composure in this moment.

“There are plenty of women who could satisfy you.”

“You want me to lie with someone other than my wife?”

Diana narrowed her eyes. Giscard wore a look of disbelief, as if to ask why she would question such an outrageous thought.

“You are not at all disgusting to me.”

“…”

“I am your husband.”

He continued stroking Diana’s hair, as if deliberately immersing himself in the sensation.

“However, if you dislike it, I will not force you…”

Diana let out a low sigh, meeting his face. Since he had used the word husband, there was no avoiding it. In both the kingdom of Rodbrock and Panborough, the consummation of a marriage was considered the final step.

“No. I’ll do it.”

“Think again. I will not back down.”

“Do it with me.”

Diana spoke dryly and removed the other strap of her already loosened slip. The slip fell completely. His eyes widened at the sight of her fully exposed. Well, she could take solace in that. She was the one initiating this union.

Had they failed to share a first night before, this would at least resolve it. Having intertwined their bodies several times already, she could treat this as both duty and process.

“I told you I would not back down.”

A growling voice sounded. Diana smiled at his face. It was a cold smile, yet he breathed in, seemingly enchanted by it.

Like a demon touching holy water, he brought his hands to her chest and then withdrew. It had been an unusually long exploration. She thought it best to get it over with quickly.

Diana approached, held his shoulders, placed her feet firmly, and kissed his neck. His breathing quickened at the sloppy press. In an instant, she was laid on the bed. So effortlessly that she only realized she had been laid down when her back met the sheets.

He mounted her, looking down. His blazing gaze fixed on her. Labored breaths escaped him slowly. Diana noticed; he was aroused, clearly desperate, unsure how to proceed.

She teased him, mocking his hesitation.

“I’ve decided to live as your wife for the next three years.”

“…”

“A husband can embrace his wife. No need to refuse.”

Diana reached for his cheek, and he no longer held back.

“Ugh, hngh!”

As if returning the earlier kiss on her neck, he pressed his hand there. The sensation made Diana squirm instinctively.

He slid his hands beneath her waist, holding her tightly. She could feel his strong heartbeat pressing against her chest. Diana realized his arousal was against her stomach.

She was just bewildered. In her previous life, Giscard had embraced her roughly. He had never done this gentle kind of hug. Stroking her hair, he kissed it delicately.

“You always smell so wonderful.”

“…”

“I could bury my nose in you all day.”

Diana stared at him in disbelief.

“You smell disgusting.”

He had said that before. His violet eyes, capturing the moonlight, had smiled charmingly. Letting her hair down, he had whispered:

“You are damn beautiful.”

She couldn’t tell if it was an insult or a compliment. He rose and gently stimulated the tip of her chest with careful hands.

When she flinched, he leaned down and began to suck attentively. The wet sounds echoed through the room. Alternating between strong suction and soft tongue strokes, he took his time.

“Ugh!”

Such gentle caresses had not existed in her past life. She had expected only roughness. Eyes wide, she let out small, breathy noises—soft, coquettish, almost urging him on.

Startled, Diana covered her mouth and closed her eyes. He repeatedly sucked her chest, his fingers grazing her slender sides. Like handling a delicate sculpture, his touches were soft yet deliberate. The tenderness only heightened her desire.

His fingers, moving from her rounded hips, ventured between her thighs. Diana flinched. Slow, deliberate, and coarse, yet he took care to arouse her. She felt ashamed of being so responsive to his hands.

“Ah, hngh… stop…”

She didn’t need this teasing—just do it. Why delay? Blurred-eyed, Diana looked at Giscard. His gaze was intensely focused, almost frighteningly obsessive. She tried to close her legs, but one hand held them apart.

Strange.

Strange.

Strange.

Why… why am I so aroused by his hands? Why? There was no such heat in their married life before. Yet now…

“Look at me.”

With tear-filled eyes, she looked at him. It was certainly Giscard—the monster who had ruined her life—yet he gazed down at her with desire.

Like a boy sharing his first intimate moment with a beloved girl, he handled her carefully, shyly. He kissed her cheek and began removing his clothes.

In the moonlight, his taut, sweaty body shone. Perfect, sculpted, yet scarred enough to seem human. Diana stared as if seeing her husband’s body for the first time. His lower body burned with fierce arousal. He looked at her, and she choked on the explicit, desperate desire in his eyes.

Strange.

Their relationship had never had such heat.

His heated body pressed against her bare skin. She could feel his warmth, yet it didn’t feel overwhelmingly hot—she too was aflame.

When he carefully entered between her parted legs, Diana bit her lip without realizing it. A low breath escaped as he slowly penetrated her. She gripped the bed tightly.