Chapter 1 #2
Her nursemaid had impressed upon her that she must follow her husband’s commands. She was to remain still, no matter what he did. But removing her clothes was not one of the commands she’d expected. And she was to obey without question?
Riftan Calypse pulled his tunic over his head, shooting her an impatient look as he stepped closer. “Must I remove them myself?”
Maxi gasped at the sight of him. The muscles in Riftan’s body were like cords of steel, and his shoulders were twice as broad as hers. His neck was long and thick, and his chest tapered into a taut, slim waist.
Maxi had heard that Riftan was a giant, even among the knights, but to see him standing before her eyes was overwhelming. Her mouth went dry. A few blows from her father were enough to cause her unbearable pain. Would she survive at all if a man like Riftan decided to strike her?
“You look like you’ve just seen a monster,” said Riftan.
Maxi flinched. His tone was frosty, and he crossed the distance to the bed with a single stride, fixing her with an interrogating stare. Bathed in the warm glow of the fireplace, his body gleamed bronze. It completely filled her vision.
“Do you find me undesirable?”
“I…I, um…”
He leaned over her. Two black eyes, embedded in a nearly flawless face, glinted frighteningly. His mouth, clenched shut, twisted into a cynical smile. “How could I, a lowly knight, ever please the proud daughter of a duke?”
The contempt in his voice sent a shiver down Maxi’s spine. She was at his mercy. If he wanted to, he had the right to flog her and subject her to the cruelest of punishments. Realizing that she had earned his scorn, she broke into a cold sweat.
“Come. Fulfill your marital duties.”
Maxi wanted to ask what those duties were, but the question never left her lips. She fixed her gaze on his feet as his body cast a dark shadow over her. A long, calloused finger reached down to lift her chin. There was something subtle in Riftan’s gaze, something she could not read.
“A marriage is annulled if it isn’t consummated,” he said. “Do you wish to leave me?”
She trembled uncontrollably. At any moment, she might drown in the dark depths of his eyes, but he only sneered.
“Speak now, if you want me to leave.”
“…”
“I won’t stop once we begin.”
Maxi’s tongue clung to the roof of her mouth. Her father would never forgive her if she let him leave. She had never had any choice in this matter. She squeezed her eyes shut and began to unclasp her belt with shaking fingers.
She feared her father’s retribution far more than what shame she would suffer at the hands of this strange man.
Should Maxi fail him here, her father would not stop at a mere beating.
He would punish her brutally, and in a matter of days, she would find herself back in this very room, facing a different knight.
To her father, she was nothing more than a tool.
Maxi removed her jewelry, piece by piece, and set them next to the bed.
A suffocating silence hung between them, punctuated only by the crackle of wood burning in the fireplace.
Riftan’s gaze bore into her as she pulled down the straps of her linen dress and removed her arms from the frilly sleeves.
The cold night air lashed at her bare back and shoulders. Not daring to expose herself further, she stopped and clutched the dress to her bosom. But before she could hesitate further, Riftan knelt on the bed and pulled her dress down.
“W-Wait…Wait!”
The dress slipped off her body before she could stop it. She clutched desperately at her skirt, even as Riftan’s impatience grew more palpable.
“Keep your hands away.”
“W-Why are you…p-pulling…”
She gazed up at him, her eyes wide with confusion. His face was concealed in shadow, silhouetted against the light, and she couldn’t make out his expression. It intensified her fear.
“Do you want me to leave?” Riftan asked. “Make up your mind.”
Maxi stifled a sob. She reluctantly lowered her hands and the dress slid to her waist. Riftan pulled it down further and flung it to the floor.
“There’s no turning back now.” His deep voice chilled Maxi’s heart.
As his rough, warm hands caressed her tense body, she pushed him away instinctively—only to end up more firmly in his embrace when he locked his arm around her waist. Skin pressed against skin, and his body exuded an unfamiliar heat. For reasons Maxi could not explain, the heat made her shudder.
“N-Not so c-close…”
He carried on as if he had not heard her stammering plea, and leaned forward to press his lips to her breast. Maxi’s eyes widened in shock.
Warm lips, sweeping across soft skin. A shiver coursed through her body at this unfamiliar sensation. As he buried his face in her bosom like a newborn babe, her mind went blank.
“Relax.” With his calloused palm, he stroked her back, now paralyzed with fear. His damp breath left goosebumps in its wake.
Rubbing his chin on her soft skin, he slid a hand under the garment that covered her waist. His touch here startled Maxi, and her lips quivered. She had never imagined that a man would one day intrude on this region of her body.
“W-What are y-you—”
“Stay still. It will hurt if you don’t warm up.”
Maxi’s legs were caught in a helpless struggle. She had only ever exchanged a few greetings with this man, and now—now, here he was, casually touching her most intimate parts.
“P-P-Please! D-don’t…”
She grasped his thick shoulders, pleading with him. It was now his turn to quake and quiver. Her hands burned when she touched his firm, smooth skin, like she had wrapped them around a red-hot iron.
Riftan’s lips twitched. But instead of words, Maxi received a rough kiss.
He tasted of something savage and untamable.
She was still trying to make sense of what was happening when he removed the last piece of clothing from her body.
She cried out in protest—but even that was quickly swallowed up in a kiss.
“Damn it…” Riftan let out a series of curses and moans while Maxi gasped for air like a fish out of water. He was encroaching on parts of her that she had never even known she had.
She thrashed her legs, but they were soon weighed down by the bulk of his unyielding body. She was trapped like a helpless animal, caught between the jaws of a wolf.
“Damn it. I can’t hold back any longer…” He muttered to himself impatiently, and his fingers entered her deeper and deeper still.
Maxi’s breath was lodged in her throat. She had long forgotten her maid’s instructions about dutifully submitting to her husband’s will.
Under his touch, her body twitched and jerked, and she gasped helplessly, overcome by unthinkable sensations.
“N-No! D-Don’t…Oh!” Her struggles and protests were useless. There was no chance of escaping his searing mouth and rough caress. She clutched at the pillow under her head.
She could not believe that something so grotesque was happening to her. Her eyes burned, and her mind twisted and turned, tossed in an impossible storm.
What’s happening to me?
After what seemed like a lifetime, Riftan’s hand stopped. “This will hurt a little.”
Maxi sank into the bed, her limbs hanging limply as she tried to catch her breath. Her body had been so tense that it was now drained of strength. She was no longer capable of struggling.
Riftan undressed completely and wrapped an arm around Maxi’s waist, lifting her up. Their warm bodies touched. Only then did Maxi realize that they were both slick with sweat.
His back shone reddish gold in the dim firelight.
It reminded her of the time she snuck into a goldsmith’s workshop and watched as they cast statues out of molten gold.
Was this how it might feel to have bubbling metal poured over her?
Her entire body was melting away, as if submerged in a crucible of liquid gold.
“Take a deep breath.” Riftan’s voice had become so husky that it was hard to decipher his whisper. His lips grazed her earlobe, sending chills down her spine.
Holding on to his sinewy arm, and without thinking, Maxi allowed her legs to open. Riftan promptly paired his hips with hers.
“Ah…!” Maxi cried out, startled.
Before Maxi could grasp what had happened, a dull pain radiated through her lower body.
She struggled, terrified of the unfamiliar feeling.
Riftan weighed her body down with his own to stop her from breaking free, and he nibbled at her lips.
Her breasts pressed flat against his rugged chest as he entered deeper.
Close to tears, she scratched at his arms.
“It…It h-hurts…”
“Too tight…”
Droplets of sweat trickled down his neck and dripped onto her face. As she writhed in an attempt to flee, he quivered slightly and secured her waist with both of his hands. A deep line creased his forehead.
“Just…stay still…”
“H-hurts…It hurts…!”
“Don’t move, damn it—ugh!”
Riftan’s body trembled, and Maxi held her breath as he crushed her in an embrace. As if unable to hold back any longer, he began moving rhythmically. Each thrust produced a sharp pain that drew faint moans from her throat.
Maxi’s body rocked like a boat on stormy waters. Her mind sank into miry depths, her knuckles turning white as she gripped the sheets. What was he doing to her?
“Damn…” Riftan released a strangled moan and collapsed over her.
His body radiated so much heat that his sweat threatened to turn to steam.
Panting, Maxi allowed her gaze to drift to his shoulders.
Like hers, they were rising and falling in rapid succession.
A strange sense of emptiness enveloped her and, eyelids aflutter, she stared blankly at the ceiling. What had just happened to her?
“Why are you crying?” Riftan asked.
Maxi hadn’t realized it, but her cheeks were wet. She tried to cover her face, but a warm tongue slid across her skin, tracing away the tears. He cupped her cheeks so she could not turn away.