Chapter 8
Their bodies pressed together, the heat between them clinging to every breath.
“Ah… ugh…”
Mia’s lips parted, no longer able to hold back the sounds that slipped out. Warmth traced down her chin, a trail that caught against Dylan’s wrist. His gaze flicked to her face, heavy with something dark and unreadable.
“Damn it,” he muttered under his breath, voice low and tense.
He began to move, slow at first, then with a rhythm that made the air between them pulse.
Each shift struck something deeper, pulling a louder cry from Mia’s throat.
“Hah… mmm… ugh…”
The unfamiliar tension building inside her left her too overwhelmed to resist. Her thoughts blurred as the sensations pushed her past the edge of hesitation. Every time he reached a certain spot inside her, her vision dimmed at the edges, as if the world was slipping away.
Her legs, once steady, now wrapped around his shoulders, trembling and unsure. Still, he did not pause. His focus remained, unshaken.
Above her, Dylan looked different now. He was no longer composed. His face was flushed, his jaw set tight. Veins stood out along his neck and arms, and she could feel the weight of his grip even through the haze in her mind.
Even knowing all this, even recognizing how far things had gone, nothing changed.
Everything inside her continued to unravel.
Dylan’s movements grew faster, each motion deliberate and consuming.
Mia could no longer think clearly. Her eyes, hazy and unfocused, remained fixed on him. There was nothing left but to feel.
He exhaled a low groan, his brow furrowed, and something within her responded, warm and undeniable.
In that moment, as a deep heat spread through her, Mia felt a strange wave of relief.
Perhaps this meant it would end soon.
Perhaps now, she could finally breathe again.
She looked at Dylan with blurred eyes, waiting for the pressure to ease.
But that hope, like so many others, slipped away.
He had not stopped.
The sensation returned, growing once more inside her. The warmth that filled her began to rise again, and with it, her tension.
This isn’t right.
That was the only clear thought she could manage through the suffocating heat.
Whatever Dylan imagined a normal marriage to be, this wasn’t what Mia had pictured. Not this overwhelming closeness. Not this intensity that made her feel like she was disappearing into him.
Maybe he sensed her drifting thoughts. In an instant, he pulled back, only to press forward again with force that shattered her focus completely.
Her thoughts scattered. What was I just thinking?
She could no longer remember.
The pleasure he gave her no longer dulled. It sharpened.
It grew more defined, more undeniable, until it was all she could feel.
I could not remember anything clearly. Only the shape of what had entered my body and the expression on the face of the person in front of me remained in my memory.
“I need to focus,” I whispered to myself.
His voice was calm and steady, but his actions were anything but gentle. With every movement, water splashed softly. Mia was caught again in the already tangled sheets, her breath uneven.
Slow breathing. A quiet gasp.
Moved by the desperation in her voice, he brushed a strand of hair from her damp cheek and pressed a gentle kiss to the bridge of her nose. It was a side of him she rarely saw. Normally, he was distant and reserved. This moment was different. He was different. But Mia had no time to think. She was too overwhelmed.
He reached for her limp hand. She realized she was no longer lying on the softness of the mattress but instead resting against the firmness of his arm. A familiar scent of pine and rain filled the air, one that only Dylan carried. The connection between them deepened, more intense than before. A breath caught in her throat.
A delicate sound slipped from Mia’s lips.
Her body no longer resisted his presence. The warmth that spread from deep within was no longer unfamiliar. That, she realized, was not a good thing. She tried to resist, pressing her hand firmly against his shoulder.
But he responded. The sudden motion made her cry out again, her body giving in without permission.
Her breath trembled. Her muscles tightened. Her instincts told her to pull away, but she could not move. Dylan’s arms held her firmly, keeping her close.
“Mia, don’t run away.”
No one had said she would, but the words struck something in her. Her voice was already hoarse. Each time Dylan moved, her thoughts vanished into a blank silence. Then he kissed her, not hesitating as he took in the sounds she could not control.
When it ended, Dylan let her go.
“Mia.”
He spoke again, but she was asleep. Or at least pretending to be. She lay on the very edge of the bed, keeping as much distance from him as possible.
“Mia Richard.”
The name slipped from his lips, a name that did not belong to her. A name she would never accept. Dylan sighed and changed into clean clothes, then returned to the bed in silence. He looked as if none of it had happened, as if it had all been a dream.
A quiet breath escaped him, half sigh, half laughter. She had been pushed too far. He knew that. That was why he let her go.
Mia moved at last, her legs trembling as she walked toward the bathroom. He did not follow. He saw the signs clearly. She did not want help. So, he stayed where he was and let her clean herself up and get dressed alone.
She returned without a word and curled up at the edge of the bed like a kitten that refused to lower its guard. She fell asleep that way, as if she had simply passed out.
“Or maybe not,” Dylan thought.
The kitten was still crying. Even while staying cautious, it cried out for someone it trusted. Dylan knew this about her. He knew she would cling, that she might cry when she finally let go.
But Mia never cried.
She acted like someone who had no choice.
Though her lips trembled with pleasure and her eyes flushed with heat, no tears ever fell. Not once did she let herself show that kind of weakness.
Did she even know how maddening that was?
Dylan’s eyes darkened, like a sea just before a storm. The room remained brightly lit, and Mia, clinging to the edge of the bed, was impossible to ignore.
Though she was fully dressed, the sight was more provocative than if she had worn nothing at all. Maybe it was because he knew what was hidden beneath.
Mia seemed certain that the moment he saw the scars on her body, he would take back everything he had ever said.
A faint laugh slipped through Dylan’s lips.
Would she hate him if she knew that sight had aroused him?
“Mia, you don’t know me,” he said, his voice heavy and cold, filling the room like damp fog.
“Just as I never really knew you.”
Dylan’s gaze fixed on the nape of her neck, his eyes shadowed with something unreadable. Faint traces of what had happened lingered there, half-hidden beneath her clothes.
He reached for the cigar on the bedside table and held it between his lips. He didn’t light it. He simply sat there, as if restraining himself, tasting the silence like something bitter.
His eyes roamed slowly over Mia’s small, curled-up form. There was something deliberate in the way he looked at her, something that did not fade even as the night dragged on.
And it stayed that way until morning.
When Mia finally opened her eyes, sunlight was pouring through the window, bright enough to make her eyes sting.
Bright light entered through the window.
Outside, birds were flying and chirping.
Mia stared into space for a moment, her mind blank.
The dull ache in her body was proof of what had happened the day before.
It was not painful enough to cause discomfort, but it had been a long time since she had felt this kind of soreness.
As she followed the train of her thoughts, a sigh escaped her lips.
It was not because of the ache.
“Ah.”
She had expected to stay awake all night or wake up at dawn, too tense to sleep after seeing Dylan.
But she had slept through the night.
There had not even been any nightmares.
It had been a long time since a day had started so quietly.
When Mia checked the clock next to the table, her eyes grew wider.
She thought she had simply slept soundly, but it turned out she had also overslept.
Normally, because of the scars on her body, Mia would wake before the servants, wash up, and change clothes before anyone saw her.
But today, there was no time for that.
The peaceful feeling from earlier quickly vanished, replaced by a cold sense of panic.
Deciding it was best to move quickly, she began to rise from bed.
At that moment, she realized someone was beside her.
She turned her head.
Unlike her, who had just woken up, the man next to her looked fully ready for the day.
He was dressed neatly in his uniform, as if he had been up for quite a while.
Before she could even react, she quietly murmured his name.
“Dylan?”
Dylan gave a small nod in response.
He glanced at his wristwatch, then slowly raised his eyes to meet hers.
“Would you like to join me for lunch?”
