After a moment of hesitation, Asella opened her eyes and saw the intense gaze of a man standing before her, his unwavering gaze locked on her. His blood-colored eyes gleamed dangerously, filled with a strange warmth.

She felt her breath catch in her throat at the prospect of the inevitable.

She knew it. She was already prepared for it. She was not a child who did not know how an affair between a man and a woman was conducted. It was something that everyone getting married must go through.

Nevertheless, what was the reason for this horrible fear?

It only took a moment for her body to stiffen like a hard piece of wood. Not even a little voice escaped. Her small lips opened and closed soundlessly.

“Relax.”

Calix’s hands went to the back of Asella’s knees. Before she could realize it, her body was floating in the air.

Startled, Asella struggled against his chest, but it was only a feeble gesture to him.

“Shhh, stay still.”

The man’s big strides across the room did not hesitate nor falter.

Her body was soon wrapped in fluffy sheets. The soft feel of the fabric against her skin, the rustling sound that emanated from the surface of the new bedding.

Her senses, sensitive as they could be, picked up on even the smallest of things that would normally have passed by her unnoticed.

The shadow of a man standing deep in the room, his back to the moonlight, hovered over her. She couldn’t see his face properly because of the way the moonlight was distributed throughout the room, but she could tell.

The fact that his red eyes were glowing like red flames as he stared at her.

“Hmm…”

She couldn’t move, she was almost like a trapped animal. All she could do was shiver for a few moments.

“Don’t be nervous.”

Calix slowly began to roll up his loose sleeves. The gaze fixed on her remained insistent and persistent. Beneath the sleeves, which were now folded up to just above the elbows, his firm arms, tightly knitted with small muscles and no gaps, were fully revealed.

Before long, he had even undone three buttons on the collar of his shirt, which had been neatly closed, and he leaned back on the bed. It was only a moment before her body was trapped between his firm, masculine arms.

Asella’s mind went blank with a dizzying sensation as if her head was going to fall off.

***

It was a strange thing.

Usually, physical contact with others would always cause him nothing but discomfort.

It was harmless, however. He had vaguely guessed it from when he was escorting her before, but despite the fact that he held her so close that their bodies were touching, he was not uncomfortable. On the contrary, he liked it a bit. 

He was a tad disappointed that she looked too frightened…

Calix’s gaze reached his wife’s clenched fist, which he was holding earlier. She was putting too much pressure on it, that the knuckles of her slim fingers had turned white.

She was a woman who rarely interacted with men. It would have been even stranger if she had not been nervous ahead of her wedding night. But her frightened appearance strangely aroused his sadism and desire to conquer and made his lower abdomen painfully stiffen.

‘I didn’t think she truly had no idea about tonight.’

The startled appearance that she had when she saw him.

The nightgown that she had obviously chosen was too monotonous to be for a bride on her wedding night. This dress was too loose and rather than showing off her figure, it was designed to conceal it completely, and the sleeves draped down to her wrists.

The skirt was so long that it barely exposed the ankles. The neckline, too, was of a standard cut that didn’t much below her collarbone.

Nevertheless…

It was more sensational than a naked body without a single threat. Calix blamed the innocent glass of wine he had just consumed for the heat that was rising in his body like a blazing flame. Perhaps it was the liquor that made his mind clearer and thoughts more honest.

‘Beautiful.’

Her silver hair, scattered in the middle of the wide bed, glistened under the delicate moonlight. The pure white neckline appearing above the nightgown that neatly concealed her body was strangely arousing. The red lips on her face, which was whiter than snow, were quite alluring.

“Hmph…”

When their eyes met, the way she hastily swallowed her breath and avoided his gaze reminded him of a frightened deer.

And a naturally fierce beast never missed its prey.

“Asella.”

Her long eyelashes fluttered softly like a butterfly’s wings. His normally emotionless red eyes began to devour his wife’s features one by one with intense desire. It felt weird but at the same time, he was unable to do anything but covet every detail of his wife.

Her slightly red cheeks, her flushed neck, her fingertips that tensed and trembled slightly, her soft, slender body that he could catch glimpses of through her sheer nightgown.

Finally, she seemed to stop blinking and turned to face him, he felt an irresistible thirst arise within him.

“Tell me now if you don’t want to and I’ll stop.”

But unlike his words, his low, resonant voice held a deep hint of obsession that he would never let her escape regardless of what she said. Calix moistened his lips with the tip of his tongue as he relentlessly followed Asella’s gaze, which wavered like a wave.

“…”

She remained docile without a word of rejection. His red lips curved in a seductive arc.

The hunger that had tormented him for a while was now unbearable. An eager desire arose to swallow the small lips that were about to open at once.

There was no reason why he should refrain from doing so, no reason why he should hold back.

She was his wife. If he wanted, he could take her as much as he wanted. It would not be a problem in the slightest.

For some reason, Calix quite liked that fact, even though he thought his desires were quite vulgar.

“Asella.”

He lifted her chin gently. Her blue eyes, which had been blurred and out of focus, grew wider and wider.

If he were to kiss those small lips, he wondered what kind of a face she would make.

‘I’m really curious.’

In fact, he was also a man who could have any woman he wanted if he so desired. It was not just because of the power and wealth he held as the head of the Benvito family.

His outstanding appearance earned the admiration of many. He was born with a handsome face and a spectacular frame. Many women dreamed of spending a single night with him.

“I’ll make it an unforgettable night. I promise”

There was no reason to hesitate.