Violet Zerotta's Hasty Marriage - Chapter 16
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The two of them sat side by side on the edge of the bed.
In the unbearably awkward silence, Violet fidgeted with the hem of her skirt for no reason.
A moment ago, in response to Aldrick’s question, Violet had nodded without even realizing it.
Though deep down she had wanted to delay their first night for as long as possible, she found herself unable to refuse when Aldrick looked her in the eyes and asked her so sincerely.
As soon as she gave her answer, Aldrick gently pulled her into his arms again. Without giving her a chance to stop him, he lifted her up and carried her to the bedroom.
But unlike the determined way he had brought her in, Aldrick simply laid her carefully on the bed and sat quietly beside her.
And they had stayed like that since.
He looked like someone wrestling with a very serious inner conflict.
“Aldrick.”
Unable to wait any longer, Violet called his name. Her nervousness had reached its limit, and she just wanted to get it over with, no matter what happened.
At the sound of her voice, Aldrick flinched like he’d been burned.
“Are we just going to keep sitting here like this?”
He shook his head.
Then do something already!
Violet was just as tense and anxious as he was. So remaining in this state was equally exhausting for her.
Perhaps sensing her unspoken urgency, Aldrick let out a small sigh and began to move.
She tensed with every shift of his body, but all he did was kneel on one knee in front of her.
Settling at her feet, he took her left hand in both of his. It was the hand wearing the ring. His fingers, wrapped around hers, trembled slightly.
“Honestly, I thought I would wait until we reached the capital, or until I received my title and we moved to our estate… I thought I’d be able to hold out. I didn’t realize I had so little self-control…”
Violet wasn’t sure exactly what he was blaming himself for, but she stayed silent and let him continue.
When she didn’t pull away, he gently kissed the back of her hand. His lips were searing hot.
“I thought I’d done a good job holding it in…”
It was like he was performing some kind of ritual. After planting kisses along the knuckles on the back of her hand, he turned it palm-up and pressed his lips to its center. From that spot, warmth and a tickling sensation bloomed.
Violet felt torn between wanting to pull her hand away and wanting to surrender it to him and see what might happen.
The heat on her palm only intensified.
“You… You didn’t seem interested in me at all. You’re too young and innocent… I didn’t dare touch you with my filthy hands…”
His lips, which had been tracing her tender skin, finally touched the inside of her wrist, where her pulse beat fast and strong. Violet let out a soft, involuntary sigh.
The heat of his lips on her delicate skin traveled up her bloodstream, echoing through her body.
“Are you really okay with this? If you don’t want to, I can wait as long as it takes. It’ll be hard, of course, but—”
But Violet couldn’t bear to see Aldrick retreat again.
This tension, this strange, stifling pressure… Wouldn’t it only disappear once they went through with it?
If only to rid herself of this overwhelming feeling, Violet decided it was time to just get it over with.
She reached out and cupped his face with both hands, lifting it to look at her. He obediently met her gaze.
With that expression in his eyes, Aldrick looked just like a worshipper kneeling before a goddess.
His jaw had looked clean-shaven, but under her fingers, the rough stubble made Violet want to laugh. He was still a man, after all.
“I’ve thought about it too, you know.”
His lips twitched faintly in her hands.
“You… You thought about it too?”
“Yeah. Not all the time, but I’ve definitely thought about it since you came back. It’s a bit sudden, but… if you hadn’t gone off to war, this would’ve happened three years ago.”
As Violet continued speaking gently, Aldrick’s expression grew deeper with desire.
Watching that face, her own heart started to stir, and Violet lowered her eyes.
“So since it’s come to this anyway… I want to become a real couple with you too.”
With those final words, Violet slowly lowered her lips toward his, just as Aldrick had done earlier.
She only intended a soft, brief kiss like before.
But the moment their lips met, Aldrick kissed her back—this time, much more assertively.
His well-shaped lips gently drew hers in, and between the tender flesh, a strange and tingling sensation bloomed.
