Chapter 2

"Take off your clothes."

A bewildered Maxi looked apprehensively at her new husband. Her nursemaid had led her by the hand to the bridal chamber just as the wedding feast was coming to an end. She was sitting on the bed after the maidservants had finished bathing her when he entered the room.

Unable to gauge his intentions, she could only stare at him wide-eyed. She could not comprehend why the man who had ignored her throughout the ceremony would abruptly make such a demand. Although she was vaguely aware that intimate, unspoken things happened between husbands and wives in the privacy of the bedroom, she had never been made privy to the details.

Her nursemaid had impressed upon her that she must follow her husband's commands and remain still, no matter what he did. Surely removing her clothes wasn't one of the commands that she was expected to obey without question… She was still in a daze when he pulled his tunic over his head and shot her an impatient look.

Riftan Calypse stepped closer. "Must I remove them myself?"

Maxi let out a gasp. Every cord of muscle on Riftan's body seemed to be made of steel. His shoulders were twice as broad as hers. His long, thick neck was connected to a solid chest, which tapered down to a taut, slim waist, not unlike that of a graceful panther.

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 had caused her unbearable pain. Would she survive if a man like Riftan decided to strike her?

"You're looking at me as if you've seen a monster."

Maxi flinched. His tone was frosty. He crossed the distance to the bed with a single stride and looked hard at her. Maxi's line of vision was filled entirely by his body, which gleamed bronze in the glow of the flames dancing in the fireplace.

"Do you find me so undesirable?"

"Ah… I-I…"

He leaned over her. Two black pupils embedded in a near-flawless face gave off a frightful glint. His mouth, clenched shut, twisted into a cynical smile.

"How could I, a lowly knight, expect to please the proud daughter of a duke?"

Maxi trembled uncontrollably at his contemptuous tone. As his wife, she was his possession and at his mercy. He had the right to flog her and subject her to the cruelest of punishments if he so wished. Realizing that she had earned his scorn, she broke into a cold sweat.

"Come. Fulfill your marital duties."

Maxi wanted to ask what her duties were, but the question never left her lips. She kept her gaze locked at 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 his gaze that she could not read.

"A marriage is annulled if it is not consummated. Do you wish to leave me?"

She trembled, feeling as if she was drowning in the depths of those dark pupils. This brought yet another sneer to his lips.

"Speak now if you want me to dress and leave."

"…"

"I won't stop once we begin."

Maxi's mouth went dry. Her father would never forgive her if she let him leave. Remembering that they had never had a choice to begin with, she squeezed her eyes shut and began to unclasp her belt with shaking fingers.

She feared her father's blows far more than the shame that she would suffer at the hands of this strange man. Should she fail, her father would not stop at a beating. He would punish her brutally and send in another knight to this very room in a matter of days. She was nothing more than a tool for her father's convenience.

Maxi removed her jewelry one by one and set them next to the bed in suffocating silence. The only sound in the room was the crackling of burning firewood. Riftan's gaze bore into her. She pulled down the straps of her linen dress and removed her arms from the frilly sleeves.

The night air felt cold against her bare back and shoulders. Not daring to expose herself further, she stopped undressing, clutching the dress to her bosom. Seeing her hesitate, Riftan knelt on the bed and pulled her dress down.

"W-W-Wait…"

The dress slipped off her body before she could stop it. She desperately clutched at her skirt. Riftan grew impatient.

"Keep your hands away."

"W-Why a-are you p-pulling…"

She gazed up at him in confusion. His face was concealed in shadow, silhouetted against the light. Being unable to see his expression only intensified her terror.

"Do you want me to leave? Make up your mind."

Maxi stifled her sobs. As she reluctantly lowered her hands, the dress slid to her waist. Riftan pulled it down further and flung it on the floor, sending shivers up her spine.

"There's no turning back now."

His deep voice chilled Maxi's heart. His rough, warm hands caressed her tense body. She pushed him away instinctively, only to end up caught more firmly in his embrace as he locked an arm around her waist. As skin touched skin, his body exuded an unfamiliar heat that made her shudder for a reason she could not explain.

"N-Not so c-close…"

He carried on as if he had not heard her stammering plea, leaning forward to brush a kiss on her breast. Maxi's eyes widened in shock.

Warm lips swept across soft skin. A shiver coursed through her body at this new sensation. At the sight of him burying his face in her bosom like a newborn babe, her mind went blank.

"Relax."

Using his calloused palm, he stroked her back, which was paralyzed with fear. His damp breath gave her goosebumps.

Rubbing his chin on her soft skin, he slid a hand under the garment that was covering her waist. Maxi jumped in shock, her lips quivering. She had never imagined that a man's hand would intrude on this region of her body.

"W-What are y-you—"

"Stay still. You'll get hurt without warming up."

Maxi's legs struggled helplessly. She had only ever exchanged a few greetings with this man, and now — now, here he was, touching her most intimate parts so casually. She could not believe it.

"P-P-Please, d-don't…"

She grasped his thick shoulders as if to plead with him. It was his turn now to quake and quiver. Her hands burned when she touched his firm, smooth skin as if she had wrapped them around a red-hot iron.

Riftan's lips moved slightly. 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 left on her. She screamed — but even that was swallowed by a kiss.

"Damn it…"

He let out a series of curses and moans. Maxi gasped for air like a fish out of water. He was encroaching on parts of her body that she had never even known existed.

She thrashed her legs against him, 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, his fingers entering her deeper still. Maxi held her breath. She had long forgotten her nursemaid's instructions about dutifully submitting to her husband's will. Under his touch, her body twitched and jerked like a fish gasping for air, overcome by unthinkable sensations.

"N-No! D-Don't… Oh!"

It was futile to struggle; there was no chance of escape from his rough kisses and caresses. She tore at the pillow.

She could not believe that something so grotesque was happening. Her eyes felt as if they were on fire, and her mind spun.

What's happening to me?