My Dear Grand Duke on a Leash - Chapter 69

Chapter 35.1 — Honeymoon Night (9)

From the corner of Cain’s vision, a delicate hand wearing silk gloves appeared.

“That… look. I’m embarrassed.”

It seemed like she was trying to block the gaze that was planted on her feet.

It was a very unwise attempt.

Since she had to lean forward to reach out and cover her feet, when she lifted her head in response to his voice, their faces were getting closer and closer to each other.

“….”

Her exhaled breath touched his lips. Riette tried to move her body back in surprise, but he caught her hand that was trying to pull away.

“Princess.”

Urgently, but not forcefully. It was a clear signal that he wouldn’t let her move away.

The tenuous remnants of her drunkenness seemed to be boiling over again, and a faint blush spread on her pale cheeks. His eyes were too close. She could see the blue spark that had stirred the secret under the trees in the garden flickered within him.

All that intertwined were the sounds of their breaths… a tingling and ticklish sensation slowly crawled down the back of her neck.

‘This… It must be because I’m drunk. It’s not my fault, it’s the alcohol. It’s all the alcohol’s fault…’

As if pleading or urging, the low voice once again traced across her lips like a fingertip.

“The wedding is over.”

Now, it was their night.

His hand, holding onto her wrist, slowly began to stroke up her arm—running up the back of her lace-gloved arm, up to the elbow, and even to the inside of her forearm…

Beyond the thin fabric, the places where his fingertips lightly grazed felt tingling as though she had been ignited by heat. How far did he intend to go? His large hand, burning with a gentle fire, delved into her coat.

Her mouth became parched.

How. No longer knowing where he was going to reach anymore, her feet flailed in the air, unable to touch the ground.

Even though her body was tightly concealed under his overcoat, she was ashamed and embarrassed about her exposed toe after her shoes were cast away and revealed her silk socks like intimate underwear.

As the large hand reached under her coat and swept up her spine, her back flinched, and a shuddering gasp escaped her at the sensation of the hand slowly rising along her spine. The firm fingertips traced the shape of her back like a sculptor caressing marble on a moonlit night. The tip of his finger swept up her tense wing bones, shoulder, and the nape of her neck before it reached the nape of her neck.

It was where he left his mark yesterday.

It was a gesture that seemed proud of the traces he left, reminiscent of the fact that his mark was here. Moreover, memories of yesterday and the day before were brought to this place at the same time…

Unable to figure out what to do, Riette couldn’t release the held breath with ease. Even the slightest spark brought embers, and the tension in his voice was making her nervous.

‘No. If this continues, here…’

“Grand Duke, wait…”

Like a military dog waiting for the next command, he stared at her intently. It was a gaze that intuited the fact that neither his call nor his touch would lead to rejection.

Clutching the hem of her dress, Riette’s eyes wandered through the empty space.

No matter where she tried to escape, his face filled her vision. It was a creation so perfect that it was breathtaking. Silky black hair cascading like a river behind, thick eyebrows, a nose that seemed sharply sculpted, and cheeks made his ferocious yet neat impression fall together.

Lips pressed firmly together…

Dangerously, she knew the taste of those lips. Just like the first woman who bit into the forbidden apple, she would never return to the world before.

“Tell me one more time.”

As her legs, which had been straining to lift her feet, were now tired, her toes brushed lightly against his thighs as her body relaxed to rest.

“Say anything in Helios…”

When he was stopping Narkissis… why did that accent sound so attractive? It wasn’t like she couldn’t understand… Could it be because of the distinctive low and deep bass voice that went particularly well with that accent? Or perhaps it was because he looked so cool, blocking her path…

As if pressuring him, she pressed her toes against his thigh.

“Hmm? Quickly.”

His Adam’s apple trembled once.

Cain tilted his head, wrapping the hand that had been caressing the nape of her neck around her waist. As his lips threatened to cover hers, her nervous chest continued to heave as he approached tantalizingly close.

He whispered, his eyelids lowered by dense black lashes.

“Will you marry me, Princess?”

A sweet breath escaped through her small lips. It was a breath filled with a mischievous smile.

To hear such words from a man kneeling by the riverside on a night filled with music… it felt more like a genuine proposal than a contractual marriage.

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