This Life, I Will Save The Duke (20 Chapters Left to Complete) - Chapter 29

“Ahh!”

Ariel let out a small scream in shock only after she found herself pressed against a broad, firm chest. As she tried to pry away the large male hands encircling her waist, her body was gently laid down onto the wooden bench.

“Don’t do this…”

Ariel couldn’t finish her sentence.

In an instant, Kaius cradled the back of her head and claimed her lips. Startled, Ariel struggled wildly, but his hold only tightened further.

How could this happen?

Paying him back like this instead of with money? No. His fierce kiss sent chills down her spine. Realizing what was about to happen, Ariel desperately struck and pushed at him, but it was utterly futile.

Her mind went blank—she couldn’t recall he was the very person she needed to protect, nor that he would soon become her husband. Soon her cloak came undone, and the firm, roaming hands and increasingly heated body of the man above her felt so alien that she shuddered in revulsion. When his lips reached her neck, tears finally spilled from Ariel’s dazed, wide-open eyes, and her hands—once pushing him away—fell limply onto the bench.

Accepting him out of mere guilt was far harder than she’d imagined.

Only when a faint sob mingled with her silent tears did Kaius finally lift his head. Seeing her unfocused eyes and the tears tracing her cheeks, a self-mocking sigh escaped his lips. Yet his hands still didn’t release her; instead, they moved toward her face.

When his fingertips, slowly brushing her damp eyes, reached her swollen lips, Ariel’s body flinched. The fear and anxiety brimming in her gaze made Kaius scoff inwardly once more.

Was this really the same woman who’d boldly stripped a stranger’s clothes to “treat” him? The audacious girl who’d confidently proposed marriage to win his heart? He almost laughed aloud in confusion.

What on earth had she thought marriage was?

Her eyes, reddened from crying, glared at him—still trembling with unease. Though irritated by her rejection, Kaius grew even more frustrated with himself for his unrelenting desire. With a dry chuckle, he climbed off Ariel and closed his eyes, as if trying to suppress his rising annoyance.

Only then did Ariel’s breathing grow slightly calmer. As she wiped her damp lips with the back of her hand, she finally recalled how she’d ended up in this situation.

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