For a moment, an image flashed through Ryan’s mind.

In an unused room at Blissbury, he and Eloise were embracing each other. In that secret place, hidden from the eyes of employees, their lips slowly met.

His hands around her waist tightened, and the kiss deepened. A profound desire to consume even her slightest breath covered Eloise’s small body.

Though they were already in a private place, Ryan’s hands around her waist moved to find even more intimate areas.

Eloise’s clothing, which normally covered her up to her neck, flowed down all too easily following his hands.

His shameless fingers swept across her white, soft skin without hesitation, leaving red marks.

When his fingers found the moist center, Eloise in his arms swallowed a rough breath and her body jerked noticeably.

Normally, he would have immediately checked on her and asked if she was alright. But he ignored her reaction and continued moving his fingers.

In his arms, Eloise’s body moved more violently. At the same time, sweet m*ans poured into his ears.

“Ryan… ah…”

The voice calling his name was husky. It was a languid voice, like one painfully uttered after crying for a long time.

The sound of Eloise calling him was always ecstatic. Even when she shouted with raised eyebrows as if threatening not to leave him alone, he had approached her like a moth drawn to flame, simply because it felt so good.

So now, her voice calling him as if pleading, struggling with him, was truly…

His hand, which had been freely exploring her depths for quite some time, withdrew as urgently as it had entered.

Though he wanted to put his fingers directly into his mouth and swallow everything on them, there was something more urgent.

Ryan’s hands hastily undid his lower garments. Then, his fully aroused member at the place he had carefully prepared…

“Gasp!”

At that point, Ryan came back to his senses.

One of the obscene fantasies that had surfaced deep in his mind whenever he encountered Eloise at the bath in Blissbury had momentarily consumed him.

“Ryan? What’s wrong?”

“No, it’s nothing.”

Seeing him in a daze, Eloise brought her face even closer to his.

Then those green eyes stared at him. As if she knew exactly what desire had briefly crossed his mind.

He should have felt embarrassed, but once released, his desire would not easily go back to sleep.

Ryan unconsciously turned his gaze away from those green eyes watching him.

Then he noticed the room where they were.

It was a place so beautiful that it surprised even him, who had recently stayed in one of the most beautiful wings at Blissbury.

Though he liked the decorations, Ryan’s gaze kept turning toward the interior of the room.

Intricate carvings and vivid paintings capturing the sea. And a large bed for the comfort of the room’s occupants.

Eloise wouldn’t know that he was deliberately avoiding looking at the bed.

Because looking at it made him constantly imagine pleasures not yet permitted.

Unaware of his thoughts, his fiancée, no, his wife, kept trying to push him into an ecstatic quagmire.

At that moment, an inner whisper reached his ears.

‘She is my wife. My wife who has now become my everything. Being together is natural, and harboring desire is not a sin…’

Ryan raised his head again. He saw those sparkling eyes still looking at him.

He wondered. If he embraced her and took her to that wide bed in this beautiful room, would she still give him that worried expression?

She would be surprised. She might be embarrassed.

But, if it were Eloise…!

Ryan pressed his forehead against her head. Then he reached out and lightly pressed her lips with his thumb.

Through the red lips, her snow-white teeth were revealed.

Ryan’s Adam’s apple moved significantly. An unbearable thirst arose. It wasn’t something that would disappear by drinking water.

Despite knowing this, he wasn’t flustered. He knew exactly what could quench his current thirst.

A quietly burning gaze poured over Eloise’s face. There was no longer any smile on Ryan’s face.

A mysterious tension flowed. Like a torrent about to burst, one that would sweep away everything in its path when it erupted—this stillness before the storm filled the room.

The former Eloise might have mistaken this tension for anger. But now she too had come to know emotions not explicitly explained in books.

Eloise did not push his hand away.

Desire-filled gazes collided in the air. It wasn’t one-sided. It was something simple yet profound—each wanting the other.

The edge of her red lips parted slightly. The moment Ryan recognized her invitation, Eloise’s teeth bit the finger pressing against her lips.

Not painfully. But definitely. As if challenging him to do more.

Ryan looked at her in surprise. Then he withdrew his hand and took a deep breath.

“Ryan?”

Seeing him jump up so abruptly, Eloise simply wore a puzzled expression.

Nevertheless, Ryan’s breathing didn’t calm for quite some time.

Why is he acting like this? Shouldn’t he be angry because I bit his finger?

Eloise’s lips protruded slightly as she looked at Ryan with such an expression. She was sulking, not understanding why he was reacting this way with his whole body.

Just as she was about to rise, Ryan wrapped his arms around her waist and consumed her lips.

He devoured her lips roughly and fiercely, as if it were the last time—almost too much for her small body to handle.

His tongue entered deeply between her lips, exploring every wicked corner. After gently licking every spot, he focused on the most sensitive area, leaving Eloise unable even to struggle.

Being with him was always overwhelming, but now it was even more so.

With his invasion deeper and more forceful than usual, all Eloise could do was endure to avoid losing consciousness.

But Eloise didn’t dislike this situation.

“Ryan is a proper gentleman.”

When she first introduced their relationship to her parents, they looked at him as if a snail could turn into a wolf with one wrong word.

Each time, Eloise had to earnestly explain how much self-control……he had, countering their unfounded prejudice.

However, they hardly believed her, which made her hesitate once. Because Ryan truly did behave properly as she had said.

Of course, it wasn’t entirely true. Sometimes, in places away from others’ eyes, he would quietly grab her hand and not let go.

It was just contact like firmly grabbing and releasing, but after such interactions with him, didn’t she have to calm her pounding heart alone until nighttime?

Despite stirring her up like that, Ryan always maintained a peaceful face. As if that was truly the extent of his longing.

As a result, Eloise’s frustration gradually built up.

‘Am I the only one feeling this way? Does only he want this? Am I not a lady? Or if I am, then why is Ryan…!’

How many times had she swallowed these thoughts alone?

Perhaps because of this, in her dreams, Eloise often faced a rough Ryan.

A Ryan who would never back down no matter how much she complained it was difficult, or a Ryan who wouldn’t stop moving even when she was sobbing…

That’s why this journey was exceptionally sweet for Eloise.

Because she could see him showing such excitement, delighted by the word “couple.”

But even while doing all sorts of slightly mischievous things in the carriage, Ryan never crossed the line.

And now that same man was crossing the line again.

So?

‘I’ll just tease him a little.’

With apologies to her parents, Eloise wanted him more. To match the name Lord and Lady Newhaven.

But she had not the slightest intention of being led around by Ryan.

That’s why she had bitten him, but why was he making such a fuss?

And why was he backing away again!

Feeling an emotion that could be either relief or disappointment, just as her consciousness was beginning to blur, Ryan separated his lips from hers.

“We’re being hasty. Both you and I.”

The passionate expression from moments ago disappeared instantly, and before her stood the usual Ryan.

If his lips hadn’t been glistening with someone’s bodily fl*id, one might have thought the intense kissing that had just occurred between them was an illusion.

“I’ll go freshen up for a moment. Then we’ll head straight to the city.”

With those words, Ryan immediately got up to leave.

Eloise quickly grabbed his clothes.

“Ryan? Why…”

She couldn’t say “Are you really leaving like this?” so her words trailed off.

Then Ryan smiled as if he knew what she wanted to say.

“Relations before promising to swear before God in front of family and friends are not considered right.”

The church does say that. But neither of them had lived their lives strictly adhering to the chains of faith.

Moreover, she thought Ryan, who didn’t attend church, wouldn’t care about such things at all…

“I was born without receiving baptism. Since I was a sinner from birth, a few more sins wouldn’t make much difference. Like how one speck of dust isn’t noticeable on top of another. But you’re different, Eloise.”

She is the only daughter, legally born to a couple who love and respect each other.

“I promised myself I would only give you clean and right things, so please wait a little longer.”

He bowed most gentlemanly and smiled.

“When the time comes, we will know each other very well.”

With those words, he entered the bathroom.

Soon, judging by the thumping sounds, it seemed he was immersing himself in cold water in the bathroom.

Ryan emerged from the bathroom much later.

The carriage was quiet as the two headed toward the city.

Eloise glared at him while looking outside, and Ryan avoided her gaze, occasionally clearing his throat.

Since they had left Emily and Garner behind and taken the hotel’s carriage, the silence was even longer.

After getting off at the central square, Eloise turned around busily as if nothing had happened.

“Ryan, look over there! Let’s go there!”

“We should also see that!”

“Goodness, I need to see every shop in this alley!”

Bringport had countless shops packed together, incomparable to Feltham, the largest city near Blissbury.

Eloise moved like the wind in and out of shops, holding the long shopping list she had brought.

Ryan continued to follow behind Eloise, and after quite some time, when the sunset began to appear in the sky, Eloise headed to a nearby café at Ryan’s insistence that she really needed to rest.

The open-air café, where people strolling near the harbor sat, was peace itself.

Forgetting her resentment from the hotel, Eloise was about to tell him how truly beautiful this place was while drinking tea.

“Ryan Wilgrave is alive.”

The words from the young lady at the table behind them rang in both their ears.