He saw the flicker of hurt in her eyes before she lowered her head. "As… as you wish."
That night, beneath the shadow of the great oak tree that watched over Anatol, the beast and the dove finally met not as hunter and prey, but as two wounded souls seeking shelter in each other's warmth. The floor remained empty. The bed, for the first time, held not a lord and a lady, but a man and a woman who had chosen, at last, to be brave.
"Riftan," she said, and this time, her voice did not stutter. It was a quiet, firm river. "I… I want you to t-touch me. I have always wanted it. I was just… I was just s-scared you would see how… how broken I truly am." Under The Oak Tree Manga
"Because I am afraid," he confessed, the words tearing out of him like a dragon's roar. "I am afraid that if I touch you, you will shatter. I am afraid that the desire I feel will terrify you. I am a brute, Maxi. I have killed more things than I can count. And you… you are sunlight. I would rather freeze on the floor for a thousand nights than be the reason for a single one of your tears."
The silence stretched for an eternity.
"No," he said, pushing off from the frame. "Go to sleep, Maximilian. It's late."
He lifted her from the chair as if she weighed nothing. She gasped, wrapping her legs around his waist instinctively. He carried her to the bed— their bed—and laid her down on the fur blankets. He saw the flicker of hurt in her
Her hands clenched the book. He saw the battle within her—the stutter that choked her words, the fear that paralyzed her tongue. She wanted to say something. He could feel it. But the words died in her throat.
Come here , he wanted to roar. Let me hold you. Let me forget the smell of blood and dirt. Let me pretend I am a man and not a monster. The bed, for the first time, held not