CH 59

Gareth’s sharp gaze quickly scanned the area near the fireplace and his lips soon twitched in anger when he realized that Elena wasn’t there. He scoured his surroundings as well, but still couldn’t find her. In the night of early winter where the cold wind would grasp onto one’s ankles, Gareth began his search for Elena.

* * *

Elena fumbled through her memory as she swung her dagger. Every night during their trip from Townsend estate, Gareth had instructed her on how to properly use the dagger, but Elena hadn’t been practicing ever since she arrived here. In fact, she didn’t want to learn anymore because she had wanted to be under his protection.

‘What a foolish mindset…’ she thought. As Gareth had said, he couldn’t stay with her forever, but she had pretended not to realize this.

“The only thing important to me is to find a way to survive each day. You can’t whine and cry and rely on being my wife, Elena. You need to realize that I’m a mercenary and that I can die any day!” he had said.

Elena exhaled calmly and mulled over his words again. ‘He must have lived his whole life knowing that death could come and take him at any moment. Maybe that’s why he lives this way,’ Elena concluded as she remembered Gareth’s words about not believing in God and only in himself and his sword.

Still, Gareth was someone who kept his oath. “Elena, you need to become the wife of a mercenary,” Elena mumbled to herself, releasing visible puffs of breath into the cold night air. “You need to try to understand him more than you do now. That way, you’ll be less hurt by what he does,” Elena told herself, then quickly swung the dagger in her hand. Her movement was awkward; at this rate, it seemed that she could never defend herself. Elena tilted her head in confusion as she tried to recall what Gareth had taught her. She was able to recall bits and pieces of his lessons and swung her dagger again, cleaving the air. Although she felt clumsy, it seemed that she was getting better at it.

“You’re unbalanced, Elena. You need to move your right leg further out,” Gareth’s voice suddenly came from behind her. Before Elena could turn around, Gareth approached her from behind and corrected her posture. He then reached out and wrapped his hand around her hand that held the dagger. “Try again,” he said.

Perhaps it was because Gareth had fixed her posture or because he was moving her arms by holding her hand in his, but Elena felt a little different, more confident this time.

“Pay attention, Elena. The opponent has to die for me to live,” Gareth said quietly from behind her. His indifferent voice strangely made her heart ache.

Elena furrowed her brows, thinking, ‘When did I start to care about him so much… Was it when I saw his innocent smile? Had I already made myself vulnerable when I decided to be affected by his cold words? Since when…’

“Don’t slack off on practicing, Elena, whether I’m here or not,” Gareth interrupted her thoughts.

“Are you telling me to protect myself?” Elena whispered back, to which Gareth nodded. “I’ll do my best, but don’t expect much, Gareth. I’m not good at this kind of thing at all,” Elena added.

Gareth moved closer to her and hugged her at that instant, then bowed his head to bury his face at the back of Elena’s neck.

“Gareth?” Almost trapped in Gareth’s arms, Elena lowered the dagger and patted the back of Gareth’s hand with her other hand. When she remembered once again that Gareth had witnessed the death of his family, she felt sorry for saying anything about her lack of skills regarding the dagger. “I’ll try. I’ll try, Gareth,” Elena whispered, comforting Gareth by gently stroking the back of his hand.

Elena slowly turned around and faced Gareth, then reached out to hold his hand. She then led him back inside to the bedroom.

* * *

Moonlight shone through the window and stained the bed in a faint gray. Gareth, who had discarded all of his clothes, undressed Elena, then threw her dress onto the floor. Next, he undid Elena’s hair, causing her rich, glossy hair to cascade down and disperse onto her white skin like a waterfall.

Elena could sense that something had changed in the way that Gareth touched her. It was hard to describe, but the difference was making her heart flutter with anticipation. His large hand that was caressing her hair slid down and touched her thin neck, shoulder, then back. Gareth then lowered his head and took her breast into his mouth, gently teasing her nipple with his tongue and sucking it along with the rest of her mound. Aroused, Elena unconsciously let out a moan.

After carefully kissing and sucking on one breast for a while, Gareth moved to the other side and gently stimulated the other nipple with his tongue. Elena gently stroked his hair, letting out soft sighs. Her breath had already become warm despite being out in the cold for a while. Elena felt completely different from how she usually felt when she would spend time with Gareth like this. She could feel him seeping into her, not just through her skin, but through her heart. She was starting to feel Gareth.

Gareth lifted Elena up with ease, then laid her down on the bed. He scattered light kisses onto her face, starting with her eyes, nose, then lips. From the neck down, he began to leave marks on her body while releasing hot breaths on her skin. He kissed every nook and cranny of her body from her arm to her fingers, then trailed up to her breasts, abandoning himself to his carnal pleasures. His touches became even more passionate when Elena’s hands disheveled his hair and caressed the back of his neck.

Gareth lingered on Elena’s flat abdomen for a while before gently spreading her thighs and lowering his head to kiss her between the legs. Elena’s back arched like a bow as she moaned in pleasure. Taking her reaction as permission to keep going, Gareth licked Elena’s soft skin revealed before him. Being able to clearly taste her made his body tremble. The uncontrollable pleasure he had experienced previously seemed to beckon him, but Gareth endured and used his lips to gently tug on and suck on her soft skin instead. Elena’s body immediately shook, her grip on his shoulder trembling just like he was.

Gareth spread Elena’s thighs even further apart with his shoulders, then showered her with deep kisses. After doing this countless times, he pushed his tongue into her wet and sleek entrance. He heard her clear sigh of pleasure this time, which sounded as if she was inviting him in. Gareth moved his tongue in and out of her just like he would do with his manhood while continuously stimulating her soft skin with his fingers. As Elena gradually became wetter, the taste in his mouth became sweeter.