Chapter 229 - PERSUATION

"I'll grant your wish. As long as you want, I will support you. If you need my help, you just have to ask. I'll assist you. If you need an army, I will give you hundreds of soldiers. If you need power, I'll give you that. Whatever you want, you will get it from me. In return, stay away from danger."

That's the only thing he truly wished for.

For the first time, he fell in love. For the first time, he feared losing someone.

If he could, he would keep her in his heart and cuddle her for the rest of his life. Whatever she would want, he would give it to her. He would not refuse her no matter what.

However, deep in his heart, he knew it wasn't possible. She would not want to be cuddled.

She was a troublemaker who couldn't stand still in a place.

His cuddling would only make her feel suffocated and caged.

She might begin to hate him for that.

And, he did not want that.

Veronica looked at him. "Arthur, I would rather not face the danger. I want to live a good life. It's a world that is full of danger and I have some responsibilities. I can't get away from it anymore."

'Responsibilities.' Arthur slightly furrowed his eyebrows. 

For Veronica to talk about responsibilities was nothing new, but trying to take those responsibilities was something new.

If she had been that responsible, she wouldn't have run away with Arthur and lived as his wife in the first place. She would stay in the temple and follow the king's command.

'Something seems different. She is… different." Arthur noted her behavior. 'Is this because she drank the dragon's blood? Was it really the dragon's blood or something else?'

He told her, "Your responsibility is yours. I'm fine if you choose that path. But if you are in danger, I'll protect you. So, stop worrying about meaningless things."

"It's not meaningless. I truly think there is something wrong with Saint Ava. Why is she trying to hide information about elves? She didn't even support the innocent children."

Unconsciously, she blurted out the Saint's name she tried to hide for so long.

Arthur concealed his smile and commented, "As I said, there must be a reason. It could be that she is hiding her feelings for the innocents or she is supporting the elves behind everyone's back.

"But the question remains. The elves… who are they supporting? Are they supporting the good ones or the bad ones?"

Veronica retorted, "How can they support the good people? They assassinated innocent people. They can't be on our side. We have to find them. I'll ask the Head Priest. If he doesn't know about elves, I can search the forbidden section of the library."

Arthur voiced his opinion once again, "I still think it's a bad idea."

Veronica knew he would say that. She sweetened her voice to coax him, "The Head Priest is on my side. He is also a wise man. If I tell him I want to help people in my own way, he'll listen."

Arthur leaned forward and whispered into her ear, "If you give me a kiss and tell me that I'm the best husband, I'll listen to you."

Veronica chuckled. She felt a little embarrassed to do his bidding, yet she enjoyed it as much.

She tip-toed and her lips touched his. It was a sweet, platonic kiss, giving him warmth in his heart in the snowy night.

How much he loved her, his wife. No woman in the world could move his heart as she did.

Other women only wanted materialistic things. Those who wanted his money and power didn't dare to face him after knowing his identity. And, those who didn't know his identity, only lusted after his body.

And they couldn't make his heart flutter. They only gave him superficially, temporary love and company.

After he saw Veronica, everything changed.

Arthur's arms circled her body and he deepened the kiss. Their lips overlapped.

He sucked her lower lip and nibbled it, feeling the sweetness. Her addictive fragrance reached his nose. 

"Mm…" Veronica let out a soft moan as she responded to him.

She loved how gently and lovingly he kissed her. She could sense his affection for her. It would always fill her heart.

His tongue pressed against her lip. She gasped and opened her eyes. He entered her mouth.

The platonic kiss turned wild. Their tongues tangled and their breaths caught.

Despite the cold wind blowing, their bodies grew warm against nature.

Veronica shuddered as she felt his hands roaming around her body.

His hands groped her buttocks and firmly pressed her against him.

"Mmg!" She sensed something hard touching her lower abdomen. She clenched her inner thighs feeling the hotness.

She pulled back from the kiss when she couldn't breathe anymore.

"Haah… haah… haah…" She panted unsteadily. Her teary eyes stared at him longingly.

Arthur's hungry eyes looked at her alluring face. His warm fingers touched her flushed cheek.

"I'm so hard because of you. What are you going to do, hmm?"

Veronica's face was tinted with several shades of a red hue. She pushed at his chest.

"How is it my fault? Did I tell you to kiss me back? Do you still want to hear me say 'you are the best husband'?"

Arthur teased her by saying, "How can I resist when you kiss me like that? Don't you know I'm head over heels for you?"

Veronica was so embarrassed that she looked away. "Who told you to be head over heels for me?"

"Would you like it if I weren't head over heels for my wife? I'm so pitiful. My wife doesn't want me." Arthur pretended to be heartbroken.

"Who said I don't want you?" Veronica was shy but she couldn't make him feel pitiful either. She would hate herself for hurting him. "But what can we do? We can't do anything inside the cave. Darius and Zinnia are around. We'll disturb them."

"My wife is too precious. Always thinking about others before her. We can just do it here," Arthur coolly voiced his plan.

"Wah! Here? How are we going to do anything in the middle of nowhere? Even under the sky?!"

Veronica was completely flustered. She panicked as she couldn't imagine having sex under the moonlight.

"Don't worry. I won't take off your clothes." Arthur bit her soft earlobe.

Veronica shuddered as a familiar sensation traveled down her spine. No matter how familiar she was with the sensation, she could never get used to it.

She stammered as she protested, "Bu-but Ironin is guarding outside. He can see us."

"Don't worry. He is guarding somewhere else. He won't come between a married couple," Arthur swiftly lied.

He held her hand and took her a bit further from the cave.

He pushed her against the snow wall and devoured her lips once again.

"Mm…" Veronica's body trembled. She strongly hugged his shoulders and passionately kissed him back.

Arthur's right hand slid under her warm clothes and fondled her breast. He earned a sweet moan from her. His thumb stroked her nipple until it got hard. He could feel her shivering beneath him.

After giving her a fervent kiss, he pecked on her jaw, throat, nape, and her collarbones. His hot breaths caressed her uncovered skin which gradually became warm.

Later, he dug inside her warm clothes, and through her dress, he kissed her other breast. It wasn't enough. He couldn't taste her nipple.

Feeling unsatisfied, he untied her front lace and loosened up the cloth around her chest. He took out one of the breasts. At first, he circled his tongue around it to stimulate her nipple. From the sensation, it perked up steadily. Afterward, he took it inside his mouth.

"Ahhh!" Veronica flinched. An electrifying sensation went down her spine. Her body jerked and something hot spread from her breast to all over her body. While her other mound was being played by his fingers, she couldn't help but moan.

She covered her mouth afraid that her voice would echo across the mountain. It might even reach Ironin's ears.

Arthur smirked at her cautious behavior. His soft tongue was still hovering over her perked-up mound. His suckling then suddenly turned intense.

Veronica's eyes went blank. She threw her head back. She didn't want to enjoy this ecstasy under the sky, but she couldn't help it. Her body was growing hot and her lower part seemed to be burning. She kept yearning for more.

"Hng… Arthur… be gentle…" She blinked. She closed her eyes and opened them again. She felt like milk would come out from her nipple at this rate as he was deliciously sucking her, just like a hungry baby.

"Mmm!" Arthur's eyes were closed as he let out a satisfied moan. The breast in his mouth was as soft as cotton. It tasted sweet. It was like a delicious dessert. He couldn't help but suck more. He paid no heed to her request.

His free hand went inside the hem of her skirt and touched her mid thighs. Slowly, they went up and ventured where he shouldn't have.

"Wa-wait!" Veronica gasped for air. She didn't have the time to feel her soaking wet breast. She let out a pleasant moan.

Arthur's eyes were burning like fire. His golden orbs were shimmering.

"Wait? I can't wait."