Chapter 190: Afterglow

*Runze’s POV*

When I open my eyes, the room is quiet.

I don’t move.

I’m warm. One arm rests over my waist, holding me close against a broad chest. The slow, steady sound of Bael’s breathing fills the room, rising and falling right beneath my ear.

The memories of last night rush back all at once...the way he held my neck, the taste of him, the quiet words he whispered right into my ear.

My face instantly turns hot. I press my forehead into his collarbone, shutting my eyes tight.

*Stop thinking about it.*

I stay like that for a minute, waiting for my cheeks to cool down. When the heat finally fades, I lift my head very slowly.

Bael looks different like this. His jaw isn’t set, and the sharp line between his eyebrows is completely gone. Resting against the white pillows, he looks younger. Softer.

A tiny smile touches my lips before I can stop it.

I reach out a hand, keeping my touch light, and run one finger along the muscle of his bicep. His skin is warm, firm.

"Finished admiring me?"

I freeze.

My finger stays stuck against his arm.

Very slowly, I tilt my head up.

Bael’s grey eyes are wide open, looking right down at me. There is no sleepiness in his face at all. Just a faint, knowing look in his eyes.

"...You were awake?" I whisper.

"Yes, long enough to feel you staring."

Heat rushes right back into my cheeks, hotter than before.

"You could have said something!"

"I wanted to see what you’d do."

"...I was just checking if you were tired."

"Mm." Bael’s mouth twitches at the corner. "By rubbing my arm?"

"It wasn’t rubbing, it was just a touch."

"A very slow one, I see."

I let out a small breath and drop my head back onto his chest, bumping my forehead against his collarbone.

"You’re being annoying again..."

His hand moves up, his fingers lightly brushing through the hair at the back of my neck, his thumb resting behind my ear.

I stay where I am, listening. Not because I’m still sleepy, just... because I want to.

His heartbeat rises and falls beneath my cheek in the slow, steady rhythm I’ve come to know so well.

Months ago, I never imagined waking up like this.

Back then, waking beside Bael meant opening my eyes carefully, searching his face before I dared say a word. Wondering if I’d done something wrong, wondering whether today would be another day of cold indifference.

Now...

I wake up already wrapped inside his arms. Already safe, already loved.

I close my eyes again for just a second.

"...Going back to sleep?" he asks quietly.

I shake my head.

"Then why are your eyes closed?"

"...Because I like listening."

His fingers pause briefly in my hair.

"Listening?"

"Your heartbeat."

Silence settles between us.

Then, without saying anything else, I feel his arm tighten around my waist ever so slightly, drawing me a little closer.

I lie there against him, my hand moving without me really thinking about it, my fingers pressing through the thin fabric of my nightdress to lightly rub over my left chest. It feels tight and sensitive, a dull ache sitting right at the center.

Bael’s gaze drifts lower, tracking the movement of my hand.

"You keep touching your chest," he says quietly.

My fingers instantly still.

"...Do I?"

"You’ve done it three times since you opened your eyes."

I pull my hand back, but his eyes stay right there, amused and dark.

"Did I suck on it too hard last night?" he asks.

The question comes out so smooth and teasing that my breath hitches instantly, heat surges straight up my neck, flooding my ears and cheeks all over again.

"...Bael." I bite my lip, glaring up at him through the blush taking over my face.

He just watches me, looking thoroughly pleased with the reaction he got out of me, his thumb tracing a slow, warm line over my shoulder.

Before I can figure out what to say back to him, a quiet knock sounds at the bedroom door.

"Young Master?" Mrs. Wen’s voice comes through the wood, gentle and polite. "Breakfast will be ready in fifteen minutes."

"Thank you, Mrs. Wen," I call back, my voice still a little raspy from sleep. "We’ll be down soon."

***

We take a quick shower together. Bael stays careful the whole time, helping me wash my hair and making sure I don’t slip on the wet tiles, but he keeps his hands strictly helpful.

No teasing, no pushing, just warm water and his quiet presence.

As I’m buttoning up a loose white shirt over my chest, the faint friction of the cotton against my nipples makes me wince. I quickly hold the fabric away from my skin.

Bael’s phone rings from the nightstand.

He picks it up on the second ring, resting it against his ear as he fastens his watch. "Speak."

I watch him from the mirror. In a second, his posture changes. The quiet man who was just holding me in the dark vanishes, replaced by the head of the company. His jaw tightens, his eyes going flat and sharp.

"When?" Bael asks. A pause. "No. Don’t touch the files until I get there. I’m leaving now."

He hangs up and grabs his dark suit jacket off the chair.

"Is something wrong?" I ask, stepping closer to him.

"A minor issue at the office," Bael says smoothly, reaching out to smooth down the collar of my shirt. "Nothing serious. But I need to handle it myself."

"Are you skipping breakfast?" I look toward the door. "Mrs. Wen just finished making it. You can eat a little bit before you go."

"No time." He leans down, pressing a firm, lingering kiss against my forehead. His hand rests on the back of my neck for a second, squeezing gently. "The breeze is too much today, so stay inside and rest."

"Bael, at least take a—"

He’s already turning for the door, his long stride taking him down the hallway before I can finish my sentence.

I stand in the middle of the room, looking at the empty doorway. He didn’t even have time for a cup of coffee.