The Target: A Sequel to Hwarang: The Saga of the Sooks Book #6

Chapter 34: A Kiss Is Not Always Just a Kiss

"I can live without it."

Those were the words that greeted her when she stepped up underneath the beautiful trees which would blossom in the coming spring. Cherry blossom trees which had bloomed for them so long ago.

"You can live without what?" Sam Sook asked Yeo Wool.

"Sex." He brooked no confusion.

"What?" she asked in surprise as she gaped up at him. The man was so tall.

But she never felt threatened by his size. Not like she had cowered before that other man's extreme height.

"I am not like your husband. I would never want you to sleep in another room. But...if you cannot tolerate my touch, I will agree to any arrangement you want. You can have your own room. Your own set of rooms if you need them. A bedchamber for you. And an adjoining one for the girls to share. Or you can all share one room if that makes you feel most comfortable. And I will stay in my own room. I just...I don't want to be without you."

"Yeo Wool," she gazed up at him while her heart thundered in her ears, "you would really be happy simply living in the same house with me?"

"Yes," he answered unequivocally. Without any hesitation whatsoever.

"You're willing to become responsible for me and my daughters? With no reward?"

"Reward? Sam Sook. I love you. Your presence would be my reward. You delight me. So do Se Ri and Se Yeon. I just want to be with you. All of you."

He took a deep breath. "I realize that I am gone quite often, and that you may not wish to be apart from your mother. So – if you are amenable," he glanced into her eyes, "I am willing to move into your mother's house."

"No," she breathed.

"No?" His heart thudded to the ground. And he closed his eyes. Fighting back tears.

He had known that there was a very real possibility that she was going to deny him his life's dream. But that one word of refusal cut him all the way to the quick. It hurt more than any other wound had ever hurt him. Even the truth about his father.

He stood frozen. Devastated.

It took him a moment to realize that she had continued to speak.

"I do not want to live in that house any longer. I've kept the girls with me since Moon Won was executed. But every time I walk by her room..." She shuddered.

His focus sharpened. Had he misunderstood her?

"And truthfully, Yeo Wool, my own room holds hideous memories for me too."

His eyes widened. "Do you mean...?"

"It was my room when I was a child."

"When Moon Won's father...?"

"Yes," her eyes held his steady. "So you can see why I have no love for that house."

"Does your mother know this?"

She nodded her head. "I have been considering finding a house of my own."

"Ah."

Another slash to his heart. He hadn't misunderstood her.

"But I thought that you moved home to care for your mother?"

Her lips twitched suddenly. "My mother needs my care about as much as the king does. Have you not noticed that she is perfectly capable of commanding that army of servants surrounding her?"