Y/n pov
The next morning, I got ready for the day and made my way downstairs to the dining area for breakfast. A smile curled on my lips when my gaze fell over my husband seated at the head of the table. But the smile disappeared when I saw two other men present at the table as well—one of them was his younger brother, Woo-jin.
Anger coursed through me at the sight of him. He was the last person on this planet I wanted to see this morning after having such a pleasant night. I still hadn’t forgotten about his disgusting proposal or how he fed lies about me to Kim Tae-hyung .
I exhaled sharply, determined not to let his presence get a reaction out of me. Shifting my gaze from Woo-jin, I looked over to the other man who I’d never seen before. He looked about the same age as my husband and was dressed in a gray suit that fit his muscular body. He was handsome, but my husband took the cake when it comes to good looks. Biased.
“Y/n,” Kim Tae-hyung rose to his feet when he saw me. He walked over to me, and I felt a strong desire to throw myself into his strong arms.
“I overslept. Why didn’t you wake me up?” I lowered my voice so that only he could hear me.
“You were sleeping so peacefully. I didn’t have the heart,” he murmured, reaching out to brush a few tendrils of hair behind my ear.
Heat rushed to my cheeks under his darkened gaze. Shit, what’s he turning me into? I wasn’t the type of girl who would act all shy and coy, but as I mentioned before, Kim Tae-hyung did make me act strangely.
“What are you newlyweds doing there?” Woo-jin called out from the table.
“Your brother is a piece of work,” I muttered under my breath, narrowing my gaze at Woo-jin, who was watching us with a smirk on his face.
Kim Tae-hyung let out a chuckle. “Tell me about it.”
He reached out and grasped my hand in his as he led me to the table. He pulled out a chair next to his and gestured for me to sit down.
“Aren’t you going to introduce your wife to me, Tae-hyung ?” The man sitting across from us said, catching our attention.
My husband stiffened beside me. I tilted my head to look at Tae-hyung . He wore a passive expression on his face that didn’t give away much.
Kim Tae-hyung cleared his throat. “He’s Jungkook, my best friend and business partner. And Jungkook, this is Y/n, my wife.”
“Hello,” I turned to Jungkook and greeted him with a polite smile.
“Hello, Mrs. Kim .” He gave a curt nod in response. The man had the same passive look as Tae-hyung’s father when he met me for the first time. Jungkook was looking me over with curiosity and somewhat distaste at what he was seeing. I was sure from the look on his face that he was assessing what Tae-hyung saw in me to marry. Rich snobs.
That was rude, but I didn’t say anything. I slid into the chair and helped myself to breakfast. There was underlying tension which the men tried to hide but were visibly failing.
“So, Y/n. I hope you don’t mind me calling you that?” Jungkook started, getting my attention.
I turned to him and shook my head. “Of course not.”
“I was wondering how you two met? I mean, I have never seen you with Tae-hyung before the wedding.” His curious gaze shifted from me to Tae-hyung, and both of us were stumped. Neither of us was expecting that question to be thrown our way. I had no idea what to reply, and glancing at Tae-hyung, he didn’t either.
I shifted in my place as uneasiness settled in the pit of my stomach, but I decided to speak the first thing that came to my mind. “We met through Minji, my older sister. She works for him. About not being seen together, we were keeping things under wraps since I’m a college student, and Tae-hyung didn’t want media attention to cause any problems for me at college. You know how annoying it can be, people with cameras following you around?”
Jungkook nodded. “I can understand that.”
I smiled, taking in a sigh of relief seeing he bought my story.
“Hyung, I heard you’re taking Y/n to Japan for your honeymoon,” Woo-jin said, addressing his brother.
“It’s a work trip,” Tae-hyung corrected. “When I take my wife on a honeymoon, it’ll be longer than three days.”
He raised his head and winked in my direction. My heart leaped in my chest, and my cheeks colored as the familiar warmth of his affection washed over me, and I forgot the earlier tension and everything else, for that matter.
***
“Your best friend didn’t come to our reception party?” I asked him as we sat in the car taking us to his hotel in Japan. I avoided asking him about Jungkook throughout the day seeing there was some tension between the two men. It was pretty much evident at the breakfast table.
“No. He was in London at that time,” Tae-hyung replied after a prolonged silence.
I hummed into my throat and waited for him to say something more, but he didn’t. I got the feeling he didn’t want to talk about it. I should have stopped getting the signal, but the desire to know his world more got the better of me.
“From the introduction at the table this morning, I can say he doesn’t like your choice. Does that bother you? First, your father and now your best friend. People from your world don’t really approve of the nobody you’ve married.” My gaze zeroed in over his face, observing his expressions. I wanted to know what he thought about the disapproval his father and friend had shown toward me. Did he feel the same?
Tae-hyung tilted his head to look into my eyes, his jaw set tight. “You’re not a nobody. Stop degrading yourself like that.”
“I’m not degrading myself. Just stating what some people think about you marrying me.”
“Those people can go fuck themselves,” he growled.
My eyes widened hearing those words from him. I had never seen him lose his control like that, and he rarely swore unless he was aroused.
“Whoa! Calm down, tiger. Your father is included in that list as well.” I patted him on the arm, then decided that was a bad idea when my fingers came in contact with his taut muscles. I was left wanting to trail my hands all over him, feel him to my heart’s content. I controlled myself, though, deciding this was not the time to explore my husband’s body.
“Does it look like I care?” He raised an eyebrow.
“I guess, no?”
“My father, or anyone else for that matter, doesn’t get to make a decision on my behalf. I’m in charge of my life, and I do what I please,” Tae-hyung said, and I could feel a smile curl on my lips. He was so like me yet so different. He was mature, not impulsive like me. The man planned everything beforehand, and once he set out to get something, he got it.
A small gasp tumbled out my lips when he wrapped an arm around my shoulder and pulled me to him hard, causing me to fall on his chest. “Tae-hyung .”
“What? You’re my legally-wedded wife. I’m allowed to hold you like this.” He smirked, and my stomach fluttered at his words. He could turn me on just by simply talking, and there he was holding me like I was his precious possession. How was I supposed to resist him?
“Okay.” I controlled my raging heartbeats and shifted closer, making myself comfortable in his cozy embrace. I could get used to it. You shouldn’t, the small voice in the back of my head whispered, and I jerked out of whatever trance his closeness put me in. What the fuck! Reality struck me. Hard. How could I forget the marriage wasn’t going to last forever? Twelve months and both of us would go our separate ways.
My heart stung. The thought of ending our marriage pierced through me like a sharp arrow, leaving a slow, burning ache behind that spread through me. What was happening? Why was I getting so worked up at the idea of being away from him? Wasn’t I aware of everything from the start? Then, why did it hurt so much? Was I getting too attached?
“We have arrived,” his soft voice broke my chain of thoughts. I blinked, pulled myself off him, and stared out of the window. I didn’t get a chance to analyze my feelings as we stepped out of the car and headed inside the hotel. The luxurious hotel was owned by the Kims, and we were directly led to the royal suite reserved for family members at the top of the building.
“Wow! This is something,” I mumbled praises looking around the suite in awe. By now, I shouldn’t be surprised seeing such luxury being Mrs.Kim, but I couldn’t help myself.
I walked over to the floor-to-ceiling glass window and stared out. The view of the mountains laid before me. “This is beautiful.”
“Not more than the woman in front of me.” His deep baritone voice filled the air.
“Aren’t you turning into a poet, Mr. Kim ?” I turned to face him, an eyebrow arched up.
He didn’t reply. His hooded gaze moved over my petite frame, touching every part of me with his soulful eyes. Taking slow steps, he walked over and stood before me, making my heart go wild. Dammit, what I wouldn’t give to learn the art of controlling my treacherous heart around him.
Kim Tae-hyung held my gaze with his dark one as his arms stretched, and he undid the knot of my coat and helped me out of it, then gently tugged me in his arms. An emotion I wasn’t familiar with seeped in. I felt a sense of belonging standing there with him, his arms wound around me in a firm, gentle hold.
I raised my head and looked into the prettiest pair of eyes. “Tae-hyung,” his name fell off my lips in a whisper as the air changed between us.
“Tonight,” he let out a raspy breath, and I was taken back by the intensity of his voice. It held a promise he intended to fulfill. I couldn’t wait.
He bent his head and pressed a kiss to my head before he untangled himself from me and stood, taking a step back. I stared at him in awe as he took in a deep breath and gained composure, desire still gleamed in his eyes, though.
“Why don’t you freshen up? I’ll call for room service,” he suggested, and I found myself agreeing.
“What are we going to do today?” It was around five in the evening, and we had the evening to ourselves. It would be a shame to spend it locked inside the hotel suite.
Tae-hyung shrugged. “We can go out or relax in here if you’re tired from the journey.”
“We’ll go out,” I told him with a grin so wide, my cheeks started to hurt.
Stop behaving like a child.
“It’s decided, then.”
“Great.” I clasped my hands together and smiled, this time composed and poised. Tae-hyung reciprocated, making my heart flip in my chest, and that was when I realized being alone with him in that beautiful mountain city would make it harder to resist his charm.
***
What was going through his head, I wondered as he placed his palm on the small of my back and started leading me inside the hotel from the garden we were strolling in after a peaceful dinner.
A sigh left my parted lips, and the moments of that evening came rushing to my mind. He took me to the famous local market a half-hour drive from his hotel. We spent hours roaming around, and those were the most amazing hours of my life so far. I enjoyed myself. Tae-hyung was great company to have even if he rarely spoke.
But what he lacked in communication skills, he more than made up with his gestures and touch. Those sinful, seductive caresses and addictive kisses throughout the evening, teasing and tickling my senses, pulling me into a sensuous game of seduction with no way out. But did I want a way out? No.
Tae-hyung kept me on edge, and I was burning in the passion he ignited inside of me. But he was prolonging the moment. Dammit, was he testing my self-control? If he were, then I was so going to fail. I was moments away from stripping him out of his clothes and mark him as mine.
I shook my head wondering when did I start having such primal, possessive thoughts?
I snapped out of my thoughts when Tae-hyung pulled us into our hotel suite and locked the door behind us. I turned to him to say something, and just then, my cell phone rang, making me curse the caller under my breath. I pulled the phone out of the pocket of my coat and saw the caller ID.
“It’s Minji,” I told Tae-hyung, who grimaced at the interruption but nodded his head in understanding.
“Hello.” I picked up the call, disinterest showing in my voice.
“Our family lawyer called this evening and told us you’ve contacted him regarding the property. Is that true?” Minji asked from the other side, sounding frustrated at the development.
“Yes.”
“Didn’t you feel like consulting Mom and me before making any decision?” She cut me off and demanded an answer.
I narrowed my eyes at the display of authority from her. She didn’t get to decide what I should do. “Have you forgotten about Dad’s will? I can get my share of the property once I’m married, and as you know, I got married a few days back. I’d now like to claim what’s rightfully mine. I don’t need your and Mom’s permission for that.”
Tae-hyung’s concerned gaze was on me, making me feel secure for the first time in a long, long time.
“Mom wants to meet with you. Be here in the morning,” my sister commanded.
“I can’t,” I replied dryly.
“Why can’t you?”
“Because I’m in Japan with my husband enjoying married life.” If she hadn’t been a bitch to me since forever, I might have felt bad about rubbing my marriage with Tae-hyung in her face.
“You’re with Kim Tae-hyung ?” Minji asked with an edge to her voice.
“My husband’s name is Kim Tae-hyung, you know?”
“I know,” she ground her teeth. “When will you be back?”
“Saturday.”
“Meet us as soon as you’re back,” Minji barked over the phone, and before I could retort, the line went dead. I chose not to pay any heed to her. Like hell, was I going to meet them until the lawyer had started the procedure of transferring the property to my name.
“What did she say to get you in a bad mood?” Tae-hyung stepped closer and asked with an eyebrow raised.
“That bloody lawyer told them I filed a claim for my share of the property. Mother wants to meet me to talk about it. I think they want me to give up my share.
“Do you need any help?”
“No. I won’t be meeting them anytime soon.”
“Avoiding them won’t help. If they don’t want you getting your share, then they will try something else to jeopardize this for you. If you want, I can get my lawyer to step in from your side. That way, you will be assured you’re getting what you truly deserve and on time. Property dispute cases can go on forever.” His words forced me to think about his proposal . That was a suggestion I could consider taking seeing the lawyer handling the case was more on Mom’s side than mine.
“You can do that?” I asked though I knew his reply.
“Yes. I’ll contact my lawyer in the morning,” he replied with a small smile that made my heart flip in my chest. Amidst the tension, I felt a smile curl on my lips.
“That will be great. Thank you.” I stood on my toes and kissed his cheek.
“You know there are other ways as well to thank your husband,” he murmured, his intensified gaze ran over my petite form.
“Such as?” I asked, despite my heart thudding in my chest at the suggestive look on his face.
His eyes darkened as he took another step toward me, standing so close that I could feel the heat radiating off him. I wanted nothing more than to melt in this puddle of desire.
“I believe in demonstrating rather than telling.” He lowered his head to my level and brushed his firm, soft lips against mine. I shuddered against him as my mind raced to think of all the possible things he could do to me. “But we could use a hot bath before that.”
We? Did he mean what I thought he meant? An audible gasp left my parted lips, and I tilted my back to stare at him in shock.
“After the tiring day we have had, we need it,” Tae-hyung said, ignoring the look of shock on my face. He took the phone I held in my hand and placed it on the table nearby along with his. His strong fingers curled around my wrist as he pulled me to the master bathroom to our left. He pulled me inside, not bothering to close the door.
My heart thumped against my ribcage from the adrenaline rush. I stood in the middle of the white tiled floor and watched my husband as he walked over to the tub and started the hot water tap to fill the tub. He added bath salts, then walked back to me.
His darkened gaze held mine as he spoke, “Are you ready to be mine, sweetheart?”
[Words Count : 3070]