A Letter Soaked in Water
Her voice carried a faint smile, laced with playful teasing that made Adeline’s cheeks burn as if they might burst. She fidgeted, embarrassed, stepping back from the door only to turn and catch a glimpse of it.
Thank the heavens there was a door.
If Noah had seen her like this, she would have died of shame.
Even though no one was watching, Adeline still felt mortified. She slowly caught her breath.
“I’ll leave the letter here.”
She carelessly placed the letter on the table and whirled around, still unable to calm herself. She stumbled toward the door, her legs tangling.
Whack—!
Her elbow accidentally struck the water bottle. The bottle toppled, spilling water across the table. The letter became soaked, and Adeline snatched it up in a panic.
She never made such careless mistakes.
“Oh… the letter’s wet. What do I do?”
The door opened. The moment she saw Noah in his shower robe, Adeline’s cheeks flushed like ripe tomatoes. She jerked her head away, clutching the damp letter tightly.
“I-it’s… it’s a letter from Count Leyod.”
The ink had smeared, so Adeline quickly read the words.
“Count Leyod?”
Noah murmured the name, as if trying to recall who it was.
“The ink’s probably ruined. I’ll read it first.”
She reached for the paper knife embedded in the desk. That was when Noah strode up from behind, planting himself right at her back.
His hand suddenly reached out and gently caught hers—the one holding the letter. Startled, Adeline dropped it. Noah caught the letter with practiced ease and quickly tucked it behind his back.
Adeline looked up into Noah’s eyes. Drops of water glistened at the tips of his damp hair from his recent shower.
Plink, plop.
The circular ripples on the floor spread and seeped into the wood.
“Adeline.”
Noah’s lips curved into a teasing smile. His shower robe gaped open, revealing the broad expanse of his chest and the bulging veins along his arms that made Adeline’s gaze linger. She had no idea what she was seeing.
“It’s fine. It’s not an urgent letter, after all. What is it?”
Noah swallowed hard. The distance from the bathroom to the desk had been short, yet the moment he realized the letter’s sender was Count Leyod, his heart raced as if he’d just run a marathon.
[You won’t be checking on Lady Wilhelmina’s status anytime soon, right? No way…]
That had been the name of a friend Noah had beaten senseless with a bottle at the social club not long ago.
“Still…”
Adeline leaned back. Noah’s lower body was pressed far too closely against hers. Her hips rested against the desk. With nowhere left to flee, she braced her hands on the table.
“Still, if I don’t open it now, the letter will be ruined.”
She apologized, her eyebrows furrowing. When she lifted her wandering gaze, their eyes met. Noah had been watching her the entire time. He pressed his palms flat on the table, leaned in to match her height, and Adeline held her breath as he drew closer.
Noah’s hand, gripping the letter, pressed lightly beside Adeline’s as she gripped the table’s edge. He had nowhere to run; he was trapped.
“There’s no need to read it.”
“…”
“From now on, you don’t have to bring these letters. I’m sorry, after all.”
“…”
“You’re my fiancé. Not a servant.”
“…”
“You understand, don’t you?”
Noah, hiding something, fixed his gaze on Adeline’s trembling eyes. She swallowed slowly, then nodded.
She didn’t catch on.
Noah sighed inwardly while looking at her. His outward calm was a lie; inside, his heart had been scorched. Once he confirmed that the fire that had almost consumed his emotions was unknown to Adeline, it slowly cooled.
“All right, Noah.”
Adeline’s lips trembled slightly as she agreed. Noah’s gaze lingered on her parted lips.
He glanced downward a moment later. Just an inch. The space between them was so narrow that their lower bodies looked as if they were about to merge. His hand rested beside hers on the table, and his face was close enough that kissing would be effortless.
Adeline’s fluttering lashes, and then her furrowed brows, seemed to etch themselves into his cornea.
Noah’s heart thumped again, this time with a different meaning. Blood surged, and his hands tightened. His throat went dry in an instant. Noah’s Adam’s apple descended slowly as he swallowed.
“Adeline.”
“…”
I want to kiss her.
In Noah’s mind, that was all he could think about. What if he kissed those lips right now? What if he bit into her trembling mouth, pressed his tongue in to stop her shaky breath—would Adeline push him away? Maybe that expression was exactly what she wanted. Maybe she was secretly hoping for this very thing—someone to simply pull her close.
Noah’s brain went rogue. He usually knew a woman’s likes and dislikes well; most were toward him. But with Adeline, he couldn’t tell. Was it good or bad? Ambiguous. There was room for her not to push him away, yet she seemed to dislike pulling back, while still meeting his eyes—completely unreadable.
What now?
Should he just kiss her?
“Are you not warm?”
Noah gently cupped her neck. Thud, thud, thud. He lightly pressed his thumb against her steep pulse.
“Hic…”
Noah’s hands, fresh from the shower, felt refreshingly cool. The heat on Adeline’s face began to ease.
Refreshing.
The hand lightly holding her neck traced a dangerous path along her collarbone. Adeline shivered. The hand looked as if it would soon slide lower, sweeping over her sweat-damp body.
It shouldn’t be possible, but it was.
Noah was merely concerned about her overheated face, yet here he was, doing this.
“Should I make it cooler?”
“…”
How?
Yes, it was hot. Their bodies were pressed so closely that they felt scorching. Adeline’s eyes drifted downward. When she saw the thighs hidden beneath her shower robe, memories from a few days ago surfaced.
The outline of Noah’s arousal, where it had rested against Adeline’s thigh, was still vivid. Though she knew little about the male body, her instincts told her everything.
Noah was a man.
He was healthy, with no physical flaws…
“Adeline’s body is hot.”
His large hand slowly traced her arm. A cool shiver followed the path. Even though the palm’s grip wasn’t tight, Adeline shrugged her shoulders.
“My hands are cool, after all.”
Noah’s fingers rubbed her wrist bone.
“Ugh…”
“If you keep touching me like this…”
Both his hands wrapped around her waist, giving a slight squeeze. Her feet seemed to lift. The cold surface of the desk pressed against her hips.
Before she could close her legs that had parted slightly, Noah caught her ankle. His fingers—tracing the bone—gradually crossed the boundary.
“Won’t you feel better?”
He gripped her calf. If he kept going like this, it would be dangerous. Adeline exhaled shakily.
“No. It’s fine, Noah.”
Noah was the patient. His heart was soft from pain, so he relied on the person he disliked. Because she was the one in pain, she probably didn’t realize what he was doing.
Like a dog trying to repay kindness.
That was all it was.
Adeline erased the image of Noah’s outline from a few days ago from her mind. Perhaps because of the act, she stopped the messy fantasies that tangled together.
That was something Adeline hadn’t seen. Noah’s physical response had nothing to do with her.
Just a man. It was only natural.
“I can shower too, you know.”
“…”
“Now your hands are hot, aren’t they.”
Adeline pulled Noah’s hand away. Because her body heat had transferred, the hand that had gripped her calf felt scorching.
“Really? What a shame.”
Her racing mind tangled again. She couldn’t grasp the meaning of the word “shame.” Adeline lowered her gaze. The veins stood out on Noah’s forearm.
“And stop coming so close.”
“Why?”
His voice sounded as if he truly didn’t understand. Adeline slowly exhaled. Her heart was racing too fast.
“It just feels uncomfortable.”
His scent would linger. She hadn’t forgotten the day Noah had berated her for smelling bad and dragged her to the lake under the pretense of taking her to the servants.
And.
Adeline lifted her eyes. Noah’s complexion looked much better than before, though still different. Color had returned. Everything about him that she had overlooked felt strangely familiar. Even as she told herself he was just a patient, that he was merely repaying a favor, a warning signal rang from the depths of her heart: get closer at your own risk.
“Why is it uncomfortable that we’re this close?”