Page 100 of Empire's Curse

Tears burned the back of her eyes and she blinked them away rapidly, hating the way her voice trembled.

“I’m sorry, just give me a few minutes and I’ll be fine. I just … I just feel so overwhelmed right now and so—”So useless. It was her duty to please her husband and yet she couldn’t do that. She didn’t even know what to do and now that her nerves were getting the better of her, she feared she would never be able to move from this spot.

Muyang watched her with furrowed brows. If he was displeased, he didn’t show it. In fact, if she didn’t know any better, she would say he was actuallyconcernedabout her. Him, the cruel and evil emperor, concerned about his wife? It should have been laughable, especially considering he had been likelywaiting for this moment. It was his right to take her. And yet she was resisting.

She hated the way her body seized up. The way she couldn’t think beyond how much she was already failing at being a wife.

“Daiyu,shhh.” He gently took her face in his hands and brushed her tears with his thumbs. She hadn’t even realized she was crying until she looked at him in that moment, his image blurring. “Why are you crying so much?”

“Because I know what I’m supposed to do, but I just …” She pressed her quivering lips together. “I’m sorry. I’ll be fine?—”

“Daiyu, you don’t have to do this. I hope you know that?” Muyang searched her face, his midnight-like eyes softening. “I wouldneverforce myself upon you. Do you hear me? I would never want you to force yourself to be with me either. You don’t have to be so scared. I would never hurt you and I would never want you to do anything you’re not comfortable with.”

“B-But it’s my duty?—”

“It’snotyour duty.”

“But …” She blinked away the tears clinging to her lashes. “But it is?”

“Not like this.Neverlike this.” He wiped the last of her tears and scanned her face again. She couldn’t tell what he was thinking, not with his shuttered expression or the calmness of his voice, but she was sure he wasn’t frustrated with her. “We’ll go at your pace,” he said, surprising her further.

“Mypace? What does that even mean?”

“It means thatyouare in charge, Daiyu.” He held on to one of the many pieces of jewelry intertwined in her hair and pulled at it softly. It came out without much resistance and, one by one, he began unraveling her hairstyle. Her face warmed and she was reminded of their time together months ago by the garden pond, where he had similarly pulled her hairpins out of place.

When the last of the ornaments were taken out and placed on the top of the nightstand, Daiyu tucked a lock of hair behind her ear and said, “What are you doing?”

“All of these look uncomfortable,” he said with a small shrug, loosening his own hair crown and dropping it atop her jewelry. He took her hands in his and rubbed his thumbs over her knuckles, his expression softening. “Take as long as you need, Daiyu. And as slow as you need. I’m not going anywhere.”

The lower pits of her belly warmed and she could only nod, her throat tightening unexpectedly. She hadn’t thought he was capable of being so tender, so … comforting.

Muyang brought her hands to his lips and kissed them softly, his gaze never straying from hers. “Tonight, you’re the empress, Daiyu, and I’m nothing more than your husband. So do what you want with me. Kiss me. Embrace me. Love me. But don’t hate me.” Another gentle kiss against her knuckles. “If all you want to do is sleep in my arms, then so be it.”

Her body trembled with another wave of nerves, but this time, it didn’t scare her as much as the first. This time, she could feel the giddy excitement. The slow realization that she was in charge made her feel even more comfortable in her bones. Slowly, she could feel her body relaxing and her breathing calming.

Daiyu tentatively touched the side of his face, her fingers fitting so well against the planes of his jaw. “Don’t be too sweet to me, or I might expect it every time you and I are together.”

Muyang chuckled, the sound reverberating in his chest. “Expect it every time then, Daiyu, because I would never force myself upon you. And youshouldexpect this type of behavior from your husband. Whenever we are together, I want every moment of longing, of passion, and of love to be mutual.”

He was supposed to be cruel. She had expected it. Maybe even mentally prepared herself for it. And yet, all she found was a tenderness that stoked something from deep within herself.

It terrified her how easy he was making all of this. How easy it would have been to fall in love with him in that very moment. To drop into his arms and love him with every fiber of her being.

Muyang pushed himself to his feet, kicked off his boots and ceremonial clothes until he was clad in nothing but a simple blacktunic and pants, and crawled into the spot on the bed beside her. Daiyu eased herself onto the bed, her heart racing. For a moment, neither of them did anything but stare at the ceiling. Daiyu could feel the exhaustion weighing her bones down on the soft mattress, but her flesh was tingly with anticipation. With a startlinglonging.

Daiyu abruptly sat up and peered down at him. He glanced over at her, dark eyes appearing like two beautiful chips of starless, midnight sky. He was too beautiful for her to ignore in that moment. Too handsome for her to ignore the embers that sparked and burned within herself. She had wanted to touch him for such a long time but had held back.

But now he was hers. And he had given her permission to take things as she wanted them. At her own pace.

So she touched the side of his face with hesitant fingers. Her skin tingled with electrical pulses, her body warming and firing at the sight of him. At the power she held in that moment.

“It’s not fair for you to look like this,” she blurted out. It took her a second to realize what she had said, and her cheeks bloomed with color while he grinned.

“To look likewhat?”

“You know what I mean.”

“I’m not actually sure.”

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