It was well past eleven when Aldric finally returned to the penthouse after another rigorous day of working, training, and learning. Since they had moved into Norsewood Lodge, his routine had been fixed—an early morning drill, breakfast, official work duties as the lord of the land, which was followed by lunch, afternoon training, dinner, and then self-study or more work duties before retiring for the night. His priority was to get as much stronger as he possibly could before spring arrive and that meant putting his nose to the grindstone, intensively. That also meant he had to learn new techniques, too, the likes he had never heard of before as demonstrated by Vicky.

He knew he was neglecting his duty as a husband and father, but that couldn't be helped. His duty as the lord of the land weighed more heavily on him. If he and his warriors weren't strong enough to protect the land and the people, then he was a failure, as he had been a failure four years ago during the dungeon break. He stubbornly refused to let that kind of disaster happen a second time, especially now that he had more to protect. Especially when he had his children and Quinn, the girl who was unexpectedly thrown into his life and turned his world for the better.

The thought of his beautiful bride drew his gaze to the master suite upstairs, and Aldric inhaled a shaky breath, remembering the way she had kissed and tempted him this morning.

Heavens, but she had been enchanting, and now more than ever, he wanted to kiss her, touch her, and do so much more to her but...

Ah, there was that but. Aye, he was afraid, fearful that once he'd touch her, he could never stop. That once he had kissed her, he would never be able to walk away. More importantly, he was terrified, alarmingly so, that he'd hurt her as he had Caroline, his late wife.

Caroline had been a Norsewood woman—beautiful, tall, and robust. He had loved her, and she him in return, yet every time he touched her, she shriveled away like a wilted flower. Every time he entered her, she'd cried in pain and agony, begging the lovemaking to stop. It had been a miracle that he had been able to release his seeds into her womb twice and produce three children in the process.

Aldric knew he was a mighty big man, and his beast down there was... well, a beast to say the least, which explained Caroline's terror every time she saw him naked.

And Quinn? She was such a petite, slender thing, and he knew he'd break her if he didn't control his strength. He'd surely, surely hurt her, make her cry in agony if he were to enter her. She'd be terrified of him and shrivel away every time he touched her, just like Caroline, and he didn't want that.

Yet, it had not been terror that he had seen in her eyes this morning when she happened to see him without a shirt on and his body dripping wet with sweat. Nay, he had been very sure that what he had seen in her eyes was... marvel. And the way she had touched his skin, light as a feather, teasing and toying with him, stirring his blood hot in wanting something fervid and passionate that could make her run from him in fear, that could possibly make her hate him. Aldric couldn't, wouldn't be able to handle that. It'd destroy him if she hated him.

He raked his fingers through his hair, and switching his attention away from Quinn, he turned on his heel toward his children's rooms.

Abi and Alex were both sound asleep, and as he sat on the softness of the bed and gazed at his beloved daughter looking snug, he felt his heart glowing with a sense of happiness, the likes of which he now knew he had never felt before. He felt a sense of gratitude, too, for it was because of Quinn that they were able to live in this warmth and comfort, that his children were able to sleep so soundly.

He leaned down and planted a light kiss on Abi's forehead, and then he whispered, "Sweet dreams, poppy."

On the other side of the room, he did the same to Alex before heading out and entering Jonah's room. Watching his eldest sleep, he gently stroked Jonah's hair and wondered if the boy had started warming up to Quinn yet. He knew both Abi and Alex had. In fact, they were so smitten with her that they had started tailing her and begging for hugs and kisses whenever they had the chance, which pleased him.

As for him, it seemed the twins were not so smitten after all. It was undoubtedly because he had left them for a year away at such a young age, barely three at the time. Now that he had returned, he was but a mere stranger to them. But they were getting used to having him around again, and he was glad they didn't squirm away and escape like little eels every time he wanted a hug or a kiss.

"There's no secret ingredient; it's just you..." Jonah mumbled in his sleep, which drew Aldric's attention to his son. "I'm a... panda.... I know... kung fu..."

Aldric widened his eyes. Panda? Kung fu? He couldn't help but break out in a smile. It looked like his son had been watching one too many of those movies on the television.

He leaned in and kissed the boy on the forehead. When he noted that Jonah settled down again, he stood and then headed out the door.

His mind still on his son and panda and kung fu, Aldric walked into the master suite. Because he wasn't paying attention to his surroundings and hadn't prepared himself as he had usually done before seeing his wife, when his gaze came to rest on her, the sight sent him reeling, knocking the wind out of him.

There on the bed she lay, a delicate, filmy nightgown flaunting her hourglass figure, the sheer material clinging to her slenderness. With the hem pushed high up, her legs and the gentle curve of her side buttocks were exposed, and with one of the sleeves precariously down her shoulder, enticing flesh and breasts were teasing Aldric in a way he had never been teased before. Indeed, he couldn't, wouldn't take his eyes away from such an enchanting sight.

He inhaled another shaky breath and, mesmerized, he walked around the bed to sit on the side. His hand seemed to have a mind of its own as it moved toward his wife. Just when his fingers were about to touch the softness of Quinn's skin, he managed to get control of himself and halt before he went too far, the point of no return, because he knew the moment he felt her skin against his, he'd likely not stop.

His gaze drifted to Quinn's face and he felt a deep sense of love bursting in his chest.

Aye, he loved his wife, had fallen for her since that first time he had met her, clad in boys' garments, running away from orcs, face covered in dirt and blood. He had never felt anything of the sort before in his life, to be so drawn to, attracted to another person in that way, in that instant.

For Caroline, it had been a slow, developing love. He had been fond of her, growing up together, and once married, as arranged by both their parents, he grew to love her. He had been used to that, the slow buildup of love between husband and wife, and he had expected the same for his second bride. So, imagine his shocked surprise when he met Quinn and that expectation had all but swiftly scorched into dust, for the moment their eyes locked, it had been over for him.

Aldric was a veteran warrior, his movements swift and his mind alert always, more so especially when battling monsters, more so after slaughtering them because there were always a few cowardly ones hiding and waiting to strike when his guard was down. That day in the woods, however, after the slaughtering of the orcs, he was anything but swift and alert when his eyes met Quinn's.

He had found himself mesmerized, his mind lost in the emerald brightness of Quinn's eyes. He had felt as if she were drawing him in and showing him her soul, embracing him with warmth and love. He felt, at that very moment, that she would bring him a world that was far from the ordinary, far from what he knew the world was. Within that split few seconds, he felt that she had shown him a glimpse of the future that was... beautiful, and he wanted that, desperately so.

He moved his hand and gently stroked her hair, trailing his fingers down her exquisite face.

"You are such a temptress," he said softly. "Despite how much I want you, I fear I will hurt you, and I never wanted that."

Aye, he cursed himself for being a mighty big man. He had never felt such a thing before, had been proud of it, in fact, for being so strong and powerful, size- and strength-wise. Where Quinn was concerned, however, it was a different story.

Reluctantly turning his gaze away, he stood and headed into the en suite. After brushing his teeth, he stripped himself naked and then headed into the shower.

Ripped muscles taut with sexual tension, he raised his face, allowing the warm water to rain down on him, and as he closed his eyes, what he saw in his mind was Quinn, her beautiful face radiant, her sensual lips smiling, her emerald eyes twinkling, teasing.

He imagined himself with her, touching her, feeling her. He imagined his hands caressing the softness of her skin, embracing the swells of her breasts, and his lips kissing the slenderness of her nape.

Aldric groaned as he felt himself grow hard. The beast had awakened once again at the mere thought of his wife. Indeed, it was potent and sensitive.

He leaned his back against the marble wall as he trailed his hand down to his cock. Then he wrapped his hand around its hardness and began to rub, his mind on Quinn. When he released a few moments later, he sighed, the sexual tension within him eased yet he felt unfulfilled.

Done with the shower and feeling as guilty as a man committing treason who deserved nothing less than a beheading, he dried himself with a fluffy white towel and then slipped on a pair of underwear and loose pajama pants. His torso bare, he headed into the bedroom where he switched off the bedside table lamp on his side of the bed and then got in between the sheets.

After making himself comfortable, he closed his eyes, very aware of Quinn's body—warm, slender, and soft—next to his. It took sheer willpower to simply lie there and not give in to his yearning to touch her or gather her into his arms and snuggle his nose against the softness of her hair. Doing so would lead to a more tempting situation, and Aldric did not want that.

He sighed and was just about to roll onto his side, facing away from Quinn, when he felt her hand reaching out for him, searching for him.

It had always been like this since they had started sharing a bed, as if she could sense his presence even during her slumber. The moment he was in between the sheets, she'd inch closer to him, begging to be embraced. And indeed, Aldric couldn't help but embrace her.

Despite his resolve to not touch her, Aldric found himself holding her as she cuddled him, her slender arms tight around him as she nuzzled her face against the massiveness that was his chest.

He planted a gentle kiss on her forehead and said, "Good night, Quinn, and sweet dreams."

She moaned softly in response, and he smiled, tightening his arms around her as he closed his eyes.