The door had barely closed before Ark's restraint finally snapped.
He didn't rush her. That was the cruelest part.
His hand slid to her waist, fingers spreading as if testing how much of her she would give without being asked. Neo's breath hitched instantly, her body betraying her before words could.
"You're shaking," he murmured, lips brushing her ear, not quite kissing. "Is that fear… or anticipation?"
She turned her head just enough for her lips to graze his jaw. "You know the answer."
That was permission.
Ark lowered his mouth to her throat, lingering over her pulse until she felt it echo everywhere. Each kiss was deliberate, unhurried—ownership without urgency. His hands followed, mapping her through silk and warmth, learning exactly how she reacted, where she softened, where she gasped.
Neo clutched his shoulders, nails biting into fabric. "Ark—"
He pulled back just enough to look at her. His eyes were dark now, intense, utterly focused.
"Say it," he said quietly.
Her voice came out barely steady. "Don't stop."
The smile he gave her then was slow and dangerous.
He guided her back, inch by inch, until her knees met the edge of the bed. When she fell onto it, he followed, bracing himself above her, not touching—making her wait. The space between them burned hotter than contact ever could.
She reached for him again, impatient now. He caught her wrist mid-air and pinned it above her head with one hand, leaning down until their noses almost touched.
"So eager," he whispered. "You have no idea how long I've wanted to do this."
Her answer was a breathless laugh that dissolved into a sigh when his lips finally claimed hers—deep, slow, consuming. The kiss unraveled her, stole her sense of time, left her arching into him without shame.
When he broke away, her lips were swollen, her eyes unfocused.
Ark rested his forehead against hers, breath uneven for the first time. "Neo," he said softly, like a vow. "If we go any further… I won't be able to stop tonight."
She smiled—small, sure, devastating.
"Then don't."
The moonlight caught them as he drew her closer, skin to skin at last, the world narrowing to heat, whispers, and the promise of a night neither of them intended to survive unchanged.
Outside, the palace guards stood watch.
Inside, nothing existed but hunger.