We Spent the First Night Again - Chapter 20

…I don’t like it.

Brandon laid his body on top of the jacket he had just laid out while holding Callie. Then he hugged Callie, who was still in her wet clothes.

Since Brandon had taken off his clothes, he was bound to feel the chill. He’d get even colder if he continued holding Callie. And if he couldn’t stand it…

At this rate, Brandon’s body temperature might drop faster than Callie’s. It was embarrassing, but she had to take off her clothes.

“Wait.”

As Brandon continued to hug Callie, he looked down as if to ask why.

“My clothes… I’ll take them off, so please let me go.”

“You don’t have to do it if you don’t want to. Let’s just hold on like this.”

“Then… You’ll freeze. My wet clothes touched your bare skin.”

“Are you worried about me?”

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Callie blushed and pulled away at Brandon’s pinching words.

“It will be difficult if your temperature drops before mine do. So, inevitably…”

“Would you like me to take it off?”

He playfully raised an eyebrow at her.

Seeing Brandon’s languid expression, Callie bit her lip and resisted wanting to take back what she had just said right away.

“Close your eyes.”

“If I close my eyes and fall asleep, I’ll never see the world again.”

“But still, keep it closed while I take off my clothes.”

“Do I have to? I’ll see it all on the first night anyway.”

A quick glance at the languishing Brandon forced him to close his eyes.

“Never open your eyes until I say I’m done taking them off.”

“Okay, just take it off quickly. I think my temperature is dropping right now,” he chuckled, but it probably wasn’t a joke.

Callie hurriedly began to take off her dress.

Taking off the hem of her wet dress and leaving only her underwear on, she lay down next to him with her back turned to him.

“You can open your eyes now.”

With Callie’s permission, Brandon opened his closed eyes.

Honestly, he didn’t even have to open his eyes to know she had taken off all her clothes and lay down next to him. He couldn’t help but notice since all his senses were focused on her.

Even though he feigned calm with his eyes closed, the unique scent of her perfume tickled the tip of his nose.

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Brandon, who was lying on his side, saw round shoulders and a white back. Her hands were pressed together in front of her to cover her chest.

Seeing how she was obsessively covering it, he suddenly had the thought of grabbing that hand and pulling it off, but he didn’t put it into action.

There would be plenty of time for that, so Brandon decided to be patient.

Brandon smiled thinly at Callie’s stubbornly turned back.

“We need to stick together to warm up with each other’s temperature.”

She nodded.

“I’ll hug you now.”

Another nod.

Brandon stretched out his arm and let Callie use it as a pillow, then he snuggled close behind her back.

Then he grabbed the shirt he had taken off to cover Callie’s body.

He sent his remaining right arm forward and wrapped it tightly around her waist and stomach.

Callie’s back touched Brandon’s wide chest, her waist against his firm stomach, and her thighs and legs tight against his.

“I can’t see anymore because you’re covered, so lean on me comfortably. Relax.”

How do I relax when we’re hugging each other, naked?

Because of the chill she felt, she kept her shoulders together more than when she shrank.

One minute, two minutes… Ten minutes… As time passed, her body gradually relaxed, as if she had begun to adapt.

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The chill she felt on her skin was less than before.

Her cold body started to warm up. She couldn’t tell if it was because her temperature was rising or because a man was hugging her like this.

Brandon hadn’t said a word in a while, and Callie thought he was probably asleep.

‘Did he fall asleep? Really?’

She tried to turn around and check, but she couldn’t do it because she knew she’d feel flustered again if their eyes met.

“Don’t worry, I’m not asleep.”

How did he know what she was thinking?

“I’m not stupid enough to fall asleep in this position.”

So that meant he was holding it in.

Well, who would believe Callie if she said that the best flirt ever did nothing while holding a naked woman?

Callie swallowed her words and shut her mouth tightly, afraid she might provoke him by striking back without hesitation.

Then his voice pierced her ears again, “By the way, it’s a little unfair to be like this, isn’t it?”

“Why would it be?”

“It’s the first time I’m holding you naked in a place like this. If we had to stay like this, it would have been nice if it was a more comfortable place.”

“What are you talking about! What we’re doing now… It’s not for any other reason. We’re just doing this to keep warm.”

“That’s what I’m saying. I want to hug you for a different reason.”

“…”

Callie couldn’t say anything, because she didn’t know how it would turn out.

“Ah, I only said it felt a little unfair, but I don’t mean to do anything about it, so don’t worry.”

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This was why he was popular with people.*

“Take it easy. As I said on our wedding night, I will never do anything unless you want me to.”

Brandon didn’t hide his desire, but he didn’t push it either.

So even though Callie knew he wanted to hug her right now, she was no longer worried.

On the contrary, she pressed her body closer to his warm chest. Brandon’s arm holding Callie also tightened.

Drowsiness soon replaced the chill she felt in her body. And before she knew it, Callie fell asleep in his arms.

Brandon exhaled regularly and lowered his face onto Callie’s shoulder as she slept, rubbing her cold arms slowly over and over again to keep her temperature from dropping.

“Hold on a little longer. The servants will come soon.”

A while after he said that, he heard a loud voice from the cave’s entrance.

Brandon used one arm to tuck his legs into the wet pants he had taken off, keeping his other arm still as Callie’s pillow.

Then, he looked down at the sleeping Callie and hovered his finger under her nose just in case.

He could feel her regular exhaled breath on his fingertips.

After checking, Brandon picked up the dress she had taken off and put it on Callie’s body. He didn’t want anyone to see her naked body.

At that time, Billy and the servants who saw Calix standing at the cave entrance went inside.

“Are you all right?”

Brandon shushed him. “Don’t make a fuss. Bring something to cover her.”

“Yes.”

Seeing Callie lying on the floor, Billy quickly handed him the blanket he had brought in concern.

“I’ll carry her out. Wait outside the cave.”

“Yes.”

After dismissing the servants, Brandon removed the wet clothes and wrapped Callie tightly in a blanket.

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Maybe she lost consciousness, but Callie didn’t even stir.

‘It would have been dangerous if it took them longer.’

Brandon carried Callie and came out of the cave.

How long was she asleep?

When Callie opened her eyes, she was no longer on the cold cave floor where she had slept in Brandon’s arms.

They were back at the villa.

“Are you awake?”

Brandon, reading in the chair next to the bed, saw Callie stir, so he put down the book he was reading and got up from his chair.

“How long have I been asleep?”

“Hmm, since it’s night now, you were out for about ten hours.”

“I’ve slept a long time, then.”

“How are you feeling? You don’t seem well after enduring the cold for a long time.”

Callie lifted herself up and leaned against the head of the bed.

“I thought so when we were in the cave, but aside from a few aches in my body, I think I’m fine.”

“The doctor said it would be a bit difficult for a few days, though.”

“You called for a doctor?”

“You were so out of it that you didn’t even notice that I carried you out.”

After hearing those words, it was only then that Callie remembered what state she was in before falling asleep in the cave. At that time, she was naked in the cave. Did the servants who were looking for them see?

As if he had read Callie’s thoughts, Brandon said, “Don’t worry. I wrapped you in a blanket before carrying you out, so the servants didn’t see anything.”

“That means you saw me, right?”

At Callie’s protest, Brandon shrugged.

“Could there have been any other way out of that situation?”

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She knew that.

Still… To think that Brandon saw her naked… Well, it was nothing to be ashamed of.

Brandon looked down gently, and it felt like the place where his gaze landed felt hot.

Besides, because the curtains were drawn, it felt strange to talk on the bed in the dark.

“Well. Fine. And would you please pull that curtain?”

“Yes, Madam[1].”

It felt like the word ‘Madam’, spoken with exceptional force, was stuck in her ear.

As if to remind her that she was now his wife.

Brandon got up from his spot and strode to the window to open the drawn curtains, the stars pouring in through the window.

“It’s very late into the night?”

He nodded.

Then, he opened the curtains, walked back to the bed, and placed his hand on Callie’s forehead.

“The doctor told me to give you more medicine if you have a fever.”

“I don’t think I have a fever. My legs are a little sore from riding for a long time, but I’m fine.”

“That seems like it,” Brandon said, removing his hand.

“Did Lisa change my clothes?”

Callie thought she did, but she still wanted to confirm it.

“How can I entrust my distraught wife to a servant when she’s naked? While she gets washed and she gets changed, what might happen to her?”

“What?”

So, you did?

Callie’s eyes widened.

[1] He called her 부인, which is how wives are usually addressed.

*Not 100% sure about the translation