"Kwon Jiyong," Sandara wanted to protest but her voice came out weak and almost inaudible. She felt Kwon Jiyong's fingers fumble with the ribbon securing her robe but she felt too weak to move, what more stop him.

Suddenly, all she could ever blame was herself and her bold actions. Kwon Jiyong wasn't someone to be tested with such acts because he could be even bolder, himself.

How many times had she triggered this side of him, and still, she hadn't kept that in mind?

While Sandara often wondered how this iceberg learned all of these intimate and passionate acts when he was very aloof and cold, somehow, she liked that he was only warm to her and no one else.

Somehow, when Kwon Jiyong was being like this, she felt a little more powerful than him. 

She felt like she had something he desperately wanted, and even if he won't say it out loud, his actions couldn't lie.

But Sandara was still very afraid. She already felt very weak being held by him in his embrace, what more when he goes beyond this?

She twisted beneath him, trying to avoid getting undressed by him but Kwon Jiyong's patience had always been thin.

Wasting no more time, he tore her upper robes open and threw it away, before doing the same thing to her long and bulky skirt. Before she could even voice out her objections, his lips came crashing down her own, muffling her cries that turned into silent whimpers. Her arms sneaked in between them as if it could cover her body which was now only concealed with a chest bind and a pair of silk trousers. Sensing this, Kwon Jiyong clasped her wrists together before lifting them up over her head, securing it with a hand, while the other gripped her chin making her open , so that he could deepen the kiss and taste her even better.

Certainly, Kwon Jiyong hated sweets, but Sandara's sweetness was very much up to his appetite.

Sandara twisted and turned, trying to break free but Kwon Jiyong didn't seem like he was injured. He was even stronger than before and very much lost in his own want to be fed by her. He had long wasted so much centuries abstaining himself. Not one woman had ever made him crave like this and made him lose control.

Not even before.

Not even Ara.

Suddenly, the thought roused him up from her spell. What happened to his control? What made her greater than Ara? How could such a woman make him lose his defense and make him weak? 

When he looked down at the result of his carelessness and impulse, a feeling of loath and hatred crawled up to him, not for her or for anyone else, but towards himself.

Sandara was left blushing in crimson, her red supple lips swollen, her cheeks and even her wrists were marked with his fingers.

How could he disrespect Sandara like this?

Coming back to his senses, he pulled away immediately, but with utmost care as if afraid he would break her fragile form. He rested his forehead against hers for a while, his inner self sighing from longing. His cold body already missed her warmth but he willed himself to sit up. When he found her monarch jade bangle, he quickly slipped it around her wrist. Turning away from her, he searched for her clothes.

Unfortunately, her poor robes and skirt were all torn beyond salvation, scattered pitifully on the floor.

Enamored by remorse, he sighed and ran a palm down his face. He felt her rise and gather the blanket to cover her poor state of undress.

"I'm sorry," he said with a low voice, taking off his robe before securing it over her shoulder. For the longest time, he'd never uttered apology, until now. He sounded stern and cold, but when Sandara held his face and turned him to look at her, she only found sadness, confusion and guilt flickering in his eyes and the sight only made her heart ache.

For the first time since she met him, she has finally seen such emotions though his eyes. She still couldn't get through his thoughts, alright, but at least, his eyes weren't blank and cold. He looked at her with a complicated expression, opening his mouth to speak, only to close it once more when he couldn't find the right words to say.

 Sandara didn't know why but even if she was mad at him for keeping so many things from her, a part of her really cannot seem to stand being unmoved by such expression. Rubbing her thumb against his soft cheek, she broke her silence.

"Kwon Jiyong... If I tell you a secret, would you tell me one of yours, too?"

Kwon Jiyong could only look at her in surprise. He was never good with words. Well, the old Young was a good talker, but his current aloof and cold self had lived longer than his earlier younger da