Chapter 46: Painter of the Future.
With all of this drama going on outside, inside the Third Prince’s Chambers, the air was heavy with warmth, the soft light from the nearby lanterns casting flickering shadows across the walls, amplifying the sense of privacy and intimacy in the room.
The bathing pool, with its heated water, sent curls of steam rising lazily into the air, creating a delicate veil between them, though nothing could mask the intensity simmering between husband and wife.
Alaric stood at the edge of the pool, his sharp, sculpted form illuminated in the low light, his pale skin glistening slightly from the warmth that surrounded them.
Salviana sat half-submerged in the pool, her body reacting to the closeness of her husband in such an enclosed place. Her heart raced, each beat a pounding reminder of the uncertainty she felt, yet also of the magnetic pull that had been growing between them since the day they wed.
Alaric had caught her staring, and his lips curved into a knowing smile, one that spoke volumes without words—a silent acknowledgment of the mutual awareness that had been building since that first night.
The tension in the room was palpable, yet somehow soft, an unspoken understanding woven through the delicate atmosphere. Alaric’s expression, usually so stern and cold, had softened, and there was a warmth in his gaze that left her breathless.
He began to undress further, his movements slow, deliberate, as though savoring the way her eyes followed every motion. His belt clinked as it fell to the ground, followed by the sound of his boots, but Salviana’s gaze never left him.
His shirt was gone, revealing broad, muscular shoulders that seemed to stretch on forever, tapering down to a defined chest and abdomen.
Every muscle seemed to ripple with a restrained strength, and the sight of him, so bare, so vulnerable in this moment, took her breath away.