CHAPTER 384: CHAPTER 384 SHYNESS

Bella blinked softly as the morning light filtered through the golden drapes, warm and gentle against her skin. Her body felt strangely light, rested in a way she had never experienced before, yet every breath carried a faint, pleasant ache that reminded her of everything Leo had done to her last night, everything he had touched, everything she had felt. It was as if her whole body still remembered him.

When she stretched a little, the blanket slipped, and she froze, her eyes going wide.

She was not wearing her dress. Oh no. How had she fallen asleep without her clothes?

Heat crawled up her neck, rushing straight into her cheeks. She grabbed the blanket and yanked it up to her chin in panic just as Leo stirred beside her.

His lashes fluttered open slowly, still heavy with sleep, and he rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand. Only then did Bella notice something that made her sit upright.

Dark circles.

Deep ones.

"Leo?" she whispered, shocked. "You... did not sleep at all?"

He cleared his throat, trying his best to look composed. "Well... I was not used to this environment," he muttered, turning his head slightly away.

He absolutely did not want to admit, because you touched me in your sleep and nearly killed me, bunny.

Bella’s eyes widened, full of guilt and worry. "Why did you not tell me? I thought you slept beside me..."

"It is fine," he cut in calmly, even though the night had been torture he endured willingly. "We should get ready."

Bella hid deeper in the blanket, her blush spreading down her neck. "I... did not bring any clothes..."

"I know," he replied, his voice turning warm with quiet pride. "I already managed everything. Your things are prepared."

"Oh..." Bella murmured softly, nodding shyly.

But she still didn’t move.

Leo raised an eyebrow, waiting. "You are not going?"

Bella shook her head quickly, clutching the blanket even tighter around herself, burying half her face in it as her voice came out small and breathless. "I am... I am not wearing anything under this..."

Leo stared for a moment.

Then a slow, dangerous smile curved at the corner of his mouth, his eyes dipping to the blanket covering her trembling form.

"Oh," he murmured, amusement thick in his voice as he leaned closer, "now you are shy?"

Bella’s ears burned red. "D-don’t look!"

"I am not looking," he replied smoothly, though his gaze stayed fixed on the adorable bundle she had turned into. "But if you do not get up... I will have to help you myself."

Bella squeaked and sank deeper into the blankets, her face glowing an even deeper shade of red.

Leo could not stop the low chuckle rumbling in his chest.

Bella froze the moment he pushed the blankets aside, and the movement made her own blanket slip down from her shoulders. She barely managed to pull it back up before she saw him rise from the bed, and her breath caught sharply in her throat. It was no longer simple shyness. The sight in front of her hit her like a sudden wave of heat that rushed straight into her chest.

"It is fine," Leo said in a low, unbothered tone as he stretched his arms over his head. "I will go first if you are that shy."

And then he stood up.

Just like that.

No shirt. No hesitation.

Just Leo, towering over the bed, muscles flexing in the soft morning light.

Bella’s mouth fell open without a sound.

He wore only his dark pants, hanging low on his hips, the V-line dipping in a way that made her heart skip and trip over itself. The band sat so low that she immediately yanked the blanket over her eyes as if it could protect her from the sight.

But she peeked anyway.

And oh... his back.

He stepped down from the bed, slow and effortless, his movements naturally sensual because he was not even trying. The muscles along his back shifted like sculpted curves in motion, faint scars tracing across his shoulder blades in pale lines. Bella stared, mesmerized by the strength in his shoulders, the smooth arc of his spine, the quiet danger in the way he moved like a predator stretching after a long night.

Leo ran a hand through his messy hair and then, just to torment her, he stretched again, lifting his arms above his head and making his abs tighten and his back arch slightly.

Bella squeaked again.

He heard it.

He did not turn around, but a smirk curved on his lips as he walked toward the bathroom, his voice coated in thick amusement.

"Bunny..." he drawled, pausing at the doorway, "if you stare any harder, you are going to burn a hole through me."

Bella dove under the blanket entirely this time, her face burning hot.

And Leo chuckled, a deep, sinful sound, before disappearing into the shower and leaving her breathless all over again.

Bella stayed frozen under the blanket, her heart thudding so loudly she was sure the entire palace could hear it. She did not dare peek out. The warmth around her felt comforting, but it could not compare to the heat burning across her cheeks and down her neck.

From across the room, the soft sound of water began to flow, first a quiet rush, then the steady rhythm of the shower hitting the marble. The moment it reached her ears, her blush deepened, spreading all the way to the tips of her ears.

He was in there.

Shirtless.

Wet.

Bella covered her face with both hands, letting out a tiny groan into the sheets.

The image of his broad back, those shifting muscles, the way his pants sat low on his hips, all of it replayed in her mind like a scene she was not supposed to see but could not look away from. Even the scars on his shoulders looked painfully beautiful, making her chest tighten just remembering them.

The shower water splashed harder, as though he had stepped fully under the stream, and Bella’s imagination betrayed her instantly. She pictured water sliding down his chest, tracing his abs, running along his arms. She imagined him pushing his hair back, tilting his head into the steam, droplets rolling down his skin in slow, perfect lines.

"Stop, Bella..." she whispered into the blanket, her voice shaking. "Stop thinking..."

But she could not.

Every drop of water she heard seemed to paint another image, and she felt her heartbeat flutter faster, her toes curling beneath the blanket. She tugged it tighter around herself as if it could block out the sound, but the steady shower only made her shiver with a mixture of embarrassment and warmth blooming somewhere deep inside her.

She buried her face into the pillow, too shy to come out, too overwhelmed by how much her body remembered from last night and how much more she suddenly wanted.