Predatory Marriage

Chapter 161. Isha (1)

Translator: Atlas / Editor: Regan

A warm breeze blew gently in the sunlight as Leah waited for his answer, with a fresh scent rising from the nearby peonies.

Ishakan was silently staring at her, wide-eyed, and anxiety filled her. Her heart pounded at the thought that he might refuse her. Now that she had said it, she couldn’t understand how Ishakan had told her something so frightening, and done it several times. She was so nervous it felt as if her heart would burst. Leah pursed her lips.

“…Ahh.” Ishakan sighed. “Really…you’re very capricious…”

His hand caressed her face and he took the peony from her trembling hand. His gaze was steady as he slowly bent to kiss her. Leah’s eyes closed as she unconsciously held her breath in anticipation. His lips touched hers. He gently brushed them, and slowly moved in with his tongue, briefly slipping it into her mouth to taste her, then withdrawing to kiss her passionately.

Leah clung to his body, accepting all of him. A faint moan escaped him as he kissed her, so wildly that she leaned backwards, as if she would fall. Gasping, Leah pulled away.

“Oh, wait…”

She was worried someone would see them, but as soon as he was sure she had caught her breath, Ishakan kissed her again, his hands caressing her everywhere. It seemed they would complete their quota for kissing now.

Leah pulled her lips away again.

“Isha, Ishakan…!”

Ishakan seemed to collect himself a little, but he didn’t let her go. He turned his head, rubbing his face into her neck until she tingled all over.

“We should have a wedding,” he murmured. “Invite everyone in the desert and make it really festive…”

Slowly, he raised his head, his golden eyes so filled with happiness that Leah couldn’t help smiling. She was glad she could make him so happy.

When was the last time she had smiled like this? She couldn’t even remember. Startled, Ishakan touched her smiling lips with his fingertips. He had never seen her with such a radiant smile.

He couldn’t resist kissing her again.

“My fiancée,” he whispered.

He was entitled to call her that now, but she still felt embarrassed. Instead of speaking, she softly bit his lower lip. He descended on her again, biting her lips gently, but stopped himself quickly, worried that her lips might swell.

“Let’s have lunch.” He held Leah in one arm and the peony in his other hand. “To have a wedding ceremony, you must eat like a Kurkan today.”

Leah tilted her face back to the sky. From the position of the sun, it seemed a little early for lunch, and very early for someone who should be working. Ishakan glanced at her through narrowed eyes.

“Ahh, it’s been a hard day’s work,” he said wryly. And since they had found each other early, he offered to show her around his office. Leah claimed to be very curious about them.

The walk to the office was much quieter. When she was with Genin, there were Kurkans actually hiding in the bushes, but now she didn’t see any of them. It seemed they had all fled, fearing Ishakan. Tomorrow, she should greet them, Leah thought, hugging Ishakan as he carried her to the office.

It looked completely different from the bedroom. There were no curtains to divide the space up; it was completely open and sparsely decorated, except for a large curved sword on display. The scabbard was decorated with gold and jewels.

Before a series of arched windows sat a desk, and Ishakan took his seat there, holding Leah in his lap and pushing all the scattered papers aside roughly. All of them were written in Kurkan. Leah picked up a blank piece of paper.

“How do you write your name?” she asked.

Ishakan picked up a quill to write, and Leah looked closely at the name, written carefully in large letters. His quill was too big for her small hand, but she awkwardly copied his name.

“Originally, my name was Isha,” Ishakan said suddenly as he watched her write.

She had never known that. Leah set the quill down and looked up at him.

“The Kan I received after I became King.”

King was a syllable added to the end of the name, a sort of honorific. Softly, Leah spoke his original name.

“Isha…” He laughed. “Now no one can call me that name.”