Chapter 575: Every Scar, Every Kiss

Edmond gritted his teeth, looking deeply conflicted. However, the moment Rose leaned forward and kissed him first, the last bit of his sanity finally shattered.

He had spent all this time holding himself back. Even though they had shared the same bed every night because the house only had one bedroom, they had never crossed that line. Rose had refused to let him sleep on the hard wooden chair, so they simply slept side by side.

[How can I do this to her?] Edmond thought. [It’s so wrong... Every man around her has tried to take advantage of her. And now... I’m becoming just like them. I don’t want her to hate me.]

"Edmond..." Rose whispered as she slowly pulled away from the kiss. She could still feel the hesitation in his heart. "I want you."

"I really... really want you."

Rose repeated those words over and over, making every bit of doubt in Edmond’s heart vanish like smoke.

His arms slowly wrapped around her, holding her close as if she were the most precious treasure in the world. It felt like a snake curling around its prey, yet there wasn’t a trace of danger in his touch. Every movement was careful, as though he was afraid of hurting something he loved.

His trembling hands slowly slipped beneath the simple dress Rose was wearing. Thankfully, it wasn’t a fancy gown with countless layers. It was just a plain dress he had bought from one of the village’s tailors.

He had no intention of tearing it apart. Instead, he carefully lifted it away from her little by little. Rose, on the other hand, was surprised by how gentle he was.

After all, she had heard countless stories about Lycans losing all reason once their rut began, becoming as wild as beasts driven only by instinct. Because of that, she had prepared herself for Edmond to become rough and impossible to stop.

Who would have thought that the Lycan before her was nothing like the stories she had heard?

His large hands roamed gently over her body. His fingers trembled slightly when they reached the dried scars on her back.

Even with Rose’s incredible healing ability, the marks left by those cruel lashes had never truly disappeared. They had faded over time, but they would remain on her skin forever.

"It must have been painful," Edmond whispered.

He rested his face against her shoulder, and the more his fingers traced the old, dried scars, the more his shoulders trembled.

"It was painful," Rose replied softly. She wrapped her arms around Edmond as well. "Can you help me erase the pain of my past?"

Edmond slowly lifted his head to look at her, his eyes filled with worry. "How?" he asked in a soft tone. "How can I do that?"

Rose tilted her head and gave him a gentle smile. "Kiss them for me," she whispered. "Only if they don’t disgust you."

A long time ago, she had read a children’s storybook that had accidentally been delivered to the temple along with a shipment of groceries.

It was a simple story about a mother whose kisses held a special kind of magic.

Whenever she kissed the wounds on her children’s bodies, the pain would disappear as if it had never existed.

Back then, Rose had thought it was nothing more than a sweet fairy tale.

But now, she found herself wishing that kind of magic really existed. If Edmond’s kisses could truly take away the pain she had carried for so many years, then she wanted him to kiss every scar until none of them hurt anymore.

"You will never disgust me," Edmond whispered. His eyes softened as he looked into hers, filled with nothing but love. "You will always be precious to me."

Edmond leaned in and kissed her again. This time, his kisses didn’t stop at her lips. His kisses slowly traveled from her lips to her neck, then to her shoulders. With the gentlest touch, he turned her around so he could see the scars on her back.

For a long moment, he simply looked at them.

These scars were proof of everything she had suffered. Every mark told a story of pain she had been forced to carry alone.

With eyes full of tenderness, Edmond lowered his head and gently kissed the first scar, then the second, and then the third.

One by one, he kissed every scar on her back as if he wanted to replace every painful memory with something warm instead.

Each kiss was slow and careful, filled with love rather than desire.

He kissed her as though he were offering a prayer to a goddess.

He touched her as though she were the most beautiful thing heaven had ever created.

His lips moved across her skin like a poet writing a love letter only she could read.

He touched her as though each scar was a brushstroke that made her even more beautiful.

"Edmond..." Rose whispered under her breath as his hands found one of her most sensitive spots.

One hand moved to her breast, gently kneading it before brushing over her hardened nipple. He slowly rolled it between his fingers, making her squirm, while his other hand parted her thighs.

"I want to mark you," Edmond whispered beside her ear. "It will feel like you’re losing yourself, but don’t be afraid. I’ll be with you the whole time."

Rose tightened her grip on the arm resting against her chest. She looked into his eyes and replied, "I’m not afraid. As long as it’s you, I know everything will be alright."

Her words melted away the last of Edmond’s hesitation. With a tenderness that didn’t match the storm raging inside him, he slowly brushed her long hair over one shoulder.

Silky strands slipped through his fingers, revealing the graceful curve of her neck.

His golden eyes lingered there for a long moment, filled with love, longing, and quiet reverence, as though he were looking at the most precious place in the world.

Edmond leaned closer until his lips brushed the back of her neck. He lingered there for a moment, placing one gentle kiss after another against her skin, as though asking for permission one last time.

His arms tightened around her, holding her securely. "I’ll protect you," he murmured. "For as long as I live."