The Voice: A Sequel to Hwarang: The Saga of the Sooks Book #1

Chapter 11: Pure Comfort

He broke his promise. He didn't return until the moon was high in the sky. And when he came in, his head was bent. His posture, even at a blurry distance, alerted her that something was terribly wrong.

"What is it?" she exclaimed. "Jijin? What's wrong?"

His face awash in grief, he stood staring out the window of his bedchamber. But at her voice, he turned towards her, and the sorrow blazing in his gaze undid her. She gasped and flew across the room towards him. Sadness seemed to roll off of his distressed countenance in waves that invaded her own heart. His anguish was palpable; it was now clinging to her.

"Jijin?"

She reached out a hand to touch his arm with concern...and comfort.

"I never really knew my mother," he murmured almost absentmindedly. "She was only recently returned to me. But I've just discovered that I'm going to lose her. For good."

She gasped again. Her crystal indigo eyes flying wide in dismay.

"She's been drinking poison for years. It's taken its toll on her," he suddenly sobbed. After an involuntary gasp, he breathed, "I don't know how much time she has left, but I suspect not much."

Without thinking, she moved towards him until her chest bumped his, and her arms slid around him to hug him close to her. She buried her face over his suffering heart.

"I am so, so sorry," she gasped against his chest.

Such a crazy desire then overwhelmed her, startling her. She wanted to pull him into her heart and wrap herself around him in comforting waves. She had never felt thus for any man before.

Stunned, he clung to her. And buried his face against her neck. Unwittingly, he began to sob against her soft skin. His arms tightened about her, drawing her as close as possible to him. He never wanted to let her go. She was pure comfort to him right now.

Many minutes passed as he poured his grief into the crook of her neck. Finally, overcome by the tenderness of her compassion for him, he raised his head and brushed his lips across her cheek. He felt her tense, but he repeated the kiss anyway. Several times. Each time, his lips inched a little closer to her mouth. But before he could claim it with his own, she pulled back.

"Jijin." There was a warning note in her voice.

And he knew what she was thinking. They'd known each other for only a few days.

But, selfishly, he wanted to be comforted, so he tugged her even closer and bent to breathe on her neck. He didn't attempt to kiss her again. He simply held her for a while longer. The steady inhalation and exhalation of his breath the only sound enveloping them.

She was the purest peace to him in those precious moments. He hadn't thought that anyone had the power to comfort him. He'd lost Ah Ro. He'd lost his eomma as a tiny child and never really regained her.

But maybe he was developing a special bond with an unusual and extraordinary woman.

"Stay with me tonight," he murmured.

As she tensed again, his arms loosened around her, and he whispered, "Don't slip off to the other room after I've fallen asleep. Please. Stay with me tonight. I need you."

The pain in his voice, the supplication, swayed her with ease. And she gave a quick bob of her head. "I won't leave you. I promise."

But she was uneasy. What if he desired her to become intimate with him? What if he pressed her once she was lying in that bed with him?