Breathtaking

The next morning, Shao Lin had reached for the other side of the bed.

She scrunched her brows, wondering where her husband was. His side of the bed was empty, but the sheets were sunken and warm, leaving the print of the occupant that had recently slept there.

She shifted from the covers when she heard the bathroom door open, and Long Yat-sen had stepped out of the steaming shower with nothing but a towel over his shoulders and his waist.

Shao Lin's eyes widened, her lips parted as she looked at him.

She was able to get a look at his powerful form before on their wedding night, but nothing like beneath the glory of full lighting. Indeed, he was more breathtaking and stark than she'd ever thought, ever known.

His ice-blue gaze collided with hers before he came over with a few strides. Shao Lin gulped as he neared, his scent filling her nose.

"How did you sleep?" he asked huskily, standing before her.

Shao Lin could not look directly into the intensity of his eyes. Her gaze then wandered down to his chest, which was well muscled, rippled, tattooed, and hard…

She nodded. "Hard"

"Hard?" he questioned.

Crap, she thought. "I meant, good. I slept good," she corrected herself.

Long Yat-sen took her chin in his hand, tilting it up to face him. He wore a sly smile. "What are you thinking?"

Shao Lin flushed. "I was thinking that…" she started to pat down the mattress. "This bed is hard."

"Then I'll get a new one," Long Yat-sen answered.

"No. That's not necessary. This is a perfect bed."

Long Yat-sen smiled. "But you just said this bed was hard?"

"Ah, indeed I did…" She had no way of saving herself now.

He then crossed his arms, smirking. "Then I'll replace this bed to one your preference," his voice dropped lower, his grin wide. "I would not want you to feel uncomfortable during our more enjoyable exercises…don't you agree?"

Shao Lin gaped at him when he started to stalk away from her, toward the walk-in closet for his clothes, not waiting for her response.

Realizing what he had insinuated, Shao Lin's face flushed a deep shade of pink. She then jumped out of bed, slipping past the closet and into the bathroom, calming her beating heart.

She was not sure how she was going to handle the constant teasing of her husband when it made her chest feel like it was going to explode. The relationship between them had been good so far…physical, but good. She had only hoped to learn what was in his heart.

Long Yat-sen was a reserved man, and it seemed as if he had no intentions to open up to her, to reveal himself in ways a partner should.

She clutched at her heart, wondering if he ever let her in?

Long Xia had said that Long Yat-sen, too, had his insecurities, but Shao Lin wondered what they were if he truly possessed any.

He seemed so self-sure and confident about everything he does, and it hardly seemed as if there had been anything that would make him vulnerable or have any sort of weak spot.

Shao Lin shook her thoughts away as she hopped in the shower, washing her body thoroughly before she joined Long Yat-sen for a light breakfast.

He hardly spoke to her over their meal, and afterward, Shao Lin decided to work in the Greenhouse alone.

She spent an hour before Long Ken came to see them at the penthouse, as it was soon time for her to head to work.

"You need an escort whenever you leave these grounds. My brothers will be taking turns taking you to and from anywhere you want to go," Long Yat-sen informed her.

"Ah," Shao Lin started. "That wouldn't be necessary. I wouldn't want to take time away from their busy schedules."

Long Ken interrupted. "It's no issue, sister-in-law. Kun and I are more than happy to be servicing the new dragon princess."

"That's Xia's title," Shao Lin countered.

"Hmm," Long Ken answered. "It is…for now."

Shao Lin wondered what he meant by that response. She did not want to take what belonged to her sister-in-law, but she supposed that there was more to what Long Ken meant when he said: "for now."

Shao Lin glanced at Long Yat-sen who's expression was cool and indifferent. There was no telling what he was thinking. He then stalked toward her, bending down for a forehead kiss between her brows. "Have a good day at work," he said neutrally.

Shao Lin grinned at him. "You too."

Long Yat-sen then disappeared from her sight as Shao Lin left with Long Ken by her side. Long Ken had looked exactly like his father, but where ice-blue eyes could have been, it was replaced by the warmth of golden-brown. And like the rest of his family, he was breathtakingly beautiful. But he seemed to be more polite, respectable, and outspoken than Long Yat-sen and Long Xia were. She wondered how they came to be so different.

Her brother-in-law carried a small conversation before she arrived at work. They parted ways when he sped off and Shao Lin began her day.

Her employees acted strangely around her. They stiffened when she was near and trembled when she spoke. She then went to find her assistant to give her some insight.

"Can you tell me why everyone is behaving so… weirdly today?"

Her assistant jumped, startled by her presence and her question. "I…uh…well," her assistant looked around them, tucking her glasses against the bridge of her nose. "It has something to do with your recent marriage to Mr. Long," she took an exasperated breath. "Sorry. It…it was a surprise to us all. He's no ordinary man. His family practically controls this city and…."

Her assistant didn't finish the words, but Shao Lin could fill in on what it was. How did someone like her end up with someone like Long Yat-sen? A girl who ran a small business. A woman who loved good things and flowers. How did Shao Lin end up with a top and ruthless businessman of Shanghai? Even she still questioned it.

"There's no reason to be afraid of him…or me for that matter. Everything will be fine," Shao Lin assured her.

Her assistant gulped. "Right…Miss Shao…I mean Mrs. Long."

"Lin is fine," she corrected her.

Her assistant shrieked and skittered back to her cubicle quickly and sat silently.

Shao Lin sighed as she made her way to her office, sitting in her black leather chair. She never imagined how it would be, married to the winter king, a villain to those around her. If only they knew him…but even she had hardly known.