"Good morning, darling, sleep well?" Were the first words Mira heard when she sat up the bed. She had not opened her eyes yet but these words made her eyes bulge wide open.

Ming Tao was sat by her side. He stared at her with so much interest it made her stomach churn. The first thing Mira did was cup her hands together to form a basin then trap her nose and mouth in that basin then exhaled out her mouth. She wanted to perceive her own breath first before talking to him.

Mira had never felt so cautious about her breath before around him but here, he wasn’t her slave calling her ’supreme leader’. Nor was he the man who hid in the river that was shy to let her see him naked.

He also was not the same hateful man who wanted her casted out of the pride land and tried to prove she was anything but a demon.

He was just a man. Her husband. And a very attractive husband at that. One who had power and had a huge dick. One who made her feel nervous.

Ming Tao chuckled at her little act. "I have perceived your morning breath more than once, it won’t be any different now."

Mira turned to face him, her hand still plastered to her face. She was not going to take it off there and talk to him. Not until she had chewed on some chewing sticks first. "I don’t care. Not today."

"Aw, are you trying to act all cute to me, darling? Since when did my feisty demon change?" Ming Tao teased.

How he switched between darling to demon should be argued in the court of law! Mira thought but she did not say anything.

"You are lucky you are fine." She finally said.

"You think I’m fine?" Ming Tao’s smirk widened. Mira wanted to slap it off so badly. She just tilted her head to the other side to not face him. Ming Tao laughed. This made her blood boil.

"What are you doing in my room so early in the morning?" Mira asked, still looking away from him.

"What is wrong with a husband coming to meet his wife, no matter the time of day?" Ming Tao asked.

Mira faced him and squinted. This skinny cat was up to something but she could not denote what. "Husband and wife share a room, not stay far apart." She barked at him.

"Would you rather I move you into my chambers then? I mean, that would be better."

Her eyes widened. She would not mind that at all but who was this Ming Tao she was speaking with and what did he do to the one she knew?

Mira said nothing.

"What? Skinny cat got your tongue?" Ming Tao pushed, an obvious half grin on his face. Mira took her hands off her face and leaned closer to face him. Her eyes locked with his and their face was less than half a pinky finger apart. She tilted her head up in confidence.

"Do it." She said. "And when you wake up, know that I will be there. To see you naked and shirtless. For every single time you come out from a bath to when you just come to rest. I will be there. Watching. Sharing your bed. Seeing everything." She grinned.

Ming Tao moved even closer, now she felt the tip of their noses touch.

"Who said I have anything against that?" Ming Tao countered. This made Mira’s breath halt. This was not how she expected it to play out in her head. She expected him to back away. "And I need you to remember that it will be the same with you. Every corner. Every curve. Every body part will be mine to see. And when we lay down, it will be my face you see and my name will be the last one to leave your lips. You will be caged within my chambers and alone with me and for me." Now Ming Tao twisted his head to the side and moved even closer till their lips made contact, just resting on the surface. "Aren’t you scared of all I could do to you," Ming Tao paused, his voice was a dangerous low octave that sent heat coursing through Mira’s bones. "When you’re trapped with me in the darkest hours of the day?"

This made Mira’s eyelids falter. She felt her composure slip and with his lips touching hers, it was hard to resist after all he just said. He painted an image in her head she did not want to escape from. Mira swallowed. It felt suddenly felt overwhelmingly hot in here. There was so much sexual tension between them at this moment and it messed with her mind. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Mira shifted her face forward. This made her lips press into his, more than just the contact it had before. Ming Tao shifted backwards, not a shriek this time like he did whenever she kissed him in the pride, but slowly.

"So what do you say? Do you want to move into my bed chambers with me or do you want us to still stay further apart?" Ming Tao dropped the bombshell. His mind was playing tricks on him. One moment, he told himself that he was here to show her around his clan and introduce her as his wife so his people would welcome her despite the underlying hate they harboured towards her and the next moment, when he was alone with her, his mind wanted something different. His body craved something different.

He was drawn to the one woman he swore never to be entangled with and he could only blame it on that passionate kiss they shared and Jia Hao. Ever since he stayed in the Lion clan and had her boss him around, ever since he stalked her and witnessed her love and be made love to, even on the night of the naming before they met in the bush, he began to burn for her.

He did not know whether it was his mating instincts or his loneliness guised as grief but he knew he had this feeling and he wanted to find out what it was.

Mira stared up. Her eyes went past his face to something Ming Tao could not see till she met his gaze again. Mira nodded. "I want to move in with you."