Sweet Temptation

Primrose stared at the ceiling, absentmindedly tapping her fingers against the blanket.

She was a little sleepy, but how could she possibly fall asleep when Edmund's train of thoughts were practically screaming in her head?

She sighed, rolling onto her side to glance at the Lycan King.

Edmund was lying at the very edge of the bed. One wrong move, and he'd tumble straight to the floor. His arms were crossed over his chest, making him look like a corpse waiting to be placed in a casket.

[Calm down. Stay still. Don't think about her being in your bed.]

[Shit, but she's right there.]

[Her scent … Damn it, why does she smell like flowers?!]

[Focus. Think about something else. The civil war? No, that won't work. Taxes? No, that just makes me angry.]

[Maybe if I count backward from a hundred—]

"Your Majesty," Primrose called out, breaking his frantic thoughts.

Edmund flinched as if she had caught him committing a crime. "Yes?"

Primrose reached out, wanting to touch his arm, but the moment her fingers got close, Edmund immediately moved farther away.

"You look tense." She tilted her head. "Are you really that uncomfortable sleeping next to me?"

His eyes twitched. "I'm fine."

[No, I'm not fucking fine!]

[She's so close. If I turn my head even a little, I'll see her lying there, looking so damn beautiful.]

He clenched his jaw and forced his gaze back to the ceiling, staring at it like his life depended on it.

It seemed like his thoughts wouldn't stop anytime soon. Well, maybe Primrose would get used to them after a while.

She eventually tried to sleep, but it was difficult, not because of Edmund's noisy thoughts this time, but because her throat felt unbearably sore.

She couldn't even speak without feeling like shards of glass were scraping against her throat.

She should've seen a doctor before bed. But since beasts rarely got sick and had incredible healing abilities, Edmund never kept a doctor in the palace.

He hadn't even called for one after the attack.

Maybe he forgot that his wife was human. And Primrose, too caught up in everything that had happened, had forgotten to remind him.

"What's wrong?" Edmund asked when he heard her cough and groan several times.

[Is something wrong with my wife? Was my tone too harsh?]

"I'm fine. It's just …" Primrose cleared her throat. "My neck … still hurts."

The moment she said that, Edmund immediately sat up straight.

[I'M A FOOL!]

[HOW COULD I FORGET TO CALL FOR A DOCTOR?!]

"I'll call a doctor." Edmund rushed to the door, shouting for the soldiers to summon one immediately.

But the nearest doctor they knew of didn't live anywhere close to the palace. In fact, he resided in another city, about two hours away from the capital.

It seemed like being a doctor wasn't a popular career choice in the Beast Kingdom.

"But, Your Majesty, the doctor does not specialize in treating humans," the soldier hesitated before whispering, "Wouldn't it be dangerous to call just any doctor to examine Her Majesty? A human's physique is different from ours, right?"

Primrose frowned. Their physiques looked the same when they were in their human forms, didn't they?

But … maybe the soldier had a point. A beast doctor might not be able to prescribe medicine properly, unsure whether it would harm her human body.

In her first life, Primrose had fallen ill a few times—of course, that was before she became terminally ill from the poison.

Back then, there had been three doctors in the palace, and now that she thought about it, all of them had been human.

She had assumed there was no difference between human and beast doctors. But now she realized that those doctors had probably been hired specifically for her.

They had always treated her with great care whenever she got sick. But in the end, none of them had been able to detect the poison in her body.

"Then call a human doctor immediately!" Edmund ordered.

"The doctor might not arrive until tomorrow morning, Your Majesty," the soldier said hesitantly.

Before Edmund could shout again, Primrose spoke from across the room. "Your Majesty, I'm fine. It's alright if I see the doctor in the morning."

Well, her throat was just sore and painful. It wasn't like she was going to die from a sore throat.

After she spoke, Edmund's tone softened when addressing the soldier, though urgency still lingered. "Just bring the doctor as soon as possible."

"Understood, Your Majesty!"

"Don't yell," he snapped.

The soldier blinked in confusion. They always spoke like this, and Edmund had never had a problem with it before. Still, he quickly adjusted his volume and murmured, "Understood, Your Majesty."

As the soldier hurried away, Edmund turned back to Primrose. "The doctor will be here in the morning."

"I know," she said, her voice calm. "I can manage for one night."

[She won't be able to sleep like this.]

[I could heal her instantly, but … would she even allow it?]

Permission to heal her? What was he talking about?

Oh, wait a second.

Primrose held her breath as realization struck her. The Lycan King could heal wounds with his saliva, just like he had done to the mark on her neck.

Her throat ached terribly, making even the thought of swallowing painful. Letting him heal her would make the discomfort disappear, and she could finally get some rest.

It was a tempting solution, but If she let him do it, if she let his mouth anywhere near her neck, would he really be able to stop himself?

Would it be reckless? Would it be dangerous?

Would it be so bad if she lost her virginity tonight in exchange for a good night's sleep?

As soon as the thought crossed her mind, she could feel a throbbing sensation between her legs.

Damn it. The mark's effects still hadn't faded, leaving her aroused just from the mere thought of sleeping with him.

Would having sex with him once finally break the curse?

"Your Majesty." Primrose tugged in his clothes. "Do you … do you want to heal my neck?"