After Rebirth, I Accept The Arranged Marriage-Chapter 47: "Don’t Cry.

Jessie Sterling: "Mm."

Her mind was still on how expressive Victor Morgan could be on camera, now that the photographer had given him some pointers. To her surprise, in the very next moment, she felt a large, searingly hot hand grip her waist.

Jessie Sterling’s eyes widened in surprise.

’It hadn’t been like this before!’

Before, Victor Morgan’s hand had just been politely placed at her side, braced on the bed. There hadn’t been any intimate gestures like this between them.

Victor Morgan’s hand was truly large and powerful.

Lynn Jennings had once jokingly called Jessie Sterling’s body a total "man-killer."

"King Chu of old loved slender waists. It just goes to show, how many men are cut from the same cloth? All those old pervs have similar tastes. With a body like yours, who wouldn’t lose their mind?" Those were Lynn Jennings’s exact words.

Victor Morgan didn’t know how Lynn Jennings had once described his fiancée, but right now, he trusted his own senses far more.

The slender waist in his hand was so fine it felt as if he could encircle it completely.

It was like a willow branch—soft and delicate.

It made him not want to let go.

"Bride, don’t be so stiff. Relax a little. Look at the groom, a natural gaze..."

The photographer captured the moment Victor Morgan’s hand slid around his fiancée’s waist.

Only when Jessie Sterling heard the photographer’s voice did she snap out of her daze.

"What are you doing?" Jessie asked in a low voice when Victor Morgan didn’t offer an explanation for his actions.

Victor Morgan: "Taking wedding photos."

Jessie: "???"

’As if she didn’t know that!’

"There’s nothing wrong with a newlywed couple embracing. This is normal," Victor Morgan added.

Jessie: "???"

’If she wasn’t certain the man before her was Victor Morgan, she’d almost think he’d been replaced by someone else.’

Victor Morgan looked at Jessie beneath him, her eyes wide. She looked like an innocent puppy. A sudden wave of tenderness washed over him, and without a second thought, he lowered his head and pressed his lips to her forehead.

"Close your eyes," Victor Morgan said softly.

Jessie subconsciously wanted to struggle. She even started to bring up her knee, but Victor was a step faster, pinning her so she couldn’t move an inch.

His hold was so domineering, yet the kiss he placed on her brow was exceptionally gentle.

Jessie was completely stunned.

Meanwhile, the photographer couldn’t stop frantically pressing the shutter. She didn’t say a word, knowing that the atmosphere was perfect and didn’t need an outsider like her to break the spell.

It was as if the kiss on Jessie’s brow had flipped a switch in Victor Morgan. From that point on, his movements became far more natural and intimate.

He released the hand that was holding Jessie’s down. He raised it, gently tracing the shell of her ear with the pad of his finger, then moved down to her chin, her long neck...

Throughout the entire process, the one thing that never changed was Victor Morgan’s eyes. They remained fixed on Jessie, as if he were reluctant to even blink.

Jessie went from shocked and bewildered to being soothed by Victor’s large hand, her gaze growing hazy. Her body softened in his grasp, trembling lightly.

Jessie herself probably didn’t even realize when she reached up and wrapped her arms around the man’s neck, forcing him to lower his head toward her.

She could feel his breath on her face.

She could even hear his heartbeat.

Their breaths mingled.

As Jessie felt his breathing by her ear grow more rapid, she noticed the skin behind her own ears growing hotter. She subconsciously tried to turn her head away, but Victor stopped her.

Victor’s hand was already on the side of her face. From a distance, it looked as if the groom was doting on his bride. But only Jessie, her face cupped in his hand, knew the truth: his gesture was meant to restrain her, forcing her to keep facing him.

At some point, Jessie’s hands, which were wrapped around Victor’s neck, grew stiff. She unconsciously tightened her grip on the back of his shirt, her pale pink nails turning white from the pressure.

A heart was pounding loudly. Jessie’s eyes were wide open. She couldn’t say what exactly she was thinking in that moment. It was as if she were bewitched by the man so close to her, developing some unwarranted fantasies and expectations.

Jessie wasn’t sure if she was imagining it, but she thought she heard a soft sigh next to her ear.

It was Victor’s voice.

The next moment, Jessie felt a shadow fall over her. Then, the man’s hand covered her eyes.

"Close your eyes."

His low voice, almost a murmur, replaced the faint, helpless-sounding sigh from before. It sent one ripple after another through her already turbulent heart, each one larger than the last.

In that instant, his lips captured hers.

A presence completely different from her own swept over her lips and tongue in an instant, like a fierce gale, stealing her breath. It was sudden, yet she was instantly lost in it.

His scent seemed to have a fatal pull on her.

As Jessie stared up at him, Victor felt a genuine sense of helplessness.

Jessie’s eyes were so clear, the black and white of them distinct, and they held such complete trust.

A complex mix of emotions churned within Victor. ’How could he possibly tell Jessie what was on his mind right now?’

’To possess her.’

And so he had lowered his head, carefully, gently, tentatively approaching the red lips that silently tempted him.

His movements were gentle, as if he were handling a precious treasure.

But the bulging muscles of his back betrayed the effort of his restraint.

Otherwise, Victor was afraid he wouldn’t be able to hold back his desire to pry her lips apart, to conquer her completely and plant a flag that belonged only to him.

"Bride, Bride, hold that pose! Yes, just like that!"

Just as Jessie, bewitched by Victor’s kiss, was about to press herself closer to him, the photographer’s cheerful voice rang out from the corner.

In that same instant, Jessie’s eyes flew open.

At some point, Victor’s large hand had moved away from her eyes.

The moment she opened them, her gaze met the man’s before her.

His pupils were pitch-black, like pools of thick ink.

Jessie stared, dazed. Suddenly, Victor reached a hand toward her.

Before Jessie could even figure out what he was doing, she felt the slightly rough pad of his finger wipe something away from the corner of her eye.

"Don’t cry," Victor said, his voice low and tinged with an unusual hoarseness.