Juniper shot him a look, then closed her eyes. "I''m sleepy," she mumbled, showing no intention of moving.


    "Okay, get some sleep." Shanley gently pulled the nket over both of them, a slow smile spreading across his face. It seemed the girl wasn''t entirely immune to him after all. He should have made his move sooner.


    The next morning, Juniper opened her eyes after a full night of peaceful sleep. The first thing she saw was a handsome, sharply defined face with striking features, startlingly close to her own. Her gaze drifted down to his elegant corbones and well-defined chest.


    With his eyes closed, the usual cold, intimidating aura he carried had dissipated. Sunlight streamed through a gap in the curtains, illuminating his face. The sight was inexplicably captivating.


    The man every woman in Era City wanted to marry? He certainly lived up to the hype.


    Juniper raised a hand, gently tracing the line of his eyebrow, a smile blooming on her lips.


    Sensing a presence near his face, Shanley''s eyes snapped open. The next second, the murderous, defensive aura that had red up vanishedpletely.


    His reflexes were so fast that Juniper barely registered the movement. There was something familiar about it, as if they had crossed paths, or even swords, before. But that was impossible. She had never met Shanley beforeing here.


    "Good morning, Juniper." Seeing her face, Shanley rxed, a warm curve gracing his lips. "How did you sleep?"


    "Fine," she replied. "You?"


    "Very well." He nced at the clock and patted her head gently. "Time to get up for school."


    "Oh." Juniper touched her hair, still a little dazed. It felt like she''d been possessedst night. Lying in his arms had been sofortable that she had fallen asleep almost instantly. She usually slept poorly and was gued by nightmares, butst night had been wonderfully, unusually peaceful.


    "Very well," Shanley repeated with a slightly stiff smile as he sat up, a grimace of pain shing across his face. His arm waspletely numb and difficult to move.


    "Are you okay?" Juniper asked, a hint of guilt in her eyes.


    "I''m fine." Shanley shook his head with a smallugh. "Go get ready. After breakfast, I''ll take you to school."


    "Okay." Juniper obediently went to the bathroom.


    When she came back, she found him shirtless, struggling to put on his clothes. He was standing in front of the full-length mirror, giving her a perfect unobstructed view. Broad shoulders, narrow waist, not an Qurice of fat on him—his body looked like it was straightout of aic book. It was clear he trained regrly.


    “Impressively disciplined,” she thought, finding herself momentarily lost in the sight.


    "Juniper." Shanley turned and caught her interested gaze. He raised an eyebrow. "Could you give me a hand?"


    "Sure." Juniper walked over, stood on her tiptoes, and carefully began buttoning his shirt. When it came to the fe however, she was stumped. don''t know how  fo


    She was more familiar with how to strangle someone with it.


    "I''ll teach you." Shanley took her hands in his, guiding them through the motions of looping and knotting the silk.


    Juniper nced up at his face but


    didn''t puff away. The proximity,.


    warming their bodies, filled the room with a palpable, intimate tension.


    Just then, a knock sounded at the door.


    "Sir, Mr. Tate is here," Dana''s voice called out, followed almost immediately by


    Jimmie''s. “Shanley, why isn''t my sister in her room?"


    Shanley and Juniper froze.