Chapter 102

Chapter 102

Our lips parted with the residual moisture of our kiss. In that golden gaze of his, there appeared to be a burning desire, which threatened to swallow me whole. It caused goosebumps to rise on the back of my neck. He buried his face into the crook of my neck, then used his mouth to search for the soft surface of my flesh. All the while, I could only make out the messy strands of his silver mane. As he cupped my breast through the opening of my blouse and sucked at my throat, I lost the battle against the moan I had been biting back.

I had made the unfortunate mistake of assuming that after three days of unadulterated lust, he would need at least a short respite. But Cassis Pedelian had made a funny habit of proving me wrong. The thought even crossed my mind that it had perhaps become a way for the two of us to communicate. Maybe we were asking and answering the questions we were most curious about through our heated exchanges of flesh and fluid. And maybe that was why we were so eager to feel one another’s touch.

Before I realized it, Cassis’ hands and lips were making their way downward. Much like the night before, he began to nibble and suck on my inner thigh. Once again, he seemed to be leaving tightly placed heat signatures around a specific area. I felt myself almost slip into a daze as he roughly moved his mouth and fingers deep into my most hidden spot.

“Ahhh... Wait, Cassis. Slow... Ngh! Slow down.”

Before long, he was on top of me again. It felt as if he was able to push even deeper into me after I had already climaxed. I needed him to slow down in case he quite literally took my breath away. But just when I thought he was acknowledging my request even a little, he grinned at me with a look of slight amusement.

“‘Slow down’? That’s a painfully difficult request to fulfill.”

I’d played myself thinking he actually would, but he didn’t have the slightest desire to go easy on me. “So... that’s how you’re gonna be?”

Of course, by then I was well aware, but the way that man changed between night and day was still hard to process. As a way to get even, I bit down on his neck hard. Hard enough to make a clear imprint, that is. I wanted to get back at him just a bit, but like always, it hardly seemed to faze him.

On the contrary, the pain only seemed to excite him even more. Although... To be perfectly honest, I was like that to some extent as well. Thus, we were clawing at each other until the wee hours again just as we had for three nights before.

* * *

When what seemed like an unquenchable fire finally seemed to quiet down and my body sagged back into the downy comforter, Cassis got to work on revitalizing me. It still bothered me somewhat that I was always the one left exhausted and short of breath first, but looking back on it now, I suppose it was better than him rolling off the bed before I had been fully satisfied.

“I have a question. Could helping me like this be bad for you in some way?” I gazed at him with slight concern in my expression.

He stared back at me for a moment, then pressed his lips to my cheek. “Not at all. Don’t let yourself worry about something like that.”

I studied him carefully to see if he was telling the truth, then sighed with relief since I couldn’t detect any lie. My eyes seemed to shut reflexively as my mind was put at ease.

“Now get some sleep.” He kissed me again as his voice wafted through my ears like a lullaby. And just like that the tension throughout my body completely melted away.

While still in his embrace, I fell fast asleep.

* * *

A few days later, I received word from Grizelda. I was confident her letter would have the information I needed. If the lock of hair really was Mother’s, and if Noel was using her to force my hand, I would make them regret such a foolhardy endeavor forever. But when I opened her letter there was nothing in it but a name.

I stared at it numbly. I questioned what I was seeing almost instantly, then read the name again as I really couldn’t believe my eyes. I hadn’t realized that I had stopped breathing because the feeling of poison seemed to be bubbling up inside of me.

Everything around me suddenly fell hush. The black letters of the name written on that white piece of paper practically danced before my eyes as if to taunt me. All sorts of thoughts were rattling through my mind. Each one clashing and clawing at the others until they shredded into thousands of new inconceivable thoughts.

I took a deep breath to regain my calm, then exhaled as I considered my next move. As I balled up Grizelda’s letter, I felt a deep frost settle over every organ inside me.

I would have to see this pest Noel Vertium... if only to confirm my sister’s intel.

* * *

“Heading out?”

The time had come for Cassis to leave. “Yes, but I’ll be back before you know it.”

We only shared a short farewell at the annex.

“Cassis...” I quietly called out his name before we parted. He stood there watching and waiting for me to continue. I gazed up at him intently. “Just as you said, had it been someone else who came to get me that day, I very well may have followed them.”

For some reason, I felt the need to finally answer the question he had asked me ages ago. He hadn’t brought it up again, but I wanted him to know how I felt before he left. “But if it hadn’t been you... I doubt I’d be this glad to be alive right now.”

At that moment, I noticed his eyes appear to take on a different shade. They trembled slightly while keeping me and me alone at the center of their focus.

“What I’m trying to say is that if it hadn’t been you, I couldn’t have been this happy.” My gaze seemed to drop out of embarrassment, so I tried to add on as casually as possible. “I just wanted to get that off my chest.”

I preferred to just act like I wasn’t trying to say anything, so I finally smiled up at him again with a more playful expression. “Anyway, have a good trip.”

He stood by the doorway without moving a muscle.

“Roxana.”

It was evidently his turn to address me.

“Even if I hadn’t been able to find you that day, I would have found you eventually.” The conviction in both his eyes and voice was almost palpable. “And even if you were to disappear on me, I would search for you to the edge of the world.”

Then he finally moved, but rather than head out, he came toward me. “So whatever it is you wish to do, do so freely.”

By then, our bodies had made contact yet again. He seemed to squeeze me with all his might before whispering into my ear. “I’ll do the same.”

Heat traveled from his embrace straight down my spine as if he were branding me. I couldn’t be sure if his response was an indication that he already suspected I was planning something, or if it was simply a way to address my long goodbye. But one thing was absolutely certain.

There was no doubt in my mind that there could be no one else besides him. The feeling rushed into my heart suddenly much like the breeze that blew through the open door and tousled our hair. Just as he had done, I hugged him back with all the strength I could muster. I of course never once considered leaving him. Not for good anyway.

At that moment, I was positively, unequivocally certain that I belonged at his side. That feeling had grown stronger than ever before.