Translator: Nox

Chapter 24

Thinking back, she felt it was a little unfair. As she stubbornly insisted, River Ross lifted her cheek with a warm hand. His green eyes shimmered as they caught a thin ray of sunlight.

“Are you serious?”

“Yes. So lie down, right here.”

When she pushed him with weight in her fingertips, River Ross let himself fall back onto the bed. Since she hadn’t pushed him that hard to begin with, it was more like he was pretending to be shoved. Propped up lazily on his elbows, he looked like an ancient god—as if he were dressed in a himation, naturally inhaling the breath of a sacrifice offered by a priestess.

Vanessa parted her legs and slowly sat atop his firm abdomen. She watched his resilient Adam’s apple bob slowly up and down. After staring at it for a moment, Vanessa remembered her original goal and began to inspect the man’s upper body.

“…….”

Everything about him was so different from her that it felt miraculous. The broad shoulders, the thick line of his neck, the long muscles that looked as though they had been finely carved, the veins rising flexibly along the grain of his skin, and the thick, nearly straight bones.

As she placed her hand on his chest, which rose and fell with his breathing, he took a slow breath in. Everything she felt beneath her hand was hot and smooth. His body felt as if it had been forged from iron freshly pulled from a furnace. It was hard yet supple, pulsing vigorously with the life God had breathed into it.

His waist, connected to his thick torso, was like a longbow, and the muscles of his tight abdomen were seamless. Just like this, a little more, a little further down….

“Vanessa.”

As her wandering hand moved lower across his stomach, he called her name in a deeply sunken voice. His breath was low. Only then did Vanessa feel the heat smoldering in River Ross’s eyes.

She grabbed his shoulders and pushed hard. River Ross went down easily, sprawling across the bed. He looked as if he were waiting to see just how far she would play with his body. Vanessa gripped his wrists with her small hands, struggling to hold them. She pinned them down against the bed.

Her disheveled hair draped down like a curtain. The man, held by her just as he had once held her, was beautiful. A twisted sense of ecstasy rose within her at the sight of this man—who stood at the pinnacle of masculinity in physique alone—lying helpless beneath a mere woman’s hands. Even though she knew he was only letting himself be caught.

“You’re pretty.”

She spat out the very praise that had burst from the mouths of countless men toward her, directed at his face. It was partly because he truly was radiantly beautiful, and partly because she felt she could finally understand how those men had felt.

River Ross immediately furrowed his brows and let out a dry laugh.

“That’s the first time I’ve heard such crazy nonsense.”

Well, it was the first time she had ever said such crazy nonsense, so it stood to reason. Vanessa brushed off his complaint and traced his forearm with her fingertips.

It was strange that skin damp with sweat could be so alluring. On a midsummer day as hot as sitting before a furnace, it should have been normal to feel annoyed by the mere sensation of skin sticking together. And yet, was it normal to wish that they could stay stuck like this forever, melting into one…?

“Your gaze is getting more and more impure.”

The world flipped in an instant. Before she knew it, she was the one pinned by the man’s hands in the exact position she had been holding him. As she looked up blankly, like a child who had been robbed of a favorite toy, River Ross laughed.

“A deal should be equal, Vanessa.”

A firm hand slipped beneath her thin blouse. Along with a mischievous smile.

“That’s the condition you like best, isn’t it?”

His tilted face softly swallowed her lips, which were flushed with excitement. It was the start of the night she had longed for.

---

“…Nessa. Wake up.”

Someone was calling her name. Barely lifting her heavy eyelids, she saw River Ross. Once he confirmed she was awake, he cupped Vanessa’s cheek with his large hand and turned her to face him.

“Don’t fall back asleep.”

Even in her drowsy state, the hint of laughter in his voice was pleasant to hear. The hand on her cheek felt subtly cool.

“…Mmm….”

“I’ll bring you something to drink, so wait here.”

Satisfied that she was conscious, he let her go and stood up. Frustratingly, his face was as neat and composed as ever. He wasn’t even out of breath, looking as though he hadn’t spent a single drop of stamina.

Vanessa simply watched his back as he picked up and put on his clothes, her eyes slightly stunned. She didn’t have the strength to glare at him, let alone lift a finger.

“…….”

At first, her gaze was half-driven by spite. Her pride was stung by the fact that she was the only one so exhausted…. But as she watched him from her slanted position, huddled under the sheets, her eyes gradually filled with admiration.

The man’s body, moving in the morning sunlight, was beautiful. Stretching his arms, bending, grasping something…. Every time he moved, the densely packed muscles of his back rippled like waves. Unlike her own thin frame, the man’s muscles were brimming with vitality. They were as sturdy as a predator’s, yet flexible.

Vanessa stared briefly at the haphazard nail scratches on his back before slowly lowering her gaze. His waist, narrowing compared to his upper body, and then below that….

“…….”

As if sensing her impure gaze, he turned around just then. Their eyes met instantly, and River Ross gave a small smile.

When Vanessa instinctively pulled the sheet up higher to cover her bitten chest, his eyes narrowed. His gaze deepened as if he were savoring the sight, returning the favor and letting her know that no matter how much she hid, he could imagine what lay beneath.

“You’re pretty.”

Vanessa was speechless for a moment before letting out a dry laugh.

“You said it was crazy nonsense last night.”

“Then take it sweetly. It’s just your own words coming back to you.”

He disappeared behind the screen after loosely pulling on his shirt and returned shortly. He held a glass of water in one hand and a small bowl in the other. Sitting at the head of the bed, he tilted the glass toward her lips.

“Here.”

He was treating her like an invalid. Vanessa obediently tilted her head and drank the water he offered. As soon as she finished quenching her thirst, River Ross propped her back up with cushions and pillows just as she was about to collapse backward. Then, he placed the bowl piled with summer strawberries on her lap.

“Strawberries? Where did these come from?”

“From Mr. Ross.”

River Ross answered in a muffled voice, rubbing the end of a cigarette against his lower lip instead of lighting it. It was a habit he had when he was trying to suppress the urge to light up and inhale the smoke. It was a small habit he might not even be aware of himself, but she knew it now.

“He brought over a whole basket.”

“Ah. I see.”

Come to think of it, freshly picked summer strawberries had appeared on her table a few days ago as well. She had assumed they were bought, but to think he had grown and harvested them himself.

Seeing the glossy red skins made her mouth water with a tart hunger. Only then did she realize she hadn’t eaten anything since the previous evening. She hurriedly bit into one, and sweet-and-sour juice exploded in her mouth.

“…It’s delicious.”

“I’m glad.”

Vanessa frantically ate several strawberries in a row. The texture of the fruit bursting between her teeth was incredibly refreshing. Juice she couldn’t quite contain trickled down her lips in thin lines.

She wiped her lips with the back of her hand and immediately reached for the next strawberry. She bit, chewed, and swallowed. The simple act of putting something into a body pushed to its limit brought immense satisfaction. It was only after her stomach was somewhat full that her scattered wits slowly returned.

With an embarrassed face, Vanessa lowered the last strawberry she was about to put in her mouth.

“…What about you? Have you eaten anything?”

“Me?”

He asked back with a smirk. He looked as though a cat was suddenly showing concern for a mouse. When she hesitated, feeling a bit sheepish, he leaned his left hand on the bed and tilted his head. He leaned in and took the strawberry from Vanessa’s hand, which had stopped in an awkward position.

His warm breath and smooth lips came close for a fleeting second and then pulled away. His teeth lightly grazed her fingertip, leaving a stinging sensation. Was that on purpose? Vanessa, who had reflexively held her breath, curled her tingling fingertip and looked away.

“…If you wanted to eat, you could have just asked.”

“I didn’t plan on eating.”

He wiped the juice from the corner of his mouth with his thumb and grinned.

“But you were eating them with such relish.”

It was a teasing excuse, but she couldn’t scold him for taking just one strawberry. “It’s sour,” he muttered, wrinkling his nose slightly. He took the empty bowl from her hands. It was then that she found herself staring, entranced, at the muscles of his chest revealed by his unbuttoned shirt.

Dong. The first bell of dawn rang out as if to wake her. The sound of roosters crowing, which had been audible for a while, became clearer. Only then did Vanessa realize where she was and what she had done, and she was struck with horror.

“Oh my god. The time… since when….”

The color drained from her cheeks, which had been a healthy flush just moments ago. It was almost time for Mary to come wake her.

With a pale face, Vanessa scrambled out of bed in a frenzy. Her movements were frantic as she shoved her limbs into her crumpled, discarded clothes. She gasped for air as she fastened the buttons of her shirt.

“You’re leaving?”

“Yes. I’ll… I’ll come back tomorrow night.”

“Not tomorrow. I’ll be away for a few days starting this afternoon.”

“A few days? For how long?”

“About four days. I have business in Bath.”

He softly brushed back Vanessa’s disheveled blonde hair and kissed her exposed forehead.

“If you wait patiently, I’ll buy you a gift.”

He stood up with a laugh, leaving behind words that might have been a joke or the truth. Vanessa froze, touching her forehead where his lips had landed. Ridiculously, heat began to rise from that very spot.

“…….”

It was a promise one might make to a child. Or perhaps, something truly said between lovers. Vanessa pressed her hot hand against her face. Her stomach began to churn again. You don’t even know your place.