Ch#131
131
It felt as though she were a fish caught in a fine-meshed net.
As she instinctively flailed her limbs to escape the bed, Barkas gently pressed her body down, cupping her cheeks with both hands.
“Shh… It’s alright.”
His warm breath brushed against her sweat-drenched eyelids. She felt her frozen body melt away in an instant, yet her mind remained rigid with tension.
Twisting her head to the side, she managed to pull her upper body out from under the duvet.
“The moon… Hide it.”
She reached an arm toward the window like a drowning person reaching for shore, but long, firm fingers slid into her hair. Her head was pulled back, and her lips were soon covered by a searing warmth.
She could no longer think of anything. All that remained in her mind was the sensation of their tongues tangling like flickering flames. Talia wrapped her arms tightly around his shoulders and let out a feverish breath.
“Lift your hips.”
Following his instruction unconsciously, the hem of her thin dress was pulled down.
Their two bodies, slick with sweat, created a strange friction within the narrow gap of the duvet filled with hot air.
Was this what it felt like to be submerged in a bubbling swamp? It felt as if the bones and muscles of her entire body were liquefying.
Talia let out a thin sob, rubbing her soft flesh against his steel-hard, smooth physique.
It was then she felt the fabric tangled at her waist roll down below her hips.
As the final barrier between them vanished, her mind, which had been melting like candle wax, suddenly jolted with a sense of alarm.
She spread her thighs wide to ensure her bandaged leg wouldn’t touch his body. Then, she craned her neck to check if her legs were exposed outside the duvet, but Barkas seized her face and forced her to look at him.
“Don’t let your mind wander elsewhere.”
Blue eyes, saturated with moonlight, filled her vision.
Talia forgot how to breathe as she counted the silver fragments dwelling within his eyes. His bluish-tinted ash-blonde hair softly tickled her forehead.
While she stared at his face as if possessed, his hot hand slid down her body. His eyes remained fixed on her face.
Realizing that Barkas was carefully observing her reaction, Talia was overcome by intense shame and squeezed her eyes shut.
It was a mistake. With her vision cut off, the decadent touch caressing her insides became even more vivid.
She didn’t dare open her eyelids again as she endured the overwhelming sensation, but a humid sigh dampened her eardrum.
“Open your eyes, Talia.”
His soft voice felt like a weapon.
In that moment, she knew he was trying to carve out and take the last handful of her heart.
What would become of her once everything was taken away?
“Look at me.”
Unable to resist his persistent urging, she finally lifted her eyelids.
At that moment, he pushed deep inside her.
Talia gripped his white, sculpted shoulders tightly. Her head snapped back at the pressure filling her womb.
He pressed down heavily on her, wiping away the tears gathered at the corners of her eyes with his thumb. Then, he peered obsessively into her blurred pupils. It was a gaze that seemed to search for the deepest parts of her soul.
A dizziness, like something sharp raking her retinas, washed over her. But he did not allow her to look away.
Barkas, holding her head firmly, moved his hips slowly. It felt as if her body, held captive by him, would burst and bruise like overripe fruit.
Talia muttered pleas without realizing it. She didn’t even know what she was praying for.
Their sweat-soaked bodies emitted humid steam within the furnace-like bed. It felt as if her very brain might evaporate.
“Barkas…”
Moans that sounded like sobs broke incessantly from her throat.
The creaking of the bed, the sound of wet skin rubbing together, and the sound of her heart, which felt like it might explode, mixed into the air.
It felt like she was going mad. Her mind and body, everything was crumbling. And Barkas was watching it all happen.
Over her burning cheeks and wet eyelashes, over her lips gasping for breath and her unfocused eyes, his blade-like gaze poured down.
Finally unable to endure it any longer, she threw her arms around his neck and buried her face in his smooth shoulder.
She heard the sound of teeth grinding near her ear, and then her depths were ruthlessly crushed.
She dug her fingertips into the curves of his delicate muscles, which shone white in the moonlight. Her fingernails, which she had trimmed short so as not to hurt him, slid over his sweat-drenched skin.
Rough, uneven breaths poured over the crown of her head.
How long did she cling to her fading consciousness? The steady, rhythmic movements eventually reached a point where they became desperately urgent beyond measure.
Startled by the unpredictable stimulation, Talia reflexively bit down hard on the nape of his neck. Simultaneously, a violent explosion erupted within her.
Her entire body trembled as she tightened around him. Overflowing tears soaked her cheeks and neck.
She felt warm fingers caressing her wet cheek. It was a touch that felt like it was grasping her exposed heart.
Talia was swept away by a strange dizziness and squeezed her eyes shut. At some point, she seemed to lose consciousness.
Tossing and turning to escape the stifling heat, Talia woke up from the pressure tightening around her waist.
The bedroom, bathed in a bluish light, came into her blurred vision. After blinking blankly, she realized the hot body heat behind her back and turned her head with a start. She saw Barkas sleeping soundly, his cheek buried in the pillow.
She carefully pushed herself up into a sitting position and stared at him.
The pale moonlight slid down his delicate cheekbones, illuminating the bite marks on his neck.
She instinctively reached out to touch them with her fingertips, then pulled her hand back. She didn’t want to disturb his peaceful night.
Talia slowly lowered her feet from the bed. The moonlight was bright enough that it wasn’t difficult to distinguish objects.
She found her messily crumpled dress at the corner of the bed and pulled it over her head.
As she pulled the wrinkled skirt down and lifted her head, she saw the full moon illuminating the black sky through the large arched glass window. The pouring moonlight was almost blinding.
“Don’t go.”
She was looking up at the night sky like someone possessed when she felt a warm presence behind her.
A sharp shiver ran through Talia.
Barkas, wrapping the cool duvet around her as he held her, leaned his face against her temple.
“Just stay here tonight.”
She squeezed her eyes shut.
She felt she should pull away. But she could no longer remember why she had to.
Ever since she first met him, she had longed for this embrace. She had wanted him to hold her warmly and never let go.
Then why was she fighting her own desires?
Talia, trembling helplessly, finally nodded her head.
“…Alright.”
“Tomorrow, too.”
“…Yes.”
“And the day after that.”
While she nodded as if under a spell, he led her back to the bed.
His warm arms firmly enveloped her cooling body. After a moment’s hesitation, Talia placed her hand on his waist.
A flicker of satisfaction seemed to pass over his usually indifferent face. Talia looked up at him for a moment before burying her forehead into his broad chest.
The season of winds was drawing to a close.
Barkas, skimming through reports in his office, turned his head at the cold chill brushing his cheek.
Beyond the wide-open window stretched a sky so blue it made his eyes ache. While his gaze was momentarily stolen by the sight, a few gusts of cool wind scattered the documents on his desk.
Clicking his tongue in annoyance, he placed a paperweight over the parchments, stood up, and closed the window.
It was then that a flash of golden hair caught his eye through the glass.
Barkas lowered his gaze. Talia, draped in a white cloak that had been completed recently, was strolling through the garden with her nanny.
Whenever the harsh wind swept over her flushed face, her golden tresses fluttered long like a bird’s wings.
He narrowed his eyes and watched her for a while. The sight of her wearing the fur of a magical beast he had hunted himself brought him a strange sense of fulfillment. Even though he had been fasting all morning, he felt as if his stomach were full.
However, before long, a sense of disapproval reared its head.
She was a woman who had been noticeably lethargic for several days. Had she not even run a slight fever at dawn, setting his nerves on edge?
