The kiss felt better than the slap, but it still brought a different type of pain to him.
Lucian would prefer her to stop with the sudden switch between violence and kindness, and pick one.
"Your kiss feels like an insect bite, my lady," he commented, trying to ease his discomfort and bring back some resemblance of control, "It's doing the opposite of making things better."
"..." Celine's lips hovered over his cheek, her breath hot on his skin.
His own breathing stopped when he felt her tongue on his skin, licking the bruise, before her teeth bit into it.
"Ugh!" He jolted at the sensation.
Her mouth then enveloped his lips in a kiss, shutting him up again, her fingers holding his jaw in place.
Her lips moved against his, and Lucian found himself opening his mouth to her. No. No. He wanted to pull away. No, no, no…
She invaded his mouth, her saliva mixing with his. He could feel the wetness of her tongue as it brushed against his teeth.
Celine's grip tightened, keeping him from escaping her. Her free hand slid up his thigh and then down his torso.
Lucian sank his teeth into her lip, stopping her from going further.
"!!!" She let out a pained groan, pulling away from him, but his teeth only sunk deeper into her flesh.
A punch landed in his chest, but he didn't budge, not letting her escape.
She punched him in the head, harder than before, and he finally released her lip from the prison of his teeth.
She stumbled backwards, her hand covering her bleeding lip.
The blindfold slipped down his nose, revealing his dilated pupils. He was panting heavily, the blood dripping from his chin. His heart was beating wildly. He could hear it pounding inside his chest.
He wanted to wipe off the blood from his lips, but he couldn't move his arms. He had to keep them behind his back, where they were bound together.
So he licked his lips instead, tasting the metallic tang of her blood on his tongue, and swallowed. His tongue ran over his lips again, and again, and again, until the taste was gone.
The small win brought a smile to his lips.
"Heh...I can't decide if I like or hate your new style," Lucian forced a tease, "It's not very ladylike."
Celine sat there, watching him, her chest rising and falling rapidly as she breathed heavily.
"Untie me, I want to taste more," he whispered, and Celine's face twisted in disbelief, "Come on. Just one more kiss. Please, my lady?"
Staring death in the face had a strange effect on people. Some go quiet and accept it, while others fight until their last breath.
Lucian went with the latter, even if he knew he was going to lose anyway.
His heart beat faster and faster, and the adrenaline rush that came from his fight or flight instinct kicked in, giving him the strength to tackle her to the bed.
He straddled her hips, her body trapped beneath his weight while his wrists were still tied together behind his back.
He leaned down to bite her again, but her hand covered his face. The curse she had cast on him took its effect, weakening him to the point where he fell on top of her like a rag doll, "..."
This wouldn't do. He needed to get stronger, be able to resist her curse, and then he would get his freedom back. No one would have any control over him ever again.
Celine's hands untied the rope on his wrists and he let them fall to the side, unable to move a limb. She wrapped them around her waist, making it look like he was hugging her.
She didn't give up on her advances. She continued kissing him, cupping his face.
He asked for a kiss after biting her, and instead of lashing at him, she gave him what he wanted.
Why?
Because she promised to kiss his pains away even if he became the biggest scum in the world.
She was a woman of her words.
"You can have as many kisses as you want," she whispered, her lips brushing against his as she spoke. "You can have me all to yourself, if that's what you desire, too."
Sweet words that would melt anyone's resolve, if only he could move his lips to respond to her, but he wasn't allowed to.
He just crushed the trust she had in him to not bite her, so there was no way she would undo the curse.
He felt her hands running up and down his back as if trying to soothe him. He would rather she torture him than make him believe that things were going back to normal.
"Sleep," she ordered, his body relaxing on command.
His eyes closed, his breathing slowing down. How she managed it was beyond his comprehension. His mind was in shambles, yet his body was at peace, trusting her more than it trusted him.
It should be twitching in fear, trembling at her touch, and yet it was content in her embrace.
His mind wanted to tear her to pieces and rip her to shreds, but his body only wanted to be closer to her. His traitorous heart. If he could, he would have cut it out and thrown it into a fire.
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Lucian didn't remember falling asleep, but he woke up in her bed, with her cuddling him, her face buried in his chest.
She looked so harmless when she slept. Her hair was tied in a loose fish tail, messy, but still charming.
He didn't want to wake her up, but the feeling of being trapped wouldn't let him go back to sleep.
He quickly searched the surroundings. The vial should be inside her bag.
He carefully moved her arms and legs to the side and slid off the bed.
Quietly approaching the bag on the floor, he searched through its contents and found the vial.
It was empty and clean of its content.
'Is it too late?'
'She can't be pregnant already, can she?!'
╔═══ Author's note ════╗
Is this novel dead already?
Didn't receive any comments in a while, sigh. 🤕
Thanks for those who keep giving me powerstones. This novel's fate is on your shoulders now. ☠️🙏
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