An Eve at the Turn of the Century (4)
"...Pavel, I need your help. You said so, didn't you...? That if I ever needed you, you'd be there."
Delis's hands slowly slid up Pavel's body as he lay beneath her. From where they had been tightly wrapped around his waist, they traced up his chest and finally reached his face.
"Wait... Bloomfeld, even so, this is...!"
Pavel attempted a mild counterattack, showing a timidity that did not match his massive frame. He grabbed Delis's wrists with his own hands, which had previously been hovering awkwardly.
He didn't squeeze hard. He didn't want to hurt Delis—neither her body nor her heart.
Delis paid no mind to her captured wrists and pressed on. She knew his resistance wasn't genuine.
If it had been, she wouldn't be sitting astride Pavel on the sofa; she would have been thrown across the office floor.
Therefore, this was a green light. She didn't even consider the alternative. Why would she entertain a thought that would only break her heart when the person who could fill her emptiness was right in front of her?
Cradling Pavel's cheeks in her hands, Delis whispered softly.
"Delis."
"What...?"
"Call me Delis."
Without waiting for an answer, her amber eyes slowly closed. And then—
Mph.
For a very long time, neither of them spoke. Only the wet, sticky sounds of clashing tongues and swallowed saliva filled the sultry silence.
Pavel slowly released his grip on Delis's wrists. His hands, now free, naturally found their way to her waist. With her arms fully liberated, Delis surrendered to her instincts.
She wrapped her arms around Pavel's neck, ensuring the man she had finally captured would never escape her grasp again.
As if in response, Pavel's arms tightened around her. His ribs throbbed with a dull ache, but he didn't care. Even the pain was a welcome part of this precious moment.
Their hands began to entangle, each seeking to bind the other closer. Remembering that Pavel had locked the office door before they began their twisted confession, Delis grew bolder with her touch.
It was a clumsy kiss for both of them. Though there had been plenty of men pursuing Delis back in Oxford, she had never given her heart or body to anyone.
Her heart and body, which had once reached only toward a taboo, had now spun around to face the precious man right in front of her.
Even through the hazy warmth of passion, Delis managed to recall a document she had read as the Information Chief: Pavel's personnel file.
In that file, which she had secretly accessed using her security clearance, she had confirmed that Pavel's romantic history was a literal blank slate.
To think they had both saved their firsts for each other. It felt like a dream.
Their tongues remained entwined for a long time. Delis was the one taking the lead.
Mph. She pushed her tongue deep into Pavel's mouth, exploring greedily. She stroked the roof of his mouth, caressed the base of his tongue, and when his tongue drew near, she met it eagerly, practically begging him to entangle with her.
With every breath she drew—a heady mix of body heat and alcohol—she buried herself deeper against him. She didn't want to lose a single second of this precious time.
Eventually, her tongue began to ache. Though her heart wanted to stay entwined forever, her body couldn't keep up. It was a predictable outcome, considering she was straining muscles she had never used so intensely before.
Pavel seemed to notice her exhaustion. As her pace and strength gradually waned, it was impossible for him not to.
"...Haah."
She slowly pulled back. She hated having to untangle her arms from his neck to sit up, but she believed with all her heart that the time to hold and be held by him again would return very soon.
"Phew—"
Their tongues parted. A thin, viscous thread of saliva stretched between them, clinging to the tips of their tongues as if reluctant to let go.
An eerie silence settled over the room. All they could do was look at each other's flushed faces, catching their ragged breath in silence.
Pavel was the first to break the silence.
"...Delis."
He was finally calling her by her name. Well, technically he had done it once before, but that had been when she was lost in a daydream. This was the first time he was truly calling her by her name.
Back then, Pavel had been nothing more than a substitute for her father. But now was different. They were looking at each other and speaking with full, conscious awareness of who they were.
Of course, the lingering alcohol made her feel as if she were floating in a dream. But at least it wasn't a delusion. It was a dreamlike moment, but not a fleeting illusion that would vanish upon waking.
Delis lightly adjusted her clothes. Having clung so tightly to him, her shirt was disheveled, and sweat was beginning to damp her hair. Yet her gaze remained fixed on the man beneath her.
Replaying the sound of him calling her name over and over in her mind, Delis spoke.
"Did you like it...?"
She couldn't think of anything else to say. Somehow, just by looking into his eyes, she felt she could understand what he was thinking... just a little.
Instead of answering aloud, Pavel gave a small nod. He seemed too embarrassed to say it. It was a surprisingly bashful reaction for a man of his size.
"Ahaha—I'm glad. I'm glad you liked it too."
She meant it. Until the very moment their lips parted, she had been worried that he was only going along with it because he didn't want to hurt her feelings.
Now that the long kiss was over, her racing heart finally began to calm. At the same time, a wave of heat seemed to wash over her. The warmth of the room, which she hadn't noticed while focusing on her other senses, suddenly caught up to her.
Though snow was falling outside, this room felt entirely isolated from the rest of the world. Now that she was aware of her surroundings, a burning thirst gripped her throat.
She shifted her legs to get up from where she sat—or more accurately, from where she was sitting astride Pavel. His hands, still resting on her waist, twitched slightly as if reluctant to let her go. Delis offered him a playful smile.
Hmph, and here he was acting so indifferent all this time. Since he wanted her this much, how could she possibly leave his side?
Instead of standing up, Delis used her telekinesis to pull the wine bottle and glasses from the table. Floating through the air, the bottle and glasses drifted into her hands.
Her telekinesis was a power she had once used solely for her father's revenge. She had believed that squeezing the culprit's heart for eight hours and thirty-four minutes had fully avenged him.
But there was no need to put into words the realization that it hadn't been enough. She felt a pang of guilt for having once viewed the living, breathing man before her as "merely" a substitute for the deceased.
She poured her guilt into the glass. Down to the very last drop.
So things had to be different from now on. He could never be replaced, nor should he be. He wasn't anyone else. Pavel was Pavel.
The magic she had once wielded for her father's vengeance would now be poured out unstintingly for her own desires.
The crimson liquid sliding down her throat quenched her thirst. The cocktail of guilt and transgression transformed into pure pleasure and ecstasy in her stomach.
Delis handed the half-emptied glass to Pavel, who had sat up. Their hands brushed, and the liquid gulped down his throat.
Earlier, she had pinned him down; now, she sat on his lap. Delis whispered to him once more, her voice sweet and resonant.
"You know, you once told me... not to deny or try to justify it, but to just accept it."
"I finally understand. Lady Yerina, me, and even you. We're all mad."
The corners of Delis's eyes and lips curved into a soft smile. Once again, their bodies pressed together.
"I'll just accept it. So if you don't want this, tell me anytime."
"Ugh..."
Christmas morning. Pavel Nikolayevich Tsoy clutched his head as he struggled to sit up on the sofa. The dreamlike events of the previous night flashed through his mind, making his entire body flush hot.
I've finally... crossed the line.
Crossing the line didn't necessarily mean sex. The boundaries of human relationships were drawn by the individuals involved, and a confession and a kiss were more than enough to constitute crossing that line.
Pavel thought to himself, Maybe I shouldn't have brought out the wine. But who could have predicted she would drink so much of it so suddenly?
The sheer weight of the worries she had been harboring in secret must have been too immense for him to even fathom.
He hoped last night's confession had helped her. It must have. The way she had kissed him felt as though she were pouring out all the pent-up resentment she had accumulated over the years.
Pavel had simply let himself go with the flow. He had accommodated her, letting her do whatever she wanted as much as possible.
Besides, he couldn't find a single plausible reason to reject her feelings.
When those bright amber eyes stared directly at him, and that beautiful, raven-haired woman clung to him whispering of love, he simply didn't have the strength to keep his heart closed.
Considering that alcohol had been coursing through his own veins as well, it was a miracle he had managed any self-control at all.
In truth, he had vaguely sensed that Delis harbored feelings for him. But since she had always kept herself in check, he had consciously ignored it.
But now that she had unlocked her heart and opened her arms wide, begging him to hold her, he could no longer turn a blind eye. Turning away a comrade who had finally gathered the courage to reach out was never an option.
Once, when she had pinned him down and wrapped her arms around his neck. And once more, right after they shared the last glass of wine, when he had pulled her onto his lap, intoxicated by her sweet scent.
Their two passionate encounters had only ended when Delis's stamina finally gave out.
Considering he was the one who had just endured a long flight and a workout, her exhaustion was likely psychological. The fact that she had drunk far more wine than him certainly played a part as well.
She was, after all, a guest in the Security Chief's office. He couldn't just leave the fast-asleep Delis on the couch. So, last night, Pavel had carried her to the bed in the room adjacent to his office.
It was a private bedroom, completely isolated from the outside and accessible only through his office. He, the room's actual owner, had slept on the sofa instead—the very sofa where so many things had transpired last night.
He grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and chugged it. Only then did his groggy mind begin to clear.
Come to think of it... by now, Lady Bronska might have noticed that Delis hadn't returned to her own office.
It would be easy for her to find out that Delis had come here, simply by asking the security guard who had escorted her. From there, she would quickly realize that Delis had never left.
He had barely managed to clear one hurdle, only for another to immediately pop up. How on earth was he supposed to explain this situation?
Still, it wasn't something he could hide. Pavel steeled his resolve and decided to face it head-on.