Don’t Keep Provoking Me
The sunset that had once filled the room slowly faded away, until the hush of night began to seep in and take its place.
Conrad’s hand moved past Regina’s shoulder to the edge of her robe, brushing against her collarbone.
“…!”
Regina flinched, but she did not pull away.
When Conrad’s fingers found the crescent-shaped sealing mark and touched it, Regina’s throat gave a small tremor.
Crackle—
A tiny burst of light flashed, and a familiar warmth seeped into her body. Startled, Regina swayed, and Conrad drew her into his arms.
“Are you all right?”
He lifted her and carried her toward the bed, then whispered into her ear.
The darkness had fully settled by then, and Regina’s face was already flushed red.
A faint exchange of mana where Conrad’s fingers touched her was spreading heat through her body.
“I’m… fine.”
The mana was still sealed away. Even so, the growing warmth made it harder and harder to breathe.
Conrad laid Regina on the bed, still holding her in his arms.
Their noses were almost touching when their eyes met.
Having caught the tension in each other’s gazes, they only stared quietly into one another’s eyes.
Both of them knew exactly what would happen next, and what had to be done.
It was only natural that they would spend their first night together in order to deepen the exchange of mana. The goal was to recover her mana as quickly as possible and break the barrier.
I thought our first night would just be a means to an end... so why is my heart beating like this?
The moment his breath brushed her lips, Regina felt the soft touch of his mouth against hers.
Those lips—light as a passing feather, then already gone—left her whole attention in their wake.
Conrad sat up slightly and looked down at her, untying the robe he had fastened so securely. The rustle of fabric sounded louder than anything else in the room.
“Open your mouth.”
Regina, barely able to breathe properly, met the blue eyes fixed so intently on her and slowly drew in a breath.
As she parted her dry lips and moistened them with the tip of her tongue, Conrad’s gaze followed the movement with relentless focus.
The instant those hard eyes wavered—
The large, rough hand of the knight caught Regina by the chin. She did not resist.
Feeling that heavy, lingering tension in his gaze, Regina lowered her eyes at last and let them travel over Conrad’s dark features.
A straight, proud bridge of nose. Firmly set lips. And that unfamiliar hunger burning in his eyes as he looked down at her.
A dizzying sensation rolled through her body as though it were pressing her down. Her fingertips tingled, and heat surged hot from deep in her belly.
Regina shut her eyes tight as Conrad’s face drew closer.
The man’s lips touched her forehead, then her cheek.
That featherlight kiss did not stop at just one. The lips that settled over her again and again were gentle, as if soothing something precious.
The ticklish warmth of it made her chest tremble. His lips brushed past the bridge of her nose, then came to rest at the corner of her eye.
The moment she lifted her lashes, still trembling—
She met eyes turned a deep blue-black by layers upon layers of desire. Regina stopped breathing.
“Open.”
His whisper sounded gentle, yet carried an insistent heat beneath it.
Slowly, Regina parted her lips. Conrad took her mouth without hesitation.
The hot flesh that claimed her breath knew nothing of restraint.
The gentle man was gone somewhere along the way, and the one consumed by his own desire traced Regina’s lower lip with his tongue.
After a brief pause in which she exhaled, Regina’s eyes flew open when that cautiously moving tongue slipped between her parted lips.
“Ah—!”
The breath she failed to exhale was swallowed into Conrad’s mouth.
It did not take long for the heat that touched her tongue to spread through her entire body.
Her breathing grew ragged, and everywhere his hands touched her burned.
Conrad pressed himself closer against Regina’s upper body, and when he finally lifted his lips away, she felt his hot breath in the haze between them.
Her fingertips trembled, her entire body tingled, and at the same time Regina could feel mana flowing faintly within her.
When their lips parted, Regina’s eyes, glazed with pleasure, followed Conrad.
He did not avoid her either as his blue eyes shifted and revealed their own unrest. As if bound by the heat between them, both of them stilled for a moment.
As though waiting for something, Regina reached out toward Conrad, who was watching her.
The instant her trembling fingers touched his cheek, he lowered his head toward her shoulder.
When her hand slid from his cheek to around his neck—
Their rough breathing tangled together, and the robe covering her body was pulled away.
“Relax.”
That low murmur held desire he no longer bothered to hide.
A hot tongue touched Regina’s ear. Along with the wet sound, a faint sting bloomed in her earlobe.
Even that prickling sensation turned into a burning yearning and took hold of her.
He bit down lightly on her earlobe, then licked around it with the tip of his tongue before moving lower.
He traced the long line of her neck, then set his lips there with deliberate pressure. The slender column of her throat was swallowed beneath his mouth, leaving a red mark behind.
Conrad swept his tongue over it and straightened.
When the robe slid away and his firm upper body was exposed, Regina swallowed a trembling breath. Her eyes and cheeks had both gone red with heat.
Just as her gaze began to drift lower, Conrad caught her face in his hand.
“If you don’t want to, then tonight doesn’t have to be the night.”
That low voice rolled past her ear, sending a shiver through her. Her fingers curled.
The bedsheets were crumpled mercilessly in her hands, but Conrad’s eyes never left Regina’s face.
Don’t want to?
The mana that flowed over from where she touched Conrad was hot. It was exactly what Regina needed.
She noticed the many emotions in the eyes fixed on her: expectation, a secret excitement hidden deeper down, and tension.
Conrad remained still, as if waiting for her permission, and Regina gave a small nod.
“Tonight is our first night, so….”
Before she could finish, Regina’s lips were swallowed by Conrad’s. From the first rough breath she felt, there was no escaping him.
Conrad lowered his upper body and lightly bit at her throat with his tongue. The wet, provocative motion soon reached her rounded shoulder, where it left the imprint of teeth.
When Conrad saw the mark he had left behind for the first time, the corner of his mouth lifted and his lips moved.
“Beautiful.”
Regina flinched as his dark gaze slid over her body as though touching it. Before long, Conrad discovered the sensitive peak standing stiff and hard, and Regina felt her mouth go dry.
When she saw him lick his dry lips with the tip of his tongue, desire laid bare in every movement, Regina lifted an arm to cover her chest.
But then his hand caught her wrist and raised it away.
The moment Regina writhed in embarrassment at her fully exposed chest, Conrad took the reddened peak into his mouth.
His tongue moved wickedly, rolling the tip of her breast and sucking hard in one swift motion.
“Hngh!”
As that dizzying sensation spread, Regina let out a breathless moan.
Conrad would not let go, teasing her nipple over and over until Regina twisted her waist. There was no way for her to escape the weight of the man pinning her down.
As he devoured the tender flesh and sucked it greedily to his heart’s content, Conrad’s breathing grew rougher by the second.
“W-wait….”
Unable to bear the sensation, Regina kicked her legs restlessly. Her knee brushed against his hard abdominal muscles.
He lowered his face to her fragrant body and drew in a breath as though holding himself back from something.
“You shouldn’t keep provoking me.”
He was already forcing himself to endure the urge to handle her roughly.
The low, husky voice sent a chill down her spine. Regina, still frozen in innocent confusion, saw Conrad’s eyes curve softly.
His large, solid hand covered her breast. Regina trembled.
Conrad squeezed the soft flesh and murmured, savoring its pliance.
“I did give you a choice, Regina.”
“N-no, ah—!”
“I said I’d let go if you told me to stop.”
It wasn’t that she didn’t want this.
The tickling sensation was seeping through her entire body, and she no longer knew what she was supposed to do.
The sound of her own name from his lips became a binding spell, wrapping around her and leaving her unable to think of anything else.
With small, trembling hands, Regina clung to Conrad and shut her eyes tight.