Slowly, in My Color
...I've ended up here again.
Amelia entered the bedroom nestled in Eos's arms.
Just as he had the day before, he laid her down upon the bed. She watched him quietly, only to roll her eyes away the instant their gazes met.
It was fortunate that drinking from morning was simply part of her natural routine. Had it been otherwise, anyone watching would have assumed she was angling for a repeat of yesterday.
Thank god he didn't notice...
She had sworn never to do this again, yet she had failed to wash the heat from her body completely and made the wrong choice while flushed with desire.
Even in the shower, that alien sensation trapped in her lower belly had refused to fade. The moment she laid eyes on Eos while drinking, the symptoms only intensified.
If looking at him too long made her precarious, the solution was simply not to look—but she couldn't bring herself to do it.
I've lost my mind...
Instead, she used the alcohol as an excuse to stay close, inventing reasons to keep the contact going. In the end, she once again failed to master her desire and found herself entering the bedroom with him.
There was no one else to blame. It was entirely her own fault.
...Can I endure this?
She had thought there would be no problem so long as she didn't submit—but recalling yesterday made even that uncertain. The thought kept creeping in that if she kept being subjected to this, not only she but anyone would have no choice but to surrender.
Even when her guts had been spilling out on the battlefield, she had shoved them back in with her bare hands and charged at the enemy...
And yet here she was, reduced to this over a single man.
"Haa... nngh..."
Turning her head slightly, she began undressing herself. This time she hadn't lost as much strength, so she could manage it on her own. As she stripped off her suit and white shirt, a faint steam seeped out from within.
...This is—
Amelia stared at the rising vapor in alarm. When she became extremely aroused at the boundary between life and death, her body would spontaneously release steam. It was instinct—when it sensed danger, her body burned calories on its own, using itself as fuel to keep her consciousness anchored.
Is the situation really that severe right now...?
It was a symptom that had appeared back in her Soldato days, in those moments she had nearly died rolling across the battlefield. Since taking her seat as Capo, she hadn't seen it even once...
It drove home once more just how dangerous it was for her to submit to a single man.
I have to stop this for real this time.
If she couldn't hold the line now, it would grow beyond her control.
"......"
She turned her head again to look at Eos. He had his back to her, undressing in preparation.
This is my chance...!
Amelia immediately began putting her clothes back on. The situation wasn't as dire as yesterday—she could find another way to suppress the symptoms in the meantime. She had gotten her dress shirt halfway buttoned when—
"Underboss."
"...!!!"
A voice she should not have heard reached her ears.
A shiver ran through her entire body. Goosebumps erupted across her skin. Like a doll whose joints hadn't been properly oiled, Amelia creaked her head upward with painful slowness and looked at Eos with difficulty.
"......"
"Ah..."
She froze solid. She had never really noticed it before, but the difference in their builds was considerable—enough to radiate a sense of intimidation. His face was finely featured, almost pretty, but that only made him look colder and more savage.
He's a little... scary...
She had once charged forward laughing even when a bioweapon the size of a building moved right in front of her—and yet now she could do nothing.
"Um, that is... well... what happened was..."
She tried to offer some kind of excuse, but coherent sentences refused to form. Every time the will to resist and endure rose up, it seemed to soften and dissolve on its own. It wasn't extreme—but it was definitely not normal.
"I was under the impression you had given your consent. You expressed as much yourself, Underboss."
"No, ah... at that time I was a little off, so—"
Amelia kept struggling to say something, anything, until the words finally came out properly—
Thud.
Eos approached slowly, reached out, and gently pushed her body back.
"...?"
Caught off guard by the sudden action, she went limp and collapsed onto the bed. She tried to rise again, but Eos had already climbed onto the mattress and blocked her way.
"Wait, just a mo—"
"...I apologize for the discourteous behavior. I acted first out of concern that you might leave and put yourself in a dangerous situation, Underboss."
He apologized before she could even finish speaking. From the moment Eos had climbed on top of her, she had been half resigned—but the sudden apology left her flustered.
"A heat period does not end with a single encounter. The proper method of resolution is to repeat the same act several times, gradually easing the symptoms."
"......"
"This, too, is nothing more than a perfectly natural act and a form of treatment. Of course, I won't claim I have no personal feelings involved whatsoever."
He began persuading her with nothing but the truth. He could force the issue and she wouldn't be able to resist—but that wasn't the direction Eos preferred. A relationship built that way would hold no genuine emotion, and the results could turn sour.
Gradually dyeing her in my color is the best approach.
That didn't mean he wouldn't use coercive methods at all. Taming her with pure force from start to finish was out of the question—but mixing it in appropriately when needed was the smart play.
"If I do anything improper or cross a line, you may sever my head on the spot."
"......"
"You are vastly stronger than I am, Underboss. If you put your mind to it, it would be entirely within your power, would it not?"
He melted her wariness step by step, advancing one pace at a time. He only said this because he knew she couldn't properly resist when she was thoroughly disheveled or in heat. One did not wager one's life lightly, after all.
She's sly and easygoing by nature, but her competitive streak and pride run surprisingly deep.
After more than a decade of watching and listening from her side, he had her figured out as a matter of course. He reminded her that she was overwhelmingly stronger than him. He planted the conviction that if she simply willed it, she could kill the man before her at any time. The moment her competitive drive and pride swallowed that bait whole, it would transform into arrogance.
"What will you do? If you truly feel uneasy, I will withdraw at once. Afterward, I can summon the medical team and have them prepare medication."
"...No. There's no need for that."
Having listened quietly to his words, Amelia spoke carefully.
"Like my Blue Chip said—if anything strange comes up, I can deal with it whenever I want... so there's no danger."
"......"
A measure of confidence seemed to surface on her face, but to Eos's eyes it looked no different from hollow bravado. Her competitive spirit and pride had swelled, but in truth it was nothing more than empty posturing she herself failed to recognize. Amelia genuinely believed she could endure—but that belief was the product of emotion running ahead of reason.
In the end, she did not flee.
Recognizing that further resistance was gone, he promptly leaned his back against the headboard and drew Amelia into his arms.
"Ah, nngh..."
Even the mere contact of something against her body sent a dizzying sensation through her. Eos's hand touched her, and a faintly rough texture registered through her skin.
It's fine. I can escape whenever I want...
If she put her mind to it, she could shake off a touch like this without any trouble. Yes—right now, this wasn't a dangerous situation at all. If anything... it was perfectly normal. A heat period wasn't something she could simply will away. It was an entirely natural phenomenon, and there was an easy method of resolution available—so why endure it the hard way?
The risk is almost nonexistent... It's fine...
Bit by bit, she rationalized it to herself, repeating that this act was not dangerous in the slightest. Yesterday she had only been flustered because it was her first time experiencing anything like it.
Knead, knead...
"Hnnngh...!"
"Yesterday was an emergency, so I skipped a great many steps. Today, I will proceed slowly."
Eos's hands began working her body in earnest. At first he touched her arms—places that could be reached even in daily life—then gradually moved inward. Shoulders, back, waist, thighs... When he was about to move to the next area, he would tap with his fingers first, and only proceed if she didn't strongly refuse.
"Hoo... hnnngh...♡"
As time passed, her body began reacting on its own, twitching involuntarily.
"Ah... haah...♡"
There was none of yesterday's violent pleasure, but the problem was that her body kept growing hotter.
My lower belly... my lower belly is agony...
Among everything, her lower abdomen in particular felt as though it were burning madly. It wasn't a place his hands were directly touching, yet it was reacting the most strongly... What would happen if his hands reached there?
"Hii... hiik...♡"
After her body had been caressed for so long, her underwear had grown damp and soaked through. Hidden behind her bra, her nipples stood stiff and firm, making their presence known without reservation. Her body kept sending danger signals, but Amelia firmly ignored them and acted according to her own will.
"We need to soften your body so that entry will put less strain on you."
"Hnn... hiik...♡"
"Still, seeing how well you're holding up compared to yesterday, it seems you've grown a little more accustomed."
Eos offered the occasional word of praise as he tended to her.
"Hngk...?!"
When he gently blew a breath against her ear, she threw her head back, trembling and panting. For as long as she remained on the bed, Amelia's body was handled like his plaything. The more she lay there defenseless, stubbornly convinced she could endure, the more satisfied Eos became.
Just a few more movements of his fingers, and there would be no turning back for certain.
Sliiiide...
"Hnn... hngk...♡"
The large hands that had been kneading her body swept down across her skin. She registered only that his hands were moving somewhere—she couldn't grasp the intent behind it. In the end, both of Eos's hands came to a stop over her lower belly.
"Haa... eh...?"
When the sensation of palms stroking her body suddenly vanished, Amelia tilted her head down slightly... and found his hands hovering just short of enveloping her lower abdomen.
"You've held up well."
"......"
"Once we loosen your lower belly, we should be able to move on to the next stage. Endure just a little longer."
If he moved even slightly, his fingers would touch her lower abdomen. They were pressed that close—yet not quite making contact with her skin.
It'll be... fine, right?
Amelia knew that in the process of her body loosening, her lower belly had become the most sensitive part of all. And she had some idea of what would happen if his hands touched it now...
I can endure it...♡
She had overcome every hardship to climb this far. She had held out well until now. How much more sensitive could it be than the other places? If anything, because her lower belly hadn't been loosened yet, it might be burning even hotter...
"If you're ready, I'll begin."
"Go ahead and start..."
Eos had spoken as though he would wait out of consideration until she was prepared—but she wanted to begin immediately. Perhaps she thought that dragging it out would only make it harder to endure?
Well... it won't make a difference either way.
She had reacted like this even when he touched ordinary places—what would her lower belly be like? The delay had only been a contingency for any unexpected situation. Even now, the preparations were more than complete.
The index fingers of the two hands cupped around her belly moved slowly and made contact with her lower abdomen.
Tap.
"Hnguuuk...♡"
Sploosh...
At once she squirted love juices and threw her head back. But there was no stopping now.
Tap. Tap-tap. Tap-tap-tap...
"Haah...♡ Hwaaah...♡♡"
At first he touched her lower belly at a steady speed and count, as if teaching her a rhythm...
Tap. Taptaptap. Tap-tap-tap-tap...
Then he layered a new rhythm over the old one, erasing the beat she had just managed to adapt to.
Splat. Sploosh...!
"Hngk...♡ Hiiiit...♡"
She had no way of knowing why her lower belly was reacting so sensitively right now. Most people experiencing the resolution of their first heat never knew.
The very purpose of a heat period is reproduction, after all.
It was a system designed to ensure conception by burning through the energy stored in the body—so of course the lower belly would become the most sensitive. Because that was where the womb was seated. And the first place Eos intended to dye in his own color was Amelia's womb.