Chapter 131
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 131
It felt as though she were a fish caught in a fine-meshed net.
As she instinctively struggled to escape the bed, Barkas gently pinned her down, cupping her cheeks with both hands.
“Shh… It’s all right.”
His warm breath brushed against her sweat-dampened eyelids. Thalia felt her frozen body melt in an instant, yet her mind remained taut with tension.
Twisting her head to the side, she managed to pull her upper body out from under the covers.
“The moon… hide it.”
She reached toward the window like a drowning person reaching for land, but long, firm fingers slid into her hair. He tilted her head back, smothering her lips with the searing heat of his own.
She could no longer think. All that remained was the sensation of their tongues tangling like flickering flames. Thalia threw her arms around his shoulders, exhaling a feverish breath.
“Lift your hips.”
Following his instruction unconsciously, she felt the hem of her thin dress being pulled down.
Their sweat-slicked bodies created a provocative friction in the narrow, sweltering space beneath the blankets. Was this what it felt like to be submerged in a bubbling swamp? It felt as if every bone and muscle in her body were dissolving.
Thalia let out a thin sob, pressing her soft curves against his hard, corded physique. Then, she felt the fabric tangled at her waist being rolled down past her hips.
As the final veil between them vanished, her mind, which had been melting like candle wax, suddenly jolted with alarm.
She parted her thighs, careful to keep her bandaged leg from brushing against him. She craned her neck to see if her leg was exposed outside the covers, but Barkas gripped her face, forcing her to look at him.
“Don’t let your mind wander.”
His blue eyes, saturated with moonlight, consumed her vision.
Thalia forgot how to breathe as she counted the silver shards embedded in his irises. His ashen-blonde hair, glowing with a bluish tint, softly tickled her forehead.
While she stared at his face as if possessed, his hot hand slid down her body. His eyes remained pinned to hers. Realizing that Barkas was intently observing her every reaction, Thalia was overcome by a wave of intense shame and squeezed her eyes shut.
It was a mistake. With her vision blocked, the decadent touch caressing her insides became even more vivid. Yet, she didn’t dare open her eyes again, enduring the overwhelming sensation until a humid sigh dampened her ear.
“Open your eyes, Thalia.”
His soft voice felt like a weapon. In that moment, she knew he was trying to carve out and claim 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.
In that moment, he drove into her.
Thalia gripped his pale, sculpted shoulders. Her head fell back at the crushing pressure filling her. Pressing down on her heavily, he wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes with his thumb. He stared relentlessly into her blurred pupils, his gaze searching as if trying to probe the deepest depths of her soul.
A dizziness washed over her, as if her retinas were being raked by something sharp. But he did not allow her to look away.
Holding her head firmly, Barkas moved his hips slowly. It felt as though her body, held captive by him, would bruise and burst like overripe fruit. Thalia murmured pleas without realizing it; she didn’t even know what she was praying for.
Their sweat-soaked bodies emitted a humid steam beneath the cauldron-like blankets. It felt as if her very brain might evaporate.
“Barkas…”
Moans that sounded more like sobs broke from her throat incessantly. The creaking of the bed, the sound of wet skin rubbing together, and the frantic thudding of her heart all blurred into one.
It was maddening. Her mind and body—everything was crumbling. And Barkas was watching it all happen.
Over her burning cheeks and wet eyelashes, over her lips exhaling feverish breaths and her unfocused eyes, his blade-like gaze poured down. Finally unable to bear it any longer, she threw her arms around his neck and buried her face in his shoulder.
She heard the sound of him grinding his teeth near her ear, and then her innermost depths were ruthlessly crushed. She dug her fingertips into the delicate contours of his muscles, which shone white in the moonlight. Her fingernails, which she had trimmed short to avoid scratching him, slid over his sweat-dampened skin.
His ragged, heavy breathing poured over the crown of her head.
She clung to her fading consciousness as the rhythmic movements reached a point of desperate urgency. Startled by the unpredictable stimulation, Thalia reflexively bit down on his neck. At the same time, a violent explosion occurred within her.
Her entire body trembled as she tightened around him. Overflowing tears drenched her cheeks and neck. She felt warm fingers caressing her wet skin—a touch that felt like it was clutching her defenseless heart.
Thalia squeezed her eyes shut against a strange dizziness. Then, at some point, she lost consciousness.
*
Tossing and turning to escape the stifling heat, Thalia woke to the sensation of a weight tightening around her waist.
The bedroom, bathed in a pale blue light, slowly came into focus. She blinked blankly before realizing the warmth behind her and turned her head with a start. She saw Barkas sleeping soundly, his cheek buried in the pillow.
She carefully sat up and gazed down at him. The pale moonlight slid over his delicate cheekbones, illuminating the bite marks on his neck. She instinctively reached out to touch them but pulled her fingers back. She didn’t want to disturb his peaceful rest.
Thalia slowly lowered her feet from the bed. The moonlight was bright enough that it wasn’t difficult to make out her surroundings. Finding her crumpled dress at the corner of the bed, she pulled it over her head.
After smoothing down the wrinkled hem, she looked up to see the full moon lighting the black sky through the large arched glass window. The pouring moonlight was almost blinding.
“Don’t go.”
As she stared up at the night sky like someone possessed, she felt a warm presence behind her. Thalia shivered as a sharp thrill ran through her.
Barkas, who had wrapped her in the now-cool blanket and pulled her close, 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. Ever since she first met him, she had longed for this embrace. She had wanted him to hold her warmly and never let go.
So why was she fighting her own desires?
Trembling helplessly, Thalia finally nodded.
“…All right.”
“Tomorrow, too.”
“…Yes.”
“And the day after that.”
As she nodded as if under a spell, he led her back to the bed. His warm arms wrapped firmly around her cooled body. After a moment’s hesitation, Thalia placed her hand on his waist.
A flicker of satisfaction passed over his usually indifferent face. Thalia looked up at him for a moment before burying her forehead into his broad chest.
* * *
The Season of Wind was drawing to a close.
Barkas, who was scanning reports in his office, turned his head at the chill brushing his cheek. Beyond the wide-open window, a sky so blue it made his eyes ache stretched out. While his gaze was momentarily stolen by the sight, several gusts of cool wind scattered the documents on his desk.
With a look of annoyance, he picked up a paperweight to pin down the parchments, then stood up to close the window. It was then that a flash of golden hair caught his eye through the glass.
Barkas lowered his gaze. Thalia, wrapped in a pure white coat that had been finished recently, was strolling through the garden with her nanny. Whenever the harsh wind swept over her flushed face, her golden tresses fluttered like the wings of a bird.
He narrowed his eyes and watched her for a long time. The sight of her wearing the fur of a magic beast he had hunted himself brought him a strange sense of fulfillment. Even though he had been fasting all morning, he felt full.
However, before long, a sense of disapproval reared its head. She was a woman who had been noticeably lethargic for several days. Hadn’t she even run a slight fever at dawn, putting him on edge?