Master, I Swear I Didn’t Mean To! - Chapter 83

“E… Eki.”

“The fairy said something weird again, right? Did it talk about me? Did it tell you I want to jump you?”

“What? No. It didn’t say anything like that. And I don’t have conversations like that with…”

Wait. Did she just confess she wants to jump him?

Cassius’s face flushed red.

He remembered the first time she came to his room. Hadn’t she told him then too that she wanted to go to the next step?

His lower body, which had barely calmed down, swelled with heat again. His thighs tightened together, and warmth pooled in his lower abdomen. Cassius let out a rough breath and grabbed Eki’s forearm.

“Move back.”

“No.”

“I said move.”

“Then just push me away.”

Cassius clenched his molars. The muscles on his sharp jaw trembled. But he could not do anything, only glare at Eki. She narrowed her gaze as if now certain.

“You don’t actually want to refuse me, do you?”

“…You don’t need to know that.”

“How could I not? This is about me too.”

She drew in a deep breath and leaned forward. Cassius reflexively leaned back, but all he managed was to rub uselessly against the backrest.

“Eki… I said move back.”

“Is it because of your conscience?”

“What?”

“The fairy said so. That you don’t touch me because of your conscience.”

It was, unfortunately, true. Before the fairy appeared, Cassius could not forgive himself for the idea of thrusting his manhood at a much younger disciple. Back then, that had been his biggest dilemma. Now there was an even bigger problem, but still.

“So what are you going to do about it?”

In the end he bared his teeth and growled.

“Dragons are rational creatures. No matter how much you want the next step, I have no intention of doing something like that to you. I’m your master and you’re my…”

Cassius never finished. Because Eki, who was still cupping his cheek, abruptly lunged forward.

Smooch. Their lips met. Then parted lightly. Cassius sucked in a sharp breath, but Eki pressed in again, reinforcing the act as if stamping a seal. Smooch. Smooch. After brushing her lips against his several times, she pulled back.

Her voice was breathless.

“This is the ‘next’ you wanted.”

Her face had reddened even more. Fighting her embarrassment, she went on, stumbling through the words.

“You said it yourself. If we go to the next step, we might not be able to go back to how things were.”

“……”

“Let’s not go back. I don’t want to.”

Cassius’s tensed chest slowly fell. He hesitantly brushed his own lips with his fingers. It was exactly where Eki’s mouth had just been. He still felt her warmth. Her saliva.

“Do you want to keep going?”

The whisper snapped him back to his senses.

He shot to his feet and snapped his fingers. A sleep magic circle bloomed above Eki’s head.

“Ah? Master?!”

Before she realized it, Eki’s eyes closed. When she nearly collapsed backward, Cassius pulled her into his arms. The motion dropped him heavily onto the sofa. His legs had already lost their strength.

Eki’s sleeping face landed with a soft thump on his chest. His pounding heartbeat must have been loud, yet she slept on, breathing softly.

“……”

Cassius sat slumped on the sofa for a long while, holding Eki. Every time her back rose and fell beneath his hand, his own throat bobbed with heat.

Eventually, he slowly covered his eyes with his hand.

“Dammit…”

What was he supposed to do with this audacious disciple? He thought he had pushed her away enough, yet she kept coming toward him.

Did she really like him that much? Not just his face, but everything else? What worth did he have to someone who had seen nothing good from him and only his worst traits?

“…How did I treat her for seven years?”

He had never seen a disciple this willful.

Still flushed like a ripe persimmon, Cassius lowered his gaze. He stared blankly at the small red head now sleeping against him. Then, with great caution, he lifted his hand and gently stroked the back of Eki’s hair. The smooth strands slipped between his fingers and tickled his palm.

Cassius’s heart heated even more. He could not bring himself to touch her further and clenched a fist at empty air as if trying to crush it.

Squeezing his eyes shut, Cassius leaned his head back against the sofa and let out a rough, hollow sigh.