Chapter 53
Alnazir slipped in behind Fay as she lay on her side, sliding an arm around her waist and pressing close. Fay snorted and deliberately ignored him.
She shut her eyes tight and tried to sleep, but his touch grew bolder, stroking along her waist and stomach as if making some silent appeal.
“I’m not doing it.”
Fay muttered irritably.
“Why not?”
As if he didn’t already know.
Her insides were still boiling, so she refused to answer this time. Really, what an infuriating man. Acting clueless and well-behaved in front of others, then showing his beastly side only when they were alone.
Even the faint pleasure in his touch only made her angrier. She didn’t want to forgive what happened today so easily. Yet she was afraid she might give in without realizing it.
“Does it still hurt?”
“It doesn’t hurt, but….that’s not the point,”
Fay said, pouting.
“Stop trying to distract me with pleasure. I’m fine now.”
Alnazir blinked.
“I’m not doing that anymore.”
“…What? Since when?”
“For quite a while.”
“So you’re saying you didn’t suddenly stop today? That you haven’t been doing it on purpose this whole time? Then why—”
Realizing what that meant, Fay froze, her lips trembling. The heat that had crept up her cheeks spread all the way to her ears, turning them bright red, like she might die of embarrassment.
Alnazir watched her quietly, then smiled. He understood exactly why she was flustered.
“N-no! That’s not it! I just—j-just misunderstood for a second!”
“So you want to?”
“I said no!”
She shouted, her face about to explode.
Alnazir looked down at her as she panted, lips pressed tight. Strangely, the sour mood he’d been carrying all day suddenly didn’t matter anymore.
Who cared if she smiled more easily around her witch friends? With him, she got flustered. Turned red. Stammered in embarrassment. Somehow, that was cuter.
The candle on the bedside table suddenly flickered out. In the darkness, a large hand cupped Fay’s face. A thumb brushed her lips before he leaned in and kissed her.
“Mm…”
Sigh. So it was happening again. Fay braced herself and closed her eyes.
But Alnazir pulled away after only a light kiss. He drew her stiff body into his arms, exhaled softly and then nothing happened.
One blink. Two. Five.
Still nothing.
“Alnazir?”
Fay tried to sit up, but he gently pressed her shoulder back down.
“Shh. You said we have to go out again tomorrow. You should sleep early.”
He patted her chest lightly, soothing her like he was putting her to sleep. In the darkness, Fay moved her lips silently before asking in disbelief,
“…Are you going to sleep next to me?”
“Yes.”
“Uh… instead of the bathtub?”
“It’s uncomfortable, but it can’t be helped. It’s only a bit inconvenient for me. You’d probably swell up and die if you slept in water.”
He said it as if he were generously conceding something.
Fay’s eyes rolled in the dark. When Alnazir noticed the movement, he covered them with his hand.
“Wait—I don’t understand. Why are you willing to put up with being uncomfortable?”
“Because you were crying about not being able to sleep in the tub.”
“I-I didn’t cry… but—are you saying you want to sleep with me?”
After all that effort to get a huge bathtub—. And she still had to go work early tomorrow because of it!
Everyone had questioned her. Why she needed such a big tub. What she planned to use it for. She’d practically begged Bilter, insisting it wasn’t luxury but survival.
And now he wasn’t even going to use it as a bed?
“I realized warm water alone isn’t enough.”
“What do you mean? What’s missing?”
“I need to hold something warm. About your body temperature. That’s what lets me rest.”
That was the scary thing about habits.
Alnazir rubbed his cheek against the top of her head and sighed.
“Something warm…”
For some reason, that phrase bothered her.
It sounded like it didn’t have to be her. Like it could be anything. A doll, or even a hot water bottle.
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