Chapter 1 🔞
0. Prologue
“Annerose, I’ve received a report that you left the conservatory.”
As Iver’s fingertips traced the length of Annerose’s back while she lay face down before him, she drew in a sharp breath. Her toes curled involuntarily as she struggled to suppress a gasp.
As though amused by the reaction, Iver chuckled softly and brushed his tongue over her back. At the slow, lingering caress, Annerose’s body gave a helpless shiver.
Parting the curtain of her long, luxuriant red hair, Iver lowered his lips to her pale skin. Wherever his tongue and lips wandered, crimson blossoms bloomed one after another across the snowy expanse of her back. Every slight movement she made drew a soft rustle from the rumpled sheets beneath her, the sound whispering at her ears.
“Mmh.”
“I suppose you’ve started to feel cooped up. It’s only natural you’d want to go outside.”
“Iver, you… ngh… you said… I was allowed to leave this greenhouse….”
“…But you were found far beyond its grounds.”
“That was…”
“You’re not actually thinking of leaving, are you? Leaving my side?”
“I only wanted to pick a flower… ah…!”
“…Liar.”
The smile vanished from Iver’s face the instant the word left his lips.
The sudden change in the atmosphere was so suffocating that Annerose instinctively held her breath. When his fingertips touched her back once more, her emerald eyes trembled as she looked up at him. Sweeping back his dark black hair, Iver fixed her with his crimson gaze.
“Annerose, the moment you leave this garden, the revolutionaries will find you and tear you to pieces. Queen Lamia still hasn’t been captured.”
Although he was smiling, his voice was as cold as ice as it whispered into Annerose’s ear. At the mention of the name Lamia, Annerose pushed herself up slightly from where she lay.
“Lamia…! Lamia got away safely—hngh…!”
Before she could even finish asking, Iver’s hand slid over the smooth skin of her thigh.
His hands roughly forced her legs apart, and robbed of her balance, she was effortlessly pressed back onto the bed.
“Don’t think about anything else. Focus on me, Annerose.”
“Tell me…! Lamia… is Lamia still alive… ah…?”
Panting, Annerose tried to lift her head, only for Iver to gently press a hand against the back of it, forcing her to lie down again.
When she struggled against him, he stroked her scalp with firm, deliberate fingers. The light, pleasant tingling spread through her, draining the strength from her entire body.
As every sensation seemed to gather in her head, the fingertips of his other hand slowly traced the line of her spine. The unexpected softness of the touch sent a tremor through her back, her most sensitive place.
“Hah… ah… hn…”
A moan escaped Annerose as the sensation rippled through her. Iver’s caressing touch was always so intoxicatingly gentle that, for a fleeting moment, she nearly forgot he still hadn’t answered her question.
“An-answer me… Iver… What… what happened to Lamia…?”
Half-lost in the haze of pleasure, Annerose managed to force the words out between ragged breaths. When she tried to struggle again, Iver lightly caught the edge of her ear between his teeth before asking,
“Why are you so determined to save her? Even though Lamia abandoned you and ran.”
“She’s… my younger sister’s descendant… ah…”
Thud. Thud. Thud.
As if he had never wanted an answer at all, another crimson petal-shaped mark bloomed across her thigh each time she spoke. One by one, the scarlet petals crept farther inward, claiming more of her skin.
A sudden wave of pleasure washed over Annerose, stealing the rest of her words.
Iver’s fingertips began wandering over Annerose’s body once more. His index and middle fingers brushed gently across her skin, sending sharp, tingling sensations racing through her. Wherever they passed, faint crimson marks blossomed in their wake, and Iver followed the trail, pressing lingering kisses against each one.
Annerose wanted to ask about Lamia again, but the ragged breaths spilling from her lips drowned out every question before she could voice it. Her entire body burned with heat as she waited, panting, for Iver’s touch.
His fingers glided up from her thigh to her lower abdomen. Circling lazily, he teased her without mercy. When she endured it with her lip caught firmly between her teeth, his hand drifted lower once more, toward the most intimate part of her body.
“Annerose, don’t run away. Stay by my side. I’ll shower you with all the love you could ever want.”
Before she could even answer, his fingers slipped between her legs, seeking out her most delicate place. His fingertips stroked her sensitive nub, drawing soft, wet sounds from her body’s eager response.
“Hn… ah… w-wait…!”
Every movement of his fingers made Annerose writhe helplessly. As her body grew slick with arousal, Iver bent to kiss her between her thighs before his tongue followed, tasting her with slow, deliberate strokes. The heat of his mouth sent another violent tremor through her, her legs shaking uncontrollably as pearly moisture dampened his lips.
“Ah… hn…”
The moan she had struggled so hard to suppress escaped at last.
She lay there, letting her climax trickle between her legs for what seemed like forever. Her breath was uneven as her body gradually relaxed, instinctively waiting and prepared to receive him.
Iver licked the lingering wetness from his lips before raising his gaze to hers, a hot breath escaping him. Desire burning plainly in his crimson eyes, he pressed himself against her, his breathing growing heavier.
“Haa…”
As he slowly entered her, Annerose’s back arched sharply beneath him.
“Hn… Annerose… do you want… more…hmm?”
“Yes… Fill me… completely… ah…”
Each slow thrust made her wetter and wetter, easing him deeper inside. Annerose endured the heavy fullness with trembling breaths, soft moans escaping despite herself.
A moment later, Iver began to move in earnest, and Annerose’s body bucked violently with every motion.
“Ah… hn…”
As her moans steadily grew louder, Iver gently pressed against her womb. A sharp jolt shot through her entire body, and the cries she had been desperately holding back finally spilled free.
“Ah…! Hah…! Ah…!”
Each time Iver’s hips drove into her with a heavy rhythm, Annerose’s legs instinctively wrapped around him. The faster his thrusts became, the more ragged both of their breathing grew. Their overheated bodies moved as though on the verge of breaking, until Iver’s breath hitched sharply.
“Hah…”
“Hn…!”
A moment later, his release overflowed from within her, spilling between her thighs. Annerose watched the warm fluid slowly trail down her legs before burying her flushed face in the pillow, panting heavily.
Every shaky breath made her body quiver as lingering waves of pleasure continued to wash over her. She reached out, silently asking for more, but Iver remained perfectly still.
“Iver…”
“Annerose.”
As the pleasure faded, Annerose reached up almost regretfully to stroke his cheek. In response, Iver rubbed his damp lips together before nestling against her like a child seeking comfort.
Still breathing in short, uneven gasps, Annerose cradled his head against her chest and gently ran her fingers through his black hair. The silky strands slipped between her fingertips, soothing her in their own quiet way. As she lingered in the afterglow, she looked down at Iver, who was resting kisses against her brxxst.
Watching him with his eyes closed as he breathed in her scent, she was overcome by an uncanny sense of déjà vu.
This wasn’t the first time she had felt it.
Long ago, there had been another man who had caressed her body just as tenderly — her former lover, Kyle.
Discussion
0 CommentsNo comments yet.