Chapter 184
Lea came to her senses in the stillness of dawn and realized she was in Calix’s arms. They were both naked, but the familiar warmth and scent of his skin made her relax instinctively.
Wanting to snuggle closer and soak up his body heat while he slept, Lea started to move… but then she noticed his torso was wrapped in bandages.
She froze as soon as she saw it. Noticing the faint stains of blood seeping through the bandage, she hesitantly laid her trembling hand over the wound.
It was clear the injury had come from that day’s battle, and she couldn’t help but think of Kyle. She knew from her pre-regression memories that he was aggressive, but she hadn’t expected him to attack so directly. It was something that hadn’t happened in her previous life, and she’d been careless.
Of course, by now too many things had already changed for her to rely solely on her memories of the past. While Lea gently hovered her fingers over the wound, careful not to touch it directly, Calix opened his eyes.
He had instantly sensed the moment she woke up, but pretended to be asleep because he could feel her moving to snuggle against him.
Sometimes, when Lea was the one to initiate contact, his heart would lurch and his lower abdomen would tense up. When love and desire came together like this, it made him want to pin her beneath him until he lost his mind.
No, he felt such a possessiveness that he wanted to hide her away in the depths of his embrace and never let anyone else see her.
He even resented himself for not having realized sooner just how precious Lea was to him. Of course, the only person he could really blame was himself.
Derek’s words from before still rattled around in his chest like a stone. He hadn’t expected it to sting this much, knowing Derek had known Lea far longer than he had.
While he was lost in thought, Lea’s body began to tremble faintly in his arms. Calix could no longer pretend to be asleep. When he opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was the crown of her brown hair.
“…What are you doing?”
He couldn’t see her face since her head was bowed, so he slowly took her chin and lifted her gaze to his. Every time she obediently followed his touch, he could barely contain himself.
Even Calix couldn’t explain exactly what it was he couldn’t contain.
“Why are you crying?”
Her eyes, beautiful as a full moon, were brimming with tears. Usually, she kept her emotions so tightly in check that her face was almost unreadable, but the only thing that ever made her break was something related to him. Calix, well aware of this, felt as if he were soaking in a hot bath, his whole body growing languid.
“Ah…”
He laced his fingers through her soft hair and whispered in a husky, sleepy voice,
“I’m not in pain.”
“But… there was so much blood.”
Realizing she’d been crying over his injury, just as he’d expected, Calix smiled silently and pulled her even closer. The feeling of her soft skin being pressed against his solid chest made his mouth go dry.
He wanted to devour her completely, to explore every last bit of her, but today he decided to hold back—for both their sakes.
Still, the temptation of her soft, supple body beneath his hands was hard to resist, and he couldn’t help but squeeze her full, round hip with his big hand, then let go, only to grab her again. He pressed the tip of his chin down into the crown of her head.
“Are you that worried about me, Sister?”
“…Please don’t call me that.”
“Why? You used to like being called ‘Sister’. Wasn’t it you who begged me to call you that at first? Now you don’t like it anymore?”
“……”
With his teasing tone, Lea clamped her mouth shut. But she didn’t leave his embrace. Even though she was used to the safety and strength of his arms, it still felt unfamiliar, and she held him in an awkward, stiff posture.
Every time Lea showed this contradictory side, Calix couldn’t help but smile. Still, he worried that if he teased her any further, she might really pull away, so he let it go… and realized the unpleasant feeling he’d had because of Kyle had completely disappeared.
Pressing his chin into the crown of her brown hair, he slowly opened his mouth again.
“Ow, ow, ow…”
The exaggerated groan sounded so obviously fake, but Lea responded immediately.
“Does it hurt?”
“Mmm, it feels kind of strange, Sister.”
“I’ll call the medic.”
As Lea hurried to get up, Calix spoke up before she could get off the bed.
“…I think I’d feel better if you kissed me, Sister. Maybe it’s because I haven’t had enough guiding…”
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