Chapter 50
When Cairn sat down beside Lilien, the bed dipped slightly under his weight.
“Um… Cairn, I have a favor to ask.”
She gripped the sheets so tightly that the thin bones in her hands stood out.
“Will you grant me another wish? Just this one last time?”
For a fleeting moment, he thought that any man would act like a fool if Lilien, dressed in a white nightgown late at night, asked them for something.
“Yes, Lilien. Whatever you want.”
So, without betraying the order of things, he gladly let himself become a fool for her.
“Then, start by holding me.”
It was shamelessly direct, but something about her made it seem almost endearing. He followed her request and pulled her into a tight embrace.
“…And stroke my hair too.”
“You’re something else.”
His hands stroked her hair with utmost care.
“As a friend, I have one last favor to ask… this really, really is the very last one.”
Cairn could feel her rapid heartbeat through his chest.
“Ho.. hold me.”
“I am holding you.”
He replied, hugging her even tighter as her small body continued to tremble.
“That’s not what I meant.”
Her voluptuous chest rose and fell deeply.
“Let’s sleep together, Cairn.”
Startled, Cairn instinctively pulled back.
“….”
His mouth slowly falling open.
He’d often thought of Lilien as almost childlike—sometimes he imagined that if he ever had a daughter, it might feel something like this. Whenever she trembled, stammered, or stumbled, a part of him ached as if something had been torn away.
But then, out of nowhere, Lilien would suddenly seem like a grown woman, and there was no rhyme or reason to when those moments would happen. Lately, those transitions had become more and more frequent, and it took less and less to tip the scales.
“Well? Why aren’t you saying anything? I said I want to sleep with you.”
Lilien’s shift from girl to woman always seemed to happen in the blink of an eye, and lately, those lines had blurred almost entirely.
Cairn realized, in that moment, that what had once been affection had quietly transformed into longing, and their friendship had become something much deeper.
“No?”
A tear slipped from one of Lillian’s eyes, while the other still brimmed with unshed emotion.
Cairn, who’d had enough practice turning her down, found that even he couldn’t bring himself to say no when faced with such a sorrowful expression.
“Is this too much to ask?”
Her tilted head was endearing, and the daring words tumbling from her lips were almost seductive. Every time she drew a deep breath, the soft curves beneath her loose nightgown shifted and tested his self-control.
Lillian, small as she was, exerted a powerful gravity that pulled Cairn in completely. Like a helpless creature unable to resist the laws of nature, he found himself nodding as if entranced by Lilien utterly powerless to refuse her.
“All right.”
Entranced by the temptress she’d become, he gathered up the hem of her white nightgown. Sensing what he wanted, she lifted her hips, and in one smooth movement he slipped her gown off.
She was left in nothing but a pair of pure white drawers and some oddly designed undergarments that Matilda had sewn, covering her chest and below.
“Matilda made them for me… I said it felt weird to have nothing covering my skin.”
It wasn’t the usual kind of underwear, and Lilien felt compelled to explain.
Cairn tried to calm his pounding heart, pressing his rough palms to the sheets and silently counting in his head. While Lilien waited quietly, eyes lowered.
Finally, he slipped the delicate shoulder straps down, and she helped by removing the rest of her underwear without hesitation.
With a careless toss, he flung the fabric aside, then ran a large hand down her waist. When he saw her shoulders tense, he whispered softly.
“Are you scared? Should I stop?”
“No, it’s not that… I’m just embarrassed.”
She pulled the sheet over her thighs and crossed her arms to cover her chest, her sudden shyness making Cairn laugh quietly. He left a trail of light kisses along her lips, then got up to turn off the lamp and the candle by the window before coming back to bed.
“Is that better?”
Even in the darkness, Lilien’s bright chestnut hair gleamed in the moonlight. He gently stroked her hair where it fell to her waist.
“I’m embarrassed… So, Cairn, you take yours off too.”
“…What?”
“It’s not fair if I’m the only one naked. Hurry up and take yours off too. I think I’ll feel better. Actually, never mind—I’ll just do it myself.”
Cairn knew, deep down, that this was the last chance to stop. Lilien was tipsy, maybe not entirely in her right mind. He knew he shouldn’t.
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