Chapter 49
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The morning air in the countryside was thin and cold, but inside the small room, the atmosphere was suffocatingly thick. The chill of the mountain breeze was gone, replaced by a heat so intense it felt like it was charring Haru's skin from the inside out.
He felt the crushing weight of a body over his,firm and muscular.
Raiven's face was inches from his own, his dark hair falling forward like a silken veil, shielding them from a world that didn't exist.
Haru looked up, his breath hitching in a way that felt dangerously, terrifyingly real. He was paralyzed, his hands hovering uselessly in the air, caught in the agonizing space between pushing Raiven away and pulling him closer until there was no air left between them.
Then, Raiven moved.
His hand slid down with a predatory grace, moving past the waistband of Haru's shorts. His fingers were certain and demanding. Haru's eyes widened, a silent gasp dying in his throat as he felt Raiven's hand wrap around his c*ck. The touch was electric ,a jolt of lightning that raced straight down his spine and pooled in his gut. Raiven began to move, his thumb tracing the sensitive skin with a slow, agonizing rhythm that made the world outside the room dissolve into static.
Haru's head thrashed back against the thin pillow. His body reacted with a violent immediacy, a primal betrayal that made him blush with a deep, searing embarrassment even in the throes of the moment. He looked into Raiven's eyes, finding them dark and hooded, filled with a hunger that mirrored the wildfire in his own blood.
"Raiven..." he choked out, the name sounding more like a plea.
Raiven didn't answer with logic or language. He leaned down, his lips brushing against Haru's ear before trailing a path of fire down the line of his jaw. When their mouths finally met, it wasn't the gentle. It was demanding. It was desperate, messy, and loud. Haru let out a broken moan, his fingers finally tangling in the rough cotton of the sheets as the friction of Raiven's hand sent him spiraling toward a ledge . Their eyes locked one last time,an unspoken confession of a desire Haru hadn't even admitted to himself.
His hands ran through Raiven's long hair, tugging at the strands as his mouth let out another involuntary, jagged moan. He inched closer, his body burning with an insatiable fire that begged to be quenched, logic be damned.
"Shhhh!" Raiven whispered against his ear, the hot puff of air sending a fresh shockwave through Haru's system.
The reminder hit him like a bucket of ice water, they were still in Suho's grandmother's house. How could they be so shameless? How could they indulge in this under a roof that smelled of incense and home-cooked stews? But the thought vanished as quickly as it came, incinerated by the feeling of Raiven's lips nibbling at his earlobe.
Haru let out another moan, his hand instinctively grabbing Raiven's wrist as the pleasure intensified, his grip tightening in a frantic bid for stability.
He had never felt this way. Just from this simple, physical act, he felt himself melting like wax. The sensation rose from the pit of his stomach.He turned toward Raiven, enveloping his lips in a kiss that tasted of desperation, the intensity growing until...
Haru sat up abruptly, his lungs burning as he gasped for air.
The room was silent. The grey, watery light of pre-dawn filtered through the paper screens of the sliding doors, casting long skeletal shadows across the floor. He was drenched in a cold sweat, his heart hammering a frantic, erratic beat against his ribs that he was sure the whole house could hear.
He looked to his left, his eyes wide and searching.
Raiven's bedding was empty. The blankets were neatly folded, the spot where he had been sleeping already cold to the touch.
Haru slumped back against the wall, covering his face with his trembling hands. He was shaking. His body was still buzzing with the phantom sensation of Raiven's touch.
"Goodness, Sunghoon," he whispered into the empty room, his voice cracking and raw.
He felt a wave of intense, dizzying relief. He was glad Raiven wasn't there to see the state he was in,to see the flush on his neck or the way he couldn't stop the tremors in his fingers. But beneath that relief was something far more terrifying: a crushing, hollow sense of disappointment that made his chest ache.
He stayed there for a long time, listening to the distant, lonely crow of a rooster and the low whistle of the wind through the eaves. As he stared at the empty space beside him, the gravity of his situation finally settled.
He heard a movement outside, a soft scuff of shoes that made him jump. He forced himself to regulate his breathing, standing up on slightly unsteady legs to slide open the double doors.
"Did I wake you?" Raiven asked, his voice low and steady. He was sitting on the edge of the porch, untying his shoelaces, seemingly having just returned from an early morning run. He stole a glance at Haru, his eyes lingering on him under the dim morning light for a beat too long before he looked away.
Haru gulped, his throat feeling like it was filled with sand. Was his face still flushed?
"No." His voice cracked involuntarily, a high, pathetic sound. He cursed himself internally.
He shut his eyes tight and clenched his fists, looking away toward the horizon where the sun was just beginning to peek over the mountains. He couldn't possibly look Raiven in the eye,not after what had dreamt.
The rest of the morning was an exercise in avoidance. Through breakfast, Haru avoided eye contact like it was a deadly plague. He kept his head down, focusing intensely on his bowl of rice as if it contained the secrets of the universe or he would chat with suho not sparring raiven a glance even when he spoke up.
Raiven was suspicious. He watched Haru with a furrowed brow, his silence growing more pointed with every minute Haru spent ignoring him. He shrugged it off at first, thinking he was perhaps overanalyzing, but the suspicion solidified when they headed to the local market.
As a local celebrity, Suho was immediately whisked off by a group of excited residents, and Grey, ever the loyal shadow, followed along to make sure he was okay.
This left Haru and Raiven alone in the middle of a bustling stall of dried persimmons. Haru pointedly walked five paces ahead, keeping as much distance as the narrow path allowed, his gaze fixed on literally anything that wasn't Raiven's face.
Raiven's eyebrows furrowed as the realization finally settled in.
His suspicion was right