Yuliana's provocative words made Kallion let out a short laugh. Then, in one swift motion, he lifted her and pinned her beneath him.
With dark, heated eyes, he glared down at her.
"If that's what you want…"
He had already held back as much as he could. He had tried to be patient, focusing on foreplay for her sake. But since she herself spoke so boldly, he could no longer restrain himself.
Tossing aside his robe, he spread her soft thighs and positioned himself.
In the moonlit dark, his sweat-drenched, muscular body came into view.
Yuliana had prepared herself for this moment, yet seeing his overwhelming frame still made her catch her breath.
But retreat was not an option.
When she felt his hot, solid length pressing and sliding against her sensitive spot, she shut her eyes tight.
Kallion, watching her every expression, growled in a husky voice:
"Open your eyes, Yuliana."
"…."
She couldn't.
At such an intimate moment, meeting his eyes would shake her. It would expose too much of her heart, and she couldn't let him see that. So she kept her eyes shut, turning her head away.
"Even now, if you say you don't want this, I'll stop," he said.
But his body betrayed the words—already tense, it was pressing deeper, rubbing insistently. She bit her lip, stifling a moan.
"Don't stop… keep going," she finally whispered.
That broke the last of his control. Kallion thrust forward.
Yuliana's eyes flew open in shock.
When he saw his reflection in her crimson eyes, Kallion was seized by a strange, overwhelming thrill.
Leaning down, he pulled her close.
Yuliana thought it was almost a relief—at least this way, he couldn't watch her every movement beneath him.
But her small comfort was shattered when he pressed kisses to her neck and ear, knowing they were her most sensitive spots.
A helpless moan slipped out before she could stop it.
She tried covering her mouth with her hand, biting her knuckles, but his relentless touch made it impossible to hold back.
He gently caught her wrist, guiding her hand around his neck, and whispered,
"Don't hold back, Yuliana."
Then, like waves, he moved steadily within her. His hot breath tickled her ear as he murmured, voice ragged with desire:
"Wrap your arms around me."
But Yuliana couldn't.
This was just a duty, nothing more. She hadn't opened her heart to him. Even if she gave her body, she couldn't bring herself to cling to him.
She turned her head, arms stiff at her sides.
Kallion stopped suddenly, freezing above her.
The storm of his movements ceased. Confused, Yuliana looked up at him.
In a strained voice, he said,
"Hug me."
It sounded like a warning—that unless she did, he wouldn't continue.
Yuliana frowned in disbelief.
Inside, though, her body burned, begging for more.
Sensing it, Kallion spoke again, softly coaxing, almost teasing,
"If you don't, then I won't continue it."
His tone was firm.
Yuliana glared at him, then instead of wrapping her arms around him, she hooked her legs tightly around his waist.
"Ugh…!"
The sudden pressure of her thighs squeezing him nearly made him lose control.
She pressed her legs tighter, moving deliberately, as if to show him who was in control now.
That set him ablaze. His reason burned away, and he moved with wild abandon.
His eyes flushed red with excitement. Her legs, locked firmly around him, drove him deeper into madness.
Even if she wouldn't meet his gaze, even if she wouldn't wrap her arms around him—
The way her body clung to him, the sweet sounds that escaped her lips, made him feel, at least in that moment, that she wanted him too.
Golden hair spilled messily across the bed as she bit her lips, trembling beneath him.
The sight nearly made him dizzy.
And then—
His vision flared with blinding sparks.
Sparks that burned like her crimson eyes.
With ragged breaths, he crushed her in his arms.
For him, it was perfect.
***
It was only difficult the first time. After that, everything flowed more naturally.
Addicted to her after their first embrace, Kallion couldn't stop through the night.
Yuliana never clung to him passionately, but she didn't push him away either. For him, that was enough.
The rift between them was deep—but maybe this was how they could begin.
Even if he couldn't define his feelings yet, one thing was clear:
He was utterly obsessed with her—body, mind, everything.
When the storm of passion finally eased and dawn began to break, he reluctantly let her go.
Holding her small back against his chest, he closed his eyes in reluctant peace.
But when he woke, she was gone.
Only the disheveled bed remained, as if a war had taken place. He lay alone, staring at the empty space where she had been.
A bitter smile crossed his face.
"So… the bed-sharing night is over."
It all felt like a dream, or a fantasy. He had lost himself, while she had remained cold and rational.
No afterglow. No morning greeting.
Only emptiness on one side of the bed, and chaotic disorder on the sheets.
He remembered how she had wrapped her legs around him, urging him not to stop.
That had made him believe she wanted him too.
But perhaps it had been nothing more than his illusion.
Dragging himself upright, he pushed the blanket aside.
That's when he saw it—something red on the sheet.
Blood.
For a moment, his mind went blank.
He quickly checked his own body, but found no wounds.
That could only mean…
His thoughts raced back to Yuliana.
Her pained, twisted face, as if torn between agony and pleasure.
The way she had endured him.
She had once insisted she had nothing to do with Lloyd, that he had no reason to doubt her.
And now—
If last night had been her first time…
Kallion froze, pressing his temples.
A rush of conflicting emotions overwhelmed him.
Relief washed over him—because she truly hadn't belonged to Lloyd.
But also guilt—because her first experience had been with him.
And what had he done? He had lost control, treated her like a beast, and not stopping even after she was exhausted.
"Damn it…"
What a worthless man.
Maybe she had run from him at dawn, feeling disgusted.
"Ha…"
Kallion buried his face in his hand and let out a long, self-loathing sigh.