Deceived 97

Chapter 97

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The moment she collided with Edmund, their tongues entwined. Unlike before, Blair gently closed her eyes. The thought that she should push him away flashed through her mind, but it dissipated like smoke. The instant their lips met, she lost all sense of reason. Sensing her wavering resolve, he plunged straight to the deepest part of her. He sucked on her lips and inhaled, acting so desperately as if he were going to steal every last breath escaping her.

It was a kiss so intense it took her breath away. And yet, she didn’t want to pull away from him—she clearly wasn’t in her right mind. Blair no longer even knew the name of this emotion that was consuming her.

Just then, Edmund, whose tongue had been entwined with hers so roughly, suddenly pulled her waist toward him with one arm. The momentum sent Blair’s body reeling, and she slammed into the door behind her. Edmund, having pulled away, slipped his arm under her hips and lifted her effortlessly into his arms. He strode across the spacious conference room and set Blair down on the mahogany table. Just as their eye levels aligned and their lips were about to meet again,

“Don’t do this.”

Blair muttered, staring at the floor.

“We can’t just brush this off like this.”

Summoning her last shred of pride, she quietly parted her lips. There was still an unresolved matter she hadn’t heard explained, along with a lingering, uneasy anxiety. That made their contact feel wrong, and after the passionate kiss, it awakened her cool, rational mind.

If we go any further, the wound won’t heal—it’ll just fester.

Standing before Blair, who sat with her legs spread apart, Edmund remained silent for a moment before reaching out to cup her face. He traced her soft cheek with his thumb and gently stroked her trembling lips. Then, leaning in, he kissed her lightly. With their noses touching, he whispered.

“If you don’t want this, push me away.”

“…”

“You can just push me away.”

“……I know.”

“Blair, do you still love me?”

As always, his low voice sounded almost like a desperate plea. Blair caught her breath and looked up at Edmund. His face looked flawlessly perfect, yet somehow pitiable. The man standing before her was not the cold-blooded duke. He was simply an anxious, human man who had lost his bearings because his love had not been confirmed.

“…I love you.”

That was the only answer she could give. Even though she knew how he would react to her answer, even though she knew it would lead her to ruin once again.

A flash of joy, almost ecstasy, crossed Edmund’s face as his love was confirmed. Cupping her small face with both hands, he whispered his confession against her lips.

“I can’t live without you now, either.”

“….”

“Blair, I love you.”

Stay by my side for the rest of my life.

Edmund whispered, kissing the woman’s chin. He slowly moved downward, brushing his lips against her nape, her exposed shoulder, and her collarbone, then lifted the collar of her dress to linger a little longer on the slightly protruding upper part of her chest.

Every time he kissed her, a sharp ache pierced her heart. The certainty of being loved and the anxiety of being used mingled, making her head spin. One thing was certain: it was utterly impossible to push away the man who approached her like a comfort, yet seeped into her like guilt.

So Blair simply accepted his touch, swallowing hard. She tilted her head back languidly, enjoying the sensation of his warm breath spreading over her sensitive skin. It was when Edmund’s hand slipped beneath her dress that a moan began to mingle with her breath.

His unusually large, strong hands immediately clasped her breasts and began to knead them. He rubbed her nipples slowly, then pinched them. When Blair flinched and her hips trembled at the sudden stimulation, Edmund dropped a tender kiss on her cheek as if to calm her. Then he pulled her bodice completely open, exposing only her breasts. As soon as her breasts spilled out, he buried his face in them.

“…Ah…!”

He took her full breasts into his mouth and sucked greedily. He gently rolled her soft nipples with his tongue and nibbled them with his teeth, making them stand erect. With his right hand, he took the breast not being caressed by his tongue between his fingers and kneaded roughly. The woman, unable to withstand the surging excitement, was on the verge of letting out a breathy moan.

Edmund suddenly pulled his lips away and looked up at Blair. The long string of saliva stretching from her breast snapped.

“They seem bigger than before.”

“Ah… Huh?”

Blare blinked and let out a feigned chuckle. What on earth was he talking about all of a sudden?

“That can’t be… I’ve actually lost weight.”

“Why is that?”

“I’ve had no appetite. I’ve been so stressed out.”

Hearing that, Edmund gave a bitter smile.

“Because of me?”

“Then who else could it be?”

“I’m sorry.”

It was rather brazen of him to apologize while kissing her exposed chest.

“You’re a shameless man. Making the woman you love suffer like this.”

“………I’m sorry.”

“I suppose you’ll have to apologize properly.”

Edmund knelt down between her legs. He lifted the flowing hem of her dress and began kissing her slowly, starting from the inside of her ankle. Blair looked down at the man kneeling beneath her with a strange feeling.

Why was he humbling himself like this? She couldn’t tell if he genuinely wanted to make love, or if he was merely trying to satisfy his desire, or if he was attempting to regain the control he had lost.

Having been deceived once, yet trapped in the swamp of love, she didn’t know how to escape. So, despite her uncertainty, she had no choice but to take the man’s outstretched hand.

“……Ah.”

The tingling sensation began the moment his lips passed her calf and touched the inside of her thigh. Edmund pushed her thin underwear aside and pressed his lips directly against her exposed mound.

Incredibly, a pleasure like a bolt of lightning struck her. It wasn’t the first time he’d kissed her there, yet her hips trembled as if she’d been electrocuted. A moan threatened to escape her, and Blair had to cover her mouth.

Ever since Edmund became acting duke, a rift had begun to form between them. Blair avoided his touch, and Edmund no longer approached her. This was because the truth about the coronation ceremony, which she had heard from Isabelle, and the duke’s will—stating that he could only inherit the title if he produced an heir—had served as a trigger.

After a long cold war, when they embraced each other again, the pleasure they had momentarily forgotten flooded back all at once. That was how much she had longed for his heat, and how deep the longing she had built up alone had become.

Down below, the sound of wet, slurping sounds as his tongue sucked at her inner walls rang out unashamedly. The man, who had been focused on caressing her with his lips for some time, began to gently rub the thoroughly wet opening with his fingers. Blair, alternating between swallowing her trembling breaths and moans, suddenly grabbed Edmund’s wrist. Only then did he lift his head to meet her gaze.

“Shall we stop?”

“……Yes, let’s stop.”

“….”

“Now, you have apologized properly.”

Blaire’s face flushed bright red as she spoke. The quick-witted man understood exactly what she meant. He paused for a moment, gazing up at her flushed face, then crinkled the corners of his long, slanted eyes into a charming smile.

“If that’s what you want.”

Edmund rose abruptly and grabbed the back of Blair’s neck. As she slowly closed her eyes, his lips touched hers. While the gentle kiss continued, the sound of a belt buckle unfastening came from below. Even though this wasn’t their first time, she kept getting the gut feeling that this time it would be irreversible. She didn’t even know why.

“Ugh…”

A thick, swollen shaft pushed its way inside her slowly. Blair let out a faint moan as she wrapped her arms around the firm body standing before her. The moment she held him, everything that had been chaotically swirling inside her seemed to fall into place. Even though she knew it was an illusion, in that fleeting moment of calm, there was only one thing she could do.

She could only hold him tightly, wishing to connect deeply with the man she hated so much, resented so deeply, and yet could not help but love.