TFM 98

Chapter 98

***

A chill ran down her spine.

She lowered her eyes, trying to hide her embarrassment. She didn’t even know why she had said that.

Her heart was pounding so violently it felt like it might explode at any moment. The thought that he might hear the thudding in his ears made her shiver.

Talia, panicking and flustered, soon began blurting out whatever came to mind.

“It’s horrible just to think about, isn’t it? So stop shoving that lousy medicine at me. That’s how much—that’s how much I hate it……………….”

The words she blurted out to cover up her true feelings seemed to expose her innermost thoughts instead, making her face flush with heat. She licked her parched lips with her tongue.

She sensed Varkas, who had been standing motionless, approaching the bedside. But she couldn’t bring herself to look up.

He must be wearing an utterly baffled expression. Just a few hours ago, she had been throwing a fit like a woman possessed by a demon, and now she was spouting nonsense—he must surely look disgusted. Or perhaps he was wearing a cold, mocking smile.

She rambled on as if being chased by something.

“Do you know how awful that medicine is? It makes your stomach hurt after you take it. But since you kept forcing me to take it, I did it just to tell you to stop…”

“Talia.”

Talia stopped speaking at the sound of the voice echoing just above her forehead.

As she creaked her neck to look up, eyes like a winter lake at dawn filled her vision.

The man, who had been staring at her as if looking at puzzle pieces that simply wouldn’t fit together, spoke in a low voice.

“I’ll feed it to you, so come here.”

Talia blinked blankly.

She didn’t fully understand what she’d heard.

With a confused look, she glanced down at the medicine bottle in his hand, then shifted her gaze to his smooth-looking lips.

A strange thirst suddenly welled up inside her.

She bit her dry lips and looked away.

“I just…”

“I just said that—why are you taking it so seriously?” Just as she was about to blurt that out, he opened the bottle cap.

Talia flinched and looked up.

His transparent eyes, utterly inscrutable, stared at her as if assessing her intentions. They seemed to see right through her, yet at the same time, they appeared to see nothing at all.

Keeping those ore-like eyes fixed on her, he brought the bottle to his lips.

Her heart gave a sharp jolt.

If she told him to stop right now, she could at least preserve a shred of her pride.

Hadn’t she been struggling all this time to hold on to that, even if it meant dying?

If she lost even that, she would truly become nothing.

“But…………..”

She looked up at him with trembling eyes.

The memory of the day his lips had touched hers flashed through her mind. If giving up a shred of her pride meant she could relive that night……………….

Talia closed her eyes tightly.

Then, a large hand with prominent knuckles wrapped around the back of her neck.

The scent of water, mint, and the wind—which had always made her uneasy—brushed against her nose. Soon, lips imbued with the scent of rich wildflowers covered hers.

Once, those were lips that had only ever spat out sharp, heartbreaking words. When she was young, she had even thought that if they touched her, it might feel like being cut by a knife. Those lips, once so cruel, were now shaking all her senses.

Talia unconsciously clutched his shirt tightly.

He tilted her head back and pressed his lips against hers even more forcefully. Talia, who had been stiffening her body, opened her mouth, unable to resist the pressure on her cheeks. The concentrated essence of herbs flowed down the tip of her tongue.

She frowned briefly at the bitter taste that felt like her mouth was burning, but then a soft tongue pushed its way into her mouth.

Startled by the deep penetration that felt as if it were piercing her throat, she pushed against his chest, and the slick mass retreated slightly. But before she could breathe a sigh of relief, the sensitive lining inside her cheek was crushed.

Unaccustomed to the sensation, Talia flinched. The slick mass of flesh changed direction, rubbing against the roof of her mouth before tangling itself viscously around her tongue. Her mouth filled with saliva.

The bitter liquid mixed with both of their saliva and trickled down the corners of her mouth. Before she could even feel a sense of shame, the tip of his tongue, held aloft like a spear, plunged deep inside her once more.

Her throat tightened involuntarily, sucking him in. It was the moment when an instinctive movement meant to swallow something transformed into a horrifyingly lewd act.

She shuddered as she let out a lewd moan she never imagined could come from her own mouth. The slurping, wet sounds felt as though they were soaking into her eardrums.

Unable to bear the increasingly intense movements, Talia pounded her fists against his rock-hard shoulders.

Finally, his lips parted. A thread of transparent saliva stretched between them.

She stared at it with trembling eyes, then timidly raised her gaze. A calm face, as if observing her reaction, met her eyes.

Suddenly, deep confusion overwhelmed her.

Could it be that the intimate act from just a moment ago was all a figment of her imagination? She was frozen in place by his expression, which was so serene it made her doubt her own senses, when Varkas picked up the medicine bottle and gave it a light shake.

“There’s still some medicine left.”

A high-pitched voice, tinged with a faint metallic edge, stung her eardrums.

Talia’s eyes widened before she hurriedly lowered her gaze. She felt a fierce throbbing at her temples. He had leaned close to her ear, demanding yet another piece of her pride.

“What should we do with this?”

Talia bit her stinging lips and looked down at the flickering crimson shadow.

After a moment of agonizing silence, she finally nodded. But he showed no reaction.

Hesitating for a moment, Talia forced a voice out of her tight throat.

“………………Feed me.”

In an instant, her head fell back.

Immediately, a thick liquid seeped into her mouth. As she gulped it down, an unpleasant heat flowed down her esophagus.

However, the stinging bitterness was instantly washed away by her sticky saliva.

Talia clutched his shirt and gasped for breath.

The hot mass of flesh swam ceaselessly through the confined space. Pushed back little by little by the force pressing against her, her back finally touched the bedsheet.

Talia looked up at him with a frightened expression. She wanted to sit up, but she couldn’t break free from him for even a moment.

Leaning forward with one hand braced against the bed, Varkas continued to suck on her lips.

On his face, shrouded in deep shadow, only his eyes glowed intensely. It felt as if she were immersing herself in a cold flame. As all her senses melted away, her chest grew cold as if plunged into fire.

“Open your mouth wider.”

A moist voice moistened the corners of her lips.

Talia, who had been looking up at him with trembling eyes, slowly opened her jaw wider.

A hot, fleshy mass scraped directly against her tongue and invaded her throat. Then, as if savoring the sensation of her gasping and sucking, it lingered for a moment before slowly withdrawing.

Her mind grew hazy from the repeated act.

As she twisted her head to the side to gasp for air, he grabbed her by the hair. His long fingers wrapped tightly around her hair and pulled with just enough force not to hurt. Even that felt like a disturbingly obscene act.

“Varkas………………”

A voice that sounded like a plea mingled with her ragged breaths.

She didn’t even know what she was begging for. When she looked up with tear-filled eyes, she saw his slightly distorted features. A slightly rough palm brushed up the back of her sweat-dampened neck.

Suddenly, a terrible curiosity arose.

Had he ever touched another person like this before?

The image of him kissing Ayla flashed through her mind.

He must have laid that woman down on a bed and sucked on her lips, too.

Just as he had complied with her demands without a word, he would have silently complied with hers as well.

Because, to him, acts like this would mean absolutely nothing.

Because what felt like the world turning upside down to her would be absolutely nothing to him.

“………………Why are you crying?”

He released the lips he had been biting and asked in a heavy, subdued voice.

His calloused thumb brushed beneath her eyes. Talia hid her eyes beneath her lashes.

“……… I’m tired. I’m going to sleep now.”

Varkas, who had been frowning, slowly stood up. He looked so detached that it was hard to believe this was the same man who had been greedily probing someone else’s mouth just moments ago.

He walked over to the window and pushed it open. The cool, damp air pushed out the heat lingering in the room.

Talia stared blankly at his profile, shrouded in darkness, then turned away and closed her eyes.

Her mind gradually grew hazy.

When she opened her eyes tomorrow, would she think of today as just another dream?

Lost in such thoughts, Talia soon drifted into unconsciousness.

***

“I’ve made sure everyone keeps their mouths shut, so there’s no way last night’s unsavory incident will get out.”

Varkas, who had been patting Torque as he grumbled, looked at the lord of Dorcaen.

The man smirked and made a flippant remark.

“By the way, you’ve really welcomed an impressive lady. Who would have thought such a fiery temper could hide behind that angelic face………………”

“Uzan Darken.”

Perhaps sensing the warning in his voice, the man fell silent.

Varkas added impassively.

“You’d do well to keep your own mouth shut.”

***

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