Camellia 34

It felt unfamiliar. A sensation Seolyeong had never experienced before in his life.

Seolyeong, facing the broad back of the man, slowly knelt down. An excited sigh escaped his lips. Ah, his palms tingled. He raised his trembling hands, gently grasped the man’s wet hair and bit down on his lip.

As if under a spell, he lowered his face. He took a deep breath, nose pressed against skin soaked in medicinal herbs.

“Ah…”

The sweet scent that had led him here was indeed coming from this man’s body. Could a person’s scent be so intoxicating? His breaths quickened.

A soft “ugh” escaped him, and Dang Yujae tilted his head back slightly and said,

“Come in.”

His palm splashed the surface of the bath, filled nearly to the brim. Seolyeong stared at him with unfocused eyes.

The eyes of a blood fiend craving prey darkened to crimson. The rims of his irises glowed golden like sunlight.

Because he had never once drunk human blood, Seolyeong could restrain himself. If he had known the pleasure of feeding, he might have leapt on Tang Yujae the moment he entered the bath and sunk his fangs into his throat.

With half-lidded eyes, Seolyeong whispered,

“…I want to suck.”

His soft eyelashes fluttered.

“I want to suck you. Please?”

The method was simple.

When you found someone you desired, you subdued them by force and pierced their skin with your fangs. Seolyeong instinctively knew that if you bit the nape of their neck and injected Qi first, the taste could become sweeter.

“Won’t you let me suck?”

But years of training in human etiquette suppressed the urge that kept rising.

Seolyeong pleaded.

“I’ll be gentle. I won’t take too much.”

His anxious fingers grazed Yujae’s shoulder. When he ran his nails lightly down, Tang Yujae grabbed Seolyeong’s chin, holding his face still as he said,

“You’re my bride, so I’ll tolerate it twice. But if you disobey a third time, you’ll pay the price.”

“……”

“I said, come in.”

He hated repeating himself. Even when teaching martial arts to sect members, if they failed to understand, he gave up without hesitation. That controlling tendency showed in daily life as well, and now, Yujae was beginning to grow irritated with his bride’s hesitation.

If that irritation grew any further, even the slight curiosity he held toward him would vanish.

Fortunately, Seolyeong rose to his feet.

“Fine… I’ll go in.”

Like an obedient puppy, he stepped into the bath.

“Ugh…”

The hot water wrapped around his ankles. Blood fiends, saturated with yang energy, hated heat. Seolyeong, who often pretended to enjoy it to spite his heritage, didn’t bother to keep up appearances now.

Here, he wasn’t the Murong clan’s pampered young master, he was a blood fiend, a symbol of demonic lineage.

The bloodline that helped the former demonic sect conquer Jungwon. A half-human, half-demon that craved blood.

As he entered far too slowly, Tang Yujae clicked his tongue. Seolyeong bristled.

‘He’s the prey, so why am I the one walking on eggshells?’

But Yujae’s cold gaze made him immediately lower his tail.

Seolyeong stepped fully into the bath and shuddered.

Plopping down beside Yujae, he began whining nonstop. The water rose just below his danjeon and squeezed the breath out of him.

“It’s too hot…”

He grumbled like a child.

“I can barely breathe. How are you fine?”

Even the color of the water was unpleasant to look at.

It reminded him of boiling down charred corpses into a yellowish broth.

Seolyeong, thinking such morbid thoughts, reached beneath the surface. He grabbed Yujae’s kneecap and gently rubbed it with his palm. The hard bone pressed perfectly into the hollow of his hand. Their faces drifted closer.

Unfamiliar with sex, Seolyeong blurted nervously,

“My lower half… it hurts.”

“……”

“My body fell strange because of your scent. What do I do?”

Tang Yujae silently watched his bride’s clumsy seduction. Seolyeong went on.

“But it still feels good. I want to stay with you longer.”

His flushed face bloomed even redder. The honesty in his voice stirred something primal.

Since Seolyeong had come to him on his own, Yujae thought it wouldn’t hurt to taste him a little.

Seolyeong panted and worked up the courage to slide his hand further.

It wasn’t even a sexual act. He simply wanted to inspect his prey, see where else his fangs might bite after the neck.

But no matter how tightly he squeezed, the firm thigh refused to yield. Disappointed, he still found a certain satisfaction in the muscle beneath his fingers.

Seolyeong grinned. His crescent-shaped eyes sparkled with charm.

“Somehow, I think you like me too.”

It was a childish notion, that if he liked someone, they must like him back.

Yujae grabbed his wrist and pulled him inward.

Caught off balance, Seolyeong’s face bumped against a hard shoulder. His palm landed somewhere unexpected. A man’s part. It was completely soft.

“Like I’d get hard for someone like you,”

Tang Yujae spat out calmly, his expression blank as ever. The heat of the bath seemed not to touch him at all.

When Seolyeong flinched and tried to pull away, Yujae tightened his grip.

Seolyeong, unable to use his Qi, had no hope of escaping.

“What’s attractive about a whiny little brat?”

Seolyeong felt hurt because he only said humiliating words. Not a single word of affection.

“That’s not true… I am pretty…”

He grumbled and glanced at Yujae.

With no mirror around, he used Yujae’s eyes like one, checking his reflection. He wondered if his beauty had lost its luster. But no, his elegant features were still the same. Seolyeong asked,

“Do I… not look pretty to you?”

Why was his heart pounding over such a dumb question? The man’s icy demeanor made Seolyeong anxious. As the silence stretched on, he grew disheartened.

If he doesn’t like me, why should I be nice? Wouldn’t it be better to just bite him? Just as his red eyes lowered with gloom,

Tang Yujae tilted his chin up with a finger, as if chasing the gaze that had tried to avoid him.

“If you want to be doted on, start by opening your throat.”

“Huh?”

Open what? Before Seolyeong could even process the words, Yujae held his chin firmly in place to keep him from escaping. He shoved fingers into his parted mouth. Gah, ugh! The touch against his upper teeth made Seolyeong sputter.

“Open it wide like this. Practice sucking. If you get good at it, maybe I’ll dote on you.”

Tang Yujae didn’t stop. He rubbed along the roof of his mouth, soft, then hard, until his finger slipped into the back of his throat.

Seolyeong pushed against at Yujae’s chest.

“What kind of indecent act is this between two men!”

The shock jarred his mind back just slightly. But Yujae could only laugh at the absurd remark.

“…What?”

If a blood fiend woke in an unconscious state, it was normal for them to go berserk with instinct.

And yet, even now, Seolyeong was clinging to decorum. Was that impressive… or just plain crazy? Either way, his bride was completely unpredictable. Where had the blood fiend who had whined about his aching lower half gone? Now all that remained was a cranky, ill-mannered brat.

“I’m not stupid, I know you meant I should suck your penis! Just who do you think you are..! Huh? Who the hell are you to treat me…! Ugh?”

“……”

“You look… familiar…”

The shouting gave Tang Yujae a pounding headache. Any desire to claim his bride vanished completely.