DMHS 61

Did he even know what he just said?

Frederick must have been seriously shaken too.

But Lucien’s hardship was only beginning. He had held Kian’s arm to keep him steady, yet Kian instead rubbed his cheek against Lucien’s arm.

“Lord Lucien.”

A playful tone brushed his ear. Lucien felt like his head would explode.

“Let’s go upstairs and talk.”

He tried to speak in a cold voice on purpose, but it was no use. His mate kept testing his patience.

“Alright. I like you.”

“……”

“I like you, Lord Lucien…”

Lucien bit down on his molars. Then he bent and hoisted the taller Kian over his shoulder in one motion.

Kian laughed from the raised view. Even his laugh had more energy than usual.

“Ahaha! This is fun!”

“…I do not think it is fun.”

Lucien muttered small complaints and set Kian down on the bed. He intended to lock him there until the potion wore off. But Kian quickly grabbed Lucien’s hand.

“Where are you rushing off to? You should stay with me.”

“…Ha.”

Kian’s face slowly hardened.

“Do you dislike being with me, Lord Lucien?”

“Right now it is a bit difficult.”

“Why? Because I like you?”

Tears welled in Kian’s eyes. Lucien wiped his face with dry hands to hide his turmoil.

“You do not really like me. You are just mistaking it because of the potion.”

“What if I truly do like you? What would you do then?”

Lucien lifted his face from his palms. The answer to that question had been there long ago.

“I would make you pregnant.”

“……”

“I would fill you with my seed until you carry my child. Then I would hold your hand and take you to the Dragon Realm. There, every day, I would whisper love to you and kiss you. I wanted that from the first moment I saw you. To be precise, even now I want it so much I could go mad. But…”

Lucien paused, then continued.

“You do not want me. Taking advantage of this is something only a coward would do.”

Kian lifted his black eyes.

“So in the end, you do not actually dislike me?”

“That is not what I meant.”

“Then I will ask directly. Do you dislike me, Lord Lucien?”

“Of course not…”

A suspicious smile spread on Kian’s lips. He kissed Lucien’s pale hand back and forth, then…

Whoosh.

The view flipped in an instant. Before he could blink, Lucien was lying on the bed, Kian straddling his torso.

“Why do you keep running away, that is boring.”

Kian smirked and brushed back his hair. His black eyes shined strangely, glossy like they were broken. Lucien’s skin prickled.

‘Did he just pin me down like that?’

It was a movement that ignored the laws of physics. As soon as Lucien felt his back against the sheet, he tried to rise. But Kian moved faster. Kneeling on the bed, he gave Lucien’s shoulder a push.

Lucien fell weakly back onto the bed. Kian pressed his wrists together above his head.

‘Fast.’

Lucien tried to pull his arms free, but the strength pressing down was so strong he could not move. Kian pressed close and kissed him. The tongue that slipped between his lips burned hot. Maybe it was the potion, maybe just their bodies, but the heat was overwhelming.

“Hnn, I like this…”

A sweet voice melted out of Kian’s mouth.

Lucien suppressed his urge to respond and pretended not to know. He lay still as if he was absorbed in the kiss, waiting for a moment of carelessness, then pulled his wrists.

‘Got it.’

Lucien pulled his freed arms in and rolled to the side. He meant to get off the bed like that. But before he even finished one roll, his wrists were caught again. Of course, it was Kian.

A burning ache ran through his wrists, then he realized he was staring up at the ceiling again. His head rested against a soft pillow.

‘I do not even know what trick he used.’

If there were a contest for pinning someone to a bed, the first prize would surely go to his mate.

By now Lucien even laughed. He chuckled faintly on his own and looked at Kian. If he could not win by strength, he had to use another method.

“Mate.”

Fortunately, that word worked. Kian flinched and pulled his upper body back. It was like an ingrained reflex carved into him.

“My mate.”

“Why are you calling me that?”

“I have always called you that. You used to get goosebumps from it.”

“N-not now. Since it is my beloved Lord Lucien calling me, I am very happy.”

“Is that so? You truly are the mate I love most in the world. Come to think of it, we forgot what we were supposed to do this morning. We need to start with a hundred kisses.”

Lucien deliberately put on the syrupy tone Kian normally hated. The method was simple: drag out each word slowly to a cloying degree and sprinkle excessive affection in between.

Sure enough, Kian trembled and looked at him with frightened eyes.

“A hundred kisses?”

“You lost the bet, so we were supposed to do it.”

“You never once did it until now though…”

“Then let’s start today.”

Lucien slowly raised his upper body and stroked his mate’s cheek. Contrary to his expectation that Kian would flinch away again, Kian quietly closed his eyes, pleased by the touch.

Lucien turned his head and kissed Kian’s cheek. Then he grabbed him by the collar and pushed him down onto the bed. The timing was perfect, and the force in his grip was more than enough. Kian was unguarded, and with this much strength Lucien should have been able to pin him.

But when he came to, it was Lucien himself pressed against the bed. His cheek was crushed into the sheet, and his arms were tied behind his back. Kian had not even used much strength. He was holding Lucien’s crossed wrists down with only two fingers.

‘So he went easy on me earlier.’

Lucien admitted he was completely defeated.

“I was wrong. Give me another chance and I’ll kiss you properly.”

He heard Kian’s lowered voice from behind.

“That won’t do. I’m already upset.”

“What?”

Hot breath touched the back of his neck. It was ragged breathing like a predator aiming for the throat to kill at once.

“If you dislike it, say so.”

Instead of sharp fangs biting, Kian stuck out his tongue and licked softly at the nape of his neck. With his free hand he leisurely undid the buttons of Lucien’s clothes.

Half his shirt fell open, exposing shoulders and shoulder blades to the air. Kian kept caressing Lucien’s back and neck. Wet lips brushed and left, and each time it made his skin crawl.

Lucien groaned with his face buried in the sheet.

“At least let my hands go.”

“Promise you won’t run, then I’ll release them.”

By this point he could not even laugh. Lucien gave up resisting.

“I won’t go.”

His wrists were freed right away. As he stretched his stiff arms, Kian followed the motion and slipped Lucien’s shirt off.

Lucien looked up at him with trembling eyes. Kian’s black gaze, roaming over his bare chest, was filled with desire.

‘So this is how it feels to be treated as the object of lust.’

Lucien’s throat bobbed.

‘This is actually… making me nervous…’

Of course, because it was Kian, he did not feel repulsed. It was only because it’s strange to lose the lead. It was also strange that the one who always made him desperate to embrace was now the one burning with desire for him.

‘It bothers me that it’s because of the potion, but there’s no helping it.’

Lucien pointed it again.

“Don’t blame me when you wake. I said no. You’re the one who came at me saying yes.”

Lucien dropped his refusal and raised his upper body. He pulled Kian’s neck down and kissed him. Their tongues mingled, saliva pooled and spilled. The tongue caressing along his palate could not have been more stimulating.

Their breathing grew rougher bit by bit. Their eyes flushed red, their lips wet and shining with spit from who knew which of them. If their kisses before had only aimed to feel good, this one carried far more hunger. Lucien realized it, and just the sound of Kian panting made his hair stand on end.

Lucien sucked Kian’s long fingers into his mouth one by one. Meanwhile, Kian’s lips trailed over his bare torso.

“Your skin is so white. Even fresh fallen snow can’t compare to Lord Lucien’s lesh.”

His face burned at the cheesy comparison. The potion had him acting like he was lost in love.

“Smooth and soft, it feels so good I can’t take my hands off.”

“……”

“And how cute your nipples are, standing up the moment I touch them. Even now, if you look…”

Lucien finally clamped a hand over his mouth. Even then, Kian narrowed his eyes like a fox and flicked out his tongue to lick Lucien’s palm.

Kian laughed with satisfaction at Lucien’s pale face.

“Really, Lord Lucien, you’re too cute. I want to eat you up from head to toe.”

…This was no good.