SWY 73

“…….”

“…….”

Their hearts pounded in sync as they held each other so tightly not even a thread of air could pass between them, and that embrace soon turned into a kiss. It no longer mattered who had started it, they had both opened their mouths at nearly the same moment.

Their tongues tangled violently. Lestel grabbed Sharhan’s waist and pulled him closer, trying desperately to push his tongue even deeper. When Sharhan tilted his head back and opened wider, the tongue slid in so far it brushed his uvula. Sharhan swallowed a cough that felt like it might explode out of him. Gulp. His throat bobbed hard.

“Mmgh….”

“Haa, Shan.”

Their lips, briefly parted from the force of their ragged breaths, locked again. Sharhan clung to Lestel’s neck, lost in the kiss. He didn’t want to think about anything right now.

He just wanted to keep mixing tongues with Lestel, guided purely by instinct and emotion. The heartbeat he felt through their pressed chests, the heat transferred through their slick tongues, it all brought an overwhelming sense of relief.

I really thought we were all going to die this time… or that I’d lose someone.’

It was still hard to believe that not just him and Lestel, but Derry and the Red Wolves had all survived. Especially Lestel. The panic and despair that had flooded him when he woke up in that damp, moldy underground cell and realized Lestel wasn’t by his side came back in a wave, making his heart ache.

Sharhan couldn’t suppress the fierce emotion rising again from deep inside him. He pulled Lestel in even tighter. They were alone here. There was no one to interrupt or to care.

As Sharhan grew bolder, Lestel responded in kind. Grinding his hips, he pushed his tongue even deeper into Sharhan’s mouth and thoroughly explored it.

Their tongues twisted and sucked, licked the roof of each other’s mouths. Their teeth clacked and lips got bitten in the frenzy, but neither of them stopped.

The kiss went on and on. Sharhan’s tongue throbbed from how hard Lestel had sucked on its base. Saliva flowed freely, wetting their chins and lips, yet their mouths were still full of it.

Caught up in his desire, Lestel’s hand had slipped beneath Sharhan’s shirt and was now tracing bare skin.

“Ah!”

As Lestel’s hand ran along the line of Sharhan’s spine, it brushed a particular spot and drew an involuntary moan from him.

“What is it? Are you okay?”

Lestel quickly pulled back, alarmed at the pain twisting Sharhan’s face.

“I think it’s from earlier, when I fell and rolled.”

Sharhan’s nose wrinkled as he explained.

“Turn around. Let me take a look.”

“I’m fine. No need to–”

Sharhan waved him off, but Lestel didn’t back down. He grabbed Sharhan’s shoulders and forced him to turn, lifting up his shirt. Ugly bruises, blue and blooming across his skin, were revealed. Lestel gritted his teeth. His eyes were filled with cold fury.

“Yuel’s going to find him. No matter what.”

“Who, that bastard Delos?”

“Yeah. Yuel seemed confident about it himself… and if he doesn’t find him, I’ll make damn sure he regrets it.”

He would dangle gold coins or jewels in Yuel’s face, or kick his ass if he had to, to make him find that bastard. And once he did, he’d deliver a punishment worse than death. No one touched his Shan and got away with it.

Holding back his rage, Lestel carefully examined Sharhan’s body. Once he finished with his back and reached for Sharhan’s hand, Sharhan flinched and pulled it away. Lestel narrowed his eyes at the suspicious movement and tried to grab Sharhan’s wrist, but Sharhan did everything he could to keep it hidden.

“What’s your problem? Why are you so desperate to see my hand?”

“Give it to me before I stop asking nicely.”

“Give what? Are you a robber now? It’s my hand! Who are you to order me around like this?”

The more Sharhan resisted, the more Lestel’s face darkened.

“You’re only making me more suspicious. I will see it, so just hand it over now before I make you.”

Lestel firmly gripped Sharhan’s arm and pulled it forward.

“You lunatic! That hurts!”

Ignoring the outburst, Lestel finally saw the hand, and his expression turned grim.

“This… this looks like a burn. Where did you get this? Were you tortured?!”

“Tortured, what? No. I just… woke up tied up. So I had Derry help me cut the ropes. That’s what this is from. It’s not a big deal.”

Lestel’s expression twisted as he realized what kind of help Derry must have provided.

“Not a big deal? It’s this bad! If it was magic fire… it must have hurt like hell.”

“So what? I’m a man. What’s the big deal about a few scars? Would you have preferred I just stayed tied up and let something happen?”

“No one’s saying that! Couldn’t you have waited? I might’ve come to rescue you!”

“Oh, so I’m supposed to wait around like some princess locked in a tower? Besides, if I hadn’t escaped, you might be a moving corpse by now!”

“You think I’d die and leave you behind? I wouldn’t die without you! So stop being so reckless. Why don’t you take care of your own body?”

“I risked my life to get out and save you, and instead of saying thanks, you’re yelling at me?”

“Why the hell did you risk your life at all?!”

“What, was I supposed to just let you die? You weren’t there when I woke up, and I… I…”

“And you… what?”

Lestel caught the sudden silence. Sharhan’s reaction was too suspicious, so he pressed him for the rest.

But Sharhan couldn’t say it. Not only was it impossible to put the overwhelming despair and fear he’d felt into words, he didn’t want to. It was just too embarrassing.

“I mean… I felt a strong sense of duty. We’ve got a contract, right? I already took the deposit, and the paperwork’s still good, so I’m still your bodyguard. Of course I’d protect you.”

As Sharhan stumbled awkwardly through his excuse, Lestel lifted his wrist and gently kissed it. The tender moisture on the lingering burn sent a shiver down his spine.

Lestel licked the burn again. As if his tongue could erase the injury. It hurt, enough to make his eyes sting, but that wasn’t all. Within the pain was another feeling: a strange, tingling sensation that stirred heat below his waist.

Sharhan’s body betrayed him and hardened. His ears flushed hot.

“Ow, okay! Stop licking it! Are you a damn dog or something?”

“Honey, you said it hurt, but why’d you get hard?”

Sharhan had hoped he wouldn’t notice, but of course Lestel had.

“Th-that’s…”

‘I don’t even know why it keeps happening in front of you, you insane bastard!’

As Sharhan frantically tried to come up with an excuse, there was a knock at the door. He turned around to hide his bulge, and Lestel answered.

“We’ve prepared water for your bath. The bathroom is through that door. I’m afraid there’s no hot water given the situation, so I hope you’ll understand.”

Yuel’s subordinate had also kindly pointed out the location of the bath.

“We’d be asking too much to expect hot water. Still… you seem to know this mansion very well.”

“I used to work here. Yuel’s informants were everywhere. Oh, and we’ve brought clean clothes for both of you. The lady said to rip up your filthy, stinking clothes without mercy.”

The implication was clear, he’d been planted here as a spy. With a polite smile, the man delivered Yuel’s message and left.

“He said that way, right? I’ll go first.”

Sharhan, still very much aroused, hurried into the bathroom. Inside was a pristine white porcelain tub at the center. His body felt gross, but the urgent need to deal with what was happening between his legs took priority. He stripped hastily as he approached the tub.

Just as he was about to step in, an arm wrapped around his waist.

“Let’s bathe together.”

The bare skin pressing against his back told him Lestel was already naked. Sharhan flinched and hunched his shoulders.

“What?”

“I feel gross too. I want to wash right now.”

“Then go first.”

“Bathing together is more efficient. Saves water too.”

“Cut the crap… Lestel! What the hell are you doing?!”

Before Sharhan could stop him, Lestel scooped him up and dumped him into the tub. Drenched, Sharhan slicked his wet hair back and glared viciously.

Lestel chuckled and slipped in without waiting for permission. He pulled the squirming Sharhan between his legs. Lestel’s erection, just as large as Sharhan’s, twitched against his backside and grew even harder at the contact.

The water was cold, but Sharhan’s body felt like it was on fire. Lestel gripped his waist and pulled him tighter into his lap, then buried his teeth in his shoulder.

Unbelievably, even that sharp sting felt lewd. The size and heat of the cock pressing into his ass, the way those big hands roamed his wet skin, everything about it screamed sex.

Each stroke across his skin made Sharhan flinch. Lestel’s slow, deliberate touch was heavy with desire, with a wild need to take him.

If he didn’t break away now, they might cross the line. His head told him to get out. But his body…

Lestel, seemingly sensing Sharhan’s hesitation, bit down gently on his earlobe.

A dizzying tremor shot straight to his groin, and Sharhan stopped thinking. He let his body sink into Lestel’s chest.