.jpg)
Before she could even register the feel of the hand encircling her back, the man's lips covered hers.
It wasn't the playful, pecking kiss Iris had been giving.
It was like the kiss Rahan had given her on the first day. A kiss where the presence of the other was vividly felt.
A soft tongue swept through her in one breath. It was so deep that she wondered if this was the same man who had kept her at such a distance until a moment ago.
Her heart felt as if it would burst, and she couldn't maintain her composure. Though she was the one who had asked him to kiss her, Iris suddenly felt the urge to flee.
She tried to subtly shift her hips away, but it was useless. The man pulled her thin back tight and held her close again.
Even so.
“Do you… hate it…?”
The way Rahan whispered between their momentarily parted lips was incredibly cautious.
Iris whispered something back through her ragged breaths. It was likely something along the lines of How could I possibly hate it?
Before she could even close her eyes, Rahan's Red Eyes drew closer.
The kissing continued.
Far from being rough or violent as Auntie Laura had described, it was soft and erotic.
Strangely, the inside of her belly felt ticklish. Every time their tongues entwined, their breaths entwined as well.
The tension from a sensation she was experiencing for the first time surged to the top of Iris's head. She felt as if her entire body were melting.
Perhaps because he had held a sword for so long, Rahan's palms were full of calluses.
One might have disliked those hands stroking her cheeks and the back of her neck, but perhaps because of the water, Iris only felt dizzy and ticklish.
Was this what it felt like to stand on a cliff and look down? It was dizzying. She felt sparks flying in her head.
The saliva exchanged between their mingling tongues was sweet.
Without realizing it, Iris gripped the man's chest tightly. Intermittent whimpering sounds, like those of a puppy, escaped her throat.
“Ngh, Rahan….”
The man licked and sucked along the line of Iris's neck.
A far more distinct desire was revealed than when he had done this to her on the first day. He bit her skin, kissed her, and poured out a barrage of kisses.
Yet, as he carefully caressed Iris's sides, she felt she understood what Rahan was hesitating over.
Iris used one finger to undo the tie of her wet top. Perhaps because the fabric was soaked, it didn't come undone easily.
She felt a flicker of irritation at the frustration, but for some reason, she also felt a different kind of impatience.
‘Iris! Keep this in mind. Men hate it most when they think a woman has been touched by another!’
She remembered Auntie Laura's words. Iris stole a glance at Rahan's expression.
If she had even a little experience, she would have known. Rahan had no room for such thoughts right now.
Rahan's mind was filled with confusion and bewilderment. Yet, despite that, what stood out clearly in the center of it all was desire.
The faint sense of self-loathing for pouncing the moment Iris asked for a kiss had vanished quickly.
‘Damn it, damn it!’
Her skin was sweet.
Rahan knew quite a bit about the things that happened between men and women.
Among the women who had escaped marriage by using his name, there were certainly those who had truly tried to seduce him.
Not only that, but whenever the spirited knights took a break, lewd talk was never absent. They claimed that the desire to release naturally grew stronger while training.
Rahan despised such acts utterly, but he couldn't avoid everything those bastards babbled into his ear.
Thus, he vaguely knew that those many things were more pleasant than one might think.
If it were an unpleasant thing, why would so many men and women cling to each other so?
But knowing and experiencing were different. And it was far more surprising than he had vaguely imagined.
Every time he toyed with the nape of Iris's neck, the Iris in his arms fluttered.
Surprisingly, Rahan could tell clearly that it wasn't because she disliked it.
Every time he sucked on her flushed, reddened skin, a flower bloomed.
The more Iris let out moaning sounds, the more his lower body grew painfully stiff.
“Ah….”
Between her lowered eyelashes, he saw light green eyes that had grown a shade deeper.
Rahan noticed that they were filled not with fear, but with clear anticipation.
They were beautiful, kind eyes.
And Rahan realized something else.
The memory of the first moment he saw her, when everything around her blurred and only she became astonishingly clear.
He had thought it was as if a spell had been cast.
You stupid bastard.
Rahan finally understood what that was. He felt the suffocating tightness that had been pooled beneath his sternum vanish in an instant.
I, I also, you…
Breaths, tongues, and moans mingled.
Rahan bit Iris's collarbone. Before he knew it, Iris had climbed completely on top of him and was undoing the ties near her chest.
He hadn't realized that the simple act of undoing clothes could be such a vulgar and erotic sight.
“Iris….”
Rahan called her name as if pleading, not even knowing what it was he wanted.
Looking down at Rahan, Iris blushed and pressed a light kiss next to his earlobe.
At that ticklish sensation, the man kissed her as if to steal her breath away.
It was ticklish, soft, and maddeningly good. Iris also wrapped both arms around Rahan's neck.
The two of them now knew certainly what it meant for a man and woman to want each other.
“Ah!”
Rahan sucked the upper part of Iris's breast.
Auntie Laura had only taught her about the acts themselves; she hadn't given specific instructions on how to behave in the moment-to-moment situations she would encounter.
She had said she would figure it all out when the time came.
And Iris knew very well what she had to do. She slightly lifted her breast, offering it so Rahan could savor her more.
She felt a bit shy only when one of her breasts became prominent against the damp fabric.
But before Iris could feel any more shame, Rahan kissed it first.
“Ah.”
It wasn't rough or barbaric.
It was a soft kiss, like a bird pecking. The feeling of her inner thighs tightening was strange yet welcome.
Unlike before, when he had acted as if possessed, the man didn't take his eyes off Iris as he continued to kiss her.
It felt as if he were exploring where she liked it most.
Though embarrassed, Iris wanted him to touch her more.
“Hng… it's hot….”
It was hot. It was obvious that this wasn't solely because of the hot water.
However, at those words, Rahan immediately lifted Iris up.
Where he laid her was a soft grassy field by the spring. Perhaps because of the hot water, the grass generally wasn't coarse, but had wide, soft leaves.
As Iris lay there looking up, she saw the deep blue sky through the thick canopy of trees.
Good heavens. Only then did Iris realize what a scandalous thing she was doing and felt ashamed.
O Eridrahan, in broad daylight! And even in the Sanctuary!
But Iris soon became brazen.
What can I do, O Eridrahan? You are the one who made humans this way.
Among the thousands, tens of thousands of couples who bore children with Your blessing, surely there were some who shared love during the day rather than the night, right? Please forgive this cheeky daughter…
Of course, after seeing the man climb on top of her, she forgot even the name of Eridrahan.
My goodness.
He was such a handsome man. A sharp, handsome face visible beneath hair disheveled by water.
A body with lean muscle. A magnificent body without a single shred of excess fat was vividly visible beneath the wet clothes.
What she liked most was that his eyes, which always seemed composed, now looked desperately urgent.
And that was likely because of her.
Without realizing it, Iris reached out and stroked Rahan's chest.
Did he take that as a signal? The man stroked Iris's cheek and kissed her again. Frantically.
“Ngh….”
Perhaps because they had come out of the hot water, the peaks of her breasts stood out stiffly. She felt a bit cold. Well, she would be warm again soon.
Iris reached out and hugged his back tightly. The man's arms bent, bringing him closer. Her chest pressed against his.
Her breath was ragged. She felt the sound of their heartbeats becoming even clearer.
.jpg)