Ash-colored Despair (26)
Suddenly a chill ran down my spine. Trying to hide her confusion, Thalia slowly lowered her gaze. My heart was pounding wildly, as if it was ready to explode.
The thought that he could hear that roar gave him goosebumps.
Panicked, Thalia began to babble incoherently:
- It’s just terrible, it’s disgusting to even imagine, right? So stop pushing your lousy potion at me. I... I already said how much I hate him...
But the more she babbled, the more frank her feelings became. Cheeks were burning, ears were burning. She licked her dry lips.
The longboat, previously frozen without movement, approached the bed. But Thalia couldn't raise her head.
“He probably has a shocked face right now.”
“Just a few hours ago I was raging like a man possessed, and now I’m talking nonsense. He probably looks at me with disgust.”
“Maybe even with a cold smile.”
She chattered as if someone was chasing her:
“Do you even know how disgusting this is?” After it, everything inside me turns upside down. And you force everything... So I... well...
- Thalia.
A voice overhead silenced her.
She raised her head with difficulty. Before my eyes appeared eyes - as cold and transparent as a winter lake at dawn.
Longboat looked at her as if there were pieces of a puzzle in front of him that did not fit together. Then he said, barely audible:
- I'll give you something to drink. Come here.
Thalia blinked mindlessly. I didn’t immediately understand what he just said.
Her gaze slid from the bottle in his hand to his smooth lips. Suddenly she was overcome by a strange thirst. She turned away and bit her chapped lips.
- I just...
I just blurted it out, why take it seriously...
She was just about to continue, but then he opened the lid of the vessel.
Thalia winced and looked up.
He looked at her silently, his eyes as clear as ice. It was as if he saw right through her... and at the same time saw nothing.
He didn't look away as he brought the neck of the bottle to his lips.
My heart sank.
Now, if she says “enough,” then at least she can maintain her dignity.
This is what she fought so hard for... Without pride, she is nothing.
But...
She looked at him tremblingly.
Those lips that once touched her surfaced in my memory.
“If you sacrifice your pride... is it possible to relive that night again?”
Thalia closed her eyes.
A large hand with prominent knuckles grabbed the back of her head.
The smell of water, mint and the same gusty wind that always caused her anxiety.
Then the aroma of herbs, cutting into the mucous membrane. His lips covered hers.
The same lips that once cut her soul with caustic words.
Once she was afraid to even touch them, like the blade of a knife.
And now those lips were turning her whole world upside down.
She involuntarily grabbed his shirt. He pulled her head back, increasing the pressure.
At first Thalia resisted, but when his hand squeezed her cheek, she unclenched her jaw.
The concentrated herbal extract flowed over the tongue. She winced from the burning bitterness, but not for long. A soft tongue entered the mouth, easily parting the lips.
He moved deeper, almost to the throat. She tried to push him away, and only then did he retreat a little. But before she could feel relief, the tongue touched the inside of her cheeks, rubbed against the roof of her mouth, intertwined with her tongue.
So much saliva had accumulated in my mouth that everything started gushing out.
And before she felt shame, the sharp tip broke through again.
The throat closed on its own, sucking it in.
This was the moment when the instinctive desire to swallow something turned into a horribly obscene act.
She let out a wet moan that she didn't expect from herself.
The squelching sounds seemed obscenely loud, as if they were pressing directly into the eardrums.
She could stand it no longer and pounded her fists on his shoulder, hard as stone.
Finally he pulled away.
A transparent thread of saliva still trailed from the corners of his mouth.
She looked at her, unable to look away, and then timidly raised her eyes and met his calm, studying gaze.
She batted her eyelashes in confusion as he picked up the bottle again.
The liquid in it began to ring.
— There is some medicine left there.
This velvety, slightly metallic voice hit straight into my ears.
Thalia opened her eyes and immediately looked away.
There was a pounding in my temples.
He whispered in her ear, demanding some more of her pride.
- What should I do about it?
She bit her burnt lips and stared into the shadow dancing in the fire.
After a painful pause, she nodded. But he expected more.
Talia hesitated for a moment, and then forced her voice out of her clenched throat:
-...give me something to drink.
The next moment, her head fell back.
Thick liquid flooded my mouth. She swallowed it, sip after sip, feeling a burning warmth flowing down her esophagus.
But the bitterness disappeared almost immediately, the sticky saliva washed it away.
Thalia panted heavily, clutching his shirt.
The warmth of his body permeated everything. He pulled her under him and her back touched the bed.
Talia looked up in fear. I wanted to get up, but I couldn’t. He didn't let go for a moment.
Longboat leaned his hand next to the pillow, hovered over it and continued to kiss.
His face was hidden in shadow, but his eyes sparkled. She seemed to be burning in a cold flame. All her feelings melted, and her heart filled with anxiety.
“Open your mouth wider,” a wet whisper touched your lips.
Talia parted her jaw obediently.
The hot flesh slid inside, almost to the throat.
He lingered, as if enjoying the way she eagerly took him, moaning... and only then slowly pulled out.
The repetitive movements made her dizzy.
She tried to turn away to breathe, but he grabbed her by the hair.
Long fingers wrapped around the strands and tugged slightly. It doesn't hurt, but it's too intimate. Too... indecent.
“Longboat…” a pleading voice was heard among the rapid breathing.
She herself didn’t know what she was asking for.
When she raised her wet gaze, he was looking at her with a slight distortion in his features.
He ran his rough palm over her sweaty neck.
And then a terrifying suspicion arose in her:
“Did he do this to others?”
An image of him kissing Ayla flashed through my head. He put her to bed too. And he kissed her. And he fulfilled all her wishes. Because to him... it didn't matter.
What may seem like a world-changing event to her will be nothing to him.
-...Why are you crying?
The lips that had just squeezed hers retreated. The voice is dull and heavy.
He ran a rough finger under her eye.
Talia hid her gaze under her eyelashes.
- …I'm tired. I want to sleep.
He frowned, but stood up silently. As if he wasn’t the one turning her inside out a minute ago. Longboat went to the window and opened the frame.
The cool, damp air displaced the heat remaining in the room.
Thalia silently looked at his silhouette, immersed in darkness, then closed her eyes.
Consciousness became foggy.
If she woke up tomorrow, wouldn't it all just be a dream?
With these thoughts she went into oblivion.
* * *
“I told everyone to keep their mouths shut, so there won’t be any rumors about the incident.”
Longboat stroked the snorting Torque's neck and looked at Lord Dorkaen.
He stretched his lips into something like a smile:
- Whatever you say, you have found an amazing wife. Who would have thought that such a character was hidden behind such an angelic face...
— Uzan Darken.
He immediately fell silent, catching the threat in Barkas’ voice.
“You’d better start by watching your tongue,” he added coolly.