"P-Please don't talk like that.
It's...
very important to me", said Maxi, her voice broken.
Riftan's face contorted subtly.
His voice sounded mocking as he said, “Of all the mountains of jewels I gave you, is this piece of dirty coin the one you value most?”
“They are all precious to me,” Maxi said in a choked whisper, stroking his cheek to calm him.
"But...
that coin is something you've had for a long time.
It reminds me of you...
every time I look at it."
Something stirred in his black eyes, making him look more like a fragile young man.
When Maxi pressed her lips to his, trying to dissolve his pain, he responded with a low moan.
He snapped out of his tense stance and pulled her into a tight hug.
His fingers trembled with desire as they ran down his sweat-covered back.
Maxi sucked gently on his tongue as he slid it between her swollen lips.
With her breasts crushed against his chest, she could feel his heart beating like a drum.
He laid her on the floor and leaned over her, placing kisses all over her face.
His hands roamed every inch of her body.
Maxi felt instantly warm.
Slowly, his lips moved down her neck and stopped at her pink breast.
He continued down to his stomach, which was trembling with tension.
Panting, Maxi closed her thighs.
“I-I don’t want“”
Maxi rocked back and bit his lip.
Riftan, after spreading her knees, went down between her legs and started kissing her most private part.
She tugged at a fistful of clothes as his hot breath passed over her sensitive folds.
Her thighs contracted, and her back arched.
White steam came out of his mouth, rising up to the dark ceiling of the cave.
Every time his tongue played with her swollen intimacy, her spine melted with almost painful pleasure.
Unsteady to withstand the intense sensation, Maxi began to squirm.
Riftan's grip on her hips tightened as he continued mercilessly.
Maxi shouted.
Her face was so red she was afraid she was going to explode.
Riftan pushed his tongue deep into her dripping entrance, then pulled back, only to enter again a second later.
She looked down at the top of his black head between her legs, but the burning heat inside her soon forced her eyes closed.
The pleasure continued to accumulate.
Clutching her hair, Maxi began to convulse as if she had been struck by lightning.
Sparks swirled beneath his eyelids.
She twisted her waist like a snake, her face turning white.
When his climax passed, Riftan lifted his head from his crotch.
She watched him with distant eyes as he ran his thumb across his wet lips.
Then he turned her around.
Climbing over her, he intertwined his fingers and fit his rigid member between her buttocks.
Maxi clenched his hands until the prominent knuckles dug painfully into his skin.
It seemed as if a burning stick marked the place where they touched.
He brushed aside the disheveled hair that covered her back and bit the back of her neck, slowly rocking his hips back and forth.
He seemed a little out of it with desire, but he made no move to penetrate her.
Crushed beneath his rock-hard body, Maxi panted heavily.
She shuddered when she felt fingers play between her legs again.
She was so exhausted that she could barely utter a moan.
With her face pressed against the rough fabric, she began to sob like a cornered beast.
In the next moment, she was overcome with relaxation.
The tension that had gripped his body all day evaporated as his last reserves were depleted.
She slipped into unconsciousness as she heard his moans filling her ears.
Maxi slowly opened her eyes to something wet and warm brushing her skin.
The dark cave wall and the dying fire were the first things she saw.
She vaguely watched the flickering golden flames as something cold touched the skin between her legs.
She jumped back and looked down.
Riftan was carefully wiping his crotch with a damp linen cloth.
As mortification overwhelmed her, her face burned with shame.
A sharp pain shot through her entire body as she quickly stood up.Groaning, she supported herself by placing her hands on the floor.
Every part of her hurt as if she had been beaten, and her limbs were weak.
"Lie down.
You're covered in bruises."
He gently pushed her back onto the blanket and pulled her clothes over her.
Then, he took out an ointment from his backpack.
As he applied it to her throbbing hips and thighs, Maxi muffled her moans of pain with his robe.
He continued down to her calves and blistered feet, making sure to cover all exposed areas with his clothes before moving on to her back and arms.
Maxi wrinkled her nose at the pungent herbal scent.
Looking up, she noticed that Riftan was only wearing pants.
She realized why a second later“her remaining clothes were all over her.
Shocked, she quickly offered the clothes back to him.
Although she began to shiver almost immediately, she hated the idea of him enduring the frigid conditions even more.
“R-Riftan… please get dressed, or you will get a“”
His voice stopped abruptly.
She had screamed so much that she sounded terribly hoarse.
Her face turned red, she felt around on the floor for her own clothes.
“I-I’m going to wear mine, so“”
“Your clothes are still wet,” Riftan interrupted, pointing to the wall.
“Keep them.”
Looking to the side, Maxi saw them hanging from his steel chain.
“B-But…”
“We can stay like this.”
With a low sigh, Riftan placed the pot of ointment on the floor and lifted her onto his lap with one arm.
He leaned against the wall and wrapped both strong arms around her waist.
Maxi snuggled happily into his embrace.
The heat radiating from his body seemed to sink deep into her.
He was pulling up the makeshift blankets to make sure she was fully covered when she let out a sleepy sigh.
He stopped to pick up a bottle and bring it to her lips.
"It's melt water.
You sweat a lot, so you need to drink it."
When he carefully tilted the bottle, Maxi obediently took a sip of the water.
A few drops in his dry throat cleared his head a little.
She looked towards the cave entrance as she wiped her lips.
“You went outside… w-while I was sleeping?”
“I would never leave you alone in a place like that,” he replied sharply.
"And the snowstorm hasn't passed yet.
It's just driveway snow."
“I-I see.” Maxi swallowed hard, adding nervously, "Do you think… the others are okay?
They must be worried."
“They’re probably frantic,” he said dryly.
She cautiously studied his face and noticed that he was furious.
His chiseled jaw was clenched to contain his anger, and his lips were pressed into a thin line.
She nervously shifted her gaze.
There were too many things that could have angered him to determine what was behind his current mood.
A heavy silence stretched between them before Riftan spoke first.
"We'd better light another fire.
How many fire stones do you have?"
“About three…”
When she saw his brow furrow, she quickly added, "B-But I also have drake fire stones!
I can light… with them too."
He paused before saying, “Then we should be able to hold out until the snowstorm passes.”
With another low sigh, he handed her the bag containing the magic stones.
Maxi took out a fire stone and placed it next to the dying flames.
Soon, lit by a flow of mana, a second flame began to emerge from the new stone.
The air warmed, easing the tension in his shoulders.
The cave was as quiet and dark as a tomb, but Riftan being there with her made it bearable.
She looked up at the dark spirals of ice projecting from the ceiling.
Momentarily forgetting her condition, she pressed herself against him, triggering a pain that coursed through her entire body.
She was indeed covered in bruises.
Moans of pain rose in her throat, which she managed to suppress.
Although her back hurt the most, she was mortified to discover that she was sore all over her body, including her groin and nipples.
She furtively felt the tip of her burning breast before peeking under the covers.
In addition to her slightly swollen nipples, her arms and thighs were stained with bruises, and her knees were almost purple.Although most of the injuries could be attributed to her many falls, the pain in her breasts and thighs was undoubtedly due to rough intercourse.
As she touched the red handprint on her thigh, she wondered with a touch of regret if they had been too aggressive.
Suddenly, Riftan spat an angry curse over his head.
She hurriedly covered herself again, but he was already pulling her clothes away.
The light from the flames bathed his entire body.
“The bruises are worse than I thought,” he said, his face contorting with embarrassment.
“Please… don’t blame yourself… t-those were from the golem.”
“Is the golem to blame for this too?” he asked coldly, cupping one of her swollen breasts.
Maxi blushed.
“N-No… but I was the one who encouraged you.”
"That's true," agreed Riftan darkly, "but I should have held back.
I'm sure you never wanted it to go this far.
I shouldn't have been so eager when you might have gotten hurt."
Fidgeting her fingers, Maxi looked away and muttered, “I-I… l-liked it… anyway.”
As soon as the words came out, she blushed up to her neck in embarrassment.
Not wanting him to consider her wanton, she hastily added, "It's been three years, after all.
Although it wasn't the most ideal situation...
I l-loved...
the thought of being in your b-arms again."