Chapter 153
“Kiss.”
The way Helios proposed to shut his mouth was, of all things, a kiss. The moment I heard it, I meant to take back my words — but by then, his lips were already on mine.
What I could’ve stopped with a needle, I was now trying to block with a shovel. Helios gently bit at the soft flesh of my lips, coaxing them open. Before I could resist, the tip of his thick tongue slipped through the parting.
It moved inside me, softly brushing across every part of my mouth, leaving no inch untouched. Our tongues tangled against my will — again and again.
Somewhere amid the countless kisses, my body began responding to his without my permission.
I tried to push him away, but his firm shoulders wouldn’t budge. If anything, it only seemed to excite him more.
In an instant, my skirt curled up and his hand settled on my thigh. Our lips locked more deeply.
“Hah, mmm, Your Highness.”
He kissed me back in response, like kissing was the only way to shut me up.
A raspy sound filled the narrow carriage. It sounded unusually loud in such a small space, and it was an arousal in itself.
I could feel a trickle of clear liquid between my thighs.
Oh, I’m screwed.
I thought that I might need to stop by the underwear store, but just as I was thinking this, Helios pulled his lips and hand away.
I opened my eyes, dazed, and looked up at him. Helios wiped my smudged lips with a loving touch. After smoothing out my skirt, he spoke.
“We’ve arrived, Rienna.”
True to his word, the carriage came to a stop.
“…When?”
“A little while ago?”
If Helios can say that, then that means quite some time has passed.
I buried my face in my hands. I hadn’t even realized the carriage had stopped — too embarrassed by how I’d clung to him.
***
“Go ahead with your business. I’ll wait here.”
The coachman said calmly, either unaware of the chaos that had unfolded inside the carriage or doing a very good job of pretending not to know.
“Come on, Rienna. Stay close.”
Helios grabbed my hand and led me out.
The place was completely unfamiliar. It was a forest, but one that looked completely untended. And yet, oddly, the path through it was neatly maintained, like people often came and went.
The trees were unusually dense. With every step, animal cries echoed from deep within the woods. My spine stiffened at the sound of animals hunting for prey.
The sun hadn’t even set, but the overgrowth made it feel like twilight. The forest was dark and unsettling.
The perfect setting for a horror movie.
It reminded me of that one where the rescue team went to find a missing scout, and no one came back alive.
Was it just me, or was this seriously creepy?
Helios’s steps, meanwhile, were light and carefree.
“Where are we? Where are we even going?”
It wasn’t a park, but it didn’t feel entirely abandoned either, so I couldn’t help but ask.
“A place I sneak off to sometimes.”
He said it so casually, but it sounded like a secret hideout.
He really trusts me too much.
I rubbed my nose and gently pushed away his hand gripping my arm. He raised a brow.
“Could you…hold my hand instead?”
Better to hold on while you still can.
Helios grinned and clasped my hand tightly, interlacing our fingers. Palm to palm, our fingers pressed together, snugly intertwined.
It was just a hand — just a simple gesture — but somehow, the confusion I’d felt upon entering the forest, the unease of heading into unknown territory, all began to slowly fade.
About thirty minutes into our walk, the forest slowly began to lighten. Before long, a wide open field of grass spread out before us.
It was still green, but the feeling was completely different from the forest. Sunlit grass had a warmth and softness that shadows couldn’t offer.
In the center of that plush lawn stood a grand if dilapidated two-story house. That had to be the place Helios had mentioned — his occasional getaway.
“Is it a villa?” I asked.
“No, it used to be my mother’s house.”
I gasped softly. Knowing the story of Helios’s mother Bailey, I couldn’t help but watch him carefully.
She had died in the very place where he’d been born.
“It’s okay, Rienna.”
I hadn’t meant to show anything on my face, but something must have slipped through. Helios gently rubbed my back.
“I’m sorry.”
He just shrugged lightly, like it was nothing, and stepped inside.
