The Demon Lord's Bride (BL)
Chapter 330: It’s not that I have the kink or anything, but...

Chapter 330: It’s not that I have the kink or anything, but...

With a flap of his wings, Natha whisked me to the tree island, landing on top of the tangling roots.

The tree wasn’t as huge as Alzeriya, which was almost as big as an apartment building on Earth. But this one was still big, enough that I could stand in one of its surfacing roots without the need to precariously balance myself.

The roots only got wider the closer they were to the trunk, enough for it to look like an island from afar. I guess it should be more than adequate to be used as a bed.

A bed...

I feel my heartbeat increase, sending blood rushing to my cheek due to an automatic imagery forming in my head. I didn’t mean to, but I swallowed my saliva loud enough for Natha to hear it.

"What are you thinking?"

His low voice, and the cold grip on my shoulder, startled me so much that I practically jumped. "N-nothing?"

"Nothing?" there was so much skepticism in his voice that it just amped up the embarrassment. His stare tickled my nape and even if I couldn’t see it, I knew he was grinning.

Turning my reddened face away, I muttered quietly. "Nothing...that is appropriate to be discussed in an open space where a child is present."

His chuckle was brushing against my nape as he whispered behind my ear. "You naughty bride."

I slapped the cold hand perched on my shoulder, but it only moved downward, settling on my waist, making me shudder at the cold seeping into my skin. That, along with teasing lips against my earlobe, made me take a sharp breath.

Was it because we didn’t have any sensual moments throughout the trip? I felt so sensitive now. Being away from him during the night only amplified my craving for his touch. All of the suppressed desire seemed to be surfacing in this spot where we were supposed to...bind our essence.

I had to take a deep breath to clear my mind, because it started to conjure up things I wanted to do then, and things I wanted to do now. What a pervert. You’re a pervert, Val!

Natha chuckled and stopped his teasing, slowly pulling away from me. I felt relieved, but also...disappointed. Glancing toward the shore, I saw Ilya and Halurean busy building our camp, while Amarein was watching Jade playing with the three fairies.

Before the cold fingers completely left my waist, I grabbed onto them. "Umm, can you..."

Natha raised his brow slightly, lips curling deep. "Yes?"

I swallowed. "Use your wing?"

His lips stretched wider, and his wings unfurled the moment he manifested them, shielding the view from the shore. As the black feathers surrounded me, I pulled his face down and pressed my lips against his smile, wasting no time to slip my tongue inside as his hands were back on my waist and cradling the back of my head.

There was something about doing things in a place where people might see, and my breath quickly ran out from the rare excitement produced by our deepening kiss. It felt like it had been so long, since I could thoroughly enjoy his cold embrace.

But I still retained a semblance of common sense, so I pulled myself away before my hands could travel anywhere other than his face, preventing it from being more than just a kiss.

I filled my lungs with air again, breathing rather heavily--not from the kiss, but from the attempt to reign in my desire. Natha caressed my hair and patted my back gently. As I peeked into his aloof face, I felt displeasure surging for some reason.

"Why are you so calm?"

His brow arched. "What?"

I pursed my lips and crouched down, letting my butt touch the tree root.

"Sweetheart?"

Natha lowered himself, sounded so confused that I felt guilty for acting up. I sighed and looked at him with frustration. "Why are you so calm about this? Even when we talked about it in the Tribe Hall, you accept everything so easily."

His eyes widened slightly, and he put his knees on the ground, leveling his face with mine. He said nothing, however, which allowed me to speak my mind again.

"I...I know we did it for Shwa, but...aren’t you at least upset about it?" I could feel my brows furrowed deeper as my voice grew fainter. "We’re going to live apart after this, and I tried so hard to distract myself with a lot of things, but...but I’m upset. And I’m upset because you don’t seem upset. And it feels like I’m the only one who--

Cold lips sealed my barrage of words, and a pair of hands cupped my face, before caressing my hair. It was short, the kiss, but also harsh--so harsh and consuming that I got startled and flinched from it. When Natha pulled away, his eyes were no longer a pair of moons, but a churning storm.

"If you know..." he paused, hands on my nape and shaking thumb rubbing my jaw. "If you could read what kind of thoughts I had these past few days," he chuckled low. "You might run away from me."

I grabbed his wrists, staring straight into the storm. "I won’t," I said. "I want to know how upset you are."

Natha blinked; once, twice, and then leaned forward until our forehead touched. "Close your eyes," he whispered, and I did. I feel his thumbs moving to my temples, and the dark vision filled with flashing light.

I frowned in confusion until the vision panned out, and I realized that the flashing light was actually lightning, crashing down from the sky through a storm looming above the Great Tree, above the settlement.

Flames were rising from the ground, battling the rainfall. But before the vision turned toward the land, it stopped, along with my gasp. The cold sensation on my forehead retreated, and the fingers were leaving my head while trembling.

I caught those fingers and held them tight. "I won’t run," I said in a whisper, because I was honestly still in shock. But I held the cold hands firmly, looking at the scared Nightmare. "How could you tell me to speak my mind but you don’t do it yourself?"

"I’m afraid," he smiled wryly. "I know you have this image of me in your head, and I should hate to destroy it," he leaned down, lying his head on my shoulder. "I tried, Valen, to be a person who deserves you. And this violent, cruel side of me is not something you deserve."

It was violent and cruel, yes--even only through the snippet I saw. But I could guess what it was that he prevented me from seeing, and if I had to be honest, I was afraid.

But the demon in front of me was even more afraid.

He was afraid of his own mind, which could read how every single entity in that settlement wanted me to stay there, leaving him. He was afraid of how his mind could conjure up such horrific thoughts, and he was afraid of how much I would hate him because of that.

The storm was his fear, and the rain was his tears, pouring into the wrath of destruction below.

I stroked his hair, carefully so I wouldn’t touch his horns. "I understand," I told him. "Thank you, for holding back. For not succumbing to those thoughts."

I had once asked Natha about how Nightmares could pull out people’s fear and conjure up the most horrific dream, and he answered simply; because Nightmares’ dreams were constantly filled with horrific things.

I had forgotten about this in my frustration. "I’m sorry," I exhaled slowly in regret. I was constantly thinking of how miserable I was sleeping alone that I forgot to ask him if he had a good sleep.

Showed how selfish I became, huh?

Natha pulled away, his hands had lost some of their cold. "I’m sorry," he returned it. "You’re right, I should communicate my thoughts better. It’s hypocritical of me to ask you to do it while I failed to do so."

He took a deep breath, and pressed our forehead together again. No exchanging thoughts this time, however. "I’m so greedy that I want to keep you by my side by any means possible. If being separated for a few kilometers from you could give a guarantee that the druids wouldn’t try anything to take you away permanently, I should bear it."

"Still...I couldn’t help the thought of wanting to ruin them every time I read their wish of having you there forever," he frowned. "Even though I knew they are your kin, I--"

"They are my kin," I nodded, cutting his words. "And I will be sad if you follow those thoughts."

Natha closed his eyes, but his small nod told me that he understood.

A smile crept on my lips as I stroked his cheek. "But I will feel more upset if I have to be apart from you," I whispered, filling every word with sincerity. "You are my husband. You will always be the first in my life. I won’t say that those thoughts aren’t worrying me, but I’m glad--and I’m proud--that you buried those thoughts, because I don’t want to have to hate you because of it."

Natha bit his lips and closed his eyes; his nod was firmer this time.

"It’s just..." I lowered my voice, feeling my cheeks warming again. "Maybe you can...show it juuust a bit? That you’re upset about the arrangement, I mean..."

His eyes opened and his chuckle was crisp in my ear. "I’m afraid my system only recognizes show all or show nothing," he said with a teasing tone. "But I’ll try to input more manual."

I pinched his cheek hard, and his chuckle grew louder. "I’m planning to spend every evening in the Lair, after I finish working," he continued.

"Really?" my eyes widened.

"Well, it’s just a ten-minute walk," he smiled. "We can have dinner together, and I’ll be back after I put you to sleep. Perhaps not if the High Shaman is visiting, but otherwise..."

"Oh...you think it through."

But then, he always had been. He stroked my cheek and stared into my eyes. "Once again, I’m sorry," he said, before adding with a softer voice. "And thank you. Thank you."

I pressed my lips and threw myself into his embrace, circling my arms around his neck tightly, burying my face in his shoulder.

We stayed like that for a while, but he eventually tapped on my back and pulled me away. "Let’s go back, the brat is starting to yell at me in spirit speech."

"Pfft--what did he say?"

"That I kidnap you or something."

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