That, too, was something she already knew. She repeated it to herself so often that hearing it from someone else’s lips brought no great shock. Perhaps she should be grateful for that.

A wave of exhaustion seemed to wash over her. Maybe it would have been wiser to spend the time alone with Killian after all.

She should have said yes when he joked about not being able to make it to the party. She was standing there with a faint smile, entertaining that idle thought, when it happened.

“Ana.”

Killian’s voice landed precisely in her ear. All at once, the beautiful melody, the murmur of laughter, the noise of conversation fell away, and only his voice remained.

Killian came toward her through the parting crowd. He stepped to her side and pressed the back of his hand to her forehead. The tender, affectionate touch traveled down to her cheek, then brushed lightly across her lips.

“Ana, you feel a little warm. Are you tired?”

“A little.”

“I thought so. That’s why I came.”

“Were you watching me?”

“Didn’t you know? I only ever look at you.”

Ah. Words and gestures that carried no real feeling behind them, and yet her heart sank all the same. The ripple they stirred was far greater than anything the ladies provoking her with talk of Killian’s marriage managed to stir. Killian studied Anais as she said nothing, then added,

“Let’s go rest for a bit.”

“All right.”

Without so much as a proper farewell to the ladies surrounding Anais, Killian wrapped an arm around her shoulders and led her to the powder room. He settled her onto the sofa, then held out a glass of water with lemon. A sip seemed to ease her thirst a little. Killian sat beside her and lifted Anais’s legs onto his lap.

“Are your feet hurting?”

He slipped off her shoes and pressed into her feet with just the right amount of pressure.

“No, I think I was just a little tired. I didn’t go to many soirees back in the capital either.”

Even so, his pressing felt so good and refreshing that she let him continue. Perhaps her feet were hurting after all. They always ached, so she simply never noticed.

Killian helped her lean a little further back into the sofa. Then, slowly working her small feet and ankles in his hands, he asked,

“Shall we head back for the night? I’ll take you home.”

His violet eyes, looking up at her, brimmed with affection and concern. She wanted to be on the receiving end of that gaze forever. She did not want to leave. She wanted to stay with him. Anais wanted to be his present, always.

“……Can’t I stay?”

Killian tilted his head at her question.

“Hm?”

“I don’t want to go back just yet.”

“……”

“I want to be with you, Killian.”

It was not a guest room, but a powder room like this was perfectly suited for a secret tryst. Anais knew well enough that she was not the first lady to think so, and Killian certainly knew it too.

Killian’s throat moved roughly. The sight of it sent another ripple through her. She liked seeing him come undone because of her. Watching him like that filled her with satisfaction.

She liked the fullness and the thrill of becoming one with him. She liked those moments of sharing the most intimate closeness she never allowed with anyone else. She wanted him to fill her right now. It was a strange, urgent impulse she never felt before in her life.

“Killian.”

The moment Anais called his name again, Killian’s shadow fell over her. He laced his fingers deep between hers, lowered his head, and took her lips.

He pulled at her full lower lip and laid her back. A hand closed over her br*ast through the thin silk dress, and a soft m*an, mmng, slipped out of her without thinking. Just the kiss and his hands on her chest, and she was already wet below.

She caught his cheek as he moved to lower his lips to her half-bared, full chest. The violet gaze that rose slowly to meet hers already burned with desire.

“Hurry…… just hurry tonight.”

She never said anything like that before. But right now, all she wanted was for him to fill her quickly, so that she could stop thinking altogether.

Killian let out a short, rough laugh at the provocative request, one he never heard from her before. The laugh was raw. He pushed her dress up and pressed firmly over her underwear, then let out another low, amused breath. His smile carried a vivid heat. Anais swallowed, and in the same moment her underwear came down. She watched it catch precariously around her ankle, and then her body was lifted.

“……Ah!”

“If you want it, try it yourself.”

His c*ck, already fully hard, was right before her. Every time they were together, she always marveled that something like that could fit inside her. She stared, almost transfixed, and Killian guided her hand to stroke lightly at the tip. A thick, viscous fl*id was already seeping out.

“Ana. Go on.”

There was no refusing that. Anais hesitated, then moved a little closer to him. The slick between her thighs smeared against his. She lifted herself slightly, gripped his hard c*ck, and slowly sat down.

“……Mmhh.”

The moment she settled fully onto him, a m*an slipped between her lips. The tight, full stretch of him filling her completely made Anais brace her hands on Killian’s shoulders and breathe out long and slow.

“Killian…… what do I do now?”

Killian closed his eyes for a moment, holding something back, then opened them. When he spoke, his voice came out at an extreme low, low enough to raise the hair along her spine.

“Move slowly, Ana.”

He held her waist and gently guided her rhythm. Her clumsy movements drove his desire to a near-maddening pitch. It was the kind of desire he only ever felt with women who took charge with skill. So he always assumed that was simply his preference.

Had he ever been with a woman this way, teaching her as they went? Unlike before, when he had no patience for inexperience, Anais’s clumsy, unguarded responses did not bother him at all. If anything, it felt new.

She was completely different from the woman who stood in the ballroom just moments ago. Her white body, half-revealed beneath loosely falling hair, was covered in marks he left on her. She would have a hard time wearing low-cut dresses for a while. Even standing at his side, there were plenty of eyes that drifted toward her chest. At least he would not have to watch that for some time. It was a small thing, and yet it satisfied him.

“Huu…… yes, just like that.”

Beads of sweat gathered on Killian’s brow and a vein rose beneath the skin. His gaze, watching her clumsiness with unhurried patience, was relentless. That gaze embarrassed her. Killian watched Anais move with effort, flushed and shy, for a while before finally gripping her waist and driving up into her hard.

“Ah……! Ahh, ah!”

The heat that teetered endlessly on the edge burst open all at once. Killian knew her body more thoroughly than she knew it herself by now. In his hands, she cried and moaned beautifully.

“Ugh…… Ana. You’re so good.”

Those words made her heart drop. Before she could react, Killian’s hand raked through her hair. He pulled her face to his and shared her breath.

It was a kiss that threatened to devour her. Tongues tangled, drawing each other in, lips explored each other with abandon. He stripped her dress like he meant to tear it. He turned her bare body around so she faced the same direction as him and sat her down.

“Look over there, Ana. Look how beautiful you are.”

He wanted her to see this. Killian pressed firmly against the small of her back and began driving his hips up hard.

The sudden shift in position made Anais’s pale blue eyes go wide. How did she forget there was a mirror?

In the mirror across from them, she could clearly see her swaying chest and his c*ck moving between her spread legs. The sight was so *rotic it made her flush with shame, yet she could not look away.

This was the most intimate thing two people could share. Seeing their entwined reflection in the mirror made it feel real. She could never show this side of herself to anyone else. And yet it felt so natural now, showing Killian even the parts of herself she found embarrassing.

Even in this moment, Anais could not stop her heart from moving toward him.

“……Ahng, hh!”

“Why are you thinking about something else? Ana, hm?”

I keep falling for you more and more.

Instead of saying those words, Anais said she wanted to be held in his arms, and he was more than willing. She lost herself being moved beneath Killian, and when it was over she fell asleep, and when she opened her eyes she was in her own bedroom at the Bellini villa.

The other side of the bed was empty, as expected.