[Content Advisory: This chapter includes mature themes and explicit sexual content. 18+ Only.]
Vial finally pulled back, their breaths still mingling in the warm air. His hands moved to his shirt, fingers brushing the fabric, ready to shed the last layer that separated them.
But before he could—
Shia grabbed his shirt again, instinctively, desperately, pulling him back in.
"Gkh—" he let out a breath as she tugged him forward.
"Mhmhmmm~" she moaned softly into his mouth, their lips colliding again with even greater hunger.
He wrapped his arms around her again, anchoring her, grounding her.
"Shia…" he murmured between kisses. "I'm not leaving. I'm not going anywhere. I promise."
His voice was calm, a steady rhythm under her chaotic heartbeat.
Slowly, she loosened her grip, her hands slipping away from his shirt — but her eyes never left his. Wide. Burning. Mouth parted. Tongue just barely visible, as though she was still chasing the next kiss, the next breath.
Her palms slid back to his chest, fingers pressing lightly into the firm planes of his body. Then down — the pads of her fingers tracing along the ridges of his abdomen.
She leaned closer.
Her lips met his stomach in a soft, hesitant kiss.
'Ahhh~ what am I doing?' she thought, even as her tongue moved lightly along the lines between his abs, tentative and slow, as if trying to understand them through sensation alone.
"Hmmnn…" her breath hitched, the sound small and unsteady — half wonder, half disbelief.
Each motion was hesitant, almost reverent. She wasn't thinking anymore — only feeling. The warmth of his skin, the sharpness of his muscles, the scent of him this close — it overwhelmed every rational boundary she'd known.
He paused, watching her with something between awe and restraint, his shirt now hanging open — forgotten in the gravity of her touch.
As Vial began removing his clothes, his attention never left Shia. He didn't take the shirt off completely — it hung loosely off his arms, forgotten in the haze of her touch. Her tongue continued its slow, uncertain journey along the contours of his stomach, and a groan escaped his lips.
"Ugh—" He exhaled, voice low and strained. "If a girl as beautiful as you acts like this… there's no way anyone could resist."
With a quiet rustle, he finally shrugged off the rest of his shirt and let it fall to the floor. Then he reached down and gently caught her wrists, the ones pressing against his chest. Shia flinched slightly, startled by the sudden contact.
"Ah—"
With his other hand, he tilted her chin up, guiding her gaze to his. Her mouth parted, lips slightly swollen from their earlier kisses, and her breath trembled as their eyes locked. Her free hand still rested on his stomach — warm, lingering on the slick firmness of his skin.
Vial slowly lowered himself to her level, his breath brushing against her lips. Shia lifted her head, drawn to him instinctively, seeking another kiss.
But he didn't stop there.
He eased her back onto the bed, but before doing so, his fingers moved to the collar of her lab coat. With deliberate care, he slipped it off her shoulders, revealing the softness beneath the professional exterior. The fabric slid away, joining his shirt on the floor. Then, guiding her gently, he laid her down.
As their lips met again in another slow, deep kiss, he kept her wrists pinned just above her head — not with force, but with quiet control, grounding her in the moment. She melted beneath him, overwhelmed by sensation and closeness.
Then, after a breathless pause, Vial released her wrists. One of his hands moved to her cheek, brushing her skin with a tenderness that made her heart tremble. The kiss deepened for a moment before trailing down — his lips grazing the curve of her jaw, then her neck.
"Ah—" Shia gasped, her voice a whisper of pleasure.
Her now-free hand slipped behind his head, fingers tangling in his hair, urging him closer. The other gripped the sheets beneath her, twisting as his mouth continued its path. He bit gently at the base of her neck, then soothed the spot with slow, open-mouthed kisses, leaving warmth in his wake.
Shia's head tilted back instinctively, exposing more of her throat. Her breathing hitched, her body arching slightly beneath him as she clung to the feeling — of his presence, his mouth, his heat.