#96. Just a Little.
Without even realizing she was being devoured, Olivia’s lips were taken, her breath swallowed whole by Cryer. Her eyes flew open wide as every bit of air was stolen from her.
After stealing her warmth in an instant, he smiled, his eyes narrowing languidly.
The raw hunger in his gaze was so stark it was almost unbearable, and the kiss that pressed against her lips flared as though set ablaze.
“Just a little.”
His husky whisper brushed against her lips, urging her on. Olivia responded instinctively before she even realized it, and he dove deeper, drinking her in as though he could never get enough.
No matter how much he swallowed, it was like a starving man who had gone days without food.
No matter how much he breathed her in, it was like reaching an oasis after wandering endlessly through a desert—never enough.
Olivia gave him her breath helplessly, until her vision blurred with tears that welled up on their own.
Her head spun. No—she felt faint. No—she felt as though she were slipping away.
All of it came crashing down at once, leaving her unable to think.
Her fingertips went rigid, her toes curled inward.
Her heart pounded so loud it seemed to have climbed into her ears, like a drum echoing across the world. Her mouth burned, searing hot, as though she’d bitten into fire itself.
When Olivia’s legs gave way and she leaned back, Cryer did not let her go.
Instead, he pulled her close, pressing their bodies tightly together, and inhaled deeply, filling himself with her scent until it coursed through his veins.
The faint fragrance of roses unfurled and wrapped around him, dizzying, maddening.
Their breaths tangled together, and the tepid air turned into hot steam that set their skin aflame.
As Olivia’s mind went white, so did Cryer’s.
When a fire burns too hot, it passes from red to white, even into blue.
At some point, the space between their lips opened by the width of a sheet of paper. As though on cue, both opened their eyes at the same time.
Scarlet flames and blue flames collided, and the whole world blazed white.
Locked onto only each other, they lunged forward again without knowing who moved first.
Olivia’s slender arms tightened around his neck, and the veins on Cryer’s arms bulged with tension as he held her close.
Their breaths, once mild, flared into fire.
The air around them boiled, suffocating, as their shadows merged and twisted together.
With reason gone, only raw, ravenous desire remained.
Like beasts beyond restraint, neither backed away, only clashing, endlessly.
“Hah… ah…”
Cryer’s eyes shone clear as he looked down at Olivia, panting faintly beneath him.
As if when every color mixes, it fades to transparency, so too did every emotion within him merge until it seemed almost serene.
Yet he did not consume her again.
Just a little. Just a little more. The cry echoed to his very marrow, rattling his mind. But instead of pressing his lips back onto hers, he reached out.
His thumb traced slowly over her lower lip, and he gazed at her intently, relentless, as she tried to catch her breath.
Time passed—short or long, impossible to tell—until Olivia’s breathing began to steady.
Her blurred vision cleared, and her dazed mind slowly sharpened again, like medicine taking effect.
Reason returned. Reality followed.
She had done this—sober.
No… that’s not the right way to put it. Done this? What exactly had she done?
Olivia nearly raised a hand to touch her tingling lips, but stopped herself. They felt unbearably dry—even though just moments before, they’d been swollen and damp from his kiss.
Her eyes flicked to his lips on their own, and her body shifted restlessly before freezing in place.
The heat radiating from every point where they touched was too vivid, too hot to ignore.
The reason she had just managed to grasp slipped away again.
With trembling fingers, Olivia weakly tapped against his chest. She wanted to push him away, but all her strength was gone—her tap was no more than a feeble pat.
And yet, as though the storm of emotion blazing in his eyes had been a lie, Cryer released her without resistance.
She stumbled back into the sofa, sinking deep into its cushions, but her eyes never left his.
Nor did his leave hers.
Olivia opened her mouth, then shut it again without a word.
The questions that surged to the tip of her tongue were forced down, but they kept circling inside her.
Why did you kiss me?
Why me? Why you?
She wasn’t drunk this time. Even that first time—she might have been tipsy, but he hadn’t been. Not then, and not now.
Why did he look at her like he was starving for her?
They stared at each other, holding only each other in their eyes.
And the answer came.
No—she had always known the answer, but had pretended not to.
She couldn’t deny it any longer, not with those dark, burning red eyes threatening to steal her breath away again.
He had placed her in his heart.
And perhaps, she had placed him in hers.
Neither of them had said it—I love you. I like you. I’ve put you in my heart. You’ve become my heartbeat.
But sometimes, words weren’t needed.
And sometimes, even knowing everything, words couldn’t be spoken.
Olivia finally faced the truth in both their hearts.
And she was stunned.
As she’d told him before, she had never let anyone special into her private life.
That made him her first.
Her first love.
The realization sent a shiver down her spine, her cheeks not pink with newfound love, but pale with shock.
First love? With him?
With Cryer?
Wasn’t first love supposed to be sweet, shy, heart-fluttering—something tender, something innocent?
This… this was nothing like that.
The first time she had realized her heart leaned toward him, she had cursed herself as insane. And now the reason was clear.
Because he had killed her. Not once, but four times.
Those memories had dulled, but never disappeared.
And yet—she loved him?
Could that be anything but madness?
Then, a phrase from Volshake’s ancestor struck her mind:
Without madness, there is no love.
Olivia’s face turned even whiter.
That’s love? Really? This is right?
She couldn’t believe it, didn’t want to.
She had never wished for a fairy-tale romance, but she had never wished for this kind of love either—one she could only describe as madness.
And yet…
If hearts could be controlled at will, there would be no pain in the world.
And once a heart wandered, there was no way to call it back.
Her chest pounded—not from joy, but from confusion, frustration, and disbelief.
She admitted it, yet couldn’t accept it.
And what could she even ask him? Is love madness? She couldn’t.
Even if he had his memories, she could never ask.
Do I love you? What kind of insane question was that?
And what if he answered yes? Then what…
At that moment, her vision went dark.
His hand had covered her eyes.
“Sleep a little.”
His low murmur seeped into her ears, and drained of strength, half-unconscious, Olivia closed her eyes as though entranced.
Through the haze of her fading consciousness, she thought she heard Cryer’s low chuckle.
Isaac narrowed his foxlike eyes as he watched them.
Before him, to be precise, sat Sugar—fidgeting shyly with a plate of brownies in front of him.
It might be dangerous. Stay close to him for now.
Orders were orders. Even knowing he was stepping into fire, Isaac had remained in Tarenzer to guard Sugar.
Even the night Olivia and Cryer had suddenly appeared at Sugar’s door, Isaac had stayed hidden, watching from the shadows.
That was how he had learned the boy’s curse mark caused him pain—and that its root was Ambre.
And now, the three of them were carrying out Sugar’s proposal: a second experiment with the mark.
“Lw—Lord Rewir…”
“Big sis! I told you, call me big sis.”
Ambre beamed at him. Sugar’s lips quivered with a smile both pleased and strained.
Ambre waited patiently, still smiling, until the boy tried again, stammering.
“B-big… sis.”
“That’s right. Now, you want me to hold your hand, don’t you?”
At her blunt words, Sugar fidgeted, squeezing his hands together, then nodded.
“Yes. When… when big sis holds my hand, the mark hurts.”
“Well, it’s lucky it doesn’t hurt just from me being nearby.”
Ambre took his soft little hand and played with it, smiling brightly.
“So, I just have to hold it like this, right?”
“Y-yes. That’s all…”
But before he finished, Sugar’s eyes widened.
Isaac had appeared without warning, taking Sugar’s other hand firmly in his own.
“What? Don’t look at me like that. I saw an empty hand, and thought I’d fill it.”
“Huh? Wh-what?”
Sugar stammered, but Isaac only smirked, then shamelessly extended his hand toward Ambre.
