Killing Your Sweet Breath - Chapter 50

Chapter 25.2

“Hng…”

Van Helgram invaded every inch of Winter’s curled-up body.

He nibbled the lobes of her flushed ears, his cold hands squeezing her warm br**sts.

Through the thin, almost translucent sheets, Winter’s trembling was impossible to hide. Every shiver was there for him to see.

“You said you weren’t mine, so I put in the effort. Tell me, did it get through to you?”

His voice was a playful whisper, low and intimate against her ear.

Not being able to see his expression only made her even more tense.

This wasn’t their first time, nor the second, yet Winter struggled to understand why she felt so nervous each time.

She tried to silence her pounding heart, holding her breath and gripping the blankets tightly to stop her trembling hands.

But it was useless.

She had sworn to herself she wouldn’t let him toy with her. So why was it happening anyway?!

Did she fear Van Helgram?

Was she afraid rejecting him might jeopardize their contract?

No. None of those reasons could properly explain the nervousness she felt or why she couldn’t push him away.

‘Wait… reason?’

In that fleeting moment, as her thoughts raced, Winter stumbled upon the question she needed to ask him.

A question that might help her escape this tangled indecision.

“W-wait.”

The moment the word left her lips, Van Helgram stopped. He eased the closeness between them, pulling back just enough to let her move freely.

“If you don’t want this, I won’t force you.”

His voice was husky, wet with desire, but beneath it lingered a subtle trace of disappointment.

Slowly, Winter turned to face him.

Locking eyes with him felt risky, but she knew that if she asked her question, he would respond.

Curiosity pulled at her. Not just about his answer, but about the look in his eyes as he gave it.

“I need to ask you something.”

“Anything.”

Van smiled slightly, his eyes softening. He played with her hair, winding it around his fingers.

“What does this… mean?”

It took effort to force the words out. It was as if her voice itself tried to hold them back.

Van’s eyes widened, puzzled over her question. But when he saw Winter’s flushed face, it didn’t take him long to figure out what she meant.

He let out a quiet rumble of laughter, his body curling slightly as it shook.

Winter could only watch as he laughed, unable to say anything more. Her question had been serious, but all she could do now was wait for his laughter to subside.

“‘What does this mean?’ I’m not even sure I understand that question,” he said, a smile still playing on his lips.

But she wasn’t fooled. He definitely knew what she meant. He was just playing dumb.

Teasing someone has its limits. Winter felt her frustration flare up, a different kind of heat rising within her. She began to sit up, lifting her upper body off the bed, but—

“Do we need a reason?”

Van Helgram’s arms wrapped around her once more, pulling her back down.

And just like that, things got even worse.

At least before, her back had been to him. Now she found herself lying beneath him, staring up into his face.

“Stop playing games,” Winter said, biting her lip in irritation.

“Playing games? You wound me.”

“I mean it. It’s obvious neither of us is in need of comfort right now.”

“Does it have to be about comfort?”

His reply was careless, as if the question required no thought at all. Winter pushed against his chest with her hand.

She flinched as her fingers accidentally brushed the bare skin beneath his robe. But she couldn’t back down now. Gritting her teeth, she pushed harder.

The man above her didn’t budge. He remained exactly where he was, utterly unfazed, as if her attempts were no more than a minor inconvenience.

“I don’t know about you, but I’m not interested in being used to kill time.”

Her words made Van lower his gaze, his long lashes casting shadows over his cheeks.

This subtle shift in his expression made her lose the ability to say anything more.

Still hovering above her, Van Helgram held her gaze for a long moment before breaking the silence.

“Winter, do you truly believe I’m trying to seduce you for such a meaningless reason?”

If not, then what was his reason?

He couldn’t even give her a proper answer. Just the vague claim that it wasn’t meaningless.

At least he acknowledged he was actively trying to seduce her. That was something.

“Then what is the real reason you’re doing this? You said you’d stop if I didn’t want to. Convince me, then. Because right now, I feel like I might start hating you. And don’t give me that ridiculous line about me being yours.”

Winter’s violet eyes narrowed, locking onto Van with a sharpness that could cut straight through him.

Her expression was so cold, filled with absolute certainty that whatever his reason might be, it couldn’t possibly be legitimate.

As he gazed into her eyes, something flickered within Van Helgram’s heart.

A small flame.

“I want you to love me.”

Those words shattered the silence between them. Simple, yet devastating enough they rippled through Winter’s heart.