Dogs Among Withered Roses - Chapter 15

In the tense situation, soothing the hiccup that might burst out at any moment, he licked and sucked at her lips with extreme care, over and over.

As if they were lovers kissing.

Berenice was afraid that something other than a hiccup might escape now. Neither Erkin nor she made a sound. Yet the heart trapped inside her curled body pounded violently, thudding through her whole body so loudly that she couldn’t hear a word of what Chiara and Ricardo were saying.

This defeats the whole point of sneaking into the study….

Her lips completely entrusted to him, the hand barely gripping his solid shoulder, even her legs straining desperately so she wouldn’t step on his innocent cock. There were too many things she had to pay attention to in order not to lose her tension for even a moment, and Berenice felt like crying.

But she couldn’t actually cry, and just as she was about to go insane, the sound of the study door finally closing and locking with a click reached her ears. As Ricardo and Chiara’s footsteps moved farther away, the lips that had been stuck together so wetly slowly parted.

The moment she could move her body even a little, Berenice shoved Erkin away and slipped out of his arms as if rolling off him. Her body rolled half a turn and hit the hard floor of the study, but something firm yet slightly soft and warm broadly cradled the back of her head.

Berenice realized it was the man’s hand, worried she might hit her head while moving in a hurry. After crawling out from beneath the desk after her, he planted himself beside her head and hip like a four‑legged beast.

Even soaked in darkness, his blue eyes shone vividly as they slowly swept over Berenice lying beneath him. His gaze moved down from the tightly sealed lips stiff with resentment, along her rigid neck, and paused briefly on the chest rising and falling slowly as she tried not to reveal her rough breathing.

“You, Erkin, you…”

Covering her damp lips with the back of her hand, Berenice stammered, unable to continue. Erkin, who had only lifted his gaze with an unreadable expression, soon straightened his upper body and held out his hand.

It clearly meant she should grab it and get up, but Berenice couldn’t take it right away.

The faint shadows across his face, the inexplicable restraint, the hand tensed as if suppressing something, and the quiet unrest in his blue eyes that was visible only if you looked closely all made Berenice hesitate.

“First, let’s get out of here.”

Erkin flicked his hand as if urging her. Since this was Ricardo’s study, it would not be strange if he returned at any moment.

Just like him, Berenice decided leaving the study was the priority. She slapped away Erkin’s unmoving hand and hurriedly got to her feet.

***

Taking advantage of the moment when the soldato assigned to guard the mansion left the corridor, it wasn’t difficult to slip into the bedroom Berenice used before. The moment she stepped into the unchanged bedroom, Berenice shouted quietly at Erkin who followed behind her.

“You, what is this. Why…!”

“Imagine what would have happened if you had actually hiccupped, then speak again.”

“….”

“Feels like a relief, right? I do too.”

Relief my ass. Berenice shot him a fierce glare and grabbed a cushion from the armchair, smacking his arm repeatedly.

“Just because you have a mouth doesn’t mean you should run it! None of this would have happened if you hadn’t followed me in the first place, so what relief are you talking about? This is barely avoiding the worst, that’s all. I didn’t even hear anything properly!”

“Should I bring the recording tape?”

“Are you insane? Do you want to confess that we broke in?”

Whether she kept hitting him with the cushion or not, Erkin slowly looked around Berenice’s bedroom, which he’d entered for the first time. As if there was no reason to keep standing like this, he grabbed Berenice and pulled her along.

“Like I said earlier, if you end up meeting some strange man—”

Berenice roughly knocked away Erkin’s arm, and her body swayed. The tension leaving her limbs a moment too late made her unable to withstand the recoil.

“You’re the only strange man around me right now…!”

Thinking she might fall again, Erkin grabbed her shoulder as if to hold her in place. Berenice stopped mid-sentence and looked up at him with an expression that said she’d just discovered something.

What is she about to say now? Erkin’s eyes narrowed as if preparing to block another piece of nonsense. Berenice pressed her lips together as though suppressing a laugh that was about to burst out.

“…Go look in a mirror. You look ridiculous.”

“Am I the only one who looks ridiculous? Seeing your face, I can roughly guess what I look like.”

Whether Berenice sneered or not, Erkin replied casually and pulled out a handkerchief. He caught Berenice’s chin and lifted it slightly.

Even in the dim study, she hadn’t looked particularly neat, but seeing her under brighter light was something else entirely. The lipstick smeared all over her face was quite a sight.

And the reddened tip of her nose and her glossy lips.

Even the cheeks his hands and lips never touched were flushed from lingering heat. Although his head had been somewhat hazy at the time, Erkin now felt a small sense of reflection that he might have been a little rough when he failed to control his strength.

As if passing by the thought, he asked, “Why are you recording the conversations in the study?”

“What would you do if you knew?”

“True enough.”

“….”

Berenice, who had been standing quietly as if ready to kick his shin if necessary, glanced sideways at Erkin when he accepted her refusal without argument.

She’d planned to shake him off the moment his hand showed the slightest force. Yet the handkerchief wiping the smeared lipstick from her face and the hand holding it were careful, like someone tickling the soft down of a child.

Because of the delicate touch that didn’t match his large frame and the faint scent of soap lingering on the handkerchief near her nose, Berenice missed the chance to push him away. She shut her mouth tightly like a child refusing to brush their teeth. Erkin asked again.

“Why did you sneak into the study?”

“You saw everything, so why ask?”

“Because I didn’t hear anything properly, it makes me even more curious.”

“You think I heard something?”

“At least it seems like you know the purpose of that conversation.”

“Do I have any obligation to answer you?”

“Well, no.”

Then why even ask? For a moment, his obedient attitude almost made her soften, but Berenice kept her mouth shut.

Since he saw and heard everything, including the secret space inside the study and the recording of the conversations taking place there, anyone who wasn’t an idiot would know that important matters were being kept there.

However, guessing on his own and confirming it through her mouth were completely different things. Even though Erkin missed most of the important parts of Ricardo and Chiara’s conversation, if he wanted to know more, he probably could find out.

Berenice knew that as well, but there was nothing to gain from letting him know. If she said the wrong thing, it would be the same as admitting with her own mouth what was important. Instead of answering, Berenice asked a different question.

“Did Ricardo tell you to watch who I’m seeing?”

Erkin, who had been checking whether the lipstick was properly wiped away, lifted his eyes and met her gaze.

“To be precise, he told me to watch whether any strange man approaches you, identify who it is, and if something seems suspicious, step in appropriately so the meeting can’t continue.”

“That’s long. People usually call that surveillance.”

A marriage prospect, surveillance…. He’s trying everything now. Berenice sneered lightly, glaring at Erkin as if he were Ricardo himself.

“If I get bored because I can’t meet men thanks to you, will you go on dates with me instead of them?”

Berenice tossed out the nonsense, hoping he would recoil in disgust and step back. But unexpectedly, Erkin didn’t seem bothered at all. After releasing Berenice’s now cleaned face, he raised his brows as if seriously considering it.

Tilting his head slightly, Erkin glanced at the vanity mirror behind Berenice, checking the face still clearly marked with traces of lipstick.

Then he answered in a low voice, “If the lady commands it, I’ll obey.”

If she wished, he would gladly offer up his own body. His expression as he answered simply was neat and proper, without the slightest trace of ulterior motive. It carried a completely different atmosphere from the face he showed in the dark study earlier.

“That’s good to hear. I like obedient men.”

Berenice smiled brightly, as if she’d just heard something delightful, and quickly grabbed Erkin’s black tie, winding it around her hand and yanking him closer.

“Honestly, guys like Russo Gucci approaching me were starting to get annoying anyway, so I won’t stop you from watching. I don’t plan to interfere either. Saying anything would only make my mouth tired.”

“….”

“Right?”

When she punched and shoved him with all her strength, his body stood firm like a wall and didn’t move an inch. Yet when she pulled instead, he followed obediently. Curling the corner of her lips crookedly, Berenice closed the distance by another half step and slowly drew Erkin toward her.

Perching lightly on the vanity table, Berenice tilted her chin lazily.

“I don’t care about the rest, but forget you went into the study today.”

“….”

“You never went in there, you didn’t hear anything, and you didn’t see anything….”

Berenice, who had crossed her legs, slowly let her words trail off. Something had just touched the tip of her raised knee. After blinking twice, Berenice glanced down diagonally, and her lips parted blankly.

“You, this… when did….”

Without answering, Erkin slowly scratched his eyebrow with his ring finger. As if to say, you only noticed that now, that’s what you get for crossing your legs. The reproachful look flickered briefly between his fingers before disappearing.

Berenice swallowed a dry breath and instinctively lowered her gaze again. How much blood was rushing there? The bulge straining the front of his trousers, that unmistakable shape standing out over his thigh, destroyed every bit of her fighting spirit.