The Cursed Beast Caught My Leash - Chapter 48

“Mmm…! Ah…”

Since it was nighttime, Stella wasn’t wearing any undergarments, and her nipples quickly stiffened through the fabric. Her face flushed a deep red, as much as it could, from embarrassment. She couldn’t believe what had just happened in this brief moment.

Islay bit down on her protruding nipple and rubbed it with his moist tongue. Then, gripping her breast beneath, he sucked the soft flesh into his mouth. As she looked down at his black-haired head, which was pouncing on her like a ravenous beast, Stella was nearly overwhelmed.

The soft fabric was quickly soaked with his saliva. Islay bit into her breasts continuously like a starving predator tasting blood for the first time in days.

The force with which he drove into her was so strong that her body was nearly pushed back, yet at the same time, his muscular arms wrapped around her, preventing her from moving even an inch away. Because of this, Stella had no choice but to fully accept the onslaught of his caresses.

“Ahh…!”

She kept moaning, her body writhing all over. Despite the single layer of clothing, the stimulation was too intense. It felt like lightning was striking repeatedly in her head, and the fine hairs on the back of her neck stood on end.

The man, who had been rolling her hardened nipples between his teeth and tongue, moved his lips to her neck.

Islay tightly embraced the trembling Stella and relentlessly sucked at the hollow of her neck. The wet, lewd sounds of their flesh sticking together echoed in her ears. Despite this, his grip on her chest remained firm, squeezing her through the wet fabric.

Stella groaned as she tensed her buttocks. It was her first time experiencing such sensations, and every nerve in her body was going haywire. The tingling sensation below her navel was unbearable. No, it was even lower than that…

At that moment, she felt something pressing against her lower body. Thinking it was a mistake, Stella’s eyes fluttered open, only for her to gasp in shock.

It wasn’t a mistake. She could feel an impossibly heavy weight and a searing heat radiating from beneath him.

The fog in her head began to clear, and a warning bell went off.

The size of it, as if it would burst if touched, was anything but normal. It was far more surreal than the fact that they had been mixing saliva and she had been giving herself over to him. The ferocious arousal of the man before her was the most unreal thing of all.

Suddenly, a memory popped into her mind. When was it again?

Yes, it was when she had first been kidnapped by Islay and placed in the carriage. As Dora told her the legend of Peruno, what had she said?

“Wait, just wait a moment.”

Stella placed her hands on his firm shoulders and pushed him away. The man, who had been greedily biting and licking the area beneath her earlobe, lifted his head. His eyes, tinged with a reddish hue.

“Do you want to stop here?”

His voice, dry and composed, was in stark contrast to the desire clouding his eyes. Stella flinched at the low, steady tone that differed from his previous aggressive behavior.

“Or should we continue?”

If she wanted to retreat, now was the last chance. It was a clear warning.

Stella realized she could go further if she wanted to. Even if she was naïve, her desire to be close to him, to hold him, was sincere.

But the solid, undeniable weight of his arousal jolted her back to her senses. His voice, so composed and rational in contrast, felt like a splash of cold water on her overheated body.

‘Did I make a mistake?’

Could her kiss have seemed like nothing more than cheap sympathy to him?

Or perhaps he was mocking her, knowing that if things went too far, she’d pull back out of fear.

…How had Islay interpreted her kiss?

Swallowing dryly, Stella hesitated for a moment before slowly shaking her head. As if he had expected that response, a faint smile spread across Islay’s face.

Bending his large frame, he distanced himself from her. He then straightened her disheveled clothes and even picked up her fallen cloak, draping it over her shoulders.

His hands were gentle, fastening the clasp in the front, an action so tender it bore no resemblance to the rough way he had been handling her moments before.

Except for her flushed cheeks, Stella now looked exactly as she had when she first entered the tower.

“Don’t be swept away by momentary impulses, Estella. There’s nothing more foolish than that.”

His words felt like a sharp rebuke to someone like Stella, who had always believed that impulse was akin to courage. However, the tone of self-deprecation in his voice made it seem as though he was speaking more to himself than to her.

‘But… if I leave here, you’ll spend yet another night alone in this lonely tower.’

Stella knew how far someone could fall when they were trapped both inside and out. That’s why she couldn’t simply leave Islay alone.

It wasn’t about offering him some clumsy comfort. There was a warmth that only those who shared the same sorrow could give.

‘But that wasn’t the only reason, was it? The reason I kissed him…’

Stella looked up at Islay with eyes full of conflicting emotions. He lightly licked his lips, which were still damp with her saliva. His sharply defined face was devoid of any desire now.

Could she truly convey her own emotions to him, emotions that she herself could barely understand?

It would surely sound like pity. And if she stubbornly insisted on staying by his side, there was no telling what might happen next.

Hadn’t he just shown her that very clearly?

“You know what? I kept seeing it on you,” she said.

Stella reflected on the shadows she had seen flickering across Islay’s face as he held her. Her natural intuition had shown her the emotions lurking within him.

“It was a shadow, like the beautiful color of a rose quartz. What was it?”

What were you feeling toward me?

Islay didn’t offer an answer. Though he clearly understood the question she hadn’t asked, he remained silent, simply gazing quietly into her face. Then, he reached out and gently smoothed her tousled hair.

“Come here, Estella.”

Calling her name in a deep, commanding voice, Islay extended his large hand. He was genuinely suggesting that they stop here.

Stella stared at him blankly for a moment before reluctantly placing her hand in his. His warm grip wrapped around her wrist, a touch that brought her back to reality.

Even so, she didn’t notice the way his hand, which eased its grip to avoid wanting more from her, or the faint bloodshot hue in his eyes.

8. The Curse and Sacrifice

It was a dawn drenched in a heavy downpour. Men in black stepped onto the wet ground and passed through the open gates of the castle. Without even covering themselves with robes, their footsteps led them to the chapel located in the outer part of the castle.

They had just received word that all prophecies had finally been deciphered.

“Are you all right?”

Mikel’s question elicited a slight chuckle from Islay. In the dim light of dawn, as rain poured down, the eyes of the two men glistened strangely.

“Do I look like I’m about to collapse?”

“Not quite. It’s just that your heart is beating slower than usual.”

“It must be because of the medicine.”

“I understand, but… haven’t you taken a lethal dose? For an ordinary person, that amount would have been fatal instantly.”

Islay did not respond, continuing his mechanical steps. As Mikel said, he had been consuming several times the dose of a drug that was designed to help him maintain his reason.

As he thought back to the night that had passed, heat surged through his core. His body, now out of control, was becoming increasingly difficult to subdue even with the strong effects of the drug.

The downpour, at least, was a welcome distraction. But Islay couldn’t hide the bluish tinge around his eyes from the exhausting night spent barely restraining his desire for the woman.

Stella had kissed him first. It was true that her kiss had been so innocent and fresh that it was almost laughable. But the emotions swirling in her sweet eyes had been anything but amusing.

And so, he had provoked her, wondering if she could still express her desires for a man like him even after he behaved so crudely.

Islay had sucked on her plump lips, biting and gnawing them. He had freely explored her mouth with his tongue and roughly grabbed at the soft curves of her body.

Even through her dress, he had crudely groped her flesh, leaving marks that would last for days from his rough caresses.

But compared to the thoughts running wild in his mind, the physical contact had been nothing.

Stella would never know what Islay had intended to do with her frail, pale body as he imagined turning her over and pinning her down.