Distracting Them with Your Body

"...wedding?" Artie quickly recalled the important bits of their discussion last night.

All this time, all she remembered and kept in her memory was the amazing feeling of having someone be so intimate with her with such a very passionate touch. As for the name culture, she barely recalled it until the wedding was brought into the discussion again.

Right, she basically agreed to marry him last night. Being called Artie by Larkin meant that she was accepting the nature of their relationship as family. They would now become family after getting married. Thus, an archduke marrying someone should not be a simple matter; it should be a feast! The whole of Ellis Plains should hear of a grand wedding!

'Ah, yes… this pet game degenerated into a marriage. Will Miel be okay with having new siblings? Ah, I'll… make babies?'

Her lips then pursed, and her cheeks flared. 'What the… why did my brain jump right into the good stuff?! No, no, I'm an angel! I can't be this horny!'

"What are you musing on?" Larkin's voice echoed again, but shortly after…

"Kya—!" Artie squealed as she pulled her head away and covered her ear. She felt a hot and wet appendage slither inside the earlobe, and she couldn't control her reflex. She then whined as her face turned beet-red again. "Larkin baby! Don't lick my ear!"

To say that Larkin was surprised… it was an understatement. Her sudden movement had jolted him awake, more when he heard her mewl like a cat. Moreover, she was growing red again just like last night. His eyes then glinted meaningfully as he slid down his hand from the side of her chest across her arm.

In one swift motion, Larkin moved to get on top of the angel who only gasped at his action. He then dove to her face and locked their lips again, taking advantage of her shock to quickly grab her wrists and pin them down beside her head. When he pulled back, he gave her a strange smile like all of his craving was being translated into a simple curve of his lips… with his silver eyes glinting.

"Why do you always make me feel so powerless to resist you, Artie…?" Larkin leaned down slowly this time, soon latching on Artie's lips again. Powerless? It was quite the opposite, really. Perhaps there was something about her submissive face that ignited something inside his body that had slept for so long.

To be honest, those rumors about him and those multiple women were only half-truths. He would indeed meet up with various women, but he didn't have the cheek to stoop so low as to sleep with each of them. These women would loosen their lips after a few intimate words and touches; there was no need to invalidate their rights to marry another man.

However, it seemed to be so different now that he felt free to touch the angel. It had been more than twenty years, and a few times would probably be enough. It's just that… before, he never had any designs on her as he was respectful to women. Even if Artie was a pet he wanted to watch in her little cage for he was bored, there were things that he couldn't cross.

So… after last night… after she had given him the authority to claim her as his own, what was there to consider?

"The bells..."

Artie managed to get some words out before he pushed his tongue inside her mouth again. It took a few seconds before Larkin realized that the morning bells were already ringing. He pulled away and eyed in a direction as if he just woke up on the wrong side of the bed.

His hold on her wrists loosened, and Artie consoled her wrists. She then chuckled nervously underneath him. "I… I think we should get ready for the morning graces, Larkin." The woman reached out to cup his face with both hands, making him twitch and dart his gaze at her. "You don't have to be so angry..."

"Do I look angry?" Larkin mellowed his knitted brows and moved to sit on his legs to let Artie sit up on the bed. The blanket had fallen down behind him, fully exposing his back to the cool breeze of the dawn. The sting made him remember his logical side, and he was quick to reflect on his actions. "Did I scare you?"

"Not really. It's just too sudden, and I don't like it." Artie chuckled as she pulled herself up from the bed and sat in front of him. Her hands then waved. "I—I'm not saying that you can't do that, but… I'd really appreciate it if you start slowly. I'm not used to this, and I might faint if you make my heart race too much..."

He could perfectly hear her words, but his eyes somewhat moved down from her face to her legs very quickly. Rather, at what's between them. When Artie pulled herself, she needed to rely on her legs to push her away from him. With both legs straddling him previously, her action had left them in quite a beautiful M-shape. Moreover, the sleeping gown wasn't really doing a good job of hiding things underneath.

Slam! Larkin twitched when a hand shot down in between, pulling the fabric down to cover her. When he looked up at her, her face was still beet-red; however, her eyes were frowning at him. Moreover, her lips were curled skyward as if concealing anger.

Anger? Why was she angry?

"Larkin Ellis, may I remind you… my eyes are up here..."

Larkin blinked. He then moved to kneel on the bed and lean on his arms as they straddled Artie Shen. The angel twitched as Larkin drew his face so close to hers again. His nose then brushed against her cheek as he slowly placed a kiss on her cheek.

"Then, don't keep on distracting them with your body."

"!!!"

Bang!

…

The sun had shone down on the castle after the morning graces. It was another day for the servants to earn their keep in such a very big castle. Aside from the maids that had been cleaning the windows along the hallway walked Larkin who was holding onto something furry in his hand.

Every maid learned not to ask unnecessary questions every time they saw anything strange about the archduke. Today was one of those days, but the matter on his hand was not something they had seen before. Today, he was shaking a brown rat with his bare hand.

"Your Grace!" When Miel caught up with Larkin after chasing the archduke around, he quickly walked over… seemingly as fast as Larkin hiding his hand behind him as he spun around to face the seneschal. "Your Grace?"

"What's the report?" Larkin was good at playing dumb.

Miel moved his head to try and find out what Larkin hid behind him, but he failed to see it. He could only drop the matter… only to notice something odd with the archduke. The seneschal then reached out to touch Larkin's forehead. "Your Grace, what dared to leave such a red mark on you?"

"A skull."