Chapter 63

The moment Lino returned to his room, the extreme tension that had kept him rigidly on edge finally snapped, and a delayed wave of intense muscle aches washed over his entire body, forcing a groan from his lips.

“Ah, I’m dying…”

It was the direct consequence of frantically twisting his body to force his trapped chest through the study window. Looking down, he noticed his shirt was severely wrinkled and several buttons were hanging by a thread.

Feeling as though the dry dust of the abandoned house and the stench of the Baron’s filth were clinging to his clothes, Lino quickly stripped and rushed through a shower, terrified Grondil might walk in at any moment. While washing, he saw a long, horizontal bruise marking his chest from where it had been crushed against the window frame. His nipples, pressed and scraped raw, were swollen—looking exactly as if Grondil had spent hours biting and sucking them into that state.

“Ugh.”

Finding the sight far too embarrassing to look at, he hurriedly dressed and dove into bed. Today had been far too long, and filled entirely with terrible events.

Wrapped in the cozy blankets, his freshly showered, warm body slowly grew lethargic. His eyelids grew heavy, his exhausted consciousness preparing to cross the threshold from reality into sleep.

Twitch. 

His stomach felt a bit tight, but completely overwhelmed by the crushing wave of sleep, he failed to properly register the sensation and simply closed his eyes.

Grondil had fully intended to strip Lino bare the second they returned to the estate, but Erin’s debriefing dragged on significantly. By the time she finished, Enoch’s report began, and the sun had already begun to rise before Grondil could even think about taking anything off.

Their business in the Zetina Kingdom was completely finished. As soon as the networking event concluded this evening, they planned to leave the country the very next day.

Intending to roll around in bed with Lino before the event, Grondil headed to Lino’s room. Seeing Lino still dead asleep long past breakfast time, he tilted his head in mild amusement.

“Lino.”

Opening the bedroom door, he called out, but received no answer.

“Lino?”

He called again, sitting on the edge of the bed. As he pulled back the slightly puffed-up blanket, Lino’s signature sweet scent clung to him as if greeting him.

“Tch. You’re not a pill bug.”

The first thing he saw was Lino’s back, curled tightly into a ball. Hugging a pillow to his chest and drawing his legs up tightly, Lino looked exactly like a young child desperate to be held in a mother’s arms.

Seeing him like that, Grondil remembered Lino’s story of being abandoned the moment he was born. He didn’t need to ask to know that Lino had likely fallen asleep alone and lonely every single night from that moment until very recently.

“Can’t be helped, I suppose.”

Staring longingly at Lino’s firmly rounded backside, Grondil locked the bedroom door and shifted into his Beast form. After sending a quick message to Enoch informing him he would be staying with Lino in his true form, he climbed into the bed. Creeeak— the mattress groaned under the massive weight of the Beast.

“Nnngh…”

Disturbed by the noise, Lino whined and shifted. Grondil gently rolled Lino’s curled body toward him, pulling him into his embrace. As Lino turned, his messy hair tangled with the thick, ash-gray fur on Grondil’s chest. Seeing it, Grondil’s eyes crinkled in profound satisfaction.

“It would be nice if the little ones in your belly shared this fur color.”

And I’d want them to have your eyes. 

Recalling the brilliant, vibrant green of Smaragdos gems, Grondil smiled soundlessly and held Lino closer. Groaning softly, Lino squirmed against the Beast’s chest, finding the most comfortable position before sinking back into a deep, peaceful sleep. Lino’s face was buried completely in Grondil’s chest. With every soft breath Lino took, the ash-gray fur fluttered gently.

“Hmm, this isn’t bad either.”

Grondil lightly scratched the spot on his chest warmed by Lino’s breath, then wrapped an arm around Lino’s waist, pulling him flush against him. It was a rather tight, potentially suffocating embrace, but Lino’s expression only grew more relaxed. He even let out a tiny, breathy giggle, clearly having a wonderful dream.

It was a late morning, perfectly cool and wonderfully lazy.

During a time when he should have been at his busiest, Grondil enjoyed a peaceful slumber wrapped around Lino. He was already sleep-deprived as it was. Holding Lino tightly in his arms, he savored a long-overdue, incredibly sweet rest.

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