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— Heartfelt —

Chapter 3 :Sinful Bliss

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As soon as the distant echoes of his steps died away, she quickly raised her head up, to make sure of his absence. Her tensed body relaxed as she wiped away the vestige of her tears that rested on her cheek.

And there she was, left alone by the tyran that restrained her freedom with a tight lash.

Fear was such a pain, and uncontrollable emotions a hurdle to any minded beings, she thought. She was not dumb, nor was she naive. She was well aware that this setting was only made up by him, that she virtually had no chances to escape anytime soon. She knew him too well; and this was no opportunity. He probably set his friggin' servants and maids in every corner of his residence, she hissed nervously. Her warm fingers reached for the cold metal that enslaved her ankle as her fingers trailed along the jagged curve encircling her tightly. Being restrained was also a pain, she grimaced. Why was there always something that prevented her to jump onto her leeway? Was it physically, or immaterially; life held so many unwanted restrictions. Laws, money, responsibilities, debt, unwanted emotions, society, expectations, ... —and shackles.. she bitterly remarked.

The brilliant idea she had was to try to slip her feet out of the shackle; afterall, she was frail enough to feed the hope of the shackle being too broad for her thin ankle. But soon enough, she realized that it was way too narrow to actually skid through it, and she learnt that the hard way as a burning red mark surfaced, leaving a wounding friction that made her grind her teeth and swallow back her tears in retaliation.
Her eyes scanned through the room, hoping to find anything that could lift her from her situation. But even if there were many items that could potentially be of use; they were all out of reach. And no matter how hard she stretched her arm, how roughly the shackle yanked on her bruised leg, or even how miserable she felt when she crawled on the floor, trying to get closer to her desired goal, she did not attain her pursued objective.

The amount of time spent in desperate and futile actions was now consequent as she felt a lack of energy submerge her whole being; tired from trying and apparently wasted from crying.

She laid on the floor, curling up as her swollen eyelids barely opened. Silence permeated the whole sunbathed room as her conscience drifted to the outdoors chipping sound of birds, leading their usual morning routine. She glanced through the window from the floor, as cold air grazed her skin.
Envy; I'm envious of these careless birds, she sighed, her eyes slowly shutting down into an agitated sleep.

—

His eyes nonchalantly wandered from her unconscious face to her reddened ankle. He sighed, his heart sinking deeper than what he had expected.
Kneeling down, he brushed his fingers against her cold and damp cheeks as his eyebrows furrowed. —And yet, I allow her to go through such pain.., he murmured, with a pained smile on his face. A sigh once again escaped his lips as he stood up and locked the door with a swift flick. He looked one last time at her form, her body heaving up and down with every breath she took, before his velvety voice filled the previously heart-warming room.

"Misaki." He called, as his tall figure was eyeing her down from his height. She started to snuggle against the floor, her stirred mind still drowsy as he kept calling her name, his voice getting deeper with each syllabes and harsher with impatience. And when she finally rouse up from her sleeping state, the first thing her eyes met was some elegant and luxurious black leather shoes. Her eyes moved up, following his stature; long legs and tailored suit was framing his svelte figure as even the folds weaving on his attire seemed to amplify his allure. Her eyes eventually tumbled upon his face. The face only he could make; the hard and ruthless expression adorning his charismatic features, one of his familiar look he reserved for her.
Her eyes hastily went back down to his shoes before she rose up and sat on her knees, the most polite sitting form she could use in his presence.

"Behave." was all she was told.

A look full of confusion painted her face as she knew he wasn't to be expected before late. And yet, the sun was still shinning and she had a hunch that they were barely past noon. Her throat was painfully dry due to all the crying that had drained her whole. Her inner thoughts went into turmoil as he bent down on her, making her recline back and fall on her back, her head propping on the side of the bedstand. Shivers ran up her spine when he grabbed her restrained ankle, pulling it to him, and god knows why, set her free of her shackles.

After a few seconds of silence, he off-handedly paced away to stop in front of the window, his wide back in view as a significant distance was left between them both.

"..Takumi?" Her hoarse voice inquired. And there, she could not even recognize her voice.

"I will be tending to your need today," he casually spoke, as if it wasn't even to be asked for how self-evident it was. His head tilted to watch her puzzled face as his gaze locked with hers. Her thoughts basically had the need to process it but her rebellious mind took the lead, making the obvious inquiry slip out of her mouth.

"Don't you know what I need? Takumi.." She struggledly pleaded, her voice coming off even more cracked and throaty than before. His eyes narrowed as his lips twitched into a cunning smile. "When I said needs, I meant it as—," he paused, eyeing her suggestively. "Your natural body's ones." He said, concluding with a mischevious grin that made its way onto his face as hers broke down into uneasiness.

He reached the table where the earlier cup of coffee rested, and filled a wine glass full of clear and fresh water that he lifted to his slightly open lips. As her eyes were enraptured to his lips, she noticed the water flow down into his mouth, a drop escaping and rolling down his chin until only less than an inch was left in the glass. His thumb came onto view to wipe the dripping trail away up to his tongue, delightedly taking care of it as his eyes were set in her baffled ones.

"Aren't you thirsty?" He hummed, playing with the thin glass in his slender fingers. Messing with her was a part of him, and all she could do was to act as obediently as she could to avoid troubles. That wimpy part of her, she was not even aware of its existence until lately, until he made her realize that being hot-blooded would only make her fall deeper into suffering. And even though she acknowledged that fact; she still hated herself for being this weak and complying. Her head bowed with shame as she nodded, shifting her gaze to his feet.

He motioned for her to come closer as he plumped down into the adjacent sofa. Seeing that she was still standing there, he set aside the glass on the table, and with large strides, he reached and yanked her by the arm, pulling them both back to the sofa, onto his former position. The force he put in the gesture made her stumble and loose her balance; one of her knee propping in the gap between his legs as her hand inherently clutched his arm in the fall. His free hand glided from her wrist to her other hand, fingers filling the spaces between her loose ones, fitting perfectly.

"Your eyes, Misaki." He scowled. She lifted her gaze to his, fearing what would happen, was she to act contrary to his expectations.
Finding herself obediently compelling once again, her heart squeezed painfully as his smoldering voice rang again, piercing her mind and resonating in her whole.

"Come closer." His silky voice demanded. Restless, she awkwardly shifted, not knowing how to get any much closer to him. His hand tightened around hers, pulling her briskly, as a surprised shriek escaped from her lips. She barely had the time to shot out her hand against the back of the sofa to support herself, avoiding to crash into him. She made sure that she was not straddling him as she stood on her knees, towering over him.

"Here." He breathed, leading the hardly filled glass to her chapped lips. Her trembling hand that was initially gripped onto his shirt shifted to take the glass from him, but he slightly pulled it back, away from her reach.
"Do not," he warned as his eyes narrowed, "I will feed you." He continued, making his intention crystal clear. The little he gave her was enough to sate her dry throat, but unsufficient to her thirst, leaving her hanging now that she tasted the refreshing liquid. Her eyes were noticeably longing for more as she whispered her gratefulness.

"Don't you need more, Misaki?" He purposedly asked, testing her will. She politely declined, trying to sound convincing enough to his ears, but her voice falthered by the end of her sentence, making him chuckle lowly.

"Is that so," he purred, as he kept going on.

"And here, I was about to pour you another glass..." He fakely confessed, his appealing voice flowing just as the water glided down her throat, making her speechless.

"But you are already contented," he added, a glint in his eyes. She quivered at his words; and true to her need, she could not help but expose her weak side once again.

"Could I have anoth—..." She prompted, and before she even finished her sentence, she knew she had fallen into his awaiting trap at the sole look of his face.

He grinned inwardly as he only spoke those two words that made her loose the little composure she had gathered throughout the whole time.

His voice was velvety, almost a purr, and yet leaving no room for arguments. His eyes never parting from hers, he leant back onto the seat, making himself comfortable as his arms trailed along the high-rear and his head propped on the back of the sofa. And he waited. He waited for her to willingly bend to his whim, to consent to her act. And then, would she be able to truly set all the blame on him? She could not. She could not, and he knew that. His stare was like fire, making her weak, struggling for air. It made her feel vulnerable. And she could only give in, letting her conscience down for awhile, until she found a better way to put up with the situation.

Until that time.. Maybe would it be already too late, she sorrowfully deemed, her heart sinking any deeper than it could anymore.

And she leant down onto him, her eyes desperately shut altogether, as their lips slowly brushed against eachothers. Their warm breathing entangled as it got fonder, she would whimper into his mouth as his hands would finally encircle her tightly against him, pressing them as one. Ragged breathing and earnest sighs would punctuate each of their moves. And only moments later would they come back to their mind. Only later would reason be part of their rational thinking. But until then.. They would be drowning in the swirl of this ardent feeling, and she would feel like a conflicted sinner as he would blissfully savor being complete. After all, was it really hard to indulge in love?

All I need is for you to stay... Stay with me, Misaki.