CHAPTER 365: ASSAULT OF KISSES

Slender fingers curled tighter in the fine fabric of broad shoulders until those knuckles turned white.

But it wasn’t enough. Not for Darius.

Because no matter how close he dragged him, no matter how many kisses he stole, something in those hazy blue eyes remained hidden from him.

And that truth alone flooded his senses with alarming thoughts. Made him want to tear through every wall Xion had ever built.

"Baby," he murmured against his lips, catching the plush lower lip between his teeth, tugging hard enough to draw another gasp. "Tell me. What is your mission?"

"H-huh?" Xion was already far gone.

Even his breath was coming in shallow, broken little whines, and that only made Darius’ blood run hotter.

He bit down harder, just shy of cruel, before claiming another breathless kiss that left Xion reeling.

"What is your mission?" he asked when he noticed how utterly defenseless Xion had become. "What... is a system?"

The scattered light in those hazy blue eyes began to gather into focus even as they shimmered with unshed tears.

One look was enough to undo Darius all over again.

He couldn’t help himself as he pressed another kiss to those trembling lips, devouring whatever fragile words might have formed there.

If Xion wouldn’t tell him willingly, then fine. He would seduce the truth out of him.

Between his persistent press of lips, he gave Xion just enough space to breathe.

He pulled back to take a better look at Xion’s flushed face, just enough until the obscene wet thread between them broke apart.

The red had traveled down from Xion’s cheeks to the delicate nape of his neck. His blue eyes glared up at him through a wet haze, silently accusing him of being so unforgivably brutal.

As though he were the cruelest man alive. But then again, he really was just that vicious.

The devil only smirked at that faint, pitiful defiance.

"Be good for me, Xion," he husked, deliberately letting his breath brush the corner of enticing, quivering mouth. "Tell me... what is a system?"

System. Mission. Those words echoed dully in Xion’s mind.

When he remained silent, the next kiss fell, but it was slower, far gentler.

And that soft tenderness undid him in a way no bruising bite ever could.

The flustered kitten couldn’t even see through the dizzying assault of kisses cascading over his face.

Soft touches trailed over his cheeks, his nose, the corners of his mouth. Like a butterfly’s wings, the touch was light and fleeting, but devastating all the same.

Every time he dared to open his eyes, they fluttered shut again under the brush of those tender lips against his lids.

Without anything to focus on, all his attention had gathered at the sheer adoration he was being showered with.

Xion melted into his lover’s arms as if he were boneless.

So, when his favorite low baritone drilled into his ears asking him what his mission was, the silly kitten ignored the sudden static in his brain and muttered, "...Mission... It was to stay away from you."

The second the words left him, the sharp ache pierced his temple.

The ache dissipated all his haziness. His eyes widened as though realizing too late what he’d just confessed.

He wasn’t the only one who was stunned speechless.

The Archduke’s eyes seemed to dull a shade, looking like a bottomless pit filled with venom.

The gods wanted to take his baby away from him.

How laughable. Darius’ tight shoulders loosened as he held his baby close.

Did that not mean that without fulfilling this damned mission, Xion would always be by his side? Good, very good.

Before his innocent darling could utter another word, Darius leaned down. He simply didn’t want to give Xion a chance to think about it.

His mouth crashed over the bruised ones again, stealing even the sound of his own breath.

"Mnn—!"

Darius had kissed Xion’s lips until the soft pinkness of them had swollen.

The sting remained, and yet all he could do was whimper softly as Archduke deepened the kiss.

Though this time, Darius was slowly using his tongue to stimulate his sensitive palate. Almost as if he was rewarding Xion for answering honestly.

It could have been seconds. Or minutes. Or even hours before Darius finally stopped bruising Xion’s already-numb mouth.

"That," the silver-haired devil husked, "is the cruelest joke I’ve ever heard."

He pressed his thumb against Xion’s damp lower lip, watching in relish how easily it dented under his whim, and how his baby hissed from the sting.

Ah, I did that to you, my dear. How heartless of me, he thought, and yet the smirk on his lips never faltered.

The black haired angel blinked up at him, looking dazed and oh so adorable.

"Stay away from me?" Darius laughed lightly. The curve of his lips was bright, almost feral. "Oh, my love."

He pressed his forehead to Xion’s as he forced his gaze into those wet, trembling blues.

"You were made for me."

A thumb left the bullied lips and swept along the delicate curve of his baby’s jaw. The touch could even be called tender despite the storm brewing in his eyes.

"I don’t care who sent you here. I don’t care what they think of us. You are mine. Do you understand me, baby?"

Xion shivered under his touch but didn’t look away. He, like a pathetic lovelorn human, just stared at this scary version of his lover.

Had Darius always been like this?

Noticing his absent-mindedness, the devil chuckled. His fingers curled at the back of Xion’s neck, feeling the thrum of beats inside.

"Xion is mine, isn’t he?" he whispered, his breath ghosting over his lips. "Or do you need another kiss to remember who you belong to?"

Xion blinked, startled by the heat in his voice.

As though finally coming to his senses, he pressed his hands over his lips in panic. He couldn’t possibly bear another touch to his lips.

"Y-yours," the flustered kitten mumbled.

Then, as if scared of the dark glint in those green eyes, he gulped before adding softly, "Really... only yours."