Lackey's Seducing Survival Odyssey-Chapter 967: Hehehehe~ F-F### m— Slap!

Xara... she was really doing her absolute best to make sense of this chaotic, stubborn man's mind!

She had truly tried her best, you know... desperately needing to keep this insane, unpredictable man away from her heart, from her crumbling defences.

She knew herself more than anyone ever could... she knew just how broken, how utterly fucked up she was inside. That's exactly why she was trying — trying so hard — to give this man a different path, a chance to find someone better, a chance to live a life that wasn't trapped in her darkness.

After all... she wasn't sure she could ever love him as much as he loved her, not in the way he deserved, not the way he needed.

Yet... yet, here she was, frozen, taken completely off guard by his sudden, overwhelming surprise attack — his lovely, desperate words, his gentle yet wildly aggressive actions... they rendered her helpless, paralysed, unable to even breathe, let alone move.

"~hmm~"

The moment his lips brushed against hers... something inside her fragile heart cracked, shattered — as if a gentle, beautiful storm had wrapped her entire being in a warmth she never knew existed.

Even though he had kissed her before, one time... this time, it was different.

So different.

It wasn't rushed.

It wasn't desperate!

It was tender.

It was heavy with meaning... It felt unique... It felt precious... It felt terrifyingly real!!

Xara's shoulders trembled violently, her entire body betraying her, as her eyes widened in shock when his soft lips melted into hers. Even though the kiss lasted only a fleeting moment... to her, it felt like an eternity suspended between heartbeats, an eternity that carved itself into her very soul.

Aether slowly withdrew his lips from hers, his gaze never once leaving her stunned, fragile face. A cocky, knowing smirk played on his lips as he whispered, "So you do love me... ah~"

Xara jolted back to reality, her entire face burning furiously as she instantly lowered her head, unable to even form a single coherent word.

Aether couldn't help but find it unbearably adorable — the way she flushed so shyly, the way she trembled and stammered like a pure, innocent girl — it was almost impossible to believe this beautiful creature was a mother of two.

Right now, she looked nothing like a composed woman; she looked like a timid girl overwhelmed by her first real love.

Xara, on the other hand... she could barely hear his teasing words over the deafening sound of her heart pounding violently against her ribs, so loud it was almost bursting out through her ears!

Did she love him?

She didn't know. She still couldn't find the answer buried deep inside her chaotic heart. But one thing she did know... when he kissed her just now, she had felt something.

Something warm.

Something terrifying.

Something beautiful?

...Something that scared her to death!!

Xara's trembling fingers twitched hesitantly, her voice barely a whisper, "I... I... told you... not..." Her words stumbled out, her lips quivering uncontrollably.

Aether inwardly grinned, absolutely devouring the sight of her breaking down like this in front of him, but he forced himself to maintain a calm, almost innocent expression. Gently, he reached out to lift her chin — but she quickly pulled away, refusing to meet his eyes.

"Come on now... I'm not going to kiss you," he said, chuckling lightly, his voice deliberately teasing, knowing full well the chaos he had stirred in her heart.

When he said that, she slowly — oh so slowly — lifted her face. Aether's heart skipped a beat at the sight.

Her cheeks were beet red, flushed all the way to her ears, and her black eyes were trembling violently, desperately looking anywhere but at him... like she was terrified of what would happen if she locked eyes with the madness inside him.

"Look at me," Aether commanded, his voice dropping into a low, impossibly gentle tone that made her body tremble even harder.

Xara couldn't stop shaking. No matter how hard she tried, her body wouldn't listen.

Her emotions were a tangled, disastrous mess — fear, excitement, confusion, happiness — all crashing together, drowning her.

Aether's fingers brushed against her trembling lips with the softest, tenderest touch, his expression turning heartbreakingly gentle, almost reverent, as if she were the most precious thing in his entire world.

"I understand," he whispered, his voice raw with emotion, "I understand you may never be able to return my love. You may never be able to stand by my side... You may never even love me back... ever."

His words sliced through her heart like a knife.

"But..." he continued, his eyes darkening with a dangerous, obsessive glint as he tilted her chin higher with firm, possessive fingers, "Did I ever ask you for any of that?"

"H-Huh?" she gasped, her eyes snapping into focus, staring at him with those wide, unreadable black eyes.

Aether leaned in closer, his lips brushing against the shell of her ear, his breath hot, his voice dropping into a low, dangerously possessive tone that sent shivers all the way down her spine.

"You can do whatever you want... research, blood, experiments... lock yourself away if you want. I don't give a fuck about any of it," he growled softly. "But however far you run... however deep you bury yourself... it won't matter."

His expression twisted into something dark, something terrifyingly beautiful, as he grinned at her — an obsessive, mad grin that promised she would never... ever escape him!!

"I will love you," he whispered, his voice dripping with possessive heat. "I will love you so much that you will forget how to breathe anything but me.

You will drown in me... You will suffocate in my love until the only thing you know... the only thing you feel... is me~"

"!!!"

A violent shudder ran down Xara's spine. Her cheeks flamed hotter, her throat dried up completely, and her entire body burned with a feverish heat she couldn't control.

God... those dark, insane eyes... she wanted them to devour her whole. She wanted him to consume her, to rip her apart and put her back together, piece by piece.

Gulping hard, desperately trying to find any sense of sanity, she stared into Aether's wild, unrelenting gaze.

Even though he had a small, fragile body... even though he looked weak compared to the monstrous men she had fought before... right now, standing in front of her, Aether felt like a storm.

He felt stronger than anyone she'd ever known. He felt like a man — a terrifying, obsessive man — and she was helpless against him.

Hopelessly, utterly, helplessly his.

Aether tilted his head slightly, a soft, dark smile tugging at the corner of his lips, as he tucked a loose strand of her silky black hair behind her delicate ear with a gentleness that made her shiver.

He leaned closer, his breath brushing against her sensitive skin as he muttered in a deep, almost growling voice full of promise and madness, "Run as much as you want... Deny it all you want... Push me away... Pretend you don't need me... But I know... I fucking know exactly what your heart craves..." His fingers tightened in her hair, and his voice dropped even lower, each word dripping with possessive hunger. "And I. Will. Own. It."

Before she could even react, he crashed his lips against hers, claiming her mouth without a second's hesitation — a kiss so raw, so ruthless, that it stripped away whatever fragile resistance she still had left.

"~hmm~"

Xara gasped, a soft, broken hum escaping her throat the moment his lips met hers. This time... this time it was different.

She could feel it — the burning depth of his love, the twisted wickedness of his obsession — it was all there, poured into a single kiss that seared itself into her soul.

Her body trembled violently, more than ever before, yet... she liked it. God, she liked it. She craved it.

She needed it!!

It felt like he was possessing her... stealing her away from herself, dragging her into his darkness, making her forget everything but him — only him!!

Her hands, acting on their own, slid up to his back and clutched the fabric of his shirt tightly, pulling him closer — so close that not even air could pass between them. She closed her eyes, surrendering completely to the madness, and kissed him back, pouring every broken piece of herself into the desperate kiss.

Aether was momentarily surprised by her sudden eagerness, but a dark grin tugged at his lips mid-kiss. He didn't hesitate — he deepened the kiss ruthlessly, gently biting her trembling lips, pulling them into his mouth, sucking on them like he wanted to devour her completely.

His hand gripped her jaw tightly, forcing her to feel every bit of his possessive love.

"~hmm~"

"~mmmff~"

Xara moaned softly into his mouth, her body shuddering under the intensity. The tight, almost bruising grip of his hands on her delicate frame sent shivers through her core. She had never, never felt anything like this before — like she could break apart from his love alone, like she could suffocate from the overwhelming heat of his affection.

A hot, pulsing pool of aching need formed deep in her abdomen, growing hotter and hotter, making her dizzy. She was feeling it — feeling it too much.

It was too much. And yet... she didn't want it to stop.

She needed to breathe. She needed to move. Her body screamed for air — but Aether refused to let her go, refusing to break the kiss, holding her lips captive like she was the very air he needed to survive.

It was suffocating.... It was drowning.... It was intoxicating~

And still... she clutched him tighter, trapping his head in her arms, her fingers tangling in his hair, pulling him impossibly closer as she kissed him back desperately, matching his madness with her own growing hunger.

Neither of them knew how long they remained like that, tangled together at the edge of the world — biting, sucking, kissing — never fully parting, never allowing space between them. No tongues, just mouths — mouths that claimed, mouths that demanded, mouths that burned.

They stayed locked like that until the orange sky bled into the deep, heavy darkness of night.

Finally, feeling her breathing become dangerously ragged, Aether reluctantly pulled away, releasing her swollen, trembling lips.

"Huff~Hufff~Hufff~"

Xara gasped for air desperately, her face beet red, her body burning, her eyes glossy with unshed tears. She panted heavily, struggling to find her breath as she stared at him, lips bruised and glistening from their heated exchange.

But something shifted... Something cracked.

A small, innocent smile curled on her lips, but then... as if something inside her snapped, her soft, motherly face morphed into something dark, something wicked.

She tilted her head unnaturally, a low, eerie giggle escaping her throat. "Hehehehe~ F-Fuck m—"

Slap!

Without warning, she slapped herself across the face — a sharp, brutal sound that echoed against the silence around them.

Even Aether blinked in complete shock, stunned by her sudden, violent self-harm. His heart clenched painfully. "Are you alright?" he asked immediately.

But instead of answering, Xara merely took a deep, steadying breath. She wiped the saliva from her bruised lips with the back of her trembling hand and stared at him with an unreadable, burning gaze.

"I want to show you something..." she whispered.

Before he could question her further, she stood up slowly, her expression hardening into something serious, almost grim. She turned away from the cliff's edge, her long black hair fluttering wildly in the night breeze.

Xara smiled faintly — a beautiful, broken smile — before tilting her head with a wicked, eerie glint in her dark eyes.

"The real me~ Hehehe~"

She grabbed his hand firmly and pulled him along.

She led him somewhere — somewhere secret, somewhere sacred — somewhere that only she ever dared to go.

Not Frostblade... Not the place she pretended to call home.

No...She was taking him to her true home.

Her hidden, sacred, terrifying home!

And she was ready to show him...Everything!