"Xion?" Darius’ low voice sounded almost like a purr as he closed the short distance between them in a few strides.
Xion felt the cushions dipping beside him. That familiar, infuriatingly sexy voice rang in his ear again. Even without looking, he could tell Darius was amused.
"Why aren’t you eating?"
Before Xion could even muster a response, he and his makeshift duvet cocoon were effortlessly hauled into Darius’ lap.
"Was my darling waiting for me?" Darius chuckled, brushing back the covers with ease. "How sweet."
The duvet was peeled back with gentle fingers, revealing a flustered, red-faced kitten.
Xion’s blush hadn’t even fully faded from before and now it bloomed right back to full force, thanks to the proximity of the ridiculously gorgeous man cradling him.
"You’re evil," the black-haired healer muttered, his lips still tugged in a pout.
To Darius, it looked so cute. Even the way those eyes were lowered, silently refusing to look at him was adorable.
His baby was so, so cute.
"A perverted beast."
Darius only grinned, thoroughly enjoying himself. "Am I? I thought I was your angel." He tilted Xion’s chin up, coaxing those sulky eyes to meet his own.
"Ah, is my little lord angry?" Long, calloused fingers—still cold from the morning air—cradled his blushing cheek, thumb brushing over the cheekbone. "Shall I apologize properly?"
He was trying to look remorseful, but the persistent smile tugging at his lips gave him away.
Xion blinked, then sighed. Pressing his face against the broad shoulder, he said, "...Don’t do it again."
A kiss landed gently on his forehead, while those fingers trailed down from his cheek to his neck.
The heart was beating beneath his fingertips, telling him that his beloved was here.
"Honestly, darling, it was your fault for seducing me," Darius stated with all the seriousness of a man confessing war crimes.
"I wasn’t—" Xion started, then caught himself. Actually... that had been the intention. Funnily enough, he couldn’t even lie about it.
He huffed and muttered instead, "How was I supposed to know you’d turn into such a beast?"
Darius laughed while adjusting the divine healer more securely in his lap.
"Well," he drawled, picking up a piece of soft bread from the tray, "it’s a deeply hidden trait. Usually only triggered by very specific... catalysts."
"Like?" Xion asked, suspiciously narrowing his eyes.
"Like... when my pretty husband decides to dress like a seductress."
He held the fruit up to Xion’s lips, coaxing the kitten to open up. Nonetheless, his gaze lingered on the swollen lips a bit longer than it should.
Answering the call of his loudly protesting stomach, Xion parted his lips just enough to bite down.
"Or when my baby climbs into my lap like he belongs there. Which, by the way, he does."
Xion, still snuggled comfortably in the same lap, "..."
"Or when you tilt your head like that. Or pout. Or glare at me with those sparkly eyes."
Chewing silently, Xion refused to meet his husband’s eyes.
"When you cling to me in your sleep. When you say my name in that tiny voice." Darius listed all the things while feeding Xion. "Or when you threaten me with things you never mean."
The blush returned full force and the flustered kitten nearly choked on the congee.
"And most dangerous of all..." The Archduke paused before leaning in close.
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: [BL] Accidentally Becoming the Healer of the Deranged Archduke