The Devil's Cursed Witch

Ember could not deny Draven's claim as those strange things her body was feeling became more manageable the moment his body's heat embraced her. Though there was an urge, it was more subtle now. She no longer felt the same unbearably painful urge due the effect of the full moon, and her body felt somewhat satisfied, replacing the painful desire with a mere need to be close to her mate. His scent calmed her senses and she felt like it should be fine to snuggle back into that comforting embrace.

She wanted to close her eyes and sleep as he said, but she could not make herself do so. At this moment, all her senses were heightened. She could feel the hot minty breath at the back of her neck that showed he was not as calm as his words showed.

Her heart started to beat fast, thrumming like a drum inside her chest, and her breathing turned shallow at their intimacy. Unknown to her, her body started to expect more.

Her fingers gently caressed his arms to feel them, not thinking it might affect him who was already doing his best to not do anything to hurt her. Yet her little innocent gesture was eroding the thin thread holding his sanity together.

As she could not remain still, Draven held her tightly to keep her steady, and spoke with a low, hoarse voice.

"Sleep quietly."

,m With that warning, his lips brushed against the sensitive skin at the back of her neck.

"Don't tempt me..."

He gently pressed his lips against her skin as he sucked on it tenderly.

"...or I might go back on my words."

A gasp left her lips the moment she felt his mouth tenderly playing on her skin. His restrained words, full of warning, made her aware of the consequence of her own unintentional action.

"Apologies..." she said in a voice so small, without his sharp senses, he would have a hard time hearing her.

He responded with a light groan as his nose gently nuzzled her nape, head-on diving into her seductive scent, to which she reacted with her hands clutching onto his in reflex.  Her entire body was covered in goosebumps as she tried to keep a moan from escaping her partly opened lips.

Both wished to hold back but were starting to struggle hard now. Draven forced himself to pull back and released her from his strong hold which startled her, but then...she didn't know why but she turned around to face him, her haze-filled green eyes looking up at his red ones.

The intensity of his gaze grew as if he had expected her to do exactly that. His hand moved to her face, his fingers brushing ever-so-gently over her soft cheek, before moving down towards the smooth curve of her neck. The tips of his fingers caressed the mark on her neck which assured him again and again that she belonged to him and only him.

"Just a little," he said as his hand settled at the back of her head and his face leaned closer to hers.

Ember, as if she had understood him clearly and those unsaid feelings he was having, closed her eyes as she waited for the inevitable.

His lips captured hers into a tender kiss as he sucked and nibbled them gently, his hot breath mingling with hers as if burning her delicate skin. The grip of his hand tightened at the back of her head, taking her into a deep kiss overflowing with his needs.

Her hands clutched into his night robe as she responded to the kiss in kind.

After several sweet seconds, Draven forced himself to stop as he wanted to stand by what he said to her earlier. Panting heavily, he looked at her slender form who was also trying to catch her breath. Her entire face had turned red and it looked bewitchingly beautiful.

The grip of his hand at the back of her head already loosened, and he fixed her messy hair with his fingers. "This much is enough."

Ember slowly opened her eyes and looked at him with eyes that showed a hint of disappointment, but the rational part of her agreed to what he said. He caressed her head with unfamiliar gentleness.

"Close your eyes and sleep."

Ember felt like she was dreaming as he was being so gentle and caring to her. He had always shown gentleness towards her but oftentimes, Ember was either semi-conscious or unconscious. For her, it was the first time she had fully experienced his affection. His seemingly eternally cold-looking face carried a hint of softness as he stared at her, and even his words sounded gentle and soothing to her ears.

'It must be a dream,' she thought and closed her eyes while Draven continued to look at her with the same tenderness. His fingers slowly, affectionately brushing through her hair made her feel drowsy and it helped her to fall asleep.

Even after his little mate fell asleep, Draven continued to look at her for a long without moving his gaze anywhere else. He didn't know how much time passed, but he continued to do it without feeling the passage of time. He was appreciating the sight of her slightly parted swollen lips, when suddenly, she moved closer to him and snuggled into his chest which made him freeze in place.

'So adorable...' He simply held her body and closed his eyes as a faint smile appeared on his lips. 'She feels like a soft little bunny.'

In no time, sleep got to him. He fell asleep while holding her like a pillow.

The next morning, Ember woke up and found herself alone in bed.

'He was here last night. When did he leave?'

She looked around the room to make sure Draven was really not inside. She remembered how good he was with her the previous night and nothing went as she expected and was scared before he came to her.

'I think everything will be fine between us. I don't have to be scared of him. He cares.'

She felt relieved that nothing happened during the night, and as she stretched her limbs, she realized she was feeling better and nothing was hurting anymore. It was a miracle!

She comfortably sat up in the bed and was about to climb down when her gaze fell on that ointment container on the bedside table. Its lid was... a little misplaced?  Rather, it would be more appropriate to say the lid was not put on properly.

Her mind still somewhat sluggish from sleep, she picked it up and opened it, only to find it was almost all used up. She remembered she didn't touch it at all as she almost forgot about it. She also didn't believe Yula would play a prank on her and give her used ointment.

After several seconds, her gaze dropped towards her body--to be more precise, at that place between her legs. This must be the reason why it felt fine instead of hurting. That burning feeling was gone.

'I didn't apply it on me. Then...?'