---
I didn't even get the chance to breathe.
Her lips crashed into mine, heat flaring like wildfire through my nerves. She kissed like she owned my mouth, and maybe she did in that moment—bold, hungry, unstoppable. I'd barely found my footing in this place, and now I was on her bed, hands pinned beneath her thighs, drowning in curves and confusion.
Her gown had already slipped halfway down, silk pooling around her hips. I tried to lift my hands—to stop this, to steady her, to do anything—but she was already pushing them beneath the fabric that clung to her like water. I could feel every inch of her, soft, warm, wanting.
"Wait—Ravyn—" I started, half breath, half guilt.
She rolled her hips against mine in reply, grinding a moan out of me that I tried—and failed—to bite back.
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]
INTIMACY SYNC DETECTED
Analyzing compatibility…
New ability acquisition in progress…
Do not interrupt.
My pulse spiked. My head spun. The system was doing it again—linking something from this. From her. I should have pulled away. Should have broken the kiss. Should have remembered we were in the palace, that alarms were probably still echoing somewhere behind these stone walls.
But then she moaned again—just from the way my fingers grazed her back. And that sound…
I gave in.
I didn't mean to.
But my body moved like it had a mind of its own. My hands gripped her hips, guiding her into rhythm. I rolled with her, flipped her onto her back, and pressed her into the mattress with a growl. She gasped, her eyes gleaming like fire-lit gold.
"You like control, don't you?" she whispered, her legs locking around me.
I didn't answer.
I just kissed her again—harder this time—then pinned her wrists above her head.
And she laughed. She laughed like I'd just given her the greatest gift of all.
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]
INTIMATE SYNC COMPLETE
Skill Unlocked: Heat Touch
Touch becomes infused with thermal energy capable of igniting emotional or physical reactions based on intent.
Too late.
I was already deep in, muscles trembling, skin hot, breaths ragged as her nails dug into my back. She clung to me like a curse she never wanted to lift. And it felt too good—too real—for a lie.
But even as she held me, I knew this couldn't go on.
Not like this.
Ravyn was still out there. Waiting. Maybe already in danger.
I pulled away mid-motion, breath heaving as I separated from her and slid back. She reached for me, eyes wide with disbelief.
"Don't go," she whispered, voice raw. "I'm not done with you."
"I am." My voice cracked. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to start this. I can't stay."
I stood, wobbling on unsteady legs, adjusting my pants as I grabbed the edge of the nightstand for balance.
She sat up, lips parted, fury replacing confusion.
"You bastard," she said, voice ice. "You used me?"
"No," I said honestly. "But I can't let this happen again."
She blinked.
Then reached behind her bed.
The moment her hand touched the gemstone embedded in the wood, I knew.
A click echoed through the room.
The door burst open.
Steel boots. Three guards.
"Intruder," she said coldly, pointing at me. "Restrain him. He's mine. Lock him in the personal dungeon. Now."
---
Cold stone. Damp air. The scent of iron, sweat, and desperation.
My knees dug into the stone as they forced me down, binding my hands with thick enchanted chains that glowed faintly with suppressive runes. I couldn't feel my shadow anymore. Couldn't feel anything but the ache of exhaustion and the fire still lingering under my skin from the princess's touch.
This was it.
They would kill me. Maybe not now. Maybe not fast. But soon.
The guards left.
And I was alone.
Until her heels clicked against the stone.
She stepped through the dungeon arch like she owned the place. Like this whole damn kingdom bent beneath her waistline.
"I didn't want to do this, you know," she said softly.
I raised my head.
She stood in the torchlight, silhouetted in flame, her gown tight again—barely. Her eyes shimmered not with regret, but with frustration.
"You forced my hand. You shouldn't have stopped. No one's ever made me feel that way. You touched me like… like I wasn't just a princess. Like I was yours."
I swallowed. "Because I felt it too."
That gave her pause.
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]
Ability Acquisition in Progress: Heat Touch
Thermal resonance detected through intimate sync.
Processing integration…
Estimated time to full bond: [3 minutes]
Warning: Ability unstable until fully bonded. Avoid overexertion.
I straightened my spine, tugged slightly on the chains. Still solid.
"If you let me go now," I said, keeping my voice low, measured, "I'll take you in my arms again. Right here. No lies. No tricks."
She blinked. Her breath caught.
But then she narrowed her eyes. "You think I'm stupid? That you can seduce your way out of this?"
"No," I said. "I'm saying I'd want to."
She stared at me. For a long time. The silence dragged.
Then… she stepped forward.
Lifted her gown. Just a little.
Straddled me again. Her thighs around my waist. Her mouth met mine in another wild, searing kiss. My hands were still bound, but she didn't care—she was grinding against me, breathless, desperate, grabbing my hair like I was oxygen and she was drowning.
I waited.
Waited until I felt it.
The system was still alive, still burning inside me.
And now…
[HEAT TOUCH: ACTIVE]
I clenched my fists.
Heat surged through my palms.
The enchanted chains melted.
Silent. Controlled. She was too caught up in the kiss to notice.
Until my hands touched her hips.
"Wait—" she started, pulling back.
But my grip was already around her waist.
Then—gently—I pushed her off of me.
Before she could protest, I spun her around, wrapped one arm around her chest and whispered into her ear, "You're going to walk me out of here."
She stiffened. "Y-You bastard."
"Yeah," I said quietly, "but I'm your bastard now. And I'm the only one who knows how to make you feel like that again."
She didn't say anything.
But she didn't scream either.
I pressed her toward the door, keeping one arm locked around her as a shield, my body close enough to block any retaliation. Her scent still clung to me. Her warmth. Her rage.
She was furious.
But she was mine—for now.
And I was going to make it out of this dungeon if it was the last damn thing I did.
---