"Detective Alix is going to yell at us if we don't relay all these messages today," Lumine said with a playful smile, her hand busy scribbling on the shiny brown message relay board—a long-range communication device made of polished metal.
Cassian, ignoring her concern, hugged her from behind and pressed kisses to her neck, his lips lingering enough to make her pause for a moment. "She won't," he mumbled against her skin. "We've already sent all the important information we got today." Finally pulling back, he glanced at the papers in her hand.
Seeing only a couple of pages, he added in a slightly childish, stubborn tone, "And come on, it's just two pages. We can send them anytime."
"We can, but we're sending them now," Lumine said firmly, her tone brooking no argument as she turned to look at him. Cassian's big, puppy-like eyes stared back at her, and for a moment, he looked almost pitiful. With a sigh, she softened, adding, "You can kiss me all you want later, just let me finish this first."
Cassian pouted but reluctantly nodded. "Fine, but this time, you have to make it worth it. You're not going to be the only one enjoying these make-out sessions anymore," he said with a teasing grin.
Lumine's cheeks flushed bright red, but she quickly turned away, not wanting him to notice. With a hurried nod, she wriggled free from his arms and said, "I will! Now go back to being useful if you want it!"
Cassian blinked in surprise at her agreement but quickly lit up with excitement. Before returning to his task, he made sure to clarify, "You said it, so no backing out! As soon as we're done, we're focusing on
"Yeah, yeah, now get to work," Lumine mumbled, her face heating up as she buried herself in writing the messages, avoiding his gaze entirely.
Cassian grinned, practically skipping back to his work, clearly in high spirits. Meanwhile, Lumine was left in a dilemma, her pen pausing mid-word. She sighed inwardly, feeling the weight of her predicament. Ever since their relationship had started, things had been moving faster than she expected—kisses, cuddles, and now this. Unlike the normal relationships she'd heard about, which usually began with innocent hand-holding and shy dates, her dynamic with Cassian seemed to come with its own unique pace.
Their relationship had started off boldly with a direct kiss that quickly escalated into an intense make-out session—one where Lumine ended up climaxing. Since then, those heated moments had become a daily occurrence, sometimes even multiple times a day. Cassian seemed utterly incapable of keeping his hands or lips off her whenever they were near, and while Lumine loved it—enjoying every kiss and touch—it always stopped short of going too far.
Though she had orgasmed many times during these encounters, Cassian never did. He never pressured her, keeping his touches limited to squeezing her rear or chest, but that restraint meant he was left unsatisfied. Lumine had thought about returning the favor, maybe even touching him intimately, but every time the moment came, she froze, unable to follow through.
Now, with Cassian openly bringing it up, she had impulsively agreed. But as the reality of her promise set in, her nerves hit full force. She wanted to please Cassian like he had done for her, yet she had no idea how to go about it.
Fortunately for Lumine, just as they finished relaying all the information, Alix showed up with another task for Cassian. He groaned like a child being dragged out of a playground, putting on an exaggeratedly pitiful face. "But Detective, it's already past work hours... Can't I do it tomorrow?" he whined.
Unfortunately for Cassian, Alix wasn't the type to be swayed by his antics like other women might be. She remained firm, crossing her arms as she replied, "Do it now, or I'll assign you to handle the religiously delusional people in the village."
"But Detective... it's past work hours..." Cassian whined, his tone dripping with exaggerated childlike frustration as he put on a mock pout.
Alix, entirely unfazed, waved him off as she headed toward the door. "Oh, don't worry. The one you'll be looking after tonight has a lovely habit of, let's say... relieving himself a little too often. Better keep a mop handy." She stopped at the doorway, throwing a smirk over her shoulder. "Unless, of course, you'd rather just get this simple task done now."
Cassian groaned in defeat, throwing his hands up. "Fine, I'll do it! But I'm coming in late tomorrow morning!" he grumbled, his face darkened with a melodramatic gloom as he reluctantly shuffled out.
Lumine, trying to cheer him up, stepped forward and planted a soft kiss on his cheek. "Don't worry," she whispered with a warm smile. "I'll still be here, and we can stay up late to make up for the time you're working."
Cassian brightened a little at her words, his frown easing into a small smile as he gave her a nod. "Alright, deal," he said before heading off to handle his task.
The task wasn't anything complicated—just fetching some information and delivering it to an investigator who, for some inexplicable reason, couldn't be bothered to come to the village head's mansion. The real problem was that Cassian had to hit multiple locations scattered across the village to complete it. It would take at least an hour or two, maybe more, which felt like an eternity to Cassian knowing Lumine was waiting for him back in their room.
"It can't be helped, Cass... just get it done quickly," he muttered to himself, letting out a resigned sigh before stepping out of the village head's mansion to start the tedious task.
As Cassian stepped out, a shadow silently trailed him. It wasn't the shadow of a normal person—it was unnaturally large and moved with an eerie swiftness, resembling the silhouette of an oversized, grotesque figure. At the head of the shadow, a pale, glowing light revealed the chubby, unsettling face of an ugly man, his wide grin stretched unnaturally across his features.
"The toy is in the playground... let's steal it," he muttered excitedly, his voice dripping with malice.
As he spoke, more shadows emerged from the darkness, their forms shifting and unnatural, blending seamlessly into the night as they began to follow Cassian.