?

　　My grip tightened onto the sheets, threatening to rip them as Isaiah pushed himself into me. The burn between my thighs was truly a pain I could have never fathomed. I bit the bottom of my lip to prevent myself from crying out and soon I could taste the familiar metallic flavour of blood on my lips.?

　　“Tight… Hey, you need to relax…” Isaiah huffed. I wanted to tell him that it was easier said than done but I stayed silent instead, eyes pressed shut as though that was enough to help me with the pain. “Cordelia.” He called out, causing me to open my eyes to meet his gaze. He then leaned down, meeting my lips desperately.

　　As he deepened the kiss, tongue running across my bottom lips along the way. It was as though he was trying to distract me by kissing me while his hands went to my sides. He then thrusted forward, entering me halfway as I moaned into his lips. He did not attempt to push himself fully inside me as I started to tremble under him.

　　Isaiah parted our kiss to look at my expression. “Alright?”

　　“Y-Yes.” I said, still not fully used to how caring he was now. It was a character shift on his part but I was glad that the true Isaiah was slowly revealing himself before me. “You can move…”

　　Isaiah paused for a brief second as though he was considering my words. He gave me a crude nod before straightening his back. He held onto my sides firmly before slowly thrusting into me. His face was quickly shifting into one of arousal and as for me, I found it hard to hold back my voice. The faster he moved, the louder I became and soon the pain between my legs was replaced with pleasure.

　　He let out soft breaths before allowing his hand to travel up my torso, feeling the silk of the red nightgown fondly before his hands rested on my breasts. He squeezed them, causing me to arch my back from his sudden roughness.

　　“Isaiah…” I moaned out his name before feeling his length get larger inside me. I wanted to question this but he did not give me a chance when he suddenly pulled me up into a seated position. I was straddling him now, knees pressed into the sheets while his hands were wrapped around my back to hold me in position.

　　He nuzzled his face between the crook of my neck, inhaling deeply. “Smell…sweet.” He huffed before kissing my neck. I tensed up, afraid that he was going to bite me while he was in this lust-induced trance but I was losing myself from pleasure as well. He too was starting to smell extremely nice, prompting me to inhale his scent deeply.

　　In this new position, I was sinking deeper into his length as I could feel him fill me to the brim. He was stretching me while I struggled to maintain my sanity. It felt incredible and the way he was holding me, so gently—so tender, it was as though he truly cared for me. If this was what affection lies then I could get used to it and dangerously I could get addicted to it. My heart swelled up and I pushed my face into Isaiah’s sturdy shoulder before my body shuddered harshly as I reached my climax and along that reality came crashing down.

　　“Fuck…! Cordelia…” Isaiah called out desperately into my skin before emptying himself deep inside of me.

　　*

　　The scented hot water on my skin was truly relaxing as I leaned my head back onto the ceramic tub. I closed my eyes as sleep was quick to consume me. I knew I should probably get out of the tub before I slept but at that moment, everything felt nice—tranquil.

　　A gentle touch on my cheek caused my eyes to flutter open. I turned to the side where Isaiah was seated on the edge of the tub watching me while he slowly retracted his hand from my face.

　　“Don’t sleep in the bath.” He told me. I blinked at him as though I was not fully awake but then I jolted up, pulling my knees to my chest when I realised he could see my naked body. Isaiah then frowned. “What? I’ve seen you naked. Did you forget that I was the one who helped you in the bath?”

　　His words brought back the memories of what happened after we had finished. Since he released himself inside me, I wanted to clean myself before we retired for the night but I could hardly stand with how much my legs were trembling. Isaiah then proceeded to carry me all the way to the bathroom and helped me undress.

　　“…Thank you for helping me.”

　　“Yeah.” He muttered. “If you’re done, I’ll help you back to bed.”

　　“I think I’m fine now, thank you.”

　　“…sure.” He said, looking away from me but he sat at his position as though he wanted to tell me something else.

　　“What’s wrong?” I asked him when opted to stay silent instead of speaking his mind.

　　“I am really—” he paused. “I can’t stop thinking about what I did to you. I allowed my anger to blindside me and I took out my frustrations on you. I didn’t mean to hurt you…”

　　I placed a hand on his thigh, causing him to look at me. “Thank you, Isaiah.”

　　“What? Why do you keep thanking me?” he frowned.

　　“Because this side of you is truly a sight to behold.”

　　“Huh?!”

　　I chuckled. “I appreciate your consideration but no harm done. Thank you for being gentle with me after.”

　　“You still bled…and you couldn’t even walk properly.”

　　My face heated up by him casually stating these facts. “T-That’s…um normal I suppose.”

　　“Do you regret having me take your first time?” he asked suddenly. “Maybe Augustus or Cassian would have been more gentle…they would not have made you cry.”

　　“I didn’t cry because you hurt me!” I reassured him.

　　He gave me a half smile that caused my heart to skip a beat. “Fine, fine. As long as there’s no bad blood between us right now.”

　　“There isn’t! But I would appreciate it if you were to listen to me instead of jumping to conclusions next time.”

　　Isaiah rolled his eyes at me. “Let’s get to bed.” He said, moving away to pick up a towel for me. I stood up from the tub.

　　“I think I can walk by myself. I don’t want to trouble you anymore then I already have.” I told him as he approached me with the towel. He silently passed it to me. I wrapped myself up and stepped out of it, trailing drops of water along with me.

　　“I’ll go to bed first then.”

　　I nodded at him. “Good night.”

　　“Just so you know,” he started. I looked up at him, catching his gaze. “It was my first time too.” He admitted before averting his gaze from me.

　　It took me a while to react as I did not think he would be the type to even tell me things like this but somehow, knowing this fact made me smile unconsciously. “It would seem that we were each other’s first, then.”

　　“Yea but that doesn’t mean I have any affection for you, little princess.” He said, playfully flicking my forehead before turning to leave the bathroom. The spot where he flicked was slowly started to throb as he failed to hold back his strength. The moment the door closed behind him, I let out a silent cry of pain, rubbing my forehead as though that would be enough to get rid of the ache.

　　*

　　“What happened to your forehead, princess?” Gideon asked.

　　“Nothing.” I was quick to say while I quickly read through the paperwork I had for today. Gideon leaned closer to me, eyes plastered on my forehead.

　　“It’s really red. Did you hurt yourself?”

　　“Gideon please, I’m trying to focus here.” I huffed as I combed down my bangs to cover my forehead properly. Gideon chuckled and moved away as he continued reading out the agenda we had for the week.

　　Even though I tried to focus on what he was saying, my mind was occupied with thoughts of tonight. It was finally time for me to spend the night with Cassian and I wonder if he would respect my decision to not do anything with him since I was still sore from my night with Isaiah. I could not imagine Cassian to be the thoughtful kind hence I was considering not visiting him at all and maybe spend the night alone.

　　“Princess?” Gideon’s voice broke me out of my thoughts.

　　“Yes?”

　　“You seemed troubled. Is everything alright? Are you perhaps tired?”

　　“If I say yes, would you allow me to leave early today?” I tested my luck.

　　Gideon gave me a tender smile and for a moment I truly thought he was going to say yes. “Of course not,? but I would call for some refreshments for you.” The old advisor said which led me to let out a disappointed sigh.