* * *
Lowell didn’t know whether to blame the pheromones, the fact that it was his first time being intimate with someone he truly loved, or his own overly sensitive body.
The more he connected with Felix, the less control he seemed to have over himself.
“Feeling a little better?”
Felix whispered against Lowell’s neck, and even the soft vibrations of his voice sent shivers up his spine.
“Y-yeah…”
Lowell’s trembling slowly subsided, and at last his body began to settle down.
Felix, who had been resting his forehead against Lowell’s neck, brought his lips to Lowell’s ear.
“I love you.”
As if casting a spell, Felix whispered it over and over.
It had only been hard to say the first time — once he started, the dam burst, and the words came pouring out without end.
Hearing it, the embers in Lowell’s body flared back to life.
Even though Felix had said it before while they were tangled together, this time his voice felt especially clear, searing it into Lowell’s heart.
“I-I love you too…”
“Haah… you’re so sexy and beautiful it’s driving me crazy.”
The way Lowell’s flushed body clung to him only fueled Felix’s lust.
The stretched, dripping hole clenched as if begging for more, despite how tight it already was.
Felix started to push in deeper but stopped himself when he saw Lowell’s mouth open in a silent gasp, unable to voice a sound.
“I told you…” Felix said, thrusting in gently with each word, “to tell me if it hurts.”
Even though he was pushing Lowell past his limits, his tone remained maddeningly gentle.
“I-it’s good… It’s good, so it’s okay…”
Lowell answered faithfully, even as his lower belly trembled from the deep penetration.
Seeing that, Felix finally let loose the desire he had been holding back.
Inside Lowell, already slick and soaked, Felix spilled a searing hot load.
The swelling sensation inside him made Lowell’s belly feel even fuller, his neck flushing crimson.
The marks Felix had left on him almost faded into invisibility against his bright red skin.
“Huff… I keep saying this, but… I really don’t get what you’re so shy about,” Felix chuckled low in his chest, the sound vibrating through both their bodies.
“Sometimes you’re so shameless, but then you blush over the littlest things.”
Lowell, basking in the warmth of that low rumble, nuzzled into Felix’s chest.
Even though he had already climaxed, Felix’s cock showed no signs of softening — but he didn’t push any harder.
Instead, he just held Lowell tightly, savoring the precious moment between them.
The scent of flowers drifted in through the slightly open window, blending with their mingled pheromones to create a unique, heady fragrance that filled the room.
Feeling that scent wrap around him with his hazy senses, Lowell suddenly felt like his feet had finally touched the ground.
“Felix…”
Lowell called his name in a soft murmur.
“Why don’t you call me that all the time?” Felix smiled, running his fingers gently through Lowell’s curls.
“I feel like… I’m really connected to you.”
In both this world and the world he came from, Lowell had always floated, untethered — someone who belonged nowhere and no one.
“Yeah. Me too. It’s like we’re finally tied together.”
Felix had been the same. Two drifting souls, finally anchored to the world through each other.
By belonging to each other, they finally belonged somewhere.
“So… everything’s going to be okay.”
Even if they had to wade through blood, as long as they were connected, it would be okay.
“Yeah.”
As long as they were together.
“Think you can go one more round?”
Without waiting for an answer, Felix started moving his hips again.
Lowell, who had already guessed this might happen after feeling how hard Felix still was, nodded obediently.
One more time… would be okay.
Just because they had completed a mutual imprint didn’t mean the world had dramatically changed.
In other words, it didn’t mean the world suddenly looked more beautiful, or that all worries and anxieties disappeared in an instant.
Lowell hadn’t really expected such miracles either, so he didn’t feel disappointed.
‘Still, I thought the overprotectiveness might ease up a little.’
Lowell had believed that much of Felix’s anxiety stemmed from their one-sided imprint.
That was why he had hoped that symptoms like Felix panicking whenever Lowell so much as set foot on the ground — treating him like a newborn animal — or his desperate attempts never to part from him, might improve at least a little.
“Lowell, the sun is strong today. You should wear a hat. Wait — aren’t those shoes uncomfortable for your feet?”
But it seemed even that had been too much to hope for.
Felix, like an oversized dog faithfully trailing its master, continued to shadow Lowell closely, constantly scanning the surroundings for any possible threats.
“I’m fine. It’s not that hot, and we’re not going to walk much anyway.”
Having finished preparing to go out, Lowell simply shrugged under Felix’s scrutinizing gaze, as if being inspected.
The sky, once cloudy with rain, now shone bright and clear — perfect weather for the boat ride they had missed yesterday.
“We still have about three days left. It’s alright to rest today.”
Felix still couldn’t erase the uneasiness from his expression, seemingly concerned about yesterday’s aftermath.
‘If you’re going to worry this much, you should’ve taken it easier last night…’
Although Lowell had enjoyed it too, handling an excited Felix was no easy task.
Still, he had no intention of voicing any complaints.
Normally, Felix suppressed his own desires too much for Lowell’s sake.
Lowell wanted to let him run wild at least once.
“I slept in, so I’m fine. Besides, it would be a waste to just lie around after coming all the way here.”
Strangely enough, Lowell had a feeling that he needed to enjoy every moment he could.
He didn’t consciously realize it, but it was a kind of instinctive premonition — one that came from someone too familiar with misfortunes and unexpected disasters.
“Alright. I’ve had the boat prepared. Let’s go.”
As Felix said, the boat was already waiting for them at the riverbank.
The young boatman, brightened by a generous tip, eagerly and overly cheerfully guided them.
“Sir, you don’t have to row yourself. It might look easy, but it’s not simple for first-timers.”
“I’ve rowed plenty of boats before. It’s safer if I handle it.”
Felix brushed past the protesting boatman and boarded the boat first.
The boatman, who had been about to insist, promptly shut his mouth upon seeing Felix take up the oars.
Felix’s stance — calm, composed, steady — was one only seen in seasoned boatmen with over a decade of experience.
There was even an imposing aura in the way he checked over the boat.
‘He’s not going to find fault with me too, is he…?’
The boatman, frozen stiff, soon found himself shocked all over again.
“Lowell, be careful getting on.”
Those cold, glacial eyes melted in an instant into a warm, tender gaze.
His voice was so soft and affectionate it hardly seemed like it belonged to the same person.
While the boatman gawked, Lowell took Felix’s outstretched hand and stepped onto the boat.
“Ah!”
But with little strength in his legs, Lowell stumbled just from trying to climb aboard.
* * *
