Chapter 473: Special
Elion blinked. Her expression was shy, nervous, and frighteningly determined all at once. She took his face into her hands.
"Isla?" Elion asked, but she did not answer. Her thin pink lips pursed softly, her eyes slowly closed, and she pulled him down into a kiss.
Their last kiss felt like it had happened so long ago. And now, with Isla being the one to initiate this one, Elion had expected it to be gentle.
But Isla surprised him.
The moment their lips met, she kissed him with a desperation that made his eyes widen. Her hands held his face tightly, as though she was afraid he might disappear if she loosened her grip for even a second.
He felt her small tongue trying to pry his lips open, and of course, he obliged and let her in. As they felt each other’s wet warmth through the kiss, their tongues started a clumsy battle of their own.
Elion wrapped one arm around her waist and held her more securely, guiding her gently so she would not lose her balance while lost in the kiss, and Isla pressed closer.
The kiss seemed to carry everything she had been unable to say with simple words alone.
Her gratitude, her fear, her loneliness, her relief, the ache of leaving behind a world that might never truly have been what she thought it was, and the fragile hope that maybe, just maybe, she could build something new here with him.
When they finally parted with a wet smack, Isla was breathing unevenly, and her cheeks were bright red.
Elion looked down at her, his lips curved in a faint smile. "That was very bold of you, Isla."
Isla’s face turned even redder. "I..." She looked down immediately. "I am sorry."
Elion raised a brow. "Sorry?"
"I did not mean to be so... so sudden."
He chuckled softly. "Isla." She looked up timidly. "I am not complaining."
Her lips parted slightly.
She quickly lowered her gaze again, but this time, there was the smallest hint of a smile on her face.
Elion gently brushed his thumb across her cheek, wiping away a stray tear. "You know," he said, "you are allowed to want things too."
Isla’s fingers tightened lightly around his shirt. "I know."
"Do you?"
She nodded. "I am trying to." Isla leaned her forehead against his chest. "It’s just that I want to become useful to you," she whispered.
Elion frowned slightly. "Isla."
"And not only useful," she quickly added, as if correcting herself. "I want to make things. I want to learn. I want to stand proudly beside you, and I do not want to only be protected."
She looked up at him. "Will you let me?"
He gave her a strange look. "Let you?" He chuckled.
"Yes, am I asking for too much?"
"I already said you can do anything that you want to. For starters, you can tell me what you want to do right now, and I will grant that wish for you, to the best of my abilities."
Isla slowly pulled herself away from his embrace and stood on her own. For a moment, she said nothing.
She only shifted uncomfortably in place, her fingers twiddling together while her gaze remained fixed on the floor. Her cheeks were already red, but there was a kind of fragile courage in her expression that made Elion’s smile slowly fade.
"I want you to take me," Isla whispered. "Right here..." Her voice was so soft it was barely audible, but how could Elion miss it?
He heard it as clear as day, and it made his eyes narrow in surprise. For a moment, he almost thought he had misheard her, but he knew he had not. Or perhaps he was misinterpreting her words?
No, there was no other meaning he could glean other than the fact that she wanted him to take her virginity right now. The thought left him momentarily dumbfounded.
’Where did that come from?’
Elion looked at her carefully, searching her face. "Are you sure?" he asked as he wrapped one arm around her waist, gently pulling her closer.
Isla blushed deeply. She still did not quite meet his eyes, but she nodded regardless. "I have had time to think about it," she said softly. "And it will have to happen eventually."
Elion frowned slightly and shook his head.
"You should not rush yourself because it will happen eventually," he said. "You should decide when we have sex together because you want to. At your own pace, and especially for your first time, it should be special."
Isla finally looked up at him. Her ocean-blue eyes were trembling, but her voice was clear when she answered. "There is no time more special than now."
Elion’s expression softened. "Isla..."
"Please," she said. "Do this for me."
Elion smiled gently. "You really have made up your mind. You do not have to beg me," he said. "I just wanted to make sure."
Islabl nodded, her blush deepening. "Besides..." she murmured.
Elion raised a brow. "Besides?"
"When Mira talks about it, it feels like I am missing out on something important to you."
Elion blinked.
Then he started laughing.
Of course!
Somehow, that slutty woman had already gotten to Isla. ’When did she get the time to plant dirty thoughts in my innocent crafter’s mind!?’
The thought nearly made him laugh out loud again, but he held it in. Instead, he brushed his thumb gently across Isla’s cheek.
"Mira makes many things sound important," he said. "That does not mean you have to move faster than your heart is ready for."
Isla’s lips parted slightly, and she smiled faintly. "But my heart is ready."
Elion leaned closer and kissed her forehead.
"Then how about we move to a bedroom?" he asked softly. "It will be much more comfortable there, especially for your first time."
But once again, Isla shook her head. "Here is fine."
Elion looked around the massive workshop. "Here?"
She nodded. "This is the place you gave me," Isla said quietly. "The place where I can begin again."
Her fingers lightly clutched the front of his shirt. "So I want it to be here, in this special place that you have given me."
Elion gave Isla’s beautiful face a deep look. How was he supposed to refuse her when she said it like that?
Still, he lifted her chin gently and made her look at him. "If at any point you want to stop, we stop."
Isla nodded.
"If you feel afraid, uncomfortable, or unsure, you tell me."
"I will."
"Promise?"
She smiled softly. "I promise."
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