Hugo’s lips stiffened slightly. His straightened back and even the nape of his neck hardened like an ice wall.

The tip of his tongue slowly traced the inside of his cheek between parted lips. His gaze remained fixed coldly on the blond head shifting near his throat.

“You....”

The lowered voice addressed not by name but by title. The changed atmosphere might have made someone tense, yet Leonardo Blaine paid no mind. He tugged the loosened navy tie left and right, pulling it halfway free. With one hand he boldly undid the top button of the neatly fastened shirt. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

The thick neck trapped in the collar was freed, rising and falling with breath. The prominent point moved enticingly, and Leonardo couldn’t resist pressing his lips to it.

“.......”

A low breath escaped His Grace, sounding displeased — or perhaps aroused. Either way, it was sensuous enough to stir interest, though he himself seemed unaware.

At that moment the fingers wrapped around his erection slowly tightened. The touch was firmer than before, less cooperative than reactive to provocation.

“Ah....”

It squeezed tight, then loosened repeatedly. As if it truly were a hole, the large hand engulfed the shaft and moved obscenely. Leonardo stretched his veined jaw and lower face forward and pressed his chest against the firm torso.

As he trembled in pleasure with unfocused eyes, a breath brushed his ear and murmured softly.

“Satisfied?”

A faint scoff was mixed in. Instead of answering, Leonardo breathed heavily in excitement while wrapping his arms around the man’s narrow waist.

Those refined hands had probably only ever been stained by demon blood or fountain pen ink. The thought of them soiled by his lower body sent a rush through him. Leonardo rubbed his hips more openly, suffocating in the briny sensation.

“Haa, ha, ...ugh.”

Grabbing Hugo’s hips and thrusting recklessly, the fingers blocking him parted under the force. Each time the outline hidden beneath the clothing touched the tip, a strange conquest stirred within him. The lewd friction sounds grew louder.

So His Grace said this was the first time he’d done it for someone.

What now, for a first experience like this.

The vivid thought heated Leonardo’s head pleasantly.

Though his eyes were flushed red, he finally pretended gentleness and coaxed him.

“...You’re good.”

Satisfaction colored the voice suppressing moans. Making a much larger man move as he wished was delightful. The problem was neither yet knew where the proper boundary lay.

Leonardo teased his aroused lower body repeatedly to find that line. As the sensitive tip brushed the uniform, the rougher fabric heightened sensation. Holding the man’s slender neck, he rubbed his lips against it.

“Mmm....”

He didn’t bare his teeth — worried he might mark the fine skin — instead licking like tasting ice cream. Persistently sucking left a faint reddish mark. A kiss mark on that upright neck felt like stepping into untouched snow.

A sense of fulfillment bloomed, as if branding what he could never possess.

Unlike the shameless movements below, a soft smile leaked from his lips. Leonardo rested his head on the broad shoulder. The pounding heartbeat, large and heavy like its owner, made him happy — because it seemed caused by him.

Hugo stared at that almost innocent face in disbelief. But the play lasted only a moment.

“Ah—!”

A cool hand reached the heated nape. Tangling fingers in the hair clinging near his ear, Hugo forcibly pulled him away.

“Finished enjoying yourself?”

Leonardo’s head tilted back in his grip, breathing hard with his chin lifted.

Looking up through narrowed eyes, the shadowed gaze above him was sharp. Unlike the soothing motions from before, the touch was rough. Is he angry? He quietly gauged the mood like a captured animal.

Then he recalled how weak this man was toward him — even remembering the face that once pretended indifference so it wouldn’t show.

He glanced at the dangerously tightened front of Hugo’s clothes and smirked.

“We enjoyed it together.”

Hugo’s brow creased. Where had he learned such vulgar speech...

Clicking his tongue, he pulled the loosened tie fully free from his neck. The soft fabric slid and caught on fingers still smeared with release.

Was a man removing his own tie always this obscene? Leonardo stared at the dry yet erotic motion.

Waiting to see what he intended, a classic use came to mind.

“Tying me?”

Half certain, half puzzled, he asked — but Hugo didn’t answer. Instead he grasped the end of the cloth and pressed their bodies together.

So you like this kind of thing. Swallowing the thought, Leonardo hid his wrists behind his back. He wasn’t fond of restraint and hesitated slightly, but if this man wanted it... perhaps once wouldn’t be bad.

But what if he covered his eyes instead? As the fantasy formed—

“...?”

A cool smooth sensation touched his exposed, slick length. His golden brows twitched upward. Reflexively lowering his gaze, the tie reborn by magic became a silk serpent and slowly slid between his legs.

Leonardo watched the navy cloth writhing in the dark with parted lips. It wrapped around his scrotum, then silently coiled along the damp shaft, leaving only the tip exposed.

The final knot’s end hung over his trembling thigh like a ribbon on a gift box.

“.......”

His earlobes burned red as he stared blankly at the humiliating sight. It exceeded imagination, halting his thoughts.

“You....”

Already flushed, the heat surged as if it would burst. When his shaking golden eyes looked up, the knot suddenly tightened in the air.

“Ugh—!”

The sweat-damp silk constricted around him. However fine the fabric, the pressure against sensitive skin forced out a pained moan.

Leonardo twisted his waist and covered his mouth, glaring resentfully. The end of the tie was already in Hugo’s hand.

“No need for me to tighten it directly.”

“You pervert.”

The unhidden thought slipped out. Leonardo clenched his teeth at the unfamiliar treatment.

Hugo frowned at the insulting remark, then pulled Leonardo closer by the nape hard enough to leave a mark. He lightly bit and teased his lips before pushing in at once; the tongue that couldn’t escape met him as if resigned. A quiet chuckle followed the honest reaction.

“And who are you to say that.”

Bang—

A beam ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ of flashlight cut across the room. Like a prison watchtower it swept swiftly and precisely through the darkness. One member of the two-man team, tired of repetition, gave a cursory look and moved on. The memo in his hand listed room numbers in order.

He crossed out D-97.

Three lines were assigned; he was finishing the last one.

Seven doors remained requiring search, up to D-104. Yet after opening over fifty before, there had been no sign of an intruder.

Thinking this one would be the same, he was about to pretend to search and pass by—

“Anyone there?”

The other member, shining his flashlight, stepped forward and asked the air.

The senior who had been leaving stopped and turned back.

“What, someone inside?”

“Not sure... just felt something.”

“Something? What something?”

Turning on his own light, the senior stepped inside the dark room without hesitation.

“You think a hidden guy will answer? Turn on the lights.”

“All power is being used on the ground right now. Individual rooms need the central control breaker.”

“Tch, annoying.”

He grumbled and illuminated dusty shelves. Packed with miscellaneous items, it looked like a storage room.

There were many things, but packed tightly and only shelves along the wall — nowhere to hide.

Doesn’t seem like anything’s here....

Thud—!

A dull sound rang out as if something struck a door or partition. Not this room — probably the next or across the hall. Not far.

Instinctively holding their breath, the two members met eyes, then silently stepped out into the corridor.