"Perfect moment to kiss, right?"
She paused, her lips parting, wet and soft in the lanternâs glow.
Lorâs cock twitched, his mind flashing to her leaning into Caelum, her body pressed close, black lace teasing under her skirt.
He swallowed, voice low. "What happened?"
Kiaraâs jaw tightened, her eyes stormy.
"I did what anyone would. Slammed him gently into a wall, closed my eyes, leaned in. Tried to kiss him. But then... He shoved me off, Lor. Said I was too much, threatened to report me to the disciplinary committee if I didnât stay away. Heâs the third guy to run from me this month."
Her voice dropped to a whisper, raw and vulnerable, her thighs shifting again, skirt riding higher, black lace fully visible now, her breasts heaving as she fought to keep her composure.
Lor listened, stunned, his hazel eyes wide.
A rush of conflicting thoughts slammed into him.
She talks a lot. Seriously... a lot.
In class, Kiara was silent, dominating, rude, her sharp spells and sharper grades a wall between them.
But now, sprawled on his bed, her words spilled like a dam breaking, her vulnerability a stark contrast to her usual fire.
The air tingled with her power, a cresting pulse of magic, intense and intimidating, pressing against his skin like a challenge.
Kiaraâs eyes locked onto his, her voice breathy but firm. "Thatâs why I need the Light, Lor. To figure out whatâs wrong with me."
She shifted, flattening out on the bed, head sinking into a pillow, dark bangs fanning across her face.
"So, you want a guy who wonât run away from you?" Lor asked, voice soft, rhetorical, layered with curiosity, his hazel eyes searching hers, a playful edge masking the arousal sparked by her closeness.
"No, idiot," Kiara snapped, her tone a stinging whip.
She leaned forward, dark bangs falling across her sharp eyes, her athletic frame tensing, breasts straining against her blouse.
"Did you even listen? Did you forget your own ability? Iâm not asking the Guiding Light to find me a guy. I want
its
help to become the kind of woman they canât resistâsomeone they wonât run from."
Her blunt clarity hit him like a punch.
Heâd lost the thread in her flood of words, his cheeks burning with embarrassment as her correction sank in.
"Kiara..." he murmured, reaching out as if to touch her arm, his voice gentle, vulnerable, his cock twitching at the sight of her curves. "Let meâ"
She whipped her head up, eyes flashing with fire.
"What are you doing?" Her tone was sharp, her gaze a wall, her breasts heaving with each breath, the blouse clinging tighter.
His hand froze mid-air, his heart pounding like a drum in the quiet room. He swallowed, voice firming despite the heat in his chest. "Kiara... I like you. Not because the Light tells me to, or because I want to fix somethingâbut because youâre you. I wonât run away, even when things get rough. Will you... be with me? Even if Iâm not perfect?"
Silence fell, thick and heavy. Kiaraâs eyes widened, then she laughedâa deep, loud bark that shook him.
"Youâre so stupid, Lor! What a joke," she said, words tumbling like stones, her laughter sharp and mocking, tears glinting in her eyes.
His chest tightened, hurt flickering in his hazel eyes, but he forced a wry smile. "Why are you laughing?" he asked, voice soft, pain seeping through. "Iâm serious."
She shook her head, chuckling through tears.
"I know youâre serious, dummy. But did you hear me say I wanted a âhot guyâ?" Her voice dropped to a cold whisper, her gaze unflinching.
"Youâre not hot, Lor. Far from it." She leaned closer, her breasts pressing against her blouse, her thighs parting slightly, black lace fully visible.
"Shorter than me, weaker, loser of the classâmath score of three out of a hundred? I could get ten times that even if I write the test with my left toes. Youâre scrawny, awkward, barely worth noticing. Your spells fizzle, your charmâs nonexistent, and you think you can handle me? You think you can even hold my hand without me snapping your bones?"
Her words were relentless, savage, each one a blade slicing deeper.
"Your face is plain, your voice cracks under pressure, and you slouch like youâre hiding from the world. I could crush you without trying, Lor. Youâre nothing next to someone like Caelum, his strength, his presence. Youâre a shadow, a nobody." Her gaze zeroed in on his trembling fingers, her voice dripping with scorn.
"Youâre not even worth my pity."
Lor said nothing, every word like salt in a wound.
He forced a fake smile, masking the pain in his throat.
"Okay. I get it," he said softly, voice steady despite the sting. "My mistake. Iâm sorry."
"Yeah," she said, wiping tears of laughter from her eyes, her voice cold, devoid of warmth.
"You should be." She leaned back, her breasts rising, skirt riding higher. "Donât ever dream of it again, loser."
Her expression shifted abruptly, the mocking glint replaced by hard determination.
"Now... letâs get on with the ritual," she said, her tone sharp, eyes blazing with defiance.
Lorâs heart thudded, the hurt buried under a surge of focus.
He reached for a coin on his study desk, kneeling on the wooden floor, placing it between them.
Kiara sat opposite, her gaze fixed on the coin, her thighs parted slightly, black lace teasing in the lanternâs glow.
Her breasts heaved, her athletic frame taut with expectation, the air tingling with her earlier magical pulse, still lingering like a challenge.
"Ready?" he asked, voice low, steady despite the fire in his chest.
She nodded, her eyes hard. "Ready."
He closed his eyes, summoning a thread of power, a faint ripple of mana pulsing through his fingertips.
The coin quivered, then rose, hovering between them, catching the lanternâs light.
His eyes reopened, his tone deeper, resonant, as if another spoke through him.
"What guidance do you seek, child?"
Kiara looked at him, no tenderness, only defiance and determination in her sharp eyes.
She drew a breath, exhaling clearly.
"I seek guidance to shape myself... into the woman that no hot guy can say no to."