Chapter 54: Is this where you take all of your snacks?

Words : 1696 Updated : Sep 17th, 2025

Chapter 54: Is this where you take all of your snacks? "Why now am I considered weak?" Cass asked, tears running down his face and his arms trembling. Lord Vespertine held him in his arms tightly, tight enough that Cass couldn’t wrap his arms around him in return. Cass didn’t want to. He wasn’t going to seek comfort from this man’s arms. He wasn’t going to find comfort from any man’s arms. "W-Well, uh, I guess you’re appealing to my desire to protect?" Lord Vespertine offered and Cass struggled in his arms. Desire to protect? Where the fuck was he when everyone was forcing a bond onto him he didn’t fucking want? "Let me go. I don’t want such a fucking useless-" Cass felt like a sputtering, hissing cat as Lord Vespertine tightened his arms around him. Cass hated how his head slotted perfectly into the nook of his shoulder. Fucker. "Woah woah, don’t spit in the face of my concern so easily. I probably didn’t phrase that well." Lord Vespertine tried to soothe, but Cass was pissed. He was upset. He was angry. He didn’t want to be confined. "I’m sorry, Cassian. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have-shit, we shouldn’t be caught like this, everyone is going to know it’s us. Will you calm your temper long enough for me to take you somewhere quiet? Without prying eyes? I don’t care what others say about me, but I know you care about your image." Lord Vespertine’s deceivingly soothing voice washed over Cass, and against his will, he felt himself relax. Shuddering, shaking breaths escaping from his lips, Cass eventually relented, relaxing in his grip. Lord Vespertine sighed heavily, pulling away and glancing around before taking Cass’ hand and leading him down the path. Cass didn’t question how he knew the town so well. Someone like him probably didn’t like drinking the stuff in that bottle. Cass honestly felt ill thinking about it now. He hated blood. The sight, the smell, the texture, and yet... Fuck. Stop thinking, Cass. Lord Vespertine led Cass into a quiet area, not quite a side street, but clearly an unused area of town. A lone tree tucked away, with a few benches tucked around it. Litter dotted the ground here, as well as a bunch of leaves, but Cass didn’t say anything. His tongue felt heavy with only jabs. He didn’t want to do that right now. He just wanted to be alone, honestly, but Cass knew that Lord Vespertine wasn’t going to allow that. He was just swept along by these damn male leads’ intentions. Didn’t even matter if he was technically a male lead as well. He was just an imposter. Lord Vespertine had Cass sit down first, and then sat next to him. He didn’t release Cass’ hand, in fact, taking his other hand in his own. Cass wouldn’t meet his gaze while Lord Vespertine stared at Cass’ face intently. Cass hadn’t stopped crying even now, but the stream had slowed. He wanted his hands so that he could wipe away the streams, but Lord Vespertine resisted letting his hands go. Cass frowned, frustrated, and Lord Vespertine chuckled. "I shouldn’t have compared you to Lady Ava. You’re far too stubborn to be anything like her. I must have just seen how you both look like angels when crying and the words slipped out." Cass’ frown deepened and Lord Vespertine chuckled. "Damn, are you pouting? That’s adorable." "I am not pouting." Cass growled. "I’m angry." He said and Lord Vespertine smiled at him, leaning down to get a good look at Cass’ face since he was trying to hide it. Cass hated that he had to do that. Fuck. He wished he was his old height. "Really? You aren’t? Then why is that bottom lip sticking out? Shit, why are your lips so plump? I never noticed until now." Cass felt a shiver run down his spine, and he turned his gaze up to glare at the other man. "Don’t you even think about continuing that train of thought." Cass told him harshly, and Lord Vespertine’s eyes widened. "That train of thought? Where did you think my thoughts were going?" Cass took in his expression, the open way he was staring at him, and Cass’ mouth opened as he felt his whole face turn red. Shit. Fuck. Shit fuck. Lord Vespertine wasn’t Draken. He might have been teasing him earlier in the carriage to get a rise out of him, but this was a completely different situation. He might have really just been commenting on his lips. Nothing more. Not everyone thought about others that way. Especially straight men. It was one thing to tease another guy, something completely different to actually do anything with another guy! Lord Vespertine chuckled, his eyes narrowing as he took in the expression Cass was making and he leaned in. "Lord Cassian, did you think I was going to take advantage of you by taking you to a dark, secluded area away from prying eyes? Hmm? Maybe comfort you?" Cass dropped his head, his heart racing in his chest. That wasn’t exactly what he’d thought, but he couldn’t say that now that he’d brought it up, it didn’t make him nervous. Lord Vespertine was considered a playboy because he often disappeared with women into dark, secluded spots. Cass knew from insider information that he wasn’t actually doing anything...sexual with them, he was just having a little snack. Cass could not, and would not be a little snack for him right now. "I, uh, you don’t...you don’t need to comfort me." Cass stuttered, sniffing as tears continued to run down his cheeks. Lord Vespertine released one of his hands to tilt Cass’ head up, meeting his gaze again. "Lord Cassian, it’s okay to want to be comforted. I had intended to do that, I just didn’t think your thoughts would run so...deviously." Cass would never live this moment down. His face was too red, and he knew Lord Vespertine was the type who liked to tease. Fuck! "I-It wasn’t-a-anyone would get the wrong idea if someone made a comment like that about their lips!" Cass muttered. "I don’t go around looking at other’s lips. I-I’m not a deviant." Cass protested, ignoring the way that Lord Vespertine’s eyes began to glow. Fuck fuck fuck. "Oh? So I’m the deviant now? It sounds like you’re just trying to push the blame onto someone else, Cassian." A shiver ran down his spine at the way the other man said his name. Cass felt like he couldn’t breathe. Fuck. He was going to take a page out of Draken’s book. "W-We’re married to another woman, Lord Vespertine." Cass mumbled, staring at the tree to the left of Lord Vespertine’s head. Lord Vespertine chuckled, his grip tightening on Cass’ hand while his other snaked around Cass’ waist, yanking him closer to him. "I think, Cassian, that Fiona would probably not protest if we got a little closer, hmm? And what’s a few kisses between husbands who share the same wife? We could just call it practise, couldn’t we?" Cass was growing more flustered by the second. "I-I don’t need to practise!" Cass called desperately, and Lord Vespertine chuckled. "Oh? Are you so skilled you don’t need any help to seduce our wife? Well, I fear I can’t say the same. Care to teach me, Cassian?" His breath was fanning Cass’ face, and Cass was panicking. This was the exact opposite of what he’d literally just promised himself! How the hell did it get like this? Cass raised his free hand, pressing it against Lord Vespertine’s chest. He froze when he realised how defined his chest was, and confusion washed over his brain. What? How was he? Lord Vespertine chuckled, leaning in until millimeters separated their lips. "You’re so easily distracted, Cassian. Did you forget you were supposed to push me away?" Cass gasped, before he scrunched up his eyes, trying his best to not look the other man in the eyes. Fuck! He did get distracted, and he was sure that his hand had done a little groping. He shouldn’t have done that. "V-Vespertine, you really shouldn’t-" "Vespertine? Don’t you think we’re on a first name basis, Cassian? We’re about to share an intimate moment between husbands. Call me Edgar." Cass felt his whole body freeze as the other man’s lips touched his own. His heart was racing in his chest, he could feel his blood flowing through his veins, and he could feel...how soft his lips were against his own. Lord Vespertine shifted, pulling away to press his lips against Cass’ again and Cass swallowed. Lord Vespertine’s hand slid up Cass’ back in a gentle touch and Cass’ grip on Lord Vespertine’s hand tightened. Cass wanted to protest, especially when Lord Vespertine pulled away again only to press his lips more firmly against Cass’. It felt awkward, it felt intimate, it felt...too nice. It was too nice. Cass had never allowed himself to kiss anyone. Ever. Not even kisses on the cheek. His lips had been only for eating and protecting his teeth when he got into fights. This? He had no plans for this. Cass couldn’t help the sigh that left his lips when Lord Vespertine pulled away again and Lord Vespertine froze, before his whole body began to shake. "You aren’t allowed to get cuter, Cassian." Cass’ eyes flew open at the soft tone, and Cass realised he wasn’t the only one blushing. On Lord Vespertine though, it looked very attractive. It fucking suited him, and Cass felt his own cheeks heat more. "I-I wasn’t-" Lord Vespertine leaned in, pressing his forehead against Cass’ and making Cass even more cautious. "Oh, so you’re just a natural at it, huh? Damn. That’s dangerous. I might just want to devour you if I don’t keep my wits about me." Cass’ heart nearly jumped out of his chest. "W-W-What does that mean?" Cass, flustered, demanded, and Lord Vespertine chuckled. "Nothing. It means nothing." Cass hated that he was drawing small, careful circles on his back. Soothing him. "Good news, Cassian, you stopped crying."

Chapter 54: Is this where you take all of your snacks?

Comments (0)