Playing with Fire *

This chapter contains mature content. Please read at your own discretion. (Rip time to add an additional R18 tag)

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Considering the difference between their strengths, the Northern King could have easily resisted Daphne's pull. Instead, he let himself be brought face to face with her, like a fish willingly biting on a fishing pole without a bait. Going along the momentum, he "accidentally" leaned more forward than she had initially meant for him to.

Their lips mere centimeters apart, it was as if a sudden wave of intoxication flooded Daphne's brain. If anything, she blamed the remnants of the poison flowing in her bloodstream.

A thought inched forward.

"Did you poison the candy you fed me?" She lazily asked, stretching her arms out like a sunbathing kitten. She did not mean for her words to be so slurred, but as this unknown feeling coursed through her body, every one of her muscles seemed to relax.

"I didn't poison the candy." He cupped her cheeks into his hands. Looking a bit guilty, he admitted, "It was to minimize your pain."

Daphne laughed. She knew she had been drugged, but already, that fact was slipping away.

She fought every urge to let the fact fade from her mind entirely.

Her own voice began to sound unfamiliar. "Korbin, don't do this again."

His name was foreign, and she couldn't quite remember who had told her it in the first place. A stranger? Did she hear it from somewhere? No, it was from the rude maid. What was her name again?

Daphne decided that it didn't matter. She didn't give the Northern King, Korbin, a chance to explain himself or to respond to the shock of hearing that name.

Prying his hands off her, she instead climbed onto his lap such that she rode on his thighs. Her legs swinging to the sides loosely, they occasionally grazed the side of his.

"Princess, do you know what you're doing right now?"

"Playing with fire." Daphne responded matter-of-factly, the cringe lines she had secretly memorized from those forbidden romance books breaking free of their padlocked cells. Tracing small circles on his chest, she enjoyed seeing how his chest rose and fell with her every touch. "Oh no, I forgot. You're cold."

He cocked an eyebrow, trying not to respond to her touches and give her the satisfaction that he indeed could not resist her.

"Playing with ice?" Half-mumbling to herself, Daphne continued her small movements. "No, that doesn't have as nice of a ring to it."

Something hard prodded between her legs, and with a small yelp, she fidgeted in place to make herself more comfortable. It pressed against one of her most private areas, sending small shots of electricity toward other parts of her body. No matter how much she shifted, it did not seem to budge. Instead, the situation only became worse as the intrusion became larger and more unbearable.

"Stop moving." The Northern King's voice was strained, and he fought against every temptation to push her against the floor. "Princess, stop moving."

He had not anticipated for the candy's effects to be this dramatic. If anything, it was only supposed to temporarily block her pain and numb the agony. Perhaps the poison remaining in her body reacted in strange ways to this medicinal candy. He had to double-check in his mind that he didn't accidentally grab a box of aphrodisiacs instead.

"It's annoying me." She protested, her voice soft as she shook her head. "Korbin, it's annoying me."

"Shhh...." Clenching his jaw, he took a deep breath. "Stop moving, get off, and it'll leave you alone."

He didn't know what had gotten into Daphne's mind, but if she continued this act, he would definitely live up to the name of barbarian.

Looking into Daphne's dreamy eyes, for a second, he was sure that he must have also eaten a bit of the candy. His body pulsed in ways that he did not know he could, and he felt all of the blood in his body flow towards a very specific place. Gulping, it took all of his self-will to not thrust his waist forward a bit more.

"Daphne..." His voice dropped even lower as she remained in her former position. "You do not want this."

She only looked back, confused.

Then, she grabbed it.

"If you won't tell it to stop, I will." She declared firmly, but with the flushed look on her face, it was difficult to take her words seriously.

Korbin sharply inhaled. Her fingertips were lighting a million sparks on his flesh, and he couldn't control how it throbbed from her touch. She gripped it tightly at the base, holding it like a hunter who was picking up a snake from the ground.

"Prin---"

She squeezed, and a wave of inexplicable feeling welled in his mind.

Seemingly relishing his expression, she squeezed again, this time even more firmly.

"You look like you're in pain, Your Majesty." She teased, vaguely aware of the meaning behind her words.

He grunted in reply, his breathing slightly frazzled.

Closing his eyes in defeat, he pretended to not feel her touches. Yet, with every one of her small pokes or prods, he couldn't stop the tremors from traveling up his spine.

He wanted to kiss her, but he knew that the minute his lips found hers, the night would end hours later instead. He was a barbarian after all, wasn't he?

If she really wanted it...

No, he reminded himself. His goal was to conquer her heart and make her willingly submit to him. More than anything, he wanted her to bow before him by her own will. If he took her body now, she would never forgive him after the effects of the drug wore away.

Just when he finally made up the resolve to push her away, his eyes widened.

With a silly grin on her face, Daphne somehow fished a small blade from his pockets.

Hovering it dangerously above the bulge that had caused her so much discomfort, she smiled as she brought it even closer to his crotch.

"Your body heals, right? Will this grow back as well?"

Her voice was sweeter than honey.

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Thank you so much to DaoistRd4L5I and IzzyBella16 for the ice colas! And thanks to DaoistRd4L5I (again) and Kathleen_D_Cox for the golden tickets! Your support really gave me the confidence to write this chapter. I hope it wasn't too disappointing!