Upon returning to the shop, Liam made sure to lock the door behind them. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Nora eyeing the shelves.

“Don’t steal anything,” Liam warned.

“Not like they’d notice,” Nora muttered.

“Well, let’s not risk it,” Liam replied. “Not to mention your hands are full anyway.”

“Fine…”

The two quietly ascended the wooden stairs behind the counter. Due to the silent atmosphere, the creaking steps sounded abnormally loud.

As soon as they stepped into the apartment, Liam looked toward the bedroom and saw the bed. He walked over to it. Then, he faced Nora.

“How much did this cost?” He asked.

“About fifty silver,” she answered as she trotted past him and jumped face first onto the covers. Although the bedding looked simple, the material looked about as high quality as the clothes. On top of that, the size easily measured wider than king size and took up a good portion of the room, though the design looked rather simple. However, for a first piece of furniture, it certainly did not lack in extravagance.

“I’m going to use the bathroom,” Liam said.

“Alright, I’ll be here, I guess,” Nora replied, voice muffled by the quilt.

When Liam returned, he saw Nora’s jacket and pants on the floor next to the bed. Sighing, he lied down atop the covers and placed both hands beneath his head. Mind blank, he stared at the ceiling.

Then, Nora faced him while under the quilt and said, “Sorry you had to search for me earlier.”

“It’s fine.”

“You seemed irritated, though.”

“Maybe a little.”

Silence fell over the two for a few moments before Nora said, “I thought maybe you left because you didn’t want me near you or something.”

Facing her, Liam asked, “Do I really seem that heartless?”

“Yes.”

Liam returned his gaze to the ceiling. Thinking back, he could not deny his attitude toward her probably would have come across as such. Mostly, it was due to that clinginess earlier. “I doubt it would be easy to find a cure or something, but I’ll look for one in my spare time. I don’t break deals.”

“We didn’t exactly make a deal, though…” Nora muttered.

“No, but there’s also no reason to pay me back if I never get around to it.”

“Well… you’re the only person that said it might be possible to cure, so it’s not like I have anyone else to depend on,” Nora mumbled.

“Hmph… depend on,” Liam muttered, snorting briefly.

Blinking, Nora stared at Liam for a few moments and said, “I think that’s the closest I’ve seen you come to laughing, or even smiling.”

Laughing… is it? Not sure I’ve ever done it naturally before in conversation, Liam thought.

Changing the subject, Nora asked, “Can I touch your fingers now?”

“...Fine.”

Liam bent his left arm in front of her face. Curiosity shining in her eyes, she poked the rough mutation on his fingertips.

“If it never goes away, you might not be able to touch people much…” Nora muttered.

“Never felt inclined to do much touching in the first place,” Liam replied.

Brows furrowed, Nora sat up, causing the quilt to fall away from her. Just like the previous night, Liam stared at her nearly nude figure. This time, he noticed her white tail curved over the edge of bed.

Looking down at Liam, Nora asked, “Why did you mate with people, then?”

“That? Only did it a few times when I was still a recruit. My bunkmates made me go with them to a brothel a few times, but even though it felt good, I never understood their addiction to it and stopped going. Why are you even asking?”

Head tilted, Nora answered, “Just curious, I guess.”

Focusing on her eyes, Liam sat up as well. Without warning, he placed his hand on her chin and gazed into her eyes. She winced but did not pull away from him.

“What?” Nora asked.

Looking back and forth between her eyes, Liam felt his chest tighten ever so slightly. Is this… attraction? He wondered.

“Um…” Nora muttered, “Is something wrong?” From her perspective, eye-contact usually involved a competition, but Liam’s gaze felt different.

Then, Liam moved his thumb upward just enough to brush her lower lip. Again, she winced.

“That kind of hurts,” Nora said.

“Hmm? Oh right…” Liam muttered, pulling his hand away. Shaking his head, he lied back down with his back to Nora and stared at the hand he touched her with. The tingling sensation of her skin lingered on his fingers.

Meanwhile, Nora gently touched her lower lip. Although the rough surface of Liam’s finger hurt slightly, the movement behind it felt gentle, too gentle, in fact, for Liam. Involuntarily, her gaze fell onto the broad shoulders of the man in front of her. Noticing a strange feeling in her chest, she placed a hand there. She blinked in surprise when she felt her heart racing. Briefly, she wondered if the pain of her ‘curse’ was starting to kick in, but no pain followed. Only her chest tightened.

Concerned, she placed a hand on Liam’s shoulder and asked, “Can you do that again?”

“What?”

“Putting your finger to my lip.”

Surprised, Liam stared at her for a moment. After thinking for a moment, he slowly sat up again. Instead of touching her lips again, he brushed a hand through her hair, placed it over her cheek, and said, “I’m going to do something else.”

Before she could say anything, he pressed his lips against hers. The tenderness of it sent a shiver through his spine. Although the contact lasted no more than a second, Nora recoiled, cheeks flushed with a rosy tint.

“W- What was that for?” she stammered.

Nodding to himself, Liam mumbled, “I thought so…” Then, he looked at Nora and asked, “Want to do it again?”

“Why? It feels like my heart is going to stop!” she exclaimed.

The reaction caused Liam’s lips to crack into an amused grin. Noticing it, Nora fell silent and averted her gaze. Closing the short gap between them, Liam warned, “I’m going to do it again.”

As he predicted, she did not pull away or stop him. In fact, when he placed both hands on her cheeks, she looked up into his eyes again. The blush reddened. Once again, their lips met. Both felt a tingling shock shoot down their spines.

When Liam pulled away, he looked into her glowing eyes. They begged for more. Honestly, he himself felt surprised that his body had such a reaction. Back at the brothels, he only went through the motions without really feeling anything. Compared to that, Nora was pulling out deep seated desire from within him with just a kiss.

However, her eyes widened as they focused behind Liam. The blush in her cheeks vanished. Turning around, Liam saw Scath emerging from his shadow on the blankets. The beast hopped to the floor, causing it to creak ominously under his weight. Scath briefly glanced at them, snorted, and left the room. He even closed the door behind him with his tail.

Bewildered, both Liam and Nora stared at the door for a few seconds before looking at each other again.

“So…” Nora meekly whispered, “what now?”

All tension had dissipated in that brief moment. Liam inwardly cursed himself for forgetting about Scath in the heat of the moment. However, he held no desire to allow the opportunity go to waste either. For the first time in his life, he thought he would be able to experience something that could get his heart beating besides combat.

“Again,” Liam said.

“Bu-”

Liam cut her off by pushing her down onto the bed. He slid one knee between her legs and planted his hands on the covers to both sides of her face. Her hair, white as snow, felt like silk beneath his palms.

Blinking, Nora’s ears twitched excitedly as she asked, “Will this lead to mating?”

“Maybe.”

This time, he silenced her with his lips while running his fingers through her hair. Perhaps she lacked experience, but she immediately wrapped her arms around him to pull him closer. Bodies pressed tightly together, Liam felt the soft yet firm resistance of her breasts beneath his chest.

With one hand, he reached down and gently caressed her hip. Pulling away from her lips, he backed up and leaned down to kiss her just above the waist. Although she briefly wondered why he stopped kissing her, she gasped when his lips touched her waist.

Inch by inch, he lifted her thin undershirt while pecking her abdomen until he reached her perky breasts. As soon as he kissed her left breast, she pushed against his shoulders with both hands and pressed her knees against his ribs. However, there was no strength behind either action.

Liam pushed her shirt all the way to her neck and kissed her there. She moaned briefly. Once again, they gazed into each others’ eyes, breaths short yet warm. The blush on Nora’s face deepened to a rosy red to match her quivering eyes.

Recognizing Liam’s intentions, she lifted her arms, allowing him to remove her shirt completely. Squatting over her, he began to remove his own shirt, but Nora stopped him by placing a hand just above his waist.

“C- Can you… let me?” She asked, panting between words.

Liam blinked. The question caught him off guard. However, he let go of his shirt. Lips curving into a smile, Nora crawled out from under him and lifted it over his head in a single swoop, practically tearing it away from his body.

“Someone’s a bit eager…” Liam muttered while wondering if she expected this to happen in the first place.

“Maybe…” she replied absentmindedly while petting his chest.

With Nora kneeling in front of him, he pulled her close and kissed her again. Her thigh brushed against his crotch. In response, she pulled away and looked down.

“Is that… um…”

“Never seen one?” Liam asked.

Nora shook her head, but continued to stare at it with a curious glint in her eyes. Liam reached down to undo his belt, but she stopped him again by grabbing his wrists.

“I want to…” she whispered while gazing up at him.

Something in her eyes made Liam unable to resist. Slowly, he removed his hands and waited. For a few seconds he watched her struggle with the buckle and chuckled.

“What?” She asked, looking back up at him.

Not wanting to waste more time, he grabbed her fingers and guided her. After that, she easily dropped his pants down to his knees. While she stared wide-eyed at his erect cock, Liam looked at it and thought, I didn’t know I could get this big…

“So… this is… supposed to go inside me?” Nora asked.

“Not yet,” Liam answered while pushing her back down. Before she could respond, he grasped the sides of her panties, stained by the juices spilling from her lower lips, and pulled.

“Eh?!” She exclaimed, unsure how to react.

Liam wrapped his arms around her thighs and admired her legs, slit, and ass. All three glistened in the moonlight filtering through the window. Everything about this woman was causing desire to surge through him.

“W- What are you doing?” She asked as her face turned an even brighter shade of red. Even her lush thighs began to blush.

With her legs resting on his shoulders, he leaned in and kissed her lower lips. In response, she gasped sweetly and her tail whipped around in random directions. While caressing her slit with both his lips and tongue, one of his hands slipped underneath her back. She gasped as he pulled his face away in order to feel her fur-covered spine. Running his fingers up her back visibly sent a shock through her body.

Didn’t realize there was fur on her back. Seems it made it so I could feel her without my fingertips hurting her, Liam thought. Shrugging, he returned to kissing her lower lips. Under his teasing, Nora squirmed and moaned, her voice sweeter than honey to Liam’s ears.

Figuring it was about time, he raised his head and looked at Nora. She panted while clinging to the sheets. Returning his gaze with glossy eyes, she asked, “Wha- What… the hell… did you… just do?”

“I got you ready,” Liam answered as he brushed his shaft against her exposed clit.

“Hii~ What?!”

“Might hurt a bit, I think,” Liam muttered.

When he pressed the tip of his cock against her lower lips, Nora raised a hand and while panting between words asked, “Wait… Ar- Aren’t you… supposed to… do it… from behind?”

“Hmm? Not necessarily.”

Catching her breath, Nora said, “But, it’s supposed to be like a domination thing. Claiming the mate.”

“What part of this felt like domination or claiming to you?” Liam asked impatiently since his cock was itching to enter her.

“...None of it…”

“Alright then,” Liam said as he pulled her closer.

Surprisingly, he easily slid inside her. As the warm walls within her tightened around him, she sucked in a sharp breath of air. Even so, Liam shoved his staff of life into her tunnel of love all the way to her womb. A spark of pleasure coursed through both of them.

Noticing no blood dripping from the connection, he wondered, Do beastkin not have virginity or something? I’m certain it’s her first time, but still… Whatever. I’ll figure it out later.

With that, he cast aside rational thought and leaned forward until their eyes met. In unison, they wrapped their arms around each other. Within her affectionate gaze, Liam saw the desire to kiss. While sliding out down below, he kissed her once more.

Unable to hold back, he rammed his hips into her. She only stopped kissing him for a moment in order to gasp before locking lips with him again. Heart racing, he began moving in and out faster and faster. Each thrust generated wet sounds as he rammed into her. The amount of love juice surprised Liam. After a few minutes of panting and moaning as Liam thrust into her, Nora wrapped her legs around his waist. Their eyes met and pleasure jolted through their connection like electricity.

At some point, Liam felt like he might cum, but he did not want it to end. It was too thrilling. He pulled out, much to Nora’s displeasure, and turned her on her side. While holding her right leg against his chest, he shoved his rod back inside. Again, she moaned sweetly. As Liam slid his cock in and out of her pussy, she grasped the sheets and focused on the physical connection between them. She even wrapped her tail around his thigh.

Before long, he felt the need to change it up again. However, when he pulled out, Nora pouted and sat up. Pressing her hands against his chest, she panted. “Me… on top.”

Raising his brows, Liam asked, “It’s your first time, isn’t it?”

“So?”

Shrugging, Liam leaned back and let her straddle him. She sat on his legs for a moment, gawking at his twitching cock. Carefully, she reached out and poked it. When it bounced back, her eyes widened, her ears twitched wildly, and her tail whipped back and forth.

Liam couldn’t hold back a short chuckle.

“Shut up. Was just curious,” Nora muttered. Perhaps her expression right now could be called cute? Honestly, Liam had no idea. He simply liked it.

While playfully glaring at Liam, Nora hesitantly wrapped her fingers around his shaft. Then, she stared at it instead of his face.

“I’m still waiting,” Liam muttered.

“I know. Shush,” Nora quipped. She raised her hips and tried to move Liam’s cock between her legs. Biting her lower lip, she ended up moving his cock around between her legs for a few moments until she found the right spot. Liam waited for her to slowly slide it in. Before she could, he reached forward and groped her ass, surprising her.

“Hey…” she muttered.

“What?”

“You’re a completely different person while mating.”

“Most people are. Also, it’s called sex.”

“Mmm… that sounds… a bit lecherous.”

“It is,” Liam said as he humped into her from below.

Although she glared at him again, she didn’t seem to mind, considering she started grinding in return. Her movements weren’t perfect, but she learned quickly. For several minutes they smacked into each other, looking both at each other or the place their crotches connected. Bolts of pleasure sparked with every single thrust.

Eventually, Liam noticed she began to slow down, so he grabbed her hips and stopped her movement. “My turn,” he panted.

All Nora could do was nod. Sitting up, Liam wrapped his arms around her. She did the same. When their eyes met, she figured out what he would do. She wrapped her legs around his waist as he pushed her down again without pulling out.

“Right back where we started?” Nora asked.

“Mhm.”

Once more, Liam thrust into her while they kissed. However, her breathing turned shallow, and her sweet moans grew louder. Her sharp fingernails dug into his back.

Oh, shit, Liam thought as he approached climax.

After a few final thrusts, she practically screamed in ecstasy shortly before he released his load inside her. Her inner walls trembled around his shaft, sucking every last drop out of him.

The two gazed into each others’ eyes. For one last time, Liam pressed his lips against hers. Even without counting, he knew he had kissed her more in one night than all his previous experiences. Finally, he pulled his shaft away from her tunnel.

Frowning, Nora panted, “Are we done?”

“You still want to go at it?” Liam asked while raising a brow.

“Uh… maybe…”

“Damn… How’d we even end up doing this in the first place?” Liam muttered.

“You started it.”

“Can’t deny that.”

“Why’d you start it?” Nora asked.

“First, how long are you going to keep clinging to me?”

“As long as I feel like.”

Rolling his eyes, Liam lied down with the naked cat-eared woman still clinging to him. Perhaps not all of her clingy act the other day was actually acting.

“So…” Nora whispered into his ear, “Why’d you start it?”

“Did you expect this might happen?”

“May~be. Well, honestly, no. Part of me believed nobody would ever want to mate with me,” Nora answered seriously.

Liam felt a prick in his heart. The damn woman was causing him to feel feelings. Part of him wanted to make the excuse that he did this for Noctis’ goal, but he knew that wasn’t the case. Noctis didn’t pop into his mind even once. “To answer your question,” Liam mumbled, “I wanted to find out whether or not I was actually attracted to you.”

“So, was it different than the other times?” Nora asked.

Liam sighed. He couldn’t deny that, either.

Tail waving in an obviously cocky manner, Nora smirked and said, “Looks like I win.”

“Win what?”

“Nothing.”

A chill began to creep up on them, so Liam covered them with the quilt. Then, with ears twitching, Nora asked, “Does this make me your woman?”

Sighing while scratching his head, Liam answered, “If you want it to, then fine.”

A genuine smile spread across her lips. Then, she closed her eyes as tears formed.

Why is she crying? Liam wondered.

Almost as if she read his mind, Nora said, “Until today, this is something that should have been impossible. Even if you don’t find a cure for me, this is already more than I ever thought I could have. So… thanks.”

Well, shit… Liam thought.