Gathering Husbands with a System in a Game Like World [BL]
Chapter 31: Is this a Dark Romance?

Chapter 31: Is this a Dark Romance?

Kai stepped into the corridor hoping the early hour would let him reach the stairs without trouble. He had slept badly, body still carrying the memory of the night before, mind refusing to settle. The hallway was quiet, morning light thin through the small window at the end. He took three steps and stopped.

Oh, no!

Elias was already there, leaning against the wall opposite Kai’s door as if he had been waiting the whole time. His arms were crossed, shirt half open, hair still messy. He looked calm, but his eyes were sharp.

Kai felt the familiar flash of irritation rise fast. He remembered the noises that had come through the wall yesterday, the way they had crawled under his skin and left him restless and hard and angry at himself. He remembered how those same noises had pushed him into doing something he still could not fully face. The hatred came first, sharp and clear. The rest he tried to ignore.

Elias spoke first, voice casual.

"Sleep well?"

Kai’s reply came out flat and cold.

"No I couldn’t, SOMEONE was disturbing my sleep."

Elias’s mouth curved.

"Is that so?"

"You know it is."

Elias pushed off the wall and took one slow step closer.

"I was only enjoying myself. Didn’t realize you were listening so carefully."

Kai’s hands curled inside his cloak.

"You made sure the whole floor could hear. Don’t stand there acting surprised."

"I never hide what I do." Elias tilted his head, studying him. "You look tired. Rough night?"

The question landed too close. Kai felt heat crawl up his neck and hated it. He hated the man in front of him for the way his voice had sounded through the wall, for the way those sounds had stayed in his head, for the way his own body had answered them.

"Move," Kai said.

Elias did not move.

"You really think you have the right to talk to me like that, Mr. Arclight?"

Kai’s jaw tightened.

"What do you mean? And you know that’s not really my name, right?"

Elias took another step.

"I know. I also know the fox was in your room last night. I could hear your moans through the wall, clear as day."

The words hit like a slap. Kai felt his face burn with a mix of anger and shame. He forced his voice to stay steady.

"Yeah, what’s it to you?"

Elias’s eyes stayed on him, calm and far too knowing.

"Tell me, what prompted you to give yourself up like that?"

"Stop it, Elias."

"No. Tell me. You are really stuck up so i was wondering....Was it the noises? You listened to me for a long time. You got worked up. Then you needed someone to take care of it."

Kai took a step back. Elias matched it. Another step. Another. Kai’s shoulder blades hit the wall. Elias kept coming until there was almost no space left between them. He could smell the stench of liquor in his breath.

Kai could feel the heat rolling off him. His eyes flicked down for half a second to Elias’s hands, the same strong hands that had torn orcs apart without effort. He looked away quickly, angry at himself for noticing.

Elias noticed anyway.

"You can look if you want," he said quietly. "I don’t mind."

"Fuck off."

"You first." Elias rested one hand on the wall beside Kai’s head. "You act so angry every time I get close, yet last night you were loud enough that I didn’t even need to try listening. The fox must have done something right. I should know because i touched myself to it"

Kai’s breathing had gone shallow. Hatred burned in his chest, but underneath it something else refused to die completely. He hated that most of all.

"You don’t get to talk about that, you disgusting perv!"

"Why not? You listened to me first. Fair is fair." Elias leaned in a little more.

"I heard the way your voice changed. I heard when it got higher. I heard when you finished. Did he make you feel good after listening to me all afternoon?"

"Get off"

"You really let someone you met days ago enter you?"

"Shut up."

"Make me."

Kai shoved at his chest. Elias barely moved. He caught Kai’s wrist instead, not hard enough to hurt, just firm enough to keep it there. His thumb brushed Kai’s pulse once.

"You’re shaking," Elias murmured. "Is it anger or something else?"

"Anger. Pure anger. You put me in that position yesterday with your noise and your showing off. I didn’t ask for any of it."

"Yet you still opened the door when the fox came." Elias guided Kai’s captured hand lower, slow enough that Kai could have pulled away if he really tried. He didn’t, and that fact made the hatred spike higher.

Elias pressed Kai’s palm flat against the front of his pants. The heat and hardness there were unmistakable.

Thick. Heavy. Bigger than Dexter’s; a literal beast man...longer and denser in a way that made his stomach twist with a feeling he refused to name.

What the hell? When did this turn into a dark romance?

Kai’s fingers twitched against the shape before he could stop them. Elias’s breath hitched once.

"Feel that?" Elias asked, voice rougher now. "That’s what listening to you do to me and me to you. You can hate me for it all you want. Your hand is still here."

Kai’s face burned. He tried to pull his hand back. Elias let him, but he did not step away.

"You are disgusting."

"And you’re still affected." Elias’s eyes dropped pointedly. "Don’t pretend you’re not. I can see it. The fox took the edge off, but it wasn’t enough, was it? You’re still thinking about the sounds you heard. You’re still thinking about me."

"I’m thinking about how much I want to hit you."

"Then do it." Elias tilted his head, offering the side of his face. "Go on. Slap me if it makes you feel better. You already did it once. It only made things clearer."

Kai’s hand came up almost on instinct. The slap landed sharp across Elias’s cheek. The sound cracked in the quiet corridor. Elias’s head turned with the force, then slowly came back. A red mark was already rising. He licked the corner of his mouth and smiled, but the smile did not reach his eyes.

"There it is. There’s the real feeling." He leaned in until his lips almost brushed Kai’s ear. "You can hit me all you want"

Kai’s back was flat to the wall. Every breath brought the solid heat of Elias’s body closer. The thick length behind the fabric nudged against his hip when either of them shifted. Kai hated how aware of it he was. He hated the way his own body answered even while the loathing sat heavy in his throat. Desire was there, unwanted and bitter, but the hatred was louder. It had to stay louder.

"Why do you keep doing this?" Kai asked, voice quieter than he wanted.

"Doing what?"

"Pushing. Touching. Talking like you already know what I want."

Elias pulled back just enough to look him in the eyes.

"Because you keep giving me reasons. You listened to me. You came to my door once already. You looked at me like you hated me and still couldn’t look away. Then you let someone else take care of the problem I created. I’m not going to pretend that doesn’t mean something."

Kai’s throat worked.

"You don’t know me."

.