Chapter 130: Chapter 1 Maxi flinched and backed away until her back bumped into rough bark. Stepping closer, Riftan cupped her breast and pressed his lips against hers. His thick tongue pushed past her lips and roamed her mouth. The pouring rain beat against their faces, shoulders, and backs as drooping leaves clung to their cheeks. It was the most primitive thing Maxi had ever experienced. Picking off the leaves, Riftan kissed her cheek, jaw, and eyelid. Maxi drew in a sharp breath, and the smell of rain and wet vegetation filled her lungs. Lowering his head, Riftan licked the raindrops from the tip of her breast. Then, as if needing more, he hungrily began to suck on it. It was like she was caught in a storm. She pulled on his wet tunic as if to tear it off. Squeezing her breasts up, Riftan peppered them with kisses one after the other before pulling his soaked tunic over his head. Maxi’s eyes roamed over his smooth, marblelike shoulders. The rain spattered over them, and white vapor rose where his body met hers. Her skin prickled. She wound her arms around his broad neck, and he responded by devouring her lips as he slid his hand between her legs. The moment she felt his fingers stroking her sensitive flesh, her body shook as though struck by lightning. Maxi writhed beneath the overwhelming deluge of sensations, and a growl escaped Riftan’s throat. “I can’t hold back any longer.” His face was contorted as though he were enduring unspeakable pain. “I am truly... at my limits.” His helpless gaze made Maxi shudder. He was engulfed by a pressing need as powerful as hers. His finger slid deeper inside her, where it began to skillfully stoke the heat. Maxi’s lips latched onto his shoulder as sporadic moans bubbled up. Her limbs felt as though they were melting, and her nerves were so tightly strung that her body quivered at the smallest stimulation. Riftan’s last bit of patience burned away at the sight of her sensitive reactions. As if he could wait no longer, he yanked his trousers down and thrust into her. Maxi let out a moan as he filled her. It felt as if a burning rod had entered her stomach. Startled by the tightness, Maxi began to writhe. Riftan held her against him and did not budge. She felt like a mouse caught in a snake’s coil. Clinging to his shoulders, Maxi gasped for air. His sturdy thighs were taut against hers, and his muscle-hardened abdomen pressed against her soft stomach. Soon, Riftan began to rock his hips. Maxi bounced up and down with only his arms holding her up. Each time he drove into her, it caused a tingling deep within, and her lungs felt as though they would explode. Her head was spinning. Raindrops seeped into her eyes and trickled down her cheeks. For all she knew, they could have been tears of passion. Maxi shook her head like a woman driven out of her mind. “R-Riftan...” Pushing her against the trunk, Riftan began to move faster, thrusting deeper into her. Maxi was stretched to her limit. Unable to withstand the motion, her body convulsed as she clung to him. Riftan grabbed her hand and entwined his fingers with hers. Finally, he grew rigid, and Maxi felt his lukewarm essence erupt within her. The erotic sensation made her quiver. A sharp pleasure rippled through her, and it felt as if she would burst apart into tiny pieces. “Damn it...” said Riftan, his chest heaving. He still held her tightly. Exhausted, Maxi slumped against him and lay her head on his shoulder. Strength refused to return to her legs as her thighs continued to convulse. After carefully withdrawing from her, Riftan scooped her up. He pulled on his trousers with his other hand and wrapped his tunic over her body. The rain had grown weaker, and now it pattered against their skin more gently. Riftan strode over to their tent with her still hoisted in his arms. Finally regaining her senses, Maxi nervously looked around. The knights were thankfully nowhere to be seen. Riftan shuffled into the tent on his knees and lowered her onto the bedroll. He did not seem to care that the cot he had carefully laid out for her was getting wet. He peeled off the soaked tunic and climbed on top of her. “Let me have you one more time.” His eyes were clouded with desire. Planting a kiss on her breast, he positioned himself once more between her legs. She felt his thickness push deep inside her. Maxi sobbed pitifully. Sparks appeared above her as her most sensitive flesh was stimulated again so soon after her last pleasure. Placing his elbows above her shoulders, Riftan lowered himself onto her and slowly began to move. His large, rock-hard body enveloped her own. Maxi bit down on his forearm to repress her moans, and his lips quivered when even that stinging sensation brought him pleasure. “Goddammit...” Soon, he began to move wildly, abandoning all restraint. Dizzying ecstasy took hold of Maxi and stretched on and on. Her climax was akin to torture. Maxi clawed and struck at Riftan like an enraged cat. Riftan rained kisses over her lips, cheeks, and eyelids as if to soothe her, and continued to thrust inside her. At length, his climax followed. Maxi tossed her head back as he drove inside her with such force that she thought her body might break. Her lungs felt close to bursting, and her brain had melted into a murky puddle. Her body tense, Maxi gazed hazily at the ceiling of the tent before going limp and closing her eyes. Drowsy darkness engulfed her, and Maxi went out like a light beneath him. *** Maxi slowly opened her eyes again when she felt a wet towel wiping her body. Darkness had fallen while she had been asleep. She vacantly listened to the rain pelting down outside when she felt a hand sliding between her thighs. She sat bolt upright. Riftan immediately pushed her back down onto the cot and gently wiped her feverish flesh with the cool towel. “Lift your legs. I’ll help you get dressed.” Looking up at his silhouette, Maxi followed his instructions. After helping her put on her undergarment, Riftan hoisted her upper body up and helped her into a tunic as though she were a child. Maxi pulled the tunic down below her knees and lay on the blanket again. Riftan turned away from her and rummaged through his bag. “The rain wouldn’t let up so we were unable to cook anything. Have this for now.” Maxi gingerly accepted the fist-sized apple he held out to her. Setting etiquette aside, she munched on it without getting up. Riftan also fed her bite-size pieces of bread as though he were feeding a bird. “We will be spending the night here and starting out again as soon as the rain stops.” He sat silently next to her with a leg stretched out in front. After a moment, he hesitatingly opened his mouth. “Do you feel all right?” Maxi attempted to sit up but dropped back onto the cot with a groan. Her waist throbbed as though it were being stabbed, while the flesh between her thighs was stinging. At a loss for what to do, Riftan massaged her waist. “Did I hurt you?” “N-No, it was not painful. It was... just a bit... t-tiring.” ... He released a repressed sigh. “Damn it. After all that time restraining myself... I truly did not intend for this to happen. I lost control...” “You have been... r-restraining yourself?” Maxi asked in surprise. Silence fell over them. Riftan, who had been sitting motionless in the dark, pinched her cheek without warning. “How could you be so oblivious to a man going through torture right in front of you?” Maxi’s mouth flew open at his accusation. She had always considered herself as the keen and sensitive one, while Riftan was obtuse and knew nothing about a woman’s feelings. Rubbing her stinging cheek, Maxi glowered at him. “It is you... w-who is strange! W-Who could have imagined that such a thing would be on your mind... after an exhausting d-day? Moreover... I have n-not been... looking my best.” Not looking her best was a delicate way of putting it. Her wind-blown hair was disheveled, her clothes were filthy, and her face was streaked with sweat. Who would have thought that he would feel desire at such an appalling sight? Nonetheless, Riftan’s perspective was evidently different. He rubbed his forehead with his palm. “Your face was flushed, your eyes sparkled, and your clothes clung to you, drenched in sweat. And your tousled hair...” He groaned and stared at the ceiling. ... “This is the hardest campaign I’ve ever been on in my life.” “I-I did not know that it was... so hard on you,” Maxi mumbled weakly after a brief silence. She was no stranger to his virility, but she was stunned that he could feel such strong desire even in the middle of an exhausting march. 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶 Was that the reason he had been sleeping outside their tent? When she looked up at his face blankly, Riftan sighed and pulled the blanket over her. “I was going to restrain myself to the end. I know that it is hard for you to keep up with us, so I should have let you rest whenever possible...” He swore under his breath. “I must have lost my mind.” “I-I did not... dislike it. I-I was surprised... but... I-I still liked it.” Maxi’s face turned crimson at her own words. She had not said them merely to reassure him. His reaction meant that he was so taken with her, and that made her happy. The way he had looked at her in the rain was unforgettable. For the first time in her life, Maxi felt like a stunning beauty. It was a scary but thrilling moment she knew she would never experience again. She reached out and caressed his forearm, and Riftan lay down beside her. He pulled her into his arms. “Do not say such things. Or do you really want to drive me mad?” He said it in a grumble but pleasantly rubbed his cheek on her shoulder as he did so. Maxi giggled when his warm breath tickled her nape. Though she was utterly spent, she had never been so sated and happy in her life. Enveloped in his embrace, she listened to the rain until she drifted off to sleep once more.