Chapter 146: Maybe You Can Become One Tonight

"Mmh~"

A soft, breathy moan slipped past Andrea’s parted lips the moment she felt his tongue completely overpowering and bullying hers. She was being utterly dominated within her own mouth, left entirely dizzy, flushed, and gasping for thin air as Fredrinn’s grip tightened around her delicate waist, pulling her flush against his hard chest.

Every nerve ending along her skin seemed to catch fire. The heat pooling between them was threatening to swallow all rational thought, turning the dim, blood-smeared hallway into a haze of raw friction and heavy breaths.

"Ahhh~ Not here~"

With a breathless gasp, Andrea tore her lips away, violently breaking the seal of the kiss. She leaned heavily against his broad shoulder, panting as she glared up at him through heavily hooded eyes, her cheeks burning a furious crimson.

Her arm was no longer draped around his neck. Instead, her slender fingers had reached frantically behind her own back, desperately clamping around his wandering wrist. Fredrinn’s rogue hand had already slid down the curve of her spine, boldly attempting to slip beneath the hem of her denim shorts to take a firm, possessive handful of her perky butt.

Caught completely red-handed, Fredrinn threw his head back and laughed out loud. His rich, booming chuckle echoed softly down the corridor, thoroughly amused by how easily flustered she became. Yielding slightly so as not to push her past her absolute limit in an open hallway, he let her pull his hands away.

Of course, he didn’t let the opportunity go entirely to waste—he gave the supple cheek a shameless, heavy squeeze right before releasing his grip.

At this point, Andrea’s face was glowing as red as a ripe tomato. Her jaw set in a pout, she let out an exasperated huff, shoved lightly against his chest to break his hold, and turned on her heel. With crossed arms, she marched straight toward the foot of the staircase without displaying a single ounce of fear.

She wasn’t a fool. If Fredrinn had strolled down to fetch her looking this relaxed and thoroughly entertained, whatever danger had lingered on the upper floor had clearly been crushed.

Still, just to be completely certain, she cast a quick glance over her shoulder. Seeing him leisurely trailing behind her with an amused smirk on his lips and not a shred of concern in his eyes, she received all the confirmation she needed. Her posture eased, and she began climbing the stairs with brisk, confident strides.

Moments later, the steady rhythm of footsteps signaled that Fredrinn was following directly behind her.

Curiously, despite his towering frame, awakened physique, and vastly superior speed, he made zero effort to overtake her on the narrow steps. He didn’t even attempt to pull alongside her. Instead, he maintained a steady, deliberate pace precisely two steps below, keeping his eyes firmly locked ahead.

’Damn, the jiggle is insane... I feel like an absolute pervert watching her this way, but... just damn,’ Fredrinn thought to himself, completely unapologetic.

Every few seconds, Andrea would sense the heavy, burning intensity of his gaze boring into her back and turn around with a sharp, suspicious glare. Whenever she did, Fredrinn would immediately clear his throat with a dry, innocent cough, looking toward the concrete walls as if deeply fascinated by the architectural structure of the stairwell.

Andrea could feel his hungry stare tracking every sway of her hips and the rhythmic bounce of her rear as she ascended the stairs. The heat on her cheeks deepened with every second, but there was little she could do to escape it except try to outpace him. She quickened her steps, practically jogging up the remaining risers.

Alas, the desperate plan to shake off his gaze failed spectacularly. Fredrinn was an Awakened with peak physical conditioning; matching her breathless sprint required barely an ounce of his stamina, allowing him to maintain the exact same scenic distance without breaking a sweat.

"Stop staring like that!" Andrea huffed in complaint the moment her sneakers finally hit the third-floor landing, wheeling around to properly scold him.

However, the playful, flustered scowl vanished from her face the second her gaze wandered past his shoulder and swept across the open corridor.

Her blushing smile dropped by several noticeable degrees. The sight before her was an absolute charnel house. Limbs, severed cleanly at the joints, lay scattered across the gore-soaked floorboards. Viscous dark fluid pooled heavily on the carpet, and the rancid, suffocating stench of butchered undead hung thick in the air. The sheer brutality of the aftermath hit her like a physical blow.

Her feet froze instantly in place.

Caught off guard by her abrupt halt, Fredrinn bumped straight into her from behind, throwing off her footing. Before she could tumble forward into the carnage and embarrass herself in front of Jenny and Rose—who were still standing further down the hall, watching them—Fredrinn’s strong arm snapped out, catching her securely around the waist and steadying her against him.

"Are you okay?" Fredrinn asked gently, his playful tone softening with genuine concern as he noticed her posture stiffen like stone.

Andrea snapped out of her daze at the sound of his voice. Forcing a bright, reassuring smile onto her trembling lips, she shook her head dismissively, desperate to hide the sudden chill in her spine.

"Me? Oh yes, I am fine. Obviously. What would happen to me?" She let out a small, self-deprecating laugh, giving a light shrug as if the butchery meant nothing to her. "I am just... a little sad that I am not an awakener to support you guys. I feel useless watching from behind."

Fredrinn leaned in close from behind, his lips brushing softly against the delicate shell of her ear.

"Maybe you can become one tonight," he whispered in a low, wicked rasp.

Before Andrea’s mind could even process the staggering implications of that promise, Fredrinn’s hand slid smoothly upward from her waist, slipping boldly under her shirt to intimately cup the soft, full swell of her gorgeous twin peaks.