Chapter 288: The game of lewd

Emma didn’t lift her head from her knees, but her fingers tightened in his palm.

"If whatever comes out of that tongue is stupid," Emma rasped, her voice muffled against her cotton shorts, "I swear to the gods, Eren, I will flip you over my shoulder and introduce your handsome face to the floorboards."

Eren let out a chuckle, resting his cheek against Norelia’s soft chestnut hair.

"You’re welcome to try, Captain," Eren murmured. "You usually win our wrestling matches anyway. But... I just wanted to tell you the truth."

He paused, the teasing cadence stripping entirely away from his tone, leaving behind a stillness so profound that only the rhythmic crackle of the fireplace dared to fill the gap.

"I’m terrified too, Emma."

On his left, Aria shifted closer. The elegant villainess leaned her cheek against his shoulder, her loose midnight curls cascading across his arm, her golden eyes shimmering with quiet curiosity.

"You?" Aria whispered, her breath brushing his sleeve. "... you’re afraid of the same thing?"

"Every damn second," Eren admitted, his voice dipping low, raw, and completely unvarnished. He looked down at the fire. "I wake up half the time wondering what fresh hell is coming tomorrow. What disaster is waiting for us in the next hour. What blade is aimed at your backs in the next five minutes? It eats at me. It makes my heart ache."

"Life isn’t a neat, calibrated game," Eren continued, a faint, self-deprecating smile curving the corner of his lips. "It’s a chaotic mess. Even if we end The Substance tomorrow. Even if we hunt down everyone in the Syndicate. The world doesn’t hand out neat, tidy little safe zones where the swords stop swinging."

He squeezed Emma’s trembling hand, his thumb stroking steady, grounding circles against her skin.

"I can’t stand here and promise you that I’ll be invincible who never bleeds," he said. "I don’t know if I’ll ever be a perfect father. Hell, half of my instincts are thoroughly unhinged. But I know this much for certain: I will be a good father. I will be a good husband. I will be your best friend. I will stand between you, our child, and anything—and I will love you with everything I have until my last breath. I will do my absolute best."

Emma’s breath hitched, a soft, broken shudder passing through her broad shoulders.

Eren gave her hand a gentle, persistent tug, coaxing her unyielding posture until she had no choice but to lift her face from her knees.

Her grey eyes were glossy, rimmed with a fragile, shimmering layer of unshed tears that made her look breathtakingly beautiful.

"It is entirely your choice, Captain," Eren whispered. "If you want to wait until the dust settles, we wait. If you want to hold our child in your arms tomorrow, we will do it tomorrow. Time doesn’t change my answer. This is an unbreakable vow to my gorgeous, sexy tomboy Captain: I am going to make that dream come true for you."

For a long moment, Emma simply stared at him.

Then, with a ragged gasp, she leaned forward, burying her face into his neck, her forehead resting against his shoulder. Her arms came up, wrapping around his back with a fierce, possessive strength, anchoring herself to his solid, unwavering frame.

"Idiot..." Emma sobbed softly, the muffled word vibrating wetly against his skin as she clutched him like a lifeline. "You absolute, shameless... idiot..."

Aria reached over, resting a tender, manicured hand on the back of Emma’s head, smoothing the messy pink strands with a soft smile.

Emma took a shuddering breath, her fingers digging desperately into the back of his shirt as she let out the truth she had guarded.

"Thank you," Emma whispered, her voice thick, ruined, and infinitely sweet. "I love you so damn much, Eren... and I want that dream. With you. Only you."

The hearth crackled with lazy pops, casting light of gold across the white fur rug as the heavy emotional storm finally surrendered to pure, quiet comfort.

For nearly twenty minutes, nobody moved.

Eren sat cross-legged with his back against the low divan, Norelia nestled like a soft, purring kitten against his chest. Aria remained draped over his left side, her cheek pillowed on his shoulder while her manicured fingers absentmindedly traced the corded muscle of his forearm. And Emma kept one arm slung around his waist, her face still tucked into his neck.

It was idyllic, tranquil, and deeply healing.

Naturally, the moment the heavy alcohol surged back into their bloodstreams, high-society decorum went completely out the window.

Aria was the first to stir. With a long, luxurious stretch that arched her slender spine and pushed her silk camisole dangerously low, she reached out and snatched the whiskey bottle from the stone ledge.

"Right," Aria announced, her golden eyes flashing with a dangerously radiant, mischievous sparkle. "Emotional breakthroughs are thoroughly exhausting. So now... the party resumes."

Emma lifted her head from Eren’s neck, a vibrant, sheepish blush still lingering on her cheeks, but her eyes had caught that wild, post-tears adrenaline high. "Are you pouring another round? Because if we’re committing to a hangover tomorrow, I refuse to be outdone by a short professor."

"I am older than you two girls," Norelia slurred defensively from Eren’s lap, though she made zero effort to sit up, merely extending a hand toward the glass Aria offered. "My body can process alcohol with calibrated efficiency..."

Eren looked down at the trio of flushed, gorgeous faces, his lips twitching into a wry, amused smirk. "I hate to be the sole responsible person in this den of iniquity, but someone has to stay sober enough to drag three lightweight women to bed before sunrise. I’ll stick to water."

Aria paused, the crystal stopper hovering inches above the decanter.

Slowly, her head tilted. Her loose midnight curls spilled over her bare shoulder as a wicked, feline grin carved its way across her lips.

"Sober?" Aria purred, her gaze sweeping over his broad, bare shoulders with predatory delight. "You intend to sit there entirely untouched, watching three intoxicated women unravel beneath your shameless gaze? Oh no, darling. That violates every unspoken rule of high-society revelry."

Emma leaned back against the hearthstone, rolling her sculpted shoulders as a competitive spark ignited in her gaze. "She has a point. You don’t get to sit on your high horse looking pristine while the rest of us are baring our souls."

"He requires disciplinary action," Norelia chimed in softly, her red eyes peering up at his sharp jawline from beneath messy bangs. A tiny, devious smirk touched her small lips. "He is an uninvited guest crashing our private sanctuary. He must pay the customary toll."

"A game," Aria declared smoothly, setting the crystal bottle aside and crawling forward on her hands and knees until her face was barely inches from his. The sweet, heady scent of aged cherries and vanilla rolled off her skin. "A game of three. The rules are impeccably simple, darling: the three of us take turns making a demand. And you, our wonderfully stoic, sober anchor, are the sole subject."