Chapter 22: Perfect Gift

My gaze remained fixed on the thing in Raven's hands.

There she held the gift I had given her through one of her subordinates when I first came to this place. It was a sexy set of lingerie in a soft pink color that I bought while I was shopping for a mask.

Am I crazy to give her this?

No. Not completely, anyway.

The reason for choosing this particular item was simple. I needed something that suited her tastes and yet was provocative and intriguing enough to make her want to meet me. And according to my understanding of her, my choice was perfect.

With the knowledge from the novel about her personality and preferences, this plan was doomed to succeed from the start.

That's exactly what I had thought up until that point. Now it was turning against me, causing an overreaction on her part.

"How did you know that was my favorite color? You never listened to my chatter… or is there something I don't know about you?"

Yes, contrary to her appearance, her favorite color was soft pink. This was mentioned more than once in the novel in the context of the fact that no one could see the real her behind her abilities and appearance, which often drove her into depression.

"Just thought it would look pretty good on you."

When Raven heard my answer, she couldn't help but laugh out loud. She managed to say something in the midst of her uncontrollable laughter.

"Would look pretty good on me? How can you say things like that with a serious face?"

"I'm totally serious."

Gazing into my eyes, not allowing for jokes, something shook in her as she pinned me to the bed and her anguished voice was full of lust.

"How do you suggest I hold back when you say things like that?"

While I was trying to realize at what point we had managed to move to the bed, she provocatively slipped one of her snow-white legs out of the slit of her dress, reaching down to my pants and slowly caressing them.

"If that's really what you came for, then I'll have no choice but to satisfy that desire~"

Do I want it?

Hell, yeah!

But as much as I wanted to eat her now, I didn't want to be eaten myself!

For the first time since we'd met, I felt that in the movements of her hands exploring my body, there was an insistent desire to reach the very end.

She was insanely strong, and I had no leverage over her. The only thing holding her back now was my steadfast refusal to give myself to her.

And if that goes away too… I don't know how she'll act when she finally gets what she's wanted for so long. Especially given her unpredictable nature, which I couldn't read.

Then all I had to do was use my one advantage and turn this situation in my favor.

I grabbed her by the shoulders and flipped her over, pinning her to the bed. I was on top of her, and before she could say anything, I had two fingers in her mouth.

"Uukkhhhmm?!"

"Now lie back and listen carefully, Raven. I don't know who you think I am or what you think of me, but do you really believe you can do anything against my will?"

Grinning, I continued as her soft tongue began to wrap around my fingers and she sucked them quietly.

"Don't be silly, Raven, I wouldn't have come to you without good preparation. I ignored your antics last time because I still need you, but there won't be a next time, after all, there are no irreplaceable people to me."

There was a hint of resentment in her gaze after my words, but she didn't stop sucking my fingers. I caught her delicate tongue in a deft movement and squeezed it, summarizing it in a deep voice.

"So unless you want to end our relationship here and now, control your impulses."

If I meant that much to her, I had to use that to fundamentally change the dynamics of our relationship and take all the initiative away from her.

Feeling her reluctantly remove her hands from my body and seeing no negative reaction on her part other than her faintly nibbling my finger with her teeth, a satisfied smile appeared on my face. I gently ran my free hand through her perfectly dark hair.

"Well done Raven, you made the right decision."

Having thoroughly enjoyed this feeling of power, I switched to the pressing topic at hand.

"Now let's get to why I came. Remember that book I told you about the while ago? I need you to get it."

Even if Raven no longer felt a strong desire to get her hands on it, I still needed it.

To get her to answer, I pulled two fingers out of my mouth, sticky with her saliva.

A little frustrated with the newfound emptiness in her mouth, Raven was quiet for a while, apparently still considering my past words before speaking.

"...I will help you with your wish. But I have one condition... no, a request."

Seeing my slightly suspicious look, she immediately added.

"Don't worry, it's very simple and doesn't cross the line."

I nodded slightly at her statement. In fact, I really needed this book, so even if she asked for something valuable, I wouldn't hesitate to give it to her.

Her voice was filled with a mixture of strange emotions.

"Those words you said to me when we first met. I've replayed them in my head many times, but I always wanted to hear it again in person from you."

She paused for a second before her arms wrapped tightly around my body again, and there was a deep obsession in her voice.

"I only ask you to repeat once the words you said to me that day, and I will do that and anything else you ask me to do."

Seeing her crazy eyes filled with obsession, I realized that by this she wasn't trying to test my identity, but just hopelessly wanting to hear what she needed to hear.

To this I could only smile helplessly.

I've never cursed my lack of memories of this body so much.

There was no point in saying idiotic 'I forgot' type excuses, as all cultivators in this world had abilities beyond human limits, and this also applied to memory. So it would only cause unnecessary suspicion.

Seeing her expectant look that clearly said she wouldn't back down until she got what she wanted, I made my decision.

Without any hesitation, I leaned toward her sharply and caught her lips with mine.

"Mmmmhhhhhhhhh?!"

Sometimes you had to risk something to get what you wanted.