Xiumin kicked the door close with his foot and locked it swiftly with one hand, the other supporting Lily over his shoulder.

Soon as the lock clicked into place, he turned, lowering Lily and sliding down until they were seated on the floor.

Lily wasn’t sure what to expect, she’d never seen Xiumin behave like that.

He pulled her close until she was cuddled against his chest, then buried his head in her neck, arms tightening around her.

She stayed still, letting him do whatever it was that he was doing. His breath tickled her neck, the bite feeling extremely sensitive each time his nose brushed against it. She could feel his lips touch her neck and it made her shiver.

After a long time of holding her like that – she was beginning to wonder if he’d fallen asleep – Xiumin gently loosened his arms. They tightened again when she tried to move, so she stayed put, feeling him breath down her neck.

She started at the exquisite sensation of his nose pressing against the bite mark; he inhaled deeply and let it out, making it tickle. She squirmed in place, feeling uncomfortabl…y . it wasn’t her fault, the spot was extremely sensitive!

As if that wasn’t enough already, he pressed his lips against it. She bit her lip to keep from aloud. He growled as if in disagreement, then literal fire burned through her because he bit her again. Right on that exact same spot, his teeth burying into the indentations like puzzle pieces fitting into place.

She let out a breathy sigh, fairly melting into him and his arms wrapped around her securely. His legs spread out, caging her in entirely. Her head fell to the side, to give him better access and he took full advantage of the situation, kissing the spot wetly before gently biting again.

It felt like the spot was a bundle of nerves and just the slightest touch was enough to send such intense sensations through her body.

‘Xiumin!’ she squeaked when he bit her once again, fingers coming up to tangle with his hair because she needed something to hold on to.

He hummed in response, now busy marking up the rest of her neck. He still kept coming back to the mark, keeping her in this constant state of tension that could find no relief.

Not that he was unaffected. She could feel him pressing against her but he didn’t seem to be interested in taking care of that, seemingly content with just giving her more hickeys. Her lips were beginning to tingle with the desire to kiss him.

She tried to move, only to be restrained again and she groaned, frustrated and .  

Since their agreement, Xiumin had been very giving and hadn’t once gone against her wishes, doing his best to please her. It had made her forget about his tendency to drag things out until she cried actual tears.

She was remembering it very quickly now.

‘Xiumin, let me move…’ she pled, wanting to do something. If she let him, he would keep this up for hours.

‘At least move to the bed,’ she said when it became clear he had no intention of moving on his own. ‘The floor’s is hurting my knees.’

He backed off immediately and she let out a sigh that quickly turned into a squeak as she was swung up in a bridal carry.

‘I can walk,’ she protested weakly. He ignored her, carrying her over to the bedroom and gently depositing her on the bed.

The softness of the mattress felt heavenly after sitting on the floor for so long and she sighed, leaning back. She expected him to jump her now that they were in a better position but conversely, it seemed to… bring him out of whatever state he’d fallen into. At least his eyes looked a little less red, though he still had that wildness in them.

He loomed over the bed, looking down at her and making her feel self-conscious. She looked down in her lap, playing with her fingers.

‘Are you just going to stand there or are you going to do something?’ she said, feeling her ears flush. God, how she wanted him to just…

The growl was still prominent in his voice when he spoke. ‘Let me calm down a little.’

She looked up to meet his eyes. ‘Why?’

He seemed surprised. ‘Because…’ He glanced at himself, then at her, indicating the obvious. 

She arched a brow at that. ‘And?’

His own shot up. ‘And? You said you needed time.’

She tilted her head, observing him closely. It was the first time she was seeing him like this, with the beast this close to the surface. Sure, she’d heard the other girls talk about this kind of stuff but this was the first time she was seeing it with her own eyes.

Xiumin’s fingers were curled into claws, his body had this alert fluidity to it that made him look like a predator and his eyes were still red. From what she recalled, the beast was much more impulsive and far less restrained compared to the human counterpart. When the beast came up this close, it must be difficult to manage it.

And yet, here he was, still trying to respect her wishes.

In all honesty, if he’d held her against that door after locking it and thoroughly ravaged her, she would’ve been game. Probably would’ve thanked him later for not listening to her and doing what obviously needed to be done to put them both out of their (largely self-inflicted) misery. And yet, all he’d done was give her hickeys, not once seeking her lips.

She let out a measured breath.

‘Xiumin, how confident are you that if I asked you to stop, you would?’

‘Very unconfident,’ was the prompt reply, making her grin. Well, about time.

‘Good,’ she said, leaning back and arranging herself comfortably. Her fingers came up to her shirt.

Xiumin’s eyes tracked her movements greedily, even as he took a step back. ‘What are you doing?’

‘Undressing,’ she replied sweetly, sitting up to let the shirt fall off her shoulders. He seemed unable to look away, so of course she took her time, taking off her clothes and folding them neatly until she was down to her underwear.

‘Now,’ She stood up, stepping close to Xiumin. ‘where were we?’

His eyes flashed bright red.

……………………………………..

After managing to warm up on top of the building, Tae insisted that he put his shirt back on.

‘We need to look presentable if we want to get into any decent establishment,’ she said when he resisted. ‘We look really suspicious right now.’

He sighed. ‘Alright.’ Then he peered at her closely, looking concerned. ‘Are you sure you’re okay now?’

Well, she was beginning to feel a little chilly again because the floor was quite drafty and the snow was quite unforgiving but he didn’t need to know that. Plus, she kind of liked that he was wearing her perfume now.

‘I’m fine,’ she said, starting down the stairs. ‘Come on, I think I know where we are.’

They were, as she’d suspected, inside the new mall that had recently opened up. This wasn’t exactly how she’d planned her date but now that they were here…

‘Let’s look around,’ she said, grabbing his arm and pulling him along. ‘Where should we go?’

‘Uh…’ He looked around curiously, his gaze stopping at an old book shop. ‘Let’s go there?’

She laughed at that. ‘You’re such a nerd,’ she teased.

He smiled dorkily. ‘I am a teacher, you know.’

‘Of course!’ Couldn’t exactly that forget with all the students vying for his attention. ‘Alright, let’s go!’

Kris headed straight for the languages section and had soon buried his nose in a book. She left him to it, moving away to look for something interesting. Reading wasn’t something she did a lot of but she did enjoy it on occasion.

More than that though, it was a good place to shop for Nara.

She headed for the science section, looking for books on social psychology. There were a few that also explored body language and communication between couples and after some consideration, she picked those as well. Nara needed all the help she could get on romantic relations. Gosh, Tae was such a nice friend.

She also picked a few cookbooks for Ken as well because he would whine about favoritism if she only bought stuff for Nara.

She looked back but it seemed like Kris was still engrossed in whatever he’d picked up, so she started exploring for herself. A magazine caught her eye and with an excited gasp, she picked it up. She hadn’t thought she’d find something like this, but this was great.

Happily, she pranced towards the counter, placing her books and then heading back to Kris, magazine in hand. He smiled when she reached his side, putting the book back and grabbing another one. She let him do his thing, flipping the magazine open for herself.

In the middle was a full pin-up of her ultimate favorite group EXO, and she knew for a fact that this was limited edition, so what luck! The fan in her was ecstatic.

‘You’re an Exotic?’ Kris’s question penetrated her fangirling and she jerked her head up.

‘You know EXO?’ Her voice squeaked towards the end. If he was an EXO fanboy as well…

‘I’m familiar with them,’ he said with a smile, tilting his head to look at the cover. ‘That came out a while ago, didn’t it? These pictures are old.’

Tae put a hand to her chest, to calm her fluttering heart. ‘Yes,’ she said, smiling widely. ‘This was a limited edition cover. I hadn’t found them yet, so I wasn’t able to collect this one!’

‘Oh, you collect?’ he asked casually, replacing the book and turning to face her fully. Tae truly felt like she’d found the perfect man. He wasn’t being judgmental in the least, as some guys became when hearing about her interests.

‘As much as I can,’ she replied honestly, flipping through the magazine again. It had their exclusive interview over several pages and solo shots of all the group members. Oh, this was gold.

She glanced up at Kris coyly. ‘So… are you an Exotic too?’

He smiled, shaking his head. ‘No… but as I said, I’m familiar with them.’

‘How so?’ she asked as they headed towards the counter.

He was quiet, long enough that she thought he hadn’t heard her. After paying, when she turned, it was to find him eying her magazine with the most forlorn look in his eyes.

‘Kris?’ she asked, a little surprised by the intensity of sadness weighing him down.

‘Hm?’ He looked up, forcing a smile. ‘You’ve gotten everything?’

She nodded, holding up her bag. ‘Yes, I have. You okay? I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to cross any lines… you don’t have to say anything if you don’t want to.’

He shook his head, smiling sadly. ‘No, it’s fine. My mate, Karen, was an Exotic. She used to make me watch all their stuff. Oh, careful!’

He crouched down to pick up the stuff that had slipped out of Tae’s loosened grip but all Tae couldn’t hear anything over the rush in her ears.

His mate?

……………………………………

Xiumin was feeling like he was on fire, burning up wherever his body touched against hers.

After practically dragging him into bed, Lily had attacked him with all the suppressed libido of the past months and it had driven him nearly insane.

He had even stopped trying to push the beast back because there was no way he could manage himself when he was feeling this volatile.

She was like a goddess as she rose above him, and he felt helpless, a mere mortal at her mercy when she struck. It was heaven and it was hell.

‘Lily,’ he said when he finally caught his breath, leaning over her, ready and poised.

‘Mm?’

‘I love you!’ The words spilled out without filter, catching them both off guard. Not that he hadn’t said them before but the way he was feeling, the words seemed be dragged out straight from his heart.

Her half-mast gaze locked with his, the question in them clear.

‘I just…’ He sighed, shaking his head. At this point, he had little trust in himself or the beast and their ability to complete the claim.

‘I don’t know if this will work or not but I need you to know this. I love you, you are the mate of my heart and I-‘

‘Xiumin…’ Her voice was gentle and he felt tears prick his eyes. This helplessness made him feel worthless.

‘You’re mine,’ he said, not meeting her too perceptive gaze, feeling too raw and vulnerable. ‘I need you to know that you…’ His voice broke. ‘… belong with me.’

Her fingers were gentle when they caressed his face and he closed his eyes, feeling the drops spill over. Her fingers caught them, gently rubbing them away.

‘Look at me,’ she requested, voice soft.

He didn’t open his eyes, knowing he wouldn’t be able to hide anything from her.

‘Xiumin,’ she said again, ‘please look at me.’

He let out a deep breath, slowly opening his eyes. Her face was blurry and he realized he was crying.

She sat up, bringing him into a hug. He fell into it almost desperately, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her in until they were completely flushed together. His shoulders shook with the effort to contain his tears; they fell out anyway, getting absorbed into her bare skin.

She held him until his sobs tapered, not once letting him go, not even when he squeezed her so tight, it had to hurt. Instead, she just rubbed his back and shoulders, murmuring soothing nonsense.

When his heart felt less like bursting, when it felt like he wouldn’t shatter at the slightest touch, he slowly loosened his hold.

He didn’t have the courage to let go completely, however, didn’t have the guts to look at her face. He didn’t have any right pushing all of his insecurities on her, not when he’d made her suffer for so long because of them. Selfish… but that’s what he was, even now.

‘I love you.’ It came out broken.

‘I know…’ she murmured, her voice still gentle, not a hint of anger or blame. ‘I love you too.’

His breath hitched because how could she be so good to him?

‘It’s like you said,’ she continued, as if hearing his thoughts. She probably could, they’d never needed any link between them. ‘you belong with me, and I belong with you.’

‘You know…’ she continued after a while, still cradling him, his head resting on her shoulder. ‘I was really angry at you after you broke up with me.’

‘I’m sorry,’ he said immediately, regret filling him.

‘Hush,’ she shushed him. ‘I’m not done. As I was saying, I was really angry at you… because I thought what we had was unbreakable.’ Her voice shook slightly and he instinctively tightened his hold around her.

‘I’m a mere human, I don’t have any special powers that will let me claim you as my mate… but I’ve never needed a bond to tell me you’re mine.’ She leaned back, forcing him to meet her tearful gaze, eyes challenging,. ‘And I dare you to tell me that my love is any weaker because of it.’

The ferocity in her voice shook his core.

‘Lily…’ His voice was a hushed, awed whisper.

‘The only reason I want to be claimed Is because you need that reassurance, Xiumin. I know you love me and for me, that is enough.’

Her words struck his heart, and he felt his eyes fill up again. ‘Lily…’

She let out a wet laugh that turned into a sob, tears spilling down her cheeks. ‘Stop it, you’re making me cry too…’ she said, covering her face.

‘Sorry, sorry,’ he murmured, bringing her into his shoulder, cupping her head as her tears wet his skin. He ran his hands soothingly up and down her back.

It was a while before she settled, leaning into him and planting a kiss right over his heart. It thudded as if it wanted to jump out, to be closer to her.

He pulled her back until they were facing each other. Her eyes and nose were slightly red from her crying but she was smiling and to him, she’d never looked more beautiful.

‘You’re so gorgeous,’ he told her sincerely.   

Her smile wobbled. ‘Shut up,’ she said, voice heavy with tears. ‘and kiss me.’

He obliged.

…………………………………..

A/N

And that's how its done #couplegoals

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