Forbidden Fruit

Time passed and Haoyu remained quiet, watching her deeply. The atmosphere had turned tense and Tejumole was beginning to fidget.

Unable to take the deafening silence, Tejumole spoke again.

"Or…do whatever you want." Tejumole spoke and left the couch before Haoyu could react.

She walked briskly and shook her tension away. Who knew a child could be so adamant?

Left on the black couch, Haoyu took a deep breath and closed his eyes. His fingers moved towards his face and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

Unfortunately, that did nothing to calm his surging emotions.

The wilful organ in his chest was dancing even wilder than ever, but this time, Haoyu felt himself going with the flow.

His blood boiled, and he suppressed a growl which threatened to leave his throat.

He needed to confirm if he heard right.

"What I want?" Haoyu rose to his feet and walked towards the kitchen, where Tejumole was bringing out the packed food.

He arrived behind her, and placed his hands at the sides of the counter before resting his chin on her shoulder.

His abrupt movements gave Tejumole no time to react, as she was suddenly trapped between Haoyu and the cold counter.

"Whatever I want…? Professor, do you know what you're saying…" Haoyu's low voice sounded behind her. His rapsy voice reverberated in her ears, and caused the hairs on her neck to rise as her breathing hitched.

The sudden warmth pressed against her back caused Tejumole to feel strange.

She tried to move, but Haoyu caged her in place, and prevented her from leaving.

His fluffy head rested in the space between her neck and shoulder, and she gulped down the nervousness that was rising within her.

"Mm…" She hummed her response and Haoyu who heard her chuckled at her reply.

"No you don't…" Haoyu smiled, taking in her scent.

'if you did, you wouldn't dare to say such…risky words.' Haoyu closed his eyes and inhaled greedily.

Tejumole had a natural calming scent that made him feel refreshed after every inhale.

If he had to describe it in exact words, then he would say her scent was delectable.

She was like a sacred fruit, isolated from the rest of the world. The forbidden kind that was told in legends and sort after by many. It drew in countless curious souls, but remained out of reach from the multitude. They could only look from afar. Admire but never touch.

In this way, the fruit remained unsullied and retained its natural taste and fragrance. A fragrance that caused Haoyu to take greedy breaths, and enticed his senses as the intangible air current flooded his lungs.

Haoyu felt relaxed as he took whiff after whiff of Tejumole's scent.

The professor's body gradually turned stiff as Haoyu nuzzled her neck like he wanted to mould them together.

His actions caused her to review every page of every child raising manual she had ever read, but nothing explained why Haoyu was behaving like…like a canidae.

Haoyu nuzzled Tejumole's neck and hummed in satisfaction when he detected his scent mixed with hers. The amount was minuscule, but he could change that. He could intertwine their scents and make their smells indistinguishable from the other.

'Already such a heavenly scent, how would she taste…?'

Haoyu's eyes remained closed as his thoughts proceeded dangerously.

Tejumole was still clueless about what the child was thinking about and opened her mouth to ask if he was feeling alright. But just then, she felt something sharp nip the delicate skin on her neck.

"Ow!" The professor yelped in shock. Feeling the sudden pain, her body instinctively reacted, and she jumped away from Haoyu. She pushed him roughly to the ground and leaped a few feet away like a startled cat.

Haoyu, who was now sitting on the floor, covered his mouth and looked at her deeply.

Seeing her reaction, he wasn't offended about falling, instead his lips behind his palm stretched.

His eyes shone strangely as he watched the frightened kitten watching him warily.

Tejumole's eyelids trembled, and she let out a harsh breath.

Looking at the child on the floor, she felt a bit sorry for being so rough.

However, who asked him to suddenly bite her? Anyone would react the way she did.

Understandably peeved and unable to bring herself to scold the child, Tejumole turned and climbed the cantilever staircase, leaving Haoyu to stare at her departing figure from the ground.

He turned his gaze away from the stairs after she disappeared, and lowered the hand covering his mouth before releasing a sigh.

Surprisingly, his slightly opened mouth revealed elongated canines that gleamed sharply under the lights.

The skin on his neck and cheeks had also turned a greenish hue with a jagged appearance.

Haoyu ran a hand through his hair and licked the corner of his lips that were stained red with blood.

He closed his eyes and took deep breaths as he swirled his tongue. Savouring the sweet taste in his mouth like he would fine wine.

Huffing, Haoyu rose to his feet and glanced at the staircase before speaking lightly. His teeth had reverted to its original size and his appearance had returned to normal.

"I…may have gone too far…" Haoyu bit his lip with a troubled gaze and sighed as he climbed the staircase.

•••

Bang!

Tejumole closed the door behind her and walked to the middle of her room.

She had a thoughtful expression on her face as she stroked the place where Haoyu had bitten her.

"And he claimed he wasn't hungry. The little one is so famished that he's treating me like food." Tejumole mumbled as she touched the little dents that had appeared on her neck.

She let out a sigh and dropped her hands to her sides. The marks would heal after a day or two, she thought.

Tejumole proceeded to take off her clothes before folding and throwing them into the laundry basket.

Now left in her white underwear, Tejumole walked to her closet and brought out her night clothes before going into the bathroom.

A few minutes later, Tejumole came out of the shower with a towel in hand. She wore a green night wear with thin straps that matched the green foot mat, and had made her hair into twists.

The light piece of cloth wasn't tightly fitted, but still, it showed her slim figure and alluring curves.

Tejumole rubbed her head with the towel in gentle motions, but paused her actions after noticing Haoyu on her bed.

She raised an eyebrow and resumed her actions while watching him. Tejumole didn't say anything, but kept looking at the child with a stoic gaze.

Haoyu pursed his lips and coughed lightly before speaking.

"Professor…" He began with his head sticking out of the covers.

"I can't sleep…can I stay here tonight?" His dark eyes peered at her from underneath the soft blanket.

He huddled himself tightly while looking at her with an innocent gaze, hoping she wouldn't turn him down.