BXBX NOVEL Chapter 617: Tempted To Touch [Part 1]
"But, it would be much better if you just rested, you know?"
"Mmm. I\'ll rest later. But the two of us need to talk first before I leave for Midgard."
Ethan and Chloe held hands as they walked. After they had gone a good distance away from his home, Ethan planted his right hand on the bark of a tree and activated his portable secret tree house.
The Catkins were always guarding him from the shadows, but he wanted to talk with Chloe in private, so he needed to go to a place they couldn\'t reach.
Following them from a good distance away was Lilith, whom Ethan asked to stand guard and make sure that his talk with Chloe wouldn\'t be disturbed.
She quickly figured that his Master didn\'t want anyone to disturb them, so she left his shadow and quietly trailed behind them.
Once the link was established, the two teenagers entered the tree as if they were walking right through it.
Seeing the familiar scene, Chloe sighed in reminiscence. It had been a while since she last came to this place.
"The next time we see each other will be in Brynhildr Academy," Ethan said as he and Chloe sat down on the couch. "When the time comes, I want to settle this distance between us once and for all because I don\'t like it."
The young lady gazed at the young man, who was looking at her with a serious expression.
"You want to hear the true reason why I distanced myself from you?" Chloe asked.
Ethan nodded. "Yes. Please, be honest with me."
Chloe didn\'t reply right away as she lowered her head to look at her hand, which was resting on the palm of Ethan\'s hand.
Minutes passed in silence. However, Ethan didn\'t say anything else and gave Chloe some time to organize her thoughts.
"The reason is actually very silly," Chloe said as a blush appeared on her face. "It\'s so silly that even thinking of saying it to you makes me feel embarrassed."
"It\'s fine," Ethan replied. "There\'s only two of us here."
\'Technically, you\'re right,\' Sebastian commented. \'But, only technically.\'
\'Shhhh. Don\'t ruin the atmosphere,\' Ethan\'s Other Half glanced at his partner in crime. \'As long as the two of us keep quiet, Ethan will forget that we are here.\'
Ethan, who heard the comments from the peanut gallery, did his best to prevent his lips from twitching. Right now, he was waiting for Chloe to tell him the real reason why she kept her distance from him.
He wanted to know how this distance could be crossed so that he could go to Midgard without worries.
"T-The truth is… I chose to distance myself from you because…" Chloe said as the redness on her face became a shade redder. "It\'s because… I want to remain chaste. At least for now."
"…"
\'…\'
\'… Huh?\'
Sebastian couldn\'t help but scratch his head, caught off guard by Chloe\'s reply.
"What do you mean remain chaste?" Ethan blinked in confusion. "You mean, you don\'t want me to embrace you? If that\'s it, then you could have told me from the beginning.
"It\'s not like I do it without thinking about what you girls feel, you know? I won\'t force you to do it, and my feelings will not change because of that."
Chloe sighed before shaking her head. "It\'s not about you, Ethan. It\'s about me."
The young lady stood up and walked a few steps away from Ethan.
A moment later, she spun around, and several orange flower petals engulfed her body.
When the flower petals dispersed, a beautiful fox lady, wearing an ornamental shrine priestess dress, emerged in front of him, making Ethan\'s mouth hang open in awe.
Three fluffy tails fluttered behind her, making Ethan\'s heart suddenly start beating wildly inside his chest.
"Right now, I am still in control of my senses," Chloe explained. "But, the more time I spend with you, the feeling of wanting to be embraced by you grows. In Beastkin terms, when the object of my desire is in front of me, I will get the strong urge to… do this and that with him."
Ethan thought that Chloe\'s face couldn\'t turn redder than it currently was. But, he was proven wrong because she was now beet red.
The young man wanted to approach her, but he immediately restrained himself. He had a feeling that if he did that, Chloe would run away in a heartbeat.
"Ethan, do you know why Lyall feels a strong attraction to you to the point of it becoming almost an obsession?" Chloe asked.
"No," Ethan answered.
Chloe nodded. "While it\'s true that Beastkins prefer to have strong partners, this is not an absolute rule they follow. Even if Lyall met someone very strong, there\'s a chance that she would not feel any attraction to them.
"Right now, Lyall doesn\'t know the real reason why she is feeling obsessed with you. But, I know the reason. It\'s because of your bloodline. To put it in simpler terms, ordinary people have regular bloodlines.
"If Lyall were to look at these people, she would see them as a bowl of porridge. But, when she looks at you, what she sees isn\'t a bowl of porridge.
"She sees something like a golden bowl filled to the brim with Ambrosia, the food of the Gods. This is why she is subconsciously attracted to you, and it\'s a very lethal attraction for someone strong like her."
Chloe smiled as she walked toward Ethan.
Her movements were very graceful and, in a certain sense, very sensual, making Ethan subconsciously swallow his saliva.
The beautiful fox lady then placed her index finger under Ethan\'s chin and slowly raised his head.
"Just like her, you look like Ambrosia to me," Chloe stated. "So, be very careful when you are around Beastkins. Although not all of us will be affected by your bloodline, those who have reached a certain stage will easily sense it oozing out of your body.
"Also, just in case you are misunderstanding something at this moment, I am not a Beastkin… uhh… it\'s really complicated."
Chloe was thinking of how to explain things to Ethan, but before she knew it, Ethan reached out to hold her waist and made her sit on his lap while petting her fluffy fox ears, which almost made Chloe let a soft squeal pass through her sensual lips.
"Hey, no touching!" Chloe immediately used her hands to cover her ears, preventing Ethan from touching them. "See? You are unable to control yourself when I\'m in this form. Don\'t you have strong willpower? Why don\'t you try resisting it?"
"I do have strong willpower," Ethan said before reaching out to touch one of Chloe\'s fluffy tails. The young lady melted in his arms, having been touched on her weak spot. "But, your ears and tails look so soft that I can\'t resist touching them."
Chloe, who had lost her strength after the young man playfully played with her fox tails, decided to take emergency measures or things would get out of hand.
She immediately undid her transformation and returned to her normal self, causing Ethan to have a disappointed look on his face.
"Let\'s talk properly first," Chloe said as she patted her chest, but she didn\'t make any move to leave Ethan\'s lap.
Whether her legs were unable to support herself or not, she wasn\'t ready to find out yet. She first needed to explain what had happened to her so that Ethan would better understand her current situation.