CHAPTER 130: TOO PERFECT A MOMENT *

The two lay there on the ground then barely two feet away from each other. Staring at the ceiling and breathing in silence. At some point, Delia caught her breath and stopped breathing hard and, before she knew it, she and Caius fell into a sync.

"So I guess that’s it, then," Caius said gently after a while, "You got your rematch and I got my retribution."

Delia scoffed.

"Please, this is far from over," she said.

"Oh? I was sure you’d have gotten out of your system now," Caius said but he didn’t sound surprised. He wouldn’t know her as well as he did if he were.

"And let you go out on a win?" Delia asked, "Hell No!"

"Hmm," Caius said, "Well, if we’re making this a regular thing, I might as well give you some pointers."

That took Delia by surprise. She looked to the side at him.

"Pointers?" She asked.

"Yeah," Caius said still staring at the ceiling and knowing she wouldn’t take what was currently sounding like charity, he threw in a snide comment for good measure,

"I mean, without it, you’ll never have a chance against me."

It sounded jokingly pompous but there was truth in it.

Caius was untrained besides in the ways to bring out the latent potential of his muscles but he was under the tutelage of the best Mage-Knight ever to do it. And as much as he might complain about the pain and stress of the Von Helsing Regimen, there was no physical training that could possibly beat it. Add to that the natural advantage he had as a True Vampire and he was confident he’d always be victorious in a purely physical Mage-Knight Duel against Delia Kragsten.

That was not to say he was overall better than her. After all, she still had her Storm Magic.

In fact, she handicapped herself by sticking to a no-Magic rule for their Spar. By the time she let her frustrations force her to use Magic, her physical strength was already waning and Caius could still get her to a stalemate.

What made Delia formidable in [To Kill A Demon Lord...] was her ability to integrate that age-old chaotic element that had been made for the Traditional Mage ways into her techniques as a Mage-Knight.

Had they gone at it like true Mage-Knights—A Close combat battle mixed with Magic use—the Duel would have been much closer from the start. Against her current expertise with spell casting mixed with her lacking Mage-Knight Techniques, Caius had a feeling he might come up short. He had the physicality but not the spell-casting acumen. Not yet anyway.

Anyway, when he read [To Kill A Demon Lord...], he had always wondered how much more fearsome Delia would be if she were trained by Lucian Von Helsing.

Now that he was capable of it, Caius was interested in bridging that gap. To deliver the final piece in the puzzle that was Delia’s future.

Delia laughed.

"You? Give me pointers?" She asked, her voice steeped in disbelief as she waved nonchalantly,

"You win one Duel and you think you’ve had it all made."

Caius smiled.

"I do have it all made," Caius said, "I just beat Delia Kragsten."

"To say something so bragging in that gentle voice," Delia said and laughed a bit more, "You’re quite something."

She went silent then. Eventually breaking it with a sigh after what Caius assumed had been a contemplative moment.

"Ah, to learn from the Great Lucian Von Helsing... through his arrogant son."

"Arrogant son who just kicked your ass," Caius said, "It won’t do to forget that."

Delia rolled her eyes.

"It was a fluke win. And you won’t be able to rely on that fluke if you teach me all that you know. You realize that right?

Once you’ve given me the first set pointers, there’ll be nothing more to edge you. I’d beat you every time."

Caius shrugged.

"You’ll certainly try," he said.

"Oh, I’m never going to hear the end of losing to you, am I?" Delia said with a heavy sigh.

"You’ll hear less of it if you’re learning from me. Honorable teacher that I am, I’d try not to put my student down... too much."

"Fine," Delia said with a sigh.

"Ahem, I’d ask that you be a little more enthusiastic, dear Student," Caius said.

"Slow your roll," Delia said, "You’re offering pointers. Not a full course lecture."

"What’s the difference?" Caius asked in a very serious voice. And then, as one, he and Delia started to laugh until they fell silent again. Staring up at the ceiling.

Eventually, Delia let out a sigh.

"I should go," she said as she stood to her feet, "Every minute I spend lying by your side after losing to you is like a thorn in my heart."

"My God, losing has sure brought out the poet in you," Caius said with a chuckle as he stood up as well.

Delia rolled her eyes and then held out a hand.

"Thank you for a passable duel," she said, "Next time, I’m winning. And I’ll do better to keep my cool. Stick to the rules we set."

"Or we’ll just agree to rules you’ll be able to follow," Caius said with a smile as he took her hand and shook it.

Delia smirked.

"That works too."

They held hands probably for a minute too long. The atmosphere quickly became awkward. Maybe it was because of how Delia stared into Caius’ eyes and couldn’t look away.

Caius pulled her then and, with a gasp of surprise, Delia found that their hands were suddenly clasped in the space between their chests as Caius placed his other hand on the small of her back.

"Oh!" Delia let out, sounding jumpy.

She was finally able to take her eyes off his but they fell on his lips instead and before long, she was closing her eyes as Caius leaned forward, closed the distance between them to claim her parted lips.

There was no gasp of surprise now. Just urgency as Delia’s hand gripped Caius even more tightly as she pressed her chest against his, her breasts cushioned—despite their arms—against his pecs.

They stayed like that, lips pressed together, for a minute before they eventually separated and Delia began to breathe again.

"Why did you do that?" She asked once she had caught her breath. She didn’t move back. She also didn’t release his hand with the two still pressed between their bodies.

"What, you haven’t been thinking of doing that as much as I have?" Caius asked with a light smirk.

"I have not," Delia said breathlessly, sounding like she had stopped breathing again.

"That’s a lie," Calus said.

Delia let out a gasp like she couldn’t believe he’d dare accuse her of such. She opened her mouth a few times like she was trying to form the words to profess her innocence. Eventually, she just let out a sigh and smacked her lips to Caius’s again.

This time, their kiss was intensified. Caius’s tongue slipped out of his mouth to tease hers and request entry. With a sharp unstable breath, Delia opened her mouth and allowed the entry. Her heart thudded even harder in her chest as Caius’s tongue slithered into her mouth.

His hand on the small of her back decided to go exploring. It trailed down until it was at the waistband of her skirt. It went past that quickly enough to land atop the perfect arch of her ass, flexing his fingers against the feel of the pliant flesh as he pressed into it to pull her lower half even harder against his body.

Delia was amazed that no part of her mind was telling her not to do this. Sure, she always had some arguments ready to deter her from the thought of him or the possibility of what was currently happening, ever happening.

Such arguments included;

• He was too perfect-looking.

• He had all she had ever wished to have in terms of a supporting Mage-Knight Family.

• As of last week, he seemed to have rejected that wonderful background she so wished for to seek an inferior path.

• And finally, it just made sense not to like him. It made sense for him to be what she had to overcome.

All these arguments made sense to Delia but none popped up to return her senses.

Now she just kept sinking deeper and deeper into the delight of her first kiss. Her tongue was already engaging in a dance with Caius’s tongue in her mouth before they took the party into his mouth and kept it going.

All those sensible arguments were sure to return eventually but Delia was happy with the silence. This just seemed too perfect a moment to be marred by doubts and logic.