Chapter 279: Experience, not Preference

​For three terrifying seconds, the inside of the luxury vehicle was so silent you could hear the faint hum of the air conditioner.

​"What..." Xavier choked out, his voice cracking slightly as a furious, scorching crimson rushed up his neck and flooded his entire face. "What did you just ask?"

​April blinked, her dark, serious eyes looking between Xavier’s burning face and Nat’s wide, stunned gaze.

"The intimacy," she explained with complete sincerity, as if stating a simple mathematical fact. "The ’advanced lesson.’ We just spent the last twenty minutes establishing that I want to experience it, and Nat said we couldn’t do it on the restaurant table because you wanted a bed. Now you’re telling me to go straight to bed. So... aren’t we doing it?"

​"Sweetheart," Nat wheezed, throwing his head back against the headrest as a loud, helpless, utterly hysterical laugh burst from his chest. "Holy hell, you are going to kill me. You’re actually going to be the death of me."

​Xavier buried his face directly into his free hand, his shoulders tense as he let out a long, long, unsteady exhale, trying desperately to salvage a shred of his dignity.

​"April," Xavier murmured into his palm, his voice strained to its absolute limit. "No. We are not doing that today. You are currently in physical pain and are on your period. cycle You require rest."

​"But the painkillers will dull it," April argued, her brow furrowing in genuine confusion at their dramatic reactions. "And if we delay, I will only end up brooding over it. From an efficiency standpoint—"

​"Efficiency?!" Xavier snapped his head up, his eyes burning with a mix of intense embarrassment, exasperated affection, and utter disbelief. "April, intimacy is not a logistical operation to be checked off a task list between cramps and a competition!"

​Nat wiped a tear of laughter from his eye, wrapping his arms tight around her shoulders and pulling her back against his chest with a deep, fond growl.

"Listen to him this time, sweetheart. As much as I would love to take you up on that offer, even I’m not beast enough to touch you when you’re hurting. The ’advanced lesson’ can wait until you’re feeling a hundred percent."

​Before April could refute any further, the passenger door clicked open, and Alexander slid back into the front seat holding a small paper bag.

​"Alright, I got the thermal heat patches, the extra-strength—" Alexander paused mid-sentence, looking back at the three of them. He took in Xavier’s glowing red face, Nat’s breathless, grinning expression, and April’s stubborn furrowed brow. "...What did I miss?"

​"Our little seer over here just tried to schedule a foursome like a quarterly business meeting," Nat cackled softly against her hair. "During her period."

​Alexander’s hands instantly loosened, the paper bag nearly slipping straight out of his grip.

He stared back at them, his mouth slightly open as his gaze bounced from Nat’s laughing face to Xavier’s beet-red, exasperated expression, and finally to April, who was still looking at them with complete, earnest seriousness.

​"She... she what?" Alexander choked out, his voice cracking as a brilliant shade of red flared up his neck to match Xavier’s. He ran a hand through his hair, looking at April in absolute disbelief. "April... I may not know much about women, but I’m certain they don’t have sex during their periods."

​April clicked her tongue and turned her head away. "You don’t know that. You’re just guessing."

​"He may be guessing, but take it from me," Nat said, his low voice rumbling against her back as he fought off another grin. "I know a thing or two from experience. There are no women who feel comfortable with having sex while they’re bleeding. There’s the blood, the cramps, and the discomfort... There aren’t a lot of people who are into that shit. And I’m pretty sure you ain’t into it either. So—"

​Nat suddenly paused mid-sentence, the words catching in his throat.

​He looked up and realized all three of them were staring at him. April had turned back around, her eyes narrowed, while Alexander and Xavier were eyeing him with sharp, deeply suspicious looks.

​Nat’s brow furrowed into an immediate, heavy frown. "Hell no. I’m not into that shit either!"

​Xavier cleared his throat, his posture stiffening as he crossed his arms. "You sounded remarkably detailed just now, Collins."

​"I said experience, not preference, you moron," Nat growled back, his eyes flashing with sudden irritation, though his grip on April’s waist never loosened. "I’m just telling her basic facts so she stops asking to jump into bed while her stomach is killing her."

​The mention of the blood and the mess had finally registered in April’s brain. Her eyes went wide, a sudden, scorching wave of heat rushing straight to her face as she realized what she had actually been asking for.

​She instantly buried her burning face into the lapel of Nat’s jacket, her voice coming out as a tiny, humiliated squeak. "I... I forgot about that part."

​Nat burst into another loud, booming laugh, wrapping both arms around her to hold her tight against his chest. "Yeah, sweetheart. I figured as much."

​Xavier let out a long, weary breath, rubbing his temples as he finally regained a fraction of his composure. "Which is precisely why you are going straight to sleep when we reach the estate. No more wild ideas for tonight."

​Alexander shook his head, a soft, fond smile replacing his initial shock as he handed the paper bag back to them. He pulled out a self-heating patch and room-temperature water. "Here. Stick this on your stomach, April. It’ll help with the pain."

​Nat took the thermal patch, peeling off the backing and carefully pressing the warm pad over her lower belly, right beneath her shirt, before covering it again with his broad palm, applying just enough pressure to soothe her.

"Feel better?" he asked softly, his low voice vibrating against her back.

​"...Yes," April muttered, her voice muffled against his suit jacket. The cramps were definitely dulling down into a manageable hum, but almost instantly, a brand-new wave of panic seized her mind.

​Her body went completely, rigidly still.

​Sitting upright in the leather seat, she felt a sudden, unmistakable trickle—a warm, horrifying sensation dripping downward.

​Oh, no.

​Her eyes went wide, her heart leaping straight into her throat as her brain ran through the immediate, catastrophic consequences.

She wasn’t wearing any protection yet. She was currently sitting inside Xavier’s ridiculously expensive, custom-built luxury SUV, pinned between Nat and Xavier.

​If she shifted even an inch, she was going to stain the leather. Or worse—she had already stained it.

​The sheer, mortifying terror of the situation eclipsed the pain of her cramps in a single second. Cold sweat broke out on the back of her neck.

​Nat felt her entire body lock up like a pulled spring. He stopped stroking her hair, his eyes narrowing as he looked down at her pale, frozen face. "Sweetheart? What is it now?"

​April couldn’t even bring herself to look up. Her hands clutched Nat’s lapels in a desperate, white-knuckled grip, her voice coming out as a tiny, strained squeak.

​"Don’t move," she whispered in utter horror. "Nobody move."

​Xavier’s brow furrowed, his hyper-vigilant gaze instantly sweeping over her tense posture. "April? Are you in more pain?"

​"No," April croaked, her face burning so hot she felt like she was spontaneously combusting. "It’s... it’s worse. Jude... how fast can this car go?"