Chapter 289: Afternoon nap

After finishing lunch, the duo washed the utensils and cleaned the kitchen. Vlad wanted Chloe to rest and leave the cleaning to him, but she disagreed. Since Vlad had helped with the cooking, it was only natural for her to help with the cleaning.

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"Should we head out?" Vlad asked as the duo settled on the sofa. He had also changed into his casual clothes.

"Do you need to do something?" Chloe answered with a question of her own.

"Just thinking of hitting the gym." His suspicious gaze turned to Chloe as he continued, "You aren’t neglecting your training because of exams, right?"

Chloe shook her head. She knew better than to slack off if she wanted to keep up with Vlad. Her eyes shifted to the time on her phone. It was 3:45 in the evening.

"Let’s go to the gym together at five," she offered, her shoulder leaning against his.

"Okay."

For the next few minutes, the hall was completely silent as neither of them said anything. Still, the silence wasn’t awkward. They were already close enough to enjoy each other’s company without exchanging a word.

Vlad noticed Chloe’s eyelids growing heavy, her head faintly bobbing every few seconds. It was time for her afternoon nap, not to mention the full stomach from the meal she had just eaten.

"Haaa..." Vlad faked a yawn. "I’m feeling a bit sleepy. Will you cuddle me to sleep?"

"Yes!" Chloe’s answer came the moment Vlad made the request. She extended both arms towards him and continued with a faint, almost smug smile, "Chloe mama will help you sleep."

Vlad broke into small chuckles at her absurd statement, shaking his blushing face. Without saying anything, he leaned towards her on the sofa, sinking into her embrace.

"Want to go to the bedroom?" Chloe asked, gently patting the back of Vlad’s head as he rested it on her chin.

"Here is fine," Vlad replied. He held Chloe by her waist and moved back on the sofa, making her lie atop him. Their chests pressed together, Chloe’s head placed just below his chin, one of her legs between his.

"I’m the one helping you sleep," Chloe complained, raising her head to look at his face. "I should be on the bottom."

"Can you handle my weight?" Vlad asked softly. Before she could reply, he placed his hand on her head, pulling her face down to his chest again. "Just close your eyes."

One of his hands gently patted her head while the other patted her upper back. Chloe closed her eyes as Vlad’s comforting scent filled her senses.

Slowly, the hand on her back moved down, giving gentle pats to the wave-like curves of her back. When Chloe thought the hand would stop at her waist, it slowly moved even lower, climbing the wave of her curves.

Her figure stiffened, her breath catching in her throat as the hand moved past the waistband of her sweatpants, reaching her soft peach. That rascal hand remained there, patting her rear as if it were the most natural thing to do.

"Vlad..." Chloe hissed, grabbing the wrist of that shameless hand. "Your hand is wandering to the wrong places."

"Wrong places...or right places?" Vlad’s voice came teasing and playful from below her.

"Behave..." She lightly pinched his chest with her other hand before placing his hand on her lower back, just above the waistband of her sweatpants. "You can’t go lower than this."

"Oh, okay," Vlad’s voice came low and sulking.

"Ann..." Chloe groaned. Now she felt guilty for stopping him. She took a long gulp, her cheeks flushing as she grabbed his hand again and placed it back on her peach.

"Only pats," she instructed in a low, shy voice.

"Hehe~ Thank you," Vlad replied, his face immediately brightening, the earlier sulking completely gone from his voice.

His hands resumed patting her soft rear and head. Chloe didn’t find his touch the least bit uncomfortable. On the contrary, her eyelids grew even heavier as sleepiness began overwhelming her consciousness in Vlad’s gentle embrace.

It didn’t take more than a minute for both of them to fall asleep, the pats of Vlad’s hands eventually coming to a halt.

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One hour later...

The noises of the vendors selling their products, the carriages moving on the cobblestone road, and, somewhere far away, a blacksmith hitting iron filled Chloe’s ears as her senses returned. However, what overwhelmed all those sounds was the beating of a loud heart, whose beats were spaced almost three times as far apart as a human’s.

Chloe’s eyes slowly opened, finding herself still lying atop Vlad in the exact same position as when she had fallen asleep.

He was sleeping soundly, his warm breath brushing her head.

Chloe’s eyes narrowed as she found one obvious difference from before she fell asleep.

Vlad’s hands were now both holding her curvy rear, and the grip sent instant heat rushing to the poor girl’s face. The sleep vanished completely from her eyes.

She didn’t hate the touch, but it was too overwhelming for her innocent heart. Not wanting to disturb Vlad’s sleep, she decided to let him hold her however his subconscious desired. In just a few minutes, he would wake up and remove his hands himself.

Ding...

A notification sound came from Vlad’s phone, placed on the floor beside the sofa. The sound was enough to wake Vlad.

Chloe immediately closed her eyes, pretending to sleep.

Vlad’s crimson eyes slowly opened. "Chloe..." He called her softly, but no response came. Still half asleep, he felt his hands holding something incredibly soft. It didn’t take him long to realise where his hands had found their most ideal place.

A faint crimson spread across his cheeks as he removed his hands. "Wh-when did my other hand move down?" he wondered to himself in an awkward tone before picking up the phone from the floor.

When he read the headline of the notification message, the remaining sleepiness vanished from his face.

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