Chapter 257: Dominating muscle mommy

"Go away, you idiot," Emma muffled straight into the feather pillow, her voice rough. "Don’t talk to me. Don’t look at me. In fact, stop breathing my air."

Eren clicked his tongue in mock grievance. "Hey, now. I thought we reached an understanding."

"Shut up!" Emma snapped, yanking the sheet higher until only the messy tips of her pink hair poked out like an angry hedgehog. "I never said I forgave you!"

Eren blinked, raising a brow. "You held me and screamed that you love me. Usually, in polite society, that implies a pardon."

"I decided not to beat you into a bloody pulp," she retorted fiercely from beneath the sheets, her muffled tone cracking with lingering embarrassment over having cried so ugly in front of him. "That is an armistice, not a pardon, you arrogant prick! You’re still on probation! Now go sleep on the floor!"

Eren let out an exaggerated, theatrical sigh, shaking his head at the ceiling.

Then, as his sapphire gaze drifted down, a slow, thoroughly wicked grin stretched across Eren’s face, his eyes gleaming with mischief.

Eren didn’t retreat. Shifting across the mattress, he draped himself over her blanket-swaddled frame, looping his arms firmly around her waist and pulling the stubborn lump against his chest.

"Don’t touch me," Emma growled into the dark, her voice muffled against the mattress. "I told you to back off, Eren."

"Deepest apologies, Captain, but that particular royal decree has just been officially repealed," Eren whispered, resting his chin right between her shoulder blades, inhaling the faint, sweet scent of mountain wind and jasmine clinging to her hair. "I’m a chronic criminal. You know I can’t resist breaking a curfew."

"Idiot," she cursed under her breath, though she didn’t actually push him aside.

Eren pressed his face deeper into the warm fabric of her back, letting out a heavy, theatrical sigh that fluttered against the cotton. "So that’s it, then? Total silence? You really intend to never speak to me ever again?"

"Yes," came her immediate, merciless reply. "For the rest of your miserable, scheming life."

"Damnn. Truly an imperial tragedy," Eren murmured, pausing just long enough to let the bait hook. "Guess that means our little plan is null and void. What was it again? The standing reservation for you carrying my first child? If we’re not on speaking terms, I suppose I should just cancel—"

SWOOSH.

The blankets violently erupted off the bed.

Emma whipped around on the mattress like a coiled spring, kicking the heavy quilt straight to the floorboards. Her storm-grey eyes flared with absolute, territorial fury as she glared down at him, her flushed cheeks framed by wild pink locks.

"Don’t you fucking dare, brat!" she snapped, jabbing an index finger right at his nose. "That was my life! You don’t get to—"

Before the tirade could peak, Eren moved.

His hand shot out, tangling into the soft silk of her pink hair at the nape of her neck, and surged upward, sealing his mouth over hers with devastating, ravenous precision.

Emma’s breath hitched in a tartled gasp against his lips, the fiery lecture instantly melting into a muffled whimper. Eren didn’t give her an inch to reset her defenses. He pulled her down against the mattress, his other arm snaking around her waist with possessive, unyielding heat, pressing his bruised chest against her until the space between them vanished completely.

The kiss was deep, hot, and thick with all the unspoken terror of the past seven days. His tongue parted her lips, tangling with hers in a fierce, intoxicating rhythm that made Emma’s toes curl into the sheets. The warrior in her flared for a second, trying to match his tempo, before dissolving into a soft, pliant tremble against his mouth.

When Eren finally broke the kiss.

He hovered inches above her, admiring the view of the Swordmaster pinned beneath him, her storm-grey eyes hazy, blown wide with dazed, breathless defeat.

A slow, thoroughly wicked smirk curved Eren’s mouth.

"Well, Captain?" Eren whispered, his thumb lightly stroking the heated curve of her jaw. "If you’re so fiercely attached to the contract... shouldn’t I start breeding you right now? You said you wanted the kid, didn’t you?"

Emma blinked up at him through her daze. Slowly, her hand rose, slender fingers gently reaching up toward his face.

She rested her palm against his cheek with tender, breathtaking softness.

SQUEEZE.

"Ow—fuck—Emma—mercy—!" Eren yelped as her lethal clamped down on his cheek with the pressure of a hydraulic press.

Taking advantage of his startled distraction, Emma shifted her hips, planted her boot, and threw her entire core into a terrifying, effortless reversal.

The room blurred. Eren’s back slammed flat into the feather mattress, and before he could even register the ceiling spinning, a pair of thick, tanned thighs pinned his hips to the bed.

Emma sat triumphantly straddling his waist.

With blinding speed, she pinned both of Eren’s wrists flat beside his ears, leaning down. Her grey eyes burned with satisfaction, a smirk playing on her lips.

"What was that about having the upper hand, brat?" Emma whispered. "Did you forget who actually holds the Swordmaster title in this bed?"

Eren winced, his wrists completely trapped under her calloused palms. "I see the military coup has begun. What’s the sentence, Captain?"

"Solitary confinement," Emma growled softly, leaning closer until the tip of her nose brushed his cheek. "I’m locking you up. Chaining you down so you never disappear again."

"Until you get pregnant?"

"Until we die together, you idiot."

"Hey, now... that’s blatant hostage-taking," Eren whispered, his smirk breaking through the mock innocence. "That’s cheating—"

Emma silenced the protest by crashing her mouth down onto his again.

It wasn’t a slow, gentle kiss. It was starving, greedy, and utterly unhinged.

She tasted him like a woman who had spent a week in the desert, her lips parting his with desperate fervor. When she pulled back, she didn’t let him speak—she began planting hard, furious, messy kisses all over his face. One on his bruised cheek, one on the bridge of his nose, three across his jawline, and another straight against his temple, peppering his skin with affection like a girl claiming a stubborn kitten she refused to ever let outside again.

"Emma—wait—you’re getting drool on my bandages—"

"Shut up and take your punishment!"

Emma sat upright on his hips. Without breaking eye contact, she grabbed the hem of her loose white tank top and ripped it off along with her bra, tossing the clothes across the room.

The lamplight hit her with breathtaking, golden warmth.

Her toned, tanned shoulders curved into a lethal collarbone, her athletic, sculpted abs rippling with every heavy breath. Her boobs spilled free, her brown nipples pebbled instantly, inviting him.

She was an absolute masterpiece of raw beauty.

Emma looked down at him.

"Brace yourself, brat," Emma breathed as she leaned down over him. "Because by the time I’m done with breeding sessions with you tonight... you’re getting completely dried out."

Pinned beneath her, Eren’s eyes dilated in a mix of pure excitement and genuine terror.

He swallowed hard, his voice barely a rasp:

"...Holy fuck."