Blood rushed to Raeleigh's face the moment she touched him. With her arms wedging between them, Santiago still embraced her whole body with his. That said, she was a human being. How could she not feel anything?
Even though Santiago was only 17 years old, they were at the cusp of adulthood. Who could explain clearly what was going on? Would they be at the behest of their hormonal reactions?
Raeleigh remained motionless like a doll. Santiago tightened his embrace, a little bit at a time.
"Does it hurt?"
Finally, Santiago opened his mouth to ask her. But Raeleigh shook her head and said, "It doesn't hurt!"
Santiago fixed his dark pupils on her as he pursed his rosy lips into a smile. "Then, what do you feel?"
Raeleigh shook her head. "Nothing."
"Try letting go of your hand. If you don't hug me back, then how can it be considered a hug?" Santiago slowly released his arm and lowered his head to look at Raeleigh, his eyes a bottomless pit. Raeleigh steadied her breathing. "This is easily the worst experiment ever."
"Are you regretting this?" Santiago was still amused, but the sincerity in his eyes was nothing like he had shown before.
Raeleigh pursed her lips. "I'm a dirty woman, I think."
"Because you did my brother wrong?"
"Your brother and I, we're over. He has been constantly pestering me, but... me and you, nothing should have happened between us, yet we're still doing this ridiculous thing at night."
"Since you have already broken up, why can't you choose me? What are you afraid of?"
"This is incest."
Raeleigh's eyes were full of anger. Santiago did not provoke her. "Let go of your hand and let me hold you. There will be a response then. If you really don't feel a thing, then I will let go of you, and I'll find someone else."
Raeleigh refused and wanted to leave. Santiago pressed Raeleigh's hand on his body and held her in his arms, hard. He rested his chin on her shoulder. His chest heaved with his breath.
Raeleigh stood there gritting her teeth. She breathed heavily and opened her mouth slightly. Otherwise, she would die.
She didn't know what she was doing. Had she lost her mind?
But Santiago kept saying, "Give me a hug, hmm?"
As if possessed by a demon, Raeleigh put her hand on Santiago's body and slowly wrapped it around his waist, holding him until he was tight.
This hug lasted for a few minutes, but it felt like a few centuries.
Raeleigh finally let go of Santiago and shoved him away. She raised her head and looked at him. "Are you convinced now?"
Santiago looked down at Raeleigh. "Didn't you feel anything?"
Raeleigh nodded. "Not a thing."
"Dang! Talk about a heartless woman. We're this close to taking off our clothes."
Raeleigh blushed, wishing she could just die.
But in the next moment, Santiago let go of Raeleigh. He turned around, walked back to the bed, and lay down under the quilt.
"Rest well, yeah? Forget it if you don't feel anything."
Raeleigh froze there. "That's it?"
"Or do you want to try something else?" Santiago arched one of his eyebrows. Raeleigh was stunned, as if she were struck by lightning. She immediately shook her head. Santiago tugged the comer of his mouth and smiled. "If so, take a rest, shall we? It's four hours before dawn. Your bandage is to be removed tomorrow."
Santiago closed his eyes and his breathing gradually grew even. Raeleigh stood still for a while and breathed a sigh of relief. Her palms were sweaty. She was scared to death.
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