Aphrodite instinctively wanted to turn around and question her, but her body was held in a seemingly natural yet surprisingly firm embrace by Bella’s arms and legs, leaving her unable to move.
Moreover… what if Bella was truly fast asleep and acting unconsciously? Wouldn’t it be terrible to wake her up? She looked pretty exhausted during the day…
While Aphrodite was agonizing over this in her heart, Bella’s side of things went unusually smoothly.
Success!
With her eyes closed, Bella’s lips curled into a sly and satisfied smile almost imperceptible in the darkness.
The adult’s back… so warm… and smells so good…
Although Bella had secretly smelled this scent many times before under the pretext of “taking care of the body,” having the soul here made it entirely different—two completely separate concepts.
Sensing Aphrodite’s frozen body, Bella’s inner little devil wagged her tail proudly.
The adult really doesn’t dare to move… plan accomplished!
Aphrodite remained stiff in Bella’s arms, feeling the heat of breath on her back, the weight of arms around her hips, the sensation of legs entwined, and the almost full-body warmth pressed against her.
Sleep had long since fled.
This way, she wouldn’t fall asleep at all…
No, she had to think of a way…
But to avoid waking the “sleeping” Bella behind her, Aphrodite chose to give up struggling for the moment, planning to try breaking free later in the night.
However, her endurance did not bring her peace.
As if the “body pillow” in her arms was too rigid, the “sleeping” Bella seemed to feel some discomfort.
She let out a very soft, slightly disgruntled hum, and the arm wrapped around Aphrodite’s hips suddenly shifted!
It didn’t loosen but instead moved across Aphrodite’s front, then followed upward along her abdomen, finally slipping into the soft valley between her breasts, with the palm resting on the exposed skin of her neck.
Why… why did it suddenly… suddenly touch there?!
Aphrodite was completely unsettled by this move.
Before she could even process the shock, the leg entwined around her also moved!
Bella seemed to find the leg position a bit numb and, still “sleeping,” slightly bent her knee to adjust it, which caused her knee to unintentionally press into the back of Aphrodite’s leg.
Her leg was then hooked and wrapped even tighter, the two of them becoming even more inseparably connected at the lower limbs.
Legs… legs, how could they…
Aphrodite felt like she was suffocating!
Touching and hugging like this! Bella was definitely doing this on purpose! Who adjusts their sleeping position with such full-body closeness?!
Just as she reached her limit and was about to recklessly turn around, Bella behind her finally seemed to find the most comfortable position.
She let out a deeply satisfied, long breath, her warm breath fanning the back of Aphrodite’s neck, causing a delicate tickling sensation.
Then, all movement stopped.
Bella’s breathing became steady and even again, her arms and legs holding that intimate, almost tangled posture.
From the looks of it, she truly had fallen into a deep sleep—just unconsciously hugging her “body pillow” tightly and closely.
Stopped… finally stopped…
Aphrodite felt like crying and laughing at the same time.
This position was even more excessive than before! What else could she do?
Aphrodite wailed silently in her heart but was utterly helpless, finally giving up and closing her eyes in despair.
Fine… let her be… just treat myself as… her human body pillow…
But this wouldn’t work long term; at this rate, she probably wouldn’t get any sleep until dawn…
“This is the only way…” Aphrodite muttered softly.
After absorbing the core power, Aphrodite had also regained some of her former magic. Among them was a simple spell suitable for this situation.
With a slight movement of her fingers, an almost undetectable thread of mana was quietly summoned—an extremely basic spell for soothing the mind and inducing sleep, cast silently upon herself.
Gradually, the spell took effect, a wave of irresistible drowsiness flooding her consciousness like warm tidewaters, forcibly calming her tense nerves and chaotic thoughts.
Amid the swirl of complex emotions, Aphrodite’s consciousness sank into a warm, peaceful sleep.
Sensing the body in her arms fully relax, Bella quietly opened one eye, her gaze gleaming with mischief and tenderness in the dark.
“Fell asleep, huh…” she whispered with a sweet smile, “Looks like the adult had to use a little trick to fall asleep after all… Geez, is Bella really that scary?”
“But… this is fine too.”
She lightly loosened her embrace, adjusting her posture to get a better look at Aphrodite’s sleeping face.
Moonlight streamed softly through the gap in the curtains, gently bathing that tranquil face.
Bella had seen this face countless times, so familiar she could sketch every contour clearly even with her eyes closed.
In the past years, when this body was merely an empty shell without a soul, Bella had guarded it day after day.
She cleaned it, dressed it, combed its long hair, and in the silent nights, quietly sat by the bedside, gazing at that perfect yet lifeless sleeping face.
But now… everything was different.
The same face, the same closed eyes, but now life’s breath softly exhaled from slightly parted lips, its warmth brushing Bella’s cheek.
Eyelashes occasionally fluttered ever so slightly, as if whispering the subtle ripples of dreams; the fair cheeks glowed with a natural, healthy flush, and beneath the skin seemed to flow a warm light.
Most importantly, Bella could clearly feel a vivid, living soul sleeping within this body—one she longed to be close to.
The feeling was so different, so… soul-stirring.
No longer was she protecting a cold object but truly accompanying a living person.
Bella’s gaze lingered involuntarily and for a long time on those lips—soft and gently moving with each breath—possessing an almost deadly allure for her.
Her heart raced uncontrollably, a strong urge rising to lower her head and touch them.
Just a kiss… a gentle one… the adult wouldn’t notice…
A voice inside tempted her.
Bella’s body instinctively leaned forward a little, but just as her lips were about to meet that softness, she suddenly stopped.
“No…” Bella’s eyes flickered with hesitation and struggle. “I can’t…”
“Kissing… especially there…”
She thought it should only happen when both parties were willing and fully conscious.
Sneaking a kiss while Aphrodite was asleep… even if it was “obtained,” it would be meaningless, even a kind of desecration.
If she simply wanted to kiss, she would have done so before when this body was unconscious.
What she wanted was Aphrodite’s willing closeness, not a one-sided, almost stolen touch.
Taking a deep breath, Bella forcibly suppressed her trembling heart. She lowered her head slightly, then very gently and reverently pressed her lips to Aphrodite’s warm cheek.
A touch and then she pulled away, as light as a butterfly’s landing.
“This is enough…” Bella looked up, smiling with a satisfied, slightly silly expression at the cheek untouched by any mark.
“A goodnight kiss… this is enough.”
Afterward, she carefully lay back down, gently and tightly holding Aphrodite again, arms and legs wrapping around, restoring everything to how it was.
Comfortably burying her face in the warm back, Bella closed her eyes contentedly.
“Good night, Lady Aphrodite,” she whispered breathily, her voice filled with a deep, unbreakable affection.
“This time… I can finally hold you for a long, long time…”