Duke, Can I Bite You?

Geoffrey began unbuttoning his loose shirt, leaving him in nothing else but tight black pants. Soon the white shirt fell to the floor and his broad back was now facing her. 

Oh damn! Did he always exercise?’  

As he stretched out his arm to drink the water on the side table, his muscles flexed.

‘I….’

Mio, whose mouth was full of saliva, gulped and glanced at Geoffrey as he tilted his head back to drink. 

‘I think I need a drink too… ’

He took off his leather boots, preparing to lay down on the bed, and put his hand on his pants. Mio’s eyes widened and her heart raced wildly. 

“Kii!” (No! Don’t take it off!) 

‘No, actually, it doesn’t really matter if he takes it off…… He might catch a cold though.’ 

Geoffrey looked back at the sound of her voice. Right then, the wind swept away the clouds obscuring the moon and through the window, it cast a soft light upon his body. The full moon caught his attention and he looked outside, his expression forlorn unlike its usual ferociousness. 

‘How could a cold-blooded person have such eyes?’

He wiped away the water dribbling from the corner of his lips, an airy action that was in contrast with the sadness in his eyes. 

‘’And is that… a wound?’’ 

Geoffrey’s body… It was a warrior’s body savaged by the viciousness of the battlefield. It was full of old scars starting from his chest. He’s a man she had to hate after the things that happened to her because of him and yet, her heart still ached at the sight of his wound… 

‘I must be crazy.’

She hasn’t been able to think properly since she was grabbed by the neck by that goddamn human. Feeling rather dispirited, her head drooped, ignoring the person approaching her. 

“… Hey, dog. It would be better not to think about running away.”

He stretched out a finger and threatened Mio by hardly scratching Mio’s head.

“Kii!” (I’m a fox! Fox!)

At Mio’s low growl, he only shrugged his shoulders.

Mio pushed his hand away and glared at him. She then turned around, raised her front paws and brushed the area his finger reached. It was so unpleasant that she wanted to pluck all of her fur. 

‘Sheesh! I’ll run away when I can and you have no say in that!’ 

Everything she said about him looking a little pitiful earlier was forgotten. 

Soon, Geoffrey lay down on the bed, and Mio on the bedside table just stared at him. 

‘You really are an annoying human being.’ 

The man who killed her over and over again, and the man who took all of her fox’s heart.

“…… Stop looking at me.”

“Kii!” (What!? Don’t tell me you also have eyes on the back of your head!) 

Mio quickly turned her head.

“……Haa.”

Geoffrey lay on the bed, tossed and turned over and over again. 

Geoffrey tossed and turned over and over again. All of a sudden, he stopped moving around and she wondered if he fell asleep at last. Mio kept her ears alert and waited for the right time. Soon, she heard a steady breathing from the beard.

‘Finally! Now, let’s drink some water first.’ 

It seemed as if all the saliva in her mouth from before had dried up. 

‘No. This is definitely not because of Geoffrey!’

Mio shook her head vigorously.

‘For sure it’s because of that meat. It’s a bit too salty after all.’ 

Mio, who had been muttering unnecessary excuses, looked around and frowned. 

‘Damn you! You emptied the bottle!’ 

In places where water was originally scarce, some water was usually reserved for animals.

‘A selfish bastard.’

So now, the only water she could drink was the leftover in the cup– the same cup that Geoffrey’s lips touched.  This made her hesitate for a moment but the thirst was getting unbearable so she swallowed whatever embarrassment she felt and plunged into the cup. It wasn’t an easy feat with the size of her long snout being too big for the narrow cup, but she made it in the end. 

‘Aah… I think I can survive now.’ 

She lifted her head and cleaned the area around her wet mouth with her paws, but suddenly, Geoffrey’s blanket was thrown away, revealing Geoffrey’s bare skin.

‘… Hmmmm.’

Mio coughed a little, her face turning red. 

‘Let’s get it done quickly.’

Fortunately, the side table and the bed were close, so there was no need to forcefully jump and risk making a sound. Mio, who silently crossed over to the bed, stared intently at Geoffrey. 

‘This time, I’ll just put my lips on his and run away.’

Mio climbed on the bed post and stealthily neared his head. With the moonlight behind her, a looming shadow of a huge beast was on the wall.  

‘He looks like an angel when asleep.’ 

The way his fringe fell on his forehead and how his eyebrows, nose and lips looked like they were painted with utmost care caught Mio’s attention. The stuffy air of  the bedroom and the dreamy atmosphere wasn’t lost to her. 

‘It’s all  because of Geoffrey’s scent and the partner thing.’ 

Mio swallowed her saliva and wiped her lips with her tongue.

‘This is not a kiss. It’s just rubbing the lips to survive.’

When she finally got to settle down her nerves, she cautiously closed in on his red lips. With her eyes tightly shut, she brushed her lips on his and right then, transformed into a human. 

‘Done! Now I need to get out of here.’ 

Her stomach was full and, so far, everything seemed to work out just fine. 

“……?”

Until a heavy arm wrapped around her waist that almost made her scream.  Geoffrey was now hugging her in his sleep. 

‘… Alright, Mio, let’s calm down first. ’

They said that even if you get caught by a tiger, you will survive if you keep your cool.*

*TL/N: A Korean idiom meaning that even when we face the most dangerous situation or difficulty, one can survive if they keep their composure and do not lose their cool.

But removing his arm without waking him up was impossible. She tried to escape, but Geoffrey didn’t budge.

‘… … I want to cry.’

Mio could be a human for only a month with a single contact. But now, she had to spend this precious time trapped here. 

‘I’ll bite his arms!’

Mio shook her head. She examined the dagger under the pillow and the longsword near the bed. If she touched it recklessly, she might suffer from the consequences.

‘I’m really going crazy.’

Mio licked her lips and stared at the wall. She was so upset that she’s so close to crying. It’s not like she wanted to come into this world.

‘Also, the Mio from the book wasn’t such a small, insignificant fox.’

In I’ll Twist Your Neck While You’re Drunk, the fox beast who had a crush on Geoffrey was a large creature. However, the body Mio was in could be easily mistaken for a dog with white fur at first glance. If it’s not for the rich tail that only a fox of her kind possessed, she would definitely look like a dog.

‘I’m getting tired…”

After relaxing in that warm bath and filling her starving stomach, the exhaustion was now catching up on her.

‘Hey! Wake up! If you sleep, you are a dog, not a fox!’ 

Close to falling asleep, Mio suddenly regained awareness and opened her eyes. On the wall, she saw their shadows looking like a very harmonious couple.

‘Only in the shadows though…

They are nothing more than two people bound to have enmity between them. Mio, once again, tried to get his arm off her waist. She fought against the sleepiness and lifted his heavy arm, desperate not to fall asleep on his bed.

But after a while…

Geoffrey’s tightly held hand dropped helplessly, and soon, another steady breathing echoed in the quiet bedroom. 

* * *

In the dream, Mio patted her stomach after eating the food left by the polar bear. When she was well fed, the whole world was beautiful. 

‘Can I be happier than this?’

She was enjoying nature, waving her bountiful tail. Then she heard the sound of dripping water from somewhere and turned her head. And there, advancing towards her, was a  wolf, Mio’s natural enemy. 

“Krr!” (Go away! I won’t live that long anyway!)

But the wolf bit Mio’s waist tightly, obviously having no intention to have a conversation. 

‘You mean bastard!’

She couldn’t even scream at how painful it was. She struggled to get away from the wolf, but she couldn’t escape. She couldn’t breathe and her back hurt so much that she thought she was going to die like this. “… … Ugh!”

When Mio, who was suffering from pain, woke up, the whole room was already bright. 

‘It’s just a nightmare…’ 

But even when she woke up, there’s still a heavy weight on her back. 

‘What?!’ 

When she lowered her head, Geoffrey’s large arms wrapped around her like shackles.

‘Did I just fall asleep here?’ 

‘She couldn’t think of any excuse to get away from this.

‘No. if I run away now, everything will be fine.’

Negative and depressing thoughts only bring stress. Mio tried to think positively even in shocking situations.

‘Alright. In three, I will push this arm off and jump out of the window.’ 

If she does her best, it might be possible to get out of the bedroom before Geoffrey swings his sword at her. 

‘… … One, two, three!’

Mio pushed his arm away with all her might. But instead of finally being released, her waist was hugged tighter, her shoulders pressed against bare chest. 

‘Why are you doing this to me?’

Overwhelmed with despair, she began to weep silently. 

Mio was an orphan. She never knew her parents and even though she was lonely at times, she endured it on her own.

Early on, she realized that there was no such thing as a family without an effort. When she became an adult, she could no longer stay at the orphanage, so Mio lived in a goshiwon of less than one square meter. It was unfortunate that she died while working part-time and studying at the same time, but then again, hadn’t she already died in this world countless times.… .

“Sob, sob…” 

In the end, Mio couldn’t hold  back the bubbling emotion  and sobbed loudly.

“You’ve got a lot of guts.” 

“… … !”

A husky voice tickled her ears. Mio quickly stopped, her tears drying up. She pursed her lips, not looking forward to what’s coming next… 

“Why are we in the same bed?”

“Um, that’s… … .”

Mio took advantage of the slack arm around her, and hurriedly clung to the wall. Geoffrey narrowed his eyes at her, a chilling voice leaving his mouth. 

“Don’t you dare. Tell me what you did to me.”