Eric was lost in thought as he walked back to his home.
Just when he was over a hundred meters away, he noticed a suspicious-looking guy in the distance, staring toward his house, which made him frown.
'What's going on?'
Just then, the guy noticed him and quickly turned around before rushing away.
Seeing this, his sense of danger flared, 'Something is up.'
He hurriedly rushed over to his house and knocked on the door.
"Riya, open the door!"
For a few seconds, he didn't hear any response from inside, which made him even more worried. He hurriedly took a step back to kick open the door. Though it will damage the wooden door, he couldn't care about that now.
However, before he could kick, he heard the hurried sound of footsteps, and then the door swung open, revealing Riya with her old book in her hand.
Seeing she was fine, he sighed in relief.
"What happened? Why did you sound so anxious?" She worriedly asked, looking him up and down, checking if he was injured. When she saw he was fine, she heaved a sigh of relief.
"Did you notice someone suspicious lurking around our house today or maybe yesterday?" He asked after pulling her inside the house and closing the door.
"No. I did not." Riya answered, but her expression turned grim, "You saw someone?"
Eric didn't want to worry her, but since she had already realized from his question and behavior, he didn't see any need to lie and nodded, "Yeah, just now. That guy was looking at our house, as though keeping watch. After seeing me, he fled."
Riya's face fell, and after a moment, she said, "Maybe he was someone that disgusting pig, Luke, sent to keep watch and inform him when… I am alone."
Eric's face turned cold, and a murderous look filled his eyes when he heard this. But when he saw Riya was trembling in fear, he hurriedly regained his senses and pulled her into his chest.
"Shh, it's alright. I'm here. Nothing like that will happen." He said, gently caressing her back, wanting to calm her down.
Riya put her head on his chest, and as she heard his calm heartbeats, she slowly calmed down, like she always did.
Then she raised her head and looked up at him with her limpid eyes and asked, "You'll protect us, right?"
Eric's heartrate quickened more than usual as he looked into her beautiful eyes and at her beautiful face. Maybe it was because he knew they were not blood-related that he found her more beautiful and attractive than usual.
"I will." He said, his tone deep, and like always, he leaned down and kissed her forehead, but this time it stirred his emotions more.
Suddenly, his eyes widened, 'This is not good!'
Down below, he was getting hard. He wanted to pull away from her but knew she would find it odd because usually they hugged for over a minute when he was comforting her. So, he slowly, so she wouldn't notice, started moving his lower body away from her while also trying to calm his emotions.
Though he didn't succeed in the latter as he was constantly inhaling her sweet and intoxicating scent, he managed to put some gap between their lower bodies, causing him to sigh in relief.
However… It seemed he celebrated a little too soon because the next moment, Riya grabbed him by the waist and pulled him back to hug him better.
And then, it happened.
His erection pressed against her stomach, and while he felt electric sensations course through his body, almost making him moan in pleasure, Riya's delicate brows knitted together.
Thinking he was carrying something, she moved her right hand between them to move the things to the side, but when she touched the hot, hard, but squishy thing through his clothes, her eyes suddenly widened.
'This is… his private part…'
Her face turned red like a tomato in just an instant, and her heart started drumming against her chest as he took a step back and turned around, hiding her embarrassment.
"I-I'm reading. D-Don't disturb me."
"...Okay." Eric said, taking a deep breath. He was feeling guilty and wanted to apologize, but since it would make things even more awkward, he chose not to say anything about it.
He then took a straw chair and went out. "I'm sitting outside."
After he went out, Riya put the book to the side and lay down on the bed before covering her face with her hands.
'He… big brother became excited hugging me, or was it because of something else?' She thought.
'It has to be something else. After all, he wouldn't get excited by me. I'm his little sister.' At this thought, she calmed down a little, but she suddenly realized she also felt… disappointed.
'Whaa? What am I feeling disappointed about? I must have lost my mind after reading those romance stories. As she tossed and turned in bed, scolding herself and trying to calm her emotions, she suddenly heard the door opening and froze before hurriedly sitting up.
Eric walked in, a bit stiffly, drank some water, and walked back out without looking at her.
'I should have played it cool. Because of my overreaction, he must be feeling bad now.' She thought, noticing his stiff gait.
Outside the house, Eric sat in the chair, staring at nothing in particular. His emotions were a mess.
It had been a long time since he first realized that he was attracted to Elena and Riya. He always felt bad for it because a son and brother shouldn't feel that way.
This was also the reason why he always tried to spend as much time as he could outside. However, he realized, the more he tried to suppress these emotions, they became stronger.
These emotions were also the reason he didn't feel bad; in fact, deep down, he felt relieved when the demon revealed they weren't his real mother and sister.
This was also the reason why he was hesitant to accept Elsa's feelings. Because deep down he was worried if he did, he wouldn't be able to be with them.
'But cultivators have multiple partners. Since I'm going to become a cultivator, I can too.' His eyes lit up at the thought.
'Fuck, I'm going crazy thinking about all this.'
Just then,
Step! Step! Step!
He heard the faint sound of footsteps coming from some distance. When he raised his head and focused his gaze, his eyes widened in horror, and he sprang up from the chair before rushing forward.
"Mom!"