Chapter 117: 117 | The Last Hurdle[4]

Neither of them spoke a word.

Natasha's lips parted slightly, her chest rising and falling with shallow breaths.

The look in her eyes was something Dante had never seen from her before. She wasn't embarrassed and she wasn't angry.

She was giving him permission.

'She's waiting for me to make a move.' Dante could see it clearly. She hadn't said a single word but everything about her was telling him to act. If he reached out right now, she wouldn't stop him.

His hand twitched at the realization.

'...No.' He killed the impulse before it could reach his fingers. 'She has to come to me first.'

One of the main goals of this mission wasn't just letting her know her seduction was working. It was making sure she realized it had backfired on her too.

The more she tried to tempt him, the deeper she fell for him instead.

If he moved now, she would rationalize the whole thing afterward. "He took advantage of the moment." "I was vulnerable." "It was his fault." He was sure she would come around eventually but he didn't want eventually. He needed her fully on his side from the start.

If she was the one who crossed the line, she could never undo that.

Dante broke eye contact first. He sat up and ran a hand through his hair with a shaky breath. "Sorry, Master. I... I don't know what came over me."

He stood up from the bed without looking at her. "I should go."

Natasha watched him walk to the door. Her mouth opened but nothing came out. Her hand reached forward slightly before she pulled it back.

The door closed.

She stared at it for a long time. Her body was still hot, her thighs were still trembling, and the ache between her legs had only gotten worse.

'Why...? Why didn't he do anything?' She pulled the blanket over herself and curled up on her side. 'He was clearly aroused. So why did he pull back at the last second?'

'He had no problem putting his hands on my breasts but that's where he draws the line?'

'Hmph!' A fire lit up in her eyes as she gripped the blanket tighter. 'Fine. I'll see how much longer you can keep holding back.'

Back in his room, Dante leaned against the door and let out a long breath. He looked down at the tent in his pants that showed no signs of going away.

"Ugh... that was one of the hardest things I've ever done."

The plan made perfect sense in his head, but his body… strongly disagreed.

He pulled up the feed and watched Natasha curled up on her bed, clutching the blanket with a frustrated expression.

'Good. She's frustrated.' A tired grin formed on his face.

He opened the mission panel and selected the final task. 'After this, I'll make her come to my room on her own.'

***

Neither of them came out of their rooms for the rest of the day.

In the evening, Natasha was still lying in bed, staring at the ceiling. Her head was full of everything that happened today and sleep was nowhere close.

Then the system's voice sounded in her head.

[Triggering Final Task...]

[Task 4: Help, I'm Stuck!]

[Description: Something is wrong with the washing machine! Bend over and reach inside to check what's stuck. Can't quite reach it? Call Dante for help. Stay exactly where you are until he shows up!]

Natasha stared at the panel for a long moment. She closed her eyes, opened them, and read it again.

'...Get stuck in a washing machine? Seriously?' She was a bit speechless.

These missions were getting more ridiculous by the day.

She was ready to seduce him with everything she had and this was what the system came up with.

While she wasn't exactly experienced with this kind of thing, she had watched a few of those videos out of curiosity before.

She knew exactly what "stuck in a washing machine" meant.

'Dante is a young man. There's no way he hasn't seen those videos too.' Her face started heating up as the image formed in her mind.

'He's going to recognize it immediately.'

The determination from a minute ago crumbled into dust. She pulled the blanket over her head and curled into a ball.

'Will this really work?' She couldn't help but doubt it. He had his face buried between her thighs and saw the state she was in. 'If that wasn't enough to make him act, how is a washing machine going to change anything?'

No matter how many times she turned it over in her head, she couldn't understand. So in the end, she stopped thinking and decided to just do the damn mission.

Before heading out, she quickly washed the sticky mess between her legs and changed into a new pair of clothes.

***

An hour later, Natasha stood in front of the washing machine wearing a loose t-shirt and shorts.

'Let's just get this over with.' She took a breath, bent forward, and pushed her upper body into the drum.

Her hands reached around inside, pretending to search for stuck clothes.

The position forced her back to arch and her ass to stick out behind her. The shorts rode up immediately, the fabric digging between her cheeks and leaving the bottom curve of her ass fully exposed.

She felt completely ridiculous.

'If any of my female students saw their master like this...' She shook the thought out of her head. She couldn't afford to think about that right now. Not when her ass was sticking out of a washing machine waiting for her own student.

Just as she was thinking, footsteps echoed down the hallway heading in her direction. There were only two people in the mansion right now so there was no question who it was.

'Why is he coming here?! I didn't even call him yet!' Natasha panicked. She wasn't mentally prepared at all. But with her upper body shoved inside the drum, she couldn't exactly pull herself out and act casual in time.

The footsteps stopped right behind her.

'She actually did it.' Dante stood there for a second, taking in the full picture.

Caught completely off guard, Natasha froze in place like a statue. She just stayed silent, praying he would turn around and leave.

There was no way that was happening.

'She's right about one thing though.'

'This is nowhere near as stimulating as what happened earlier.' Dante had a knowing smile as he walked closer, step by step, his eyes locked on her body the entire time.

The whole "stuck in the washing machine" setup was just a cover. The real purpose was something else entirely. Something that would make her drop every last wall she had when it came to him.

'He's getting closer!' Her heart was beating so fast she could barely think straight. 'What do I do? Do I say something? Do I pull myself out?'

Her thoughts came to a dead stop as his hands grabbed her hips.

'Wha—' She opened her mouth to speak but the words died in her throat as his fingers hooked into the waistband of her shorts and yanked them down.

The fabric slid past her ass in one swift motion, exposing a thin black thong underneath. Before she could even process what just happened, his fingers were already gripping the strings.

'Why is this actually working?! He just walked in and started pulling my shorts down without a word.' Natasha was stunned.

She had completely doubted this mission but the fact that he acted the moment he saw her without a second of hesitation was almost terrifying.

She was still convinced it was all because of the washing machine setup. Which was exactly why nothing could have prepared her for what came next.

"Didn't you say you wouldn't be home today?" Dante pressed himself against her ass from behind, his hands gripping her waist like she was something that belonged to him.

"Why are you back so early, Emma?" He had to force those words out. It was his second time doing this and he felt even shittier than the first time.

'Emma.'

'Emma.'

The name echoed in Natasha's mind like a curse. Everything stopped. The excitement, the nervousness, the anticipation. All of it vanished in an instant and something cold took its place.

"Dante, stop!" Natasha shoved herself out of the machine and pushed him away hard with one hand while pulling her shorts back up with the other.

Dante stumbled backward. He pretended to stare at her with widening eyes. "M-Master? Why are you—"

His face went pale.

"I... I thought you were..." His voice cracked. He couldn't even finish the sentence.

Natasha didn't want to hear it. She already knew what he thought. She already knew who he thought she was.

"We'll talk tomorrow." Her voice came out steady but the mix of anger and hurt behind it was impossible to miss.

She walked out of the room without looking back.

Dante stood alone in the laundry room, staring at the empty doorway. The act on his face slowly faded into something real.

'...I'm sorry, Master.' He clenched his fist at his side. He wanted to punch himself but held back.

He wasn't done yet.

Natasha slammed her bedroom door shut and collapsed onto the bed.

'Emma.' The name echoed in her head over and over. 'He said Emma's name while his hands were on me...'

'They've already...' She couldn't even finish the thought. She had told herself that even if she couldn't have his heart, she could at least get his body first. But now she had lost to Emma on both fronts.

She buried her face in the pillow, her chest twisting into knots. 'I was too late.'

***

Two hours passed.

Natasha hadn't moved from the bed and the hollow ache in her chest had only grown worse.

[Task 4 Complete!]

[You have obtained Ascension Essence (Epic)!]

[Your reward has been placed in the laundry room. Please collect it.]

'...Now?' Natasha lifted her head with a dark expression. 'You want me to go back there right now?'

She ignored the system and pressed her face back into the pillow. There was no way she was stepping foot in that room again.

[Reminder: Uncollected rewards will expire.]

'You've got to be kidding me. There was nothing like this before!' A flash of anger cut through the numbness and she shoved herself off the bed. 'You sadistic piece of junk!'

She pushed the door open and stepped into the dark hallway.

The mansion was quiet.

She just needed to walk down the hall, grab the reward, and come back. She made it halfway down the corridor before she heard Dante's voice coming from his room.

"Master..."

She stopped dead in her tracks.

It was faint and muffled by the door but there was no way she would hear that voice wrong. Along with his voice came heavy breathing, low groans, and the unmistakable, rhythmic sound of skin stroking against skin.

'Is he...?' Her feet moved on their own and she found herself standing right outside his door. It was slightly open with a thin crack of dim light spilling into the hallway.

She knew she shouldn't look. Every part of her was screaming at her to look away.

Through the gap, she could see Dante on his bed. His pants were pulled down past his thighs and his hand was wrapped around his thick cock, pumping it slowly with his eyes squeezed shut and his jaw clenched tight.

"Haa... Master, why are you tormenting me like this?" He groaned through gritted teeth, his hips lifting off the bed as his hand moved faster. "That juicy ass of yours… urgh"

Natasha's hand flew to her mouth. Her eyes were wide open and her legs were shaking.

'...R-right' A blush crept across her face as the feeling of his hands gripping her ass came rushing back. 'I almost forgot. My seduction actually worked.'

But Emma already had both his heart and his body. That wasn't going to change no matter what she did. The chance of Dante choosing her over Emma was slim.

The best she could get was sharing him... with the girl she raised like a daughter.

'...What am I supposed to do?'

[Triggering New Mission…]