Ren stood in the center of the garage, the silence heavy. On the old iron bed in the corner, Bella was a motionless curve under his flannel shirt, her breathing deep. She was completely spent, her "Ice Queen" armor scattered.
BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.
The heavy thuds against the metal roll-up door sounded like cannon fire. Ren's muscles tensed. He glanced at Bella and she didn't even stir. He walked to the door and wrenched it upward. The blinding afternoon sunlight poured in, revealing two delivery men and a massive truck.
"Ren Camry? Got a delivery. Sign here."
He knew his aunt hadn't sent this. He signed the paper in silence, his eyes cold. He didn't ask who sent it. He didn't need to. There was only one person who had seen the inside of this garage and had the power to change it.
For the next two hours, Ren worked with a focused, animalistic energy. He didn't move the bed yet, he didn't want to disturb the girl who had just given him his latest "Level Up." Instead, he cleaned.
He scrubbed the concrete floor from one end to the other until the industrial grey shone. He hauled the massive leather couch into the center, its scent of fresh hide filling the room. He positioned the 65-inch TV and organized the kitchen crates against the far wall.
[System Notification]
[Endurance: 24 — Performance: Optimal]
As he hauled a heavy wardrobe to create a partition between the "living" area and the sleeping corner, he stopped. He looked at his hands. They looked larger, stronger, steadier.
Is this a gift? he wondered, the shadows of the garage lengthening around him. Or is it a curse? In his old life, he was a ghost. Now, he was building a kingdom in a garage, surrounded by luxury goods sent by a woman he had fucked only hours after meeting. The System wasn't just giving him a new body; it was rewriting the world around him to suit a King. But Kings had debts, and his heart gave a dull, reminding thrum. The "Toll" was satisfied for now, but the hunger was a permanent part of his DNA.
He finished the partition, effectively turning the garage into a high-end studio apartment. Only the old bed remained as a relic of the morning.
Ren sat on the edge of the mattress. Bella shifted, the flannel shirt sliding off her shoulder. She groaned softly, her eyes fluttering open. She squinted, her brain trying to reconcile the dusty scrap-heap she remembered with the high-end bachelor pad she was now looking at.
"Ren?" she whispered, her voice raspy and thick with sleep. She sat up, clutching the shirt to her chest, her jaw dropping as she saw the leather couch and the gleaming appliances. "What... what happened? Did I sleep for a week? Where did all this come from?"
Ren didn't even look at the furniture. He kept his eyes on her, a slow, unreadable smirk playing on his lips. "I told you, I'm a scholarship student. The Academy looks after its own."
"Don't lie to me," she said, her voice rising in disbelief as she stepped onto the clean floor. "This is thousands of dollars of equipment. Who would buy this for a scholarship student?"
Ren stood up and brushed a stray hair from her forehead, his touch cool and dismissive of her panic. "Does it matter? It's here now."
"But…"
"Forget about the boxes, Bella," he interrupted, his voice dropping to that deep, commanding vibration. "You should be more worried about your own 'notes' than my furniture."
He guided her toward the new full-length mirror leaning against the wardrobe. "Look."
Bella froze. In the crisp reflection, she saw the mess of her hair, the flush in her cheeks, and the dark mark Ren had left on her shoulder.
—(Whispers of Desire: Bella)—
(He's brushing it off)
Ren stood by the new wardrobe, watching as Bella struggled to get her legs to cooperate. Every time she shifted, she winced, her hand instinctively pressing against her lower abdomen.
"You okay there, Princess?" Ren asked, his voice dripping with sarcasm. He felt a wild, youthful surge of pride. Seeing her, the untouchable elite stumbling because of him was better than any stat boost. "Need a crutch? Or a wheelchair?"
"Shut up," Bella snapped, her face turning a vivid shade of red. She felt like she'd been stretched out from the inside, her pussy still pulsing with the ghost of his presence. He was just too big. "You're a brute. I think you actually bruised my insides."
Ren let out a low, satisfied chuckle. "Hey, don't blame me. You're the one who told me not to stop."
As she finally managed to get her dress zipped, carefully draping her hair to hide the dark mark on her shoulder, she turned to him, trying to summon whatever was left of her "Ice Queen" dignity.
"Look, Ren. This... today? It was a mistake. It's not happening again, understood?"
Ren just arched an eyebrow, leaning back against the new leather couch. "Sure. Whatever helps you sleep at night. Come back again when you want more of that 'mistake.'"
Bella glared at him. "In your dreams. Now, about the assignment, I've got the data on my laptop. I'll write it up and send it to you tonight so you can look it over before class. Just... stay away from me on campus. We're partners for the grade, and that's it."
—(Whispers of Desire: Bella)—
(I need to focus on my studies, Besides, I can barely walk. If I do that again, I won't be able to stand for a week. I just need to get back to my room and forget how he felt…)
"Don't forget to send that file," Ren called out as she stepped toward the door. "Or I'll have to come find you in the dorms."
"I'll send it! Just stay put!" she shouted back, though her heart gave a traitorous flutter at the thought of him showing up at her door.
Ren watched the door close and let out a long, triumphant breath, falling back onto the plush leather of the new couch. He felt like a king. But he didn't know that Bella, caught up in the whirlwind of her own confusion and the physical exhaustion of their session, was about to get very distracted.
By the time she swiped her card and entered her room, she was drained. She hoped to sneak past to the shower, but Vivian was already there, sprawled on the couch in an oversized t-shirt with a bag of chips.
Vivian didn't even say hello. She just froze, her nose wrinkling as she sniffed the air like a predator. Her eyes snapped to Bella, traveling from her messy hair down to the slight tremor in her knees.
"Oh. My. God," Vivian whispered, dropping the chips. "Bella Lorenzo. Get over here right now!"
"Vivian, I'm tired, I just want to…"
"Liar!" Vivian sprang up, circling her roommate. " I can smell it on you from here. That's not just sweat. That's... him. I can smell the garage and the... well, the rest of it. You stayed there, didn't you?"
Bella realized there was no hiding it. She let out a helpless, shaky laugh and gingerly lowered herself into a chair, her face burning.
"Vivian... it was way too big," Bella whispered, covering her eyes with her hands.
"Too big?" Vivian squealed, her auburn hair bouncing as she leaned in close. "Like, 'I need a doctor' big? Because I saw those jeans, Bella. I knew he was packing a literal club."
"I think I'm actually broken," Bella groaned, though a small, dazed smile escaped her lips.
"Ugh, I knew those scholarship guys were built for stamina. Tell me everything. Did he finish inside? Does he have a six-pack? Don't leave out a single detail!"
As the two girls spent the next hour whispering and giggling, the "Social Mapping" assignment sat forgotten in Bella's bag. She was too busy describing Ren's hands to remember the 8:00 AM deadline.
And back in the garage, Ren was fast asleep, dreaming of his new kingdom, completely unaware that Professor Mitchel was already sharpening his claws for the morning.