Taboo Online

Chapter 25: Similar

Inside his room, Luke heard the bathroom door close.

He had been lying stiffly on the bed, staring at the ceiling while every sound from the hallway tightened his stomach. When water began running through the pipes, he finally released the breath he had been holding.

Miss Lauren had not caught him. At least, nothing suggested that she had.

Luke shifted beneath the blanket. His erection had weakened, but it had not disappeared completely, and every small movement of the fabric reminded him of it.

He turned onto his side and tried to think about something else, only for the attempt to fail immediately. Lauren’s moans returned, followed by thoughts of Yvonne. freewebnovёl.ƈom

One woman was erotic and openly bold. The other was gentle, calm, and responsible. They looked strangely similar, but their personalities seemed too different for the resemblance to mean anything.

It never crossed Luke’s mind that they might be the same person.

Instead, he worried about how he would face Miss Lauren after hearing something so private. At the same time, he wondered what Yvonne might do the next time they entered the game.

Would she sit on him again?

Would she finish the kiss she had delayed?

Would the next dungeon force him to confess something even more humiliating?

Luke touched the cheek Yvonne had kissed, and the beauty mark near her lips entered his mind. Lauren had one in almost the same place.

He frowned.

They really do look similar.

For a few seconds, his tired mind began connecting details whether he wanted it to or not. Lauren had been sitting at the dining table with her laptop when he carried the headset into his room. Yvonne had appeared in the game not long afterward.

Maybe Lauren had finished her paperwork quickly.

Maybe she had lied.

Then Luke imagined Miss Lauren secretly climbing into bed, putting on the headset, and choosing a magical thong for her first character.

He pulled the blanket higher and turned his face toward the wall.

No. There’s no way.

Miss Lauren had never played a virtual reality game before. Yvonne moved with confidence, teased him without shame, and wore an outfit Lauren would never choose.

Then again, Yvonne had daughters interested in heroes.

Lauren’s daughters actually were sidekicks.

Luke’s eyes widened.

Wait.

He replayed their conversation inside the dungeon. Yvonne had said her daughters wanted to become heroes. She had studied their combat recordings and learned hero tactics so she could support them.

That was strange.

Really strange.

Still, there had to be other mothers with heroic daughters. He lived in a world full of people with powers. Maybe it was common, or perhaps he was only noticing the similarities because Lauren had already been stuck in his head.

That explanation made more sense.

It had to.

The idea of Miss Lauren secretly entering the game while wearing a magical thong was too absurd to take seriously.

Luke closed his eyes, but Lauren moaned in his memories while Yvonne smiled above him. ƒree𝑤ebnσvel.com

Sleep did not come for a long time.

Luke woke before his alarm the next morning and lay flat on his back for several seconds, staring at the ceiling with the blank expression of someone recovering from strong medication. The room was still dark enough that the alarm clock’s numbers looked unusually bright.

He had slept for only a few hours.

For the past two mornings, Luke had gotten out of bed immediately. He wanted to be downstairs before Lauren and prove that inviting him into her home had not been a mistake.

Today, the thought of seeing her kept him beneath the blanket.

The previous night had not become less embarrassing after a few hours of sleep. The quiet morning only made every memory clearer.

He remembered the exact spot where he had stood outside her room. He remembered clutching his shirt, struggling to breathe normally, and listening long after he should have walked away.

Worst of all, he remembered wanting her to continue.

Luke covered his face with one hand.

"What is wrong with me?"

Silence filled the room while his thoughts shifted toward Yvonne, creating an entirely different problem.

She had nearly kissed him.

Had the dungeon given them another thirty seconds, Luke had no idea what would have happened. He wanted to believe he would have found enough courage to move first, but the memory of lying frozen beneath her suggested otherwise.

Miss Lauren and Yvonne occupied his thoughts together. Lauren had moaned only a few doors away, while Yvonne had promised to wait for him.

Luke removed his hand from his face and stared at the ceiling again.

I’m never going to survive living here.

Eventually, the smell of food reached him from the kitchen.

Lauren was already awake.

Luke sat up.

He could stay in his room and pretend to be sleeping, but that would only delay the conversation. Lauren might come to check on him, which would be even worse.

He dressed slowly and rehearsed a few normal greetings.

Good morning, Miss Lauren.

That sounded fine.

Did you sleep well? Absolutely not.

Luke grimaced and left his room before he could lose his nerve.

Warm morning sunlight filled the kitchen. Lauren stood beside the counter in a clean blouse, a long skirt, and her familiar café apron.

Her black hair fell smoothly down her back. It still looked slightly damp from her shower, and several loose strands rested against her cheeks as she hummed and sliced fruit for breakfast.

The peaceful scene should have calmed him, but Luke remembered the woman behind the closed door.

His eyes dropped toward her hips before he could stop them. The apron tightened around her narrow waist and followed the generous curve of her body.

Lauren turned, and the moment she saw him, she went still.

Warmth softened her expression. For a few seconds, she looked so relieved to see him that Luke felt even guiltier.

Then she smiled.

"Good morning, Luke."

He remained near the kitchen entrance, stunned by how normal she seemed. Her face showed no embarrassment or suspicion, and nothing suggested she knew he had stood outside her door.

Luke scratched the back of his head.

"Morning, Miss Lauren."

His voice sounded rough, prompting Lauren to study him more carefully. Her gaze moved over the dark circles beneath his eyes, his slumped shoulders, and the way he kept shifting his attention away from her.

"Did you sleep well? We’re opening later today, so you can sleep a little longer if you want."

"It’s fine. I slept well."

The lie came out too quickly.

Inside the Dungeon of Truth, the system would have punished him before he finished speaking. Luke almost expected his body to grow heavier, but nothing happened.

He still felt guilty. After what he had heard the night before, falling asleep had been anything but easy.

Lauren returned to the counter and picked up the knife.

"I slept very well too," she said. "I feel so refreshed today."

Her smile brightened, and Luke’s mind immediately supplied the reason. He remembered her voice rising and the final breathless moan that had left him frozen in the hallway.

His gaze dropped to the floor, and the toes of his borrowed slippers curled against the tile.

Lauren noticed. The smile faded from her lips as she set the knife down and wiped her hands against the sides of her apron.

"Luke?"

She crossed the kitchen before he could invent an excuse and placed her palm against his forehead.

The unexpected touch caught him off guard. Lauren leaned closer while checking his temperature, surrounding him with the soft scent of her shampoo and something faintly sweet from her skin.

Luke’s eyes dropped.

Her breasts filled the front of the apron only inches from his face. The fabric followed their weight, and the blouse beneath it revealed enough cleavage to make looking away difficult.

Her final moan returned to him, and his shoulders snapped rigid.

Lauren mistook his reaction for discomfort.

"You feel a little warm."

"I do?"

She moved her palm from his forehead to his cheek, gently turning his face toward the light. Luke’s gaze settled on the small mole near her lips.

It did not merely resemble Yvonne’s.

It seemed to be in exactly the same place.

He stared long enough for Lauren to notice. Her thumb stopped against his cheek, and she followed his attention with a faint crease between her eyebrows.

"Is something wrong?"

Luke blinked and dragged his gaze back to her eyes.

"No."

That was another lie.