Supreme Spouse System.

Chapter 164: The Warrior’s First Date

The Warrior’s First Date

”You, okay?” Nova asked gently, her green eyes observing him with a sharpness that could cut steel—but at this moment, her voice contained something softer. Something unusual.

Leon gazed at her. Actually looked.

She was always tough. Tongue-sharp. A battle freak through and through. But in this moment—with her curled up in his lap, her sleep-frowzy shirt slipping over one shoulder, her ink-black hair falling loosely about her flushed face, and her fingers touching his cheek—she appeared heartbreakingly human. And lovely.

”...Yeah,” he said after a moment, a small smile twisting his lips. ”You just caught me thinking.”

”Tch. That’s not common,” she grumbled, rolling her eyes, but her hand didn’t release his face. Her thumb hung there, running along the rim of his jaw as if she wasn’t even aware she was doing it.

The tension between them hung there—no longer awkward, but still. As if the night itself had stopped, waiting to draw breath.

Moonlight streamed through the open window, illuminating them both in a soft silver glow. Her thigh against his leg, her body warm, yielding to his. She smelled of battle and rain, fire and wind—a wild, uncomparable thing.

Leon fought to keep himself calm, but Nova crossed her eyes.

”You shut up,” she said, her voice low, ”and your eyes. they were far away. Dazed.”

Leon blinked. Shit. She picked up on it.

He cursed to himself inside. Damn it... I need to practice covering my emotions better.

But he smiled on the outside. Calm. Controlled. ”It’s nothing. Just... thinking about something else. Leave it.”

Nova didn’t seem convinced. She gazed at him, her eyes sharp.

She wasn’t a warrior with blades only—she was schooled in reading people. Experienced, lethal, intuitive. She picked up on the subtle change in his face, the flash of his eyes, the subtle sidestep of his words.

Even so... she let it pass. This once.

He deflected the topic easily, hiding whatever tempest seethed beneath his smile.

”As you inquired before,” Leon replied matter-of-factly, reclining slightly, ”the females in the mansion? They’re my wives.”

The atmosphere between them changed.

”And they’re your sisters now. Technically.” He waited for her response. ”As you’re going to be one of them as well.”

She raised a brow. ”Technically?” she repeated dryly. Nova huffed. ”Oh, fantastic. Now I’m part of your harem collection?”

Leon smiled. ”You complaining about that?”

Nova cocked her head, feigning consideration. ”Hmm. No. I don’t mind your harem.”

He smiled inwardly. Something about the way she said it—about the fact that she didn’t sound threatened, didn’t sound defensive—caught him by surprise. He’d been expecting her to be protective, maybe even aggressive. But there was something... nuanced in what she said. Surprisingly accepting.

Perhaps she’s tougher on the inside than I gave her credit for, he thought.

”What now?” she asked, noticing the way he was looking at her again, her eyes narrowing.

”Just... surprised,” Leon admitted. ”I thought you’d make a scene.”

Nova’s smile grew. ”What? You thought I’d make a scene?” She snorted. ”Please. I know that strong and handsome men always get harems. And you...” She stuck her finger into his chest, ”you’re handsomer than normal-handsome. And only a little stronger than me. Just a little.”

Leon laughed, a real, deep sound. ”Only a little, huh?”

She grinned and leaned in. ”Don’t push it.”

He gazed at her, something gentle unfolding behind his playful smile. The woman who had once sought to destroy every opponent... isn’t threatened. She’s at peace. Entertained. Perhaps even proud. And that did something peculiar to his chest—something warm and turning.

Nova’s pulse quickened.

She didn’t like it.

She could handle monsters, swords, and hurricanes—but Leon’s smile? That annoying, golden-eyed grin? It made her feel like some lovesick girl with a crush.

She glanced away rapidly and mumbled, ”Stupid smile.”

Leon leaned forward. ”Did you just insult me?”

”No,” Nova said hastily, tilting her chin. ”I insulted your smile.”

Leon laughed, and she struggled to hide how much she enjoyed the sound of it. His laughter was soothing—gruff around the edges, but real. It made something silly stir inside her.

But hey,” she continued, clearing her throat and collecting herself. ”Now the real question—why are you here? And this time, tell me the real reason. Don’t feed me some crap like ’I missed you,’ okay?”

Leon snorted. ”Oh? Why not that? What if I did miss you?”

She glared at him. ”Then I’ll believe you hit your head when your wife threw you out of mansion.

He chuckled once more, and shook his head. ”Relax. They didn’t expel me.”

Nova raised an eyebrow. ”They didn’t?”

”Nah,” he said quietly, chuckling again. ”They simply chose to sleep early. Something about needing their beauty sleep for the next day’s activity.”

”And you?” she asked, arms crossed over her chest.

”I...” He glanced away for a moment, then back at her with a slightly abashed grin. ”I can’t sleep by myself.”

Nova’s eyebrow arched even farther. ”So your wives require beauty sleep... and you showed up to sabotage mine?”

Leon shrugged helplessly, flashing that half-guilty, half-flirtatious grin that made her want to punch him—or kiss him. Perhaps both. ”Yeah... pretty much,” he said. ”But hey, in my defense—you don’t need it.”

She blinked. ”What?”

”You don’t need beauty sleep,” he told her smoothly, golden eyes flashing. ”You’re already too damn beautiful for your own good.”

Nova glared at him, expressionless. ”Wow. Flattery now?”

He smiled. ”Is it working?”

She laughed. ”You’re impossible.”

”So I’ve heard.”

She shook her head, eyes sparkling with amusement. ”Let me get this straight—you couldn’t sleep by yourself, so you came to me. And now you’re... what? Using me as your personal body pillow?”

Leon lifted a hand defensively. ”Hey, don’t make it sound like a crime. You’re a very attractive pillow.”

Her lips twitched despite herself.

”Oh, please,” she muttered, trying to look annoyed, even as her face betrayed her amusement.

”Just stating facts,” he said with a wink.

Nova stared at him for a long moment—eyes narrowed, lips pressed, pretending she was annoyed.

But then she muttered under her breath, ”Stupid flirty bastard.”

Leon’s grin widened.

And yet,” he spoke softly, his voice falling just a little, ”you still haven’t said to go away.”

Nova laughed, low and deep as she leaned in a bit closer, their faces inches from each other. Her green eyes danced with wickedness.

”Okay, mister night caller,” she whispered. ”You’re here. So... what are you going to do? Don’t tell me to come all this way just to snuggle?

Leon’s head cocked to one side, his golden eyes flashing in a lazy, teasing challenge.

”Why? You got something else planned?”

There was one beat of silence between them, heavy with tension and quiet.

Then Nova, as fearless as a flame, asked with a completely straight face, ”I’m asking because I’m wondering... any chance you came here hoping to fuck me tonight?”

Leon blinked—utterly taken by surprise. He hacked once, then exhaled a slow, astonished chuckle. ”Wow. Straight to the point, huh?”

”Always,” she said knowingly, leaning her elbow against the couch cushion, chin in the palm of his hand like she wasn’t cramped up in his lap in her underwear, with the moonlight highlighting every detail.

”I didn’t come here for that,” Leon said finally, voice steady but lower now, his golden gaze sharpening as it traced her form—slow, deliberate, heated. ”But now that I’m looking at you—half-dressed like that... curled in my lap like this...”

His hand slid a little along her waist.

”...maybe I’m reconsidering.”

Nova’s brow arched, mouth curling into a smirk. ”Oh really?”

Leon’s voice fell even lower, husky with laughter and black self-assurance. ”Yeah. Maybe I’ll fuck you right here.”

Her gaze flared. ”And what makes you think that I will?”

He didn’t respond at first. Instead, he leaned in, arms constricting around her waist so her body was flat against his chest. His lips grazed her ear when he spoke, voice a slow heat.

”Because if I actually wanted to fuck you, baby... I think you’d find it hard to say no.”

Nova’s breath hitched—just briefly.

Then her smile grew wicked. ”Cocky bastard.”

”Confident,” he answered, one hand creeping a little lower on her back.

Her fingers brushed against his collar, nails lightly stroking along his bared neck. ”Fine then,” she whispered, green eyes flashing with his, her voice a challenge. ”Why don’t you—”

But she never completed the sentence.

Leon bridged the space between them in one breath, one hand resting at the nape of her neck as his lips seized hers in a raw, hard kiss.

Her eyes went wide with shock. She uttered a soft, ”startled” sound against his lips—but the moment he sucked lightly on her lower lip. Her body reacted with a shudder.

Damn it, she thought, yielding to the kiss. Why is he so good at this?

Her hands flew up, arms around his neck, fingers weaving into his hair. His arms clamped around her waist, yanking her against him. Their bodies fit like they were meant to be there—no gaps, no uncertainty.

Leon deepened the kiss, spreading her lips and slipping his tongue past hers. She gasped, but struggled back—her tongue clashing with his in a raw, intimate struggle. Neither giving way. As ever.

The kiss was hot. Wet. Breathless.

Their tongues became entwined, danced, clashed. It wasn’t tender—it was raw and savage. The kind of kiss that left them both reeling.

When they finally pulled apart, a strand of saliva still held their lips together. Both were panting, flushed and stunned.

Leon smiled, gasping. ”See?” he breathed. ”You didn’t even fight my kiss.”

Nova was gulping for air. Her cheeks were aflame, her lips swollen, and her heart a mad drum in her chest. ”You bastard,” she grumbled. ”Always kissing me like that...”

But her voice was weak, and her fingers were still gripping his hair.

Inside, she thought, why... why does it always feel like this when he kisses me?

Leon watched her, amused and smug. But before he could say anything else—she grabbed him by the collar.

”And now,” she whispered, voice a breath against his mouth, ”it’s my turn.”

And then she kissed him. Hard.

Her mouth crashed into his, hard and ravenous. Leon’s eyes went wide for an instant—but then he plunged in over her with a growl, his hands crawling up her back, imprisoning her like he’d never release her.

The moonlight danced across their skin as they lost themselves in that second kiss—harder, more savage, and infinitely more desperate than the first.

Nova kissed like she fought: no quarter, no hesitation, all flame.

Leon kissed like he lived: all charm, all control—and just enough chaos to match hers.

This time, the kiss wasn’t a shock. It was a challenge. A promise.

And neither of them wanted it to end.

But their kiss ended slowly, reluctantly—as if the air between them didn’t want to release them. When their lips parted at last, both were flushed, breathless, eyes dazed.

Leon’s golden eyes roved over Nova’s face, mouth slightly open, cheeks flushed with heat. A thin film of sweat filmed her temple. Her chest rose and fell with every breath.

And then—she smiled.

A twisted, savage, triumphant smile.

”This time,” she panted between ragged breaths, voice low and harsh with heat, ”I win.”

Leon blinked... and then laughed, a rough, breathless sound that curled in his throat.

”Was that what that was?” he asked, resting his forehead lightly on hers. ”A battle?”

Nova shrugged lazily, still smiling. ”Everything’s a battle.”

He regarded her, still so near. The fire in her eyes. The flush of her skin. The smug little smile on her lips. And deep in his chest, something soft and wild awakened.

A long silence hung between them. Not uncomfortable—just complete.

Then, quietly—almost too quietly—Leon spoke.

”Do you want to know why I came tonight?”

Nova narrowed her eyes, but she didn’t budge. ”Hm?”

He locked eyes with her, and while his voice was even, his heart pounded.

”I didn’t come here to fuck you,” he told her gently. ”And I didn’t come just to cuddle you too.”

Nova cocked her head, interest dancing through her eyes. ”Then?”

Leon held her eyes, solemn now. ”I came out tonight... because I wanted to take you out,” he explained. ”On a date.”

Her breath snagged. ”A... date?”

Leon waited out the silence. ”So?” he asked, smiling half-way. ”Ready for a date, Nova?”

His words hung suspended, exposed and glowing in the quiet night air.

Nova blinked. Her face flashed—initially shocked, then inscrutable.

But gradually, something changed. Her smile crept back, sly and pointed. She didn’t speak—beyond saying anything, at least. Instead, she slid from his lap in one fluid movement, bare feet touching the ground.

She turned just so to look at him over her shoulder, ponytail swinging down her back.

”You already woke me up,” she said with a grin, green eyes shining. ”So why not?”

And with it, she walked to her wardrobe with a light step, as if the words had released something from her.

Leon stood still where he was, a little stunned.

Then he grinned.

And waited.