He didn't yank forcefully, but he pulled just enough to tilt her head back.
Enough that she had to meet his eyes.
Her breath hitched.
Quinlan leaned in, watching every twitch of her face as he held her there. "I was out of commission for too long," he murmured. "It shows. You haven't been disciplined in a long time, isn't that right~?"
Ayame swallowed, eyes locked on his. Her earlier smugness was nowhere to be found.
A dozen seconds later, it was the oriental beauty who tore her gaze away first, trying to shake off the moment. Her cheeks held a faint heat she clearly did not want him to notice.
She failed. Quinlan, of course, noticed.
His fingers began sliding through her long, dark ponytail once again, and pulled a bit firmer now. Still not harshly, not carelessly, but with a controlled firmness that tilted her neck and angled her face toward him for a second time.
Ayame shivered.
