Chapter 363: Chapter 363 Have You Ever Had Sex?

Liam and Vanessa came up the stairwell together, the hidden door sliding shut beneath them with a faint metallic thud. The faint glow of the underground lab was replaced by the dim but polished lighting of his father’s office.

Vanessa exhaled softly, trying to shake off the tension she’d felt below. “Well…” she finally said, brushing her hair back, “…you were right. Kelly’s power is earth. She’s already adapting faster than I thought she would.”

Liam gave a small nod, but his eyes weren’t on her. He stopped moving, his expression clouded with something that made her pause. He seemed far away in his thoughts, locked in some calculation.

“Wait,” he said suddenly.

Vanessa frowned, halting just a few steps away. She turned back to him with a puzzled look. “What is it?”

He didn’t answer immediately. Instead, his jaw worked slightly, and his gaze locked on hers like he was debating with himself. She’d been noticing it since she came down to get him — his behavior had been off. Something about the way he looked at her now made her pulse quicken.

Finally, after a long silence, he asked, “Have you had sex before?”

“What??” Vanessa’s voice cracked, her eyes going wide. Out of the millions — no, trillions — of possible things she thought he could have asked her right now, this was nowhere on that list. She stood frozen, lips parted, her face flushing hot before she could even think.

Her brain refused to form an answer. The air between them suddenly felt heavier, charged with something she couldn’t name.

Liam didn’t press. He just stayed quiet, letting the silence stretch while her face burned. He had his reasons — he always had his reasons — but he didn’t offer them.

Finally, Vanessa cleared her throat, her voice lower now, uncertain. “…No.”

The single word hung between them, sharper than it had any right to be.

Liam exhaled slowly, shoulders loosening, and shook his head. “Never mind.” He moved past her, his voice steady again. “Let’s not keep the others waiting too long.”

But something inside her bristled. She turned sharply, calling after him. “Wait.”

He stopped, glanced back.

Her expression had changed. Gone was the flustered look. In its place was something stern, serious, her arms folding across her chest as she locked her eyes on him. “Why did you ask me that question?”

“It doesn’t matter.” His tone was flat, dismissive.

“Yes, it does,” she shot back instantly, her voice cutting sharper than she intended.

He sighed again, a long, heavy exhale. He’d lost count of how many times he’d sighed in the past hour. His head tilted back slightly as if searching for patience. “…You wouldn’t believe me even if I told you.”

“Try me.” She didn’t budge, arms still folded, gaze hard.

Liam studied her for a long moment, his lips tightening. “Are you sure?”

“Yes,” she said without hesitation.

For a second, silence filled the room again. Then Liam stepped closer, his voice dropping lower, almost reluctant. “…Just when I was cleaning, an old man approached me—”

———

Vanessa stared at him, her face unreadable at first. She had listened to every word. Everything about his father, the powers, the machine, the burden of his body, the truth about sex as a way of keeping his system in balance. All of it.

Her lips parted slightly, but no words came out. She just looked at him with a strange expression — a mix of disbelief, confusion, and something else she couldn’t name.

And then it clicked. She finally understood why he had asked her that question so bluntly. He wasn’t teasing. He wasn’t joking. He was calculating. He’d been asking because he was considering having sex with her, not out of lust, but to make her stronger — to pass on some of that overwhelming energy inside him.

But the moment she had told him she was a virgin, he’d let it go. He hadn’t pushed, hadn’t explained. He’d just dismissed it and moved past her.

The thought made her chest feel tight. She realized what that meant: he wasn’t willing to cross that line with her. Not now. Not like that. And that realization — that mix of rejection and understanding — left her breathless.

Her cheeks flushed red, and she turned her gaze away, her heart pounding in her chest.

The air between them was thick now, silent but heavy with unspoken things. Liam had already turned his focus elsewhere, but Vanessa’s thoughts kept spiraling. The idea of it — of him asking her that, of what it meant — refused to leave her head.

For the first time in a long while, she didn’t know how to act around him.

Vanessa broke the silence first, her voice firm.

“Why did you tell me nevermind?”

The question made Liam raise his eyebrows. He didn’t expect her to circle back so quickly. His weight shifted slightly, and he let out a short breath before replying.

“Well, you did say you’re a virgin. Most girls wouldn’t wanna cross that boundary with a guy they don’t like.”

Vanessa snorted, almost laughing but more annoyed than amused. “I like you, idiot.”

The words slipped out before she even realized. Her eyes went wide as she instantly covered her mouth with both hands, her cheeks burning red. She wanted to rewind time, shove those words back inside, but it was too late—they hung in the air between them.

She braced herself, expecting Liam to burst out laughing, maybe tease her until she wanted to crawl into a hole. But he didn’t. Instead, he just smiled—soft, small, but enough to make her chest tighten.

Her heart pounded, and with her face still flushed, she muttered, “So… do you… like me?”

Liam tilted his head, his smile lingering. He looked right at her, and his voice came out steady.

“Do you think I’d be thinking about having sex with you if I didn’t like you?”

That answer hit her harder than she expected. Her chest rose as she sucked in a quick breath. Her lips parted like she wanted to say something, but nothing came out. Instead, she closed her eyes for a second, gathering herself. When she opened them again, she whispered, “Okay… let’s do it.”

Liam froze.

“What?”

“I said… let’s do it.” Her voice cracked a little, but the determination in her eyes wasn’t something he could brush off.

He stared at her like she had just grown a second head. He was shocked she agreed—but even more shocked at the way she was looking at him. Hungry. Like she wanted it now, not later.

“Wait… now?” Liam asked, just to confirm.

Vanessa nodded once, quick, without hesitation.

“But Dickson and the others are outside,” Liam said, almost like he was reaching for an excuse.

Vanessa didn’t even blink. “They’re very easy to get rid of.”

Before he could respond, she pulled out her phone. Her thumbs moved fast across the screen. A few taps, then she locked it and slipped it back in her pocket. Turning to Liam, her face still red, she said, “Wait thirty seconds.”

Liam blinked. “What did you—”

“Just wait,” she cut in.

So he did. He leaned back against the wall, counting silently in his head. One… two… three…

Before he even got to twenty, the sound of engines roared outside. Tires screeched against the pavement, and then both cars sped off.

Liam stood there, stunned. “The hell? How did they leave that easy?”

Vanessa smirked, almost smug. “They just got their powers. They’re eager to test them. I told them you and I had something important to handle and that they could go out and play with their new tricks.”

Liam exhaled, shaking his head slowly. “Unbelievable.”

“They didn’t even question me,” she added, brushing some loose strands of blonde hair back behind her ear.

Liam folded his arms across his chest and leaned against the doorframe, eyeing her with a crooked grin. His voice dropped into that teasing tone that always got under her skin.

“So what you’re saying is… you really want this, huh? Not for the power, not for the benefit—just because it’s me.”

Her face went bright red. “Shut up.”

She kicked his shin—not hard enough to hurt, but enough to make her point.

Liam chuckled, rubbing the spot she’d kicked, still grinning. Vanessa turned her face away, refusing to look at him directly, but her ears were red, and the corner of her lips twitched like she was fighting a smile.

The tension between them was heavy now, thick enough to taste. Neither spoke for a moment, both of them caught in the strange mix of nerves, desire, and disbelief over what had just happened.

Liam ran a hand through his hair, still leaning against the doorframe, eyes on her. She stood with her arms folded, glaring at the floor like it had personally embarrassed her.

Finally, Liam said quietly, “You know, you’re full of surprises.”

Vanessa huffed, pretending not to hear, but the redness in her face gave her away.

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