It wasn’t just the warmth of her mouth, the way she took control whenever he fell behind, or even the surprising softness of her lips despite all the years she’d spent smoking.

It was the closeness.

The sheer, almost absurd intimacy of it.

Max had never experienced anything remotely like this before. The simple realization that another person was this close—that they were sharing the same breath, the same space, moving together in a way that felt impossible to ignore—sent his thoughts spiraling.

Back on Earth, the idea alone would’ve been enough to occupy his imagination for weeks. Now it was actually happening, and reality had committed the unforgivable crime of being better than the fantasy.

Years of imagination, countless fictional romances, and an unhealthy amount of secondhand experience from books, manga, and late-night internet rabbit holes—and somehow none of it had properly prepared him for the real thing.

Still, Every second made him want more.

It wasn’t just the kiss itself.

It was the simple fact that his tongue was inside another person.

And the more he experienced it, the harder it became not to wonder what being inside her elsewhere would feel like.

There were still another five minutes or so left before the daily minimum was complete—not counting the extra time Max had very generously and completely selflessly added to the schedule himself.

Still, even he needed a break.

Continuous kissing turned out to be surprisingly exhausting.

Then again, most people probably didn’t celebrate their first real kiss and their first orgasm within the same operational window.

Breathing heavily, he finally pulled back for a moment. His lips felt slightly dry despite the lingering taste of her saliva still clinging to them. Running his tongue across them absentmindedly, he looked up at Zerena.

Unfortunately, that turned out to be a mistake.

Because from this close, with her slightly messy hair and faintly flushed expression, she still looked distractingly erotic.

"Is it done?" She asked.

Max shook his head.

That immediately earned him a raised eyebrow from Zerena.

"Then why did you stop?"

"Can I drink some water before we continue?" he asked.

The question came out with enough caution that it sounded like he was requesting permission to negotiate with a hostile nation.

Zerena stared at him.

For a second, she looked genuinely annoyed.

Then she realized her own mouth wasn’t exactly in great condition either. Between talking, sighing, and spending the last several minutes engaged in activities that apparently consumed moisture at an alarming rate, it was starting to feel uncomfortably dry.

"Get me some too," she said, pushing him away as she sat up.

Max was on his feet almost immediately, a small smile appearing on his face as he hurried toward the kitchen.

He pulled a bottle from the refrigerator, grabbed two glasses, and poured one for Zerena first before quickly filling his own.

Then another.

And another.

Max drank with the urgency of a man who had just discovered that prolonged kissing apparently came with hidden hydration costs.

Meanwhile, Zerena had only taken a single sip.

She watched him over the rim of her glass, looking mildly peeved as he rapidly worked through his water supply like a man recovering from a desert expedition rather than a kissing session.

Still, she didn’t say anything.

At least not until he finished and turned away to put the bottle and glasses back on the kitchen shelf.

That was when her eyes drifted downward.

Immediately, her expression darkened.

The bulge in his pants was impossible to miss.

Worse, there was an obvious damp spot visible through the fabric.

’Shitty fucker is getting hard from me...?’

The thought made irritation flare instantly.

For about three seconds.

Then common sense showed up and ruined her anger.

Considering what they’d been doing for the last half hour, it would’ve been far more surprising if he wasn’t hard.

That realization didn’t make the sight any less annoying.

It just made it significantly harder to complain about.

The irritation was still there, though.

After all, she was only putting up with this because of Max’s godforsaken system tasks.

And honestly, the whole thing felt ridiculous.

She wasn’t some young beauty.

She was old.

Old enough that this shouldn’t even be a question.

Yet somehow the idiot had spent the last half hour looking increasingly enthusiastic about the entire situation.

*’*Has he completely lost his mind?’ she thought.

Though she was still angry at him for getting aroused, Zerena completely failed to notice a few inconvenient details about herself.

Her nipples were still larger than usual.

There was still a faint moistness between her thighs.

Not that her attention was anywhere near those problems.

Right now, she was far too busy being angery

Angery at Max for being hard.

Part of her was almost sickened by it.

The other part kept asking how he could possibly be this enthusiastic.

So she settled for glaring.

Max climbed back onto the bed and sat on his knees in front of her.

Immediately, he found himself under the full force of her stare.

A stare that would’ve convinced most people to reconsider their life choices.

Unfortunately, Max wasn’t currently operating with access to his better judgment.

Which was why, despite the glare, his eyes kept drifting back toward her lips.

’I hate this...’

The thought crossed Zerena’s mind for what felt like the hundredth time that day.

Still, she gestured for him to come closer.

"No word to anyone. Remember that," she said.

Her voice remained steady, though only because years of experience had taught her how to hide irritation when necessary.

Max nodded immediately.

A moment later, Zerena pulled him closer. Opening her mouth, she guided him into another kiss, taking control before he could do something awkward again.

Max’s hands found her breasts almost automatically.

Though, if he was being honest, he still preferred the earlier position.

It had offered several advantages.

Most of which he was wisely keeping to himself.

Like many good things in the world, however, everything eventually came to an end.

And so did Max’s surprisingly long first make-out session.

The system notifications had already sounded five minutes ago.

[Forbidden Act Progress: Kissing]

[Routine Exposure — Day 1 Complete]

The task had only required fifteen minutes of kissing.

Max had added another five himself.

At the time, it had seemed like a perfectly reasonable decision.

Now?

Now he was regretting not adding a few more.

She probably would’ve believed him, too.

The realization was painful.

Tomorrow suddenly couldn’t come fast enough.

Just like with the breast-sucking task, he was already finding himself looking forward to the next session.

Reluctantly, he finally pulled back, letting go of her lips. His hands remained resting on her breasts for a moment longer before his attention drifted elsewhere.

More specifically, to her face.

Her eyes looked slightly watery.

And when he glanced upward, he spotted the familiar arousal meter hovering above her head.

Seeing how high it had climbed, Max couldn’t help feeling that he’d come surprisingly close to achieving one of the goals his previous-life self had once considered completely impossible.

[Zerena Falkner]

[▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▱▱▱▱79%]

Even if the bar had remained stubbornly resistant to filling as quickly as he would’ve liked, Max couldn’t complain too much.

He had come surprisingly close.

And there was still one more task left.

That thought alone was enough to improve his mood considerably.

Beside him, Zerena let out yet another long sigh.

"I can’t believe I have to do this again tomorrow."

Shaking her head, Zerena grabbed her shirt and wiped her face and lips again with visible irritation.

Max ended up doing the same.

As he did, he caught a faint trace of her scent lingering on the fabric.