Chapter 71: Only the beginning
"What... what was that?" Ella gasped, her body still trembling from the aftershocks, lips parted as her wide eyes searched his face.
Nicholas chuckled, the sound low and dark, his gaze devouring her. "That,love," he murmured, leaning in to brush his lips against her jaw, "was only the beginning."
Her breath caught again—not just from what he said, but how he said it. Deep, assured, laced with the promise of more. Of everything.
He pulled back slightly, just enough to see her face. His expression had shifted—his eyes still molten, but now edged with restraint. She could tell: he was holding himself back, barely. Not because he didn’t want her, but because he needed to be sure.
"Do you want to keep going?" he asked, his voice velvet-soft, the tension simmering just beneath. "Because once I start... once we go there, there’s no halfway. I won’t be able to stop."
Ella’s lips parted. Her mind was swimming, caught between memory and hunger, between the fear of what this meant and the craving for what he made her feel. She wasn’t stupid—she knew what she was choosing. She knew what crossing this line meant. Her body screamed for him, and yet something fragile, untested, fluttered inside her chest.
But still—she nodded. "Yes... I want to."
Nicholas studied her for a heartbeat longer. Then, with a low growl of approval, he kissed her again—fierce and possessive, like the answer unlocked something primal inside him. His mouth moved over hers, slow and purposeful, his hands sliding along her sides as if to memorize every inch of her.
Her body ached, already sensitized from the way he’d touched her, tasted her, worshiped her. But this was different. This wasn’t just pleasure—this was surrender. A silent, sacred yes.
"You’re trembling," he whispered against her lips.
"I’m not scared," she lied. "Well... maybe a little."