Chapter 117: His Antidote
For a brief moment, the two of them remained silent, their eyes delving right into each other that it seemed they might have forgotten the ocean and waves that brought them this tranquil.... or maybe it was never the ocean.
Leaning close, Ivan’s hand reached forward to brush a strand of her hair away from her face, and he noticed the way her eyes reflected a nocturnal sparkle that had him beguilingly tranced, with no escape. His thumb caressed her smooth cheek lightly, and he watched the way her eyes hesitantly moved to look at the hand that hadn’t withdrawn from her face yet. The uncertainty in her eyes was still there, her reluctance, he didn’t miss it, but what was his excuse again?
He was selfish.
Lowering his face at a measured pace, his crimson eyes fixed on the pink lips he was about to devour for dinner, Ivan was forced to stop when he felt her palm on his chest. His eyes moved from her intrusive hand to her face that had been tinted pink, and the reason behind that flustered face was because she could feel his heartbeat, pounding at an abnormal rate in his chest. As if shocked by the feeling, she made an attempt to take her hand back when Ivan caught her dainty wrist, and then he whispered, his voice sounding like silk.
"This is what happens to me when I see you, when I get close to you. Could you perhaps explain this uncontrollable beating to me? Refusing is not an option, I mean, you’ve always wanted me to learn and understand this type of feeling, haven’t you not?" Placing her palm back to his chest so she could feel his racing heartbeat - the same heart that never once beat even when she stabbed it, Samantha had completely forgotten how to breathe as she met his intense stare.
"I- I did say I was going to kill you, is it not being unfair to yourself that you are more than willing to reveal this side to.... someone who promised to end you? What if I’m putting on an act, and all of this was just a trick to win your favor?" She asked in one breath, not averting her stare as she couldn’t allow herself to be seen as inferior, but there was no suspicion in the way he stared at her, no alarm, no nothing.
All she saw was his yearnings and her uncertainty reflecting back at her.
"I told you I’d give you many opportunities to get rid of me. I wasn’t joking when I made that promise to you." With his hand on her wrist still keeping her palm glued to his chest, he slowly moved it up, letting it brush through the fabric of his outfit and making sure she felt every sturdiness hidden beneath until her delicate fingers curled around his neck.
"Daggers are already ineffective, let’s try something new shall we?" Smiling subtly, he released her dainty wrist, and her fingers, which presently curled around his throat, could hardly grab his neck in full, but her hold was surprisingly firm. Rather than feeling alarmed by her actions to choke him, he found it..... titillating - the warmness of her palm seemed to stir up a different kind of feeling in him, it was no different from a passing current, and he knew she felt them, she always had.
"Make good use of this opportunity, or I will kiss you." The continuous clashing of waves seemed to have been drowned by the palpitating beat of Samantha’s heart, and her eyes took notice of the strange shimmering in his eyes again. It reflected magically against her own, speaking a thousand words that were yet to leave his mouth. She had completely forgotten about what he just said to her, not until she felt the coolness of his lips pressing against her own, whilst her round eyes grew wider.
Her grip around his neck loosened, as if the power from her system had been drained by his intimate touch. When her hand dropped, she could feel Ivan slid his hand to the back of her neck, cradling it as he tilted her head gently to the side so he could have more access to that sweet mouth of hers, and Ivan couldn’t have wished for anything better.
His touch was gentle, not harsh, and when he pulled back so he could look directly into her glazed green eyes, Samantha covered her mouth with her palm before he repeated his actions again, but it wasn’t because she hated it, she was merely afraid of getting used to liking him and the taste of him. When Ivan’s naturally arched eyebrows pulled into a slight frown, Samantha withdrew her palm and pointed at the ocean to distract him.