Page 99 of A Clash of Stars

Tears started to well in my eyes as I remembered the horrific conversation in the garden with Madok and the emotions I felt in the woods.

I wanted to die. I wanted to give up everything, and here I was, safe in the arms of a man who thought so highly of me and protected me just like he said he would. If you had told me a year ago, I would be lying on Evander, and we would be married. I would laugh and tell you that you are cynical.

The hands that once were drawing such a delicate picture gripped my hips with such intensity that I couldn’t help but sigh. We studied each other’s faces, taking in every detail and aspect of our faults and perfections.

The heat started to creep up in my body the longer he looked at me, and I turned my focus to his hands. The warmth of his rough hands spread along my back as he rubbed it up and down in soft circles. “Clara, are you all right?”

The words pierced my thoughts, but I knew the correct answer. I wondered if this was the appropriate time, to be honest with him. I had been battling whether my head could trust him, but my stupid heart spoke louder through me, not even giving my head a chance to react. “I am now. The moment you touched me in the woods, I knew I was going to be okay.”

He had a slight smile that faded into something darker. Shit. He terrified me but in an exciting way. He was so unpredictable. I wanted to know who he was and the real Evander, the one my mother told me remembered everything before the curse, but I would wait to bring that up. I didn’t want to ruin this moment. Peeling back the layers one day at a time. Part of me wondered if I was falling for him.

How can a man I was forced to marry have pure feelings for me? Even with marriage, it didn’t guarantee genuine affection toward each other.

“I need to know something.” He paused and licked the bottom of his lip. “Do you want me as much as I want you?”

The question caught me off guard. I noticed my heartbeat started to quicken even more than before, and so did his.

My eyes traveled back to his lips, and he caught me looking. The hands that gripped my hips pulled me up to straddle him. The pulse in my thighs thumped against his legs, and he smirked. I couldn’t hide from him, and I knew that. I wanted that. Nothing with him was expected, but it sure was perfect.

I barely knew Evander. My whole life, I was seeking out Madok, wanting my time and intimate moments to be with him only. Either I wasn’t thinking straight, or I just wasn’t the same girl I used to be because I wanted Evander. Badly. More than I had ever wanted anyone or anything else. Nothing was going to stop me.

“I want you.” I quickly leaned in to kiss him but pulled back immediately, wondering if I was too hasty, but Evander never disappoints.

Reaching up, he grabbed me, pulling me closer to him. Pressing our bodies into each other. The heat from his skin seeped onto mine, causing me to moan quietly into his mouth.

His lips were soft and slow with mine. We both wanted to remember every touch and linger our mouths just a little longer. Slowly, his hands nudged me to sit directly on his lap. No more hiding. I wanted to show him all of me in the most intimate ways possible.

I had always questioned whether I would be enough for him. He was so gorgeous and brilliant. Every girl I had ever met swooned over him, but now, he was all mine. No one else could have him. I wanted to show him that no other girl would compare to me. I felt so contradictory. One moment I felt so confident and in the next, Ifelt like a coward.

With a leap of faith, I unbuttoned the shirt and pulled it off, leaving my body utterly vulnerable to him. His green eyes slowly studied me, taking every inch of my body.

He took a deep breath and glanced into my eyes.

A growl escaped him as his feet hit the floor, and he stood, taking me with him. His hands gripped my ass, and he slowly started to walk us to the bed, lowering me on top of it. He stripped his pants down leaving him completely exposed.

I couldn’t help but look at the gods given gift this man had that was about to destroy me in the best way possible. My lip was stuck between my teeth, but he caught me before I could release it.

“Clara, you know what your lip-biting does to me.”

He started to crawl on top of me, placing his hands on either side of my head, his bulging biceps with black tattoo markings all over him. I felt his impressive length pressing into my stomach, and his muscular thighs wrapped and trapped my legs to the mattress.

I got brave and responded with my first thought, “I might like doing things to you that drive you crazy.”

The smile on my face wholly exposed what I was feeling. He knew he drove me wild, and I wanted him to do everything to me.

His body pressed into mine, his weight bearing down on me. We were fully skin-to-skin. My nipples pebbled into his chest, and I saw his eyes widening, and he cascaded his feelings towards me, and I took them in. Lust. Want.

His breath was a few inches from my lips when he spoke, “I need you to know that no other man will kiss you, touch you, or fuck you like I’m about to, Clara.”

I gasped as he started a trail of kisses down my neck, reaching my nipples. He gently wrapped his mouth around one, sending chills all over my body. His eyes flickered to mine, and I could see the smile radiating through him as he softly nibbled, leaving a mark on my breast, which caused heat to spread to my lower stomach.

The trail of kisses continued down my stomach to my thighs. Evander leaned back onto his knees, grabbing my legs, lifting them, and wrapping them around his waist. Leaving the most sensitive part of me exposed to him.

My breathing started to quicken as I braced myself for what he was about to do. He saw me tense up, and that’s when he leaned down and grabbed my neck, pulling my attention entirely to his face.

“You have been teasing me, taunting, and to be honest with you… It turns me on how you can control me. You can tell me what you want me to do outside our bedroom. You’re the boss. But in the bedroom, I’m in charge.”

My breath started to quicken as he leaned down, pressing his length at the entrance of me, his breath lingering right above my lips.

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