Chapter 260: One More Day With You
Eve dressed herself in front of the mirror beside the bed, adorned in a light lavender gown that moved with every movement she made, making her appear as though she were floating rather than standing. The gown had been personally chosen by Ivan for her comfort, and it truly was just that, soft, feather light, and effortless to wear. Eve loved it.
She studied her reflection, her blue eyes drifting to her delicate neck, now marked with numerous love bites. An inward sigh escaped her at the thought of Ivan’s wilder side, a side she still loved dearly, even if it had cost her a touch of her once flawless skin.
Her gaze drifted in the mirror to the background, where she saw him already dressed in black trousers, his bare upper body on display as he slipped into a crisp white shirt. Her eyes lingered shamelessly on him, hungrily taking in his undeniably drool-worthy form, and she let out another quiet sigh as he began to button it up, briefly wondering if her thoughts had truly gone straight into the gutter these days.
Reluctantly tearing her eyes away from him, she lifted her hands behind her back to fasten her own gown. But after the third attempt, the button slipped from her fingers yet again, refusing to catch onto the loop.
She let out a small, frustrated sigh and was just about to give up and change into something else when she felt warm fingers wrap gently around hers and heard his low voice murmur, "Allow me."
Eve’s eyes lifted to meet his in the mirror, and she saw his gorgeous face staring right back at her. His shirt was only halfway buttoned, revealing taut muscles beneath, and she swallowed hard at the sight of him.
He looked devastatingly handsome with his wet hair pushed back, a few strands clinging to his forehead, while droplets of water hung from the ends of his soft hair, and others trailed freely down the back of his neck.
Her wandering gaze slowly returned to his eyes just as he bent down and pressed a light kiss to her shoulder, exposed by the gown slipping loosely off it. Eve’s breath hitched at the gentle contact, a faint blush blooming across her cheeks, yet she never once looked away from his gaze.
After that, she felt his fingers trace lightly along the curve of her back before he finally focused on her exposed skin and began to button her gown, one at a time. He could clearly hear her heart fluttering at his gentle attention, and he held back the smile threatening to break free on his lips.
It was then that her soft voice rang out, breaking the quiet between them. "Are you planning to go back to the palace?"
"Hm....maybe in some time," Ivan replied without looking up.
Eve pressed her lips together lightly before asking, "Do you....think I should come with you?"
Ivan lifted his gaze to meet hers. "Do you want to come with me?"
"I’m contemplating....since I feel much better now," she said slowly. "I’m just thinking about Damien, Cece, and Edward, who are practically trapped within the castle walls because of... me."
She offered him a small, guilty smile. "I don’t want to take their kindness for granted," she explained softly.
Ivan fastened the final button before taking the light pink ribbon, which was right below her soft mounds and tied it at the back of her gown into a neat bow. Once it was secure, he wrapped his arms around her waist and rested his chin on her shoulder.
"You don’t have to feel guilty, baby. It was a plan everyone willingly took part in, knowing it might take longer, depending on when you woke up, which none of us could have known back then."
Eve tilted her head slightly, leaning into his face. "But....I am awake now, and I’m well. Meanwhile, they’re still unable to do much over there other than deal with potential threats, which I know is, again, because of me. I can’t help but feel bad about it."
Ivan listened carefully, understanding exactly where she was coming from, knowing how kind her heart was.
"How about this?" he suggested gently. "I’ll go by myself today, just to get a general update on everything that’s been happening there. And if things are looking good, I’ll take you back tomorrow."
He saw the expectant look in her eyes slowly dim. "Oh..."
She pursed her lips, looking very much like a child who had just been denied her favourite sweet. Ivan’s eyes softened at the sight, and he tightened his hold around her slender waist.
Rubbing his cheek lightly against hers, he leaned in to press a tender kiss to her cheek before whispering near her ear, "Don’t you want to spend one more day alone with me?"
Eve’s eyes snapped back to the mirror in surprise as she looked at him. "Of course I do," she replied quickly. "That’s not what I meant when I suggested going back. I was only thinking about everyone else..."
"Hm....whatever should I do, Eve?" he murmured in a sultry whisper.
"You keep thinking about others, but what about me?" His lips brushed the shell of her ear, sending a shiver down her spine, and she knew exactly what he was doing. If she were honest, he was succeeding far too easily in making her reconsider her resolve.
She felt his lips brush lower, to the nape of her neck, and goosebumps rose across her skin at the delicious sensation. He pressed a soft kiss there before lifting his head to meet her gaze in the mirror, taking in her flushed expression.
In a gentle voice, he said, "Just one more day, Eve. I need to make sure it’s safe for you to return after everything that’s happened. Both our identities have been exposed to all twelve kingdoms....so we need to be extra careful from now on. Will you give me that?"
Eve understood his worries and nodded softly in agreement.
"That’s my good baby," he murmured, kissing her cheek. His crimson eyes drifted over the gown she wore, then to her neck, left fully exposed and marked by him. "And I must say, this dress looks lovely on you."
Eve’s eyes followed his line of sight as he admired the marks on her neck, and she sighed. "Well, since you’ll be going back to the palace, you’d better get me a dress that covers my neck."
"Why?" he replied smoothly. "I think I like it like this..." He lifted his hand, brushing his fingers along the delicate curve of her neck, feeling her pulse quicken beneath his touch.
Eve frowned and finally turned to face him. "You cannot be serious."
The corner of Ivan’s lips curved upward. "I’m very serious, Eve," he answered shamelessly.
She narrowed her eyes, then tried a different approach. "Really? I see...I suppose I’ll just have to deal with every other man staring at my neck because of the glaring red marks trailing all the way down."
She shook her head lightly, sensing the temperature around them drop, but continued playing her part. "I’ll just have to endure their bold gazes....as they might imagine what must have led to such mar-"
"I get it," his low, quiet voice cut in. "I’ll ask Auther to prepare dresses that cover them fully for you." The possessive edge in his tone made Eve fight a herculean effort not to laugh at how quickly her tactic had worked.
Turning fully to face him, she beamed. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she rose onto her toes and pressed a soft kiss to his cheek. "Thank you."
Ivan tightened his hold around her waist and murmured, "You’re getting really good at this, you know?" He smiled, realising he had been completely played by this innocent-looking bunny. What else could he do but relent? After all, she was the love of his life, and he would gouge out anyone’s eyes if they dared to stare at her, let alone think about her intimately. With that thought, he made a mental note to mark her in places only he could see; others were not allowed to see her like this.
Eve’s smile widened. "Well, I’m learning from the best," she teased. "Particularly from a certain smooth talker standing right in front of me."
"Hm, I’ll take that as a compliment," he replied before placing a short yet deep kiss on her lips, which Eve welcomed wholeheartedly.
Pulling away after savouring their shared sweetness, Ivan said, "Let’s get you some breakfast."
"Alright," she replied, and just like that, they walked hand in hand out of the room and downstairs to eat. Ivan arranged cut fruit, bread with cream cheese, and a cup of tea for her.
He then took a seat opposite her at the small dining table to have his own breakfast, though one main element was missing, blood, which he had consumed all of it the previous day after they awoke from their long slumber. His complexion had nearly returned to its original state, and the potent, fresh blood of Eve had aided him greatly in that recovery.
He could feel his body rejuvenated even from the small amount he had taken from her and felt nothing but gratitude for her offering. Still, he knew he could not take much more and would need to stock up on some rations for himself to last one more day.
