Chapter 85: Drowning In The Pool Of Ecstasy
Ivan, who noticed the sudden shift in her demeanour, was reminded exactly why he hadn’t wanted to tell her any of this before. He rubbed her back in a gentle, calming motion as he replied,
"Drake is free only because I’ve been gathering enough evidence to raze his entire family to the ground. Marquees Lester had a strong foothold in the royal court, and if his son was implicated without any concrete evidence, there would have been a revolt against my father. So I have been collecting enough filth of Lester Viremont himself so that he and his son are able to escape the weight of their crimes. When I deal with things, I don’t like to leave any loose ends. It’s better to uproot the entire diseased tree before it spreads its rot to the others."
"Because of what happened yesterday, we were able to catch a couple of nobles who had been colluding with dark forces to gain more powers. Marquess Lester was one of them, and it was his castle where you were kept captive."
This information left Eve speechless. She couldn’t fathom how deep the corruption ran...how interconnected everything was. So she asked, "Why? Why did he do it? How involved was he?"
Ivan looked at her as he further sank into the sofa, letting his head rest against it while pulling her along with him. "Why?" he echoed. "The answer is simple...power, Eve. As I told you before, people are willing to do anything for power. Lester has been driven by his ambition to climb to a higher rank, or worse, to usurp my father and rule this kingdom one day. He knows that as long as my father and I are alive, he’ll never be able to bring such ambition to fruition, so he resorted to falling on the dark side. By offering them a hideout and an endless supply of sacrifices, he thought he would be able to gain enough powers to revolt and defeat my father and me."
He let out a tired sigh and continued, "But before any of that could happen, my men uncovered his involvement in everything, and by God’s grace, I was able to reach the place in time to stop something terrible from happening to you."
He looked at her, cupping her face in his warm palms, his eyes serious as he said, "I didn’t know you were there, but I felt like I heard you call out to me." Drawing her face closer, his voice softened to a whisper, "I heard you scream my name when I reached the castle." He brushed his thumb tenderly across her cheeks as he asked, "You called for me, didn’t you?"
Evelyn, who felt like she was melting under his tender touch, forgot all the things she wanted to ask him. Leaning into him, her eyes locked deeply with his as she whispered, "Yes.."
"Why did you?" he asked, equally raptured by her close proximity.
"I didn’t know...I just did, because I thought...I was going to di-"
[Music recommendation: Special ClipㅣSolar-’Adrenaline’(English ver.)]
Ivan didn’t let her complete her sentence. He silenced her by capturing her lips with his. He didn’t like the thought of her going anywhere away from him. Somewhere, he couldn’t reach her, so he closed the distance between them as if to reassure himself that she was still her, in his arms. He kissed her passionately and felt Evelyn respond to him with equal intensity. As the kiss deepened, Ivan tightened his hold on her. He was taken off guard when Evelyn suddenly captured his upper lip and sucked on it, drawing out a low groan from him.
She ran her hands from his shoulders to his neck, before wrapping her delicate fingers behind to entwine at his nape. She then captured his lower lip, sucking it slowly before giving it a soft bite and tugging it gently before releasing it. The teasing drove Ivan mad as he let out a deep, approving rumble from his chest.
He drove right back in sweet mouth, his hands roamed along the curve of her back before settling firmly on her ass. He gave them a tight squeeze, drawing a breathless, gasping moan from her lips. Finding his opening, he plunged his hot tongue into her mouth as he pulled her impossibly close to him.
Their tongues soon tangled in a fervent dance, tasting and savouring each other. Evelyn’s fingers slid into his soft raven hair, tugging gently, coaxing a low hum of her name from him, "Eve..." the sound rolling inside her mouth. The way he whispered it, so deep and longingly, it sent shivers down her spine.
Evelyn felt her mind short-circuiting from so much stimulation. Her heart pounded against her chest as though preparing to take flight. Mimicking Ivan’s actions, she moved her lips eagerly against his. She felt exhilarated and complete. Her heart swelled as her hand traveled from his hair down to his chest, where she felt the wild rhythm of his heartbeat, mirroring her own. Emboldened, she slid her hand beneath his shirt through the gap of loosened buttons, her fingertips brushing over the heated skin of his chest.
The instant he felt her touch, Ivan’s restraint snapped, and he swiftly undid the robe draped over her nightgown and slid it off her shoulders with one hand, revealing her milky shoulders to him. When their lips parted to get some air, he dragged his sinful mouth from her jaw down the elegant line of her neck to her shoulder, leaving open-mouthed kisses.
Too lost in the euphoric haze he had led her into, Evelyn grabbed his hair and pressed him closer against her neck. She breathed, "Ivan.." just as he dragged his tongue slowly from her neck all the way up to the shell of her ear, grazing it with a soft bite. The teasing sting pulled a trembling moan ripple from her lips.
As his breath warmed her ear, she heard him whisper, "There are so many things I want to do to you."
Her heart did a leap at the sinful promise, and she felt as though she should allow herself to drown in the pool of ecstasy he was pulling her into. Eve didn’t know what was making her lose control, but she felt a shift in her... perhaps it was because she had almost died and thought she might never see him again or never be in his embrace again. Stirred by a storm of her intense emotions, she let her hands travel across his chest and pulled on the fabric of his shirt apart, letting a couple of buttons snap free, bouncing on the ground, stunning Ivan where he sat.
When he lifted his head to look at her face, he saw how her eyes were shining like two golden pots. Her swollen, rosy lips parted as she stared at him with her erratic breathing, making her supple chest rise and fall with every breath. She then leaned forward, pressing him back against the sofa as her hands roamed from his exposed chest up to his face. She whispered against his lips, "So do it..." before crashing back into a searing kiss.
Ivan’s eyes widened at the sudden boldness in her, but he quickly surrendered to the intensity of her kiss. Soon, they lost themselves in a hot, deep battle of mouths over who dominated whom. Moans and groans ripped from both of their mouths as they continued with the intimate dance of their tongues.
Eve had to pull away to catch her breath, but Ivan didn’t stop. He let his mouth travel down to her delicate neck, his tongue tracing her skin once more. But this time, he felt his fangs elongate, and without warning, he sank them into the crook of her neck.
Eve’s sultry golden eyes flared as she felt a sharp prick against her skin, but the sting was fleeting, quickly replaced by the heating sensation of his mouth sucking deeply at her flesh.
"Oh!" Another moan escaped her lips when she felt him squeeze her full butt again, and she wrapped her hands around his hair, pressing him closer against her.
He hummed in delight with her open invitation, feeling as though he was getting high on divine blood that tasted even sweeter than before. He wondered why its taste had become even more addictive. Yet even in his haze of ecstasy, he continued to listen to her heart singing so that he wouldn’t mistakenly take more than he should. When he finally had enough, he reluctantly pulled away and licked the punctures on her neck to seal them as he savored every single drop of her blood.
When he slowly pulled away, his head tilted back to meet her blazing golden eyes staring down at him, and they both looked absolutely drunk on each other. When Evelyn saw a little drop of her blood glistening at the corner of his lips, she leaned over as if entranced, sticking her pink tongue out, and she licked it languidly, making his pupil dilate. When he caught sight of the blood on her tongue, he brought her face to his and captured her mouth to draw her tongue into his to savour the last remnant of her sweetness as though it were the rarest of treasures.
