Chapter 384: May I?

Adrian walked deeper into the study. The doors clicked shut behind him. His eyes locked onto the paper clenched in her hands and there was a hint of confusion that lingered in his mind.

But more than that, the composure he had spend hours rebuilding in her absence threatened to disappear.

Ella’s presence, her touch, her voice... everything about her had haunted him the entire day. And now it threatened to shatter the moment he saw her.

Just looking at her made his pulse race.

"What are you doing?" he demanded to distract himself from the very distraction that she was.

In reality, he couldn’t care less about what she was doing. The fact that she was there, sharing the same air as him, was making it hard for him to breathe properly.

Ella slowly lowered the paper in her hands. Her fingers relaxed just enough to keep from tearing it apart.

"It’s beautiful," she said as she looked at the paper and then looked around the room, "Everything in this room is truly beautiful."

Adrian looked from her to the paintings, ’Yeah, and you are more beautiful,’ he snarled at his thoughts the moment they crossed his mind.

The truth was, his mind had been a chaotic mess all afternoon. No matter how hard he tried to focus on other things, his mind had continuously been consumed by her thoughts.

The memory of her eyes, the warmth of her hug, and the intoxicating way her body had arched into his touch had haunted him through every single minute.

He had told himself it was just a physical reaction and it did not mean anything. He had even wondered how he could feel something so strongly for somebody whom he claimed to not know.

He, himself had mocked her claim of being his wife in the past.

Yet, ironically enough, just one of her shenanigans was enough to make him go insane over her.

If Adrian had to be honest, things had been like this since the time he was discharged from hospital. From time to time, he would think of the woman who claimed to be his wife.

From time to time, she would appear in her dreams. It had barely been a month and he found his entire situation completely bewildering.

The moment she crossed the threshold of the Eve Mansion, he was simply determined to keep her around so he acted on his instincts and used whatever excuse he could come up with.

For whatever reason, he had now idea.

He had avoided his own heart and mind during this time because nothing made sense to him but now... it was so difficult to unsee.

As he stood near her now, his heart hammered against his ribs. It defied all logic.

He felt absolutely helpless against her presence.

Before he could utter a word, there was a soft ’rustle’.

Ella reached for the zipper of her dress.

With a fluid motion she pulled it down, all the while looking straight into his eyes.

The fabric slid off her shoulders as it pooled around her feet on the floor.

She was left standing before him in nothing but her delicate lace lingerie.

Adrian froze. All the breath was violently knocked out of his lungs.

A fierce blush rushed up his neck and it colored his cheeks a deep crimson.

"What... what the hell are you doing?" he stammered.

Before he could even process the view, his instinct took over.

He strode towards her, stripped off his emerald silk robe and threw the it around her shoulders to cover her up while he stood in the pair of shorts he wore underneath.

His hands trembled slightly as he held the fabric closed over her chest.

"Have you completely lost your mind?"

Ella didn’t answer with words, "Maybe, maybe not," she leaned in towards him, the need to feel him close growing with every second, "Maybe, a little," she whispered.

Ella stepped directly into his face and Adrian was left with no choice but to back against the study desk.

Her body pressed flush against his and as she stood on her tiptoes, her lips hovered barely a millimeter away from his mouth.

The heat between them flared as if it had caught fire and the air seemed to have caught onto the change.

"May I?" she whispered against his lips.

Her doe eyes were wide and swimming with something he couldn’t quite name.

Adrian’s throat went completely dry.

He gulped. His eyes dropped to her parted lips, then back to her eyes.

Everything inside him screamed at him to push her away. He needed to protect himself from what could potentially become his weakness, like this.

Never in his life did he have a woman pinning him to the desk and ask for a kiss, while he stood there anticipating it.

But his body simply refused to move.

He gave in to that agonizing inch and tilted his head down slightly. His breath hitched as he murmured a rough "Mm."

That was all the invitation she needed.

Ella crashed her lips against his. The tension between them exploded.

Adrian let out a low growl as his hands instantly abandoned the robe he was holding around her.

He wrapped his arms securely around her waist and flipped their positions completely, lifting her effortlessly onto the edge of the large desk.

The objects on the desk clattered across the floor as he slammed her back onto the surface of the desk, his mouth locking onto hers with an animalistic hunger.

Their tongues clashed fiercely. Adrian devoured her lips, his breath hitching as his fingers tangled deep into her hair, gripping the roots to tilt her head back.

He bit down on her bottom lip, pulling it until she gasped. He used the opportunity to slide his tongue deeper, drinking her in until they were both completely breathless.

More papers slid off the desk, scattering uselessly onto the carpet as he crowded his body directly between her legs.

Ella arched her back off the cold wood, her breasts spilling over the edges of her lace bra, pressing hard against his bare chest.