LOGINEiiii🙈. Elara taking this step was NOT in my bingo list. But I guess we have to let the characters surprise us!! Your thoughts??! What do you think? Share in the comments!! I’ll be waiting 🌝
I stop in my tracks the moment I walk into the kitchen after showering. Because Theo is seated on the kitchen counter, eating fruit while Nathaniel is standing near the gas cooker, making pancakes. Given I’d just walked in, I can’t really tell what exactly the topic of discussion is, especially since it’s Theo talking about what I assume are the characters from the cartoons he’s been watching recently. The whole view looks domestic. Alarmingly domestic, might I add. And I don’t think it will ever cease to make me feel surprised. I doubt I would ever get used to seeing it. As if he can feel my gaze on him, Nathaniel lifts his head, only for our eyes to lock. “Hi…” I manage out. Theo looks towards me at the sound of my voice, his face brightening. “Hey, mummy,” he says as I walk further inside the kitchen just as Nathaniel’s attention returns to the food. “Are you aware he burns pancakes less than you?” Nathaniel almost chokes on a snort, and my face warms up instantly, m
I wake up slowly to the feeling of warmth enveloping me. The next thing I feel after that is the weight of an arm around my waist from behind me beneath the blanket, and I have to blink through my disorientation before I remember where I am. And that’s when the memories from last night begin to play in my mind at once. I remember having sex with Nathaniel after he apologized, I remember bursting into tears, I remember confessing what I felt, and lastly, I remember how gently he’d handled me after that. At the thought, heat crawls up my neck, and I close my eyes for what feels like forever. When I open them again, I remain still where I am, staring at the soft morning light slipping into the bedroom through the curtains while Nathaniel’s chest rises and falls slowly against my back. We slept like this. Actually slept like this. Together. The realization sends a strange warmth to my chest down to my stomach, and I will it away, then turn carefully to glance over my shoulder.
The moment the sob falls from my lips, Nathaniel stills above me completely. His eyes have darkened just a bit, and he seems to not be breathing, like it has suddenly become dangerous. “What happened, baby?” he asks quickly, his brows pulling together into a frown. “Are you—” Another sob escapes me before I can stop it, and a feeling of humiliation washes over me that instant, my whole skin flushing. Oh God. The humiliation should be enough to make me stop, but it doesn’t. If anything, it makes my chest tighten so painfully as more tears spill faster down my cheek, that I have to turn my face away immediately, mortified. Except, Nathaniel doesn’t let me. His hand cups my jaw gently before I can fully turn, and he turns me back towards him. “Elara.” The roughness from earlier is gone completely from his voice now, replaced with a soft tone, and his gaze moves frantically across my face as if he’s searching for something. What? I have no idea. Or maybe I can’t bring mys
I see it in the way Nathaniel’s nostrils flare that my words have hit somewhere deep inside me. And just when I open my mouth to speak, he lifts me so suddenly that I gasp softly, instinctively wrapping my legs around his waist as he turns, walks out of the closet without even closing the door, and carries me toward the bed. Every kiss after that feels slower. It’s feels hotter and more intimate, our lips molding against each other’s tongues dancing between each others, like neither of us knows how to handle this version of each other. By the time he lays me down against the mattress, my entire body feels feverish and my heart is racing so hard in my chest, I can even hear it. Nathaniel is hovering over me, breathing unevenly, and I shiver when his hand brushes my cheek. I wrap an arm around his neck, trying to pull him in for another kiss, but then, he resists, hesitation flashing in his eyes. Real hesitation, it seems like this suddenly matters too much to him as much as t
I don’t realize I’ve been standing in front of the bathroom mirror until my legs begin to ache. I blink and take a step back to make the muscles comfortable, exhaling slowly as I reach for my robe tie. I can’t stay in damp clothes all night. I also need to go to bed early because I have to meet Laurent. Immediately, I change into a dry underwear and will my thoughts about Nathaniel to the back of my mind. Then, I step out of the bathroom, part of my grateful, the other part disappointed that he isn’t in the bedroom before I head for the closet. Once I step in, I switch on the lights, illuminating the room with the soft lights. Then, I untie my bathrobe and let it slide down my shoulders, reaching for one of my night dresses hanging on the rack closely. That’s when the door suddenly opens. I feel my heart stop instantly, my breath hitching in my throat as I turn in, my hands flying to my chest just to find Nathaniel frozen, his eyes wide. His gaze snaps away from my body a
The moment my lips touches Nathaniel’s own tentative, like I’m testing something I already know I shouldn’t, time freezes. And none of us move. Nathaniel doesn’t give himself the luxury of breathing or even blinking his eyes, but I feel when his hand comes to my waist immediately, tightening. I shiver. Before I can take that as an opportunity to move my lips, he kisses me back, and I feel my heart skyrocket. He doesn’t do it in the fast, unhinged way he usually does. No, this kiss is slow and deep, like he’s trying not to. And when his other hand slides up my neck, his fingers brushing against my damp hair before settling against my jaw lightly, a soft sound almost escapes me. God. This is the first time we’re actually kissing like this. Not the sexual, desperate ones we have, and definitely not mouths brushing between arguments and anger and tangled sheets. This is an actual kiss. And the realization makes my chest tighten even more. Nathaniel tilts his head slightly, d
“Adrian has been granted bail.”The moment the words reach my ears, I freeze for a second, the kitchen cabinet door staying open in my hand. At first, I don’t turn. I just stand there, staring at the row of mugs like I’ve forgotten what I came here for.Then I do.The movement is too quick that my
The station feels colder than I expect it to be. Not only in temperature, but also in feeling. It’s obvious that in a place like this, you have no one to save you, and the chilling, frightening atmosphere of the building is a proof of that. It’s late in the evening, and just as the lawyer said ea
The elevator is quiet. It’s not that empty kind of quietness, but rather the type that presses in uncomfortably, settles under your skin, and makes you aware of things you would rather ignore. Like how close to me Nathaniel Hale Monroe is standing. He’s not touching me though, but he’s not standi
I can’t take my eyes off Nathaniel. His hands are slipped into his pants pockets, his calm gaze fixed on Adrian, and before any of us can say a word, he begins to walk toward us slowly.The moment he stops right beside me, the warmth from his figure making the air feel suddenly heavy, he meets Adr







