Chapter 257: Possessive Instincts
"Are you... not coming?"
A slow, knowing grin spread across Cillian’s face at her question.
"Oh? Was I expected to?" he asked innocently. "Didn’t you just declare you were running away from a rake like me?"
Jade looked back down the endless stone staircase before pressing her lips into a thin line.
After a brief pause, her gaze drifted to the phone in his hand.
"Fine," she muttered with far less confidence than before. "You can stay here if you want. I’d just like to borrow your phone for the flashlight."
"How naughty," he mused. "You’re really expecting me to hand over my phone and trust you not to go through all my private photos?"
He leaned in just enough to make her heart skip. "If you’ve been harbouring such desires, you only had to ask, you know?"
"What?" Jade stared at him with wide, disbelieving eyes, which only made his grin widen before a low chuckle escaped him.
"C-Can’t you ever be serious for once?!" Jade demanded, her cheeks flushing warm.
Normally, Jade would have just rolled her eyes at his absurd teasing and ignored him.
But tonight, for some reason, her heart raced every time he opened his mouth.
She blamed it entirely on the storm outside for being trapped in this pitch-black space with him. She thought exploring the stairs might distract her flustered mind, but the man was utterly relentless.
"What’s the fun in being serious?" Cillian replied with a shameless grin.
Jade could only pinch the bridge of her nose and let out a frustrated sigh.
Even from the passage, she could hear the heavy oak door rattling against its frame, a stark reminder of the violent storm still raging outside. Stepping out now would be nothing short of foolish unless they fancied losing a limb to the flying debris... or something far worse.
Cillian, on the other hand, was thoroughly enjoying himself, pushing the stubborn woman’s buttons as he always did. However, his demonic senses were beginning to pick up something dark from the depths below.
Just as he decided to stop teasing her and convince her to abandon the idea of venturing deeper, a sound reached both of their ears.
Faint whispers and low groans of pain travelled all the way up the stairwell, alerting them that they were far from alone.
Their eyes locked instantly.
Jade whispered in sudden panic, "Did you... hear that?"
Every trace of playfulness vanished from Cillian’s face as his gaze slowly returned to the dark staircase.
Letting out a quiet sigh, he stepped in front of her before speaking over his shoulder. "Stay behind me, and don’t speak unless it’s absolutely necessary."
Jade swallowed hard.
"Understand?"
She gave a quick nod.
"Good," he replied softly. "Now watch your step and hold onto me."
Jade stepped close, her fingers curling into the fabric at the back of his shirt as they began their slow descent down the spiral stairs, taking one cautious step at a time.
It was a long descent, and by the time they neared the bottom, the first thing they noticed was the air. It was thick with the suffocating metallic scent... mixed with something else they couldn’t quite identify.
An uneasy chill crept over Jade as her pulse began to race. With every step they took, her grip on the back of Cillian’s shirt tightened just a little more.
Cillian killed the flashlight on his phone, as the space below was already illuminated by flickering oil lanterns.
Slowly, the two of them leaned forward, cautiously peering out from the staircase.
The moment their eyes landed on what lay before them...both of their eyebrows shot up in surprise.
.....
Back in the study...
"It was my fault that led you to experience something...unpleasant," Gavriel said quietly.
Aliana blinked, staring at him in utter disbelief. "Are you... are you apologising to me?"
He didn’t answer with words, but the look in his eyes said it all, flooding Aliana with an unexpected warmth.
Knowing that this powerful, intimidating figure who commanded the business world was actually apologising to her affected her far more than she was willing to admit.
Then, his eyes shifted into something far sharper.
His hand slipped down from her cheek to gently tilt her chin up.
"However," he murmured, his thumb lightly stroking her jaw, "don’t think for a single second that I have forgotten the little stunt you pulled out there by the pool."
A sharp thrill shot down her spine at the darkened, possessive look in his eyes.
She let out a breathy whisper, "Neither have I forgotten seeing another woman in your lap."
"An accident," Gavriel countered as he leaned closer.
"Doesn’t matter," Aliana murmured, leaning closer as her hands rested against the broad planes of his bare chest. "It still calls for a punishment."
Her fingers drifted downward, tracing the defined ridges of his abdomen until they came to a rest right at the waistband of his trousers.
A dark flame of desire swirled in his eyes. "Something we can both agree on," he whispered seductively. His other hand slid up her thigh, making Aliana shiver as his fingers travelled up to curve over her ass and pull her closer.
"I would have clawed her face for eyeing what is mine," she whispered, her voice dropping to a low murmur as she hooked her fingers into the waistband of his pants, giving a soft tug.
A ridiculously sexy smile pulled at Gavriel’s lips at her words. "I would have ripped out their eyes for daring to look at what is mine."
With that, he yanked her closer and captured her lips, and Aliana melted into him.
And it was all too punishing as the husband and wife devoured each other’s lips in a bruising kiss like beasts marking their territory.
Their tongues tangled, fighting each other for dominance while tasting every single nook and cranny of each other’s warm cavern. Their hands travelled all over each other as if they were trying to carve the tension out of each other’s bodies with their intensely possessive touch.
Aliana arched into him, her nails digging hard into his shoulders and the nape of his neck, eliciting a low, primal rumble that vibrated deep within Gavriel’s chest.
He tilted her head to deepen the kiss, one hand sliding down to grip her ass and pull her body against his hard length, while his other hand moved up, palming her breast over the thin fabric and squeezing hard enough to draw an exquisite moan that he swallowed whole.
They were like two people possessed as they grew more and more unruly until Aliana felt herself being pushed against the desk behind her. Her fingers tangled deep in his hair as he impatiently yanked away the shirt he had wrapped around her shoulders to reveal her dripping swimsuit beneath.
Aliana’s head fell back as he finally released her lips. His wicked mouth travelled along the sharp line of her jaw, trailing down until he reached her neck, where he sucked her skin hard to leave a dark mark.
But Aliana didn’t care.
She dug her nails into his back, clawing him as if branding him as hers alone. Her mind still burned with the memory of Gwen’s hands on her husband, fueling the fierce possessiveness roaring through her veins.