Chapter 213: Cold Comfort
Dorrent stared down at her flushed, breathless face, taking in the glistening moisture faintly visible through her thin cotton underwear. A deep, highly satisfied rumble echoed from his chest.
"I like this version of you, Jannah," Dorrent whispered, his hand resting possessively over her hip. "I like it when you aren’t so stubborn when you’re aroused." He leaned down, his lips hovering mere millimeters from hers. "Tell me... do you want me to fuck you right now?"
Jannah didn’t answer. She kept her lips firmly closed, turning her head slightly to the side as her long lashes fluttered.
Deep down, she had already accepted her fate. She was going to be officially married to this terrifying tycoon anyway. They had already crossed that line multiple times, and doing it again wouldn’t change her reality. Besides... as much as her mind fought against him, the intense, overwhelming ache of desire pulsing in her core was making her so desperate it was practically killing her.
Dorrent looked down at her quiet, compliant posture, a dry, mocking chuckle escaping his lips.
"Aren’t you a truly bizarre little creature?" Dorrent murmured, shaking his head slightly. "Whenever I am completely serious and trying to have a vital conversation with you, you suddenly turn all receptive like this. But whenever I actively pursue you, you fight me with everything you’ve got. What kind of game are you playing, Jannah? Don’t you actually care about knowing the truth?"
Jannah turned her head back, her dark eyes locking into his with a sudden, quiet sharpness that completely stripped away her playful demeanor.
"It’s not that I don’t want to know the truth, Dorrent," Jannah delivered quietly, her voice steady and clear. "I already know. Don’t see me as a complete fool. I have already connected the dots."
Dorrent’s silver eyes narrowed slightly. " Connected what?"
"All the dangers and ambushes you have been facing lately..." Jannah whispered, her chest heaving slightly under his weight, "...it’s all because of me, isn’t it? Because of my unique lineage and my womb’s ability to birth an Enigma. Those powerful factions and mafia gods who want that power have been actively hunting you to get to me."
Dorrent stared down at her for a long, silent beat. The dark, teasing smirk on his face completely melted away, replaced by an authentic look of quiet pride and profound respect.
"Clever girl..." Dorrent purred softly, his thumb gently stroking her cheekbone. "If you understood all of that on your own... why were you putting on such a frantic act earlier?"
"I wasn’t putting on any act!" Jannah snapped softly, pouting her lips. "It is YOU who constantly views me as a brainless little kid who doesn’t understand anything happening around her!"
"It isn’t that way at all," Dorrent corrected her gently, his baritone dropping into a soft, protective register. "I am simply concerned about you, Jannah. That is all."
Jannah tilted her chin up, her dark eyes flashing with a sudden, arrogant glint as she remembered her leverage. "Well, you shouldn’t treat me badly ever again! Especially when I am the grand prize here! I am wanted by the most powerful men in this city, Alpha Grefo. You should be exceptionally happy that I am lying here with you."
Dorrent couldn’t help the broad, handsome smile that broke across his features. "I am exceptionally happy," he rasped out.
He leaned down and planted a deep, lingering, and unbelievably tender kiss straight onto her lips, his tongue gently tracing her mouth before he pulled back. "You are a blessing to me, little physician."
Jannah’s heart gave a violent, traitorous throb at his gentle words, but she quickly masked it, clearing her throat to maintain her posture. "The only real question I have left..." Jannah said, her tone turning dead serious, "...is what actually happened years ago that caused your black cycle? Enock’s outburst in that alleyway... there was definitely truth in his words."
"I will look into it personally," Dorrent promised flatly, his eyes flashing with a cold resolve. "I will unearth every single piece of evidence and bring the answers straight to you."
Jannah looked at him for a moment before dropping her gaze slightly. "There is still one more thing I don’t understand... Why does your mother, Lady Himelda, hate me so intensely?"
Dorrent’s expression clouded over slightly, a heavy, complicated silence falling over the space between them.
"That is related to a completely different story, Jannah," Dorrent explained quietly, his voice carrying a dark gravity. "A dark Chapter in our family’s history that I really don’t think you are emotionally ready for right now. I promise I will tell you everything when the right time comes."
"Didn’t you just tell me to ask any question I wanted?!" Jannah protested, her brow furrowing in annoyance.
"And I will answer it," Dorrent reaffirmed, pressing a soft kiss to her forehead. "Just not right now. Have patience."
Dorrent then took a slow, deep breath, his eyes darkening with a sudden, familiar wave of explicitly possessive heat as he looked down at her waist and wet underwear.
"Now... since you’ve successfully connected all the dots together..." Dorrent purred low in his throat, his hands reaching down to the front of his trousers, "...I am ready for something else entirely."
Jannah watched in shock as Dorrent unbuckled his belt and began slowly lowering his trousers down his thighs, revealing his fully erect shaft standing thick and rigid against his stomach.
Dorrent leaned down over her, his eyes scanning her pale face as he uttered a thoughtless, offhand remark: "You know... you kinda remind me of something about my ex right now."
He closed his eyes and leaned in to capture her lips in a deep, passionate kiss.
Before his mouth could touch hers, Jannah violently jerked her head to the side, her face turning completely cold as she pressed her hand hard against his jaw, shoving his face away from hers.
"I am not in the mood anymore, get off me!" Jannah delivered bitterly, her voice dropping into an icy line.