Chapter 422 A Night of Ruin
Chapter 422 A Night of Ruin
The night was heavy withnguid desire..
Clothing slipped from her shoulders. <ul><li>Com </li></ul>
Lily was lost in the heat and tenderness of his kisses, so absorbed that she didn’t even notice how bare she had be.
She had missed him too.
It had been more than a week since she was abducted and taken into the mountains, but the fear and helplessness from that night still felt as close as yesterday. She wanted to hold him fiercely, to kiss him deeply, to lose herself in him without restraint.
But adults, when clear–headed, had to be rational and measured. Only in a night like this–when he was too far gone to know where or when he was–could she let herself indulge in stolen pleasure.
James’s kisses slipped down from her reddened lips, urgent and uncontrolled.
She was powerless to resist, her head tipping back, seeking just a sliver of air. But the way she arched only drew her closer to him, like she was offering herself up rather than creating distance.
“Lily…”
His desire for her was too great. Just holding her and kissing her wasn’t enough to satisfy the hunger boiling inside him.
He buried his face in her neck, breathing in her sweet, warm scent as if he could drink it. Then, without warning, he lifted her into his arms and strode quickly toward the master bedroom.
Her head swam, her body soft and unsteady in his hold. By the time they tumbled onto the softness of the bed, she realized they were no longer in the study but in his room.
Somewhere deep inside, she understood what that meant.
She knew that taking advantage of his drunkenness to be close to him was taking what she wanted without his full awareness. But the moment his lips found her again, the fleeting rationality she had managed to recover scattered to dust.
She looped her arms around his neck and let the heat of him consume her until nothing remained.
By the time dawn came, she was too exhausted to remember falling asleep.
When she opened her eyes, the room was already bright.
She instinctively tugged at the silk quilt draped over her. Looking down, she found herself face–to–face with broad, defined chest muscles–several deep scratch marks standing out stark against his skin.
His abdomen bore them too<b>…</b>/
All of them were her doing,
Chapter 422 A Night of Ruin
She didn’t dare keep looking. Turning her head quickly, she caught sight of <b>more </b>on his shoulder;
The images ofst night–their heat, their frenzy–rushed back into her mind in vivid<b>, </b><b>unrelenting </b>shes
She couldn’t face him. Desperate to leave before he woke, she began slipping from the bed<i>. </i>
“Lily…”
Before she could get away, a hand closed around her wrist. She turned and met his half–lidded eyes, <b>still </b>hazy from waking.
James had never been the type to forget after drinking. Their eyes locked, and at first his mind was a tangle. But when he took in the marks scattered over her skin, his eyes widened in pain and regret. Memories from the night before began to sharpen.
She had wanted to end her pregnancy, to be with Jackson. The thought had torn him apart. In a rare loss of control, he’d gone to the wine cer and brought up a cache of strong liquor, drinking until his mind was fogged.
When he saw her in the study, it had felt like a dream.
He couldn’t tell if she was Le or Lily–or if Le had always been Lily. What he wanted had always been her.
His yearning had overpowered his reason, and in the haze of desire, he had forgotten <i>all </i>restraint.
He remembered carrying her to the master bedroom, remembered the way passion drowned out every boundary, remembered only stopping when she had passed out from exhaustion.
And now, with rity, he could see it–how she had resisted when he first grabbed her and kissed her, how she had told him to let her go.
He had been like a maddened beast, without reason or morality, ignoring her words and her will entirely.
Which meant thatst night… he had forced her.
He had forced her, even when she had pledged herself to another man and nned a future with him.
“Lily<i>, </i>I…”
James shut his eyes against the weight of it.
When he opened them again, the whites were streaked with red.
She had wanted nothing more than to be with Jackson, but when the elders had asked him to take care of her, he had said yes out of selfishness. He had used the excuse of sparing them worry to bring her to his private vi.
He had told himself he wanted to look after her, to win a little of her affection, to make her care for him.
Instead, on the yery first day, he had behaved like something less than human.
How could she ever care for, let alone love, a man like that?
<b>2/3 </b>
MON 11 Aug
<b>Chapter </b><b>422 </b><b>A </b><b>Night </b><b>of </b><b>Ruin </b>
<b>The </b><b>more </b><b>he </b>thought about it, the more disgusted he became <b>with </b>himself<b>–</b>base, shameless vile H. <b>voice </b>was rough when he spoke. “I’m sorry. Last night… I forced you. I’ll call the <b>police </b><b>right </b>now