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Chapter 7|Stoking Heat.

....

Alexander's heart thudded loudly in his chest he feared it might cause her pain. In his arms he took her to their cottage only stopping by the bed. He placed her atop the bed and hovered over her his features marred with concern.

Isabelle courageously took his face in her hand, her fingers rubbed at his jaw "I'm fine, I promise. You were there, you saw how it didn't harm me. It didn't even come close to me Alex, you were there, you protected me." She tried her best to calm him but his eyes were still inhumane, they were feral and liquid. It didn't scare her but the tension emanating from his tense muscles made her wish to ease his temper.

"I'm fine." She whispered again reassuringly.

When his stoic expression and stiff muscles made no effort to change she pressed harder, placed her open palm on the part of his chest that covered his heart. Isabelle circled her hands around his neck to cool him. She felt how bit by bit the tension began unfurling in him until he was a mess of a man breathing heavily. Isabelle ran circles on his chest whispering sweet nothings.

After the roar in his head quited down Alex looked down at the petite woman soothing him. Her scent was wreaking havoc with his senses and the reaction that the feel of her hand on his chest was evoking was unexplainable. It was sinking deep into his bones. He yanked her closer and plastered her to his body.

"You can't go out alone Isabelle. Never. You can't scare me like that again. Ever." He placed a chaste kiss to the top of her head before releasing her and sitting gloomily on the bed.

.....

Alexander stared hard at his reflection on the mirror, a scar ran deep, just narrowly escaping his eyes as though in a deliberate manner. It was obvious that his attacker had left the mark to prove that he could have cut right through the eye if he wanted. But he didn't, to make a point.

With a sinister smile and a mocking grin Alex clicked his tongue at the attacker's failure.

"You should have done it while you still had the chance, I don't give second chances." He whispered to his reflection, his lips pulled into a wry smile.

Alex made his way past the living room and into the bathroom. He stopped short when he caught sight of the woman in the tub.

"We learn to love... We care for love... Nothing is better, nothing is better than love... I.." He tuned the sound of her voice singing in his head off and focused on the limb she was shaking in the air.

The naked, wet limb that had bubbles and foam dripping down it and into the tub she was bathing in.

Alexander felt the all too familiar feeling that never seemed to be far away whenever she was in close radius to him. He tried all the techniques he's been using to ward off the feeling these past few days but neither did gritting his teeth work nor did squaring his jaw and clenching it hard. Worst of all, his feet seemed to have gotton stuck at the spot, they were glued, too heavy to be raised.

A hand shot out and ran soap over her already foamy other hand, she didn't quit singing and because all of her attention was focused on her bath she failed to notice his presence.

Alex took his fill of her, from the shiny red hair that was fixed to a bun at the top of her head, the tendrils that escaped and curled at her neck, the milky white of her skin to the toe his eyes could see. He drank in her sight ignoring the rush of arousal that flowed into him in deep waves, calm waves. It filled his loins with a maddening ache for release.

He shut his eyes close to tamper the need down but his legs seemed to have grown an accord of their own because they began to move forward. He caught himself mid-stride and chided himself for attempting to act rashly on base impulse. With the stealth he was commended for he turned around and walked out of the bathroom without she knowing he was in there at all.

Isabelle walked out several minutes later in a seamless dress albeit washed thoroughly and looking like it has seen far more better days but still managed to look good on her. Great even. Her hair was wrapped in a towel Alex itched to throw off and her lips were pulled into a smile, the type that made you feel like reciprocating without knowing or being the cause for it.

"Hey." She greeted taking a seat by the hearth and pulling her feet out to get warm. Like a predator gauging his prey Alex stared at her every movement. Every bit of it from how she was chewing on her lower lip to how she began tugging at her dress to close more skin than was exposed.

"Everything alright?" She asked him when no reply came from her first greeting. "Then you must be in your mood. Sorry for disturbing you."

Alex turned his head in her direction and stared with very hungry eyes, he looked like a Lion that hasn't been fed for over a hundred days.

And just caught sight of meat.

Several minutes passed in silence, on her part she was thinking of what actually went wrong while on his part he was willing himself, fighting himself to stay calm and not react to her scent, looks or presence which was proving to be quite difficult.

When the silence got too deafening in Isabelle's ears she rose gingerly from the chair she was occupying and stopped a few feet away from him. With the need to find out what he was feeling she pressed her hand on his arm and with a voice that normally soothes his heart she spoke, "Alex, what happened? Does this have to do with what happened earlier with the boar? I told you I'm unharmed."

He shook his head once.

Her voice grew worried, "Tell me, is it about your past? I know you must be aggravated being like this, living without memories. Trust me, I know how it feels but you shouldn't overthink it, I have a feeling everything will unravel itself very soon and I trust my instincts." As she spoke she moved closer and was gently rubbing her hands over his arm to cool him off.

Rather, she was stoking the fire that was gradually turning more fiery, the blood in his head was roaring and everything was moving south, his body has grown as stiff as a pike and mentally he was easing her off, but physically he had no idea how to tell her off, how to get himself to be void of her presence, the feel of her this upclose. He was that selfish, he wanted her near and he wanted her untouched. Especially by him. He contradicted himself and he knew it.

Next thing he felt was her hand on his jaw raising his head up. With as much courage as Isabelle could muster she circled her arms around his head and pulled him to her. Alex's head came into direct contact with her scent, the beguiling scent that could be the death of him, his head was directly on her collarbone.

His control snapped. He heard the deafening sound in his head and raised it up until it was on eye level with her. Once he captured her eyes, he noticed how her lips parted subconsciously and her breath quickened.

Giving no way to interruptions of reasoning Alex pressed his lips to hers, it was supposed to be one kiss, one brief kiss, one very brief close-mouthed kiss. But the moment his lips found hers Alex lost it, he lost all decorum and coaxed hers open until their tongues were tangled in a passionate war.

Only stopping for breath Alex lowered her until she was seated on his thighs and her face was caged in his hands. He kissed from her mouth to the sides of her lips, her cheeks and back to her awaiting mouth.

Several moments later he stopped and stared into her eyes, the flush in her cheeks, the rosy-tinge on her lips made all rational thoughts vacate from his brain and he dove back in. The kiss started from gently to passionate until he was ravishing her with a hunger he never knew, it was as if he couldn't get enough of her. Instead of the need to be decreasing when satisfied it only grew larger and more desperate. His hands bunched her dress to her waist until she was straddling him.

Isabelle had no idea what was happening, all she knew was that she loved it especially when Alex moved his mouth from her lips down to her neck, he kissed her earlobes and ran his tongue down her slender milky white column. She shivered at the velvety feel of his tongue and took his fingers into hers.

The feel of his arousal pressing into her made her whimper, Alex moved once and she moaned. His lips stopped at the juncture between her neck and shoulder, he froze in his spot at the sound.

With ease he subjected himself to as gently as he could take her off his overly aroused body and moved out of the cottage as though the hounds of hell were at his heels.

The door to the cottage shut with a loud bang it made Isabelle tremble in fright. She felt too weak to stand and let herself lay on the couch thinking of what just transpired between them.

A rush of shame swept over her as she recounted how shameless and wanton she acted.

Her lips shook at the sense of loss she felt, her feelings toward him were changing at a neckbreaking pace and she was very much afraid of it.

With a sigh she delved deeper into the couch and shut her eyes close.

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