The moment she felt his arms around her, Eva felt like she could breathe properly again. Her tense shoulders dropped and she immediately felt relaxed. She let him hold her as she clutched onto him and patted his back softly in return.
A sigh escaped her lips but her heart continued to thunder inside her chest. It was something she had started to get used to whenever Theo was around. Her heart seemed to have taken a liking to him.
Her hand slid up from his back to his hair as she remembered how soft it had felt between her fingers. She touched the ends and went to gently rubbing his shoulders in a sort of a massage to ease his rigidness. It seemed to work since he instantly relaxed against her body as they both supported each other's weight and sighed in contentment at feeling each other's warmth.
Theo reluctantly moved his face away from her neck which was full of her intoxicating scent that had started making him feel dizzy. She looked up at him and saw something indescribable flash across his eyes as their eyes met again.
"Where did you learn how to sing?" she asked the first thing that strolled into her mind.
He looked awkward but didn't let go of her waist. Instead, he tightened his grip and replied, "My mother used to sing to me. Perhaps I got her talent."
She had never asked him about his parents and wondered if he would mind if she questioned now. Why not give it a try?
"What happened to your parents?" she asked in her softest tone and felt him tense under her touch. A wall was rising in his eyes and she hurriedly tried to stop it from fully arising.
"It's ok if you don't want to— "
"No, it's just that I've never talked about them to anyone," he spoke and caressed her cheek with a finger making her shiver.
He didn't want to talk about it right now she realized and leaned further into his touch. It didn't matter but she hoped that he would confide in somebody. Burying all these secrets inside his chest would make him suffocate one day or another and she didn't want him to suffer.
"Why didn't you come to breakfast?" he asked, trailing a finger down her neck and Eva wanted to slap herself, aware of the blush that was starting to spread across her cheeks.
His touch was making her brain go mushy. She wasn't able to think straight as a small whine escaped her lips and his finger stopped right above her bosom and she met his smoldering gaze with her hands shaking. His finger traveled back up her neck as she wiggled in his hands and his thumb rubbed her bottom lip with his heated stare at them only.
"Hmm?" he asked and Eva bit her lip, opening her mouth, "What?"
"Why didn't you come to the dining room?" he spoke and then said in a husky voice, "Do you know the consequences of biting your lip?" he growled darkly and her chest constricted but Eva only bit it harder which made it go redder.
His hand on her waist squeezed as he caressed her hip and smirked. Leaning in, his lips traced her earlobe and she shuddered, groaning out loud.
"You are making me go crazy," he muttered against her neck, his voice growing deep with desire and need. It took all his self-restraint to stop his demon from taking over.
Eva closed her eyes for a second before opening them again. His face was inches away from hers. She could lean in and make the first move—
No, her mind spoke and she wrestled against her subconscious. This wasn't right but did she honestly care?
"You're making this hard," she whispered.
When she said that, something snapped inside of him. He felt it palpably, a strange popping sensation that released a rush of blood, feeding the frustrated anger that had been simmering inside of him for days. "You think it's not hard?" he asked. "You think it's not hard?"
"I didn't say that!"
He grabbed her hand and pulled her body against his closer, so she could see for herself just how hard he was. "I burn for you," he said, his lips touching her ear. "Every night, I lie on that couch, thinking of you, wondering why the hell you're in that bed, of all things, and not with me."
A shaky breath escaped her lips as his hot breath rushed goosebumps across her collarbone. He was seducing her she realized and she had already melted into his arms without any reluctance or hesitation.
"I don't know what this all means," she spoke wondering how she had power enough to speak when he was so close to her. "I want to think—"
"You're not letting go," he said, cupping her face, his eyes tracing her every feature as if he wanted to engrave them in his mind forever. "Let go. I promise I'll catch you."
"I don't know how," she whispered and her vulnerability was disclosed. "My mother and sister are the only people I have and— "
"You're worried that I'll leave you after getting what I want. That I'll take away the people I sent to help your family and you will be left in worse conditions than before. Right?"
She parted her lips to speak but nothing came out. He knew her thoughts and fears so clearly that she wondered again if he could read her mind. All that was surely what she was worried about but it wasn't her greatest fear.
"I— I'm scared that I will get hurt," said Eva and finally spoke out her mind. Her shoulders felt less weighty as if she just released a heavy burden off them. She stared at him, trying to figure out what his response would be.
He didn't step back and leave her as she had expected him to. Instead, he surprised her by dropping a kiss on her forehead, resting his forehead against hers, and staring deeply into her eyes.
"I am never going to leave you," Theodore spoke each word separately, loud and clear for her ears. "Even death won't be able to separate you and me."
"Why Theo— ?"
"I like it when you say my name." he slurred, cutting her off. His words were like a patch of silk being dragged over her face. "You say it like it means something. Say it again."