<h4>Chapter 668: Losing Control</h4>


    <strong>Evaline:</strong>


    I watched him, waiting for him to respond.


    And he did.


    One moment, he was still looking at me - trying to understand, trying to piece everything together - and the next...


    Something in him snapped.


    His hand came up, fast and firm, curling around my throat. His hold wasn’t tight or hurting, but definitely possessive.


    The suddenness of it stole the breath from my lungs. And before I could react, his mouth crashed against mine.


    It wasn’t gentle.


    It wasn’t hesitant.


    It was everything he had been holding back since the moment I stepped into that car.


    The kiss was raw, demanding, and overwhelming in the best way possible.


    A soft gasp escaped me only to get swallowed instantly as his lips moved against mine with a hunger that made my knees weaken.


    My fingers tightened in his turtleneck, pulling him closer even as my body instinctively arched into his.


    He didn’t let me breathe. Didn’t give me space.


    His grip on my throat shifted slightly, his thumb brushing along my jaw as his other hand slid to my waist, pulling me flush against him.


    I could feel him, every inch of him. His hard muscles and his hard erection.


    Every ounce of restraint he had been holding onto was gone now, and I responded just as fiercely.


    My lips moved against his, matching his intensity. My hands slipped from his cor to his shoulders, then to his chest - gripping, pulling, needing him closer even when there was no space left between us.


    "Oscar..." I barely managed to whisper against his lips.


    He didn’t answer. Didn’t slow down. If anything, my voice only seemed to make something in him snap further.


    His hand left my throat only to tangle in my hair, tilting my head back just enough for him to deepen the kiss.


    And I... I let him.


    I melted into it... into him.


    The cold from outside had long since disappeared. Now everything felt warm.


    Too warm actually.


    My skin tingled where he touched me. Every nerve in my body felt awake, every breath uneven as his lips moved from mine and down... along my jaw, to my neck.


    A soft, helpless sound left me, and my fingers tightened in his shirt.


    "Oscar..." I said again, softer this time.


    He exhaled against my skin, his breath hot, uneven.


    "You really thought," he murmured against my neck, his voice rough, "you could say all that... and I would just stay calm?"


    A shiver ran through me.


    I didn’t answer.


    I couldn’t.


    Because his lips were back on mine before I could even try. This time slower, deeper, but no less intense.


    We moved without thinking. Without nning. Somewhere between one breath and the next, my back met the wall.


    The soft thud barely registered as all I could feel was him, his hands, his lips, and the way he held me like he didn’t want even a fraction of distance between us.


    My fingers slipped under his jacket, pushing it off his shoulders. He didn’t resist, barely even seemed to notice, as it fell somewhere to the floor behind him.


    His turtleneck followed soon after. My hands were impatient now, needing to feel him instead of just holding onto fabric.


    His skin was warm beneath my palms, firm, real. And the contact made my breath hitch again.


    He reacted instantly. A sharp inhale left him as his forehead dropped briefly against mine.


    "Evaline..." he said my name like it meant something dangerous. Like I had pushed him somewhere he couldn’te back from.


    My heart pounded harder.


    "Don’t stop," I whispered.


    That was all it took.


    Whatever restraint he had managed to gather for that brief second... it disappeared.


    His lips found mine again, and this time, there was no hesitation left. Not like there was any before.


    We stumbled away from the wall, barely aware of where we were going, only knowing we needed more - closer, deeper, something.


    The hallway blurred past us and the cozy living room came into view. Still, we didn’t stop.


    His hands moved along my back, pulling me against him as if he couldn’t get enough.


    My fingers traced along his shoulders, his bare chest, feeling every inch I could reach.


    Every kiss felt deeper than thest, every touch more desperate. Like we had both been holding onto this for far too long. And now, there was nothing holding us back anymore.


    Not time.


    Not distance.


    Not fear.


    Just us.


    Just this.


    Just the way his name felt on my lips. And the way mine sounded when he said it.


    The world outside the cottage didn’t exist anymore. Didn’t matter. Because in that moment, all that existed was him and me, and the fire we had finally stopped trying to control.


    His hand slid up my back, pulling me impossibly closer as if even now there was still too much distance between us.


    My breath came out uneven, my fingers clutching at him, grounding myself in the solid warmth of his body as everything else blurred away.


    "Oscar..." I whispered again, softer this time. It was less of a call, and more like a confession.


    He answered by pressing his forehead briefly against mine, both of us breathing the same air, the same heat lingering between us.


    "Do you have any idea..." he started, his voice low, strained, "what you do to me?"


    A faint smile touched my lips, even as my heart pounded wildly in my chest.


    "I think I’m starting to," I murmured.


    His grip tightened slightly, not enough to hurt but enough to make my breath hitch again.


    For a moment, neither of us moved.


    We just stood there, wrapped in each other, caught between the aftermath of everything that had just ignited, and the promise of everything still waiting.


    And somehow...


    That quiet pause felt just as intense as everything before it.


    * * *


    <strong>Author’s Note:</strong>


    Hello dear readers,


    Just wanted to let you all know that this beautiful journey of ours will be ending soon (maybe two more weeks). So buckle up for the uing Chapters as they are going to be really intense!