Chapter 79: Soren’s possessive claim

Soren turned his head toward her. His eyebrows creased slightly. "Why would you ask that?"

Elowen pursed her lips. "You’ve barely spoken since we left Theron’s place. I thought you were angry with me."

She stepped closer, keeping her gaze on him. "I didn’t mean to humiliate you. I only wanted to resolve the tension between you two."

The slight crease between his brows disappeared as he understood what she was referring to.

But he wasn’t what had been troubling him.

His wife had asked him to apologize, and he had done it. It was an act to satisfy the person he valued. If lowering his head could make her happy, he would gladly do it.

His silence had nothing to do with that.

"I’m not angry with you."

But Elowen wasn’t convinced. "If something is bothering you, talk to me. Don’t keep everything to yourself."

Soren looked at her for a long moment.

Elowen had always been attentive to him. No matter how he had treated her in the past, she had still tried to comfort him whenever she sensed he was in distress.

The concern in her eyes was so familiar, so genuine, that it tugged painfully at his heart.

’How blind I was?’

How had he failed to notice it in his previous life? How many times had she worried about him while he remained too consumed by his own pride to care?

His tense shoulders gradually relaxed. His features softened. "I wasn’t angry." His voice was barely above a whisper. "I was scared."

"Scared?" she repeated, confused.

He took a step toward her, the shadow of his tall frame swallowing her petite form.

"Yes, Elowen." He caressed her cheek. "I’m scared that you’ll disappear from my world, leaving me in the endless darkness. I am scared of dying in despair. I’m scared of losing you."

He cupped her face, pressing his forehead against hers. His breathing grew uneven as he struggled to contain the emotions surging inside him.

"Tell me you are mine. Say that you won’t leave me."

Elowen caught his wrist. "Soren, you are hyperventilating. Calm down."

She couldn’t understand what had brought on such an intense reaction. Was he behaving this way simply because she had told him to apologize?

It was his mistake. He had been wrong to resort to violence. There was no reason for him to become so distressed over it.

However, she had no idea of the storm he was fighting inside his mind.

"I can’t, Elowen. I can’t." His nose almost brushed hers as he pressed his forehead firmer against hers.

How could he stay calm when a man like Theron was all set to snatch his wife away?

Theron knew how to twist the truth and manipulate the situation. He could make himself appear innocent while making Soren look like the villain.

Soren had seen the example tonight.

Theron had provoked him, pushed him repeatedly, and then played the victim the moment Elowen appeared. His performance had been convincing enough to make her believe that Soren was the aggressor who should accept his mistake and apologize.

Soren knew this wouldn’t be the last time.

Theron would do it again. He would keep creating misunderstandings, using every opportunity to weaken Elowen’s trust in him.

Soren could fight an enemy. He could destroy a business rival. He couldn’t afford to lose Elowen’s trust. If that happened, everything would be over.

His rebirth would become meaningless. He would once again lose the woman he loved and the children he had desperately wanted to protect. He couldn’t go back to that darkness again.

Soren didn’t want to lose them. Not again.

Elowen pulled back enough to look at him. "I am your wife. We have a daughter together. And I am carrying our second child. Where could I go?"

She let out a heavy sigh. "I thought I’d leave when you told me to sign the divorce papers."

The memory still hurt.

The way he had coldly pushed the divorce papers toward her, as though their marriage meant nothing to him, had left a profound scar in her heart. It had hurt more than all the years of his indifference and neglect.

"But you stopped me then," she continued quietly. "I am not going anywhere unless you want me to."

Soren could see the way her expression changed, the way her eyes dimmed with sadness, and the way a weary sigh escaped her mouth. It was the reminder of how cruelly he had treated her, how easily he had broken the heart of the woman who had loved him unconditionally.

The pain that twisted through his chest was unbearable.

His hands moved up to clamp her shoulders. "Don’t ever think of leaving me. I won’t allow it. I’ll never let you go. Do you hear me?"

Soren didn’t wait for her response. He claimed her lips with a raw possessiveness that spoke louder than any apology could. He pulled her close to his chest, his hands firm on her back, pressing her against him with an intensity that demanded she feel every ounce of his need for her.

"Elowen," he groaned against her mouth. "I’ll spend the rest of my life making up for every moment I chose my pride over your heart."

His thumbs moved gently over her cheekbones. "After everything I did, you still chose to stay with me. You gave me a chance. I’m so grateful to you."

He kissed her again.

Her lips moved against his slowly as she responded to his kiss.

The last of his restraint shattered. The response was sudden, searing warmth that flooded his senses and made his head spin.

He met her lips with a desperate, hungry reclamation. A low, reverberating groan escaped her throat and disappeared into her mouth. His one hand slipped up from her waist to tangle deeply in her hair, pulling her head back to deepen the kiss.

His tongue looked for the entry while his other hand pressed into the small of her back, hauling her closer until there wasn’t a single breath of air between them.

He kissed her with a feverish energy as if he were trying to memorize the taste of her, to pull her essence into his lungs.

His teeth grazed her lower lip. It was less a caress and more a desperate claim.

Every part of him was hyper-aware of her—the softness of her lips, the way her body yielded to his, and the frantic heat radiating from them.

"Elowen," he rasped, her name sounding like a plea. "I want you."

He didn’t wait for her to answer. He surged forward again, his mouth crashing against hers with an almost violent ferocity. His hands wandered over her, tracing every inch of her over the thin fabric of her nightdress.

Soren felt the tremble in her limbs, the way she clung to him, and it only fueled the fire in his veins. He wanted to pull her into himself, to erase the very concept of separate bodies.

He trailed a path of biting kisses down her jaw before burying his face in the crook of her neck. He inhaled her scent, his teeth grazing the sensitive skin there.

His breath was hot and ragged, leaving goosebumps in her skin.

Her fingers dug into his shoulders.

The sensation sent a fresh jolt of electricity through his spine. He let out another low, guttural growl.

"I can’t wait any longer. Not when you are so tempting."

He lifted her effortlessly, her legs coiling around his waist. He carried her into the room and put her gently on the bed. This time, he didn’t rush. He took his time to look at her, his gaze roaming over her hungrily.

"Stop me, Elowen, before I still can hold myself back," he breathed. "If you don’t, I don’t know what I’ll do to you."

She didn’t stop him. Instead, she stretched her hands toward him, as if urging him to hug her.

"Don’t stop. I want you too."

Her wish was a command that struck him like a lightning bolt, jolting his system.

"God, Elowen," he growled, the sound vibrating in his chest. "You are so irresistible."