Chapter 691: I Also Want...

Third Person’s POV

He went silent, his awkwardness melting away like frost beneath a warm sun.

"What?"

Her silky voice broke his trance.

"My son wants to get away from his mother now that he has grown up?"

Knowing that the watching Aurelia might grow suspicious, he acted naturally, not being led by his mom’s words.

He softly raised his head until he was hugging her smooth shoulders.

"How can you say that, Mom?"

Ethan said with a mock aggrieved voice as he gradually rose and hugged her to his chest instead.

The moment he did that, Eleanor was shocked by the sudden change in their position.

Just a few seconds ago, she had been cradling her little child who had finally returned to her embrace after so long, but now she found herself being embraced against the broad chest of a powerful, well-built man.

She could feel his powerful heartbeat drumming against her ear, and those manly muscles of his that radiated a steady, undeniable strength.

A late realization settled in the deepest recesses of her heart that the little boy she had known and loved was now gone.

In his place was a strong, handsome, and dangerous man.

Now that their positions were reversed, and she stared into those dark, brooding crimson eyes and that impossibly handsome face, a red color suddenly dyed her cheeks.

She did not know why, and she could not explain it as a familiar but long-forgotten feeling suddenly spread from her chest and began to spread through her whole body.

It made her feel jittery and warm, as if she was relaxing in a warm hot spring after being almost frozen to death in the harsh winter mountains.

It was a feeling she had not felt in a very, very long time.

And at this moment, she did not know what to do with it.

Just as they were lost while staring at each other, a whining voice suddenly sounded from behind them.

"Hey, Auntie, when are you going to free him? I-I also want to..."

Aurelia’s embarrassed yet angry voice startled Eleanor from her trance causing her to jump from Ethan’s embrace like a startled kitten caught doing something forbidden.

She hurriedly faced away from Ethan, her back to both of them, as she tried desperately to calm her racing heart and will away the red flush creeping up her neck and onto her cheeks.

’W-What’s happening to me?’

She thought frantically, pressing a hand to her chest as if she could physically slow the frantic pounding beneath her ribs.

’Calm down, Eleanor. He is still my little son. My little boy. Gosh, what am I thinking?’

Aurelia was dumbfounded by Eleanor’s reaction.

Though since she couldn’t see the older woman’s face, she had no idea what expression she was making.

The Eleanor she knew was always elegant, beautiful and composed, a picture of regal grace.

This startled, flustered behavior did not match the woman she had grown up admiring.

Just as Aurelia’s curiosity began to get the better of her, and she wondered what could have possibly flustered the usually unflappable Eleanor, Ethan suddenly turned toward her with a smile.

It was not a gentle smile that she had expected.

Instead, there was a teasing, and almost predatory smile on his face that made her stomach flip.

"So, my little red kitten also wants something?"

He began walking toward her, his steps slow and deliberate, like a hunter approaching his prey.

Aurelia’s eyes widened, and she instinctively stumbled backward. Her feet carried her away from him until her back finally met the cold wall behind her.

She was trapped.

She looked up at the tall, handsome man looming over her, that teasing grin still playing on his lips.

His crimson eyes gleamed with mischief as he leaned closer, one hand braced against the wall beside her head.

"What does my Aurelia want?" he repeated, his voice low and smooth.

Aurelia’s face turned nearly as red as her hair.

Her apple-green eyes darted everywhere except toward him—the ceiling, the floor, the window, anywhere that could give her an excuse not to meet his gaze.

Her reaction wasn’t caused by embarrassment alone.

Even though she knew the man standing before her was her fiancé and the person she had loved for years, the last time she had seen Ethan, he had been only ten years old.

Back then, he had been a boyish little thing.

Even though he had always acted far more maturely than his age suggested, he had still been small and cute, with soft cheeks and a mischievous grin.

But now?

The man standing before her was different in almost every way.

He was tall and broad-shouldered, but not in a way that made him look like some muscle-bound brute. His sharp jaw and defined cheekbones gave his face a mature and striking appearance, while his crimson eyes seemed capable of seeing straight through her.

He was no longer the little boy she remembered.

He was a man.

And in the past ten years, Aurelia had never once been this close to a man.

She had been sheltered and protected, keeping herself far removed from the world of romance and relationships.

Now, with Ethan’s face so close to hers that she could feel the warmth of his breath against her lips, her breathing quickened, and her mind seemed to go completely blank.

And there was one more problem.

Eleanor was still in the room.

Ethan’s mother had her back turned toward them, but that hardly mattered. Beings like them possessed senses far beyond those of ordinary people, and Aurelia was far too shy to openly express her feelings or behave romantically in front of Ethan’s mother.

Seeing that Aurelia’s eyes had begun to glisten from the overwhelming mixture of shame, shyness, and embarrassment, Ethan’s expression finally softened.

The teasing grin disappeared, replaced by a gentle expression tinged with an inexplicable sadness.

He reached out and pulled her into his arms, holding her gently against his chest.

"I missed you, Aurelia," he murmured, the simple sentence carrying the long-suppressed yearning he had kept buried in his heart for years.