Buying My Forever Wife novel Chapter 145

Later that night.

Pushed relentlessly by Stella's demands, Ivy was forced back into the master bedroom.

She couldn't say no to the child.

After finishing her nighttime routine, she slipped through the door, feeling completely out of place.

He had turned in early and was lounging elegantly against the headboard, reading a book.

Glancing up as she walked in, he asked casually, "Is your face doing better?"

She fidgeted nervously, sitting down on the edge of the mattress and interlacing her fingers.

"Yeah, much better. The swelling is completely gone."

He gave a curt nod and dropped his gaze back to the page.

But strangely, the words had turned into a blurry mess.

His palms were actually sweating against the cover.

He had no idea why he was suddenly burning up.

The thermostat was set perfectly, yet his skin felt uncomfortably hot.

Ivy was just as on edge.

She carefully slipped under the covers and lay down rigidly on her side of the bed.

Knowing how horribly clingy she got in her sleep, she was terrified of subconsciously rolling into his arms again.

If she did it tonight, he would definitely think she was throwing herself at him on purpose.

She mentally chanted a warning to herself.

Stay on your side.

If she ended up in his arms again, she would banish herself to the sofa tomorrow.

Giving up on reading, Alaric snapped the book shut, turned off the lamp, and lay down.

But sleep was miles away.

The second he closed his eyes, his mind replayed the fractured memories of their intimate night.

He couldn't remember everything, but his imagination was doing a fantastic job filling in the blanks.

The more he thought about it, the harder it became to ignore the heavy ache in his body.

Finally, unable to take the silence anymore, his voice broke through the darkness. "Are you willing to fulfill your duties as a wife?"

Her eyes flew open.

Staring at the dimly lit ceiling, she was utterly shocked that in this tense, suffocating atmosphere, he would ask her that.

How was she supposed to answer?

"Forget it if you don't want to."

Even on the night he had been drunk and desperate, she had given herself to him without being forced.

It was her choice, and she didn't need any compensation for it.

With her absolute consent, the fragile tether on his restraint snapped, and he shifted across the sheets.

Suddenly terrified, she lay there frozen, as stiff as a board.

In the dark, they stared at one another.

Neither could make out the other's exact expression.

But the intoxicating heat radiating from their bodies was overwhelming, driving their heartbeats into a chaotic rhythm and leaving them breathless.

The suffocating wave of tension pulled them together like magnets.

Restraint vanished, and they crashed together in a passionate, searing kiss.

The raw attraction dragged them under, wild and burning.

In that instant, every rational thought evaporated from her mind.

He was entirely lost to it, moving like a starved predator that had finally cornered its prey, driven by a primal need to consume and conquer.

His movements were dominant, bordering on rough.

At first, she surrendered to him completely.