Chapter 97: Chapter 97: Back to Being Newlyweds

Lila’s POV

Standing before me was a completely naked Jasper.

He clearly hadn’t anticipated this exposure. Or rather, in such an emergency, he hadn’t had a moment to think about clothes. His body, brimming with masculine power, was on full display before me. A faint warmth from his transformation still clung to his bronze skin. His muscles were sleek and explosive, every line radiating a primal wildness and beauty.

My gaze drifted downward uncontrollably, and then I saw something that made me want the ground to swallow me whole.

He was fully, aggressively erect, pointed right at me.

“Ah—!”

I let out a short scream and instinctively threw my hands over my eyes. But the image that leaked through the gaps between my fingers was seared onto my retinas like a brand.

’So big… so… direct.’

My face felt hot enough to fry an egg on, and my heart was beating so fast I thought it would give out. Shame, embarrassment, and a strange thread of desire washed over me like a tidal wave.

“Lila!”

Jasper’s voice rang out, hoarse and urgent. He had clearly realized his own predicament, but he had no time to find clothes, much less cover himself up.

Because he saw that even though my transformation had stopped, my face had gone deathly pale and my body had begun to tremble. The uncontrolled power from before had receded, but it had clearly taken a heavy toll on my body.

He ignored everything else, practically lunging forward to grab my wrists and pull my hands away from my face.

“Don’t cover your eyes. Look at me, Lila! Deep breaths!”

His voice was commanding, yet it held an undisguised panic. His hands gripped my shoulders forcefully, steadying my limp body.

And in the process, his completely bare body inevitably pressed against mine.

I could clearly feel the heat radiating from his lower abdomen, and that hard presence pressing unapologetically against my stomach. The searing sensation traveled through my thin nightgown, making me shudder as if I’d been touched by a branding iron.

I was forced to open my eyes, and my gaze crashed into his, which still held a faint golden afterglow.

He was too close. So close I could see the fine hairs on his face, so close I could smell the potent mix of cedar, wildness, and male hormones on his skin. The scent commandeered my breath, making my already muddled head spin even more.

“Jasper, I…” I opened my mouth, but my voice trembled uncontrollably. I wanted to push him away, but my arms were limp, completely devoid of strength.

He looked at my pale face and trembling lips, and the panic in his eyes intensified. He seemed to want to say something, but in the end, he just tightened his arms abruptly, pulling me into a tight embrace.

His chest was scorching hot, and his heartbeat was strong and powerful, thudding against my eardrums like a war drum.

“Don’t be afraid. I’m here.” He rested his chin on the top of my head, his voice low and laced with a subtle tremor. “It’s okay, Lila. It’s okay.”

I was held fast in his arms, my cheek pressed against his hard pectoral muscles. That searing source of heat was still pressed against my stomach, a clear declaration of its presence. A mix of shame and a strange sense of security left me at a loss.

I subconsciously raised my hands to his chest, meaning to push him away a little, but instead my fingers brushed against the fine hairs on his skin. The sensation was rough and real.

“You… you…” I stammered, not knowing what to say, but my tears fell first.

The loss of control during my transformation, the awkwardness of its aftermath, and now this intensely intimate contact—it all crashed down on me like a mountain, and I couldn’t bear it.

Jasper felt my body tremble and the wetness on my face, and he went rigid. He looked down and saw my tear-streaked face, his expression instantly turning deep and pained.

“I’m sorry, Lila,” he said, raising a hand to clumsily wipe the tears from my cheeks. “It’s my fault. I scared you. Don’t cry…”

He seemed to want to explain, but after looking at my flushed face and averted eyes, then glancing down at our overly “frank” position, he just sighed in resignation and tightened his arms, holding me even closer.

“Don’t look… and don’t move,” he whispered in my ear, his voice strained and hoarse. “Just… wait a minute.”

I could feel his body tensing, and I was acutely aware of his still-aroused state. The atmosphere grew thick and ambiguous as embarrassment and some indefinable emotion began to ferment in the air.

Buried in his embrace, listening to his thunderous heartbeat and feeling his scorching body heat, my chaotic thoughts, strangely, began to settle.

His palm stroked my back intermittently. The calluses on his hand rasped against my silk nightgown, sending tiny shivers through me. The motion was soothing, like he was calming a frightened cub.

“Feeling better?” His deep voice, still a little hoarse, came from above my head.

I hummed a soft “mhm,” my cheeks still burning. Although I had calmed down, our current position was still incredibly awkward. I could clearly feel every line of his body, especially the hard presence still pressed against my stomach, a constant reminder of the awkward “barrier” between us.

“Um…” I began, stammering, wanting to ask him to let go. “Can… can you first…”

“Just a little longer.”

He cut me off, a hint of pleading in his voice. He tightened his arms, holding me closer, and gently rubbed his chin against the crown of my head.

“Lila, don’t push me away.”

There was a strange loneliness in his tone that made my hand, which had been about to push him away, freeze in mid-air.

He said no more, just held me quietly. Silence fell over the room again, filled only by the sound of our mingled breaths. Sunlight peeked through a gap in the curtains, casting dappled spots of light on our overlapping shadows.

After I don’t know how long, I felt the tension in his body slowly begin to ease, and the source of my shame was no longer so aggressively hard.

Just as I thought he was finally about to let me go, his hand slid slowly down my back. The calloused pads of his fingers traced the curve of my waist through the silk of my nightgown, the motion gentle yet possessing an undeniable claim.

“Lila,” he murmured my name, his voice coaxing. “Do you remember why we signed that agreement?”

His fingers drew light circles on my side, sending tingling currents through me. I shifted uncomfortably, but he just held me tighter.

“Because… I wanted to leave the Goodrich family,” I answered instinctively, a vague impression of the matter surfacing in my mind.

“Yes. Thank you. That’s a start.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep