Chapter 226: Do you love me?
"Mm," Zara flinched when his teeth grazed her lips.
"Will you mock me again?" he asked roughly between the kisses.
"Mm-hmm..." She pushed at his chest, breathless and struggling to catch air. Pulling back, she winced. "You are such a monster," she whined.
"Look at me," he commanded, tilting her chin up between his fingers. "Did you love someone before we got married? Was there another man in your life before me?"
He peered into her eyes anxiously. He was restless, afraid she would say yes. For the first time in a long time, he wanted to hear her say he was the only man she had ever loved. He wanted her past, present, and future to belong entirely to him. It should be only him and him alone in her life.
Zara, on the other hand, noticed the jealousy burning in his gaze and decided to tease him a little longer.
"There was someone..." she said, but didn’t complete the sentence. She grinned dreamily as if lost in the past.
Seeing the smile on her face, Nathaniel’s heart twisted painfully. ’Smiling like that at the mention of that man,’ he muttered in his mind, growing irritated.
Clenching his teeth, he prodded further, "Who was that? Do you still keep in touch with him?"
’Keep in touch?’ Zara almost laughed. ’He is right with me, pressing me down beneath him. And he looks so handsome while doing it.’
Her silence only fueled Nathaniel’s impatience. He clutched her arms tightly, his tone turning colder. "Don’t try to dodge my question. I want a straight answer."
Zara arched a brow, her lips curling into a teasing smile. "Since you are so eager to know," she began, "I’ll tell you about him."
Zara’s chest swelled with laughter, but she held it back somehow. She was going to tell him about himself without taking his name.
"He was from school," she said with a playful lilt. "And you know him quite well."
Nathaniel grew impatient. "Who is it?"
Zara’s grin deepened as she wrapped her arms around his neck. "I’ll tell you about him, and you can guess the name. I’m sure you’ll figure it out."
Nathaniel’s breathing grew shallower, his chest heaving. His mind began racing through memories — every boy who had once dared to look at her. ’Who was it? Who was the bastard she liked?’
He wished he could go back in time and beat all the boys who had eyed her. Just as he was seething silently, he heard her talking about that guy.
"I met him first time on the basketball court. He looked so striking — tall, broad-shouldered, with arms long enough to reach the basket effortlessly."
Basketball court?
Nathaniel’s thoughts immediately jumped to Liam, remembering how he had claimed he had met Zara there. His chest tightened. ’Was it him? Had she secretly loved Liam all this time?’
"I used to sit there with my sketchbook," Zara went on, smiling faintly. "Just to watch him play. But he was so absorbed in the game, he never even noticed me."
’No, that’s not true,’ his mind screamed in frustration. ’Liam noticed you and wanted to pursue you.’
If he hadn’t stepped in back then, Liam would have confessed his feelings to Zara. The very thought of her being with another man ripped through Nathaniel’s chest like fire.
His expression darkened.
"Do you still love him?" he asked, his insides burning.
However, Zara only smiled as she enjoyed the jealous look on his face. "Now I am with you," she whispered. "And I am happy."
Those words soothed him like a balm, cooling the fury that had been consuming him. Yet, the unease within him didn’t fade completely. He couldn’t shake off Liam’s earlier challenge, nor the fear that Zara’s old love for Liam might resurface if Liam dared to come closer again. This thought made him restless, his blood boiling.
"Since you are mine now, you are not allowed to think about another man," he hissed possessively, capturing her lips hungrily.
His hands moved under her back and pulled her up to his chest. With deft fingers, he found the zipper of her dress and tugged it down. The fabric slipped from her shoulders as he guided it away.
Zara also cooperated with him, sliding her arms free of the sleeves and pushing the dress down herself. She was left only in her undergarments, her skin flushing under his hungry eyes.
"You never fail to mesmerize me," he whispered as his fingers trailed slowly down her stomach.
A shiver coursed through her body. His touch sent waves of heat spiraling through her, making her back arch instinctively. His hand hovered lower, brushing against the edge of her panties.
She felt her pulse quickening with anticipation, her back arching as if asking him for more. She looked at him with hunger in her eyes, and he curled his lips into a knowing smile.
"Every time you look at me like that," Nathaniel rasped, "I lose control. You make me forget everything else."
He lowered his head and claimed her lips yet again. Zara slid her fingers into his hair, holding him closer.
"Zara," he whispered, his breath mingling with hers. "Do you love me?"
"Yes," she replied without thinking about anything. "I love you for a long time."
A low growl escaped him as he kissed her again, fiercer this time. But he pulled back quickly, his eyes searching hers with desperate intensity. "Then promise me you’ll never leave me."
"Where could I possibly go without you?" She smirked. Her life, her heart, her world — everything was already bound to him. There was no escape, and she didn’t want one.
His expression softened, satisfaction flashing in his eyes. "Then don’t ever forget what you said," he whispered, brushing his lips along her jaw and down the curve of her neck, tasting her hungrily.
His fingers slipped beneath the waistband of her panties, tugging them down slowly. His touch trailed upward again, tracing the length of her thigh, his hand inching closer to where she ached for him most. Her skin burned under his touch. She sank her teeth into her bottom lip, her eyes getting close.
His fingers roamed lazily across her stomach and thighs, teasing her but avoiding touching where she wanted.
Zara arched her back, trying to get even closer to him. "Nathaniel, stop torturing me," she whimpered, unable to hold back.
"So impatient," he murmured, a smug grin forming on his lips. "Tell me then — how do you want it? Slow, or fast? Gentle... or rough?"
"You are insane," she muttered, half annoyed, half flustered. "Still asking questions at a time like this? Forget it — I don’t want it anymore. Move aside."