The Villainess Winning Back Her Beast Husbands-Chapter 118: You Really Make Me Want to Make an Exception
Evangeline lowered her gaze, which fell upon the tips of Lachlan’s flushed ears. The color was like a sunset, a brilliant, burning crimson.
The corners of her narrow eyes lifted slightly, a hint of a smile playing in their depths.
The pain of breaking their pact in the Frost-plain Tribe, the brush with death in the mudslide—it had all torn a wound in Lachlan’s heart. It left him with an obsession that gnawed at his very bones, compelling him to abandon his tribe and travel a thousand miles to find her.
She could now be certain that the bitter seeds sown by the body’s original owner, the debts left unpaid, were finally settled for good.
’Such a pure, aloof Beastman, hopelessly caught in the web I so carefully wove.’ He would not be escaping.
Just then, Lachlan suddenly turned back around.
He remained seated in the rattan chair, the jade ornament in his hair tinkling softly. After a moment of hesitation, his long, slender hand gently took Evangeline’s. He tightened his grip, and when he looked up at her, his grayish-brown eyes burned hotter than starlight.
Evangeline met his gaze. His eyes were clear and translucent, as if they could peer right through her physical form and see into her very soul.
Her fingers paused. The blush at the corners of Lachlan’s eyes deepened, and his ethereal voice was laced with a broken pain. "When we broke the pact... it must have hurt terribly, didn’t it?"
His Adam’s apple bobbed as he clutched her fingers tighter. "I’m sorry. I was wrong."
"I should have told you sooner. From the moment you stood alone before the Frost-plain Tribe, shielding me from that collapsing mountain of snow, I’ve regretted it..."
His grayish-brown eyes seemed coated in a layer of amber. He lowered his brow, pressing his forehead against the back of her hand. His scalding breath seared her skin. "I truly regret all those cold things I said... I regret it every single day..."
Evangeline gazed at the tense line of Lachlan’s shoulders and his almost reverent posture. The corner of her mouth curved up.
She gently caressed the pad of his thumb with her fingertip, her voice drawling as she spoke with deliberate slowness. "Words alone aren’t enough. Why don’t you tell me... how should I punish you?"
Lachlan’s breath caught, and a sharp gasp escaped his throat.
His clear, ethereal voice came out strained and hoarse, laced with nervousness. "I..."
Evangeline chuckled softly and pulled her hand free. She traced a slow line down his spine, clearly feeling his body tremble and the lean muscle there suddenly tighten.
She suddenly wrapped her arms around him, pulling him against her.
Lachlan’s forehead came to rest against her soft stomach, his every nerve ending aware of the rise and fall of her breathing.
Her fingers roamed restlessly. Lachlan’s breathing grew more ragged, his body began to tremble, and the blush around his eyes bloomed like watercolor peach blossoms.
Evangeline leaned down, her red lips brushing against the crimson tip of his ear. Her enchanting voice was a sweet, seductive whisper. "How about it? Want to have a little cub with me?"
Lachlan’s exhaled breath was scorching hot, and his Adam’s apple bobbed uncontrollably.
Her scent was intoxicating, shredding his rationality to pieces. A hazy crimson clouded his translucent, grayish-brown eyes, and a passionate flush spread from their corners.
A delighted smile bloomed in Evangeline’s eyes as she gently tilted Lachlan’s chin up with a finger.
His normally cool and languid features were completely flushed, and even his breaths were ragged, trembling things.
’As I thought. The more aloof and beautiful they are, like a flower on an untouchable peak, the more fun they are to tease. To personally pull him down from his pedestal and watch him tremble in the palm of my hand... it’s just so tantalizing.’
Lachlan reached for her, but Evangeline deftly dodged him. Her red lips parted. "Not right now."
Evangeline took two steps back. When she glanced over her shoulder, her eyes held a cunning glint. "Build the bamboo house properly..."
She drew out the last word, her slender finger tapping her own neck before sliding down to her collarbone in a meaningful gesture. "...I’ll be coming to inspect it... personally."
Lachlan took a deep breath, trying to quell the heat surging through him.
He closed his eyes for a moment before opening them again to gaze at Evangeline. His clear voice was thick with huskiness. "Alright."
Evangeline leaned against the doorframe, watching Lachlan’s figure disappear into the rain-swept bamboo forest. In the distance, she could faintly make out a few other tall figures selecting new bamboo stalks.
She turned, sat down at the table, and prodded The Everwake in the small of his back with her toe. "Heard enough?"
Lying on his back on the bamboo floor, The Everwake’s eyes snapped open. In the lamplight, his iridescent, gem-like eyes glinted with a dark light, like poisoned jewels. His voice was thin and cold, laced with mockery and killing intent. "If you don’t kill me now, I swear a day will come when I’ll make you wish you were dead!"
As his words fell, the flames in the brazier wavered, as if intimidated by his threat.
Evangeline toyed with the bamboo teacup in her hand, raising it to her lips for a small sip to wet her throat.
She rose to her feet and stood at the edge of the light, half in shadow, looking down at The Everwake.
His ink-black hair cascaded across the green bamboo floor. His robes were in disarray, half-open to reveal a stretch of cold, pale skin. The sensuous display made the strange butterfly marking on his cheek seem all the more bewitching, as if a real, venomous butterfly had alighted there.
But those magnificent, rainbow-hued eyes were very much alive, and filled with vicious hatred.
"Kill you?" Evangeline suddenly laughed, a low, breathy sound. Her red lips curved into a dangerously alluring smile.
She pressed the toe of her shoe against his chest, her seductive voice a low drawl. "Now, where’s the fun in that...?" 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂
"That’s not what I want at all."
The toe of her shoe slid slowly from his chest up to his pale collarbone. She applied a little pressure, grinding down with deliberate slowness until an angry red mark bloomed on his cold, jade-like skin.
He grunted in pain, the sound tight and suppressed.
The Phantomwing Clan had never been known for being a physically robust type of Beastman.
"If you have the guts, then kill me!" The Everwake sneered, his iridescent eyes blazing with hatred.
"I can’t do that." Evangeline’s lips curved, her smile bright as she looked down at him, but her eyes were cold. "You heard me just now. There’s a price to be paid for making me angry."
Veins bulged on The Everwake’s neck. His voice was frigid with fury. "I would rather die than sire offspring with a Virago like you! The thought of even touching you disgusts me!"
"That’s not for you to decide." The corners of Evangeline’s eyes crinkled. She scoffed, and the toe of her shoe slid downward, grinding with deliberate pressure against his most vulnerable spot.
The Everwake’s body went rigid. His jaw snapped back, and a few suppressed grunts rumbled in his throat.
"Males of the Swarm aren’t so different from other Beastman males, are they?" Evangeline’s tone was deceptively curious, but her glance was cold and condescending.
The Everwake’s fingers curled into tight fists. A sheen of cold sweat broke out across his forehead, and his breathing grew ragged and frantic. Still, his magnificent, iridescent eyes roiled with unconcealed loathing and resistance.
"I generally don’t bother forcing anyone, but you’re just so defiant..." Evangeline chuckled, then suddenly pressed down hard with her foot. A pained look flashed across The Everwake’s face, but she only smiled. "...that you’re making me want to break my own rule."
"Since you can’t escape, you’ll stay here and learn to behave."
"Once you’ve given me a child, I’ll let you go."
Evangeline drew her leg back. She leaned down close, patting The Everwake’s cheek with a pale hand. The gesture was as provocative as taunting a caged beast; her voice was lilting, but her eyes were chillingly cold.
Normally, a little coaxing would have been enough.
But The Everwake had a vicious temperament, and his actions today had thoroughly displeased her. Since kindness clearly wasn’t working, she would have to resort to force.
’After a garden of blooming flowers, it’s rather interesting to suddenly find one with thorns.’
’What a coincidence.’
’Plucking thorns happens to be my specialty.’
