Page 51 of The Bittersweet Bond

His mouth found the delicate curve of her jaw, then lower, brushing against her neck, drinking in the way her pulse quickened under his lips. A deep, aching need unfurled in his chest, and he wasn’t sure if it was hunger or desperation.

Because she was his.

Even if she never said it, even if she never admitted it—he could see it. Feel it.

And nothing in the world had ever made him want anything more.

For a split second, a question flickered at the edge of his mind—why was he letting himself sink into this again?

But then she sighed against his lips, and the thought vanished, swallowed by the way she clung to him like she’d never wanted anything more.

__________

Evin

“Ahem,” someone cleared their throat in the background. It was Jonas’s voice. “I really don’t want to interrupt, but maybe you two should take this to the guest room next door. I even turned on some music for you.” In the darkness, they could only make out the faint outlines of each other. Thankfully for Evin, as her face flushed.

“Yeah. Now get the hell out, Jonas!” Bas said firmly.

“Already gone,” came the reply from the hallway.

Bas kissed Evin passionately and lifted her effortlessly. Her legs wrapped around his waist as he carried her through the darkness. His strong arms encircled her body, igniting a greedy, desperate longing within her. Nestled safely in his embrace, she buried her face into his shoulder. Gently, she tugged at the collar of his shirt, nibbling a trail along his neck from his shoulder up to his ear. Her hands clung tightly to his back as if anchoring herself to him.

She was in love.

In love with every fiber of his being. In love with his thick, brown hair she had so often touched. In love with his freckles, his birthmarks. In love with the texture of his skin she secretly knew so well. In love with his height, which made her feel small and delicate. In love with his arrogance, which had shattered her heart so many times, and in love with his laughter, which always managed to piece it back together.

When he kissed her, she felt special. She knew they were different. Bas’s wealth was impossible to miss, and he never hid it. More than half their grade found him condescending and self-absorbed. Evin saw that side of him too. But after all their years at school together, she also knew he could be different.

Yes, he was the ultimate fuckboy every girl dreamed of taming. But Evin didn’t want to change him. She wanted him with all his sharp edges, with every dark and unpopular side of him.

He could handle her in ways others couldn’t. While they might seem so different on the surface, their inner worlds were more alike than most people could imagine. It felt as though their souls were strangely kindred, both scarred and shielded by walls they had painstakingly built.

Bas let no one truly get close, no matter how much he liked them. And if Evin were honest with herself, she wasn’t any better at showing or allowing her softer feelings. In fact, the less someone meant to her, the more she let them into her life.

But none of that mattered now. All she wanted was to feel his warmth, to experience the rare, unspoken emotions he hid so well.

_________

The gentle melody of Bittersweet Symphony floated through the air as Evin lay on the bed, unsure how long they had been there. They were close but not intertwined, their bodies only touching where it was unavoidable. Just the faintest brush of skin was enough to make the air between them hum with tension. There were boundaries—Evin could feel them in every fiber of her being.

But for now, this was enough. More than enough. The darkness enveloped them, a cocoon of safety where nothing else existed but the two of them. Here, in the shelter of the night, they could let go of the weight they carried during the day—the stares, the unspoken words, the jealousy, the doubts. Here, hidden from the world, Evin felt at ease.

Their kisses had grown deeper, slower, and at some point, his hands had wandered beneath the soft fabric of her dress, tracing along her thighs, her waist, the curve of her back.

They had touched, caressed, but it was different.

Evin had felt the heat of his skin when he shrugged off his shirt—the first time she had ever seen Bas this unguarded, this open, with her. The steady rhythm of his breath against her ear as they clung to each other in the dark still echoed in her chest.

It wasn’t just desire; it was something deeper, something words couldn’t capture. It was affection, building slowly, like a fire that couldn’t be allowed to rage out of control.

Maybe if they hadn’t been at some party, in Jonas’s guest room, she would’ve let him go even further. She trusted him enough to want to.

But, deep down, a small part of her hesitated because he had been drinking, and she couldn't tell how much the night had blurred his judgment.

Somehow, through it all, they had held the line—drawn somewhere between trust and fear, between wanting more, but knowing better.

And just when it felt like nothing else existed outside their shared heartbeat—

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