Chapter 81

✧The Unchanging Heart✧

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Matthias felt himself grow enraged at her words. His hand came up behind her head, grasping her hair tight in his hand.

He wanted to make her afraid, to intimidate her once more to submission. He wanted her to look at him and know that he could destroy her beneath him without having to lift a finger.

He wanted to see her cry and beg for his mercy before he’d callously toss her aside like the trash his mother sees them as!

But when he imagined that all happening, he couldn’t help the sinking feeling in his gut. His grasp on her loosened up, losing his will to do those terrible things to her.

Instead, he pulled her closer, pulling her up flush against his warmth. He cradled her in a gentle way, and Leyla went along with no resistance. He knew she told him she wouldn’t disobey him any further, but something was unsettling by how easily she always complied with his wishes.

He then stood up from their seat, and carried her towards the bed, gently placing her down over the covers. He tucked a stray lock behind her ear, and kept her gaze on him as he took off her clothing one by one; her shawl, her coat, were the first to go.

Somewhere in losing her clothes, Leyla’s eyes wandered all around the room once more, refusing to keep eye contact with him. She resembled a doll, with her strings cut off. She knew by the way her sight blurred he’d taken off her glasses, then the chill bit her fingers as her gloves were taken off as well.

She gasped when he gently interlocked their bare hands together, making her look back at him in shock. He then gathered her in his arms, seeing the way the goosebumps ran up her arms once the coldness returned.

Leyla looked back at his deep blue eyes, and felt a different kind of warmth fill her as he stared at her with those tender eyes she’d seen him look with before. Her heart fluttered at the knowledge it was now directed at her, filling her with an odd sense of relief.

Matthias held themselves together, content at their current contact as he busied himself with keeping her warm. Leyla wanted to look away from him again, but found herself unable to. She was drawn to him. She’d always been drawn to him.

She could feel the blood rush to her cheeks the longer they kept eye contact, filling her pale face with a healthy complexion once more. Matthias found himself so captivated by her, he’d let go of her hand, making her gasp.

Whether in shock or relief, Leyla couldn’t know. He surged towards her, capturing her dried lips into his warm mouth, and began to kiss her without meaning to.

It just felt right to do so.

Leyla moaned at the feel of his lips against her, feeling his tongue prod at her lips to gain entrance. She gasped as she tried to pull away, only to let his tongue in, making her feel dizzy as the kiss gave her newer sensations.

“Ah..”

Her body quivered under his roaming touches. One of his hands was busy fondling her, rubbing friction against her skin in a bid to keep her warm, while the other fisted in her hair, tightening in a pleasurable way as she let out a wanton moan in response.

These feelings were making her uncomfortable, it was like she had to succumb into his ministrations. She squeezed her eyes shut, but it only heightened her sense of touch, and taste. She must remember why she’s even allowing herself to be taken like this so helplessly!

Yes, memories of the hurt she felt by the Duke, his blackmailing, and the immense betrayal she felt when he demanded her to do this was enough to save her from drowning in the tenderness he was showing her.

It was as though he was trying to suck the life out of her, with how long he kept making out with her. When he finally pulled away, Leyla could tell her lips were swollen from the kiss, but at least her body was no longer freezing, instead there was a heat pooling under her stomach. She looked up, half-ready to be disappointed.

“Are we done?” she asked him in a breathy whisper, they were both gasping for air, their chests heaving in tandem. Matthias just kept staring at her, “Does that mean I get to go home now?”

When he still remained silent, Leyla took it as a go-ahead, and began to leave the bed, when Matthias grabbed her by the arm, stopping her from leaving. He then snaked an arm around her waist, and pulled her flush until her naked back pressed against his chest. His warm breath grazed the back of her ear…

“Be more like your body Leyla,” he whispered against her ear, “It’s been so honest so far.” his husky voice encouraged, making her shudder against him. She could feel her cheeks flush once more at the intimacy of their position, feeling his index finger caress her cheeks.

She could feel herself getting wetter the more she spent in his arms.

Matthias appeared at ease with himself, confident in the way he’d molded her body to respond to him…

And she hated it. She hated how her body did respond to him whenever he’d touch her. How she’d lean into it and respond so readily to him.

“I-I can’t control how my body responds!” she protested, gasping when he rubbed up against her, “It’s similar to how you shiver when you’re cold or grimace in pain when you’re sick…… It will be the same no matter who touches me. This is not what my heart wants.” she finished. Matthias only hummed, nosing against the nape of her neck…

“Is that really the truth? Or you’re just denying it?” he couldn’t help but ask her. His aloofness made Leyla more nervous in his hold…

“Believe me,” she hissed at him, the flickering flames of the fireplace catching her vision despite its blurriness as the fire reflected in her eyes, “I meant it with all my heart that I hate you!”

The memory of Claudine’s maid giving her money for her services, was burned painfully in her mind…

“And that will never change!” she declared, feeling the tears well up in her eyes, but she didn’t dare let them fall.

‘I can’t keep living like this!’ she screamed in her head as she desperately wished for time to fast forward where she was past all this!

The anger in her surged through the surface with her wish. All the pent up resentment and hatred she couldn’t express towards Claudine because of her guilt in her affair, reared its ugly head towards the Duke who was the main reason why her life’s been tumbling down the wrong road.

“Aren’t you prideful enough to not let a woman berate you like I do?!” She hissed at him, and Matthias nodded in agreement,

“You’re right.”

“Then just let me go and no woman ever will again!” she exclaimed. Matthias just clicked his tongue.

“I told you already Leyla,” he stood up, peering down at her with an intense gaze as he gathered her up in his arms until they’re pressed chest to chest with each other, ignoring the way she squirmed in his hold. “I also find your rebellious ways so endearing,” he teased.

He then laid her on the bed, glancing at her naked body in greedy lust as he hovered above her, trapping him within his arms. “You’re so captivating, it’s driving me crazy to be around you,” he whispered to her, his voice dropping into a low octave, sending shivers up her spine at how hot and bothered she currently felt.

She bit her lips, forcing herself to not make a sound. She just needed to endure it, it will be over soon enough, just like the previous times. And then she can go home again and forget.

And so she turned away from him, and caught sight of the wall paneling on the side instead. She kept her eyes trailed on it as she heard the ruffling of clothes, and felt Matthias’ warm body close to hers.

She squeezed her eyes shut whenever he’d brush up against her sensitive spots either intentionally or not.

In Matthias’ eyes, she was absolute perfection. The way her pale skin was in sharp contrast against his dark satin sheets, framing her so erotically as they rumpled beneath her nakedness. Her hair framing out of her head like a halo…

She was his own sculptured glass bird ornament, that hovered sensationally in his mind.

He remembered stopping by a jewelry shop on his way to the train station. He had custom ordered a piece earlier, and came to pick it up. It was the crystal bird ornament, fashioned into a jewelry piece made only for Leyla.

Just the sight of it was enough to send him back on a trip down memory lane, when Leyla had tried to reach up to touch the same ornament in the Natural History Museum. It was such a small thing, for Matthias it was trivial, but it was lodged into his memories.

Nothing significant happened there, so why was he able to remember her smile so clearly?

Matthias eyes went further south of Leyla’s body, wetting his fingertips with his saliva, before dipping two slender fingers into her moist folds between her legs. Leyla gasped out at the intrusion, arching her back beautifully, her legs unconsciously spreading further to accommodate his body between hers.

And yet Matthias’ expression remained cooled and unchanged, so different from how any other man would be when presented with a woman’s spread legs. His gaze kept watch of the way his fingers disappeared knuckle deep inside of her, before trailing up to her slender stomach, her pert nipples, and up to her sweaty face…

Beads of sweat were forming on Leyla’s temples, as she stared at him in a dazed manner. Matthias leaned closer, pushing his fingers persistently back and forth, while his thumb rubbed up against her clit. Leyla released a sweet moan, rutting against his fingers in response…

“Look at how accommodating you’ve been to me lately, Leyla.” Matthias breathed into her ear, before he began to remove his clothes this time.

Leyla mewled as he rubbed circles against her, legs quivering when he curled the fingers in a come hither movement, scraping gently her inner walls. She couldn’t help but watch in captivation the way his shirt slid off to reveal his tanned skin, and sinewy form, bracing his broad shoulders over her as he swiftly removed his fingers to shuck off the rest of his clothes.

She gasped at the suddenness of his movements, letting out an instinctive whine when she was left with an emptiness. Leyla felt her heart thumping hard against her chest, watching him strip his underwear down, joining her in bareness.

A shiver ran up her body at the sight of his picturesque beauty, before she caught herself and looked away in shame. But Matthias was quick to return to her, situating himself back comfortably between her legs, hiking them up on his shoulders to get closer…

She could feel his blunt tip brush up against her opening, making heat pool into her gut once more,

And then he pushed…

Deeper, and deeper he went in,

Leyla could feel herself opening up, stretching herself to embrace his girth. The sound of their  bodies rubbing together was coupled with the creaking of the bed.  Their breaths mingled with each other’s and she mewled again when he brushed up against that sweet spot deep inside her until he was fully sheathed inside her…

“I guess there’s nothing else I can do to resist you too.” Matthias piped up, staring down at her as he braced his shoulders on either side of her head. “I quite like you being docile like this too.” he confessed, before swiftly pulling out and then thrusted in.

Leyla gasped, arching her back against the bed, pressing her chest up at his. Matthias kept up his slow paced thrusting, gradually increasing the speed with a gentle circling of his hips.

“Tell me, Leyla.”

He pleaded against her neck, as he dipped his head, suckling into her sensitive skin to leave a mark, the first of the many he planned to leave her with. He grunted when she felt him clamp down around him,

“Ugh, tell me the truth.” He hissed right at her ear, soaking it with saliva before pulling away, “If you hate me, really hate me as much as you claim… then why do you stare at me in such a way that tells me otherwise?!”

Leyla only moaned, shaking her head in denial, as her hands clambered to embrace him, pulling him closer to her as they continued to rut against each other…

“Tell me!”

She could hardly be bothered to answer him, her mind muddled with intense pleasure as she desperately tried to shake the feeling away, rendering her speechless. Any sound she could make could only be incoherent, even if he demanded her for an answer.

She bit down on her lip, and would have bitten it until it bled if he hadn’t taken her lips into his and locked themselves in a kiss as he hoisted her up until she sat firmly on top of him, bouncing her in his lap, hitting deeper inside her in the most heavenly feeling she ever felt!

She let out sobs when he pulled away from the kiss, leaving more marks on her skin as he busied himself with suckling on her collarbone.  As their skins slapped against each other, Leyla couldn’t help but reminisce about the time she’d seen this man with a glimmer of hope around him…

It was back when she’d locked eyes with him as he entered the drawing room. Claudine had been with him, hanging off his arm as a noble lady should. She had been ashamed during that moment, but the sight of him gave her some hope everything would be alright soon…

Yes…hope…

And like a fool, she thought he would be that kind of man again.

Now he instilled in her no hope, just more shame in herself. But she can’t deny the intense pleasure he was indeed giving her.

His hips began stuttering, he dropped them back into the bed, her legs unconsciously tightening around his waist to aid his thrusting as they both chased their own pleasures.

Her hands tightened in their grip on his shoulders, nails digging into his skin in forming half crescent marks. It was like she was begging him to pleasure her further, to which he happily gave into.

‘How could I let this happen?’ she asked in despair to herself, before backtracking…

‘How could I have avoided this?’

“Ahh, ngh…” she moaned, turning her head away from him, when Matthias’ hand gently gripped her jaw, to make her look back at him. He grinded up against her, making her moan in ecstasy and shame at how wantonly she responded to him…

She looked so erotic, with a flushed face and tears by the corner of her eyes. The sounds she made were music to Matthias’ ears as he groaned at how she tightened up around him, engulfing him in her warmth he desperately craved…

He trailed his tongue up her cheeks to wipe the tears away, before diving his tongue deep into her mouth to get another taste of her. And then she came.

Matthias knew he wouldn’t be able to hold on any longer when she coated him with her juices, and pulled out, just in time to release himself in spurts of white. Leyla watched as his hands drowned in white, unable to hold back the sigh of pleasure from her lips.

It was like she was nailing down her own heart.

She was a nobody. She was supposed to be just nobody to him. She was an orphan, with no riches to her name, nor future prospects. And once he’d had his fill of her, she’d go back to being just that.

Nothing.

She could still remember that moment in the drawing room.

Claudine had thrown her arms around him so easily when he’d appeared for her, while she had been in her shabbiest clothes, and not in her best looks compared to the girl. And yet he saw her…

And she regretted acknowledging how her heart fluttered at that fact.

Untangled thoughts formed as she let a loud moan. Ecstasy and humiliation mixed with pain and pleasure in her thoughts and body. Although she tried a gallant effort to turn her head, Matthias refused to let her keep her last shred of pride.

He firmly grasped her chin and redirected her gaze toward him. Tears streamed down her flushed cheeks from her twisted, innocent eyes. She gasped and moaned, and the look on her face as she did so set his heart aflutter.

He’d known she’d begun to take over his thoughts for a while now. How could he not realize it when she was all he could think about when he’d been away from Arvis?  She became a constant presence in his thoughts at all hours of the day and night. It was a strange sensation, something he’d never felt before, and he couldn’t place a finger on it.

It was what led him to ordering something so intricate, so expensive that he knew she would appreciate it over anything else he could give her. A feeling that resurfaced whenever he’d open up the box, and see that jewelry made only for her.

When he’d seen her, serving so lowly as Claudine’s maid, in his own mansion, something surged in him. A need to rectify a situation that does not even affect him because it was Leyla. And he’d never felt that way before.

‘Why?’

Why did he?  It was a question he couldn’t ask anyone but himself, yet he was unable to answer.

He shook the thought away, opting to focus instead on the after care of their intercourse. He pulled Leyla’s limp, and oversensitive body closer, making her whimper as he brushed up against her.  She was so exhausted by their coupling, she couldn’t even lift a finger against him.

All she wanted to do was to curl up beneath the covers, or go home and do that and cry. She had grown warm during their activity, and now with the sheen of sweat on her skin, she could clearly feel the cool air against her skin, cooling her body down.

Matthias pulled away from her, and headed to the showers, leaving her alone. She heard the faint sound of running water, and thought he was taking a shower when it shut down, and Matthias came back.

He sat down on the edge of the bed, closer to where she was. She wondered what he was planning to do now, and tried to open her eyes to glare at him. She saw him sitting beside her, with a basin filled with warm water, and some cloth in his hands.

He set them down on the bedside table, and reached out for her hand, pulling it closer towards him.

“N-no, I-” Leyla began to protest when he hushed her gently. Looking at her with an indecipherable expression.

“Stay still.” He commanded her, and Leyla watched as he dipped the cloth into the warm water, wringing out the excess water, and began wiping her down, gently pressing the warm cloth against her skin as he cleaned her body.

She grabbed his hand instinctively in panic, when he softly patted her head, whispering sweet nothings at her. Her grip on his wrist loosened up, allowing him to continue.

“Just lie still and be quiet Leyla,” he whispered softly, as he scrubbed away the drying fluids all over her body. “This will all be over soon.” he finished.

Gently, he wiped her down, her inner thighs, her stomach, her arms…

Even her neck and face got taken care of. Each brush against her skin was purposeful and gentle. He was diligent, and his touch didn’t stray, or made her feel like he was doing this as a precursor to another round of intercourse.

It was enough to make her heart skip a beat, before her eyes fluttered close, as his gentle strokes lulled her to sleep.

Lub-dub … lub-dub … lub-dub…

She faintly wondered if she dreamed that musical laugh of his as she drifted into a dreamless sleep.

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