Chapter 146 - Irresistible Urges

Not even an hour after arriving at the venue of the party, Winter found herself in an ill-lit, empty terrace with Marcellus, trapped in quite a position.

"M-Marcellus, wait..." she said breathlessly, panting for air.

"We shouldn't be doing this. People are going to-"

"I don't care…" he cut her off, voice low and smoky.

"Just let them see."

At the moment, her boyfriend is making out with her in a dim, hidden corner that they claimed somewhere around the cruise ship's banquet hall. Their public display of affection earlier was just not enough, and since his uncle hasn't arrived yet, he had more free time to spare.. Instead of going around the place and greeting the guests, he decided to use it all on his girlfriend. 

Marcellus had dragged her away from the crowd. With how endeared and smitten he was with Winter the whole time, he felt stimulated to go further - to do something more intimate than hugging and holding each other's hand. 

Now, she is leaning against the wall with her hands splayed across his broad shoulders while he has both of his arms locked around her waist. 

"You're the one who's making me do all this, you know," he muttered with a deep, raspy tone, smirking mischievously.

"There you go blaming me again," she whined, indignant, earning a chuckle from him.

"Maybe you should tone down your cuteness a little. You just look so delicious tonight. Oh, and your sexiness is distracting, too-" 

"S-Stop! You're e-embarrassing me!"

Marcellus laughed at that. Winter blushed and pouted. 

He then dips down to kiss her heatedly - a fountain of pent-up desires overflowing in his half-lidded, glinting gaze. Despite her words, she tries to return it with the same passion and ferocity. As much as she doesn't want to admit it, he himself also intoxicates her.

'When it comes to this, he's always the one who's bossing me around. Geez.' 

At first, Winter can still keep up with his pace, but she soon realizes that it's not enough as Marcellus keeps pulling her closer and closer to the point of no return. 

The way he savors her lips is gentle yet firm. She can feel his thirst and hunger with how tender he envelops her mouth before licking her lower lip as if feasting on her sweetness – the gesture is more than enough to turn her into a blushing mess. He continues doing this until he eventually thinks of stepping up the game.

"Mmhhh!" 

Winter wasn't able to swallow back her moans the moment Marcellus slid his tongue inside her mouth. 

She shudders at the foreign sensation that comes right after. Pleased by the sounds she's making, he dives further to explore it. He puts his hand on the back of her head and pulls her closer, making the kiss much deeper, more intimate. She tilts her head a little to provide a better opening for him - a small action that earns a big reaction from him.

Seeing Winter enjoying it, Marcellus can't help but smile to himself.

'My, you can be a bit naughty too, it seems.' 

He tries moving his tongue around while hers keeps hitting it. At this point, with how he's thoroughly relishing every corner that he can reach inside, he's practically eating her up. They only break apart for as brief as a second to catch their breaths before he leans in once more and does the cycle all over again. He kisses her like it's the only thing he can do well - needy at times, hot for the most part.

Marcellus can't seem to fully describe what he's feeling anymore. No one else has made him feel so happy - so damn lucky. Everything is overwhelming. Winter really makes him feel full and complete.

She was someone he never knew he needed until he just came to realize that he did. He wanted her so much that it had become this unbearable feeling of need and desperation. 

"Winter..." he breathed, love and ecstasy glazing in his narrowed, lustrous eyes. 

"I want you, Winter. Only you."

She didn't get to say something in return as he suddenly pinned her on the wall and hoisted her up - an arm around her waist and the other beneath her thigh. He then hastily yet gently guides her legs to wrap themselves around his own waist to which she simply complies. Now that they're in this position, he slightly lowers his head and starts peppering warm kisses all over her neck. She can no longer keep her hushed whimpers and moans as soon as he does so. 

That's especially when he begins sucking on a certain spot on her skin all of the sudden.

"M-Marcellus, wait! Don't leave a mark on me...!" she said frantically, her eyes bulging wide in surprise when she realized what he was trying to do.

"People will see- Ahh!"

But then, it was too late. He already put a love bite on her neck.

"This is not fair, you know," she huffed, pouting.

While Winter may be feeling indignant and bitter about getting a hickey, the way her body reacts with pleasure is something to go by. Still too drunk in her alluring fragrance, addicting taste, and mesmerizing warmth, Marcellus just continues to lick that spot on her skin before proceeding to trail kisses down to her collarbone then back to her neck and jawline.

She can feel some sort of heat beginning to pool on her lower part - even more so when he starts grinding against her body. Her crotch keeps hitting the fabric of his suit while her thigh continues rubbing itself against his arm.

"We really can't do this any longer," she said half-heartedly, wanting to escape from this embarrassing position before she began moaning too loudly and catching attention.

Going by how his movements are getting more and more intense, she knows that she has to put an end to this. Else, he might go ahead and start undressing her or something. 

And so, she gently pushes him away. She was taken aback to find his hair a bit messy. Only then did she realize that she was actually playing with his hair the whole time.

"See? Now, both of us look unsightly," she chided, shooting him a reprimanding look.

"Unsightly? You...?" he quipped with a seductive smirk.

"You've got no sense of aesthetic, my love. You look so beautiful in my eyes right now, especially with that blush of yours and my mark on your neck."

Not expecting such a suggestive remark, Winter can't help but blush even more. Marcellus beholds her adorable reaction with a dopey, smitten smile.

"Seriously, though, I just want to ease the tension for a bit…" he then confessed out of nowhere as he put her back down and cupped her cheeks.

"There's still time before we commence the main part of our plan, but even then, I can sense how anxious and pressured you're slowly becoming. Just take this as my way of reassuring you - everything's gonna be fine."

"That's sweet of you, but…" she sighed yet smiled nonetheless, touched by his thoughtfulness.

"I'm pretty sure you just wanna make out with me."

"Well, there's that, of course. How can I possibly resist you?"

"Resist your urges, mister. Maybe I should teach you how to restrain yourself from now on." 

"Teach me? Ohoh, sounds kinky~"

"Oh, shut it, you!"

She slaps his arm playfully, making him laugh some more. Though she doesn't admit it, she knows that it's working somehow – he's able to reassure her more than he thinks.   

And at least right now, Winter feels perfectly fine with Marcellus by her side.

---

George arrives a moment later to join Winter and Marcellus at the terrace.

With a couple of glasses of wine and a platter of savories in hand, he approaches the couple. They appear to be in the middle of a conversation, exchanging fond gazes and affectionate smiles with each other. The sight makes him cringe inwardly – he's not really used to this kind of scene, though of course, he's glad that they got together.

"Good evening to you, lovebirds" George greeted with a flat expression.

"Oh, Sir George! Good evening," Winter greeted back ebulliently while Marcellus simply smiled. 

Now that the three of them were gathered, they decided not to spare any more time and went ahead to discuss the plan. The party is already nearing its peak, and so is the main highlight of their plot.

"Our back-ups are already waiting downstairs, Lexington. We have to meet up with them soon..." George informed them.

"So, I guess this is the time when we'll have to part, Ms. Winter. You sure you're gonna do this on your own?"

"Yes, of course, I'll handle it. There'll be back-ups soon enough, anyway. I have to entice Bianca first, so I have to pretend that I'm alone..." Winter replied before casting down her gaze.

"But I'm still not sure if I'll be able to get the reaction I want from her. We're not yet certain about what my family is scheming, either."

"Don't worry. We'll handle the others, and as for Ms. Middleton's reaction..." Marcellus said with a scheming, calculating smile. 

"I think we already provoked her enough."