A second later, his fingers gently caught her chin, forcing her to look up. He lowered his head, his lips crashing down onto hers with undeniable dominance and years of repressed, agonizing hunger.

"Mmm-" All of Eleanor's protests were swallowed whole.

The kiss was a relentless, aggressive siege. He devoured her lips, tangling with her in a greedy, desperate demand, as if trying to pour every ounce of his longing from the past years into this single collision.

Eleanor's mind completely short-circuited. His familiar scent overwhelmed her senses; his chest was a wall of scorching heat against hers, and his kiss was ruthlessly possessive, yet unbearably tender.

It felt like he was melting her down to the core.

Eleanor wasn't made of stone. She had simply mastered the art of repressing her physical desires, burying herself in work to stay distracted. But here, in the dead of night, it was as if all her logic had vanished into thin air.

Her body reacted on pure instinct, responding to the man holding her. A familiar, electrifying heat rushed through her veins, and she practically melted against him.

And the man knew every inch of her intimately. He knew exactly how breathtaking, how exquisitely curved the body hiding beneath her usual, practical clothing truly

was.

Eleanor usually dressed conservatively. Even in formal gowns, she rarely showed much skin. Her beauty was entirely natural, effortless.

She wasn't just stunningly gorgeous; she had breathtaking curves that were entirely hidden beneath her usual attire.

The kiss stretched on for what felt like an eternity before he finally pulled back a fraction. Resting his forehead against hers, he breathed heavily, his dark eyes burning into her swollen, flushed lips and hazy gaze.

"I'm sorry—" he rasped. "I lied to you—"

He raised a hand, his thumb tracing the soft curve of her cheek, a storm of agonizingly complex emotions swirling in his eyes. "Could you just... make a mistake tonight? Let me feel what it's like to be needed by you again?"

His voice was a low rumble, laced with an aching, desperate vulnerability.

God, if Eleanor just gave him the slightest nod, even curled a single finger in invitation, he would throw caution to the wind and drag her into the beautiful ruin of them both.

Eleanor's gaze dropped to the exposed expanse of his chest, tracing the sharp lines of his

collarbone and hard muscle. Shon et

realized her hands were tangled in the fapels of his robe, her fingertips searing against his bare skin, feeling the heavy, rapid thumping of his heart.

They weren't

't naive teenagers

anymore. They had weathered six years of marriage together. When it came to this, the boundaries weren't nearly as rigid as they pretended. If Eleanor wanted him, lan would satisfy her without a second thought.

Suddenly, Eleanor shoved him away and took a step back. "It's late. Go to sleep."

Without another word, she turned on her heel and walked away, not looking back once.

lan took a slow step backward, leaning heavily against the wall. The cool night breeze drifted through the sheer curtains, but it did absolutely nothing to chill the raging inferno of emotion tearing through his chest.

He listened to the sound of the door clicking shut downstairs, and it felt as if a heavy iron gate had slammed shut on his heart right along with it.

With a bitter, defeated sigh, he pushed himself off the wall and headed toward the cold shower.

The next morning, Eleanor packed Evelyn's backpack and dropped her off at school before heading straight to the lab.

Progress had stalled over the last few days, and on top of her regular work, she needed to finalize a lecture she had promised Simone. Since she had given her word, she was going to deliver a flawless presentation.

Later that afternoon, lan sent her a text saying he was leaving on a three-day business trip.

Eleanor glanced at the screen and typed back a simple: *Stay safe.*

Meanwhile, over in Drexford...

Inside a luxury penthouse apartment, Vanessa was throwing yet another fit. She had been

undergoing intense medical

treatments for weeks, but instel

of

improving, her condition was only deteriorating Her mood had turned Viciously toxic, fueled by the relentless media headlines about Faye's sentencing, Magdalen's death, and the endless, sickening rumors that lan and Eleanor were officially back together.