The Crown's Entrapment

Gilas couldn't help but chuckle as he remembered the way Clara almost melted on him at the dinner table. Currently, he was walking with Clara on their way back to their shared bedchamber, and his thoughts just kept on coming back to just how adorable his mate looked whenever she was flustered. It was clear that he was having an effect on her, and it was only a matter of time before he had completely taken her heart for himself. He just had to be patient. Surely, her walls will come crumbling down so long as he kept up his pace.

[Although, I'm pretty sure we could've had her for ourselves if you just allowed yourself to be more forward with your advances,] Ham commented. [She's clearly fighting against her own desires. If you became her stable rock through it all, she would fully accept you without much of a fight.]

[I know that, but doing that would also feel like I cheated on her on our agreement,] Gilas reasoned. [I don't want her to have any regrets. I want her to choose me out of her own free will, not just out of the Mate Pull or through her sense of obligation to us.]

While it was true that things were already starting to feel like a spiraling dance between them with nothing much happening in terms of their relationship, Gilas knew that he was making leaps and bounds in terms of progress. He could feel it through the Bond at times whenever Clara's defenses were down. Her liking for him was growing at a steady pace. And while her own misgivings for her own feelings also grew with it, it wasn't anything that he was truly worried about.

No... The one thing that he was really worried about was his ever-increasing desire for her. He didn't know how long he could keep his distance from her in terms of physical connection, but he had to hold on if he wanted to have a complete victory that he so craved and deserved.

"You should get some rest," he advised Clara as soon as they arrived in their bedchamber. "We have to leave early tomorrow, remember?"

"I know that," Clara scoffed. "I'm just about to turn in for the evening, see?"

Gilas nodded as he did his best not to gulp at the beautiful sight before him. Sure, he had already seen all that Clara had to offer him, but even seeing her with clothes on practically had the same effect as seeing her as naked as the day she was born.

"I can see that," he remarked, his words meaning more than he could ever voice out. "I can see that very well."

"Well, good night then, Gilas," Clara shook her head at him with a small smile. "I'll assume that you'll join me in bed momentarily?"

"As soon as I'm finished cleaning up for bed, yes," he replied.

"Alright," she breathed out, her voice almost coming out as a whisper. "I'll be going to bed then."

And with that, Gilas could only watch as Clara took her usual spot in his bed. His eyes glued themselves on her amazing body, her curves seemingly rippling with each step that she took.

With a great effort, Gilas barely managed to tear his gaze away from the most beautiful woman he had ever laid his eyes upon. His desires were starting to run rampant in his chest again, and the thought that he had to share her bed again almost made him want to jump right into the bed and forget about everything else.

But of course, Gilas pushed it all down in favor of letting his patience rule his thoughts. He was still in control, and he would be damned before he let his lust dictate his actions.

With a controlled breath, he went and cleaned up for bed before promptly joining Clara in bed. Thankfully, she already seemed to be fast asleep, her soft breaths letting out a soothing rhythm as he allowed himself to sink into a relaxing trance.

'Just a bit more, my love,' he sleepily thought to her. 'Just give me a bit more time to prove myself.'

Gilas gave himself a nod of determination before fully letting himself go to sleep. And he was about to slip into slumber too when he felt a telltale shiver rock the bed beside him.

"What the..."

Opening his eyes, he grimaced when he noticed Clara shivering in her sleep. It wasn't as bad as the last time it really happened, but it still tugged at his heartstrings to see her suffering like this.

Taking a small breath, Gilas prepared himself for the task before wrapping his arms around her shivering form. Their sheets were rather thin for the weather tonight due to a sudden heat spell yesterday, which was probably why she was shivering in the first place.

'I should've swapped the sheets back to the thick ones earlier,' he scolded himself.

Instead, he now found himself acting as Clara's heater once again. Not that he minded. In fact, he was feeling ecstatic at the prospect of wrapping her in his arms again.

Which... in itself, was kind of a problem in itself.

Gilas took deep breaths as he controlled his instincts, hoping that his own chants would help him not fully wake Clara up with his own selfish desires.

'I just have to go to sleep...' he chanted to himself. 'There's no need to fully think about this... I don't have to think about the fact that Clara's currently in my arms right now...'

But try as he might, there was no way that his body would allow him to do what he had hoped to do. Already, he could feel his hardness poking against her unconscious body, his worries skyrocketing the more he felt her body rubbing against him.

'I will not be controlled, dammit... Relax...'

Taking another deep breath, Gilas let himself relax, his body finally coming back to his control as he felt his arms slacken in their embrace. He could only be thankful that he managed to get himself to relax at the moment. He really needed sleep, and being able to calm his raging desires would only help in achieving this goal.

Well... he just had to keep himself in check for the entire night while he was asleep. Hopefully, that wouldn't be too hard.