Chapter 148: I Love You So Much

Esther nodded.

Ever since their kiss in the kitchen, emotions and sensations had crashed through her relentlessly. Before Gaara, her life had felt empty. With him, everything had color. And now she longed for the peak of that feeling, with him.

Gaara’s breath was hot against her skin as his mouth moved to her neck. His hand caressed the swell of her breast, sending a wave of heat through her belly.

Esther moaned when his fingers brushed over her hardened peak, his touch skilled and gentle. When his mouth closed over one of her breasts, her moan grew louder. She clutched his hair with both hands, pulling him closer.

Gaara used his mouth and tongue without restraint, as if he could never have enough. Every touch sent Esther higher, farther than she had ever gone before.

Impatient, Esther spread her hands across Gaara’s chest, fingers pressing into firm muscle, teasing, exploring.

Gaara buried his face between her breasts with a sound of pleasure. His hand slid down to her thigh. His head throbbed, desire surging hard. He could not remember the last time a woman had made him feel like this. She had lied to him. She had hurt him. And yet, she was the one he wanted most.

From the moment he saw Esther standing in front of his house, with her full lips and worried eyes, his senses had been set on fire. He wanted to explore every inch of her, to know her with all he had.

He loved her body. She was not thin. Her curves rested exactly where they should. The very first time he saw her in his kitchen that morning, bare legged and unguarded, he had already dreamed of touching her everywhere.

Esther was beautiful.

Gaara reached her upper thigh and pleasure flooded him so intensely that he had to close his eyes for a moment. He positioned himself between her legs, bent down to kiss her lips once more, then rested his face against her neck.

The exhaustion of everything she had been through caught up to Esther at once. Her eyes fluttered. Slowly, they closed.

“Esther?” Gaara called softly.

She stirred weakly. “Hm?”

“I cannot,” he whispered.

She barely registered his words. “Hm?”

“I knew it,” he murmured. “I love you too much. You are too precious for me to touch you like this.”

Her breathing had already evened out. She was asleep.

“Unbelievable,” Gaara muttered with a quiet laugh. “You fall asleep before we even begin.”

He pulled a blanket over her bare body and kissed her forehead. “Good night, Esther.”

Turning away, he became painfully aware of a problem he needed to deal with. Gaara sighed and headed straight for the bathroom. He needed cold water.

Esther woke to the ache of hunger curling in her stomach. She turned her head and found Gaara’s eyes fixed on her, dark and intense. She had fallen asleep in the middle of everything, and somehow Gaara’s bed had become her favorite place in the world. She did not want to leave it.

“Hey,” she greeted softly, a shy smile on her lips.

“Hey,” Gaara replied, returning her smile. “You’re hungry, huh?”

Esther nodded.

“I warmed up some soup. There’s a bit of bread too. It might be a strange combo, but I don’t really eat at home much,” he said.

Esther chuckled. “Are you psychic or something? How did you know I was hungry?”

“I heard your stomach growling.”

Her face flushed red while Gaara laughed. They ended up eating together on the bed. The last real meal Esther had was breakfast on the plane. Exhaustion had made her forget everything, including food. And even though Gaara warned her it might not taste right, to Esther it was the best meal she had ever had.

“You didn’t bring much stuff?” Gaara asked as he stood up to take the empty bowls to the kitchen.

“Yeah. Just a few things I thought I’d need. I packed in a rush.”

“You should tell your parents you’re here,” Gaara said when he came back into the room.

Esther lowered her gaze. “They probably already know,” she muttered.

“Probably?”

She then told him everything that had happened before she left. About Elson catching her sneaking out at night and threatening to tell her parents about it.

“Are you out of your mind?” Gaara suddenly grabbed her shoulders, making her gasp. “What if something happened to you?”

“And what about you?” Esther shot back. “You threw your phone away at the airport. No one could reach you. Do you think your brothers weren’t worried? We were panicking because none of them even knew where this place was.”

Gaara loosened his grip. “I never thought anyone would come looking for me.”

“Gaara,” Esther called gently, touching his shoulder.

He turned to her. “What about you and Vinson? Did you tell him?”

Esther looked down, her expression tangled between annoyance and embarrassment. Then she told him about going to Vinson’s place and smashing all the windows with a baseball bat. Gaara stared at her in awe.

“Vinson isn’t proud of what he did. Nelsy was furious at him. Felix too, and so was I. He apologized. He said he never expected things to turn out like this.”

After that, silence settled between them for a while.

“We have to go back tomorrow morning,” Gaara said suddenly.

Esther nodded.

To be honest, she was still exhausted from the flight. But seeing how serious Gaara looked, she felt she could not refuse. Her parents must be worried too. Going back was the logical thing to do.

“That’s why we should make the most of today,” Gaara added with a meaningful smile.

Esther only laughed softly.