The Crown's Entrapment

Clara tried her best to act normal inside the carriage. Currently, she was with Gilas and her mother-in-law, the former sitting beside her while the latter sat in front of her.

"I'm sure that the Queen Mother is very happy to see her children finally settling down. Every time we spoke to one another, she just couldn't stop expressing her anticipation to have grandchildren." Shila off-handedly commented with a chuckle.

She then turned to her, probably having noticed the reddening on her cheek as she said, "Oh, my dear... Please don't get pressured when hearing topics like this. It's a common thing for older women like us to witness our offspring settling down and having grandchildren for us..."

"It's fine, Mother," Clara awkwardly replied with a smile. All the while, she could feel Gilas's stare boring into her since this morning. And honestly, she almost felt naked with the way he looked at her. Well, it felt like he was undressing her every time...

From that kind of behavior alone, she couldn't help but wonder if he remembered everything that had happened last night. As far as she could recall, Gilas mentioned a tendency of his to forget things whenever he got drunk.

She could only hope that he wouldn't remember a thing, but some things were just wishful thinking... And even thinking about said events almost made her drool. She blushed hard while the scenes of last night replayed in her head. Her loud cries and moans of pleasure... She would die of embarrassment if he ever remembered her doing such things...

[We, you almost died of extreme ecstasy from too many orgasms!] Sheba bluntly scoffed, catching her off-guard and making her cough.

"Are you alright, dear?" Shila asked as she gently stroked her back.

"I'm fine, Mother, I just probably need some air," she restlessly replied before quickly opening the window on her side of the carriage.

"If that's the case, then maybe it would be better that you ride a horse outside with Gilas?" Shila suggested.

"That's a brilliant idea, Mother," Gilas quickly agreed, promptly instructing the coach to stop the carriage right then and there.

Clara could only blink as she watched Gilas get out of the carriage. He then extended his arm and hand out towards her to help her down. Stunned, she looked at her mother-in-law, the latter simply giving her a wink and smile.

"Go on, dear..." Shila smiled.

Sighing deeply, Clara gave the older woman a nod before turning to reach out and accept Gilas's offer Her face burned as she remembered just how much those warm hands of his roamed all over her naked body... how he traced her curves and caressed her sensitive spots, and...

'Stop it, Clara!' she quickly inwardly scolded herself once she caught her thoughts straying. She could already feel how her body tingled just from those memories alone, and she nervously looked at Gilas as he gave her those playful smirks of his. They gave her the impression that he could probably smell her arousal right now, and she didn't want that one bit!

Unfortunately for her, the torture didn't stop there. Soon enough, Clara found herself sitting on a horse with Gilas behind her, and the feelings it gave her was far too much for her to ignore.

"Is this really necessary?!" she hissed with a frown.

Gilas simply chuckled at her. But before she could tell him off for it, she felt his hot breaths coming near her ear as he spoke.

"Did you see how happy Mother was while she's staring at us?"

Clara turned, and sure enough, she found her mother-in-law smiling widely from the carriage window looking at them. The older woman even waved her hand to them, and it was clear that the sight of the two of them being together like that was giving the older woman joy.

She let out a small sigh. Gilas was all over her right now, and she felt so weak as a feeling of longing washed all over her body. She knew it was the Mate Pull doing its thing to her, and it was quite strong and comforting that she just couldn't help but let it happen. She even wanted to lean closer to him, like resting her back on his sturdy and warm chest as she reveled in his presence.

"Last night, I got drunk pretty hard..." Gilas started, making Clara hold her breath.

"Yes you did," she simply replied.

"Something happened between us, right?" Gilas directly asked.

Clara could only bite her inner cheek. 'Does he expect me to tell him every little detail of what happened last night?!' she inwardly protested.

As if Gilas could read her thoughts, he said, "It's my fault anyway. I can't remember much of the details, but I'm glad I woke up reeking of your scent, Clara." He then warmly added, "I hope you enjoyed everything that happened last night, and I'm looking forward to doing so many more things with you in the future while actually being sober."

She remained quiet as she let his words marinate inside her head. She didn't know how she should reply to his statement. Hell, her heart beat so erratically that it was getting harder for her to breathe.

"Relax," Gilas whispered into her ear. He then held her firmly, and she could only surrender to his embrace as she lost the ability to resist leaning her back onto his chest.

"You smell so good," Gilas murmured as she felt his lips run across her neck.

Clara took in a sharp breath. Riding a horse outside didn't help her situation at all. The bumpy ride was sending weird and pleasurable sensations in between her thighs, and she was so aroused that... That...

"Clara, you're torturing me too much," Gilas murmured with a pained tone.

'Seriously? He's the one torturing me!' Clara inwardly retorted.

[Hahaha! Why talk to yourself when you can simply put down your guard against him?] Sheba pointed out with an encouraging tone. [Let him feel you...]

[No! It's the Mate Pull, and I don't want him to feel it,] Clara quickly retorted as she bit her inner cheek. [Gilas is a good man, and he deserves to feel everything I can offer him without the Mate Pull getting involved. I want to give him my all... my everything... but not because the Mate Pull dictated it. No. I want it to come from my heart!]

[And yet you were more than ready to surrender yourself to him last night, remember? You almost surrendered your body,] Sheba snorted. [You're making my head spin. It's better that I stop talking to you or else I'll go crazy with how much mental gymnastics you do!]

Clara inwardly sighed. As much as she wouldn't like to admit it, Sheba had a point. She was honestly confused with herself already. How would she know, really? How would she even distinguish the difference between her heart and the Mate Pull?

"Gilas..." she hummed to him.

"Yes, Clara?" he asked back in his hoarse voice. She could feel him so intimately, and she was well-aware of the effect she had on him.

"I feel horny... Stop licking my neck," she murmured with a moan. Maybe it would be better that she would be more vocal with him from now on. After all, she did say that would try to not be shy or ashamed of him since she promised to make things work between them.

"Do you want me to help you with it? We can have a detour. I have my men to escort, Mother," Gilas quickly offered. "I honestly want to pleasure you while I'm actually sober. Help me remember the things I couldn't last night, Clara. I promise I won't do any more than what you will allow me to do..."