You Are Divine

POV: Clara.

The private elevator glided open with a soft, seamless chime to reveal an expansive, quiet penthouse, but my overwhelmed mind could barely process the luxurious surroundings. My vision was completely blurred with fresh, violent tears. Exhausted by the day's absolute trauma and the horrific betrayal that had shattered my entire future, I blindly stumbled forward. I didn't even bother to look at the rich mahogany floors or the sprawling floor-to-ceiling windows that overlooked the glittering city skyline. I just heavily sank onto the nearest plush couch, my hands shaking completely uncontrollably. Fresh tears of absolute betrayal violently spilled over my cheeks, hot and bitter against my skin. I furiously tried to wipe them away with the back of my hand, but the devastating, vivid images of what I had seen just hours ago kept flashing behind my tight eyelids. I was a pathetic damsel in distress breaking down in front of a complete stranger, yet the crushing ache in my chest made it physically impossible to hold back my sobs.

The towering, impossibly handsome stranger stood a few steps away. He watched me carefully, his dark eyes tracking my every tremble and shake. The heavy, thick silence of the penthouse was only broken by my ragged, pathetic breathing. Slowly, he turned and walked over to a sleek, modern bar cabinet. He returned a moment later and silently set a crystal glass of rich, dark wine on the glass table directly in front of me.

When I didn't reach for it immediately, he crouched down so we were eye-level. He murmured in a low, soothing baritone, "Drink. It will calm your nerves."

My trembling fingers wrapped around the heavy crystal. I stared at the dark red liquid for a heartbeat before eagerly gulping the heavy liquid down. The alcohol's sharp burn rushed down my throat, forcing a small cough from my lungs, but it eventually began to blunt the agonizing edge of my sorrow. The sharp, suffocating pain in my chest finally loosened its lethal grip.

"More?" he asked, his voice steady.

I nodded dumbly. He brought the entire bottle over, unscrewed the cap, and poured another generous glass. I downed that one too. Sitting under his incredibly intense, strangely non-judgmental gaze, the warmth of the heavy wine finally loosened the tight knot in my throat. The devastating truth of my day naturally spilled out from my lips. I couldn't stop the floodgates from opening.

"My fiancé callously cheated on me with my own stepsister," I tearfully confessed, the humiliating story burning my tongue. I stared down at my empty glass, my voice cracking under the weight of the humiliation. "We were supposed to be married in merely three days. But I walked in on them today. I had the visceral shock of finding them having raw, naked sex just hours ago on the very bed we bought together."

The stranger's jaw clenched tightly. A dark, visceral anger flared in his glowing eyes. He growled—a sound with a distinctly dangerous, animalistic edge that deeply vibrated through the quiet room. "He completely doesn't deserve you," he declared firmly.

His absolute certainty made my chest violently tighten. For a few minutes, I just sat there, grinding my teeth together as the pathetic reality of my ruined life washed over me. Hesitantly, feeling utterly broken and desperately needing some form of validation after being so casually discarded, I looked up through my wet lashes.

"Am I..." My voice broke into a pathetic whisper. "Am I even pretty enough?"

The stranger's breath audibly hitched. His glowing gaze locked onto mine, completely stunned by the sheer insecurity in my question. "Pretty?" he breathed out with absolute reverence. "You are not just pretty. You are the most beautiful woman I have ever laid my eyes upon."

Before I could even process the heavy weight of his words, he reached out. His large, incredibly warm fingers gently tucked a stray golden lock of hair securely behind my ear. His touch sent a wild, electric spark skittering across my skin. Then, with a bizarre, shocking bluntness, he added, "You are so pretty that I can have sex with you right now."

My lips parted in absolute shock. The explicit statement hung heavily in the air between us. Like the very concept of hesitation entirely didn't exist in his world.

"Do you casually offer your body to strangers like this?" I stammered, my cheeks burning with a sudden, intense heat.

His glowing gaze grew impossibly intense, completely pinning me to the couch. "No," he firmly stated. "Usually, it is the strangers who desperately offer themselves to me. But I am offering my own body for the very first time." He leaned in closer, his voice dropping to a dark, seductive rasp. "You can take full advantage of my physique. Use my body for revenge sex. I promise you, I would be incredibly happy to be thoroughly used by you."

The intoxicating proximity of his massive frame sent a heavy, thick heat seeping deep into my bones. The idea of revenge sex was wildly, dangerously enticing. Spontaneously, a throbbing ache sparked directly between my thighs—a raw, physical craving that Derek had never once managed to elicit in all our years together. I licked my dry lips, feeling a heavy flush spread down my neck.

He carefully noted my parted lips and my flushed, heated skin. With a tense jaw, he firmly promised, "I will absolutely not touch you unless you expressly want it."

Bolstered by the heavy wine and the desperate, clawing need to entirely erase Derek's memory from my mind and body, I firmly nodded. "Okay," I whispered breathlessly.

Immense relief washed over the stranger's sharp features, as if he had been physically restraining a wild beast inside himself this entire time. He immediately stood up, slid one thick arm under my knees and the other behind my back, and scooped me up into his large arms as if I weighed absolutely nothing. I gasped softly, instinctively wrapping my arms securely around his broad neck. Up close, he was even more incredibly beautiful. Being carried by him felt shockingly safe. He effortlessly carried me down a short hall and stepped into an exquisitely furnished, dimly lit bedroom.

He carefully set me on the soft edge of the massive bed and immediately took a step back, intentionally giving me space. "You hold the power to stop at any time," he continually assured me, his voice tight with raw restraint. "You only have to say the word."

I looked down at my hands, my heart hammering violently against my ribs, and then back up at him. I stood up and reached around to the back of my dress. My nervous fingers fumbled uselessly with the small metal zipper. Seeing my struggle, he stepped in. He reached behind me, gently and agonizingly slowly easing down the tight zipper without directly brushing my bare skin.

As the fabric pooled at my feet and completely fell away, leaving me standing in only my delicate lingerie, his breath audibly hitched in his throat. His dark eyes devoured me. "You are utterly divine," he breathed out, his voice thick with raw awe. "You don't need to prove your worth to anyone."

His words settled deep into my soul, giving me a sudden surge of unprecedented confidence. I let out a breath I hadn't even known I was holding. Soon, we were both completely stripped of our clothes. He quickly tossed his garments to the floor, standing before me completely naked. I tentatively reached out, my small fingers tracing the magnificent, intricate tattoos of a sprawling wolf and thick vines covering his massive, muscular chest. His skin was burning hot to the touch, the hard muscles flexing slightly under my soft fingertips.

Breathing heavily, his broad chest rising and falling at a rapid, erratic pace, he paused his movements. He looked down at me, his eyes blazing with an unyielding fire, and asked me one last time if I was entirely sure.

"Yes," I answered firmly, my voice leaving absolutely no room for doubt.

He tightly cupped my face with both his large hands, tilting my head up, and our lips fiercely met in a consuming, desperate kiss that instantly made the entire world vanish. It was a sweet, deeply intoxicating hunger that pulled me entirely into his massive frame. My fingers clutched tightly at his wide shoulders. His mouth moved against mine with a ravenous intensity, his tongue sweeping inside to deeply claim every inch. The sheer passion of it made my knees weak, and I melted against his completely naked body.

Breaking the kiss with a ragged gasp, he began trailing fiery, wet kisses downward. His rough lips burned a hot path down my neck, across my collarbone, until his mouth eagerly latched onto my bare breasts. He sucked them with a ravenous hunger, his tongue lashing over my hard nipples. My entire body hummed with an intense, undeniable need. A soft, breathless whimper escaped my throat as my fingers tangled deeply into his thick dark hair.

"So beautiful," he murmured reverently against my damp skin.

He trailed his hot, wet kisses all the way down my stomach, swirling his tongue around my belly button. I moaned loudly, my head throwing back against the plush mattress as he purposefully descended to my sex.

He stopped there. For a long, heavy moment, he just stared at my dripping wetness, his dark eyes taking in exactly how absolutely ready and desperate I was for him. Then, with deliberate, agonizing slowness, he blew hot, teasing air directly over my sex, making my entire body violently shiver, before he reached out and gently parted my delicate lips.