The towering person behind her was warm and exuded a familiar scent.
She tensed up for a moment before taking a step forward, away from the man behind her.
Turning around, her gaze was immediately locked on a pair of dark brown eyes. “I’m sorry, Mr. Tyson. I didn’t know you were there.”
The man was none other than Matthew.
He nodded slightly in response. With his usual expressionless face, he glanced at her before casting his gaze on the crowd nearby. Standing tall in his black suit, he looked mysterious and indifferent as ever.
Currently, he had a glass of champagne clutched in his right hand. Clarissa could not help but admire his long, slender fingers and his neatly trimmed nails.
Noticing her gaze on his fingers, he glanced back at her and cocked a brow. “Ms. Quigley, is there a problem?”
“No. Sorry for staring.” Clarissa lifted the corners of her mouth into a faint smile and looked away.
When she saw Ryler coming toward her, she nodded at Matthew respectfully before taking her leave.
Ryler cast a glance at Matthew, who was standing off to the side, and lowered his head to her ear. “What were you guys talking about?”
Clarissa tilted her head and answered him with a question, “What do you think?”
An affectionate smile appeared on his face as he hugged her around the shoulders and acted suggestively, bringing her away from the crowd. “Someone is going to be jealous.”
She gave him the side-eye and said, “That’s enough. Where’s my colleague? I need to find her before she runs off with that celebrity.”
Just then, she saw Mandy rushing toward her.
“Clarissa, are you okay?” Mandy darted a suspicious glance at Matthew, seemingly worried that he might affect Clarissa’s mood.
Clarissa responded with a reassuring grin. “Don’t fret. Of course I’m okay. By the way, have you taken pictures with your idol?”
“Yes! He’s so handsome.” Mandy squealed in delight.
“Alright then. Let’s go for supper. It’ll be on Mr. Cooper.”
Ryler quirked an eyebrow at her. “Excuse me?”
Clarissa shot him a look, and he immediately threw his hands up in defeat. “Fine. It’s on me, everyone. Let’s go.”
Mandy punched the air in excitement. Oh my gosh! I can’t wait to have supper with Mr. Cooper. This is superb!
A few minutes later, they walked out of the hall, got into their cars, and headed to a small diner at the roadside.
Clarissa stared at the place in surprise. It was rare to see diners opening for business late at night in winter. Usually, only popular eateries would operate in this harsh weather.
As expected, the diner was bustling. If it were not for Ryler’s friendship with the owner of the diner, they would have waited outside for hours.
Surprisingly, they did not attract any attention from the other diners as they got to their table. Perhaps this place was frequented by public figures, so the customers had gotten used to it.
The food and beer they ordered soon arrived, and the four of them, including Ryler’s assistant, ate to their hearts’ content, especially Clarissa, who stuffed herself until she was close to bursting.
Mandy cast a bitter look at her. “Clarissa, aren’t you afraid of getting fat?”
Clarissa paused and looked at her quizzically. “Huh? I normally don’t get fat because I can slim down within a few days after I resume my normal diet.”
Dejected, Mandy put down her cutlery and stared at the meat on her plate wordlessly.
Upon seeing her expression, Ryler’s assistant, Travis, said, “But you’re not fat, Mandy. I seriously don’t get why women always say they’re fat. Why are you all so concerned about your weight? My wife is chubby, but I love her just the way she is. It feels like kneading dough.”
Everyone at the table was rendered speechless.
Mandy’s lips twitched. “Travis, doesn’t your wife get angry with you whenever you say she’s fat?”
“Oh? How do you know that?”
Mandy merely let out a wry laugh.
She continued to eat a few pieces of lean meat, feeling torn inside. Hmm, should I buy a treadmill?
Looking at their interaction, Clarissa doubled up with laughter. “Travis, do you like to pick fights with your wife?”
“Haha. She is just a fragile woman. Even if she punches me, it won’t hurt at all. Besides, I usually seek revenge on her at night.” He wagged his eyebrows suggestively.
Clarissa and Ryler looked at him, speechless.
“Travis, can you not be so explicit?” Color started to creep up Mandy’s face.
He spared her a confused look. “What? How am I explicit?”
Mandy blushed even harder. Was I overthinking?
Clarissa cracked up and proceeded to pat her shoulder in amusement.
With that, Ryler and Travis started to chuckle as well, causing Mandy to lower her head in embarrassment and continue munching on the meat in her mouth.
They eventually left the diner around midnight, and Ryler sent Clarissa back to her hotel.
In the car, he said, “I bought some gifts a few days ago. I didn’t know you were coming. Otherwise, I would have asked you to bring them back instead of asking my assistant to deliver them through a courier.”
“Again?” She made a look of disgust and sighed.
Ryler smiled in response, shrugging nonchalantly. “I can do whatever I want.”
She shook her head. “My new house is going to burst with all the presents you’ve bought. This might develop into a bad habit for him.”
“There’s nothing wrong with that. I believe you can educate him well. Besides, we have enough resources to spoil him forever.”
“Does that mean you’ll continue to send gifts no matter what?”
Ryler laughed. “Exactly. Do I need to buy you presents too?”
Right after he said that, he quickly shook his head and changed his mind. “No. I’m not going to buy anything for you. I need to save money.”
“Bah! Ryler, we’re no longer friends.”
Just then, they reached the hotel’s entrance. She immediately hopped out of the car without looking back, and Ryler started laughing heartily in his car, seemingly in a good mood.
Clarissa opened the door and stormed into her room. After taking a deep breath to calm herself down, she found their conversation humorous, albeit annoying.
Then, she went to take a shower. Half an hour later, she stepped out of the bathroom in a bath towel.
She hummed a merry little tune and took another towel to dry her hair, completely oblivious to the presence of another person in the room.
The next moment, she was suddenly hugged from behind. A man with a pair of muscular arms squeezed the soft mounds on her chest and slid his leg in between her soft thighs with his warm breath fanning on the nape of her neck.
Clarissa froze, utterly terrified. Just as she was about to scream for help, the man cupped her mouth and planted a wet kiss on her delicate neck. “What are you afraid of? Who would be here other than me?”
Tsk, someone is upset.
Clarissa curled her lips in disdain and wriggled herself out of his grip, irritated. “Why didn’t you tell me before you came? Were you trying to scare me to death?”
“Haha. No, I didn’t mean to do that. I just wanted to give you a surprise.”
She chuckled mirthlessly at him.
Sensing that she was irritated, the man turned her around to face him. It was Matthew.
She rolled her eyes, and her face fell. “Mr. Tyson, why are you here late at night? Don’t you have pretty women waiting for you in your room?”
Baffled, he pinched her nose affectionately and asked, “What are you talking about? The only woman I have is you.”
With a snort, she pushed him off and walked away to take her clothes from her suitcase, ignoring him.
On the other hand, Matthew stood behind her as his gaze roamed over her bare back, fair shoulders, and long legs.
The short bath towel could barely cover her buttocks. With every slight movement of hers, Matthew could see the shadow between her legs. Tensing up, he gulped at the sight as his eyes darkened with desire.
Clarissa was totally unfazed by his burning gaze. She was about to change her clothes right away, but she suddenly remembered that he was in the room. Therefore, she changed her mind and carried her nightgown to the bathroom.
However, before she could walk far, Matthew carried her up from the floor, threw her onto the soft bed, and pinned her down. She yelped in surprise and hammered his chest with her fists. “Get lost, Matthew! I want to get changed.”
He held both of her hands and said, “There’s no need for that. You’re going to get naked soon anyway.”
“You b*stard! No, I…”
He immediately cut her off with a kiss.
Gosh, how long have I not seen her? I think we’ve only met each other a handful of times in the past three years, let alone share intimate moments together.
However, he did not want to mull over the question. Currently, all he wanted to do was to take her into his arms and make love to her.
It’s already past midnight now. From now on, I’ll use every second to satisfy my hunger for her until morning comes.
Hours later, the morning sun shone through the curtains, illuminating the hotel room. The couple had just finished yet another steamy session between the sheets.
Clarissa lay groggily on Matthew’s chest.
She was about to fall asleep when his phone rang all of a sudden, sending her into a rage.
Frowning, she pinched his arm forcefully and grumbled under her breath.
However, he could only endure the pain silently since he was the one who made her so exhausted, so he stretched out his arm to get the phone for her.
Looking at the caller ID, he intended to decline the call, but he knew he was in no position to do that. Therefore, he tapped on the screen and put the phone to her ear.
As soon as Clarissa answered the call, she immediately sat bolt upright in bed with her eyes wide open.
At that moment, she cared about nothing else but the caller on the other side of the line as she started to speak in a sweet, gentle voice to pacify him.
“No, I’m not sleeping in, Darling. Haha…”
“I know. I’ll listen to you. Yes, whatever you say. Really? You’re amazing! Come, give me a kiss. Muah! Haha. That’s so clever of you.”
“Okay, I’ll be back this afternoon. You have to wait for me, okay? I miss you too. I love you the most. Muah!”
As she continued speaking over the phone, Matthew had goosebumps hearing her cringe-worthy words.
Nevertheless, he felt a spike of jealousy. I’ve never heard her talk to me in that manner.
However, he did not dare to express his envy because he was aware that she cared more about the caller than him at the moment.
