Julian Ford was almost amused to anger. Clenching his jaw, he asked through gritted teeth, "Elena Bennett, you came to a bar to hire a male companion and expect me to pay his tip?"
"Hmm..." Elena Bennett seemed startled by his fury, shrinking her neck and murmuring softly, "I guess that is a bit much... Then... then give me my purse, and I'll pay it myself..."
As she spoke, she began to wriggle restlessly, making to get up and look for her clutch.
A vein throbbed on Julian Ford's forehead. He shot her a sharp glare, then finally barked an order to the bodyguard trailing close behind, "Settle it."
With that, he didn't linger a moment longer. Sweeping her up in his arms, he strode out of the noisy doors of Twilight, leaving the young man with the sinister gaze, who had been staring daggers at their retreating backs, far behind.
His driver, having long since received word, had the car parked steadily at the entrance.
Julian Ford wrenched open the car door, roughly sliding Elena Bennett into the back seat before bending to sit in beside her. "To the Cloud Top Villa," he said to the driver in a cold tone.
The car door slammed shut, cutting off the clamor of the outside world.
At first, Elena Bennett fidgeted uneasily in the seat, then fell quiet.
She leaned against the car window for a moment, her head starting to nod drowsily, as if she could barely keep herself upright.
The car took a gentle turn, and her body tilted with it, slumping softly against Julian Ford's chest. Her breathing grew slow and even, as if the alcohol had finally hit her hard and she had drifted off to sleep.
Julian Ford's body tensed instantly.
He could feel the weight of her leaning against him, the warm heat of her body seeping through the thin fabric of his shirt.
A faint whiff of alcohol mixed with a sweet, delicate scent from her body drifted constantly into his nostrils, stirring his mind into a mess.
He wanted to push her away, yet his arm felt as if it were rooted to the spot, refusing to move.
His brows knotted tightly, his gaze complex as it fell on her seemingly defenseless sleeping face.
Elena Bennett sensed that even though his body was rigid, he had no intention of pushing her away.
And on the system panel in her mind, Julian Ford's Affection score had quietly jumped from [-3%] to [3%].
From negative to positive! It was a genuine leap forward!
It seemed that a little appropriate physical contact and reliance really did work.
She thought she could push her luck a little further.
A little while later, as the car glided smoothly along the road, she suddenly stirred in her sleep, murmuring vaguely, "Lollipop... so sweet..."
At the same time, her head nuzzled against his chest, and her soft, moist lips brushed against his chest through the thin shirt, as if by accident. She even mimicked the motion of sucking a lollipop, pressing a light, slow lick and suck against the fabric!
That damp, warm, tickling sensation shot through Julian Ford's body like an electric current!
Julian Ford jolted violently. Instinctively, he shoved the mischievous head on his chest away, so hard that Elena Bennett's skull nearly cracked against the car window.
"Ugh..." Elena Bennett let out a timely whimper of pain, her long eyelashes fluttering as she slowly pried open her misty eyes, as if just roused from sleep.
She stared blankly out the window, then at Julian Ford, whose face was thunderous and breathing a little ragged, her voice hoarse with sleep, "Are we there yet?"
As she spoke, she reached for the car door handle, making to get out.
Julian Ford's heart skipped a beat at her reckless move. He leaned over at once, snatching her hand that was reaching for the handle. "Not yet! Sit still! Go back to sleep!"
Elena Bennett flinched at his shout, mumbled a dejected "Okay," and leaned meekly back against the seat, closing her eyes again.
Julian Ford watched her "drift off" once more, then released her hand, sitting up straight and letting out a heavy breath.
He tugged irritably at his tie, feeling the air in the car grow inexplicably stifling and hot.
Meanwhile, the instigator of it all lay there as if nothing had happened, her breathing slow and even once again.
Julian Ford stared at her for a long moment, then finally looked away in frustration, his gaze fixing on the night scenery blurring past the window, trying to calm the jumble of emotions in his chest.
As Elena Bennett kept up the pretense, perhaps from the aftereffects of the alcohol, or perhaps because the act had drained her, she really did drift off to sleep against the seat.
Before long, the car pulled to a smooth stop at the gates of Cloud Top Villa.
Julian Ford glanced out at the deep night, then at Elena Bennett, who was fast asleep beside him, utterly oblivious to her surroundings, his brows furrowing slightly.
After a moment's hesitation, he said to the driver in a low voice, "Pull into the underground garage."
The driver had driven Julian Ford here before and knew the way well. He did as he was told, steering the car into the underground garage and bringing it to a halt.
Julian Ford tried to rouse her. "We're here."
All he got in reply was the sound of her even breathing.
He called her name a few more times, raising his voice, and even gave her shoulder a gentle nudge, but she only muttered an irritable complaint and turned her head, sound asleep.
Julian Ford looked at her sleeping face and finally let out a resigned sigh.
He lifted her into his arms once more, took the private elevator straight up to the upper floors, and walked directly into the master bedroom, laying her gently down on the large bed.
He stood staring at the woman curled up in a ball on the bed for a moment, then turned and left, calling two maids to attend to her.
Having made the arrangements, Julian Ford felt a wave of weariness wash over him. He trundled off to the guest room next door, freshened up quickly, and climbed into bed to rest.
The next morning, sunlight filtered through the gaps in the curtains and into the room.
Elena Bennett woke up starving. She rubbed her sleepy eyes and sat up, trying to piece together the memories of the night before.
Her last clear thought was in the car—she seemed to have pretended to lick him, then been pushed away, and after that... her memory went blank?
It seemed she had really fallen asleep afterward, and Julian Ford had carried her back.
She had thought he would drop her off and leave right away.
After a quick wash, she grabbed a comfortable house dress from the walk-in closet and pulled it on. With no makeup on her face and her hair a little messy, she stumbled toward the dining room, yawning widely.
She had drunk nothing but alcohol the night before and eaten no dinner, and now her stomach was growling so loud she could feel her ribs pressing against her stomach.
Yet when she wandered dazedly into the living room and her gaze drifted toward the dining room, her steps froze, and she snapped fully awake in an instant!
Julian Ford was still there!
He sat at the head of the dining table, dressed in a crisp shirt and slacks, eating breakfast slowly and elegantly, a cup of steaming coffee by his hand.
Elena Bennett's heart sank. Instinctively, she tried to turn and slip back to her room—she was not mentally prepared to put on an act for this man first thing in the morning!
But the moment her toes shifted direction, Julian Ford's deep voice cut through the air. "Awake? Come and eat breakfast."
Elena Bennett's body stiffened. After a moment's hesitation, she steeled herself and shuffled slowly over.