Chapter 27
Crossing the line Aren’s entire focus was on me, his eyes sending pleasant chills down my spine. His
onyx irises were piercing right through me with unbearable strength. His body, wrapped in a dark-grey
suit and white shirt, created a view more dangerous than ever. Our closeness and his scent forced my
heart into a wild race. Since my instinctive reaction was meant to create space between our bodies, the
palms of my hands unknowingly froze against his firm chest.
“If you touch mine, then can I touch yours?” he smirked. “No!” I eximed, taking my naughty hands off
of him. His arms were still around me, keeping me on hisp and tightening the grip around me. “Just
kiss me and I will let you go,” he teased..
I smirked and leaned over his cheek, but he noticed it and turned his head before my lips touched him.
“I want a kiss that has actual worth,” he said daringly.
I couldn’t say that cing a deeply passionate kiss on those plush lips of his would have been a
sacrifice. The man whose face was inches away from mine was perfect, and his stare at me raised my
humidity by a thousand percent. The easiest thing I could do was to let go and surrender, just like my
entire body did long ago. Yet, I was scared. There were certain emotional issues that I needed to process
before making a move.
Aren Lan knew how to be charming, but most of the time he was acting like an arrogant prick. He was
also domineering and egoistic, and there was no chance in hell that I would fall in love with someone like
him. So what was there to be afraid of? I wouldn’t go as far as to say that I could have a casual sexual
rtionship with him, but one kiss should have been fine… right?
I exhaled slowly and put my arms gently around his neck. A wave of shivers crossed down my body as
his smirk vanished, giving way to an intense predatory gaze. I swallowed, arousal cutting all of my
restraints. I leaned over him, cing my lips on his. I wanted to give him a quick peck, but the second I
was about to pull my head away, Aren took the lead. His hand swiftly reached the back of my head,
positioning me before I could escape. His other arm pulled me deeper into hisp, pressing me tightly
against his body. A panic within me mixed with excitement. The situation was out of my control, and yet I
had no will within me to push him away. He brushed my lips with his own, caressing them. A soft moan
left my mouth as the tickling wave of pleasure began to consume me. His grip on the back of my head
tightened as he slid his tongue inside and deepened the kiss with greedy strokes. My hands ran through
his thick hair, tangling his strands in my fingers. I gave back his kiss with everything I had, feeling the
bulge in his pants grow harder against the center spot between my thighs. Suddenly, his hand slid down
from the small of my back to my buttocks as he got up from his chais, carrying me along with him. I
gasped and tangled my legs around his waist. A secondter, I was lying on his sofa, and he was leaning
over me with his hands on both sides of my head and his bended knee between my legs. He continued
our kiss while one of his hands roamed down my neck and cleavage, and I didn’t stop him. I yed with
his hair and gently caressed the skin on the back of his neck. The sensation he was giving me was
Crossing the line
intoxicating, but I was far from enough. I wanted more. I wanted all of him.
A soft buzzing sound from the inte pulled me to reality. Aren let out an irritated growl, his hand
reaching out to hit the button. A secondter, Neil’s voice broke through the speaker. “Mr. Lan, your 1:30
appointment is here. Shall I take him to the conference room, or will you meet him in your office?”
“Let him wait,” Aren hissed, turning off the speaker before getting back on the sofa. “Where were we?” he
asked yfully and imed my lips again.
But this time, my bemusement was gone, and I was highly aware of what was happening. I shuddered
under his touch. His knee touching the center between my thighs already made me throb. I was insanely
wet and hungry for him, but I also knew that I was getting closer to the moment of no return…
“Aren…” I muttered as his lips roamed down, leaving sweet traces on my neck. “Please… stop.”
I couldn’t tell how I found the will to say it. I only prayed that he would obey because I was too weak to
repeat it. He lifted his head and looked at me with a faint smile. My heart hammered. I knew that I
wouldn’t push him away if he continued, and I was forced to rely on his strength to stop since I had none.
His eyes stayed locked on me for a while before he got up from the sofa. I instantly started to miss his
warmth. Everything within me screamed. My insides were insanely pulsing, my body craving him. Was I
the only one who felt this way? Wasn’t it hard for him to stop? I felt his heart thundered against my own
before, but now he seemedposed, back in his working mode. As I ineptly sat up on the sofa, I saw
him casually correcting his tie as if nothing had ever happened. My heart squeezed, making me feel
ufortably confused.
I crossed that line with him. From that moment, none of us could say that there was nothing more than a
business rtionship between us, but where would it take us? Would we be friends with benefits?
The problem was, we weren’t even friends. Would we stay as acquaintances, sharing a strong physical
attraction? Yet, Aren wasn’t even a bit flustered, even if he clearly wanted me before. Was he over me
because I stopped it? Or worse… I was the only ‘one who enjoyed it, and a part of him felt relieved that I
told him to stop.
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I pushed up to my heels and nervously cleared my throat. “Y-your lunch has already gotten cold. Reheat
it before eating… I have to go,” I muttered, correcting my dress. He didn’t say a word. He just looked at
me with his eyes betraying no emotions. That hurt me even more. I rushed to the exit, feeling that I might
suffocate if I stayed any longer.
“Cora,” he said softly as I opened the door.
I turned around a bit, just enough to see him standing by his desk. I waited for him to say something
else, but he didn’t. I smiled weakly and exited his office. I strode through the corridor, my eyes getting
heavier and heavier from tears. Idiot. What was I counting on? I was way too fragile and broken to y
his game. As the elevator reached the ground floor, my pain turned to anger. I was pissed at myself. Why
was I constantly giving him everything he wanted from me, expecting to get what I wanted in return? I
should have known that it had never worked that way, especially not with rich, arrogant bastards.
On the bright side, I had the “thank you” part checked, and I had an amazingputer to
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work on. Not to mention that I could easily hack into the Lan Diamond Corporation system if Aren
infuriates me again. Yes… the thought of that improved my mood a lot.
Once I came back to the penthouse, I decided to test my new gift. I promised myself that I wouldmit
myself to work. I was going to work relentlessly on my security software project, fiercely iming that
Aren had no ess to my thoughts…
Certainly, I should have known that this could never work. Aren’s image popped into my head each time I
closed my eyes. My lips were still swollen from our kiss, and my skin was so sensitive that the light air
conditioning was able to bring back my arousal. I hated that Aren could mess me up even when he
wasn’t around!
As midnight came, I feltpletely drained out. I took a shower and went to bed without checking if Aren
came back or not. I didn’t care. I figured that I should avoid him as much as possible until I learned how
to be as indifferent in his presence as he was. I was determined to crash my foolish emotions. I was
going to have a good night’s sleep and wake up the next day as a strong and resilient woman. The
problem was… I couldn’t sleep. I tossed and turned, and each time I closed my eyes I saw Aren leaning
over me, touching me, caressing me, enticing me…
“God!” I let out a frustrated growl, kicking the sheet off of me. I needed to calm down. After a short inward
debate, I decided to go downstairs to the kitchen and satiate my thirst with arge ss of cold water. I
combed my ruffled hair with my fingers and took a few shaky steps toward the door. I was barefoot,
wearing nothing but a white silky knee-long nightgown with thin shoulder straps. I briefly thought of
putting something on top of the nearly see-through fabric, but then decided that meeting Aren at 4 AM
was unlikely. Besides, I was too exhausted and annoyed to care.
Certainly, walking out of my bedroom, my anti-Aren sanctuary, only increased my restlessness. His
mouthwatering scent painfully hit my nostrils as I walked down the stairs. My heart started to pound,
speeding my breath rate along the way. I didn’t know what was happening to me. Was I having some
kind of panic attack? I hurried my steps and entered the kitchen only to see Aren standing by the fridge
and pulling out a bottle of water. He was shirtless with nothing but ck loose pajama pants on. I froze
as he turned around, a wicked smirk forming on his lips. “Can’t sleep?” He stepped over to me, a cold
bottle in his hand. His perfect muscles rippled as he was getting closer. Then he straightened in front of
me, presenting those beautifully carved bulges. I swallowed hard. I instantly became desperate to get
something to drink.
“I wanted to get some water.” I walked past him, trying to keep the shreds of myposure. He nodded
with a weak smile and headed out of the kitchen, only to stop as he stepped into the corridor.
“Today…” he started and quickly paused as if he couldn’t find the right words. “Thank you…” he
muttered.
I nced at him, confused. “What for?” “For giving me all the energy I needed. I ended the crisis
because of you,” he said, grinning
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teasingly I smiled nervously, a soft blush painting my cheeks. He chuckled, observing my reaction. “One
more thing, Cora…” He stepped back into the kitchen and locked his eyes on me, the intensity of his
gaze taking my breath away. “Don’t ever call my name. Not, if you truly want me to stop… The next time
my namees out of your sexy mouth, I won’t stop even if you beg me.” As he left the kitchen, my
mind went nk.