Master’s Smile - Chapter 11: The Tea Party, Part I

[Mature Content:]Alaric was too close to Nicolette.Her mouth was just inches away from his.He could smell the lavender on her skin, the heat radiating from within her.But he held back, refusing to be carried away by her charm…“Mr. Allens…” she purred, and he looked down at her.Her eyes widened with desire, and he knew, in that moment, that if he wanted to kiss her, she would let him.The last thing he wanted was commitment. He knew that Nicolette didn’t want that either.But why was she this tempting?So willing?It was that willingness that confused him.She blinked, then swallowed as she pulled the jacket off her shoulders. His eyes lingered on her exposed neck.God.He just wanted to bury his mouth in that hollow spot.“Here,” Nicolette said calmly, extending the jacket to him.He took the jacket, his hand brushing hers just a second. She flinched, her face turning pink as she clutched the towel against her chest.His stomach flipped at the sight.If only that towel would give way to…Before he could stop himself, Alaric pressed his arousal against her stomach, pushing her against the wall, cornering her.She gasped at the sudden movement and for a moment, he lost his mind.“Cole…” he breathed, crushing himself against her.Her eyes gleamed with desire and a vulnerability that rocked him to his core.He would be foolish not to give in to this feeling.But he would also be a fool if he did.She had chosen to marry him.Not her boyfriend.And definitely not Lucian Crawford.Yet, he couldn't help it.She was only his for a year.But still…***************When her business and the gallery she inherited from her mother burn to the ground, Nicolette Voss is determined to rebuild—and get revenge on her father.She turned to her father’s rival, Alaric Allens, for an alliance.Alaric is willing to help, but on one condition—she must be his wife for a year.They called him Ruthless Alaric after an infamous incident 6 years ago. Alaric is back in town, and so are the crumbs of his past. But he is determined to change everything with a wife.He has his hidden agenda.She needs her revenge.But will this marriage between storm and steel survive the heat? And what will they do when deep secrets threatens to destroy them both?

Yuan was born with an incurable illness that left him blind at a young age and crippled a few years later, rendering everything below his head useless. Deemed hopeless and irredeemable, his parents quickly gave up on him, and the world ignored him.

The top student from the Agricultural University, Qiao Mu, was digging in the experimental field when her hoe struck through to the godforsaken Tupo Village.No money, no rice, no tall, rich, and handsome guy, the aunts and the older female cousins pecked at her every day, making her meals less than satisfying with constant bread rolls, leaving her so hungry she felt faint.Luckily, the Heavens took pity and rewarded her with a tall and handsome man, who was enthusiastic and bold. His debut move was to climb straight into bed, sparking rampant gossip in the village: that Qiao girl, the third daughter, is nothing but trouble at such a young age, shamelessly bringing some wild man into her boudoir to fool around – absolutely shameless!Muniang looked to the sky and bellowed, “Alpacas! You think I'm Hello Kitty when I don't show my claws?”Make a fortune, become rich, fight off the scum, raise a husband – life became increasingly lush.

I possessed a character with an intelligence of 100 in a classic medieval fantasy land-grabbing game. An intelligence score of 100. That meant my predictions were always accurate. However, since I was physically weak and didn’t quite understand why that was the case, I thought it best to just live quietly. But then… leaders who began to recognize my ability started to become obsessed with me.