30 Days of Passion and Revenge-Chapter 96: Desire and Denial

"Not important to you?" Ethan asked, gripping her chin. His eyes burned with intense desire as his breath swept across her well-defined face. "I distinctly remember... the one moaning so sweetly was you."

"That was just a physical reaction."

He was a master in the art of seduction; even a single kiss from him could make her go weak. How could she be a match for him?

It wasn’t surprising that her body reacted naturally to him.

Deep down, she wished her body wouldn’t respond to him.

How can you be sure your subconscious isn’t controlling your body’s response?

Ethan smirked, pressing her shoulders and pulling her against his chest. As they faced each other, his hot breath washed over her, his voice hoarse. His words were blunt and provocative; his hand moved to the spot where her heart was pounding. "Maybe deep down, you desire this."

Just as she stubbornly denied it with her words, perhaps in her heart, she had already fallen for him.

That had to be the case.

"I don’t desire this." Lily firmly stated, trying once again to sit up.

She would never desire him—never.

"But I do."

Ethan’s voice was husky, full of lust, as he grabbed her slender hand and pressed it against his chest.

His strong heartbeat thudded beneath her palm, fast and intense—she could feel it.

The sensation left Lily momentarily stunned, frozen with no response.

Suddenly, Ethan guided her hand lower toward his firm abdomen. Realizing what he intended, Lily pulled her hand back in shock, her face going pale. "Ethan, stop messing around."

It was as if she had touched something burning hot, recoiling instantly...

Was he trying to...

This man was capable of anything.

Ethan’s face darkened. "You think I’m messing around?!"

What kind of tone was that?

Did she think he was a child?

"Do you want something to eat? I’ll make it. How about sweet and sour fish? I’m pretty good at that." Lily, flustered, tried to change the subject and escape. But before she could move, Ethan tightened his grip on her hand.

"Lily, I want to eat you."

Ethan stared at her face, speaking each word slowly, his tone dripping with innuendo. He kissed her hand, his posture arrogant and filled with desire. "Lily, the fact that I desire you is proof of your charm. You should be happy."

Happy?

Why on earth would she be happy about his lust? She wasn’t some fool.

"Ethan, you need to stop. Let’s wait until you’re fully recovered, okay?"

Reasoning, avoidance, or anger—none of these worked on Ethan. Lily softened her approach, speaking in a gentle, coaxing tone.

"We agreed before, after your five-day period." Ethan trailed off as if recalling something, his eyes lighting up with interest as he smirked. "You promised to wear a uniform for me after your period."

He hadn’t forgotten about that?!

And it wasn’t even a promise... She had just said it to stall him back then...

Wait, uniforms—this could be her way out.

"Alright." Lily agreed quickly, yanking her hand free and hopping out of bed. "But the uniforms you bought are all back home. I’ll ask the nurse for one of theirs."

The nurse uniforms in this hospital were all very proper, unlike the scandalous, skimpy ones he had bought. Those uniforms were indecent just at a glance.

With that excuse, Lily rushed toward the door. Her foot had fully healed, so she ran swiftly.

Ethan watched her slender figure dash away, a smirk on his lips.

She thought she could get away with wearing a standard nurse uniform. Not a chance.

Just as Lily reached the door, Ethan’s calm voice said, "No need to trouble yourself. Who said those uniforms were still back home? I brought them with me. Nanny should have already put them in the guest room closet."

Lily froze at the doorway.

Ethan chuckled softly.

This girl... She was so much fun to tease.

Did she really think he’d let her wear a proper uniform?

Her face turned ashen as she slowly turned back, still holding onto a sliver of hope. "By ’guest room,’ do you mean the one at the castle?"

"Heh." Ethan laughed again, cutting off her wishful thinking with a single sentence. "Of course not. When Nanny went to pack things at the castle a couple of days ago, she brought everything over."

After saying this, Ethan pointed toward the guest room.

You’ve got to be kidding me... Why would he bring those seductive uniforms from home, from the castle to the hospital?

Did he have too much free time?

And Nanny—why on earth would she pack those clothes too?

Thinking quickly, Lily decided not to acknowledge it and clumsily tried to change the subject. "I can make a fruit salad—do you want one?"

"Lily, the only thing I want to eat right now is you. If you don’t want to be ’eaten, wear the uniform and come out." Ethan showed no sign of letting her off the hook.

Every time this woman tried to avoid a situation, she’d bring up food.

But right now, he was only interested in her.

"I’m not doing it." Lily decided to be stubborn.

No way was she going to wear one of those tacky uniforms.

"Lily, if you don’t, I’ll dress you myself," Ethan said, lifting the blanket with one hand while pressing his other hand to his chest, preparing to get out of bed.

"Hey, you..." Lily stared at him, dumbfounded, as he strode toward her. "You’re still injured."

She had never seen someone with three broken ribs move around so freely...

"I can still dress you, even with an injury."

Ethan grabbed her collar with one hand and started pulling her toward the guest room. Lily struggled free and quickly relented. "Fine, fine, I’ll change myself."

If he dressed her, there was no way he’d be able to control himself.

He was a man who only followed his animal instincts.

"Why couldn’t you be this obedient from the start?" Ethan grumbled with a cold snort, still holding her hand as they walked toward the guest room. "But since I’m already out of bed, I might as well help you change."

What a sacrifice... Lily thought bitterly.

She quickly freed her hand, dashed into the guest room, and slammed the door shut, locking it behind her.

Ethan gave her a domineering command, "You’ve got three minutes," after giving her a low chuckle from outside.

Could she just hide in here forever? she wondered.

Frustrated, Lily raked her fingers through her hair. She had hoped Ethan’s injuries would make him more restrained, but instead, he was more insistent than ever.

Now, he wanted her to seduce him in a uniform.

Opening the wardrobe, Lily found several boxes containing the uniforms. She tossed them all onto the bed, not wanting to touch them.

"Your three minutes are up, Lily. I’m closing the door if you don’t come out now!" Ethan’s threatening voice came from the other side of the door.

"Got it!" Lily snapped back, clearly annoyed.

This man was capable of anything. If she kept stalling, he really would kick the door down—no doubt about it.

Quickly opening a few of the boxes, Lily pulled out some uniforms. Her heart sank as she glanced at them—she felt like crying.

Did these uniforms really need to be so skimpy?

Each top barely reached her chest, only covering her breasts, and none of them extended down to her waist. They were all ridiculously provocative.

How could she ever have the courage to wear something like this in front of Ethan?

Ignoring the handcuffs, whip, and other accessories with the uniforms, Lily held each piece up to herself, eventually settling on a policewoman uniform that seemed a little less revealing.

The guest room was warm, with the air conditioning turned up high...

Lily put on the police uniform and checked herself in the mirror. The uniform was a deep blue—not as sheer as the white nurse outfits.

But it was still too short. It barely covered her chest and didn’t even reach her waist...

The mini skirt was equally skimpy, barely covering her hips, exposing her pale, slender legs.

Looking at herself in the mirror, Lily realized how dangerous this outfit was. There was no way Ethan would leave her alone in this.

She threw on a long coat that reached her knees and buttoned it all the way up, making herself look a bit more presentable.

Picking up the toy handcuffs, she fidgeted with them. They looked genuine, and if Ethan tried anything, she could handcuff him.

Feeling a little more confident, Lily walked toward the door. She heard Ethan’s cold voice from outside as she reached for the handle. "What’s going on?"

Lily cracked the door open slightly and peeked out.

Ethan was sitting on the sofa with a cold expression, one hand pressed to his chest, his brow furrowed. His phone was on speaker, and a man’s anxious voice echoed through the room. "Mr. Blackwood, something big has happened. Since the market opened two days ago, Carter Group’s stock has steadily risen. We haven’t been able to suppress it and won’t buy shares from the smaller shareholders. It seems like they’ve regained confidence internally."

Carter Group?

Lily’s heart skipped a beat.

It sounded like Carter Group was doing better, making it harder for Blackwood Enterprise to attack them. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

A flash of cold cruelty crossed Ethan’s handsome face, and his voice was filled with anger. "Useless fools. If you can’t stop it, get out of Blackwood Enterprise!"

The man on the phone grew even more panicked, his voice trembling. "Mr. Blackwood, there’s more. Carter Group has publicly declared its intention to acquire the Lake East property for development. We spent 80 million in secret to buy that land, but when it went up for auction yesterday, no one from Carter Group showed up."

Ethan had planned for the Carter Group to buy the land from him so he could manipulate the situation.

From there, he could find many ways to bring Carter Group down.

But now that they had yet to participate in the auction it meant... he had spent 80 million on a piece of land that wasn’t even being developed.

Ethan’s expression darkened, and he gritted his teeth and growled, "What are you trying to say?"

The man on the other end had already made himself clear...

Carter Group had seemingly backed out of the deal at the last minute, which meant something had likely gone wrong.

Lily stood listening quietly, her heart pounding as she nervously clutched her coat.

"Mr. Blackwood, while we can’t be certain just from Carter Group skipping the auction, I suspect our plans... may have been leaked."

As soon as the words left the man’s mouth, Ethan, furious, swept the ashtray off the table, sending it crashing.

"Bang—"

The ashtray hit the floor with a sharp, clear sound.

"You’re all a bunch of useless idiots!" Ethan shouted, his brow furrowing in pain as he pressed his hand to his chest.

This man—so fond of throwing tantrums—would need a lot more painkillers at this rate.

"Mr. Blackwood, please don’t get angry." The man on the phone sounded increasingly anxious. "The plan was kept strictly confidential from the start. Only the twenty people on our team knew about it."

"And?"

"Please, Mr. Blackwood, give me another chance. If it turns out the plan was leaked, I’ll find the mole within the team and deal with them!"

"Wait for proof? When you figure it out, Carter Group will never go under!"

Ethan’s voice was cold, and with that, he threw his phone across the room, clearly enraged.

The plan had been leaked.

The problem wasn’t with Ethan’s team—it was with her...

Lily stood frozen behind the door, her hands trembling in fear as she watched Ethan’s furious expression.