His gaze drifted from her pale grey eyes to her moist rosy lips, lingering for a moment longer before returning to meet her gaze again.

She swallowed hard. Heat rose to her cheeks without her permission, but she did not look away. Did he really have to use that irresistibly seductive tone right now? Cixi cursed him internally.

"That is precisely what the contract states, Cassian." She dared to use his first name while recoiling inside.

"Cassian?" His one dark brow lifted. "We have moved to first names already?"

"The sooner we become familiar," she replied evenly, though something inside her screamed to stop pushing him and run before it was too late, "the easier this arrangement will be for the year."

Who was she trying to fool? She was doing this entirely for herself, just to grow comfortable with him.

He leaned back, studying her fully now, his gaze languidly roaming over every curve of her body, making it obvious what he was doing. She shifted slightly, feeling exposed. And that devil took pleasure in the reaction he stirred inside her. A tingling heat rose in her stomach, betraying her rational mind. She cursed him even more.

How was she going to survive him? And the thought unsettled her!

She cursed the reaper who had put her in this position. She had to make Cassian Crown — the mafia billionaire — fall for her.

She was not his type.

How was this going to work?

He switched his bed partners weekly, never seeing the same woman twice.

And here she was demanding a one-year contract, not one month, not six months, but a whole twelve months, making this man fall in love with her... a man who had never fallen for anyone.

"You have already wasted my time, little lamb." His lips curved slightly. "Now, which part of your body would you like to say goodbye to?"

She froze for a moment, but quickly forced herself back together. So this was what others had suffered at his hands. Now she was experiencing it herself.

"How about I show you just how good a kisser I can be?" she challenged him instead, refusing to give up. The words escaped before she could think them through. She had simply thrown out the first thing that came into her head.

She had picked up a few tips from adult videos the night before meeting Cassian, making sure she knew what she was getting herself into. She hoped it might come in handy.

"Feeling a bit needy today, huh?" He seemed entertained by her desperation and even more by her nerve — coming to him with a contract and then daring to offer proof of her skill. "I was under the impression you wished to keep your distance from me once I lost my memory of you."

He flung her own words back at her with obvious delight.

Cixi wanted to groan in irritation, but held herself back.

When he had that 0.01 per cent thought she might be his fiancee, he couldn’t shut his mouth from talking about sex, pleasure, bed and all the indecent things he wanted to do. Now that he knew it had been a lie, he had grown even more elusive.

In the devil’s eyes, she could now be counted among the women who chased after him, desperate for a single glance.

At least, that was the humiliating conclusion she reached.

"After you dropped me off at my apartment like a gentleman, and—"

Cassian chuckled, cutting her off.

"Gentleman?" His smile deepened with wicked amusement. "Oh no, little lamb. I only wanted to know which floor you lived on so that I could have my men keep an eye on you."

He was not making this easier for her, which, of course, she had already realised.

She pressed her lips together before continuing. "Nevertheless... you took lives for me." The last three words fell almost in a whisper. She looked away for a second, then forced herself to meet his gaze again. "I thought about you all night and all day, and I realised..." She fought the urge to choke on her own pride. "I realised I had already developed feelings for you!"

"Your feelings take rather peculiar form, considering you arrived with a contract." Cassian’s finger began tapping lightly against the armrest as he observed her with dangerous patience. "Tell me, what inspired the chaste Cixi to propose a kissing contract for a year instead of asking for a relationship, if you have already fallen in love with me?"

Cixi gulped. She had prepared herself for this question long before she wrote the contract. "I did not want you to limit yourself for me," she answered carefully. "I know you change women every week. I wanted to show you how much I love you by letting you remain free in your choices. A kiss is the only thing I asked for."

"While I pleasure other women?" Cassian stressed the words with intentional cruelty.

Cixi lowered her gaze to her feet and nodded. "Will you sign it now?" she asked quietly. "Surely the devil cannot be so miserly that he refuses me one simple wish."

Cassian said nothing, only watching her in response.

Watched how rigid her body had become. Watched the tension in her shoulders. Watched the way she tried to keep herself composed while nerves threatened to swallow her whole.

Then he stretched one hand towards her.

Cixi, who had been staring downward, lifted her gaze to his hand and then to his face, confusion flickering across her expression.

"Show me," he said. "Show me how good a kisser you can be, and then I’ll decide."

Cixi swallowed once more, her heartbeat racing faster than before. At this point, she feared she might suffer a heart attack before she accomplished anything. Yet she had not come this far to leave empty-handed.

She had to secure his kiss only for herself.

Slowly, she lifted her hesitant hand and placed it in his.

Cassian’s fingers closed around hers with infuriating softness and gave a slight tug with a silent command for her to stand and come closer to him.

Cixi obeyed. She rose from the sofa, keeping her eyes on him, and took two small steps until she stood directly before him, holding each other’s gaze.