CHAPTER 84: CHAPTER 52 HE DIDN’T HURT HER_2

"Mm, Aunt Clare, I know. I’ll take good care of myself. Yeah, don’t hesitate to spend that money. I’m doing pretty well now, and the company’s treatment of me is getting better and better. Alright, you take care too. When I have a vacation, I’ll come back to T City to see you!"

After ending her conversation with Aunt Clare, Becca took a deep breath. Lying really isn’t my forte, she sighed inwardly.

Becca glanced up at the clock on the wall; the hour hand had already reached ten.

Thinking of the phone call she had made to Howard Geoffrey during the day, she sneered disdainfully.

Humph! I knew he wouldn’t come back, so I called him deliberately... His mouth must be twitching with anger right now, right?

Howard Geoffrey... she thought. Although he was meticulous in his actions, she believed that as long as she tried, even if she couldn’t find evidence of him ordering Jason Wood to persecute her four years ago, she could find something to bring him down. She believed in the triumph of human determination.

Getting up, Becca decided to relax by taking a bath.

After her bath, Becca, without thinking, was about to climb into bed when her body suddenly tensed. Her peripheral vision caught a glimpse of an eerie figure sitting in the dark corner by the floor-to-ceiling window.

"You..."

Seeing Howard Geoffrey, Becca’s face turned pale for a moment, words catching in her throat.

Howard Geoffrey leaned lazily on the sofa, his fingers hooking a suggestive, revealing pink nightgown that lay on it. With a roguish smile, he drawled, "Didn’t you say you’d wear this for me?"

My God, how did he get in? I remember locking the door...

And where did that nightgown in his hand come from? Ugh, no way! Mrs. Geoffrey said she had prepared a gift for me tonight. Could it be this nightgown? Heavens...

Howard Geoffrey gazed at Becca’s slightly stunned figure, the corners of his mouth curling up. "Why the long face now that I’m here?"

Although she desperately wanted to lash out at the man before her, she forced a smile to mask her panic, determined not to lose her composure. "What look? I’m genuinely surprised you came tonight. I waited until ten, thinking your fiancée would stop you. It seems, Mr. Geoffrey, that your usual stern demeanor is just an act. In reality, you’re more in your element with women than you are in the boardroom!"

Becca’s words were artful, demeaning both his character and his abilities in the business world—truly killing two birds with one stone.

Howard Geoffrey snapped, clearly annoyed, "Such a glib tongue!"

Becca boldly walked towards Howard Geoffrey. She provocatively hooked the nightgown from his hand with her little finger and said seductively, "Since you’re here, let’s not waste time. I’ll go change into this. And Mr. Geoffrey, if you can’t wait, you can join me in the bathroom. After all, we’re quite familiar with it, aren’t we?"

Howard Geoffrey still leaned on the sofa, watching Becca with a composed expression, his dark eyes flashing dangerously.

As Becca began to walk away, she counted silently in her head: One, two, three... I don’t believe he’ll just let me go. If he wants to play, I’ll play along. What do I have to lose at this point anyway?

Sure enough, as she took her seventh step, his low, magnetic voice called out, "Wait."

Stopping in her tracks, Becca turned around and feigned astonishment, asking, "Is there a problem?"

A glint of shrewdness flashed in Howard Geoffrey’s eyes as the corners of his mouth lifted. "Why go to all the trouble of the bathroom? Surely you don’t mind doing it right here in front of me?"

She had wanted to see his face stiffen with discomfort. Unexpectedly, she was the one who ended up in a bind.

Becca cursed the teasing man in her heart.

Damn it! Bastard! He must be doing this on purpose...

Rest assured, I won’t give up so easily!

Becca summoned another serene smile. "Alright!"

Howard Geoffrey leaned leisurely against the sofa, his hand resting casually on the genuine leather. His gaze, dark and intense, fixed on every subtle change in Becca’s expression, as if he were admiring a new toy.

Though she knew Howard Geoffrey merely wanted to see her retreat in embarrassment, Becca stubbornly reached for the buttons of her nightgown.

Luckily, the nightgown she wore was a conservative one, and unbuttoning it would take some time. Her mind raced, desperately trying to come up with her next move within seconds.

Suddenly, an idea flashed through her mind...

Her unbuttoning motions paused. She looked at him, her gaze deliberately tinged with a manufactured shyness, and whispered softly, "Why should we go to such trouble..."

Howard Geoffrey’s gaze faltered.

In the next moment, Becca had already settled onto Howard Geoffrey’s lap. She grabbed his fine, striped tie, her breath alluring as she whispered, "Why don’t we get straight to it?"

Howard Geoffrey seemed to warm to the idea, his voice turning low and husky, laced with temptation. "Are you sure?"

Her gaze inadvertently met the dangerous glint of desire in Howard Geoffrey’s eyes, and Becca started. She couldn’t decipher his true intentions; it was as if his eyes were veiled by a thin mist, obscuring everything...

"I..."

Knowing his disdain and disgust for me, I had planned for this. If he came tonight, I’d wait for him to back down at the last moment, to embarrass him. I never thought I’d be the one caught in a bind.

Giving Becca no time to think, Howard Geoffrey expertly flipped her over and, in a flash, had her pinned firmly beneath him.

Completely unprepared for this turn of events, Becca’s mind went blank. Her eyes widened as she stared in panic at the man above her.

He supported himself on his hands on either side of her, his gaze burning intensely as he leisurely watched her face, now deathly pale.

This seemed like the first time in four years that the two had been so close to each other...

Their eyes met. He leaned in very close, their breaths intertwining.

Time seemed to freeze at this moment...

For the first time in four years, she truly looked at him. Setting aside their current relationship and grievances, she still couldn’t deny his handsomeness.

For a fleeting second, images of their past together flashed through her mind. He had held her like this before, but back then, his eyes held only pure, doting affection, not the unfathomable, inscrutable gaze of now...

She felt her breathing grow heavy, especially when his breath brushed the tip of her nose. Her body instinctively tensed, wanting to struggle.