Valerie didn’t hesitate. She reached into the container, picked a mystery box at random, and opened it to reveal an elegant pearl necklace.
Beneath it lay the inevitable paper slip.
Just as she reached for it, Kieran snatched it away and read it aloud. “Take one grape. Without using any outside help, work with the third person to your right to peel it using only your mouths and eat it.”
The room fell into a stunned silence once more, because the third person to Valerie’s right was
Lucius.
She had a feeling this absurd rule had been Kieran’s doing while she wasn’t looking. As fellow mystic masters, such tricks were child’s play to them.
Noah burst out laughing. “These games just keep getting better.”
Naomi bet Valerie wouldn’t dare offend Lucius and taunted, “What’s wrong, Ms. Collins?
Scared?”
Lucius‘ intense gaze met Valerie’s as he said, “I’m up for it if you are.”
“Then, let’s begin.” Kieran plucked a grape and handed it to Valerie.
She walked up to Lucius and, under everyone’s astonished stares, placed the grape between their lips. From where the others sat, it looked exactly like a kiss.
Sonia’s eyes burned with rage as she watched, wishing she could tear Valerie apart.
Why? Why couldn’t she have picked that mystery box?
To keep the grape from falling, the two had to keep their pressed together in a deeply intimate
pose.
Lucius hadn’t expected Valerie to be so bold. The grape was soft, but her lips were softer and cooler to the touch, with a trace of tempting sweetness.
Suddenly, the lights in the room went out and plunged the spacious private room into
darkness.
“What’s going on? Was there a power cut?” someone shouted.
With the unexpected interruption, Valerie lost interest in playing the game. But as she tried to
pull away, a pair of strong arms wrapped around her and pulled her in tightly.
Her lips met Lucius‘ as the grape fell. She tried to struggle, but instead of letting go, his
Chapter 47
tongue pried her lips open.
2/2
Lucius had been holding in his frustration all night and needed to let it out. His rage boiled at the thought that Valerie was his wife in name, yet was linking arms and acting too intimately with another man.
Even if their marriage was just a facade, he wouldn’t tolerate his authority as a husband to be claimed by anyone else.
The kiss was aggressive and punishing -a release of pent–up frustration that felt strangely satisfying in the pitch–black room.
Valerie would never let anyone take control so easily. So, they battled silently in the darkness for dominance and were locked in a fierce grapple, lips bruising from the passion.
No one could see in the dark, so none of the others knew what was happening.
When the kiss grew rougher, Valerie bit down hard on his lower lip in revenge. He flinched in pain and instinctively pulled back.
Then, in a flash, the lights returned. Everyone saw them locked together, their arms around each other in mid–kiss.
Noah was the first to recover from the shock. “Luc, have you two been holding that pose this whole time?”
Chapter 48
Chapter 48
