Chapter 283: Chapter 283: Birthday Cake
Chase Shaw rarely used his pheromones to so bluntly express his state.
The first time was the day he marked Zoe Pierce, and the second time was now.
The ventilation system had long been turned off. With the windows closed, the only thing left running was the bathroom’s exhaust fan.
The pheromones, which had been brewing for at least five minutes, might not have been evenly distributed throughout the room, but at least on the side facing the bathroom, they were more than enough to make Zoe Pierce flush with heat.
She tugged at her clothes and walked over to Chase Shaw in just a few steps.
"Chase Shaw... the pheromones are too strong..." The scent grew even more intense as she got closer to him.
She practically collapsed onto his lap.
Chase Shaw grunted in acknowledgment, taking her legs and parting them so she was straddling him.
Zoe Pierce’s hands gripped him, and her pale calves instantly pressed against his T-shirt as she hooked her legs around his waist.
"You showered," he said, nosing closer to scent her.
She didn’t have much of a scent; her whole body was now covered in his Cedar fragrance.
The suppression patch, a concern for others, meant nothing to him. His palm cupped the back of Zoe Pierce’s neck, and he gently peeled it off.
Zoe Pierce hugged him tighter.
Her soft body was now pressed against the Alpha’s hard physique, the difference almost instantly palpable.
"Zoe." Once the suppression patch was off, Chase Shaw’s fingers brushed against the gland on her nape.
Within the scent of Cedar, the sweet aroma of Freesia suddenly bloomed.
Chase Shaw had been dominant from the very beginning.
He’d masterfully used his pheromones to make Zoe Pierce’s legs go weak, then pulled her against him, leaving no room for refusal.
Now, he was unabashedly sucking on Zoe Pierce’s ear.
The moment his hot lips touched her small earlobe, it began to burn.
Zoe Pierce could feel her mind growing hazy, a sensation stirred up by the rising pheromones.
The soft kisses didn’t stop at her earlobe.
An unknown amount of time passed, and soon she was breathless from his kisses.
Zoe Pierce was now lying on the bed.
She had left a soft light on all evening to open her presents, one that was a bit brighter than the bedside lamp.
So now, as she looked up, Chase Shaw’s shadow loomed even larger.
Broad shoulders, a narrow waist, and bulging muscles.
The Alpha’s hand gripped her jaw, forcing her neck to arch into a graceful curve.
A predatory kiss.
Kisses that scrambled her thoughts and made her breathing erratic.
The most devastating part was that with every kiss, Chase Shaw would let out a murmured whisper.
He was calling her name.
It made her heart tumble and burn.
Stirred, she also called out his name.
And then their names seemed to take on a more intimate power.
Instantly plunging them into a bottomless abyss.
Zoe Pierce didn’t know how things had escalated to the point of crossing the final line.
It was supposed to be just kisses.
The others had even mentioned the gifts, but Chase Shaw couldn’t have cared less.
Instead, his attention was focused entirely on her.
She, too, became mesmerized, sinking into this intimacy and being consumed step by step.
At the very end, as Chase Shaw held her, their bodies sticky with hot sweat, he seemed to whisper "Happy birthday" in her ear.
Zoe Pierce couldn’t remember clearly.
She was exhausted, and after collapsing onto the large bed, she’d drifted into a hazy sleep.
When she woke up the next day, the room was empty.
There wasn’t even a trace of lingering pheromones in the air.
She touched the back of her neck—even her suppression patch had been neatly reapplied.
If she weren’t lying naked under the covers, she might have suspected last night was all a dream.
But one look in the full-length mirror was enough to know something had indeed happened.
There wasn’t a single mark on any easily visible skin.
They were all hidden in secret places.
The tops of her thighs, her lower abdomen.
Just two or three red marks. He’d shown restraint.
She glanced at the time. It was past her usual wake-up time, yet no one had come to get her.
’They all knew what was going to happen last night.’
Zoe Pierce didn’t know what to make of it.
Her body, having tasted the forbidden fruit, couldn’t say that last night was uncomfortable.
Nor could she say it was unhappy.
It was just that a bit of girlish coyness and shyness remained, preventing her from admitting outright that she had enjoyed it immensely.
She got dressed and went to wash up.
She didn’t know what Chase Shaw had done yesterday, but she was perfectly clean today.
She didn’t even need to take a shower.
’Was I dead to the world last night? To sleep so soundly and not know a thing.’
Stepping out of the room, she found that last night’s decorations had a different feel in the daylight.
Only Aaron Xavier was in the living room.
The kitchen, on the other hand, was quite noisy.
"Where is everyone?" Zoe Pierce asked as she came downstairs, her gaze drifting toward the kitchen.
Aaron Xavier first studied Zoe Pierce’s expression. Seeing that she wasn’t going to make a fuss about last night, a small smile spread across his face. "They’re making you a birthday cake. It’s almost done."
Zoe Pierce paused. "Then why are you out here?"
Aaron Xavier shrugged. "Because they said I was getting in the way and holding them back. They only let me whip the cream before kicking me out."
"That’s such a primitive method."
Zoe Pierce had whipped cream back on Earth before. The process of whipping it stiff was no easy feat.
But then she gave Aaron Xavier’s face a strange look, thinking of his spiritual power.
"It’s quite suitable for you," Zoe Pierce said.
Aaron Xavier grinned. That sort of thing was truly fast in his hands, as if he were on fast-forward.
"Right? But they don’t trust me with anything else."
This was a first for him; he was getting all sorts of new experiences.
It was absolutely filled with sincerity.
"But I think they’re being too much of a perfectionist. They’ve already wasted a lot of ingredients." Aaron Xavier himself had already whipped several batches of cream.
Unable to resist after what Aaron Xavier said, Zoe Pierce took the initiative to peek into the kitchen.
The counter was littered with messy cake layers, some frosted with cream, others bare.
Three tall, strapping Alphas were gathered around the counter, discussing something.
Hearing the noise behind them, they turned to look at Zoe Pierce.
And then Zoe Pierce saw three not-so-pleased expressions.
Aaron Xavier walked over and leaned against the kitchen doorway. "It’s good enough. Besides, Zoe knows what our skill level is."
Culinary skill was something that required practice.
Even if the Intelligent Brain explained every step clearly, there were always deviations when putting it into practice.
The Alphas could pilot Mechas as if it were second nature, but they were still novices in the kitchen.
Especially without any intelligent robots to help, it was impossible for them to be naturally gifted enough to succeed on the first try.
Zoe Pierce saw it then—the cake that had soured the moods of three grown men.
It was still round, but the cream frosting was uneven, and the overall design was haphazard and a bit ugly.
Anyway, if a bakery dared to sell a product like this, it would definitely go out of business.
But Zoe Pierce loved it.
Completely ignoring their expressions, she hummed a little tune, stuck the candles right into the cake, and urged them, "Sing ’Happy Birthday’ to me."
This cake definitely wouldn’t last until evening.
If they didn’t eat it soon, it would surely start to look even worse.
