Chapter 41: Chapter 41 No sign
Besides, that boyfriend of hers was irresponsible. He didn’t believe the man could treat her well or protect her properly.
Stephan waited for a long time, seeing no sign that Alana was waking up. Sleeping like a log.
Was it really that comfortable sleeping on the car?
But then it suddenly occurred to her that Alana had been drinking earlier.
He’d drunk it too, and it was rather strong.
Likely, she was now utterly drunk and fast asleep.
Stephan gave the girl’s cheek a light pat, gently, without any force.
“Can’t very well leave you here, can I?"
The girl’s brow furrowed slightly, but she remained unconscious.
He tapped her again, this time with a little more force.
Still no response.
Stephan chuckled softly, considered for a moment, then decided to drive her away.
Half an hour later, Stephan carried Alana out of the car and straight into his house.
He then laid her upon the bed in his bedroom.
Her body brushed against his grey bed as she rolled over, resting her head on his pillow and clutching his duvet. She drifted back into a drowsy slumber, still unconscious.
Stephan tucked the duvet securely around her, mindful she might kick it off and catch a chill, carefully tucking in the bedding.
Then he stood by the bedside, observing her intently for a while.
Seeing the girl sleeping peacefully, neither kicking off the covers nor stirring,
he felt reassured enough to switch off the light and leave the bedroom.
*********
Alana slept soundly until dawn.
The bright light streaming through the window fell upon her eyelids, slightly dazzling her.
She frowned slightly, unable to resist rolling over, intending to drift back to sleep.
But...
Something felt off...
As she opened her eyes, she found herself in an exquisitely luxurious yet understated bedroom. She was lying on a large grey bed, wrapped in grey bedding, her head resting upon a grey pillow.
An entire bedroom brimming with masculine characteristics.
Moreover, she had been in this bedroom before.
She had lain upon this bed before.
She even recalled with crystal-clear clarity how she had been fiercely possessed and claimed by a man within these very walls.
Alana shot upright from the bed.
She was desperately trying to piece together what had happened last night.
How on earth had she ended up at his house with him, and how had she ended up in his bed, sleeping through the entire night in a haze?
Alas, it seemed her memory had gone blank shortly after getting into his car.
Ah, yes. She recalled feeling as though she’d passed out.
She’d had a bit to drink, her mind foggy.
Then, after that dangerous incident, her body relaxed and she simply drifted off.
And then?
Had he simply abducted her and taken her home?
That bastard!
He looked so proper and respectable, yet how could he commit such a rogueish act as abducting a girl back to his place?
Alana couldn’t help but check her clothes.
She was still wearing yesterday’s outfit, and nothing felt amiss.
It seemed... she hadn’t been taken advantage of.
But she’d been asleep, she wouldn’t have known if she had been taken advantage of. Moreover, she was lying in a man’s bed, and it carried his distinctive masculine scent.
Biting her lip, Alana pulled back the covers and prepared to get out of bed.
Just then, a sound came from the doorway.
Startled, she burrowed back under the covers.
The door creaked open, and a tall, straight figure stepped inside.
He wore a grey shirt and black trousers.
The high-quality fabric, impeccably tailored, accentuated his slender frame with an air of cool elegance and refined sophistication.
The top two buttons of his shirt were undone, revealing his cold, white collarbone and hinting at the contours of his chest muscles.
This added an intangible allure to his cool, mature demeanour.
Alana saw the man enter and burrow deeper into her bedding.
Her clear, luminous eyes fixed on him with wary suspicion.
As though he were some terrifyingly dangerous individual.
Stephan paused in his steps, noticing the alarm in the girl’s eyes. He gave a faint snort.
“Awake?”
Alana gritted her teeth and continued to glare at him. "You...how could you bring me to your house? What about your promise to take me home?"
“I did."
“But you were snoring like a pig. No matter how much I tried, I couldn’t wake you, so I brought you back to my place."
Hearing herself described as sleeping like a log, Alana flushed crimson. "I... I don’t believe it..."
He clearly hadn’t tried properly to wake her.
“If you don’t believe me, fine."
He didn’t expected her to believe him anyway.
Alana couldn’t help but retort, "Stephan, you scoundrel!"
Stephan chuckled. "How am I a scoundrel?"
Alana flushed crimson, murmuring her complaint, "You... you took advantage of me while I was asleep, kidnapping me back to your place, and...”
Stephan laughed again, more exasperated than amused.
“I kindly brought you home and let you sleep in my bed. Not only do you not thank me, but you turn on me and call me a scoundrel?"
Alana’s face flushed crimson. "But... but you shouldn’t have brought me back to your place in the first place..."
Stephan retorted, "And leave you stranded on the road in the dead of night?"
Alana choked on her words, her face flushing crimson. She wanted to protest, but found herself unable to.
Stephan shot her a glance. "I’d just rescued you from a pack of thugs. If I’d dumped you on the road, wouldn’t other thugs have targeted you?"
Alana bit her lip, her voice faltering. "You... you could take me back to my place..."
Stephan’s tone was cool. "Right. Take you back to your place."
“In the dead of night, a man carrying a woman back to your place. If someone from your neighbourhood catches sight of you on the way, rumours will start flying tomorrow about you being loose, bringing a man home in the middle of the night."
He made such a convincing argument that she couldn’t refute it.
Yet upon closer reflection, something felt distinctly off about it.
Before she could dwell on it further, the man fixed her with a piercing gaze.
“I’ve been running myself ragged all night for you. Not only did I gain nothing from it, but now I’m being accused and called a scoundrel. I’ve never met anyone so ungrateful."
“I suppose it was my own fault for meddling where I wasn’t wanted. Good deeds go unrewarded, it seems."
His tone was so righteous it made Alana feel guilty.
She felt she’d judged him unfairly.
Her face flushed crimson. "I’m... I’m sorry..."
After all that, she was the one apologising to him.
Had she known, she wouldn’t have been so impulsive in confronting him.
Stephan’s thin lips curved in an almost imperceptible smile.
He strode directly towards the figure on the bed, leaning in close to her amidst her stunned and flustered gaze.
“You’ve wronged me, and you think a simple ’sorry’ will suffice?"
The man’s sudden proximity brought a dangerous aura that made Alana’s breath catch. She instinctively took a step back.
But he noticed her movement, his large hand clasping her slender waist. With a slight tug, he drew her tightly into his embrace.
Her delicate frame pressed against his.
A faint, sweet fragrance of a young woman wafted towards him.
It made the man’s throat tighten, his mind filled with distracting thoughts. "Ah, you... let go of me..."
Alana couldn’t help but push her hands against his chest.
A pair of bright, bewildered eyes stared at him, clear and luminous as a fawn’s, innocent and soft, pitifully helpless.
It begged to be teased mercilessly.
Stephan instantly recalled that night, when she lay on this very bed, yielding to his unrestrained demands. Those same beautiful eyes had glistened with such moisture then.
Her voice soft and tremulous, she’d whimpered and begged him for more and at the same time, begged to take break.
Stephan’s body stirred with desire, his gaze upon the girl in his arms growing increasingly bold and provocative.
“I won’t. You’ve wronged me unjustly, so you’d better make it up to me properly."
Her tone carried an air of entitlement that only deepened Alana’s inner turmoil, making her yearn to flee.
Yet his arms clamped tightly around her waist, leaving her nowhere to hide, nowhere to run.
His body was hard and scorching.
Her body pressed against his, tightly, inseparable.
Her heart raced with growing panic and dread.
Alana’s lips trembled slightly. "Ste...Stephan...although... although you did save me, and I am grateful, but... but that is all."
“If you demand anything improper of me, I absolutely refuse!"
Stephan observed the girl’s stubborn, defiant expression and couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow.
He hadn’t expected her to be so principled.
“What do you mean by unreasonable demands?"
Her eyes shimmered, clear as crystal.
Her soft voice carried a hint of reproach.
“Demanding I kiss you is going too far!"
Stephan stared into her beautiful eyes and chuckled softly.
She knew his sordid little thoughts inside out.
But what he desired went far beyond a mere kiss.
“Rest assured, I never demanded you kiss me."
At least not yet.
Changing the subject abruptly,
His eyes gleamed as he added, "Though if you wish to, I wouldn’t mind."
Alana couldn’t help but blush, biting her lip as she replied, "I don’t want to."
It was all because of last night, he’d startled her.
He’d made her fear he’d use this to demand something excessive from her.
Stephan, seeing her cheeks flush a delicate, alluring crimson, couldn’t resist reaching out to pinch them.
The sensation was soft and tender.
He managed to suppress the physical desire he felt for her.
He said, "Join me for breakfast."
Alana stared at him wide-eyed.
As if to say, was it really just as simple as accompanying him for breakfast?
Surely he wouldn’t poison her breakfast? Drug her? Make her submit to him in bed?!
Stephan saw right through her little thoughts and, amused, gave her a playful pinch on her delicate waist.
“What are you thinking? It’s just food. No poison. Nothing at all! I couldn’t bear to see you die."
The words ’couldn’t bear to see you die’ caught Alana off guard, making her cheeks flush slightly.
Stephan simply swept Alana off the bed into his arms.
Her pale toes accidentally brushed against the icy floor, causing her to involuntarily curl up.
He seemed to notice, glancing down.
The girl’s feet, as white and smooth as jade, came into view.
Each toe was plump and rounded, the nails still a delicate pink.
The sight stirred an inexplicable flicker of restlessness within him.
The man’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he feigned nonchalance, then slipped off his own black slipper.
Then he placed her foot into it.
“Wear mine first."
Alana’s tiny foot pressed against the man’s black slipper.
They barely filled a third of his slipper.
Stephan stared in mild astonishment. Were all girls’ feet this small?
Alana hadn’t expected the man’s feet to be so enormous either.
His shoes were alarmingly large, she couldn’t possibly wear them.
“Your shoes are far too big for me to wear."
“Where are my shoes?"
“Lost them."
“You..."
Stephan chuckled softly, kicking the white canvas trainers he’d shoved under the bed last night back towards her.
“Your shoes are here."
Realising she’d been toyed with again, she couldn’t help but glare at him.
Stephan raised an eyebrow, she was quite adorable.
The man’s bathroom contained spare disposable toiletries. After a quick wash, Alana agreed to join him downstairs for breakfast.
The breakfast he’d just bought was laid out on the table.
There was chicken and mushroom congee, along with several steamed buns and dumplings.
The breakfast steamed hotly, clearly purchased only moments before.
Each portion was already divided.
Alana sat down and began eating her portion quietly, without uttering a word.
Truth be told, she didn’t know what to say to him.
The relationship between them was too awkward.
She had always wanted to distance herself, to cut all ties.
Yet somehow...
Each encounter left her feeling slightly vexed, confused and shaken up.
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