CHAPTER 44: CHAPTER 44: I THOUGHT YOU MEANT YOU WANTED ME TO KISS YOU

As soon as Natalie Vaughn said those words, the room sank into an eerie silence.

Undoubtedly, Zane Thorne hadn’t expected Natalie to say something like that.

He raised his eyes and looked deeply into Natalie’s, trying to discern something. Aside from the familiar curiosity a woman has about a man, there was an additional, barely noticeable shyness.

Zane was taken aback for a moment, then shook his head, thinking he must have been mistaken.

Since knowing Natalie, shyness wasn’t a word suitable to describe her.

She was bold, straightforward, with vivid emotions.

Being stared at by him made Natalie a bit uncomfortable; Zane’s eyes were too aggressive.

"You yelled at me, is it so wrong to ask you to comfort me?"

After saying that, Natalie pursed her lips slightly, her heart in her left chest beating intensely.

She’s not someone unreasonable, nor is she pretentious. Yet in front of Zane, she couldn’t help but test to what extent she could be wanton.

Indeed, she did feel a bit upset earlier about Zane yelling at her. She had never been yelled at like that before.

But on another angle... it was because Zane was worried about her.

Natalie knew her own character, also knew how stubborn she could be, which could be head-splitting. Frankly, it was all because Zane had let her be willful in front of him that she grew increasingly impudent.

"Or could it be you just don’t know how to console someone?"

Natalie shifted her position, crossing her legs on the sofa, playing with her hair.

Zane watched her for a long while, habitually pulling out a cigarette from his pocket, only to find that his clothes were soaked, and the cigarettes were ruined.

Casually tossing the cigarette pack onto the coffee table, Zane raised an eyebrow, with a hint of playfulness, asking.

"Do I look like someone who knows how to console?"

Natalie looked at his buzz-cut hair, eyebrows, and curled her lips.

Indeed, he didn’t seem like someone who would.

Especially with that unruly look, he was more like someone who needed comforting.

Natalie suddenly recalled the words Theodore Langdon said one day, that in Zane’s lovelife, women always gravitated towards him.

"Then learn now, one day you’ll need it."

Upon hearing this, Zane suddenly laughed, squinting his eyes at Natalie opposite, a nonchalant smile budding at his lips.

After chuckling, he didn’t speak; he just stared intently.

Under his gaze, Natalie felt herself heating up, uncrossing her legs and switching to a more relaxed pose to appear less stiff.

"Did I say something wrong?"

Zane’s gaze lowered, resting on Natalie’s feet, noticing the vivid red nail polish.

He tongue-clicked against his cheek, calling out to Natalie.

"You really think I’ll pamper you?"

In Zane’s perception, comforting someone was an act of excessive pampering towards Natalie.

Natalie froze for a moment, not having considered this.

How could Zane pamper her? He just let her fool around without actually concerning himself.

He wasn’t bothered, so he didn’t mind.

Natalie recalled that kiss in the car, her first kiss...

It wasn’t until she went too far that Zane started to mind, right?

But what’s Natalie’s nature?

"Consoling me is pampering me?"

Zane frowned.

Natalie continued.

"You yelled at me, so you should comfort me."

Zane: ...

What kind of twisted logic is that?

"I’ll apologize."

The man paused.

"I indeed shouldn’t have been harsh."

Natalie curved her lips, smiling contentedly.

"An apology also has to be sincere. The point of apologizing is to make the other person forgive what you did; shouldn’t the apology then be according to what I wish?"

"What do you want? A bag? A car? Or a house?"

Natalie raised an eyebrow, patiently teaching Zane some things about interacting with women... or more accurately, with her.

"Buying things could be a form of consolation, but I don’t lack those. I want you to console me verbally."

Zane: ...

We’ve come full circle back to the starting point.

Zane raised his right hand to squeeze his left wrist, feeling a bit helpless because of Natalie’s difficult nature. He shouldn’t have softened up and stayed to help dry her hair just now.

Natalie noticed his gesture, her brow furrowing slightly; this was the second time she observed this today.

Just as she was about to ask, she saw him stand up and walk towards her.

Natalie looked up, clueless, and Zane pinched her chin, his grip firm, leaving her unable to move her head.

"What are you...?"

Zane swiftly leaned in and bit her lip.

Natalie: ....

Stunned for a moment, Natalie raised her hand to smack Zane’s chest, beginning to resist.

What’s up with him? Is he addicted to kissing?

Seeing that Zane had no intention of letting go, Natalie didn’t hold back, using her leg. But the man seemed to have predicted this, lifting his leg to pin Natalie’s, leaving her unable to budge him at all.

Zane was like a wall, a warm one.

Natalie struggled so much she couldn’t breathe, instinctively opening her mouth.

Sucking, biting, licking.

Every touch was strong and firm.

Natalie couldn’t understand how this man was so good at kissing. If this continued, she’d suffocate. Without thinking, Natalie bit down.

The taste of blood quickly spread in both their mouths.

Zane paused, finally releasing her.

Natalie’s chest heaved with anger as she glared at Zane.

"What are you doing?"

Zane stepped back, removing his leg, and casually wiped the spot Natalie had bitten, raising an eyebrow.

"Didn’t you want me to console you verbally?"

After the kiss, Zane had an alluring demeanor, his dark eyes full of fire, each eyebrow arch carrying an implicit meaning.

Staring at the man before her, whose masculine scent was more intense, a phrase popped into Natalie’s mind.

Horny wolf.

"When I said to console me verbally, I meant saying nice things. Who said you could kiss me?"

Natalie was seething with anger.

What made it worse was Zane’s kiss was addictive; she almost got swept away by that jerk.

Zane, indifferent, responded, glancing at Natalie’s flushed face, chuckling with a profound look.

"I thought you wanted me to kiss you."

Natalie: .....

Phoebe Quinn stood at the door, holding ginger brown sugar tea, uncertain whether to enter or not. She had arrived when Natalie asked Zane to console her and was curious about how Zane would respond, so she waited outside.

She didn’t expect... things to end up like this.

Wasn’t it said that there was no emotional development? Wasn’t it just for the sake of desire? Then how to explain Natalie asking to be comforted, and this sudden kiss?

Is she falling behind the times?

Is it now acceptable to kiss out of mere lust?

Phoebe retracted her neck a bit, finally knocking on the door.

Entering, she saw both of them with small bruises on their lips.

Well then, now matching bite marks are trendy for couples too.