“Yes,” he bit out. Just the fact that he had to be issued a warning about respecting women had him bristling, not because he was offended but because it meant Ayah could be at risk of being offended by any of these fuckers.
When Emi left, his glance swung back to Ayah. She was smiling as she listened with seeming attentiveness to what her “date” was saying. Jealousy struck him like lightning, making Nic want to challenge everyone to a fight. No one had the right to make Ayah smile like that but him.
Her date said something else, and this time Ayah blinked before laughing out loud, the sound of it like the sweetest and most seductive melody to Nic’s ears...and no doubt to all the other men.
Nic closed his eyes. This was going to be one long fucking event.
****
As the buzzer sounded, Ayah did her best to surreptitiously look at her phone under the table, checking it for messages. But before she could unlock the screen, nimble fingers had swiped it out of her hold. Her head jerked up. “Mari!”
Her friend shook her head disapprovingly. “Concentrate!”
“But what if Luuk—-”
Mari’s glare became more evil.
She shut up. She would just explain to Luuk later if she ended up missing his call or text.
Her “fifth” date worked at the stock exchange, liked reading books, and had a cute smile. She knew right away that they would get along – as friends. Her sixth date was very handsome, and his dimples only added to his sex appeal. He was a lot of fun, teasing her outrageously about being the most popular girl in the event. He made her laugh, and she just knew they would get along, too – as friends.
It wasn’t as if she was comparing them to Luuk like Mari warned her not to, Ayah reasoned to herself. It was just impossible for her heart to get into this entire thing because somebody already owned it.
The thought had Ayah snickering privately to herself. Even to her own ears, it sounded very mushy.
It was the same cycle over and over, and who her date was didn’t really matter or register. They were not Luuk, ergo they were all the same to Ayah. As she waited for her next date, she glanced down at her notecards, which contained a list of questions she was supposed to ask if she ran out of things to say.
Sensing someone taking the seat opposite her, Ayah looked up with a smile but instead she ended up choking.
No, it couldn’t possibly be—-
She looked closer.
It really was—-
Nic calmly tore the lid off one of the unopened bottles of water on the table and handed it to her.
She took it and drank everything in one gulp.
Ayah’s shock amused him, but more than that, the way she stared at him like he was a gift from the heavens made his entire body vibrate in heightened awareness. She still wanted him, was still attracted to him, and most importantly, she seemed like...
He did not want to continue the thought. This time, he was the one who needed water and so he opened another bottle, drinking it all in a single gulp as well.
Then they stared at each other.
Somewhere behind her, Ayah heard Mari cough meaningfully and she was jerked back to reality. She scrambled for her notecards even as she tried madly to make sense of what was happening. What was he doing here? How had he found her? Was he mad that she was a part of this?
She stole a look.
Same beautiful blond hair, those wicked blue eyes, the chiseled face, and that wonderfully hard body, which seemed even sexier than she remembered.
Ayah quickly looked down again. Great, she thought. Now she was even more confused and scatter-brained. How the heck could any girl concentrate with such a hot guy in front of them?
Another loud cough from Mari behind her had Ayah blurting out the first question on her notecard.
Ask his name.
Example: How do I call you? What’s your name? Hi, I’m _. And you are?
She said automatically, “Hi, I’m Ayah, and you are...” That was when she saw his name badge. “Ayah’s owner,” she finished weakly.
Ayah’s owner.
Oh my God, but that was seriously sexy!
Luuk leaned forward.
She...did her best not to lean forward as well. Everything in her wanted to close the distance between them just so she could “accidentally” kiss him and find out if it was as good as she remembered, too.
Did Ayah know she was staring at his lips? He deliberately gave her a smile that oozed of dirty hot sex, and Nic was rewarded with a tiny whimper.
“You can call me anything you want, lieverd.”
Ayah was close to melting in her seat.
He smirked. “Any other questions?”
“Umm...” She looked down at her notecards, more flustered than ever. The next question started with the words “how long”, but her Chinese reading skills totally failed her then, probably because she was so nervous. How long...was what? How long was his cock?
Nic choked. The couple next to them choked as well.
Oh my God, had she just said that?
“Do you really want me to answer that?”
Not really, Ayah thought. She already knew—-
Everyone was choking again.
Ayah very sloooooowly covered her face. She had said that out loud, too?
God, she was so amusing, cute, and hot. He wanted her in his bed – now. “Ayah—-”
She shook her head, still keeping her face covered with her hands. She would never ever get to live this down.
The more embarrassed she was, the stronger the urge became to pull her onto his lap and embarrass her more. Nic suppressed a groan, the thought more than enough to have his cock fully erect inside his pants.
Facing Ayah again, he gently pushed her hair away from her face, smoothing the locks back as he said quietly, “I think it’s time we ended this little game, don’t you think?”
She nodded, still not looking at him.
“You didn’t really want to speed date dozens of guys, did you?”
She shook her head quickly, emphatically.
Nic smiled. “Then we need to prove it, don’t you think?”
She stilled. “How?” Her voice was muffled by her hands.
“With a kiss.”
Slowly, her hands moved down, revealing her eyes first, which were filled with doubt. “But what about your...”
“It’s over,” he said, understanding her concern right away. His heart clenched as he spoke. Now he was beginning to understand why all the people here seemed to hate his guts.
Ayah was...incorruptibly innocent.
And here he was, a devil wooing an angel. A year had passed since that one time they had met and found each other, but she had always been faithful...to him, without him ever asking her to be.
Deeply humbled, he said softly, “I’m yours if you want me.”
Ayah’s eyes filled with tears.
He took a deep breath. He knew he was taking a risk, asking her to leave all this and fly away with him to see where it took them. But he was done playing it safe. It had been the worst kind of hell the past twelve months, pretending that his body didn’t ache for Ayah’s every night.
“Ayah, will you...”
She stopped him with a kiss.
Her lips were beautifully soft and warm, and without thinking he kissed her back, hands sinking in her hair so he could pull her closer across the table, his tongue diving in to taste all her sweetness and warmth. He nipped her lips, sucked her tongue, and he didn’t let either of them breathe because he was kissing her so possessively, wanting her to be one with him.
When he lifted his head, both of them were panting.
Her eyes shone like the loveliest jade, and her tone was breathlessly happy as she said, “Yes, I’ll marry you.”
Nic stilled.
Around them, the people who knew about what was taking place – everyone whom Mari told about Luuk Aafjes wanting to go somewhere private with Ayah – had also turned into statues.
Their expressions mirrored each other, and it was best described with just two words: OH FUCK.
Ayah rained kisses all over Luuk’s beautiful face. “I promise, lieverd, I promise I’ll be the perfect wife.”
Chapter Six
“You what?” Feeling her knees about to give way, Farica hurried to the nearest chair – in this case, one of the visitor chairs scattered around the black-and-white themed hotel lobby - and plopped herself down on it. She had been in the middle of a luncheon meeting with her younger cousins, trying to play Little Miss Nice, when she had received Nic’s call.
She had hoped for some good news – the de Koninghs had always been known for having tragic luck when it came to affairs of the heart. Farica was praying her generation would be different – but Nic’s announcement was...unclassifiable.
He was getting married...just like that?
Nic quickly put as much distance as possible between his ear and mobile phone at the sound of Farica’s screech. “Tell me I’m making the right decision, Fari.” He spoke in Dutch, making sure that Ayah wouldn’t understand what he was saying if she accidentally overheard him. Although he could hear her still talking to Mr. Hsu at the balcony, he preferred to play it safe.
“Do you love her?”
Silence.
Shit. “Did you at least tell her who you really are?”
Not a word from Nic still.
Oh my God, it kept getting worse. “Did you even tell her anything?”
More crickets.
She started rubbing her temple. She either had a migraine or Nic’s problems were getting to her. “How can this be right when you haven’t told her anything?”
Nic restlessly got to his feet at the question. “How the fuck can I tell her I’m not who she thinks I am?”
“But you’re Nicolaas de Koningh! Surely she’d be happy—-”
Pacing the floor like a caged lion, he cut her off, saying tightly, “You don’t know Ayah. She won’t see it that way. She’s all about seizing the day and never wasting a moment on deceit and all untruths because life’s too short.”
Farica blinked. It was a...surprisingly nice lesson. It would make for difficult times, but that kind of outlook could also make life pleasantly simple.
Unfortunately, that kind of outlook just wasn’t a good idea when the person belonged to one of the world’s most powerful and famous families. People like her and Nic had been taught to lie at a young age out of necessity. If they hadn’t learned to lie, they would have been eaten alive by the media.
Outside, Ayah had turned around, leaning against the balcony wall and facing him. She caught him looking at her and she blushed and smiled.
That smile hit him like a ton of bricks, and he felt torn between wanting to snatch her into his arms and flying out of Hong Kong to give himself some space to think.
“Are you still there?” Farica’s voice jarred him out of his thoughts.
“Yeah, I’m here.” He couldn’t take his eyes away from Ayah.
Farica puffed her cheeks, something she tended to do when she needed to focus on a problem. “Okay, let’s try to make sense of this. She still thinks you’re Luuk Aafjes, an impoverished, cold-hearted, and married guy who just got a divorce—-”
“Cold-hearted?”
“You never visited her in the past year. That’s cold-hearted.”
He cursed. “You know why I didn’t.”
“Yup. But it still makes you cold-hearted.” Farica puffed her cheeks again. “So, let’s recap. You’re Luuk, you’ve realized you’ve been such a bastard, you flew to HK to get her to come away with you, but instead she thinks you proposed to her.”
Nic’s head started to pound painfully. When his cousin said it like that, it sounded a lot worse, like a story straight out of a stupid TV drama. But -—what else could he have done? Tell Ayah she had made a mistake in front of all of her friends? Even her friends knew he hadn’t meant to propose, but none of them had said a single word. They obviously couldn’t bear telling her the truth either.
“Nic...do you want to marry her?”
“I...”
Sensing his inner struggle, Farica rephrased her question. “If you were to die now, would you regret not marrying her?”
He closed his eyes just as he heard the doors slide open and the soft footsteps of Ayah as she walked towards him. “Yes.”
Tears stung her eyes, and she let them fall because they were tears for joy. Nic was the most reserved man in their clan, the one all of them thought would never marry and yet now...
“I think you have your answer,” she choked out.
He covered his face with one hand. “This is so fucked up.” He undid a few more buttons of his shirt, feeling like he couldn’t breathe. Was he really going to marry Ayah because of a silly misunderstanding?
“You could look at it that way or...” Farica paused. “You could think of it as fate.”
“Fate? I’m about to marry someone I don’t know if I truly love and you think it’s fate and not a goddamn disaster? I’m not even sure if she really loves me and—-”
“Nic...” She waited for him to stop talking. “I think it’s fate because...I need to think it is. When you told me what happened, the first thing I thought was what if I had been Ayah? If I was, then I hope...I hope the guy I love would make the same mistake because I think...” A sad smile touched her lips. “I think it’s the only way I’d be able to get him to marry me.”
Nic lowered his head as his chest tightened with a mixture of fear and anxiety. A second later, someone was stroking his cheek, pulling his hand away from his face. When he opened his eyes, Ayah was there, on her knees before him, her lovely face filled with concern.
Are you all right? she mouthed.
He looked at her, and he knew that Ayah hadn’t understood a word he said.
He looked at her, and he knew that even so, Ayah had come to him because she sensed his pain.
He looked at her, and he finally understood what Farica was saying.
It was fate.
“I have to go.” He paused. “And Fari?”
Farica answered with a smile, “You’re welcome, cousin.”
When Luuk was done with his call, Ayah asked awkwardly, “Are you having trouble because of me?” Unable to wait for his answer, she continued valiantly, “Because if you are, we can push the wedding back. I can wait. It’s totally fine.”
It didn’t look like it was fine, Nic thought, doing his best not to smile. She looked like a suffering saint, offering her life in exchange for the forgiveness of other people’s sins, and he knew that she was only doing it because she thought he was having second thoughts about their wedding.
Ayah was still talking. “...I don’t want to start our life together as a burden to you. We can tell everyone that it’s just delayed—-”
She stopped speaking.
She had no choice, not with Luuk suddenly pulling her up and dumping her on his lap then kissing her, a hard sweet kiss that told her he needed to kiss her just because he did.
When he allowed her a moment to breathe, she looked at him with wondering eyes. “What was that for?”
“A hello kiss.” Then he covered her mouth with his again, sucking her lower lip hard.
When he released her, she asked breathlessly, “And that one?”
“A welcome kiss.”
“For what?”
“For this.” He kissed her a third time, and she giggled into his mouth. The sound shouldn’t have been erotic, but it was, and his cock shot up, poking Ayah. Her giggles turned into whimpers, and his hold on her tightened.
“Ayah,” he growled.
“Yes?”
“I need to fuck you now.”
She stiffened.
He stiffened, too. That was not how he imagined she’d react to his words. Had they been too dirty? Was he being too fast? “Ayah?”
“We can’t.”
She said it so miserably that he was mollified
, not completely, but at least it was clear now she desired him as much as he did her. “Why can’t we?” He couldn’t help his voice from cooling, couldn’t stop himself from thinking that he had made a mistake and Ayah was just like his mother and most other women.
They were not to be trusted, and marriage for them was nothing but a tool-—
“Because it was my last day yesterday, and I’m still spotting...and can we talk about something else now?” She was so embarrassed she pulled all her hair down to cover her face.
He choked back a laugh even as amusement and relief poured through him, making Nic relax. “I get it now,” he said soothingly.
But Ayah kept pulling her hair down, doing her best to turn herself into a yak.
He grinned. “I really get it, Ayah. I promise.”
“But it’s so embarrassing! I know for other couples, it’s cool, but it’s my first time—-” She felt him stiffen and tried to look at him through her hair-made mask. She asked worriedly, “What is it?”
He had a tight-lipped look on his face as he bit out, “Nothing.”
“But—-”
With a sigh, he admitted baldly, “When you told me it’s your first time—-”
“It is—-”
His cock strained harder against his pants, and Nic suppressed a groan. “—-it just makes me want to fuck you more, lieverd.”
“Oh.”
He echoed her humorlessly, “Oh is right,” since he was going to get a big fat zero tonight with—-
Nic straightened up as Ayah scrambled off his lap. “Where are you—-ah.” This time, he groaned and held his breath, his entire body tense as Ayah went down on her knees and reached for the buttons of his pants.
She looked up at him and told him warningly, “I’ve never done this before, okay?”
He told her warningly as well, “I don’t think I can go easy on you even after you’ve told me that.”
She blinked at him. “That wasn’t the point.”
He looked at her steadily. “It should have been. With how much I want you now, I’m going to fuck your mouth hard.”
She gulped.
He said gutturally, “Take out my cock now, Ayah.”
Seduction in the Sun: Adult Romance Box Set (9 Sizzling Tales with BBW, Billionaires, Bad Boys, and Alpha Males) Page 95
