"No, I can't... I mean, can we be like before!?" She sighed in a defeated voice.
"What do you mean?" He raised his eyebrows in confusion at her frightened demeanor. "Isn't that what you want?"
Scarlett, "..."
She maintained her calm face but endured the frustration in her heart as she scolded him internally. 'Damn you, Xander Riley! Can you not embarrass a woman like that!?'
She felt like digging a hole and burying herself to avoid this heartless man!
"I mean, I'm not ready to sleep with you!" She stopped only to take a deep breath to calm her heart. "...y-you know what I mean, right?"
She felt her cheeks burn when she saw him nodding with a big smile on his handsome face.
Scarlett continued, "...Let's slow down our relationship! For now, it's better to sleep in separate rooms like before until I'm ready to sleep with you!"
Hard to believe she could say those words. Gosh!
"Hahaha, don't worry, babe! We are indeed married, but I will never force you to do something against your will. I respect your consent." Xander said while ruffling her hair gently.
She flinched at his intimate gesture, but at the same time, she felt relieved hearing his words.
However, her relief vanished because of the words that followed. It was enough to make her heart feel like it would shatter.
"...But we'll be sleeping in the same bed!" The glow in his eyes brightened.
"X-Xander..." Her brow furrowed in shock at his words.
pαndα`noνɐ1--сoМ "Oh dear, don't be surprised! Alright, I promise you again... I will never do anything to you unless you give me clear consent. Say, you ask me to!" Xander leaned his head towards her and gently kissed her on the cheek.
She was utterly frozen!
'Wait! Did this man kiss me!?' Scarlett stared at him in disbelief.
"What? Why do you look upset!? It was just a light kiss, dear. Huh!? Have you never done this to anyone? Seriously!?" Xander frowned before continuing, "...I thought you lived in the US for a few years. You should know that kissing on the cheek is common, right?"
Scarlett inwardly took a deep breath. Gosh! She couldn't win over this shameless ice prince. No! He wasn't an ice prince anymore. This man had become a shameless husband entirely!
"Alright! It's already past midnight. Let's get some sleep...shall we?" After seeing her face getting redder, Xander changed the subject, not wanting to tease her anymore.
Scarlett hesitated. Because there is only one bed in this room and they only wear bathrobes. She knew they were both naked beneath the bathrobes.
She wasn't afraid that Xander would touch her because she trusted him. Still, Scarlett didn't fully confident in herself — How could she resist a man as handsome and charming as Xander sleeping beside her!?
"You still don't believe me, do you?" Xander faintly smiled while shaking his head.
"No. I believe in you. But I can't believe in myself. And, we only use this..." She tightened her bathrobe as if she feared Xander would see her naked body through it. "I'm afraid…." Unfortunately, she couldn't finish her words.
An amused grin crossed Xander's lips before saying, "...I have your pajamas here. You can use them." Xander gave her a bag. "And, there's also some clothes for you tomorrow!"
"Oh, you asked someone to bring these clothes!?" Scarlett was surprised to see her everyday clothes in the bag — obviously, this was prepared by her personal maid, right!?
"Hmm! I asked Logan to come..." Xander opened his bag and took his casual home cloth.
He was ready to undress in front of her but stopped when he heard the girl chuckle. He looked at her with a confused look.
"Mr. Riley, at the restaurant, you said Logan was sleeping, but how come he still came here to deliver our clothes? Is he a sleepwalker?" She narrowed her eyes at him.
She had suspected from the start this man must plan all of this — he had trapped her to stay the night here. Gosh!
He gulped.
Trying to avoid her words, Xander casually stood up from the sofa and slowly took off his bathrobe, making Scarlett freeze at the sight.
"X-Xander... What are you doing!? Can you change your clothes in the bathroom?" She blushed and turned her gaze elsewhere, but she could still see his naked abs from the corner of her eye for some reason.
While cursing Xander in her mind, Scarlett immediately dashed into the bathroom — she wasn't ready to see his bare abs yet. Not now!
'Why is that guy being more shameless!? Where's that cool and aloof Xander!?' Scarlett pondered as she locked the bathroom door and started to use her short pajamas.
Scarlett didn't come out of the bathroom as soon as she was done. She stayed in the bathroom to ensure Xander had put on his clothes.
After some time...
She finally left the bathroom. She saw Xander already lying on the bed under the blanket.
'Is he asleep?' She thought as she slowly approached the bed. She saw his arm covering his eyes and not moving like he was in a deep sleep.
Scarlett climbed slowly and lay by his side, not wanting to wake him up, and tried not to move too much.
This second time, she slept in the same bed with him, and it didn't feel like she would be able to sleep until morning.
She tried to close her eyes, but her mind couldn't stop working, as if they were encouraging her to do something to this beauty beside her.
She used many tricks to divert her mind, but all her efforts were in vain. She could only take a deep breath and slowly open her eyes to look at the ceiling helplessly.
After a few minutes passed, she slowly changed her sleeping position and tilted towards Xander. Surprisingly, she saw warm and loving eyes staring back at her.
"You want a hug?" His words were enough to make her mind go blank.
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