Chapter 20
Chapter 20
Cayden, on the other hand, was perfectly calm. He merely glanced at her and said, “The food is getting cold.”
Then he turned around and walked toward her balcony, feeling completely at home in her tiny apartment.
Avery was still frozen in place. Ccontent © exclusive by Nô/vel(D)ra/ma.Org.
Cayden was already treating her place like home as he pulled out a box of cigarettes from his pocket as he walked. He took out one cigarette, placed it between his lips, and lit it up.
He looked extremely used to it.
This is my apartment! The two little ones look like beggars waiting to be fed or even debt collectors demanding to be satisfied. But they're obedient and they look adorable. That guy, on the other hand, didn't even bother to care about feelings at all. Anyone else would have probably told me about how they got into the damn apartment by now.
Avery served the two kids first before scurrying into the kitchen.
I'm basically doing everything that their mother should have done for them, and I'm not getting paid for this. No, I cannot let this go on for much longer.
Avery had only escaped to the kitchen in hopes of it being a little hideout, but she was wrong.
A distinctive tobacco smell wafted into her nostrils right then.
She looked up and immediately met Cayden's eyes.
She was at a loss for what to do. With his body getting in the way, she felt as if the oxygen in the air had been sucked out of the room.
He had completely cornered her.
The tight feeling in her chest made her nervous. She only wanted to leave.
However, the minute she took a step, the man came closer to her.
She jerked her head up and looked at him. You're going too far!
At the same time, his gaze landed on her soft lips.
Avery quickly turned away.
“Ms. Ery, why is there no onion in your food?” Rory's innocent voice drifted in from the dining room, accompanied by the sound of a spoon knocking against a bowl.
A hot flush rose to Avery's cheeks, and she answered, “I don't eat onions.”
Seeing that as an opportunity to escape, she wanted to walk out.
Staying with the two kids was much safer than hiding in the kitchen.
Before she could move, however, Cayden held her by her shoulders.
“Are you insane?” Avery exclaimed as she looked up, her heart beating wildly in her chest.
Cayden's cold gaze was filled with an unspeakable emotion that only other men would really understand. He kept staring at her and stayed silent the whole time.
“What are you doing?” Avery struggled with fear written all over her face.
Whenever she met his obsidian eyes, she felt as if she was being dragged into a deep abyss.
She hated the feeling, but she just couldn't escape from him.
Avery was so angry that she was about to cry.
“Mr. Moore, please watch what you're doing,” Avery hissed, not daring to say anything any louder or anything that crossed the line lest the kids outside hear her.
As the kids' father, he's being too much!
“Watch what I do?” Cayden loomed over her, causing Avery's heartbeat to speed up. He looked at her smooth, silky skin as he murmured, “Watching what you do means to be cautious and to think about the consequences of doing something, and trust me, I am watching what I'm doing right now.”
Avery couldn't deny that he hadn't technically done anything.
Right as she thought that, he pulled her into a tight embrace.
“Mr. Moore, I have a boyfriend and I'm already engaged. This really isn't appropriate. It won't be good if anyone hears about this either. It might ruin your good reputation,” Avery said as she looked up at him, terrified to move at all. She was afraid that her chest would accidentally brush against his tense body.
She hadn't forgotten how much of a reaction Cayden had when she had undone that belt and the brooch that day.
Avery's announcement that she was not single had caught Cayden off guard.
She already belonged to another man.
But still, Cayden looked at her calmly, completely unruffled by what she had just said.
Outside, Zachary suddenly thought of something and shouted, “Ms. Ery, if you don't eat your onions, that makes you a picky eater!”
“Yeah! Daddy will spank you!” Rory said boldly.
At the word “spank,” Avery instinctively looked at Cayden.
He let out a chuckle, and almost instantly, she felt a large hand sliding down her back.
To be completely fair, Cayden had never hit his kids. It was his poker face that made them feel afraid of him. As time went by, Jeffrey would scare them with the prospect of their father spanking them.
Being picky with their food was a bad habit that both Zachary and Rory clearly remembered, so they never dared to be picky about what they ate. They were both terrified that their father would spank them.
“Rory, Zach, could you two come over here for a bit?” Avery finally called for help.
Mr. Moore wouldn't do such a thing in front of the kids, right?
“Okay!” Zachary and Rory answered.
Following that, Avery heard them walking over.
“Zachary Moore, Rory Moore, sit back down this instant,” Cayden barked.
Zachary and Rory stopped in their tracks at the sound of that.
Zachary wanted to walk toward the kitchen, but Rory pulled his hand and shook her head.
As everything fell silent, Avery glared at the man in front of her wordlessly.
She changed her approach and said softly, “I know you must have plenty of women around you, Mr. Moore. Why do you have to make things difficult for me?”
Cayden looked at her darkly and said in a raspy voice, “I once heard that lust and reason can't exist at the same time. I finally know exactly what that feels like today. I would love to find out just how much you can tempt me.”
Avery could feel his warm breath on the top of her head, and with each exhale, her face only got redder. She felt more aggrieved than ever, as she had never wanted to tempt him.
Suddenly, she heard the vibration of a phone.
“Your phone is ringing,” Avery reminded quietly.
Yes! This is my chance to escape this lawless space once he's distracted!
However, she had barely pushed him away when he grabbed her wrist and pulled her back. In a flash, her small figure was wrapped in his embrace.
“Mm... Mmm...” Avery was forced to look up at him. His grip on her shoulders was so hard that she felt as if her shoulders were about to be crushed into powders.
Pushing and struggling were completely useless.
Instead of weakening his resolve, he got even more turned on and began to kiss her from her forehead all the way down to her nose and her lips.