Chapter 11

He still carried the chill of a late autumn night on him.

Yet the boy’s body burned with heat, and the kisses that fell upon me were reckless, almost fierce in their wildness.

“My dear, you spoke so harshly. I thought you really meant it.”

“But you weren’t serious, were you? All those words were just for me…”

I was still not entirely sober, frowning as I pinched his chin:

“Enough.”

“If you want to do it, then do it. Don’t talk so much.”

Leo Archer’s movements froze right then.

After a moment, he hooked his lips into a smile–slowly, bit by bit–revealing a dangerously beautiful grin:

“My dear, those are your own words.”

A sudden night breeze rose, rippling the autumn waters.

In the end, I clung to Leo Archer’s shoulders, trembling uncontrollably.

Looking down at his palm bathed in the soft light, it was as if a swift current was slipping through his fingers.

When Julian Thorne’s call came in, every muscle in my body tensed.

Leo Archer drew a sharp breath, pressing down on my hand just as I was about to slide over and hang up, and answered the call himself.

“Victoria Sterling, you went back to the Sterling Family and got a beating. Still haven’t figured out how to make it up to me yet?”

Julian Thorne’s voice was tinged with drunkenness.

“Forget it…I’ll give you a chance.”

“I’m at Nightfall Bar. Come pick me up.”

“I…”

I didn’t even have time to spit out the words “I’m busy.”

A sudden, intensified force from behind sent my breath into disarray.

Even biting my lip quickly, I couldn’t quite stifle the few ambiguous gasps that slipped out.

Julian Thorne’s tone changed sharply: “What are you doing?”

But I could no longer form a complete sentence. Only when Leo Archer eased his grip a little, I managed–with trembling fingers–to hang up the call.

Leo Archer let out a soft laugh, his breath hot against my ear:

“My dear… from now on, this is completely my time.”