“What the hell are you doing?” I whispered to Yan, struggling to keep my cool and not explode right in front of everyone around us.
“Shut up,” he snapped curtly, tightening his grip on my hand and dragging me forward even faster.
“Where are you taking me?” Of course, I wasn’t about to stay quiet.
But Yan had no intention of answering me anymore.
Remembering our agreement, I clenched my teeth and swallowed all the not-so-polite words I wanted to throw at him. But just wait until we’re alone. I’ll let him have it!
Meanwhile, Yan stopped in front of some unremarkable door, opened it without hesitation, and, still pulling me along, stepped into… a storage closet?!
“Well?” I asked, finally yanking my delicate hand out of his grasp.
“We need to pretend we’re having sex in here,” he said, completely unfazed.
“Not a funny joke, Yan.”
“I’m not joking, Kira.”
To prove he meant it, he deliberately knocked a few weird bottles off the shelves, one of which, naturally, popped open as it hit the floor. Watching its contents spill out, I asked hysterically,
“Are you insane?! What if that’s dangerous or toxic?”
“People caught up in passion wouldn’t care about little details like that,” he smirked arrogantly, then started closing in on me.
“Don’t you dare!” I threw my hands up in front of me.
“We have a deal, my dear fiancée.”
“Sex wasn’t part of it, my dear fiancé.”
Yan spoke quietly, and for some reason, I found myself whispering too. It took me a few seconds to figure out why.
“Wait, are people listening to us out there or something?” I whisper-shouted (yeah, I didn’t even know I could do that).
“You drive me crazy!” Yan said loudly, ignoring my question.
Then he slammed both hands against the door above my head, pinning me against it with his body. I’m pretty sure if we did have “eavesdropping spectators” out there, they’d already figured out what was going on in here. Or rather, what they thought was supposed to be happening—but definitely wasn’t.
“Hayden, don’t you dare lay a finger on me!”
“Who said I’m gonna touch you?” he replied with mocking surprise. “We just need to fake the whole thing, Shedrik. I’m sure you know what they out there need to hear. Can you pull it off? Or should I take your advice and help out with a finger?”
“I don’t even want to pretend to do this with you!” I snapped irritably, crossing my arms over my chest.
“You’re gonna have to,” Yan replied coolly, the corner of his mouth curling into a smug smirk.
“We didn’t agree to this!”
“We agreed to do whatever it takes to make them believe us. And after this, they’ll definitely believe it.”
“No, I’m not humiliating myself like this.”
“Is passion between two lovers really humiliation?”
“When that passion has an audience, yes! It’s humiliating! Next thing you know, they’ll be holding a candle next to us!”
“Nah, that’s definitely over the top,” this lunatic replied, and to top it off, he laughed. “Alright, fine. If you play along, we’ll… hmm, shorten the terms of our deal.”
“By how much?”
“A week, for instance.”
“Make it two, and I’m in,” I said. Sure, it’s downright embarrassing, but on the other hand… I’ll never see these people again, and I want to get rid of this jerk as soon as possible. The choice was obvious.
“One and a half,” he said indulgently. “Ten days, and you’re free.”
Ten days. Ten days instead of the twenty-five that were still supposed to drag on… Damn, that’s way too tempting.
“What do I have to do?” I asked with a heavy sigh, finally giving in.
“Now that’s more like it,” Hayden grinned, clearly pleased. “Relax and enjoy yourself.”
“Wait, what?!” I exclaimed, louder than I meant to.
“Kidding, kidding,” he said. “Just breathe heavily and moan a little. You’ve always been way too erotic when you do that.”
“Yan!”
“What? I’m just stating facts. I’ve always thought so. And I’ve told you that plenty of times before, so this shouldn’t be news to you.”
He did say that, yeah… But back then, he had the right to say it. Not anymore!
Honestly, I just wanted to smack my ex and walk away, but… The deal, damn it! I agreed to this, Kira, so don’t even think about whining now! And I’ll admit, the thought of freedom was way too enticing. So, I irritably shut my eyes, cursed myself mentally for being an idiot, and finally tried to let out the most convincing moan I could muster.
I guess it wasn’t very believable, because this ex of mine—who’s not quite an ex—immediately leaned his forehead against my shoulder and started chuckling quietly.
“It’s like I’m not giving you heavenly pleasure here, Kira, but torturing you instead,” he said after a few seconds of laughter.
“Well, excuse me! I’m not an actress!” I huffed, offended.
“Ugh, guess I have to do everything myself,” he replied, lifting his head, then suddenly started leaning in toward me again.
“Yan? What are you up to?” Sensing trouble, I tried to step aside, but he didn’t let me.
“Relax, Kira,” Yan whispered hoarsely, lightly brushing his hand along my neck. “Relax and just enjoy yourself…”