Betrayed, Then Back For Blood

Briar’s breath caught in her throat, a mix of surprise from the kiss and fury bubbling within her. ‘Did this man just. play dirty?‘ she seethed.

Briar spat through gritted teeth, glaring at Ashton. If her hands hadn’t been tied and her legs pinned down, she would have flipped him over and taught him a lesson right then and there. But all her fury condensed into a single

biting remark. “Shameless, aren’t you?”

Ashton grinned in satisfaction. “I’m kissing my love. Why should I be ashamed?”

Briar was so frustrated by his mischievous behavior that she nearly laughed out loud. She didn’t feel like arguing with him. “Let me go. I’m leaving.”

Her instincts urged her to leave before something unpredictable occurred. However, Ashton was determined not to let her slip away now that things were getting intense. Still, he propped himself up on one elbow, raising his upper body slightly to prevent her from noticing any specific reactions–he didn’t want her to see.

From his perspective, Ashton could take in every detail of Briar’s face–her trembling lashes, flushed skin, gently upturned nose, and those slightly parted red lips he couldn’t get enough of. Ignoring the flicker of shyness and irritation in her eyes, he was certain she was just as lost in the lingering heat as he was, neither of them ready to let

go.

“Are you angry?” Ashton asked in a husky voice.

Briar rolled her eyes and shook her head. “Nope, I’m not that petty. It was just a kiss, whatever.” Honestly, she enjoyed it too. “Get off me. We’re alone in bed–what if things get a little too heated?” Briar tried to sound assertive, but she couldn’t bring herself to meet Ashton’s gaze, which made her words lose much of their impact.

‘Not mad? Good. As for things getting out of control,‘ Ashton mused, locking eyes with her. With a serious expression, he said, “Well, we’re both professionals when it comes to handling firearms. Do you think we’d be afraid of a little misfire?”

His remark so flustered Briar that she began coughing hard, her neck turning bright red. It felt as though she had just been hit by a truck. ‘Is he planning to let loose tonight and throw all shame aside?‘ she thought, exasperated.

She was entirely sure they were nothing like the ones he had in mind. Ashton moved to the side, pulling Briar into his arms. He softly patted her back and said, “Hey, don’t worry. I won’t tease you anymore.”

her too hard. He constantly reminded himself, ‘She’s still young. I can’t rush

with her misty, crystal–clear eyes, her dark irises shimmering like ripples on a deep lake. The way she looked at him almost caused Ashton to

kept his promise and didn’t tease her anymore. Instead, he leaned

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Chapter 185

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acting all sweet, I swear I’m going to have

realize until now that your shamelessness is so profound that not even a cannon could penetrate

I cared about saving face,

him a completely natural smile, pretending she hadn’t noticed he was putting on the charming act again. “Alright, just close your

+13

wasn’t going to point it out. Without another word, he just closed his eyes, still holding her close. He

it didn’t take long

from his arms and sat up. After a glance at his peaceful, sleeping face, she walked to the

bay window, sat down, and powered up Ashton’s work laptop. As if second nature, she entered the password and logged

phone on the nightstand lit up with a new email notification. However, since he had set it to silent for the night, he completely missed the chance to see the message right away. Briar erased all traces of her login to the Hacker Alliance site, shut the

instantly. He immediately called Connor. “Connor, when you placed the

hand pause on the wheel. “No, I didn’t. However, I offered 30 million dollars and set a three–day deadline. Why? Did someone from the Hacker Alliance take the money

our order is one of the elders of