The Enticing CEO’s Chosen Bride

The servants stood frozen in place, struck dumb by the exchange, their minds wiped clean of their chores. Seth’s reaction was as if Cicely’s words held him at bay, his body refusing to move.

Cicely arched an eyebrow, retracting her hand to leisurely unscrew the lid of the ointment jar with her slender, pale fingers.

“Honestly, now’s the time I’d prefer you not to be obedient,” she muttered under her breath. “When you’re supposed to listen, you’re stubborn as a mule, and when you’re not, you freeze up like a damn statue.”

She squeezed a dollop of the pale yellow ointment onto her fingertip, reaching out to dab it on the cut at the corner of Seth’s mouth. The sting made him tilt his head slightly away.

Cicely looked down at him with an icy gaze, “What got into you earlier? Now you know how to dodge?”

Her mood was far from calm, her anger hardly subsided from the slap she’d delivered earlier. Even so, when she’d raised her hand to hit him, she’d consciously switched to her left, ensuring the blow landed on his unblemished right cheek, sparing the injury on his left.d2

“Cicely, I said I don’t need that stuff. Are you deaf, or just looking to defy me at every turn?” Seth turned his face away, rejecting her care.

Cicely’s grip tightened, the pain sharper, but she persisted in applying the ointment.

Pinned down on the couch by her, Seth could only tilt his head up, his eyes narrow slits of cold steel. “This is your last warning,” he growled. “Stop it and get off me, or forget ever setting foot in the Diaz mansion again.”

Cicely paused, her gaze dropping to meet his, contemplative.

“What are you plotting now?” Seth narrowed his eyes further. Her thought process was miles from ordinary; every time her eyes flickered, something off-kilter was bound to follow.

Cicely lifted her hand, twirling the ointment between her fingers, tilting her head with a half-smile, “I’m wondering, how did you threaten Danielle?”

Seth mulled it over for a second, reflecting on Danielle’s behavior that day, “Anyone’s smarter than you when it comes to knowing what’s worth it.”

“That just makes me more curious.” Cicely freed one hand, casually pulling open Seth’s pajama shirt.

expression changed suddenly, his hand snapping out

torso, pausing briefly, “I know my name’s music to your ears, but could you not chant it like a

his chest. But then she frowned, looking down at Seth, “Could you let go? You’re hurting

was clear she wasn’t lying. His grip on her wrist slackened, and he glanced down to see the red marks his fingers had left. He

Taking advantage

warm, soft touch made Seth’s body tense imperceptibly. For years, no one had been allowed

what he

leaned in to blow on the spot she’d treated, intending to let the medicine dry so she could pull his shirt back down. God only knew her ears were

before she could register anything else, she was yanked forward and toppled into the plush

rage. “Cicely, you’re sixteen, not six. Have you

out I’m not a little kid?” She paused, shifting comfortably, “Makes sense. Half my classmates have had a string of boyfriends by now. How old-fashioned are you to wait

was all impatience and irritation.

countering, “I haven’t finished with

idea of affection, always opposing me? There’s a limit

the obedient type?” Cicely

decisions to make when faced with a

snorted, “So what scared her into

fists, but said nothing. Cicely continued, a mocking smile on her lips, “Let me guess—was it tutoring?

She had read him

I hit the nail on the head,” she said, her laughter low, “So that’s the kind of

you. But I must say, I’m not

he wasn’t going to sit still and let her treat his wounds without a fuss, and frankly, she wasn’t in the mood to drag it out. Squeezing the entire tube of ointment into her palm, she walked over

bedtime just to come here and patch you up. And don’t think I’ve forgotten about you promising to tutor Danielle, or how you’re gritting your teeth through the pain just to keep that promise. That’s

give you a pass to mess up, but only to the

here if I wanted. But I’m choosy, you see. Not that I’ve ever been truly smitten or had a whirlwind romance. If a decent man took a shine to me and put in the

think this threat sounds a bit childish? Do you think

crinkled into a smile. “Do you think this