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.

his hand snapping out to catch hers.

could you not chant it like a mantra every time you see me? And if you must, could you at least try to sound

were no serious injuries, just some faint bruises across his chest. But then she frowned, looking

on her delicate nose, and her furrowed brow, it was clear she wasn’t lying. His grip on her wrist slackened, and he glanced down to see the red

doll that couldn’t take a touch. Taking advantage of the moment, Cicely smeared a bit

one had been allowed such intimacy with him. Yet, as

what he did, she remained

on the spot she’d treated, intending to let the medicine dry so she could pull

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

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

looked up with a lazy, sultry voice, “So, you’ve finally figured out I’m not a little kid?” She paused, shifting comfortably, “Makes sense. Half

was all impatience and

rose, countering, “I haven’t finished

limit to self-indulgence, Cicely. Not everything you want can be yours just because you’re the Ellis family’s daughter. No man

Danielle’s the obedient type?”

decisions to make when faced

scared her into watching you suffer and not

fists, but said nothing. Cicely continued, a mocking smile on her lips, “Let me guess—was it tutoring? If she didn’t comply, was it all over? No

darkened. She

nail on the head,” she said, her laughter low, “So that’s the kind of woman you men prefer? Someone

felt threatened enough not to touch you. But I must say, I’m not impressed with your taste

knew that with Seth in this state, 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 to him, bent down, and haphazardly slathered it onto his injured shins. Standing up, she looked him straight

of warm milk and my 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 still hanging in the

I’ll give you a pass to mess up, but only to the extent of your current distance with Danielle. If either of you

a whirlwind romance. If a decent man took a shine to me and put in the effort, who knows? I might fall head over

“Don’t you think this threat sounds a bit childish? Do you

a smile. “Do