Chapter 256: Are You Doing This The Easy Way Or The Hard Way (R18)

Chapter 256

Alex scanned the list, and his eyes stopped on one line there... one that could somehow make this whole thing a lot more faster, at least that’s what he hoped it would. Aura of Seduction Lv.2. which required about Five hundred Desire points.

He had more than how many times that amount sitting in his balance all this while. Why hadn’t he done this sooner? By the way, it’s not like he was even going to touch that money since he’ll just use one of his free purchase chances right now.

Across the table, Claire was telling a story about her first mission, but he was no longer listening. He nodded at the right moments, with a polite smile on his face, while his mind went to the panel.

’System,’ he said in his head, ’I want to use one of my free purchase chances to upgrade my Aura of Seduction to Level 2.’

[Are you sure about this?] the system asked, her voice cheerful. [Because you do know once you spend this free chance, there’ll only be one chance left. And Aura of Seduction Lv.2 will take effect right away.]

’I’m sure, just do it.’

[Okay, okay. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.]

A small blue translucent window popped up in front of his eyes.

[Aura of Seduction is upgrading to Lv.2... in... 10... 9... 8... 7...]

Across the table, Claire had just finished her story about her very first mission. She was feeling a bit parched from talking for so long and picked up her wine glass before giving him a small smile over the rim. Alex smiled back and nodded like he had heard every word. The countdown kept ticking in the corner of his mind.

[6... 5... 4... 3... 2... 1... 0.]

[Purchase complete. Aura of Seduction is now Lv.2.]

The moment those words ended, it was like something in the very air seemed to have changed in an instant. Even Alex seemed to sense the change, but not as much as Claire, who was one moment drinking from her wine glass when she felt an inexplicable feeling well up within her.

Her smile froze on the spot and the wine glass she had been so generously drinking from paused.

There was this unexplainable hot feeling spreading through her chest and inner thighs like crazy. Her eyes went hazy for a second, and the room seemed to tilt. She put the glass down before she probably ended up dropping it since her fingers were shaking a little.

’What... what is this?’ she thought. ’Did I drink too much?’

But she had only taken a few sips, besides alcohol had never been able to affect her after she first Awakened her powers. It was something else, something warm and strange that made her skin feel too tight and her clothes feel too thin.

She shifted in her seat and pressed her thighs together, and her face went red when she felt how wet she had become down there. It was embarrassing because she knew she was horny as fuck right now.

Without meaning to, she looked up at the man sitting across from her, who was just sitting there with a worried little frown on his extremely handsome face. His black hair was a bit messy, and his jaw was sharp, and his lips looked really soft. Why had she never noticed how good-looking he was? Of course she had noticed before, a little. But now it felt like someone had just turned up the brightness on him.

Claire swallowed hard. She had not felt like this in years now. Not since Jacob.

It didn’t take long for a tiny voice in her head to start whispering to her. ’It’s only one night. Nobody would know. You’re a grown woman for crying out loud. You’ve been alone for so long. Just take him somewhere, do it once, get it out of your system, and then you can both go your separate ways like nothing ever happened in the first place.’

It sounded so reasonable that it scared her. Her breathing got heavier, and her eyes kept dropping to his lips. She wanted to give in. She wanted it so badly that her whole body ached.

But then a different picture came into her mind. It was Jacob, her late boyfriend. The man with that stupid crooked smile, who used to steal fries off her plate and complain that she was too stubborn. He had died years ago, and she had never really gotten over it.

*If I do this tonight, does that mean I’ve forgotten about him?*

Her hands curled into fists on her lap. Her heart was torn in two, and she didn’t know which half to listen to. One half wanted to run out of the room. The other half wanted to jump over the table and kiss the hell out of his man in front of her.

"Claire?"

Alex’s voice pulled her back. He had gotten up from his seat and walked around the table, and now he was standing right next to her with a face full of concern.

"Hey, are you okay?" he asked. "Your face is really red. Are you sick or something?"

Before she could answer, he reached out and placed his palm on her forehead. His hand was cool and calm, and it felt so good against her burning skin that she almost let out a sigh.

"You’re really warm," Alex said softly. "If you’re not feeling well, I wouldn’t mind if you went home to get some rest. We can do this another time. I don’t want you to push yourself just because of the dinner, you should really..."

He never got the chance to finish that sentence because Claire’s hand shot up and grabbed his collar. Then she yanked him down, hard, and pressed her lips against his.

The kiss was anything but gentle. It was like when someone had been drowning for what felt like hours before finally finding oxygen, whereas in this case Alex was her oxygen.

Her lips were hot and hungry, and she kissed him like she was trying to swallow him whole. Then a small and desperate sound escaped her throat as her fingers tightened around his shirt, before pulling him closer and closer, as if she was afraid he might disappear all of a sudden.

Alex’s eyes went wide for a split second. His hands, his naughty hand as if on their own, almost moved to her waist. He could feel the heat of her soft body through the dress she wore. As for her mouth it tasted like the sweet taste of premium wine.

[DESIRE METER]

• Lust: 58%.... 61.4%.... 73.2%....

• Attraction: 58.9%.... 65.1%.... 79%....

• Resistance: 12%.... 5%.... 2.1%....

[+15 Desire Points Gained For High Arousal]

[+15 Desire Energy Gained For High Arousal]

[+20 Points Gained For High Arousal]

[+18 Desire Energy Gained For High Arousal]

’Whoa,’ Alex thought. ’That worked way faster than I expected.’

But he didn’t forget his act. He quickly put his hands on her shoulders and pushed her back, just enough to break the kiss. Then he made his face look shocked, with his mouth open and his cheeks a little pink, like an innocent young man who had just been attacked.

"C-Claire?! What are you doing?"

Claire stared at him heatedly with her bountiful and clearly eyecatching chest rising and falling fast. At some point her red hair had come loose and fell over her forehead and cheeks, as for her lips let’s just say they were wet and swollen. Her eyes, which were usually sharp and proud, were now burning with a wild hunger that made her look like an entirely different person. She grabbed his collar again and held it tight, not letting him get away.

"Listen to me," she said, in a low and domineering voice that sent a shiver down Alex’s spine. "I’m going to ask you one thing, and you better answer me honestly. Are we going to do this the easy way, or the hard way?"

Beside his ear, the chibi popped up with her hands on her cheeks, bouncing in the air like a kid at a candy store.

[Ooooh, what a wild one! Look at her! She’s like a volcano! Well, you’re the one who brought this on yourself, Alex. So enjoy it, my young protégé! I’ll be cheering from the sidelines!]

’Please go away,’ Alex begged in his head.

[Not a chance!]

He cleared his throat and put on his most flustered voice. He lifted his hands in surrender.

"Okay, okay, wow. Easy way. Definitely the easy way," he said. "Look, I’d be more than happy to, you know, spend time with a beautiful woman like you. Really. I’m not saying no." He glanced around the room. "But we can’t do it here. We’re still in the restaurant."

For a moment, Claire looked like she wanted to say she didn’t care. Her eyes were so full of fire that Alex was worried she might actually burn the table. But then when she looked around, a small piece of her reason came back.

"Fine," she said between her teeth. "Then let’s go. Now!"

She let go of his collar and raised her hand high in the air, snapping her fingers at the waiter who was not too far away. The man almost jumped, then hurried over.

"The bill. Right now," she said.

"Of course, ma’am. Right away."

The waiter came back in under a minute with a small leather folder. Claire didn’t even look at the numbers. She tossed her credit card inside without a word, and the waiter ran off to the counter. Alex noticed that the total on that folder had four digits. She had not even blinked.

’Wow,’ he thought. ’She must really want this.’

The waiter returned with the card and a polite bow. "Thank you very much, ma’am. We hope you enjoyed your..."

But Claire was already on her feet. She grabbed Alex by the wrist with a grip like iron and pulled him out of the booth. He barely had time to pick up his jacket before she was dragging him across the restaurant. Heads turned as they passed. A woman at one table nearly dropped her fork while a man at another gave Alex a strange look, like he was either very jealous or very worried.

"Claire, slow down," Alex said, trying to stay in his act. "You’re going to rip my arm off."

"Then walk faster."

The door swung open, and the cool night air hit their faces. The street outside was busy with cars and people, and the neon signs of the shops cast bright colors on the pavement. Alex took a breath and was about to say something, but Claire didn’t give him the chance.

"Hold on tight," she said.

"Wait, what...!"

Before he could finish, she wrapped one arm around his waist, bent her knees and shot forward at super sonic speed.