MIDNIGHT Bride The CEO's TEMPTATION

Nathan sighed as he knelt beside Crystal. He tenderly tucked her hair behind her ears and gently said her name. "You are safe now," he said. "The danger has passed."

Crystal hung her head. Such was her shame that it seemed impossible to look him in the eyes. Nathan touched her chin, though, and lifted it. "Say something," he said. "You can do it. Don't let that man get to you. If you do, he wins."

Still, she could not meet his eyes, and when he finally realized that he wasn't going to make any more progress at this time, he sighed and said, "Shall we go to bed?"

When she didn't reply, he picked her up and laid her on the bed, tucked her in, and crawled in beside her.. She buried her face on his chest, and he gently stroked her hair with his hand. Crystal lay still, but she did not fall asleep. She knew that Nathan still wanted to talk.

Nathan: "Don't you want to know what happened between Eric and me?"

"I know what happened," Crystal said. "How could I not? Eric's youngest sister committed suicide because of you. You could have helped her, but in the end, she took her life over things that you did and didn't do."

Nathan: "Eric and Helen both have the same necklaces that you have. Because of this, Eric has never forgiven me. Out of guilt, I once said that I could give everything I had to him, but I refuse to give him you."

Crystal: "No matter what happens, I won't let you go. Not even death can keep us apart."

Nathan: "Don't worry. I will kill everyone who has hurt you today."

When Crystal heard this, she finally felt safe, and she fell asleep.

In a private room at the Merah Club - Richard Stone sat with a smug expression of satisfaction on his face. He had a beer in one hand, and there were beautiful women on either side of him. He had his free hand up the skirt of the girl on his right, and when his fingers found her pubic mound, she jumped, and a little squeal of delight escaped from her lips. "Mr. Stone," she scolded him. "You are such a naughty boy."

She made no move to remove his hand. Her outrage was purely for show. Instead, she put her hand over his and pressed it tighter against her vulva.

Richard raised his eyebrows and smiled. Then, after taking a swig of his beer, he set the can down and pulled out his phone. Using one hand, he deftly pulled up the video of Crystal being assaulted by the two dogs. He pressed play, and the woman was mesmerized by what he showed them. Moreover, they were impressed by his deviant tastes.

Once they were done watching the video, Richard forwarded it to Cecelia, who he thought would be particularly interested in it.

Cecilia and Joyce were still at the bar when she received the video. They watched it together, and they were tickled pink by what they saw. They watched it three times, and then Cecelia sent Richard a text message. It said, "Thanks. This is precious. You are my idol!"

"You are too kind," Richard replied, and he was about to post the video online when his bodyguard tapped on his shoulder. Then he leaned over to whisper into his ear. Before he could get more than a few words out, though, Nathan Davis burst into the room. His face was red, and he had a gun in his hand. It was a Maxim 9 with an integrated silencer.

The women began to scream, and they fled the room.

Richard looked up. Play dumb - he told himself. "What is this about?" he asked innocently.

Without saying a word, Nathan aimed the gun at his thigh and pulled the trigger. The sound of Richard screaming was louder than the gun, and blood began to gush out of the hole it had left in his leg.

Still playing dumb, Richard stammered,

"Ah-M-M-Master Davis. P-Please spare- my- my life. I d-d-don't even know what I d-did wrong!" Nathan aimed at Richard's other leg and put a bullet through his kneecap, and he fell backward into the bench seat. He was losing a lot of blood, and his face had turned white. "What did I do?" He cried.

"You know what you did," Nathan hissed, "to Crystal."

"I didn't know she was your woman," Richard cried. "If I had, I never would have done what I did. I'm so, so sorry. Please forgive me." Nathan smirked at putting a bullet through Richard's left hand. "Bullshit!" He hissed.

"Ah-" Richard screamed. "I didn't touch her, nor was she touched by dogs."

Nathan put a bullet into his right arm. "I've seen the video," he said.

"It's fake!" Richard shrieked. A bullet whizzed past Richard's head, clipping his ear before exploding in the seat behind him, and he passed out.

Nathan called one of his men into the room and said, "Castrate this piece of shit. I want his cock off along with his balls."

"But what about the video?" The bodyguard asked.

"I'll have my computer guy deal with it," he replied. "You take care of this guy's balls, and I'll worry about everything else."

***

Crystal was waiting for Nathan when he arrived back at the Beverly villa. She was sitting on the stairs with a book in her hands, trying to read. Every time she looked at the words, though, they seemed to get all jumbled up in her mind.

"What' cha reading?" Nathan asked.

"Steinbeck," Crystal replied. She showed him the cover of a beaten-up paperback edition of The Red Pony. "I'm not making any progress, though…."

"We need to get you back to the hospital anyway," Nathan said. "For your first follow-up. My lawyer is going to come with us."

***

When Richard woke up, he found himself in a hospital bed. He had been shot four times, and his genitals were gone. When he realized this, his face turned white, and he promptly passed out.

***

As chance would have it, as they walked through the hospital, they happened to pass by Richards's room. When Crystal saw him, she quickly hid behind Nathan and Carter. Richard's limbs were bandaged, and he was incapacitated, but he still frightened her. Ironically, he was as afraid of her as she was of him, and when he saw Nathan, he began to shake all over.

When Nathan saw that Crystal was afraid, he said, "I think you should face your fear."