MIDNIGHT Bride The CEO's TEMPTATION

The bodyguard opened the car door, and Crystal fell into the seat with Nathan, and as soon as they were alone, he tore her clothes off.

"No!" Crystal cried. "You don't have to be so eager. We can do it after we..."

Before she could finish her sentence, he pressed his lips against her mouth. As excited as he was, he was like a child that could not control himself. He buried his face in her arms and sniffed her.

Suddenly, he froze, and Crystal felt the tension in his body. "Is there anything wrong?" she asked. "You look like you've seen a ghost..."

"Where have you been?" Nathan raised his head and frowned. "And what have you been doing?"

Crystal's heart sank. He seemed extra sensitive today. Does he know something? - she wondered. "I haven't been anywhere," she replied. "I just wanted to buy you a present, so I came here... Is something wrong?"

"Were you with another man?" he asked. He had an expressionless look on his face.

"Why would you ask that?" Crystal grumbled. "Don't you trust me?"

"I thought that I could trust you," Nathan replied. "But I can smell smoke on you."

Crystal remembered that Eric had been smoking, and he had put his coat over her to keep her warm. "Smoke?" she replied skeptically. "Do I smell like smoke?" She looked down and smelled her sleeves. "I don't smell smoke. Maybe it is your imagination."

"It is not my imagination," Nathan snapped. "Men are very sensitive to the smell of smoke, so if I say that you smell like smoke, then you smell like smoke!"

Suddenly, Nathan realized that she had changed her clothes, and he asked her why.

Crystal's heart sank. She had changed her sweater after Carlos bit her. It had been covered in blood. "How do you know that I changed?" she asked. "I have so many sweaters."

"Oh, I know! "Nathan grinned. "I know all about your clothes, including your underwear. I know their size, color, and smell. There is nothing that I don't know about you!" He grabbed her arm, and she cried out in pain. By chance, he had grabbed the place where she had been bitten.

Nathan's brow furrowed as he let her go. "What's this?" he wondered.

****

Crystal froze, and her mind went blank. The color drained from her face, and her heart began to race. She looked at Nathan, and a nervous voice inside her head whispered, "Whatever you say, it had better be good."

Finally, she took his hand, gave it a gentle squeeze, and said, "Earlier this morning, I went to the hospital to see Nancy's father, but when I got there, a psycho rushed out of his room and bit me. I'm sorry that I didn't tell you. I just didn't want you to worry."

When Nathan heard this, he was furious. "Who did this?" he growled. "Who dared to bite my woman."

"He was a psychopath," Crystal replied. "That is why he is in the hospital. He is not right in the head, so don't be mad. Besides, the wound is superficial."

"Don't you know how dirty human saliva is?" Nathan was aghast. "I'm taking you to the hospital for an examination."

"Don't make a big deal out of this," Crystal argued. "I have already been to the hospital. I am fine. I promise."

Nathan shook his head. "Did they give you a rabies vaccine?"

"Come on." Crystal laughed. "I wasn't bitten by a dog."

"What if that patient has rabies?"

"Are you kidding?" Crystal smirked. "And besides, what would you do if he did have rabies?"

"I would tie you down," Nathan replied. "I would keep you by my side, and no one would be able to take you away from me."

"Anyway..." Crystal smiled. "The doctor said it wasn't rabies. The man is a psychopath, and psychopathy is not contagious. He probably just needs a medication adjustment."

Nathan had a serious expression on his face. He said, "If it were contagious, I would let you infect me. Then our brain waves would be in sync, and we would be able to communicate."

Crystal humphed. "You don't know what you're talking about."

"No matter." Nathan shrugged. "If you were sick, I would take care of you." He leaned forward and kissed her, and before long, the car was filled with the smell of their sweaty, entwined bodies.

The car moved steadily forward, and Crystal leaned into Nathan's arms. She felt both happy and sad. "Why must men blackmail women into being with them?" she asked. "You do it. Paul and Eric do it. It is disgusting."

Nathan kissed her on the top of the head. "Do you really want to know why?"

"Well, yes." She looked up hopefully.

"If we don't do it, then we can't control you," Nathan explained. "In order to have full control of you, I have to have full control of the people around you. Then if you get out of line, I can use them to put you in your place."

Crystal nodded. His answer made complete sense to her. She looked out the window. "We're almost home…."

****

As they took off their shoes, Nathan noticed that Crystal's socks were wet. His brow furrowed. "What happened to your feet?" he asked, "Your socks are wet!"

"I stepped on a snowbank." Crystal shrugged. "What's the big deal?"

"What's the big deal?" Nathan was taken aback. "Do you want to get pneumonia? Quick! Take off your socks. We need to get your feet warmed up!"

Nathan bent over, took off her socks, and asked her, "Do you care about me?"

"I do," Crystal replied. Then she took her socks from him and went upstairs.

Nathan smiled and followed her. When he got upstairs, he found Crystal in the washroom. She was sitting on the toilet, and when she saw him, she shouted at him: "Hey! Do not come in! Go sit on the bed. I will not be long."

Nathan scowled. "What on earth are you doing?

"Leave me alone," Crystal cried. "I'm almost done."

"What are you doing that is so shameful?" Nathan asked.