Moving In

Qiao Ruo was coquettish as she stepped into the mansion with him in tow. 

"I still need to go home to pack my things properly," she admitted to him.

"Xiaoruo, it's getting late. Can you go tomorrow?" Cree teased her, playfully stroking her cheek. They hadn't got far in the mansion when she found herself immobilized on the sofa located in the living room by his mischievous touches. Again, he had pinned her down on the couch and was caressing her teasingly.

"Cree, I won't have anything to wear," she defended herself.

"I won't mind if you don't wear anything," he uttered cheesily, and she glared at him irately. 

"It's not funny!"

"How can you leave me, a sick patient, here all by myself?" Cree mimicked dramatically. "I can't even walk..."

"But you just did!" Qiao Ruo argued.

"I don't want to let you go," he said with a seductive grin. 

"Fine, but I'm not sleeping in the same bed as you," she snapped.

You will, eventually, he thought, smiling devilishly. He couldn't wait until the day she officially became his.

Qiao Ruo settled in the guest room she had previously resided in, and Cree had handed her, earlier, an old tee that he no longer used. As he was much taller than Qiao Ruo, the tee reached down to her thighs, like a nightdress.

"Not bad," she commented with a smile. "So, I'll be catching up with some work in a bit. Do you have Wi-Fi?"

He nodded and watched as she turned on her notebook and began typing speedily with her keyboard.

"You bought a new notebook."

"Yeah, it was on sale," she said. She turned the screen towards Cree for him to key in the password to his wireless network. Cree was adept with computers and technology, and he immediately knew with a single look that her notebook was a high-end model. That would help with her productivity in the long run.

"Actually," she leaned back on the bed and told him, "I received a new job offer, and I need to tie up a few loose ends with my current job before leaving."

"I knew you could," he said and congratulated her. "Doesn't that call for a celebration?"

"I need to save up for a more comfortable lifestyle in the future," she said. "I have to be as frugal as possible."

"It's on me," he said. "I'm the man, how can I ever let you foot the bill?"

She smiled bashfully. "If you insist, then."

He neared her slowly and, placing his lips on her ear, whispered sensually, "Perhaps you could work later. Take a break, first." She gasped as he removed her notebook from the bed and placed it on the table, before pushing her to the wall with a naughty look. Touching his lips on hers, he coaxed his tongue into her mouth, tasting her slowly before sliding it down her neck to bite her gently. She blushed as she knew he was going to leave a mark on her succulent flesh. He slid the gaping neckline of his gigantic tee to expose her left shoulder and teased it with his tongue. 

"Cree... Cree..." she called out, letting out a soft moan, and he stopped his teasing and gazed at her intensely.

"You're just too tempting, Xiaoruo." 

"Err..." She stammered while trying to respond to him, and he just chuckled.

Hours later, he just held her in his lap while she worked on the remnants of her work. There were many other activities they could do other than intercourse, and he loved every moment of having her around. She felt comfortable and physically intimate with him even if it was just a tender hug and playful kissing, and she had peace of mind.

"Xiaoruo, you won't like anyone else, will you?" he asked as they were both lying back in bed, and they had their fingers in each other's hair. She messed with his shorter, cropped hair while he stroked her long black locks.

"Let's see when the time comes," she answered teasingly. "Lu Hanyang seems such a generous chap."

"Don't you dare!" he said sharply and pulled her closer to him. His voice turned cold, and there was a more profound and more sensual kick to it. He was possessive, and his predatory instinct would kick in when threatened.

"What are you going to do if I were to like him, kill him?" she taunted him, and he held her arms above her head, kissing her forcefully. In his head, he thought that she was his, and no other man could ever touch her or suffer his wrath. She liked this cold and possessive side of him and indulged in the desire of his kisses. She was a willing prey now to him, and all of a sudden, he lost control, and his intimidating power was activating itself.

He sensed her fear, and she had been frightened to the point that tears were flowing from her cheeks. Immediately, he took charge of his emotions and calmed her down.

"I'm sorry, Xiaoruo, I was outraged when you said that." He hung his head.

She turned away from him. "How did that happen? It's you, isn't it? The last time, it happened before."

"I'll make it up to you," he promised. "I can't control it sometimes."

She nodded and faced him again. "I'll try my best to understand, but you have to make an effort about it, Cree. I'm not your enemy."

Cree held Qiao Ruo in his arms again, and they kissed each other slowly. Cree was falling more deeply in love with her, and while he hadn't succeeded in gaining her love fully, he wanted to respect her and give the world to her.

Qiao Ruo was being seduced by Cree, over and over again. At times, she had wanted to surrender herself to him fully and become his actual woman. Still, she didn't want to rush into a relationship with him, considering their social status differences. As the saying goes, it took only three seconds to fall in love, but a lifetime to understand that other person. Cree was attractive, desirable, wealthy, and he knew how to satisfy her needs, but she wanted to understand him further before they became an actual item. She fought against her desires, for the better. Patience was a virtue.

She twisted and turned all night, feeling rather insomniac. As she would be working from home for the next few days that she was on leave from work, Cree suggested they play a few games and have a drink to calm her nerves, so she would find it easier to sleep.

"No wine," she nagged at him, and he laughed.

"Very well, Mom." She glared at him at his discourtesy, and he poked her on her cheek. Then he asked her, "Are you normally insomniac, Xiaoruo?"

She truthfully acknowledged that she often had problems sleeping at night. 

"You must drink a lot of coffee in the day, do you?"

She gave him her affirmative.

His tone changed, and he told her seriously, "You're having decaffeinated for now."

"Is it that serious?" she asked him with her innocent round eyes. "I love coffee, and I can't give it up. At least not now, when I have so much work to hand over."

"It can't be good that you're unable to sleep at night because of splurging on coffee," he remarked crossly. "If you won't listen and take care of yourself, I'll go look for that nurse!"

It was her turn to be jealous, and she pinched him on the arm, "You can't, Cree Ye! Not when you want me to consider you..."

She came to a halt at her sentence when she realized she was acting like him earlier.

"You know what to do if you don't want that to happen," he shot at her. "Either you take care of yourself, or I'll be the one to do that to you. Remove all the coffee in this mansion and replace them with decaffeinated, and you listen to me. Otherwise..."

She looked defeated. "Okay, I'll... I'll listen. But only for the sake that we're putting up an act."

"Oh?" he put on his icy mask and gazed at her coldly. "So, you're trying to say that we're just acting?"

She wanted to open her mouth and say that she didn't mean what she just said, but he was acting cold and dominant, and his deft fingers were already tracing the outline of her body. She gasped as her sensitivity took over. "Cree, stop this.. stop! I take my words back. Please stop!"

He relished in his glory and inhibited his actions earlier with a devious smile. "Are you admitting you like me?"

She remained speechless, but the redness of her cheeks was giving her away. She didn't need to answer.

"Xiaoruo, I'm starting to fall for you. I'm giving you all the time you need, but I hope that you won't make me wait too long." Like many men, Cree's patience was limited. He had been firm in his resolute in pursuing her and making her his. 

His eyes had appeared so emotional that drew her to give him a few loving kisses.

"I'll teach you how to play these games," he said, pointing towards a container holding various board games, and she breathed a sigh of relief that he was distracted from the serious topic of pursuing her. But she couldn't stall him for long, and sooner or later, she was bound to have to give him an answer. By then, she hoped it would be an answer that would cause none of them would have hard feelings for each other.

Why was it so complicated for her to like a person? She questioned herself.