Shonee’s POV
Patting myself dry, I stepped out of the warm bath and wrapped myself in a towel before walking into my bedroom.
It has been roughly an hour and a half since dinner ended and Michael took his leave. I helped Mirasol take her bath, read her a bedtime story, and put her to bed. With Gerta’s assistance, we cleared up the confetti mess in the living room and cleaned up the dining room.
Settling down at my dresser, I picked up my night cream and began to slather it on my body. Tonight’s dinner got me thinking about a lot of stuff. The more I tried to tune it all out, the harder it became to keep it all at bay.
Vincent’s attitude today was…a complete contrast to yesterday’s. He made it pretty clear that nothing could happen between us, heck he even had me regretting the whole kiss ordeal right after it had happened. But tonight, it was almost as if he was acting like a jealous boyfriend. The way he glared at Michael when he kissed my hand…Vincent would probably have snapped his neck if he wasn’t his personal assistant.
I released a sigh. Maybe I was overthinking this. Michael’s behaviour this evening was a bit forward and perhaps Vincent was only trying to be protective.
I sighed again and slipped on my pyjamas. “My life wasn’t meant to be this complicated,” I mumbled under my breath.
Feeling a bit parched, I pushed my feet into my bedroom slippers and grabbed my robe. It was a little after nine pm and the house was as quiet as a cemetery. After tonight’s festivities, everyone was probably exhausted.
Hitting the switch, light flooded the kitchen, and I walked in to pick up a glass, filling it with water from the dispenser in the fridge. Slowly, I took a large gulp, allowing the cool liquid to travel down my parched throat.
“Late night drink again?”
I nearly choked on the water, spluttering some of it on my tank top. “Ah.” When I wheeled around, Vincent was leaning against the kitchen entrance, arms folded across his bare chest.
Pretending not to be mesmerized by the sight, I averted my gaze and set the glass down on the counter. “I could ask you the same thing,” I remarked. “It seems you also have a habit of sneaking in here to get your alcohol game on.”
He let out a soft chuckle, “Well, it’s my house after all. I can do anything I want.” He walked in then proceeded to open one of the drawers and pulled out a clean kitchen napkin.
My eyebrows dipped into a curious frown as he drew closer. “Wha-what you-”
“Just stay still.” He instructed before softly wiping off the droplets of water on my chin and descending lower, patting the top of my chest dry, careful not to go any further.
“Uhmm…” I swallowed hard. My peaked nipples threatened to burn a hole through the fabric of my blouse because of Vincent’s proximity. I simply stared as he worked, too shocked to comment on his actions.
We haven’t been this close since the fair and I would be lying if I said I wasn’t dying to link my arms around his neck and pick up right where we had left off yesterday.
Vincent finished dabbing the wetness away, then our eyes met for the hundredth time today.
“Th-thanks,” I mumbled.
“Don’t mention it.” His response came with a huskiness that wasn’t in his voice earlier. “You…you smell like cashmere.”
 A shrug settled into my shoulders. “It’s my night cream.”
Vincent towered over me, his gaze travelling over my face and lingering on my lips. “I love it,” He whispered, and liquid warmth coursed through my body.
“Thank you for dinner tonight. It was nice.”
My lips cracked into a small grin. “Really? I thought you hated it because of the way Michael was acting.”
Vincent's eyes darkened, and a slight frown creased his forehead. “Michael was...intrusive.”
I tilted my head, curious. “Why do you care so much about how he behaves around me?”
He took a step closer, locking me in between him and the counter. “Because…” he paused, his gaze intense, “I don't like sharing what's mine.”
I felt a shiver run down my spine with a tinge of excitement. “I'm not yours, Vincent.”
He leaned in, his lips dangerously close to mine. “No, but I want you to be.”
My breath caught as his words hung in the air, the tension between us thickening.
Without giving it much thought, he closed the gap between us, capturing my lips in a passionate kiss. The world seemed to disappear, and all that existed was the warmth of his touch and the taste of his lips.
As we pulled away, breathless, Vincent's eyes held a mix of desire and something more profound. Then his hands curled under my thighs, lifting me onto the kitchen counter and eliciting a whimper of surprise from me.
“Vincent.” My legs wrapped around him, heart pounding in my chest. “Vincent, someone will see—”
He silenced me with another kiss, deepening the connection between us. His hands were all over me in an instant, hugging my curves tight and setting my skin on fire. In that moment, the complications, the worries, the doubts, and the outside world faded away. It was just us, lost in the intensity of our emotions. And as we continued to share a series of passionate kisses, it became clear that maybe, just maybe, some things were worth the complications.
My robe pooled around me on the counter and my hands roamed the planes of his chest and back, loving the feel of man and muscle. “Mm, Vince...” I moaned against my lips.
His hands travelled underneath my top. The feel of his fingers against my searing skin brought my head to a lull. It was as if I was living the dream I had two days ago.
“Mine.” And as he said it, his fingertips grazed my breasts.
“Ah.” I arched into him as a response, and he chuckled, grabbing one of my nipples and giving it a light squeeze. “Yess…” I hissed.
“Shonee…” he whispered.
Then the sound of heels clacking on the tiled floor made us freeze.
Someone was coming.
“Crap!”
We quickly sprung apart, Vincent rubbing the flush away from his face as I hopped off the counter and grabbed my robe, tying it around my body.
“Oh, sweetheart! You’re awake.”
My heart nearly jumped out of my chest at the sight of Avril waltzing into the kitchen.
“Avril?” Vincent looked equally surprised. “What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be in Paris for fashion week?”
“Oh, silly you,” she scoffed. “Fashion week ended yesterday, and you didn’t think I’d miss your birthday, did you?” Avril wrapped her fiancé in a hug and planted a kiss on his cheek before shoving a dark box labelled ‘Armani’ into his hands. “Happy Birthday, Vincent.”
“Umm…thanks,” he responded but held her back a little. “Why do you smell like men’s cologne and alcohol?”
Now that he’d mentioned it, my nose picked up on the weird mixture of scents.
Avril panicked for a moment, then brushed the query away. “Oh, it’s nothing. We just had a few celebratory drinks on the plane, and I may have hugged a few male friends.” Her eyes landed on me. “Ooh Shonee, you’re here too.”
“Yeah,” I forced a smile. “Don’t mind me, just came by to get a glass of water. I should be heading back now.” I picked up the glass I had abandoned earlier and quickly exited the kitchen. “Goodnight,” I said over my shoulder, ignoring Vincent’s ardent gaze.
I heaved out a sigh of relief. Thank God Avril doesn’t suspect a thing.