Chapter 126 Who Can Bear It When You're Like This?
Ashley adjusted her neckline, trying to cover her skin as best she could. "Damian. Don't you have something you want to gain from me?" she asked.
What was the point of all those heavy topics they had been discussing?
She had already brought up their biggest conflict to remind him not to bother each other anymore, but why was he so insensitive?
Suddenly, Damian seemed to have forgotten everything, completely unaware of the somber atmosphere that had just filled the room. Instead, he put on a wicked smile, admired her with a passionate gaze, and said, "Wearing such a sexy dress, are you trying to attract men's attention? Let me personally show you that you made a good choice with this outfit."
He moved to press down on her, but Ashley leaned back, propping herself up between them, tilting her neck backward to prevent his lips from touching hers, and said, "Damian, if you keep going like this, I will seriously accuse you of harassment! Don't touch me!"
Damian Hearst didn't mean to force her into anything. Her struggle and resistance made her look like a formidable opponent, which intrigued him. Suspending over her, Damian held onto her slender neck with one hand and touched her forehead, extending down to her nose and lips.
"Don't wear this kind of outfit again. No man can resist it," he advised.
Ashley swallowed hard, her back rubbing against the chair and her chest pressed against him. The narrow space was filled with ambiguity. "That just means I have great charm. Even without you, I can still find someone to marry. Damian, despite your affectionate relationships with other women, I have my own new life too," she said.
Damian rubbed her lip bead with his fingertip, and a delicate electric shock crawled up her skin. "Say it again, and I'll kiss you until you can't breathe," he dared.
Ashley quickly sealed her lips shut.
Damian teased her enough and questioned, "Do you really want to sleep in the car?"
Ashley wasn't going to let Damian know where she was living now. If she had to choose between the two, she would rather sleep in the car. "Yes! A car worth hundreds of thousands of dollars is almost as expensive as a small apartment in Rochester City," she retorted.
Damian rested on his arm and turned his head to look at her, his expression appearing gentle as if he was smiling but also as if he wasn't. "All right then, let's sleep like this," he suggested.
Ashley admitted that she could be stubborn at times. But she couldn't believe that Damian was as stubborn enough as her. What was he thinking?
Lying in the backseat, Ashley wondered if today was all just a dream. One moment, she was drinking champagne and wine, and the next, she was lying in the pitch-black car while Damian was lying beside her, his arm wrapped around her.
The seat was spacious, but sleeping side by side felt a bit cramped.
Damian's long legs had nowhere to go, so he had to curl them up. She was squeezed in his embrace like a cat, cramped on the car seat, even tighter than being wrapped in a sleeping bag. Damian's nose brushed against her ear, tickling her. Ashley couldn't even turn over without encountering his legs. She felt uncomfortable.
"Hey?" she said.
"What's wrong?" Damian replied, not able to fall asleep either.
The woman in his arms was thin. Her body was nestled against his chest, and he felt a desire that was becoming unbearable.
Ashley stayed in one position, her arm tiring from the pressure. She tried to move towards him, wanting to change positions. "Stop joking, okay? Your room is upstairs. Go back there to sleep!" she said.
Damian loosened his arm and allowed her to adjust her posture. But as soon as she moved, he felt a surge throughout his body. "Come up with me," he said.
Ashley stayed silent. She wouldn't go to Damian's house again.
Damian Hearst smirked and said, "You won't come to my place, but you sleep in my car. Is there any difference? It only makes us closer. If you like this, we can switch to an off-road vehicle."
Ashley blushed. She realized that no matter how calculative or careful she was, being with Damian would always backfire. "Shut up, I'm tired. I want to sleep," she chided.
Damian brushed her hair, and the soft strands tickled him. "Don't move again, or you'll end up crying," he warned.
Ashley understood instantly and curled up even tighter, not moving at all.
That night, Ashley drifted into a drowsy sleep while Damian Hearst remained awake the whole time. At first, he was restless, wanting to wake her up. But then he started thinking about what she had said.
Next month, his parents would return to Rochester City...
Ashley woke up with a sore back and her bones felt like they were falling apart. She woke up in the crook of the man's arm. She didn't know how she had managed to toss and turn in her sleep, ending up facing Damian's face. Did they really sleep embracing each other face-to-face all night long?
Damian seemed to be still asleep, his long eyelashes casting shadows, his straight nose and smooth lips giving him a gentle sleeping expression.
"Am I good-looking?" he suddenly asked, even though he appeared to be asleep. Ashley felt embarrassed and closed her eyes, pretending to be sleeping.
"If you want to look, just look openly. It's free," Damian said.
Ashley still felt embarrassed. After all, he had his eyes closed, so he wouldn't know what she had done.
Damian smirked and asked, "Still pretending?"
Then Ashley felt him touch her waist, tickling her. She didn't want to laugh but couldn't help it. "Damian! You're going too far!" she scolded.
Damian braced her waist and rolled over, lightly placing the woman on top of him, the two of them stacked on top of each other. The space was a lot roomier, and the distance was even more embarrassing.
Ashley darted to bury her head down. How had they gotten into this?
"It's late. I have to get back to packing and going to work." Ashley replied.
Damn. How was she going to explain herself at the law firm today? She ran off halfway and did not give Harold or Hannah a heads-up yesterday.
And ...... how was she going to face Hendrix Stone?
Damian hooped her thin waist and looked up from below, saying, "Ashley, is it fun to do all that fearless struggling when you know you're no match for me?"
"Damian Hearst, you are so forgetful. You're the one who said that I have a problem with being a person. I'm just telling you that I decided to stay away from you. I don't care what you have in mind for me; I hope you can understand," Ashley said.
Damian held her neck down and pressed the tip of her nose against his own. "I'd like to twist it off and taste if it's sweet," he said.
It took a lot of force, but Ashley finally got her cell phone.
No wonder it was so quiet. Damian Hearst had turned it off!
She turned it on and called a cab, and the messages and missed calls rolled in.
Ashley first sends a message to Harold Brin to report that she's safe.
Then, she saw a red dot on WhatsApp in the new friend column. It read, "Hendrix Stone has requested to add you as a friend."
Ashley rubs her finger across her brow, secretly tempted to ignore the alert, but the notifications from Hendrix Stone's read, "There are a couple of messages for you."
After accepting the friend request, the messages from Hendrix came quickly.
Hendrix Stone: [Provide me with the feedback after reading the profiles.]
Ashley arrived at the law firm, and as expected, she was late. Her forgetfulness made her serious and focused.
Harold and Hendrix had a meeting in the conference room. Hendrix took a big case and defended it with Harold.
Ashley breathed a sigh of relief. Thankfully, she didn't have to face the two of them head-on as soon as she walked through the door.
"Ashley," Lynn called out to her.
Ashley's scalp tingles at the thought of what Hendrix said and did last night. "Yes?" she answered.
Lynn had insomnia last night, and her thick makeup couldn't hide the dark circles under her eyes. "I'd like to talk with you!" she said.
