"Don't move! One more step and you'll..." Duke couldn't finish his sentence. Belinda's howl of pain drowned out his voice.
"Ouch!" Belinda tripped on the couch and fell to the ground. The sheet fell off her body and once again, Duke saw her sexy curves.
"I told you to stand still." With a small gloating smile, Duke stepped forward to pick her up.
"Let go of me! It's all your fault." Belinda shook his hand off. She grabbed the sheet and then dashed into the bathroom, face still burning. That was so humiliating. Duke looked at his hand held out for her. Did she really need to run from him like that? He was no monster and he wouldn't bite. Shaking his head, he cast a last glance at the closed bathroom door before getting dressed.
The hotel was the property of the FX International Group, so it was natural that he had his own suite here. Although he seldom stayed the night, the room was always reserved for him in case he needed it for emergencies like last night.
Right as Duke fastened the last button on his outfit, he heard a knock on the door. His assistant arrived more quickly than he had expected. He smiled to himself.
"Boss, I brought what you asked for." Outside of the door, there stood a pretty young woman, slightly panting. There were beads of sweat all over her forehead. She must have run all the way here. She handed over the bag and looked curiously through the half-open door.
"Well done. Thank you. You may go now." Without any hesitation, Duke took the bag and banged the door closed. He couldn't care less what his assistant thought of him. He turned around just in time to see Belinda walk out of the bathroom. She replaced the rumpled sheet with a blue bathrobe, her hands clenching her bathrobe near her neck and her face glowing after the hot shower. Duke paused for a second. However, he soon put on his cold face and threw the bag at Belinda.
"There you are. Get changed, and then we can talk." What's done is done. He didn't mind making it up to her. He thought about being with her even. What happened last night simply moved things forward, at a quick pace.
"What? When did you get these?" Belinda was surprised. She only took a ten-minute shower and he prepared a change of clothes for her. How on earth did he do that?
"Didn't I just make the call? Were you in a trance?" Duke didn't know what to say. He was standing right next to her when he called his assistant. How could she not hear him? He couldn't help wondering how could she managed as an CEO if she was always this slow.
Belinda rolled her eyes at him. She was only being polite. Besides, she had absolutely no interest in who he talked to or what he said.
"Get changed or stay in the bathrobe. Either way suits me." Duke stared at her in primal hunger. He didn't mind if she walked around in that bathrobe.
"Shame on you!" Belinda glared at him and went back to the bathroom holding the bag. She was wrong about this man. Sometimes Duke could be even more annoying than Edward.
Duke's lips curled into a wicked smile. Was he shameless? He didn't think so at all.
Inside the bag there was a long, loose-fitting, orange dress. Belinda lifted the hemline and turned from side to side in front of the mirror. She was used to wearing short skirts. It felt quite uncomfortable to wear a long skirt. She hardly dared to walk in such a thing, for fear of tripping over the hem.
However, Duke seemed to be quite satisfied with her outfit. At least it could cover her curves and stop other men from staring at her greedily.
Maybe Mr. Cold didn't even realize that he became jealous whenever he thought of that there were other men drooling over Belinda. He couldn't even tolerate the thought.
"Spit it out, Duke. What do you want?" Belinda sat opposite him and asked as casually as she could pretend. They never sat down and talked like this before. She was actually nervous but she couldn't let him see through her. Duke's face was as emotionless as usual.
"Tell me, what do you think about last night?" Crossing his long legs casually, Duke played with his wine glass, took a small sip and then looked into her eyes.
"What do I think? Come on, Duke! We're both grown-ups. It was a one-night stand. Big deal! Seriously, I don't need you to be responsible for me!" Belinda was frightened. Did he mean what she thought he meant? No way! She wasn't insane! And she wasn't ready to waste the rest of her life with this man.
"What if I want to be?" Duke's eyes darkened when she called last night as an 'One-night stand'. Didn't she care that he was her first man? Or maybe she was indifferent because she didn't even mind? Any man would be fine for her last night, as long as her longings were being taken care of?
"Mr. Cold, it's not funny at all. Do you really think that it would work out between us?" Duke was furious. Belinda knew it and she wanted to make it worse.
"I think it worked out quite well last night." He knew what she was up to. "In my bed. Don't you think so?" Although he was emotionless, every word he uttered somehow sounded so inviting to Belinda.
"Looking for a friend with benefits?" Belinda retorted sourly. Why did he imply that the sex was great last night? She was not a call girl!
"Friends... with benefits?" Duke looked up and down at her body again before slowly replying, "Fair proposal. I can deal with that." "Well, I can't. I'm not that desperate. So go find someone else and leave me alone." This wasn't a game to Belinda.
She was offended and mad. She didn't like this one bit.