Absurd, that's what Sharmaine suddenly thought of her idea; she wanted to use Ivan to gain more information, after all he's not a man lacking in that department, however, he was the kind of man who needed compensation.
"The play was good, right?"
He smirked. "Yes, it was. I have never seen a woman so persistent. You're quite a bold one."
She stared at his face, not knowing if what he had just said was sarcastic. "Even so, it was still not enough."
"What do you mean?"
"I need more clues." Ivan's breath was all Sharmaine could feel; he was close to him literally. Their lips were inches away and their warm bodies gently touched each other.
"Then I'll help you get the information you want," he said, "But, you have to give me something in return."
The atmosphere changed suddenly. The smile printed on Sharmaine's face dissipated as she remembered that the person that stood close to her will not do favors if he also has no benefits. She locked her eyes to his, questioning her thoughts and decisions internally.
"Name your price." She had a handful amount of money from her job anyway, plus, she could just charge Denzel the extras.
Ivan suddenly let out a sigh. "Sadly, it isn't money I'm after."
Sharmaine paused and locked her pretty eyes to his; his eyes were sharp, slowly piercing through her mind. "What is it you're after?"
A string of silence arose before Ivan answered her question. "It's you."
"This is not the time for jokes, Ivan." She wanted to laugh or throw him off, but when he denied, Sharmaine wore a troubled expression; this was no different from a pr*statute. Sharmaine stared onto his serious eyes—it would be surprising to some but it did not bother her at the slightest. She just plainly assumed that he's still messing around.
"Come on. You should be saying—" She was cut off by a kiss, but oddly, she did not pull back. The kiss felt deeper as Ivan wrapped his manly arms around her slender waist. It lingered when his tongue slipped into hers, sucking her upper lip.
When Ivan pulled back, all Sharmaine did was stare in his eyes. It was pitch black and it turned her on.
"Do you believe me that I want you and not your money?" Ivan said in a soft, intriguing tone. It took a good minute before the situation sunk into Sharmaine's mind. And when it did, she unclasped herself from Ivan's arms in panic.
"W-What did I just do?" She panted and did not know why.
Was it from the kiss, or was it because of the fact that he just kissed her? She knew what he did was absurd and far enough the boundaries of being a joke. Her heart thrummed loudly up to her nape as she looked down. She wanted more, just one more time.
"This is crazy," she said.
"Then, I'll ask you something even crazier." He grabbed her shoulders and leaned closer to her ear, "Shall we continue?"
Sharmaine swallowed. Her vision was getting dull and blank; her rationality started to slowly fade away again. Even her sense of justice and dignity failed her because—her instincts fought with her inner self.
"What do you mean?" she asked, when she clearly knew what he wanted.
"You're not that stupid, Sharmaine. You know what I mean."