Cree lathered his face generously with his aftershave while contemplating the unanswered questions lying in his mind. He had never felt so confused ever in his life.
Ruolan... just how many Ruolans were there in City A?
He absorbed himself in his vague memory of how her fragrance had lingered about him in the bar. Surely not a rich one, but definitely.... unique to her own. He knew that the brand of perfume she had used was definitely not that of a designer brand, but she possessed her own taste, that had intrigued him to desire more from her. The kiss between them had been amazing, and though she had been reluctant at first, she had later opened herself up to sin, and returned his kisses with mischievous kisses of her own. Everything had been fascinating about her, starting from the plunging neckline of her dress, her soft skin, how she had fluttered her eyelashes at him naughtily and the innocence of her smile... Activating his predatory instincts, and beckoning temptingly to him to mark her as his prey.
And then, one thing led to another, and as unexpected as it was, they had ended up in bed together. Her laughter turned to tears of pain the moment their bodies fused together in passion. He savoured the feel of her petite body on his, a sensation that had been so heavenly that time appeared to stop at that moment. Yet, he had regretted it the next morning, when she was gone. If he had more self-control of his actions that night and not got himself extremely drunk, would she have not disappeared?
He had felt dreadful .The guilt of his actions crushed his heart and devastated him. It weighed heavy on his shoulders, burdening him with the actuality that he was a bad man and had ripped her purity and innocence away, and he sought to seek her up and make it up to her.
That, he could probably do, with Ye Qi's identity. He had to remind himself he was Cree Ye, an influential man with a bright future. He would come to perhaps inherit his family's businesses when it was time. But at this juncture, his adoptive parents had no intention to do so, and though he was labelled as 'heir', his adoptive father Ye Nantian had yet to formally announce his decision on whether Ye Qi would really inherit the businesses after all. He was ten when his father had passed away, and being a prodigy, he had completed high school at fifteen, and was fostered by the Ye family. After two years of being with the wealthy couple who were said to have lost their only son in the crowd during a family trip that had ended in tragedy, they adopted him, and he was subsequently renamed from Lu Qi to Ye Qi. And the truth was that they were holding out from announcing him as the heir...for the sake of their lost son, who may come back anytime! For that exact reason, he would often feel like a mule, used by his owners, and desolate.
Would Ruolan fall deep in love with him if he was Ye Qi, opposed to being the mysterious and cold, yet desirable Cree Ye? The thought danced in his mind. He figured that the women in the bar would drown themselves in wealth, loosely dressing themselves as seductively as possible, for the sake of meeting a rich man whom would relieve them of their misery. Unfortunately, he was not that man they saw Cree Ye to be.
Even Ruolan had occurred to be one of these desperate gold-diggers, based on her attire that night! Like the partying women, she too had dressed scantily, and had unknowingly hooked a big fish. But because he wasn't Cree Ye that night and had been enticed by him in giving up her virtues under the effect of alcohol, he probably had no means of retaining her, and she had sneaked away when he was asleep, so as he thought.
He felt pathetic, as he stared back as the handsome man in his reflection and put on his outdoor clothes. Nevertheless, he was going to be Cree today, and he was heading to the VIP gym, the Downtown VIP. He would immerse himself in his routine exercises, and build up a toned body, and attract more women than he could ever imagine! But could immersing himself in sports aide him to release himself from the disappointment of not being able to have her?
It didn't matter whether he was Cree or Ye Qi, because he could gain women and benefit from it! He was twenty-six now, and he decided it was time. In the past, he had focused too much on his individual achievements, and after meeting Ruolan in the bar, he decided it was time! He had worked so much for the Yes, and there would be a time one day that he would be free from their influence. They had done much for him, providing for him with their riches, but if their lost son returned to them, would he even be wanted at all?
Apparently, he had mixed feelings about himself after meeting Ruolan. Firstly, he was guilty for having slept with her, but he was also slightly enraged with her because she had left him abruptly without a goodbye from her. He was left feeling empty and in denial upon discovering her missing. Originally, he was the cold and dashing Cree Ye with the power to reject women, which he had more than once in the past while he was focused on his achievements, but he had just met someone who had just left him heartlessly without a word! He hated that she didn't even think of his feelings, and he had just wanted to have another look at her, maybe even trade numbers with her, and they could go out for a meal. Perhaps, everything but... that. He could ensure it didn't happen again, as long she would give him a chance.
Too many emotions, and they were a turmoil in his mind right now! He couldn't fathom why he was so obsessed by that pretty stranger. He understood how he had wanted her so badly, and was affected negatively by her departure. On the other hand, he didn't want to feel deterred by her 'rejection', because of his ego. He took it out on the machines at the gym.
Was it like his partner Luo An had said, that it would just take one girl to drive him to the dark side, but in the end, he could have anyone he wanted? If he couldn't have Ruolan, would having all the women in the world appease him?
Ruolan, just what kind of woman are you to have such an effect on Cree Ye? He questioned in his mind, as he entered the gym with a tap of his gold VIP card.
Thirty minutes later, a playful and innocent female voice distracted him, interrupting the silence of the gym as he was raging on the machines.
"Sir, I need your help. I don't know how to use these machines, they are completely different from the ones in the previous gym I went to!"
He turned towards the owner of the familiar face, and guided her step-by-step on how to use the machines.
"No problem," he said coldly. Behind his dark shades, who would know that his eyes were actually twinkling with vigour on what he was planning to do next?
This time, she would not escape his clutches. Since she had chosen to approach him while he was Cree, things would take an unexpected turn for the better, or worst.
Qiao Ruo had efficiently booked a private ride with the application, and proceeded to pay with her bank card. Fortunately, the office had given her some provision for her expenses, and along with the balance of what 'Mr. Ye' had given her, she managed to acquire a three-day trial VIP membership that included access to the gym facilities. A locker had been provided for convenience, where she offloaded her duffle bag and a backpack containing a few days' change of clothes, that she would often carry around with her in the event she needed to change in something more conducive for the occasion she was attending.
She commenced her pretence by observing the members present at the gym that day, and pondered which one, out of all the sexy men present, was Cree Ye. Every man there seemed more handsome than the next, and then her eyes were fixated on one man, who had appeared to stand out from the others. Furthermore, he was the only one out of them wearing sunglasses, and he did not bother to speak to the other VIPs, who shunned him like a virus. Judging by his choice of sports attire, he was an eccentric, and liked to stick to his own style.
She knew naught about the trends, but didn't Ye Nantian, Cree Ye's adoptive father, own a group of companies that included garment production? Ironically, he had even named it Qing Tian, which meant cloudless sky. She didn't know the meaning of it, given his name had 'tian' (the Chinese character for sky) in it as well, and perhaps the name of the group had been derived from a memory or part of the name of a person close to Ye Nantian.
"Mister Ye," a uniformed attendant served the man in sunglasses courteously with an isotonic bottle on a tray, and he promptly accepted it without saying a word. She noticed how cold he appeared despite being unable to see the emotion in his eyes as they were sheltered by his shades, she assumed that he was just as suave as the papers had often depicted him. He had a particular taste for appearing cryptic, and not once had he made an appearance without wearing his sunglasses.
She spied Cree as he handsomely took a cultured mouthful of water from the bottle, and then draped his sports towel around his neck, resuming his exercise on the treadmill. It then came to her that the treadmill beside him was unoccupied, and she knew her chance had come. Ensuring that nobody was watching, she promptly tiptoed towards the power source that the treadmill had been connected to, and gave a little kick on the power cable of the treadmill to disconnect it from its power source. And it was done!
As she strode back to the treadmill beside him, she bit down on her lower lip and eyed him meticulously, while trying her best at keeping up her act that she was a young and wealthy socialite. She put on an innocent smile, and uttered the sentence that she had been practising in the fitting room. Lady Luck was on her side, as the other treadmills were coincidentally occupied since it was a weekend, and the man looked up at her briefly, appearing slightly amused by her antics. To her astonishment, although he was as cold as he was with the attendant earlier, he indulged her request without a further question!
He solved the issue of the power source immediately, and then to her surprise, they magically hit it off with each other! He wasn't like her secondary school male classmates before, using cheesy pick-up lines for her attention (and failing badly, of course), but instead, he was extremely practical. Other than the fact that he was cold and emotionless, the topics he had created during their conversation had been pleasing and entertaining to her. Nonetheless, she had to be careful with what she said to avoid being called out, and act wilful and spoiled while feigning ignorance. She kept her answers short, acting as immature and innocent as she could. However, she let her guard down when Cree mentioned the Evanescence Bar. Fortunately, Cree did not seem to suspect that she was not rich, and he even guided her to use the other machines in the gym. After an hour, she decided she had enough, and she was not used to the extreme training from Cree, who was a devil with the machines!
"I'm going to hit the showers," she said, longingly gazing into his eyes, and he walked with her to the locker room. He sharply noted that they were the only ones present in the room, and the very minute she had merely reached to unlock the locker to obtain her duffle bag, he had lifted her and pinned her against the back of the locker. She felt tender and defenceless in his grasp, and she tried to rescue herself from the devil.
"Cree," she squeaked. "What are you doing? Don't you think it's a little fast?"
He laughed coldly. "Nothing is ever too fast in my dictionary." He pressed harder against her petite body, and placed his lips on hers, so close that they were touching. She objected with the excuse she needed a shower, and was covered in sweat.
"I like how you smell." Again, his voice was cold, but it had been tempting. She had a sudden feeling she had heard this voice before, but she couldn't remember where.
He laid a hand on her waist. "Xiao Ruo, you aren't allowed to leave, until I say so."
Xiaoruo? Just how cute was this nickname he was calling her by. It felt affectionate coming from him, she thought.
"Are you intending to enter the showers with me?" she teased, eyeing him with her large and round eyes.
He frowned, which she identified from the creases above his eyebrows. "I'll be waiting here for you," he said. "Don't try to be funny, I don't like jokes."
"I promise I won't run," she found herself admitting to him. "Since meeting here is fate, perhaps we could go for a coffee?"
He snickered. "So, you actually know your place. Fine, we'll meet here once you're done with your shower."
With his words, she would have thought that he would have released her immediately, but instead, he tormented her by engrossing himself in tracing her cheeks with his fingers in little circles. She felt intimidated, but she also enjoyed the sense of intimacy and being dominated by him. Then he decreased the distance between them, shoving her harder against the locker and pushing his sweaty body against that of hers.
It felt even more intimate.
"Cree!" she opened her mouth to protest, but he silenced her with a firm kiss on the lips, followed by the sensual intrusion of his tongue in her mouth. His kisses were strong and forceful, and had been aimed at making her bend to his will. Despite how hard she struggled, she couldn't break free from the tenacity of his hold on her. He used one arm to pin both her hands above her head, while the other pinched her waist sharply. She flinched from her pain, and gradually he stopped his torture, instead increasing the depth of his kisses and kissing her wildly. Eventually, she found herself succumbing to him, not wishing for him to stop. She was powerless, and imprisoned by him in her attraction for him.
The predator had marked his prey.