Time elapsed second by second. To her disappointment, she got no response from him. All she saw was him standing stiffly, pinching his brow.
Yasmin opened the door with a squeak.
"Shit…" Declan muttered under his breath, his fingers still pressing against his brow.
He regretted yelling at her. He wanted to apologize, but the word 'sorry' refused to come out of his mouth. He didn't know how to persuade her either.
"Don't leave." That was what he could say.
He turned to her, his gaze pleading.
Yasmin was even more enraged. He scolded her first, then asked her not to leave.
'Why can't he say something nice?'
Her lips formed a tight pout as she closed the door back. "Why?" she exclaimed, turning to him. "Are you not done yet with your scolding?"
"Yasmin…" He moved in closer to her.
"No, no… I don't want to stay here and be scolded again," Yasmin continued without listening to him. "I'm not a child, so don't expect me to sit here and take it all in."
"Listen to me…"
"Why are you stopping me now? Are you regretful? Are you going to apologize? Then why are you not saying sorry? You… Mm… um."
Declan pressed his index finger against her lips, silencing her.
Yasmin glanced down at his finger, her eyes widening. She couldn't control the flutter within her tummy, the violent heartbeat. She swallowed hard as she looked into his eyes.
Her eyes were half-closed when he brushed his finger gently over her lips. Her brain was going to shut down. Tingling ran across her body.
Adrenaline surged in her veins, so much that she nearly forgot to breathe. Her heart was a ticking time bomb.
She parted her lips.
At that very moment, his lips locked with hers.
Mm… The warmth of his lips and his minty fresh breath conquered her mind and body.
She was on fire again. His kiss was intense, hungry, drawing her into his warmth.
Her knees gave up.
He wrapped his arms around her and pushed her upward, allowing her to wrap her legs around his waist.
"Uh…" she gasped, looking at him with her wide eyes.
Oh, his eyes were half-closed, clouded with lust, seeking permission.
Yasmin shuddered, her face red. She stared at him dumbstruck, clutching his shoulders.
Declan also stared at her, waiting for her to make a move. A subtle hint was all he needed to proceed further. But all he saw was her perplexed expression.
He became aware that he was rushing.
He gently put her down. "You… It's not fair."
"Huh?" She arched her eyebrows, even more perplexed.
"How can someone be so tempting?"
"Tempting?"
He quirked his lips into a smirk. "I can't wait to show you how tempting you are."
He then pressed his soft, smooth lips delicately onto her brow.
Yasmin's eyes closed automatically. She was under the impression that she would pass out. Her stomach fluttered again, and her pulse rate quickened. Her hands were limp against his chest. His patchouli scent made it impossible to think anything rationally.
She yearned for more and more.
"Stay here," he murmured, his breath tickling her skin. "I have some unfinished work. Let me finish it. Then we will go to the mansion together."
"Okay," she whispered back dazedly.
Yasmin suddenly felt cold and empty around her. She shot open her eyes and found him walking to his seat. She gaped at him, her head tilted to the left.
He remained calm, as if nothing had happened, while she struggled to control her heartbeat. She wondered how he could behave so cool.
"Are you planning to stand there all the time?" His deep voice pulled her out of her reverie.
She blinked and said, "No… I-I…" She looked around, but not at him, embarrassed at being caught staring at him.
"Sit down." He nodded to the black three-seater sofa with a fur rug over the back, across from his mahogany work table.
"Oh, yes… of course." She sat down. "You carry on," she said, pretending to be calm. But her flushed face and shaky hands betrayed her. "I will also finish my homework."
She clumsily pulled out her copies from the bag. Her hands trembled to the point where she dropped her books. She hurried to get her books, giving him an awkward smile. Her forehead collided with the glass-topped central table.
"Ouch…" She rubbed her brow, twisting her mouth. Her face turned crimson as she peeked at Declan. When she saw him focusing on his laptop, she heaved a sigh in secret.
She would have died of embarrassment if he had seen her clumsiness. She gathered her books quickly and sat on the sofa.
Declan put his fingers on his chin, struggling with the urge to smile as he watched her clumsiness. He kept his gaze on the laptop, pretending not to notice anything.
Yasmin tried hard to keep her gaze on her book, but she couldn't stop herself from peeking at him from time to time and found him focused on his work every time.
It turned out that she was the only one who couldn't concentrate on her homework. Declan didn't appear to have palpitations or stomach fluttering.
She pulled her eyes down to her book. The black letters appeared to float on the page, jumbling the words and making it difficult for her to read. She stared at the letters blankly, as if she didn't know how to read and write.
She became bored soon, gawking at the book. Her wandering gaze landed on the antique clock hung on the wall behind his high-back leather chair. It was half-past five.
A bookshelf on the left side wall of the work table held stacks of folders and several books on business management. Next to the shelf was a brown IKEA table with a fax machine on top. On the right side of the sofa was the bathroom, while on the left was an oil painting depicting the ocean.
Yasmin checked everything in the office but her book. She had lost count of how many times she had looked at the fax machine and the painting. She stared at them as if they were something she had never seen before.
"Are you done?" His deep voice boomed inside the room, jarring her back to reality.
"No…" She shook her head. "I will do it later." She smiled awkwardly, closing her books and stuffing them back into the bag. Since she had wasted a good hour just glancing around her surroundings, she had to do her homework later.
"Cool." Declan turned off the laptop. "Let's go." He rose from his seat and made his way to the door.