Chapter 239

Ethan's eyes snapped open. "Do you think this is amusing?" he growled at Vivian.

Vivian's fingers trembled as she pointed at his hair. "I'm serious! There are tiny people crawling all over you—look, they're in your hair now!"

Her voice pitched higher. "And weeds! So many weeds sprouting from your scalp. Let me pull them out!"

Before he could protest, her fingers tangled in his dark strands. "One... two... three..." she counted softly, plucking imaginary foliage.

Ethan exhaled sharply. This was absurd. His anger dissolved into weary resignation. Slumping against the leather seat, he let her continue, indulging her like one would a child lost in make-believe.

Fine. Play your little game. Let's see how long this charade lasts.

The car's interior held an odd intimacy—Vivian focused on her task, Ethan motionless beneath her touch. Strange, yet unexpectedly tender.

"Done!" Vivian finally declared, cupping his stubbled cheeks.

Ethan blinked awake, arching a brow. "What now?"

"Jelly!" She tapped his mouth. "Pink jelly. I want some!"

His breath hitched as her lips crashed against his. Frozen, he barely registered the sweet pressure before she nipped at his bottom lip.

"Mmm... so soft," she murmured between kisses, treating him like a confection.

Ethan's mind short-circuited. Never had she initiated contact like this—clumsy but fervent, as if truly believing his mouth was dessert.

A groan escaped him when she sucked too hard. "Idiot," he rasped, threading fingers through her hair. "This is how you kiss."

His mouth slanted over hers, slow and deliberate. Vivian stilled, then melted into the rhythm he set.

Minutes later, Ethan's vision swam. Tiny figures danced at the edges of his sight. He broke away abruptly. "Don't move. Those... creatures are on you too."

Vivian beamed. "See? I told you!"

They spent the next hour swatting at invisible pests until exhaustion claimed them, limbs tangled in sleep.

Dawn light stabbed Vivian's eyes. Her stomach lurched at the weight around her waist—Ethan's arm, possessive even in slumber. Her dress lay crumpled on the floor.

A scream tore from her throat. She was down to her lace underwear.