“Miss Witch, it’s one thing to refuse taking responsibility, but mind-wiping me?
That’s just cruel.” Holden held her delicate wrist, eyeing her oversized shirt with a half-smile.
He had to admit, seeing the all-powerful Scarlet Witch wrapped in his button-down gave her an indescribably cute, contrasting charm.
“Have we…
met before?” Wanda stared right into Holden’s eyes, her own wide with confusion.
For some inexplicable reason, being near him felt so safe, so familiar.
Plus, he clearly possessed some sort of special power!
Could they have crossed paths in the HYDRA labs?
The man sitting in front of her was undeniably powerful.
She racked her brain, but her memories came up completely empty.
“Nope,” Holden replied without a second thought, his thumb gently tracing the soft skin of her wrist.
“Nice try, my dear witch, but playing the ‘don’t I know you from somewhere’ card isn’t going to get you out of taking responsibility!” In reality, the moment Wanda tried to invade his mind, the Phoenix Force had automatically flared up to shield him.
The Phoenix Force was completely immune to any form of psychic attack.
Furthermore, the Phoenix Force and Wanda’s Chaos Magic were both among the universe’s oldest, most primal energies.
That underlying cosmic connection was exactly why they felt a strange, inherent familiarity with one another.
“I…” Faced with Holden’s relentless teasing, Wanda guiltily lowered her head.
She knew perfectly well that if she hadn’t unintentionally unleashed her Chaos Magic last night, things would never have escalated like this.
But taking responsibility?
How was she supposed to answer that?!
She knew she was totally in the wrong here, but still!
While she was frantically trying to come up with an excuse, Holden—standing at nearly six-foot-three with a muscular build—suddenly leaned in, practically pinning her against the bed.
His masculine scent washed over her instantly, making her heart hammer frantically against her ribs.
She looked up in a panic.
“Don’t you dare…” Explicit memories from the night before immediately flashed across her mind.
‘It hasn’t even been that long, and he’s already in the mood again?!’ “What do you mean, ‘don’t dare’?” Holden flashed a wicked grin, lowering his head until their eyes were locked.
“I thought you were going to take responsibility?” “Um…” Flustered, Wanda immediately broke eye contact, stammering as she tried to form a coherent sentence.
Ding dong!
Just then, the doorbell echoed through the house.
“Mr.
Holden, Mr.
Tony Stark is here!” a maid called out from the hallway.
“Tony is here?!” Hearing that name, Wanda’s mind instantly went blank, the hair on the back of her neck standing on end.
She couldn’t even fathom the fallout if Tony Stark found out what had just happened here.
Seeing her look like a deer in headlights, a smirk tugged at the corner of Holden’s mouth.
He let go of her wrist and affectionately ruffled her messy blonde hair.
“Relax.
He’s here for me.” A while back, Holden had received a block of Stark Industries shares as a system reward.
As a minor shareholder, he and Tony kept in touch from time to time.
“Oh, thank God…” Wanda let out a massive sigh of relief.
She had no idea why the billionaire was visiting, but as long as he wasn’t looking for her, she didn’t care.
But Holden’s next words made her want to cry.
“You seem awfully relieved.” He leaned in close, lightly hooking a finger under her soft chin.
“You better be a good, obedient girl.
You wouldn’t want Tony finding out about this, would you?” He had to admit, seeing the Scarlet Witch looking so indignant yet totally helpless gave him an inexplicable sense of satisfaction.
“You…” Feeling his warm breath brush against her skin, Wanda blinked her wide eyes and bit her lower lip, not daring to talk back.
‘This guy is unbelievable!
He’s literally blackmailing me like some cartoon villain!’ Knock, knock!
“Mr.
Holden, Mr.
Stark is waiting in the first-floor drawing room,” the maid’s voice reported through the wood.
“Got it, I’ll be right down!” Holden called back.
He turned his gaze back to Wanda, staring right at her.
“Well, my lovely little witch, this is your last chance.
Write down your number, or I’m going downstairs to tattle.” “Tattle?!” Wanda gasped, her breathing growing heavy.
The rapid rise and fall of her chest stretched the fabric of the oversized shirt in an incredibly distracting way.
“If anyone should be complaining to Tony, it’s me!” Sure, she had been the one to initiate things, but he was the one who took full advantage of the situation!
And now he was using it against her?!
She couldn’t wrap her head around how this infuriating man could act so righteous about it.
“The choice is yours.” Holden’s eyes roamed over her without a shred of restraint.
Given her identity as an Avenger, playing this little game with her brought him a refreshing rush of adrenaline.
“Fine!
Just give me a second!” Wanda huffed angrily.
Scanning the room, she spotted a notepad and pen on the nightstand.
She crawled over to grab them, but the moment she glanced over her shoulder, she caught Holden staring intensely at her backside.
“Pervert,” she muttered under her breath.
Quickly scribbling down a string of digits, she shoved the paper at him.
“Here’s my number.
Call me if you need something.” Holden pulled out his own phone, looking at her with deliberate skepticism as he punched in the number.
“You keep digging, pushing, driving, like a hammer hitting in my head space…” Only when the energetic ringtone blared from Wanda’s phone on the table did he finally smile and hang up.
Wanda blinked, then glared at him furiously.
“You actually thought I gave you a fake number?!” “Hey, it was my first time.
I have to be careful who I give myself to,” Holden replied, smugly waving his phone at her.
“Where are my clothes?” she asked with a pout, feeling the rough friction of the shirt against her skin.
She didn’t want to stay in this room for another second.
“Washed and hanging in the closet.” Holden raised an eyebrow, a teasing smile playing on his lips.
“Leaving so soon?
Tony’s right downstairs, you know.” “I’ll go out the window!” Wanda gestured with her chin.
There was absolutely no way she was letting Tony see her like this.
The Avengers were already drowning in a massive PR nightmare; sneaking out of some random guy’s bedroom in broad daylight wasn’t exactly a good look for the team.
“Suit yourself.
Make sure to keep your phone on,” Holden reminded her, planting his feet and openly staring as she moved toward the closet.
“Turn around!” Just from his lingering gaze, Wanda knew exactly what he was hoping to see.
“This is my house.
Besides, it’s already memorized up here,” Holden said, tapping his temple with a smirk.
“You!” Wanda ground her teeth.
Talking to this guy felt like talking to her absolute kryptonite.
With a flick of her wrist, she telekinetically pulled the duvet into the air, using it as a floating curtain to block his view while she frantically changed back into her scarlet uniform.
Holden couldn’t stop grinning as he watched Wanda nervously slip out the window, darting away like a thief in the night.
“Sneaking out of my place like a cat burglar…” [Ding!
You have established a special relationship with Wanda, the Scarlet Witch!] [Reward received: God-Tier Magic Talent!]