Rachel’s hand was inside his boxers. Her fingers were warm and insistent. Her bare breasts pressed against his chest, and her breath was hot against his neck.
Then his phone buzzed for the fifth time.
"Damien," she whispered. She bit his earlobe. "Ignore it."
He couldn’t ignore it. Because the system had flashing red warnings in his vision, and the name on the screen was Victoria Ashford, and the text that followed made his blood run cold.
Victoria: My mother’s assistant is on campus.
Victoria: She’s watching you.
Victoria: North entrance of the library. 5 minutes. Don’t be late.
Eleanor Ashford’s assistant. On campus. Watching him. Right now. While a half-naked woman was pulling his pants down on a rooftop.
[WARNING: Host is under active surveillance by Ashford Holdings personnel.]
[Surveillance target: Damien Black.]
[Location of observer: Ground level. Science building. Line of sight to rooftop garden.]
[Probability of visual contact: 34%. Probability of photographic evidence: 18%.]
Eighteen percent chance someone was taking photos of him with a topless woman on a rooftop. If those photos reached Eleanor Ashford before Thursday, the luncheon invitation would evaporate. And with it, Main Quest Stage 2.
He grabbed Rachel’s wrist. Gently. But firmly.
"Stop."
She pulled back. Her eyes were wide. Confused. Her tag flickered.
[Rachel Torres. Arousal: 94% → 71%. Confusion: High.]
"What?" she said. "Did I do something wrong?"
"No. You didn’t do anything wrong." He pulled up his pants. Buckled his belt. "I have to go. Right now."
"Right now?" She grabbed her sports bra from the floor. Held it against her chest. "Damien. I’m literally naked on a rooftop for you."
"I know. And I’m sorry. This isn’t about you."
"Then what is it about?"
[System recommendation: Do not disclose surveillance activity. Provide alternative explanation.]
"I have a meeting. An important one. That I forgot about."
"A meeting." She stared at him. "You’re leaving me half-naked on a rooftop because of a meeting."
"I’ll make it up to you."
"You’re damn right you will." She pulled her sports bra on. Then her crop top. Her movements were sharp. Angry. "Who the hell has a meeting at 1 p.m. on a Tuesday?"
Someone whose future depends on it. Someone who can’t afford to be seen with his pants down by the most powerful family in Los Angeles.
"I’ll text you," he said.
"You better." She grabbed her bag. Slung it over her shoulder. "And Damien."
"Yeah?"
"Next time I take my clothes off for you, don’t check your phone."
She walked past him and disappeared down the stairwell. The door slammed behind her.
[Daily Quest: Seduce Rachel Torres. Status: Incomplete. Time remaining: 22 hours and 14 minutes.]
Incomplete. Paused. The quest was still active. He had twenty-two hours to finish what he started. But right now, Victoria Ashford was waiting at the north entrance of the library. And she’d given him five minutes.
He checked the time. Three minutes had passed since her first text. He had two minutes left.
He ran.
Down the stairs. Three at a time. Through the science building. Out the back door. Across the quad. Students scattered as he wove through them. His enhanced body moved with a speed that turned heads. The Stamina Restore kept his lungs from burning.
He reached the north entrance of the library in ninety seconds. One minute to spare.
Victoria Ashford stood by a stone pillar. Alone. No phone. No entourage. Just her. She wore a white blouse and dark jeans. Simple. Understated. Nothing like the red dress from The Vault. This Victoria looked almost normal. Almost human.
[Victoria Ashford. Arousal: 4%. Trust: 12%. Curiosity: 73%. Suspicion: 37%.]
Four percent arousal. Still almost nothing. But trust was up. Curiosity was high. She was here because she wanted to be. Not because her mother told her to.
"You’re fast," she said when he stopped in front of her. She didn’t look impressed. Just observant.
"I run a lot."
"On foot? Or from things?"
"Both."
[Victoria Ashford. Curiosity: 73% → 75%.]
She looked past his shoulder. Scanning the quad. Checking for observers. The movement was practiced. Automatic. A woman who had grown up being watched and had learned to watch back.
"Walk with me," she said. Not a request. An instruction.
They walked. Away from the library. Toward the east side of campus where the trees were thicker and the paths were quieter. She set the pace. Slow. Deliberate. Her heels clicked on the pavement in a rhythm that felt like a metronome.
"My mother invited you to lunch on Thursday," she said.
"I know."
"Do you know why?"
"She’s curious."
Victoria’s lip twitched. Not a smile. Something closer to recognition. "Curious. That’s one word for it. My mother doesn’t get curious. She gets strategic. There’s a difference."
"What’s the strategy?"
"You." She stopped walking. Turned to face him. Her blue eyes were sharp. Surgical. "You fought four men on camera. You went from invisible to infamous in three days. You work at a bar my family frequents. And somehow you’ve caught the attention of every woman on this campus."
[Victoria Ashford. Curiosity: 75% → 78%. Suspicion: 37% → 41%.]
"I haven’t caught your attention," he said. "You’re here warning me. That’s different."
"Is it?"
"You tell me."
She held his gaze. Three seconds. Five. Seven. Neither of them blinked. The air between them was charged with something that wasn’t arousal. Not yet. It was recognition. Two people who saw each other clearly and hadn’t decided what to do about it.
"My mother is going to test you on Thursday," Victoria said. "She does this with everyone she finds interesting. She invites them to the estate. She watches them. She asks questions. She probes for weaknesses."
"And if she finds weaknesses?"
"She uses them." Victoria’s voice was flat. Clinical. "The last person she tested was a business associate of my father’s. She found out he was embezzling. She didn’t report him. She leveraged him. Now he works for her. Completely. Body and soul." This chapter was copied from novelping dot com without permission.
"And you’re telling me this because?"
"Because you have weaknesses Damien. Everyone does. And my mother is very good at finding them."
[Victoria Ashford. Trust: 12% → 15%. Curiosity: 78%. Suspicion: 41%.]
Trust up. She was helping him. Genuinely. The ice queen was giving him a map of the minefield before he walked into it.
"What’s my weakness?" he asked.
"You tell me. What is it that my mother could find and use against you?"
[System perception: Victoria Ashford is testing Host’s self-awareness. Honesty will increase trust. Evasion will increase suspicion.]
He thought about it. His weaknesses. The list was long. He was broke. He was lying to his best friend. He was sleeping with multiple women. He had a system in his head that controlled his life. He had an anonymous stalker with a rival system.
But those weren’t the weaknesses Eleanor Ashford would find. Eleanor didn’t know about the system. She didn’t know about Chloe or Ashley or Rachel. She would find something else. Something on the surface.
"Mia," Damien said. "She’ll find out about Mia. And she’ll use it."
Victoria tilted her head. One millimeter. "The bartender."
"Yes."
"Why is that a weakness?"
"Because I care about her. And people who care about things can be controlled through those things."
[Victoria Ashford. Trust: 15% → 19%. Curiosity: 78% → 81%.]
Trust jumped four points. Because he’d been honest. He’d admitted to a weakness without deflecting. Victoria Ashford lived in a world where everyone lied. Honesty was her currency. And he’d just paid in full.
"Good," she said. "At least you know. Most people don’t. They walk into my mother’s house thinking they’re invincible and walk out owned."
"You said you were warning me. Not threatening me."
"I am warning you. Because if my mother owns you, she’ll use you against my father. And if my father notices you, he won’t test you. He’ll destroy you."
[Victoria Ashford. Trust: 19% → 22%. Suspicion: 41% → 35%.]
[MAIN QUEST STAGE 2: Victoria Ashford has initiated direct personal contact outside of professional settings.]
[Stage 2: COMPLETE.]
[Reward: +500 EXP, +5,000 credited to system wallet.]
[Skill unlocked: Arousal Spike!]
[Arousal Spike: Host can send a targeted pulse of arousal to any woman within visual range. Effect lasts 5 minutes. Cannot be detected consciously. Cooldown: 1 hour.]
[Level up progress: 970/500. Host has leveled up TWICE!]
[Level: 4 → 6]
[Stat points awarded: +4 to distribute freely.]
[New System Shop items unlocked.]
Two levels. From one conversation. Because Victoria had initiated contact. She’d come to him. She’d warned him. She’d opened up.
The system was rewarding him for building genuine trust with the most dangerous woman on campus.
"Thank you," he said. "For the warning."
"Don’t thank me. I’m not doing this for you." She looked away. Toward the trees. "I’m doing this because my mother is bored. And when she’s bored, she plays games with people. And I’m tired of watching people get destroyed."