Jasmine Sinclair stood before the man, bent at the waist. Her cheeks were flushed crimson from the alcohol. She tilted her head, a sweet smile on her face as she looked at him sitting on the sofa. Her shimmering almond eyes were a heady mix of intoxication and flirtation, and her voice was breathy and soft. "Hello, can you do me a favor?"
"I can’t—mmph..."
Dexter Ashford’s words of refusal had barely left his mouth before they were smothered by the girl’s soft lips. All sound was stifled.
Beneath his gold-rimmed glasses, his dark eyes flew wide. His mind went completely blank, leaving only the warm, soft pressure on his lips. He could faintly taste something peachy, sweet like a fruit wine, yet somehow even more intoxicating.
Lachlan Lowell and his friends stared, completely stunned. An immense wave of jealousy washed over them. Why didn’t beautiful women ever just grab them for a kiss out of the blue? They wanted to be ambushed by a beauty too.
At the next table, Shannon Ashford and her friends also stared wide-eyed. Kai Keane, who was already a bit tipsy, was so shocked that his glass slipped from his hand and shattered on the floor. They never would have imagined that the usually meek and gentle Jasmine Sinclair had such a fierce side to her.
’They were both trying to get someone to do something against their will, but Lachlan Lowell’s moral standards were clearly much higher than hers. He had spouted a ton of crap and still gotten nowhere. Not her. She went straight for it, whether the other person was willing or not. After all, she’d learned from the best—the domineering CEOs of romance novels. A forced kiss was a classic move. If they could do it, so could she.’
’Learn romance from a domineering CEO. Beat them at their own game. Those CEOs always managed to make the heroine’s heart skip a beat, and Jasmine was sure she could do the same.’
Jasmine continued the kiss, holding up her right hand to count off the seconds. Only when she reached ten did she finally pull her lips away from his. She then looked at the man on the sofa, who was still dazed from the kiss, and said apologetically, "Sorry about that. I’m just not a fan of being told no."
Her face was a mask of apology, but her words were straight out of a domineering CEO’s playbook.
’It didn’t quite fit her usual innocent, ’green tea’ persona, but she was playing a drunk right now. It should be fine even if she broke character a little.’
Lachlan Lowell let out an excited whistle at her words. "Hey, gorgeous," he teased, "why bother with him? Ask me for help. I’d be more than happy to oblige."
Jasmine glanced at Lachlan Lowell through hazy, drunken eyes, then shook her head in disgust. "You? Nope. You’re not as handsome as he is. I like the handsome ones."
At that, the other young heirs beside them erupted in laughter. "Did you hear that, Mr. Lowell? The lady thinks you’re not as handsome as Professor Ashford."
Having his looks publicly criticized made Lachlan Lowell feel he’d lost face. He was just about to act out when he saw Kai Keane and Leo Ford approaching with two beautiful women in tow. His eyes immediately lit up. One was fair-skinned and lovely with cute dimples; the other was curvy, glamorous, and utterly captivating. Both were exactly his type.
"Mr. Lowell, I’m so sorry. My childhood friend is drunk. She’s offended your friend, and I’d like to apologize to him on her behalf."
Kai Keane said to Lachlan Lowell with a smile, then shot a look at Shannon Ashford and Ava Wallace.
Taking his cue, Shannon Ashford and Ava Wallace moved toward Jasmine, who had already squeezed past one of the young heirs to plop down next to Dexter Ashford. They flanked her, one on each side, and tried to haul her off the sofa. But it was as if Jasmine’s bottom were glued to the cushions; no matter how they pulled, she wouldn’t budge.
"Mr. Keane, your childhood friend has some serious nerve, kissing someone the second she shows up... Terrifying, really."
Lachlan Lowell laughed as he teased. Now that he knew the girl was Kai Keane’s childhood friend, he decided to let the earlier insult about his looks slide.
’What did ’childhood friend’ imply? They didn’t just grow up together; their families were almost certainly old friends. And any family on such terms with the Keanes had to be part of Capitoline’s elite. They were all in the same circle. If he made a big deal out of a drunken remark, it would only make him look petty.’
"Seriously, I’m so sorry. It was my fault. I shouldn’t have made a bet with her while she was drunk. I’m terribly sorry for the offense to your friend. How about this? We’ll cover your entire tab for the night as an apology. What do you say?"
Kai Keane said with a placating smile, his gaze shifting to the man Jasmine had ambushed with a kiss. ’Jasmine really has good taste,’ he thought. ’Even drunk, she knew to pick the handsomest guy in the room. She definitely didn’t lose out on that exchange.’
"I’m not the one who can accept an apology," Lachlan said, his teasing gaze landing on Dexter Ashford, who had remained silent on the sofa. "After all, I’m not the one who got kissed. It was my friend. You’ll have to ask our dear Professor Ashford."
’If a beautiful woman had ambushed him with a kiss, he’d be over the moon,’ Lachlan thought. ’But Dexter has always been so proud and aloof. To him, a forced kiss is probably less of a treat and more of a desecration of his holy temple of a body.’
"I don’t argue with drunks."
Dexter Ashford’s voice was level, the gaze behind his gold-rimmed glasses unrippled. His tone was so nonchalant you would think he wasn’t the one who had just been kissed. But only he knew that he was still savoring that soft, sweet taste.
The scent of peaches from the girl beside him, mingled with alcohol, continuously burrowed into his senses, forcefully invading his every breath. It made his head spin, feeling starved of oxygen, and stirred a dangerous impulse for more.
"Well, since our dear Professor Ashford doesn’t mind being taken advantage of, then I guess we don’t have a problem either," Lachlan Lowell said, shrugging with a grin.
Seeing his chance, Leo Ford turned to the bunny girl, Renee Sullivan, who was still standing there in a daze. "Quick! Bring more wine—the most expensive you have. Put it on my tab."
’Kai handled the groveling and apologies, so he’d take care of the spending.’
Seeing that the wealthy heirs’ attention was no longer on her, Renee Sullivan scurried away to get the wine. ’I’m so lucky today,’ she thought. ’If that drunk girl hadn’t shown up and caused such a scene, those guys definitely wouldn’t have let me off the hook.’
"Jasmine, come on, get up. You’re drunk. We’ll take you home."
Unable to drag Jasmine away, Shannon Ashford could only try to coax her patiently.
’She’s usually so delicate, so how is she this strong when she’s drunk? The two of us can’t even budge her!’
Jasmine shook their hands off and threw her arms around the man’s arm beside her. "Don’t worry," she slurred. "I kissed you, so I’ll take responsibility for you."
"What responsibility? You have a fiancé!" Shannon Ashford hissed, quickly clamping a hand over Jasmine’s mouth to stop her from spouting more nonsense.
’What if he actually took her seriously and demanded she take responsibility when she sobered up?’
’There were familiar faces in this room. If some gossipmonger repeated this to Zachary Locke, what would he think?’
’Ever since that girl from the countryside was brought back, the Lockwood family had been worried about Jasmine’s position in the Sinclair family and were already considering calling off the engagement. If word of this got back to them, it would be the perfect excuse they were looking for.’
The moment Dexter Ashford heard that one word—"fiancé"—the eyes behind his gold-rimmed glasses darkened. His head, which had been spinning just moments before, was suddenly crystal clear. A grim, cold smirk touched his lips.