His words were full of malice, sending a chill down Jasmine Sinclair’s spine.
"Cut the brake lines. A fatal crash..."
Was this advice a normal person would give? This was clearly incitement to commit a crime.
Jasmine Sinclair turned to look behind her, but there was no one there. Only when she looked up did she spot someone standing on the second-floor balcony of the neighboring villa.
A young man, holding a beer bottle, was casually leaning against the ornate marble railing, watching her.
The cool night wind brushed aside the fine strands of hair on his forehead, revealing a pair of captivating, almond-shaped eyes. A tiny red mole dotted the upturned corner of his left eye like a solidified drop of blood. When he looked over, the mole seemed to shift with his gaze, exuding a bewitching and dangerous aura.
Well now, wasn’t this Aiden Hayes? One of the five psychos she was supposed to capture—the clingy, crazed, devotedly obsessive one?
Jessica Adler was a sucker for good looks, and it showed. This guy’s appearance was simply divine. Those alluring eyes paired with a beauty mark... who could resist? Especially since this one was an innocent college boy.
In the few short seconds their eyes met, Jasmine was already brainstorming how to capture this psycho.
Should she use the classic tactic of the vicious villainess from a romance novel? Drugging him?
No, that wouldn’t work. According to standard novel plots, the villainess’s success rate with drugging was only 0.01 percent. And even if it worked, there was a 99.9 percent chance she’d end up with the wrong person.
These days, shitty authors were full of malice towards villainesses. Why was it that the heroine could walk into the wrong room and sleep with a drugged, handsome, rich, and devoted CEO, while the villainess either did all the work just to benefit the heroine or slept with the wrong person? And after sleeping with the wrong person, she would, one hundred percent of the time, be caught by a crowd and end up trending on social media.
Sigh. It seemed she’d have to find a way to win Aiden’s heart first, and then his body.
What a pain. If only she could just go for forced seduction like those overbearing CEOs in novels. Just tie him to the bed and do the deed. Even if it didn’t stir up true love, she could at least induce a case of Stockholm syndrome. Then, no matter what kind of psycho he was, wouldn’t he have to obey her every command?
While Jasmine was brainstorming, Aiden, on the balcony, grew impatient with her silent staring. "Hey, what are you spacing out for?"
He felt that the way Jasmine was looking at him was a little odd, as if she were plotting something.
Jasmine snapped back to reality and met Aiden’s probing gaze, a faint smile on her lips. "What exactly did you see just now?"
Aiden’s alluring eyes narrowed, a playful curve on his lips. "I saw everything. Jasmine Sinclair, you’re as wicked as ever."
"So what if I’m wicked? Is it any of your business? You’re the one standing on your balcony in the middle of the night spying on me. Don’t tell me you have a secret crush on me?"
There wasn’t a trace of panic on Jasmine’s face at being caught red-handed. Instead, she gave Aiden a provocative look.
"Ha, me have a crush on you? Jasmine Sinclair, have you lost your mind?"
Aiden pointed at himself, then at her, as if he’d just heard the most ridiculous joke in the world.
Don’t be fooled by Jasmine’s frail appearance; on the inside, she was a bad seed.
She had been deeply manipulative since she was little. When she was six, Jasmine took him to her older brother Caleb Sinclair’s room and goaded him into catching Caleb’s prized Dragon Fish with her to play.
They ended up playing the fish to death. Then, while he was busy burying the evidence, she ran off to tattle to Caleb Sinclair, blaming him for everything. She even clutched the dead fish and cried as if her own brother had died, getting him a harsh beating from Caleb.
It was only later that he figured it all out. Before that incident, Jasmine had constantly complained to him that Caleb only cared for that fish all day and never played with her. She must have wanted the fish dead for a long time but was afraid of Caleb finding out, so she roped him in specifically to take the fall.
Of course, he got his revenge later. On a trip to the zoo with the Sinclair siblings, he took a moment when no one was looking and pushed Jasmine into the lion enclosure. Unfortunately, the lions had just eaten. They only circled her and licked her a bit, causing no real harm, but it still scared her half to death.
After that, Jasmine never dared to provoke him again, avoiding him whenever she saw him. What was wrong with her today, talking to him so brazenly?
***
"Are you done yet or not?"
Jasmine squatted beside Aiden, her voice low and impatient. "If you keep dawdling, the sun’s going to come up."
"You keep rushing me, and I swear I’ll shout right now. Let’s have your parents and your brothers come see what you’re up to."
Aiden threw down the wrench in his hand and pretended he was about to yell.
He must have been crazy earlier to agree to help Jasmine dismantle this motorcycle’s engine.
But when she looked at him with those moist, pleading eyes, his body seemed to agree on its own, nodding before he could stop it. It felt as if, in that moment, he would have unhesitatingly agreed to any request she made, no matter how outrageous.
Damn it. This new Jasmine seemed even more bewitching than before.
"Don’t!"
Seeing that Aiden was about to shout, Jasmine quickly clapped a hand over his mouth.
When her soft palm pressed against his lips without warning, the sweet scent of peach mixed with the warmth of her hand exploded in his senses. Aiden’s pupils contracted instantly. His heart felt as if it had been struck by a heavy hammer, a strange, dull ache and a wild throbbing blooming in his chest.
Thump, thump.
Damn it, why was his heart beating so fast?
Jasmine kept her hand pressed firmly over Aiden’s mouth, leaning close to his ear and whispering in the lowest possible voice, "Don’t shout. I won’t rush you anymore. Take your time."
Her gentle voice, hushed and low, coiled by his ear. As he felt her warm breath ghost across his skin, Aiden’s entire body went numb. Every tiny hair on his body seemed to tremble along with his agitated heart, and his own breathing became hot and erratic.
"Let go. I won’t shout."
Aiden’s muffled, hoarse voice sprayed warm breath across her soft palm. His lips brushed lightly against her skin, the warm, soft contact making his blood boil. A strange excitement surged through him, and he found himself wanting more.
As if oblivious to Aiden’s subtle movements, Jasmine only pulled her hand back after he promised not to shout. Her fingertips seemed to graze his hot lips unintentionally as she did.
Feeling the warmth of her fingertips, Aiden pressed his lips together. If he didn’t know that Jasmine was obsessed with Zachary Locke, he would have suspected she was trying to seduce him.
Jasmine picked up the wrench from the ground and handed it to Aiden, her voice sweet and soft as she coaxed him. "Go on. I won’t rush you."
Looking at her hand wrapped around the wrench, Aiden’s Adam’s apple bobbed unconsciously.
Her hand looked so much smaller than his—so pale, so soft. It seemed like it would feel nice to touch.
Aiden reached out and took the wrench from her. The rough pads of his fingers seemed to unintentionally brush against the delicate skin of her palm.
Her skin was even softer than he’d imagined.
Aiden crouched down and went back to twisting the bolts. The cold, metallic glint of the engine screws reflected the dark tide churning in his eyes. A wicked curve formed on his thin lips.
Jasmine rubbed her own tingling palm, her gaze falling on Aiden’s knuckles, which had turned white from exertion. The corners of her mouth lifted into a faint, meaningful smile.