Chapter 2 A Dangerous Man

Andrew Lu found a woman standing in the room when he opened the door. Under any other circumstances, he would have thrown out somebody who entered his room without his permission.

But the second he saw Ashley, he was rooted to the spot.

Something stirred within him and, sure enough, something hardened inside his towel.

Andrew was surprised at his body's reaction to this stranger. He never imagined that someone like Ashley would turn him on. For one, he was extremely fussy when it came to women. His strange aversion to women's perfumes was a testament to this fact.

That explained why he wasn't seen with any women.

Pushing that thought aside, his face turned grim. 'Only a few people know I'm here right now. Who sold me out?' Andrew thought to himself.

Meanwhile, Ashley sauntered towards him but tripped and fell right into his arms.

When their eyes met, Andrew felt his pulse quicken.

"Oh my!" He whispered.

Regaining control of his senses, he frowned at the woman in his arms, trying his best to look annoyed at the intrusion.

He stood there, his face like thunder. His disdain for the woman was clearly written across his face.

Ashley, however, relished the feel of his cool skin on her, and before she could stop herself, she was hugging his taut waist.

"Mmm! That's so nice!" she murmured.

To her, Andrew was nothing more than a huge chunk of ice meant to douse the drug-induced fire coursing through her body.

She was losing consciousness by now.

But more importantly, she wasn't behaving like herself as the man she was unknowingly seducing was way out of her league.

"It's so hot..." she whispered. The effects of the drug continued to ravage her body. She felt as though her insides were burning up and finally broke down.

Andrew already regretted not pushing her away at first, but now he felt much worse as this woman shamelessly took advantage of him.

Yet, for some reason he was reluctant to reject her. 'Could it be because she doesn't wear the strong perfume that I loathe on most women?' he pondered.

Everything, including Andrew's face, had turned blurry for Ashley. Andrew carried her over to the bed and laid her down.

Her rippling black hair fell in a thick mass around her. Her purple dress slipped from her shoulder, revealing her creamy skin.

Her petite face was flushed. Her skin had turned pink. And beads of sweat ran down from her white forehead. Her rosy lips looked more inviting as she bit them.

Watching this luscious woman before him, Andrew broke into a sweat despite having stepped out of a cold shower just minutes ago.

"You've brought this upon yourself!" he growled.

The lust in his eyes turned to fire as he threw himself to her.

...

"Oh!" The noise outside woke Ashley up. It seemed to be getting louder and she vaguely heard her name being called out amid all that commotion.

Suddenly Ashley remembered that her wine contained a philtre last night.

Her eyes shot open at once. Ashley got up so fast that she felt a pain inside her special area. "Ouch!" she cried.

In doing so, the sheet slipped from her body, and she saw that her body was covered in bruises. Moreover, the pain between her thighs killed her.

The sight of the scars all over her body made her eyes well up. And a memory flashed vividly in her mind. Peggy had secretly added the philtre in her wine and was about to give her away as a gift to Michael Du.

Scattered memories of last night were surfacing in her mind. Slowly it was all coming back to her. She had managed to get rid of Peggy and had run into an unlocked room.

As Ashley tried to piece together more information, she turned to her side and saw a man lying next to her. His eyes closed and his thin lips slightly pouted. His handsome face was sculpted perfectly, and he looked so peaceful right now.

Ashley breathed a deep sigh of relief when she saw the man's face.

'Thank god! It wasn't Michael Du last night!' she thought to herself.

Ashley clenched her teeth as the noise outside became louder. She was certain that source of the noise was Peggy. She must have given up looking for her last night only to resume today.

Fortunately, the man didn't tear her dress last night. She found her clothes and dressed herself. Luckily, the long hemline hid all the bruises on her body.

"Ouch! It hurts so bad!" Ashley muttered irritably as soon as she got out of bed. All of a sudden her knees went weak and her arms felt heavy. She tumbled down but swiftly gripped the bed for balance.

She glared at the man lying on the bed as the nagging pain between her legs was killing her.

Ashley forced herself to stand up despite the pain. She was certain that Peggy and her team were only after her and she didn't want to create troubles for this man. So she decided to slip out quietly.

She grabbed the bed for support and tried to get up but suddenly a warm hand gripped hers.

Ashley looked up to find that the man was awake.

He was quietly observing her, a strange emotion sparkling in his attractive eyes, which would have made any woman go weak in the knees.

Without bothering about niceties, Ashley blurted out,"They are looking for me. You'd better hide now. You can leave after I go."

"I can take care of this for you," he offered after a while of silence, just before Ashley almost lost her patience. His voice was deep and still a little hoarse as he had just woken up - it sounded so intoxicating. Which woman could resist such an attractive voice?

Ashley, however, was an exception.

She knew that anyone who could afford to live here was either rich or powerful, or both! This man could help her get rid of Peggy once and for all. After all, they didn't have the balls to go against a powerful man like him. After a moment's hesitation, Ashley decided to take a chance.

But she hadn't expected this stranger to offer to help her even before she asked. She believed that there was no such thing as a free lunch in this world but right now she was so grateful for his offer.

"And what do you want in return?" she asked warily. Although she was reluctant to accept the stranger's offer, she knew she needed his protection. After all, she didn't want to be unprepared when she faced them. She knew nothing of their plans.

"Kiss me!" he demanded.

Ashley was so shocked that she couldn't speak. 'What?'

Ashley looked at Andrew in confusion.

"Kiss me!" Andrew said again. He was the sort of man who got what he wanted without ever having to repeat his words, but seeing Ashley's baffled expression, he couldn't help but ask again.