Chapter 1 A Fling

The distant mountains were covered with snow, and the spruces stood neatly lined up.

Yet, inside the room, the atmosphere was passionate and intoxicating.

Norene Spencer got out of bed, retrieved her slip dress from the floor, and slipped it on. Approaching an old wooden table, she picked up a cigarette from the man's cigarette box, examining it closely. "Does this cigarette taste good?"

The man, just settling into an even breathing rhythm, replied with a rough, yet alluring voice, "Why not give it a try?"

Norene pondered for a moment and then shook her head.

The man was reclining casually, propping his head with one hand. Dressed only in a white bath towel around his waist, his impressive physique and defined muscles were hard for Norene to ignore. He playfully arched his eyebrows, his gaze leisurely on her. "You're hesitant to try it, aren't you?"

Norene agreed, returning the cigarette to its box. "I'm worried about getting addicted to it. Plus, buying cigarettes will cost me."

The man let out a laugh, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Weren't you concerned about becoming addicted when you had sex with me?"

After a brief pause, Norene replied with a chuckle, "Yes, I was. But that doesn't cost me anything."

The man still maintained a lazy posture, but the smile on his face gradually faded. With an inquiry and scrutiny expression on his face, he warned her, "You're quite daring, Norene. Do you think you can just play with me?"

Norene was at a loss for words.

She acknowledged feeling a bit anxious and guilty at that moment. After all, the man before her was Carsten Hayes, the uncle of her fiancé, Dillon Hudson.

Dillon...

Thinking of Dillon, Norene's smile vanished instantly, replaced by an unusual seriousness. "I have a question for you. You knew Dillon and his so-called mother aren't actually related, right?"

Carsten appeared unsurprised by her question, his expression unchanging as he nodded slightly and said, "Of course. That woman is only Dillon's foster mother."

After a moment of dead silence, Norene said dully, "I always thought they were mother and son, until I saw them together..."

Tears filled Norene's eyes whenever she recalled that, but she managed to hold them back in front of Carsten. She sniffled and added, "It's not normal for Dillon to be intimate with his stepmother, is it? She's significantly older than him."

Carsten remained quiet for a moment before asking, "Is that why you sought me out?"

Norene felt exposed by his question. She neither confirmed nor denied it, choosing instead to sidestep his question and press on with her own. "Answer my question first."

She felt somewhat anxious and was eager to seek an explanation from Carsten. However, it was clear that he had no intention of discussing the matter with her. He responded, "I'm just his uncle. I have no idea what he's up to, and frankly, I'm not interested in it. As for having sex, everyone has different tastes. Don't you find attraction in someone younger than you?"

His implication was clear; Dillon's attraction to an older woman was normal in his eyes.

Feeling defeated, Norene's shoulders slumped, and she let out a soft sigh. But she quickly cheered herself up and gazed at Carsten with eyes brimming with emotion. "I'm not into much younger men. It's you I'm interested in."

"Ha-ha." Carsten was not interested in prolonging the conversation with someone he deemed insignificant. He calmly suggested, "Why don't you take my car for a drive, enjoy the scenery, and then fly back tomorrow? Leave the car at the airport, and I'll have someone to drive it back."

Norene felt upset, asking, "Are you sending me away?"

Carsten's eyebrows lifted indifferently. "What's the problem? You shouldn't be here, and I'm not the kind of person you can casually toy with."

His voice carried a deep, authoritative tone, filled with an implicit threat that could unsettle anyone.

"Why didn't you mention this before we shared intense passion with each other, huh? Now you're just pushing me away after you had your fill of sexual pleasure. You're such a jerk!" Her voice dropped to a whisper with her last words, but Carsten heard them clearly.

He quickly grasped her chin, looking down at her intently, and warned sternly, "Don't think of using me for your own revenge schemes. Or else..."

His intense stare sent a shiver down her spine. "What would you do, then?"

He gave a short snort, replying, "You'd find out if you dared to try."