Tempting Him to Lose Control

Chapter 60: Chapter 60: She Wants Him to Possess Her Passionately

A warm, gentle male voice drew near. Ian Rhodes, dressed in a crisp white casual suit, fixed his tender and focused gaze on Claire Kendall.

"Claire," he said, stopping in front of the display booth. "Here to promote Moonstone again, I see."

"Moonstone’s Flowing Light Brocade is all the rage lately. Everyone in the industry is talking about it, saying that even with the raw materials, it’s impossible to create a one-to-one replica. Your eye for quality is as sharp as ever!"

After saying this, Ian feigned a belated realization.

He tilted his head to look at the man beside her, whose presence was impossible to ignore, and a faint smile touched his lips.

"Oh, Dr. Warren is here too."

The smile on his face didn’t falter, but a flicker of appraisal and rivalry—something only another man would understand—passed through his eyes.

Ian had seen it clearly during their last encounter at Wexall Village.

The look this supposedly calm and self-possessed doctor gave Claire was far from innocent.

’So what?’

’He and Claire were on the same wavelength, kindred spirits with endless things to talk about. Surely a younger man was a better match than some stiff, old-fashioned guy?’

Miles Warren set down the Flowing Light Brocade he was holding and gave Ian a slight nod in acknowledgment.

Ian didn’t mind his coldness. His smile grew even brighter and warmer as he took a half-step forward, subtly positioning himself between Miles and Claire to separate them.

"Claire, you must be exhausted after working for so long."

Ian’s voice was coaxing, but he watched Miles’s face from the corner of his eye, as if searching for the slightest reaction.

"I’ve booked a table at The Verdant Table for tonight. It’s that private kitchen you loved back in college. Do me the honor? And maybe let your junior here pick your brain a little?"

Ian emphasized his words.

He was reminding Miles Warren of the long history he shared with Claire Kendall—a past this "old man" could never be a part of.

Miles remained silent, his brows knitted in displeasure. His jaw and thin lips were clenched tight, and the atmosphere around him dropped several degrees.

Claire Kendall took it all in. She understood Miles too well.

The more he cared, the more he acted calm and composed, locking all his emotions away.

’She didn’t want that.’

’She wanted him to love her fiercely, possessively.’

’Since he liked to put on an act, she would just add more fuel to the fire.’

A bright smile curved her lips. "Sure. Last time we met at Crescent, I said I’d treat you to dinner. This is a great idea."

"Wendy, just do the usual. Leave everything backstage and I’ll have someone pick it up tomorrow..."

"Got it, Claire."

Miles shifted forward a half-step, the hand hanging by his side about to lift—

’Mission accomplished.’

’Was he finally going to drop that calm, self-possessed act?’

’We’ve slept together. We’ve talked outside the bedroom.’

’I’ve already taken ninety-nine steps toward him. Is it too much to ask him to take just one? Not at all.’

But in the next second, Miles’s clenched fist relaxed and fell back to his side.

Claire was stunned. ’Miles Warren, you’re unbelievable!’

Her voice turned a few degrees colder. "Ian, I’m about done here. Let’s go."

She and Ian turned and walked away side-by-side, her posture poised and calm.

Behind them, many people were murmuring that the two of them were the power couple of the design world.

Miles’s gaze was glued to the woman’s slender back.

The sour displeasure in his eyes was about to break through the surface.

-

In an elegant private room at The Verdant Table, Claire Kendall and Ian Rhodes sat across from each other.

The table was laden with all the dishes she used to love ordering back in college.

"Claire," Ian began, pausing as if in a difficult position. "Actually, it was Lindsay who invited me to the exhibition today. She asked if I could acquire OCHH, but I don’t have that much cash flow..."

At the mention of Lindsay Joyce’s name, Claire’s eyes darkened.

"Lindsay offered me a very low acquisition price. The truth is, she still loves OCHH. She’d rather sell it cheap to one of us old-timers."

Claire took a sip of her wine, her gaze flickering.

"Ian, stop. I know what you’re going to say."

"But I’m not in a position to revive OCHH right now, and there’s no way Lindsay Joyce would let me get involved."

Claire clinked her glass against his. "Alright, there’s no need to bring up what happened between her and me back then."

She glanced at her phone screen. No new messages.

’Miles Warren really knows how to hold back.’

She opened her camera app and took a photo of the exquisite dishes on the table, sneakily including Ian’s hand as he poured wine into the frame.

She added a caption: "Revisiting old haunts."

Then she hit post.

On the hospital’s private bus returning from the conference, the air conditioning was blasting.

Miles Warren sat by the window, his eyes lowered to his phone screen.

The social feed post was glaring at the top of his screen. The close-up of Ian Rhodes’s wrist in the photo made his expression darken.

"Is this from Claire Kendall?"

A head popped over from the next seat. Jonathan Keller grinned as he snatched the phone, zooming in on the photo to examine it closely.

"This hand... it’s a man’s? Claire’s out having dinner with another guy."

Miles snatched his phone back and locked the screen, his voice betraying no emotion.

"It’s other people’s business. Mind your own."

"Other people’s business?" Jonathan Keller raised an eyebrow, deliberately drawing out his words. "It’s been ten years, and she’s still ’other people’ to you?"

Miles didn’t reply, his cold gaze fixed on the view outside the window.

"If you ask me, if you like her, just go for it," Jonathan said, lowering his voice. "If you keep putting on this act, she’s really going to run off with another guy. Don’t come crying to us when she does."

A wave of irritation washed over Miles.

Suddenly, a slender figure stopped beside his seat.

"Dr. Warren, could you move in a bit?"

Rosalind Linden’s voice was delicate and coquettish. "There’s something wrong with the AC vent over there. The draft is giving me a headache."

The scent of her perfume wafted over, causing Miles’s brow to furrow slightly.

’Doesn’t Miles find the director’s daughter the most annoying person on earth?’ Jonathan looked confused. But seeing that Miles didn’t refuse her outright, he tactfully stood up.

"I’ll go sit in the back. You two take this spot."

Rosalind Linden took the opportunity to sit down next to Miles, so close their arms were almost touching.

The bus hit a bump, and she "accidentally" stumbled against his shoulder, her fingers lightly brushing his forearm.

"Sorry, Dr. Warren," she said, her voice becoming even more coy. "You really wore me out last night. My back is still aching..."

Miles’s frown deepened.

He quickly pulled his arm away, took out his phone, and his fingertips tapped rapidly on the screen.

Back at The Verdant Table, Claire Kendall’s phone vibrated.

The notification was from Miles Warren.

’Has the old man finally gotten a clue?’

She immediately tapped it open.

[Your fish is bothering me. A lot.]

It was immediately followed by another.

[Get back here now. Otherwise, I’m dropping the act and calling the cops.]

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