Tempting Him to Lose Control

Chapter 85: Chapter 85: Wanting to Do It

Hearing the familiar voice, Claire Kendall abruptly pulled her hand from Jacob Sinclair’s tight grip.

Miles Warren stood at the stairwell entrance in his white doctor’s coat, his posture ramrod straight, hands tucked in his pockets. His face was expressionless, his cold gaze locked on the two of them.

As he walked into the stairwell, Claire’s heart began to race. She wanted to explain, but her throat tightened.

Miles looked at Jacob, his tone cold and distant.

"What’s all the noise about? This is an inpatient area. The patients need to rest."

Jacob hadn’t expected to run into Miles, and his expression flickered for a moment before he quickly composed himself.

He gave a slight, poised nod. "Uncle, I came looking for Claire. Something’s come up at the company, and I was hoping to ask for her help."

Miles turned his head to look at her.

It was a quick, fleeting glance, and Claire didn’t have time to decipher the emotion in his eyes.

She knew Jacob wouldn’t bring up their past relationship. After all, he was engaged to Yvonne.

What she worried about was whether Miles had overheard her conversation with Jacob just now.

"Take it outside," Miles said, his voice level but leaving no room for argument.

Jacob nodded. "Claire, think it over. I’ll come visit your aunt another day."

He gave Claire one last deep, meaningful look before turning to leave.

Claire parted her lips, testing the waters. "Dr. Warren, are you done for the day? Want to get dinner together?"

Miles grunted in acknowledgment, his gaze falling on the bouquet of yellow roses in her arms.

"Your favorite flower," the man said, his eyes darkening. "He certainly put in some effort to get you back to clean up Sinclair Group’s mess."

Claire froze. ’I don’t think I’ve ever mentioned it. How did this man know I liked yellow roses?’

’His words... he’s clearly jealous.’

A small smile touched Claire’s lips. She walked over to the trash can and tossed the flowers in without a second thought.

She sidled back up to Miles, wrapping her arms around his and looking up at him.

"I don’t like them anymore. From now on, I’ll only like flowers from Dr. Warren."

"Mm, I’ll get you some today."

The man’s expression showed nothing unusual, and he didn’t press her about Jacob. Claire breathed a silent sigh of relief. ’Good, he didn’t hear anything.’

Miles gently ruffled the top of her head, but his eyes grew darker still.

"Let’s go. Time for dinner."

-

「Sinclair Tower」

The moment Jacob Sinclair walked into the design department, Yvonne Warren blocked his path.

Her brow was furrowed, her expression ugly. "You smell like disinfectant. You went to the hospital? You went to see Claire Kendall?"

Jacob’s expression was cold. He ignored her and walked straight toward his office.

Completely ignored, Yvonne’s voice suddenly rose.

"Jacob Sinclair! Don’t you forget, I’m your fiancée! You want to go running back to her now and rekindle things? What does that make me?"

Heedless of the gossiping stares from the surrounding employees, she grabbed a decorative object from a desk and smashed it on the floor.

"That bitch Claire Kendall, why doesn’t she just go die!"

Jacob stopped in his tracks. He turned back slowly, his calm voice laced with a warning.

"Yvonne, don’t you forget, ours is just a family alliance. We made it clear before the engagement—after we’re married, who I’m with is none of your business."

Yvonne gasped in fury, her eyes filled with resentment.

"It’s been six months! I’m the one who’s been by your side these past six months! We’ve slept together!"

"Yvonne, if you hadn’t drugged my drink, do you think I would have touched you?" Jacob’s words were merciless. He continued.

"Besides, I went to her for Sinclair Design. I have to clean up the mess you made!"

Jacob threw a pile of plagiarized design sketches onto the desk.

Yvonne’s mouth opened. "Jacob, I’m sorry. I was just too eager to succeed."

"I have a way to handle the plagiarism. As long as we acquire OCHH and get the Nati designer to join our team, Sinclair Design can definitely recover."

She grabbed Jacob’s sleeve, shedding all traces of her usual heiress persona.

"Jacob, please don’t go to Claire Kendall, okay? I’ll take care of it."

"She already has another man in her life. He treats her really well. She won’t come back..."

A knot tightened in Jacob’s chest. His eyes turned icy as he pushed her away. "That’s my business. As for the OCHH project, you’d better get it moving."

-

「Nightfall. Regency Gardens, Apartment 502.」

Claire Kendall looked at the message from Ian Rhodes and replied with a simple "Okay."

Grace Rhodes was celebrating her birthday at Silvanus Mountain Resort and wanted Claire to be there. She had already promised Ian at the auction, so she had no reason to back out now.

It was a two-day, one-night trip. Claire pulled out her suitcase and started packing.

’Dresses, T-shirts, pajamas... Oh, right, a hot springs resort. I’ll need to bring a swimsuit.’

The door unlocked, and Miles Warren walked in carrying a plate of sliced watermelon.

He paused when he saw the open suitcase in the middle of the living room.

He set down the fruit plate. "Going on a business trip?"

Claire didn’t turn around, continuing to rummage through the clothes in her bedroom closet.

"Not for business. I’m going to Ian Rhodes’s mother’s birthday party at Silvanus Mountain Resort. I need to pack a few things."

She found her swimsuit and came out of the bedroom with it.

Miles’s gaze fell on the piece of clothing in her hand—which was barely a few scraps of fabric—and his eyes darkened.

"How long will you be gone?"

"Two days, probably. It’s the weekend, so I’ll be back on Monday." Claire crouched down and stuffed the swimsuit into her suitcase.

Suddenly, a large hand reached out from behind her and threw the swimsuit out of the case.

"This one. You’re not taking it."

His tone was forceful. His hand then circled her waist, lifting her from the floor.

Claire was exasperated. "Dr. Warren, how am I supposed to get in the water then?"

"Then you don’t."

The man was being uncharacteristically unreasonable. His arms around her tightened, and he buried his face in the crook of her neck.

Claire sensed something was wrong with him.

"Miles, what’s wrong...?"

Before she could finish, Miles spun her around and kissed her directly.

The sudden kiss left Claire’s mind a complete blank.

This kiss was different from their usual ones. It wasn’t restrained or gentle; it carried an indefinable urgency, a sense of possession.

She was pressed tightly against him, as if Miles wanted to devour her whole.

She was so breathless from the kiss that she pushed against his chest, creating a small gap between them.

"Miles, what happened?"

"Nothing," he said, his voice so hoarse it was almost inaudible.

"Claire Kendall, don’t leave me."

She couldn’t help but laugh. "What are you talking about? I’m just going to a birthday party. I’ll be back in two days. You..."

He cut her off.

"I want you."

Miles lowered his head and captured her lips again, this time more forcefully, leaving no room for escape as he pushed her down onto the sofa.

The fruit plate on the coffee table was knocked aside, making a crisp sound as it fell.

Miles propped himself up above her, looking down at her, his breath hot and heavy.

’He must be going crazy,’ he thought.

’Driven mad by Claire Kendall.’

In the stairwell, he had heard Jacob say "ten years of feelings."

Miles hadn’t asked what kind of "feelings" Jacob had been talking about.

Was it Claire’s lingering feelings for her ex-boyfriend? Or the professional relationship between her and Jacob as a subordinate and superior? Or perhaps the camaraderie of business partners who had started a venture together?

He didn’t ask. He was afraid of hearing an answer he didn’t want, and even more afraid that Claire would use it as an excuse to leave him for good.

’What he didn’t dare to face, he simply wouldn’t.’

Right now, all he wanted was to possess her, basely and madly, to make sure she could never leave him. That would be enough.

He held on to his last shred of reason.

"Can I?"

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