CHAPTER 5

Victor's challenge left me speechless for a split second. Unfortunately, the next thing I heard through the frosted glass behind me was Carleste's sultry voice, and her words were enough to make me freeze.

“Tell me, Adrian...” Carleste purred, her voice carrying clearly over the roar of the waves outside. “Between me and that boring woman... who's better in bed?”

I held my breath. Still suspended in Victor's arms, my legs wrapped around his waist, I felt a jarring contrast between our position and the ugliness unfolding in the room next door.

“Obviously, you, darling Carleste,” Adrian replied without the slightest hesitation, his words cutting and utterly degrading. “Evelyn? That woman is nothing but a boring porcelain doll. Cold, stiff, and completely devoid of passion. Just touching her is enough to kill my mood.”

It felt as though a rusty dagger had plunged straight into the right side of my chest.

Even though I already knew my husband was cheating on me, hearing Adrian trample all over my dignity in front of his mistress made my blood boil. The fury blazing inside me suddenly burned away the last traces of doubt.

Victor, who still had me trapped in his embrace, felt my body stiffen. Rather than releasing me or offering me pity, he simply raised an eyebrow. His gaze caught every shift in my expression, sharp and predatory.

“You heard that, didn't you?” Victor whispered directly into my ear, his voice low and dangerously captivating. “He just humiliated you without a second thought.”

I blinked, meeting Victor's dark eyes as a bright flame ignited within mine. I swallowed the tears threatening to spill and replaced them with a cold, razor-sharp smile that matched the one on the man's face before me.

Without hesitation, I grabbed the collar of Victor's kimono, pulled him closer, and silenced his smirk with a fierce kiss.

Victor let out a muffled groan against my lips, his hands immediately pressing my body against the glass wall.

Amid our ragged breathing, I whispered against his mouth, “Are you sure this is going to work?”

Victor captured my lower lip in a firm kiss before answering in a husky whisper, his face inches from mine.

“Trust me.”

I gripped his shoulders, staring fiercely into his eyes as I struggled to keep my head clear.

“I don't want to actually go through with this, Victor. I'm not giving myself to you just to get revenge on that bastard.”

Victor offered me a faint smile, his thumb gently brushing my lips.

“I know where the line is, Evelyn. Leave everything to me.”

Our breathing grew increasingly ragged. Victor began tracing the curve of my neck, pressing lingering, heated kisses against the sensitive skin there. A wave of warmth swept through me, making my body react with an intensity I hadn't expected.

“Now, pretend you're enjoying yourself,” Victor whispered, his voice turning low and dangerous. “Make enough noise for that bastard next door to know who's enjoying his queen.”

I stared at him for a moment before the corners of my mouth curved into a cold, vengeful smile.

This insane idea was far more satisfying than simply storming into their room and confronting them.

Victor pressed his lips to my neck again, his hand tightening around my waist to support me as my legs began to weaken.

I drew a deep breath and let a soft moan escape my lips, weaving it between the little nips Victor planted against my neck. The sound carried faintly through the frosted glass, creating the perfect illusion.

“Victor... ah, mm...” My voice slipped out, deliberately shaped to sound as breathless and pleasure-filled as possible, even though the thunder in my chest came not from genuine desire but from the adrenaline of my surging anger.

Victor caught the rhythm of my performance with remarkable skill. As my moans drifted faintly through the bathroom partition, his strong hand tightened around my waist. With one decisive movement, he turned me until I was facing the frosted glass.

The blurred silhouettes of Adrian and Carleste were visible through the translucent partition in the adjoining room, and Victor knew exactly how to use that angle to our advantage.

He pressed his chest against my back, pinning me between his body and the cold glass. His warm breath brushed my nape. One hand rested against my stomach while the other gripped my waist firmly, creating the illusion of wild movement from behind.

“Victor... oh, God, Victor...” I called softly between the heavy breaths I deliberately produced, letting my voice carry into the silence between our rooms.

Victor chuckled near my ear, his voice hoarse with unmistakable triumph. He leaned forward, pretending to thrust his hips from behind in time with my carefully timed moans, making our shadows appear to merge in a blaze of passion behind the frosted glass.

It didn't take long for the noise from the adjoining room to stop completely.

A deep, hoarse voice shattered the silence of the night, calling out a name that sent a violent shiver through my blood.

“Evelyn...?”

Victor immediately stopped his feigned movements. He pressed his lips to my ear, then firmly pinned my wrist against the glass, a broad, satisfied grin spreading across his face.

“He heard us,” Victor whispered, his eyes fixed on Adrian's shadow behind the glass. “Now... let's drive him completely insane.”

Without hesitation, I reached behind me and untied my kimono. It slid to the floor, leaving me in a thin black lace bra and leather bottoms that accentuated my curves. My upper-body silhouette was now clearly visible through the translucent partition, easily seen from the adjoining room if anyone moved closer.

Before Victor could react, I grabbed the back of his neck and pulled his face toward my chest.

“Victor... ah, God... mm... be gentle,” I whimpered, deliberately making my voice as breathy and sultry as possible while pressing his head against my cleavage.

Victor lifted his head for a moment, his hot, ragged breath brushing my skin. A faint smirk curved his damp lips as he fixed his gaze on Adrian's shadow behind the glass. Then he deliberately raised his voice, letting out a loud, exaggerated moan designed to carry through the bathroom wall.

“You're so damn sexy, Evelyn...” Victor drawled in his deep baritone, making sure his words could be heard next door. “Your husband was one lucky man to have had a wife as beautiful as you.”

The provocative compliment landed squarely in Adrian's ears through the partition. Before I could respond, Victor lowered his face against me again, deliberately making our movements seem even more intimate.

A loud bang suddenly erupted from the adjoining room. Adrian's footsteps grew increasingly frantic.

“Evelyn?! Open the door!” Adrian shouted, his voice trembling as he pounded impatiently against the dividing wall.

Victor lifted his head and met my gaze in the reflection of the glass. We were both breathing hard, caught in a haze of heat and tension that was becoming increasingly difficult to distinguish from something real.

This time, Victor pulled me closer and shifted us toward the section of the wall where Adrian was pounding. The sound of that bastard's frantic breathing came faintly through the partition.

Victor lowered his head, his lips brushing my ear as his grip on my waist tightened. Even in the middle of our performance, I could feel the unmistakable way the hard body behind me responded to every curve of mine. It was a startling reminder that not everything about this tension was pretend.

My own body was beginning to betray me, responding to every brush of contact in ways my rational mind could barely control.

“Evelyn... your husband is right behind that wall. And hearing him panic like a madman...” Victor's lips curled into a faint, dangerous smirk as his voice dropped even lower. “It makes me wonder... what if we actually went through with it?”