Chapter 6 Searching for Hidden Feelings

          The dead silence inside the cabin of the luxury European SUV was worlds apart from the chaos and aggressive shouting in the parking lot just ten minutes ago.

The high-performance engine let out a faint, barely audible purr as the vehicle glided away from the corporate headquarters, surging into the Bangkok streets under a twilight sky that hadn't yet faded to black. Lalita sat rigidly on the beige genuine leather seat, her slender hands clasped tightly in her lap. Her large eyes stole periodic glances at the driver’s side profile.

Right now, Bhakin radiated an aura of danger that was terrifyingly alluring. The glow from the dashboard illuminated his sharp, stoic features and reflected off his clear lenses. His gaze was locked on the road ahead. One large hand steered the wheel with a relaxed yet unyieldingly firm grip, while the other rested casually on the center console, exposing a limited-edition luxury watch peeking out from the cuff of his pitch-black dress shirt.

An eight-figure car. A multi-million-baht watch.

The PR queen's brain began processing furiously. A Head of IT pulling a five-to-six-figure salary could never amass the sheer wealth required to own these things. Unless...

"Are you going to keep secretly staring at me?"

His deep voice abruptly shattered the silence, though he hadn't even turned to look at her.

Lita jolted, snapping her head back to stare out her own window. Her face flushed hot at being caught.

"I... I wasn't staring at you! I was just admiring the car."

She argued defensively before deciding to test the waters with a direct question.

"I'm just curious. Does our company pay the Head of IT so well that you can comfortably drive a top-tier European car? Or are you secretly taking side jobs hacking into banking systems?"

The corner of Bhakin's deeply cut lips twitched upward slightly. He still didn't look at her, answering in a perfectly flat tone.

"I have a passion for technology and investing. It just so happens that a digital asset portfolio I left running generated a rather substantial profit, so I bought these toys to reward myself."

The investment excuse seemed logical enough to make a numbers-illiterate person like Lita nod along. Even if, deep down, she couldn't shake the feeling that this man exuded the dark aura of an 'influential underworld figure' rather than a regular investor.

"Is that so? Well, how lucky for me to be sitting in the luxury car of an IT billionaire," she joked, desperately trying to drag the atmosphere back to normal. "But wow, you really put on a massive show in the parking lot earlier, Khun Bhakin. You scared me half to death."

"Scared that I beat him up, or scared of the sentence I said?" he fired back instantly.

Lita froze. The phrase 'password-locked as his private property' slammed into her mind with full force. She quickly inhaled a deep breath, throwing up her hot-girl shield once again. She shifted her body to face him, propping her elbow on the center console, tilting her head, and flashing him a dazzling, seductive smile.

"A bit of both, actually. I just didn't expect a strict, rule-abiding, deadpan guy like you to boldly declare himself my personal bodyguard, let alone arrogantly claim to have password-locked my heart just like that..."

She purposely dragged out her words, her eyes brimming with alluring invitation.

"I'm fiercely protective of my single status, you know. If you're seriously thinking about hacking into my system, be careful you don't catch my sexy virus and get stuck in it. Don't say I didn't warn you."

She expected him to let out a harsh sigh or glare at her flirtatious nonsense like he always did. Alas, Lita had severely underestimated this lion king.

The luxury SUV smoothly decelerated, coming to a complete stop at a red light. Bhakin took his hand off the steering wheel. He turned to face her fully, draping his left arm over the back of her seat. He leaned his face in so close that Lita instinctively shrank back, panicked by the sudden invasion.

"Do you honestly think that hot-girl mask you're wearing is fooling me, Lalita?"

His piercing eyes stared deep into hers, scanning her like a radar stripping away her vulnerabilities.

"You try to act like an experienced woman of the world, throwing your charm around to build a wall so no one can truly reach you. Because you're afraid. You're terrified that if someone crosses the line, they'll see the weakness hidden inside, and they'll abandon you just like that bastard did."

"Khun Bhakin! Stop talking right now!"

Lita's voice trembled. Her seductive smile shattered in an instant. She felt as though her clothes had been violently ripped away, leaving her utterly naked in front of him.

"I won't stop until you stop using these excuses to push me away."

Bhakin lowered his voice, shifting his face a fraction closer until he could feel her shuddering breath.

"You say you're afraid I'll catch your virus. But do you know that for a programmer like me, the more dangerous and complex the virus's code is, the more I want to conquer it. I want to catch it and completely decrypt it."

His gaze dropped to her trembling lips before sweeping back up to lock onto her eyes.

"And the second I decrypt you, I will devour you until there isn't a single line of source code left for anyone else to ever see, Lalita."

Lita's heart hammered until it physically ached. His scorching, wildly feral threat sent her nervous system glitching to the point of a near-total shutdown. She had never in her life met a man this fierce, a man who could read her so perfectly inside and out.

Honk, honk!

The horn of the car behind them blared as the traffic light turned green. Bhakin pulled away slowly, lingering for a second. He sat back straight and pressed the accelerator, launching the car forward as normally as if that incredibly dangerous conversation had never even happened.

Meanwhile, Lita could only sit frozen stiff. She leaned back against her seat, panting heavily, completely drained of the energy to argue back or dig up her hot-girl mask to wear again.

As the adrenaline and excitement from the parking lot brawl began to fade, the mental exhaustion of confronting her traumatic past crashed down on the young woman. Lita closed her tired eyes, resting her head against the cool glass of the window. The chill from the air conditioning made her subconsciously wrap her arms around herself.

Bhakin observed her through the corner of his eye. The fierce, predatory glare from moments ago softened by several degrees. The tall man reached out and adjusted the AC temperature on the passenger side before turning on the car's audio system.

The smooth, relaxing rhythm of soft jazz filled the cabin, helping to dilute the heavy tension in the air.

"Close your eyes," he said softly, his voice much gentler than usual. "I'll wake you when we get to your condo."

It was a short sentence, lacking any flowery sweetness, yet it was brimming with care and absolute safety. Lita didn't open her eyes to reply; she simply gave a small nod, allowing herself to sink into a deep slumber under the protection of this fiercely demanding, stoic lion.

The stunning SUV glided into a parking spot at the condominium. Bhakin killed the engine but didn't immediately wake the woman sleeping soundly beside him. Lita's breathing was steady and rhythmic. Her sleeping face looked innocent and fragile, a stark contrast to the provocative tigress she played at the office.

The tall man sat quietly, watching her sweet face. A certain feeling he had been trying to suppress over the past few months was now rapidly compiling, expanding until it swelled tight in his chest.

He hated chaos. He despised women who constantly flaunted their charm. But Lalita was his one and only exception. She was the only chaos he willingly allowed to crash his life's system. And he would never, ever let any piece of trash hurt her again.

Bhakin reached out and touched a stray strand of hair that had fallen across her smooth cheek, tucking it gently behind her ear. The feather-light touch stirred Lita. She groggily blinked her eyes open.

"Are we here?" she asked, her voice raspy with sleep. She quickly sat up straight, instantly embarrassed that she had fallen into such a deep sleep.

"Yes, we're here," Bhakin replied, pulling his hand back to rest on the steering wheel. "Head upstairs and lock your door tight."

"Thank you. For the ride... and for what happened in the parking lot."

Lita kept her head down, avoiding his eyes as she quickly unbuckled her seatbelt and pushed the door open to step out.

"Tomorrow morning..."

Bhakin's voice halted her in her tracks. The young woman turned back to look at him through the open door.

"Seven-thirty. I'll pick you up here. Be down on time."

"Uh... it's fine, Khun Bhakin. I can just take the Skytrain."

"That wasn't a request." Bhakin's piercing gaze shot through his lenses. "And if you're stubborn and refuse to come down, I will march up there and carry you out of bed myself. I guarantee your condo's security guards won't be able to stop me."

His deadpan dictatorship left Lita's jaw hanging open. She knew this man meant every single word. Left with no other choice, she huffed out a breath and nodded in defeat, before slamming the car door shut and practically fleeing into the building with her heart pounding wildly.

Bhakin watched her slender back until she disappeared from sight. Once he was certain she was safely inside the building, his gentle gaze vanished, instantly replaced by the ice-cold, ruthless demeanor of the true heir to the Siraprapawong family.

The tall man pulled out a high-end smartphone connected to an encrypted private network. He immediately dialed his closest right-hand man, the one who managed the business operations behind the scenes for him.

"Yes, Young Master," the voice on the other end answered respectfully.

"Investigate Krit, the VIP client for the company's fundraising campaign. Pull up his entire background in excruciating detail," Bhakin ordered coldly. "Hack into his financials, his debts, and every single business deal he is currently involved in. If you find even a single vulnerability, crush his deals to dust. Make sure he doesn't have a second of free time to harass my woman ever again."

"Understood, Young Master. It will be handled by tonight."

Bhakin ended the call and tossed the smartphone onto the passenger seat, where Lita's intoxicating perfume still lingered in the air. The tall man slammed his foot on the accelerator, launching the car out of the condo at blistering speed.

This game had only just begun. Anyone who dared to cause a glitch in his heart's system was going to learn exactly how utterly devastating the consequences were when you tugged on the whiskers of a lion king.