She waited for a while, and the room was filled with silence.
Isidore had a sharp, defined jawline, like the edge of a keen blade. When he turned his head, it naturally tensed, exuding an icy, distant aura.
Such a simple question, yet he refused to answer. Or perhaps he hadn't heard it? How could that be! Absolutely impossible, he's not deaf. Eloise puffed her cheeks. "Wh-why aren't you saying anything?"
Isidore's eyes, slightly slanted at the corners, swept over her with a glance. In a calm tone, he asked, "Want to know?" His hand, with distinct knuckles, lifted and lightly brushed the corner of his thin lips. His voice held no trace of teasing, only a statement: "Kiss me, and I'll tell you."
The room wasn't air-conditioned, and Eloise's face felt hot. "Then don't say it." Just as she raised her foot, Isidore furrowed his brows and lightly snapped, "Stop!" She froze in fear and didn't dare to move.
Isidore stood up from the bed and walked over, his leather shoes making faint "creak creak" sounds on the floor. Those were shards of glass scattered across the window, invisible to the naked eye in the dim light.
Eloise was effortlessly lifted by him, his grip firm around her waist. Her bare feet, still without slippers, swung freely in the air. She had no choice but to wrap her arms around his neck. Isidore's gaze cut across from the corner of his eye, looking down at her. "Where are you going?"
She couldn't remember anymore. Staring at his face, her mind went blank. In her panic, she blurted out, "Uh, to the bed." Only after speaking did she realize something felt off.
Isidore's lips curled slightly, but he offered no comment. He simply acted as a porter, carrying her toward the bed. When he placed her down on the mattress, it was so soft and bouncy that her petite body rebounded slightly, landing back into his arms, her nose filled with his scent.
For some reason, the sensation of weightlessness in that moment made her gasp, and her arms instinctively tightened around him. Isidore patted her arm. "Let go, do you want to strangle me?" Eloise's face flushed, her grip loosening for a few seconds. As Isidore rose, she suddenly propped herself up and pecked his lips.
This gesture was perhaps something she herself had not expected to happen. After the kiss, they quickly pulled apart, her chest rising and falling slightly. "Can you answer me now?" Isidore gazed at her intently, and after a moment, he seemed to snap back to reality. "What was your question again?"
Eloise was both embarrassed and angry, feeling like she had been teased. Isidore laughed and quickly apologized, "Don't be mad, don't be mad, I wasn't teasing you. It's just that when you kissed me, I forgot everything." "Hmph!" Eloise turned her head away, pouting. "How long were you standing downstairs?"
This time, Isidore answered honestly, "Since the moment you got home." "That means... it's been a long time." But she was puzzled. "How did you know I live here?" He averted his gaze. "How foolish. I've been following you the whole time."
Eloise knew she should be angry, but her heart inexplicably quickened its beat. Isidore, seeing her lack of reaction, deliberately fixed his gaze on her eyes and emphasized, "Not a single step behind." His eyes were filled with blatant, unapologetic intrusion. A complete, unabashed underworld demeanor.
For some inexplicable reason, her throat felt dry and itchy. Eloise swallowed, bit her lip, and felt that she should at least show some disapproval: "You... you're doing this... You clearly said you'd give me space!"
The words of reproach felt oddly familiar, as if she had said them before—this was the second time that night. Isidore was openly contradicting his own words! Yet he felt no shame. His skin was thicker than the earth's crust. He raised an eyebrow and leaned down.
His lowered voice was like sandpaper rubbing, rolling with sensuality. "I was just saying that, just to let you hear it."A hunter, when faced with prey that has escaped once, will temporarily restrain the scent of pursuit in order to lower its guard.
Seeing Eloise's expression as she was defeated was so cute, he couldn't help but laugh lightly. "So, just listen to me, don't think—" He leaned closer, his voice turning darker, "I'll really ease up even a bit!"
The last words carried a sharp edge, like a declaration before battle, thirsting for blood. Eloise's body stiffened, followed by a sudden, aching numbness as her muscles relaxed, like thousands of ants crawling across her skin. Blood rushed to her face in a single wave.
She wondered if she was losing her mind late at night, her thoughts unclear. She should be scared, should stay away... Her heartbeat thundered in her chest, her voice weak and floating. "You... you're annoying, you... you... are horrible!"
What kind of line was that? She really wanted to slap herself twice!
Isidore was amused, his eyes curving into bright crescents of joy. With a smirk at the corner of his lips, he asked, lazily, "What are you going to do?"
Eloise was truly at a loss, unable to escape his overwhelming, domineering aura. Cornered, she said something foolish, like a child threatening an adult with a toy water gun: "I'm going to call the police and have you arrested!"
Isidore couldn't hold it in any longer and laughed out loud, his laughter ringing in the air as he asked: "Where's the charge? You've been by my side for so long, seen everything, have you collected enough evidence?"
As if to prove the words "show everything to you," he pressed one hand near Eloise's ear, his sturdy body leaning in, the taut muscles beneath his shirt barely separated by a thin layer of fabric. The top button, which had already slipped open a few, revealed his sun-kissed skin, bare and exposed right beneath her nose.
He licked his lips. "I'm asking you, Miss undercover?"
Eloise jolted awake, her mind rapidly spinning, trying to come up with something. "Charge, charge? Uh... I—I'll report you..." Finally, something clicked in her brain, and her brows shot up like she'd grasped a lifeline. "I'll report you for hiding firearms and ammunition!"
Isidore buried his head in the crook of her neck, his shoulders shaking with laughter. When he finally lifted his head, still unable to contain his amusement, he hugged his stomach and let out a breath, trying to calm himself. He barely managed to stop laughing under Eloise's furious, mortified glare.
He comforted her by patting her almost frantic face. "Hmm, you're right. There is indeed my crime." Eloise, not wanting to deal with him anymore, was grabbed by the hand and led downward as he continued with a teasing smile in his voice. "It's all hidden here, the bullets are loaded, hurry up and bring out the evidence."
She felt a hard, burning object.
Isidore rubbed his cold nose against hers. "What's wrong, don't have the guts to pull it out? As a righteous undercover, how can you lack this kind of courage?"
Eloise could hardly tolerate his smug expression, and with her temper flaring, she couldn't resist. A surge of boldness took over, and she reached out, squeezing him hard.
Isidore sucked in a breath, his brows furrowing and then relaxing with the rise and fall of his chest, laughing in a low, sultry tone. "Take it easy, please." He bit her ear. "Is that okay? I'll confess to everything."
