Take My Breath Away

Erica was starting to experience a sudden qualm of regret as she brought another piece of cantaloupe to Matthew's mouth. Although it was too late to go back on her word, she gave it one last try. "Finish the rest of this and I promise I'll deliver all the kisses together!"

But Matthew wasn't that easy to fool. "Do I look like an idiot to you?"

Even Erica knew he wasn't. The man was sharp as a tack! Having run out of options, Erica leaned over to him and sheepishly pecked him twice on the lips.

Matthew smiled before he dropped another piece into his mouth, and just like that he cleaned up the rest. Erica gave him the last two kisses after the last bite, but when she was about to leave, he stopped her. He took the plate from her hand, pulled her into his arms and kissed her with raw intensity.

Erica relented as he played with her hair and held her tighter and tighter. She melted like a candle into his arms, wondering if he had her trapped.

The man was unable to control his urges anymore; his hands working their way around her body, feeling each line along her perfect physique. Panic-stricken, Erica bit his lips and sunk her nails into his arms.

Frowning, he released her and they pulled apart, both gasping for air.

Erica looked at him with furrowed eyebrows and said, "You...You're cheating!" Not only did Matthew blatantly disregard their agreement, but he was looking to get more. Erica could feel her cheeks blushing a deep crimson.

Sitting cross-legged and leaning his back to the chair, Matthew regained his composure and said, "Rest assured. Although we're married, I'll respect your boundaries and try my best to control myself."

'Control himself?' Erica was puzzled by his behavior. 'Didn't he just say he wasn't interested in me two days ago? What's with the sudden change of mind?

Is he really not interested in me or is he just comforting me with the excuse of "respecting my boundaries"?'

Nonetheless, she decided to be more careful of his tricks in the future.

"Go and wash the dishes!" The man's voice brought her back to reality instantly.

Erica took the empty plate and bowl from the table, walked into the kitchen, and put them in the sink carelessly. She rolled up her sleeves, ready to do the dishes. However, as she stared at the mess in front of her, she fell into deep thought.

Erica had no idea where to even begin.

'Think, Erica Li. Come on, you can do this!' she cheered herself.

Then, she squeezed some of the cleaner into the pot, picked up the brush and prepared to start the work.

However... "What are you doing?" Suddenly, Matthew's deep voice came from behind.

She turned around and winked at him. "Can't you see? I'm washing the dishes." 'Is he blind or what? Can't he see the sink?' she mused.

Matthew walked up to the kitchen counter and when he saw the large pool of detergent, he frowned. "If I didn't know you better, I would have thought that you were related to some detergent salesperson," he said.

"Huh?"

"Who uses that much detergent?" Matthew had a feeling that she was going to have difficulty washing the dishes. To say that she was having difficulty would be an understatement because she had used over one-third of the detergent from the bottle.

Erica smiled awkwardly. "Um, I will wash it off."

After giving her a disdainful look, Matthew walked up to her and pushed her aside. Then he rolled up his sleeves. "Watch and learn! Stand a bit farther away so that your clothes won't get wet."

"Oh, but I feel so embarrassed to make you wash the dishes after you cooked for me!" Not only did the man have to cook noodles for her, but he also had to do the dishes!

Casting a cold glance at her, Matthew shifted his eyes from her and started washing without another word.

Erica stood aside, obediently watching him. She was thoroughly impressed by the way he handled the mess—quick and efficiently.

After he had cleaned up the kitchen, Erica sat on the sofa in the living room and turned on the TV to watch a horror movie.

Matthew washed his hands and came over to her. "Go watch it in the home theater room," he said.

"No! I don't think I'll be able to watch it in there! This will do just fine!" She flashed him an awkward smile, sheepishly shrugging her shoulders.

In truth, she did wonder what it would be like to watch a horror movie by herself in the home theater room, but she didn't have the gumption for it.

But when she looked at the man standing in front of her, Erica's eyes lit up. "Do you have something to do later?"

"Why?" he asked warily.

Erica turned off the TV without hesitation and snickered. "Why don't you watch the movie in the home theater room with me?"

"No way!" he refused immediately.

"Why must you be so difficult? When I was watching TV here, you insisted I go to the home theater room. But then why won't you join me if you've got nothing else to do? I'm going to call your dad now! I'll tell him that you're being rude to me!"

Erica felt proud of herself as she cocked her head to one side and jiggled her head cheekily. She decided that she wouldn't tell on him to Wesley in the future, because her father would surely be on Matthew's side.

Instead, she could just go to Carlos or Debbie as they would surely take her side!

She giggled, excited by this revelation.

Matthew's face darkened and he asked, "What else are you good at besides telling on me?"

With her arms crossed over her chest, Erica answered proudly, "Hey, you have to admit that it works like a charm every time. Right?"

The man was starting to feel frustrated. "Hurry up if you want to go to the theater room. Don't talk so much nonsense!"

"I'm so full I can't walk. Can you carry me on your back?"

"I'm warning you! You don't want to cross me!"

Almost immediately, Erica took out her cellphone from his pocket and shook it in front of him. "I'm warning you! Don't be so mean!"

Too angry to utter a single word, Matthew raised his hand and Erica's face paled with fright. 'Is he really going to hit me?' she thought. "You wouldn't dare, Matthew Xitala*!"

(*TN: Xitala is a Chinese surname of the Man ethnic minority. In the Chinese historical drama Story of Yanxi Palace, there is a vicious character whose surname is Xitala. Here, Erica refers to Matthew Huo as Matthew Xitala to imply that he is being mean to her.)

Needless to say, he was, indeed, just bluffing. He would never lay a hand on her.

"Xitala?" Matthew recognized the name Xitala, but he didn't know why Erica would refer to him with that.

Upon noticing his confusion, Erica assumed that he had never watched a historical drama before.

With a bubbly smile on her face, she said, "Carry me on your back and I'll tell you!"

Matthew withdrew his hand and turned around. "If you can't climb onto my back in three seconds, I'll..."

"Done! Let's go!" Erica jumped onto his back in less than two seconds.

Matthew fell silent. Something was telling him that he had just been played by this woman.

When she realized that he was walking towards the stairs, she asked, "Why don't you take the elevator? You should know that I'm quite heavy. You'll get tired."

Erica thought he was going to take the elevator because the home theater room was on the fourth floor.

"Did you just realize that you are very heavy?"

She squinted her eyes at him, annoyed, but since she couldn't hit him, she murmured, "I'm not that heavy."

Matthew fell silent again. In truth, she wasn't really very heavy.

On the way, Erica tightened her arms around his shoulders as she feared that he would play pranks on her or drop her on the floor.

When they were turning a corner, Erica asked, "Have you ever carried her on your back before?"

"One more word out of you and I'll throw you down from here," he threatened.

Erica pursed her lips immediately.

Two minutes later, Matthew pushed open the door to a large room, fully equipped with state of the art sound systems, a few La-Z-Boy reclining sofas and a 120-inch projector screen. He threw her onto one of the recliners and said, "Wait here."

"Okeydokey!"

Having gotten what she wanted, she gladly made herself comfortable and watched him set the projector for her.

A few minutes later, the horror movie "The Unborn Child" began playing on the projector, and Matthew turned off all the lights before slowly sitting down on a recliner next to her.

While watching the trailer, Erica felt shiver through her body, which had never happened before when she watched a horror movie. This one was much more terrifying than the ones she had watched before. Trembling like a leaf, she stuttered, "Umm, Matthew..."

He responded without turning his head, "Yes?"

"Could you move a little closer?"