Chapter 116: Punish Her

Chapter 116: Chapter 116: Punish Her

Claire Kendall stared at the ointment on the nightstand. After a moment’s hesitation, she pushed open the bedroom door and walked out.

The lights in the living room were off, leaving it dim.

Miles Warren stood before the floor-to-ceiling window, his figure tall and lean. A scarlet ember glowed at his fingertips. As he exhaled, the scent of nicotine filled the air.

He rarely smoked.

’So he’s in a bad mood?’

As Claire Kendall approached, Miles Warren heard the movement and turned his head. He immediately stubbed out his cigarette and waved a hand to disperse the lingering smoke.

"Did you put on the ointment? Why are you out here?"

His gaze fell to her bare feet, and he frowned. "Barefoot again."

He started toward the bedroom to get her slippers.

The moment he turned, Claire Kendall reached out and tugged on the hem of his shirt, her voice earnest.

"Miles Warren, I wasn’t upset because you went to OCHH."

"You set up a kitchenette and a coffee machine for me. I’m incredibly grateful; I would never blame you for taking the initiative."

She gave his arm a little shake, and her voice softened. "I’m just not used to public displays of affection in front of so many people. That’s why I pulled away from you."

Claire Kendall’s soft, sweet, and slightly cajoling voice made Miles Warren’s rigid expression soften. The coldness in his eyes faded a little.

Miles Warren looked at her. "Then why were you upset after we got back?"

Claire Kendall was at a loss. "I... Have you had dinner yet?"

"Don’t change the subject." Miles Warren gave her no room to dodge the question.

Claire Kendall pursed her lips, faltering.

"It’s just... someone said our relationship is a bit like..."

"Like what?"

Claire Kendall gritted her teeth and decided to just rip the band-aid off. "Like... legal, live-in fuck buddies."

The air grew still. His icy voice came from above her.

"Who said that?"

Claire didn’t dare look up, much less say Sharon Carter’s name. She scrambled for an excuse. "An online post."

His expression froze. After a long silence, he repeated, word for word.

"Live-in... fuck buddies?"

"Claire Kendall, is that what you think our relationship is?"

"No, I just... I was just a little..." She heard the danger in his tone and instinctively backed away.

Too late.

Miles Warren grabbed her wrist, took a step forward, and pressed her back against the cool glass of the floor-to-ceiling window.

"It’s cold..." Claire Kendall gasped.

In the darkness, he looked down at her. "Claire Kendall, do you know what the arrangement is for fuck buddies?"

She shook her head, inhaling the faint scent of tobacco on him.

He nibbled on her ear. "That’s for people who are only in it for the thrill. Like this."

His fingers traced the small of her back, working their magic. He knew her too well. A soft moan escaped her lips, and her knees went weak.

He trailed kisses from the shell of her ear downward.

He kissed her shoulder, and Claire Kendall shivered.

"Do fuck buddies care whether you eat breakfast?" he murmured, his voice low and husky as he continued his downward trail.

He kissed her back.

"Would a fuck buddy rent you an office space next to your company?"

His fingers hooked the strap of her nightgown and slid it down her shoulder.

"A fuck buddy only wants one thing—"

Claire Kendall’s voice was fractured. "Back to the bedroom."

He ignored her. "No. Right here."

After that, Claire Kendall’s mind was a complete blur.

Miles Warren carried her back to the bedroom. She burrowed under the covers, but he gently coaxed her out and began to apply the ointment.

The ointment was cool and soothing. Claire Kendall’s eyes were half-closed as a wave of drowsiness washed over her. Her consciousness grew hazy, and her head began to nod uncontrollably, like a kitten’s.

Miles Warren supported her head, sliding a pillow behind it.

In a daze, she thought she heard Miles Warren on the phone.

"Yes, for the Regency Gardens place. I need it fully custom-fitted. Cashmere carpet."

"The thicker, the better. She gets cold easily, and she doesn’t like wearing slippers."

Claire Kendall was groggy. ’Is he ordering carpets for me?’ She was too exhausted to open her eyes, but her heart softened.

She still hadn’t figured everything out, but she felt that what Sharon Carter had said was wrong...

Drowsy and drifting, she had only one thought in her mind.

The first rule of marital harmony should be: never, ever make Dr. Warren angry in bed.