But Lester was her savior. She couldn't very well tell him she was drawing a line between them at his own thank-you dinner.

"Mr. Calderon strikes me as a gentleman. I trust he knows how to maintain the proper boundaries?"

With a gaze full of pressure, Harrison stared at the man across the table, his tone cool and laced with a warning.

Lester forced a smile. "You worry too much, Mr. Lancaster. I know what I should and should not do."

Sensing the tense atmosphere, Anastasia snuck a glance at Harrison, shrinking in her seat and not daring to speak.

When the dinner finally ended and they saw Lester off, Anastasia couldn't help but let out a huge sigh of relief.

The next thing she knew, she was being pulled into the car.

"Happy now that you've made a new friend?"

The man gripped her hand, trapping her in front of him. His eyes were dangerous, presence oppressive.

his

A flicker of guilt crossed Anastasia's face, and she frantically shook her head. "No, no, not happy, not happy at all!"

Smelling the thick jealousy coming off Harrison, she wanted to laugh but didn't dare. She tried to hide it, not wanting him to misunderstand and get genuinely upset, so she quickly hugged his arm and explained softly, "He's my savior! Am I supposed to ignore him or cut ties with him? That would make me an ungrateful wretch!"

"We're just becoming friends, that's all. It's not like I don't have other male friends. Remember when I was studying in Fairhaven? I was friendly with some of the guys in my class, and you never gave them a second thought. Just think of Lester like them, okay?"

Seeing the man's handsome face remain cold and hard, she leaned in, kissed his lips, and pleaded, "Can't you be a little more magnanimous?"

At those words, a vein throbbed in Harrison's temple. He cupped her face and

looked down at her. "Magnanimous? Let you be friends today, and let you go out together tomorrow?"

Anastasia: "...Of course not!"

She wrapped her arms around the

man's broad shoulders and

peppered his chin and face with

kisses her expression full of appeasement. "I only go out with you!"

Harrison was truly fed up with Lester and had intended to press the issue further but under her barrage of sweet-talk and affection, his anger unexpectedly dissipated.

Anastasia peeked at his face. Seeing that his stern expression was about to break,

she broke into a wide grin. "Not angry anymore?"

Harrison's face darkened slightly, and he gave her a light swat on her behind. "Smooth talker."

But Anastasia wasn't scared by him at all. She looped both arms around his neck, her beautiful eyes widening cently. But you like to hear it, don't you?

Harrison couldn't deny it. He did like to hear it.

Looking down at her smug little expression, his gaze deepened. He held her chin

and lowered his head to kiss her.

It was a kiss that carried a hint of punishment and a fierce possessiveness that Anastasia adored.

But after the kiss, she couldn't help but snuggle into his arms and whine coquettishly, "My lips hurt..."

He knew she was being dramatic; he hadn't used that much force. How could it hurt that much?

But Harrison played along anyway, cupping her face and placing an incredibly gentle kiss on her slightly swollen red lips. "Does it still hurt?" he murmured.

Anastasia immediately replied, "Not anymore!"

This time, even Harrison was amused enough to let out a soft laugh.

Was a simple kiss from him some kind of miracle cure?