[Warning! This chapter contains mature content not suitable for young readers. Also, this is the first and last warning regarding this because I hate to repeat myself. Be advised that more will come in other chapters!]

----- After six months -----

Drake was in his study, writing some urgent letters that had to be sent with new orders today to all the dispatched units. It had all become a large-scale operation in search of Hope.

The desk was framed by three sides of shelves crammed with books that Drake had read from cover to cover over the years, assuming that this was the only way he could feel things, through the eyes of the characters in the books.

A person entered the room, and Drake did not look up, suspecting that was one of the servants coming to bring him tea. There have been six months, but still, he wouldn't yield, giving himself body and soul to this search, in search of Hope.

"I heard you were looking for me."

Her voice made him freeze and stop writing. Recognizing her voice, his heart skipped a beat, and a genuine smile full of happiness lit up his face, but Drake did not raise his head, and the visitor could not see his expression. "I don't know who told you that, but I'm not looking for anyone," Lord Springwood replied, resuming his letter.

He put all his self-control at work to not get up, stopping himself from running at her. She was the only thing he ever craved so hard, but he wasn't going to give in to her.

Drake felt her approaching, making his heart beat faster, and his hand started shaking. He put the fountain pen in a fixed point, so she wouldn't see his hand staggering over the paper.

Suddenly, the papers flew off the table, and Drake stood with his pen in the air, leaning over the empty desk. He saw a perfect knee touching the desk, then a second one placing itself almost in front of him, and then the dress that she had lifted to make this move slid back, covering them both.

Two warm hands gripped Drake's face, lifting it until their eyes met. Her big deer eyes looked at him with thirst and desire. It looked like Hope had come into perfect communion with her wild side.

The woman did not wait. Every second that passed brought them closer to a new sour and sarcastic reply from one of them, which would have destroyed this moment. Hope kissed him with all the passion accumulated in the six months of suppressed thoughts and fantasies. His lips were as sweet as she had imagined but far too inert, as was his entire body, which had frozen completely.

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Realizing that she was the only participant in this scene, Hope withdrew a little to try to see what went wrong. Drake looked like an ice statue; he didn't even seem to be breathing.

There was a life-or-death battle inside him. He watched her slightly parted sensual lips wanting to bite them and suck the life out of them. There was an unspoken invitation in her eyes.

Does she really think she can come back here after six months as if nothing happened and behave like that? Who does she think she is? Does she think it's enough to storm in here, and I'll fall at her feet?

"Damn you!" he wanted to scream, but only a groan full of desire and passion came out. He reached out, grabbing Hope with both hands, and, in less than a second, he savagely pulled her on his lap, making her ride him. Now Drake was the one who grabbed her head with both hands and kissed her hard, but his passion was much more rapacious, almost devastating. It seemed as if the woman was responding to every move of his tongue, to every longing sigh, and her hands were as possessive as his own.

The shock of the sudden shift left Hope sighing in surprise as he leaned her against the empty desk and lifted the hem of her dress. Everything happened much faster than she had thought, but she didn't want to stop him.

The kiss didn't halt for a second; the desire didn't allow them to break away from the other's sweetness. Drake lowered the intensity of his tongue movements when he was amazed to find that the woman was not wearing underwear.

Drake's hand landed on the most intimate place of Hope's body, and a sigh of ecstasy escaped her. His long fingers ran in circles quickly due to the excessive moisture of her passion. The huge nails almost didn't touch her, rarely feeling them, and in those rare moments, it seemed intentional like he was looking to increase her pleasure.

Drake stepped away from the hug, stopping the passionate kiss. He wanted to look at Hope, to see the rapture on her face. The man tested the entrance inside her, but it seemed too narrow for even one finger. He discarded his astonishment and returned to what he had been doing before, continuing to play with the warm, damp exterior, occasionally touching the button that made her whole body arch.

He was looking at her and couldn't get enough of the view. Drake picked up the pace. The movements became faster and faster, touching more and more often the special button that was so sensitive.

As Hope's sobs surged in intensity, she closed her eyes and bit her lip as she began to squeeze his free hand and whispered through the sobs. "Do not stop!"

Drake stopped. He grabbed both of her hands tightly and squeezed them against the desk surface, almost crushing them. The man sat on top of her, keeping her captive under him, almost crushing Hope on the desk. She came undone.

Drake leaned slightly to her ear, and his warm breath sent shivers of pleasure. "This is the punishment for leaving for six months and giving no sign of life."

The man got up, walked slowly to the door, and left without looking back. Hope lay motionless on the desk for a long time afterward. She could still feel the sporadic vibrations of pleasure spreading through her body, searching for the finality that was not to come.

She closed her eyes, and a wicked and longing smile appeared on her face when she whispered. "My dear Lord Springwood, you are not the only one who can play this game. A new contest has begun. "