A Night To Remember novel (Diane and Norman)
Chapter 55 This Is Your House

Chapter 55 This Is Your House

Christopher had changed the subject so quickly that Diane was having a hard time following the conversation. However, as she stood there gaping at him, he suddenly bent his head to kiss her. She felt the hard slant of his mouth pressed against hers and his teeth grazing her lips.

I thought we were having a conversation, so why is he kissing me all of a sudden?

Her eyes were wide, looking like clear pools as she stared at him incredulously. When Christopher saw his own gaze reflected back at him, his heart clenched. At that moment, he wondered if there might be something wrong with him. Why else would my emotions go haywire with everything she does or say? Why does she have this effect on me?

"Diane..." With his lips still pressed against her trembling ones, he growled hoarsely, "Listen carefully-I will not sign those papers and you are still far from paying off your debt to me."

He wasn't sure if he said this to spite her, but he knew that he would not let her get away from him that easily. As soon as he was done speaking, he bent over and scooped her into his arms, then strode over t the staircase to make his way upstairs.

Diane let out a cry the moment her feet were swept off the ground, but even as her heart dropped to her stomach at the sudden weightlessness that seized her, she grew even more terrified at the thought of what this man might do to her. "Put me down right now, Christopher! What do you think you're doing?"

Knowing him, it wasn't hard for her to guess what he was planning to do next. However, upon entering the bedroom, she was shocked that he did not immediately throw her onto the king-size bed, and instead carried her into the bathroom.

"Now, would you prefer to shower alone or shall I join you?"

Dazed and speechless, Diane blinked at him, unable to recover from the whiplash that his erratic behavior had caused her. Then, she hastily shook her head and said, "Get out."

She thought he would be enraged by her rejection of him, but he took her by surprise when he gave her an unreadable look and turned to leave the bathroom. When the door slammed shut and she was sure that he had left the bedroom, she let out a sigh of relief.

Regardless of how things had turned out, she was still in need of a shower. Pulled out of her thoughts, she robotically grabbed her towel and pyjamas, then proceeded to hop into the shower. Her thoughts were in a mess and she had a faraway look in her eyes even as she showered. It wasn't until much later when she finally turned off the water and stepped out of the bathroom.

She had only just come out of the door and she was taken aback to see Christopher sitting on the edge of the bed, already dressed in fresh clothes.

Is he really staying here for the night? Her legs felt like they were made of lead as she took in his clean and fresh-faced appearance. For a moment, it was as if she had turned into stone at the bathroom doorway, unable to take another step forward.

Christopher, on the other hand, frowned unhappily as he patted the space next to him on the bed and said to the immobilized Diane, "Come here."

"But you're... You know what? It doesn't matter. I'll sleep in the guest room. Goodnight, then." With that, she lowered her head and headed toward the door, giving a wide berth to the bed, upon which the dangerous man was seated.

She thought she might be lucky enough to escape him this time but when she reached the door, a pale grey figure dashed over and grabbed her by the elbow, stopping her in her tracks. "Didn't you hear me asking you to go over to the bed?"

Why must this woman always be so irksome? A dark fire was burning in his eyes as he glowered at her. He pursed his lips, not wanting to say anything more to her as he dragged her toward the bed. "Bedtime," he barked, then unceremoniously flung her onto the mattress.

Diane had a petite frame that was not built for such aggressive maneuvers. She fell in a disgraceful thud on the bed as soon as he released her but before she could react, an arm shot out and wrapped around her like a cage.

"I suggest you stop moving if you plan on getting any sleep tonight." She could hear the threat in Christopher's gravelly voice and feel his lips on the tender skin of her nape, teasing her until she broke out in goosebumps.

Does that mean he won't do anything to me and we will only be sleeping? Her heartbeat began to steady. She had known all along that Christopher would always make good on his word so even if she was unwilling, she had no choice but to obey him and stop moving around. Nevertheless, she fidgeted on the bed until she was in a much more comfortable position than she had been in, and only then did she stop moving.

Presently, her back was turned to him while he buried his face in the crook of her neck. His eyes were open and his gaze instantly fell upon the soft and glossy strands of her raven hair. He felt his tightly-wound heartstrings loosening as he breathed in the subtle scent of her shampoo.

There was something enigmatic about the way her small frame fit against his towering one that drew him to her, and he wanted nothing more than to keep all of her to himself. His jaw clenched at the thought of this. As far as he was concerned, it was her fault that he was so easily led by his inexplicable sentiments and attachment toward her.

"D*mn you, Diane," he growled, his deep voice reverberating close to her as she felt a sharp sting on her neck. She frowned at this but she did not turn around to look at him. She cursed him tiredly and wondered why he was always so hard to read.

It was a mystery how sleep came to her that night, and she was even more clueless as to how Christopher fell asleep in the end. All she knew was that she woke up the next morning in a somewhat haphazard and awkward position. At some point during the night, she must have rotated so that she no longer had her back turned to Christopher, and had instead curled up in his arms with her head resting on his chest. Her sleepiness disappeared and she opened her eyes, meeting his wicked and amused gaze as she looked up at him. Embarrassed, she felt blood rush to her face as she hastily nudged him away and pushed the covers off, then got out of bed without another thought.

Diane didn't bother glancing at him as she marched purposefully into the walk-in wardrobe, and it wasn't long before she emerged fully dressed.

Meanwhile, Christopher was leaning against the headboard as he glared at her mutely, infuriated that she was treating him as though he was invisible. The wicked amusement that had flashed in his eyes before this was swiftly replaced by a look of displeasure.

"I'll be coming back tonight," he said icily, breaking the silence.

Diane was about to leave but upon hearing this, she stopped and looked at him impassively. "This is your house, after all."

She was using his own words against him and the subtext of her words was clear-this was his home, so he could come and go as he pleased because his actions had nothing to do with her whatsoever. That's right. Whatever he does is none of my business at all, even if it means he's staying with another woman.

His gaze darkened at what she had said, and he felt his chest tighten with emotions he could not decipher.

When she saw that he had neither reply nor retort to offer, she spun on her heels and opened the door to leave the bedroom. Afraid that she might have another run-in with him, Diane skipped breakfast, grabbing only a slice of toast on her way out.

On the other hand, Christopher came downstairs not long after. He did not bother asking about her absence when he noticed that she was nowhere in sight and instead, he made his way over to the company.

Over at Evergreen Incorporated,

Christopher had only just finished a

morning meeting when Denzel waltzed into his office, proclaiming melodramatically, "Goodness, I'm exhausted after the red-eye flight. By the way, can I just say that you don't know how to treat a buddy? You could have picked me up from the airport or something, seeing as I've rushed back here with the information you wanted after

spending an entire month toiling

away in the States. You-"

"You should shut up. Why are you being such a nuisance so early in the morning?" Christopher demanded as he looked up icily from his documents, cutting the other man off mid-sentence.

Meanwhile, Denzel-who was fishing

out the folder from his

briefcase-froze at this before he reached out to drag a chair for himself. Having discarded his

briefcase to one side, he whiney net

"Have you no conscience, Mr. Wayne? You could at the very least comfort your subordinate, though that doesn't sound right since I'm not technically working for you, which translates to the fact that you are just ripping me off!"

Christopher stopped writing when he heard his friend's long-winded complaint, and he addressed the latter with an insidious smile. "Tell me, then how should I go about comforting you? The project ended ten days ago and I heard that a certain someone has been spending the rest of the trip frolicking around the States-someone who is apparently quite a ladies' man, too. Indeed, it must have been

exhausting to spend the past ten

days having fun."

"W-Well, when you put it that way..." Denzel winced at the sarcasm and he was about to explain himself when Amy knocked on the door and entered.

"Mr. Wayne, here's the monthly work summary compilation you asked for from the secretarial department."

"Just leave it here and get a cup of coffee for Denzel."

"Yes, sir."

Amy smiled politely as she left the office. When the door closed behind her, Denzel quirked his lips and mused thoughtfully, "Now that's more like it. However, I do wonder how the esteemed Mr. Wayne has the time to look into the work of the secretarial department."

With that, he reached out to take the report Amy had delivered, but Christopher slapped his hand away before he could even touch a single sheet.