Don't Mess with the Girl with Candy novel Chapter 1004

"Then don't hold back."

Hearing her fearless provocation, Shanley's body tenses instantly, his eyes narrowing dangerously.

"You don't want to?" Juniper leans in, pressing a soft kiss to his jawline. Her clear, luminous eyes look up at him, sparkling and inviting, effortlessly unravelling the control he's been trying so hard to maintain.

Want to? He wants to so badly it hurts.

Shanley pins her wrists gently, flipping them over until she's pressed back against the mattress. A breathless, all-consuming kiss follows. He kisses her with the starving intensity of a wolf, entirely predatory.

Juniper's breathing hitches, her gaze turning hazy as her arms instinctively wrap around his neck.

In this moment, it hits her just how deeply she loves him. Seeing that devoted, traumatized couple in the dungeon had only made her want to hold onto Shanley tighter.

Just as Juniper thinks he's going to take things further, Shanley suddenly stops.

"?" Juniper cracks an eye open, looking at him in a daze.

He's pulling back now? Is he a saint?

"Left wanting more?" Shanley rests his forehead against hers, his breath hot and ragged against her skin. His dark, fathomless eyes stare intently into hers as he asks in a low, intoxicating voice, "What's gotten into you today, hmm?"

She's acting very out of character.

"You've been good lately. Consider it a reward," Juniper quips, a playful smirk on her lips.

"You have to go back to school tomorrow. I won't keep you up," Shanley murmurs, running a hand through her hair, his gaze ocean-deep. "Let's try a different method, alright?"

Method? Before Juniper can process what he means, her hand is gently enveloped in his, his thumb brushing over her palm.

"Of course." Dana observes him as she walks back to her room. My, my. Mr. Schwartz is in a phenomenally good mood tonight. What kind of sweet reward did Ms. Payne give him?!

...

After finishing the juice, Shanley pulls out his phone and calls Flint. "Any updates on Juniper's parents?"

"Yes, Boss. We found something," Flint reports respectfully. "But we can't confirm if the two events are connected yet."

"Tell me." Shanley's brow twitches, his grip tightening around the glass.

"When the shipwreck happened years ago, a search and rescue team was immediately deployed," Flint explains steadily. "We looked into the records of all the rescue teams involved, and we found a strange discrepancy. The logs say three teams were officially dispatched, but witnesses saw four teams out on the water. The fourth group was dressed very strangely and wore masks the entire time. People assumed they were just civilian volunteers, so no one questioned it. But later..."

Flint pauses before continuing, "When the police audited the records, they couldn't find a single trace of who that fourth group was."