Marico acted like a man parched for days, desperately seeking water from her. And like a man finally taking a drink, he swallowed gulp after gulp, his satisfied breaths damp against her skin.
He lifted one of her legs around his waist, ignoring her resistance to pull her tight against him. She instantly caught his scent.
It was like scorched jasmine, the heat wrapping the fragrance in something decadent and intoxicating. She tilted her head back to gasp for air, but he captured her lips again, this time with a fierce intensity meant to devour her, leaving no room for refusal.
It turned into a greedy claiming, a helpless surrender, until both were equally desperate.
Just as they were on the edge, Natalie suddenly snapped back to her senses.
"If we sleep together, we'll be a real married couple."
Marico kept kissing her. "So?"
"If you mess around with other women after this, that's cheating."
"Huh?"
"I will never forgive a cheater."
Marico felt like he had been clubbed over the head. He pulled away from her lips, staring at her with wide eyes. "So you're saying if I touch you today, we become a real married couple, and I have to be completely loyal to you?"
Natalie raised an eyebrow. "Are you saying you refuse to give up the whole forest for me?"
Marico quickly stepped back. "Of course I refuse!"
A mischievous glint flashed in Natalie's eyes. She deliberately stepped closer, grabbed his hand and placed it on her waist, then leaned in to blow softly on his earlobe. "Am I not better than them?"
Marico took a deep breath, his heart racing erratically under the spell of her fragrance.
But he still dodged backward. "Of course you're better than them. But I'm an omnivore. If I only eat one type of food, I'll end up malnourished."
Natalie deliberately pouted her red lips and poked his chest with her finger.
"Are you sure you don't want to reconsider?"
Marico retreated another two steps. "Please stay away from me."
Natalie almost burst out laughing. Marico was a total playboy who loved to mess around and was terrified of responsibility. The moment she mentioned accountability, he instantly backed down.
But hearing Natalie's footsteps, he quickly lay flat, looking as guilty as a thief caught in the act.
Natalie's lips twitched into a smirk as she lay down on Kristin's other side.
"My daughter is adorable, isn't she?" she asked purposefully.
Marico scoffed. "She looks like a dumpling. What's so adorable about that?"
"Are you saying Kristin is too chubby? You're right, I've been meaning to put her on a diet so she can lose some weight."
"Are you even her real mother? How could you make her eat less!"
Natalie rolled her eyes. "You just called her a dumpling. Weren't you calling her fat?"
"What's wrong with dumplings? Dumplings are cute!"
Natalie burst into laughter. "See? I knew you thought she was adorable."
Giving up the struggle, Marico turned on his side and playfully pinched Kristin's chubby cheek. "Her face is so soft."

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