Once a Doormat, Now Untouchable

Chapter 199 Julian's hand slipped lower on her waist, brushing against damp heat. Sydney's eyes snapped open, and she shoved him away in panic. "No!" Even though she had long anticipated the possibility of them going all the way someday, she could not accept it right here. Deep down, she was still, perhaps, a traditional woman. Even as someone's lover, she had hoped her first time would be private, safe. Not here, where anyone could push the door open at any second. Her voice trembled. Julian drew his hand back, his voice rough, as if scraped over gravel.

"Not here?" "Mm." She nodded, gripped the cold marble doorknob, and added quickly, "I'm going back to the room." Without waiting for him, she slipped out, rushed to the bathroom to fix her smudged lipstick, and hurried back to the private room. Her heartbeat had not settled even as she pushed the door open. If she had known Julian craved risk, the thrill of doing reckless things in public, she might have thought twice back then. She would have even searched for another way to save Tiffany. She had pictured something simpler. When Julian needed her, she would warm his bed.

sex. It was him kissing her without warning, in broad daylight, in front of people. His hands were never content to stay still. Every time, he left her on edge, her heart in her throat. Julian stared at the door Sydney had just closed, his gaze pitch-black.

first, she had assumed that the quiet, docile Sydney harbored some wild side. She never expected the "wild man" to be Julian. Julian carried none of the guilt of a man caught with another's woman. His expression remained cold, detached as he glanced at her. "What

countless women throw themselves at him, or business partners send women to