The air, for a brief moment, was still.
Thomas Shannon turned his head slowly, his dark eyes shining like obsidian.
They were as mysterious as the unfathomable depths of a breakless ocean.
His true emotions remained indecipherable and elusive.
"What did you say?" His deep, magnetic voice whispered in her ear.
Sophie smiled and reached out, playfully pinching his beautifully curved chin. "I said, could it be that you’ve fallen in love with me?"
Thomas Shannon placed a hand on her forehead, his brow furrowing slightly. "Still not awake? Or... have you gone mad again?"
She swatted his hand away, flinging it aside.
Sophie was furious that he would say she had gone mad.
Humphing coldly, Sophie decided she wouldn’t speak to him again until after dinner.
She served herself a bowl of soup and, holding it with both hands, sipped it delicately.
The soup was thick and flavorful, and Sophie soon finished the entire bowl.
She picked up her chopsticks and ate her rice, pointedly not looking at the man beside her the entire time.
Thomas Shannon propped his head on one hand and chuckled lightly. "Give you an inch, and you take a mile, hmm?"
Her audacity was ever increasing!
Sophie said nothing, continuing to eat, treating him as if he were air, ignoring him completely.
Thomas Shannon reached out, pinched her cheek, and tugged lightly. "Maniac, didn’t you hear me speaking?"
Impatiently, Sophie pushed his hand away, muttering, "Stop pawing at me; you’re like a vile rascal."
The serving servants, standing by with bowed heads, gasped audibly at her words.
Who, in the end, was this woman? Wearing a mysterious and dazzling half-mask, she was stunningly gorgeous, but her temper was also notoriously difficult. She dared to speak to Young Master like that; she truly courted death!
Miraculously, Thomas Shannon wasn’t angry.
It seemed he had become addicted to teasing her; the more she tried to ignore him, the more he provoked her.
"Thomas Shannon, have you had enough?!"
He was really pushing his luck, wasn’t he?
Thomas Shannon caught her hand, brought it to his lips, and kissed it. "You’d better rein in that temper of yours."
"And what if I don’t?"
Thomas Shannon’s long, narrow eyes narrowed dangerously, a hidden, alluring glint of desire within them. "I have plenty of ways to deal with you."
A shiver ran down Sophie’s spine, and she instinctively pulled her hand back.
She had almost forgotten; the man before her was, make no mistake, a wolf.
If it weren’t for her menstrual period, she would probably be exploited night after night.
To change the subject, Sophie placed a shrimp onto his food plate. "Peel this shrimp for me."
"What did you say?" Thomas Shannon asked, his tone rising with a hint of annoyance.
Sophie turned her head. "Aren’t you at leisure? Then peel the shrimp for me."
Thomas Shannon: "..."
Everyone broke into a sweat for Sophie; she was practically courting disaster.
However, to everyone’s utter astonishment, Young Master Thomas actually began to peel the shrimp with his own hands!
This incredibly distinguished man was personally peeling shrimp for a woman?
Sophie accepted Thomas Shannon’s service as if it were her due. "Dip it in some sauce."
Thomas Shannon: "..."
Sophie’s lips parted slightly. "Hurry, I’m hungry."
Thomas Shannon suppressed the restless fire flaring in his chest, peeled the shrimp, dipped it in sauce, and fed it to her.