Looking at the hand stretched out in front of her, Sophie Sullivan thought, I might as well bite it. It’s not like I’ll lose anything. He’s already exploited me like a beast, so what’s there to hesitate about?
Grabbing Thomas Shannon’s hand, Sophie stared at him unwaveringly and bit down viciously.
This bite showed no mercy whatsoever.
Even William Guillen winced at the sight, while Edward Benson gazed at Thomas Shannon with a complicated expression and suddenly sighed deeply.
"Thomas, you’re beyond cure."
Thomas Shannon smirked lightly, not minding Edward Benson’s words.
Sophie tasted a faint sweetness, accompanied by a metallic tang—it was the unmistakable blood smell. She froze momentarily, then released Thomas Shannon’s hand.
She looked and saw that a tooth mark, stained with blood, was imprinted on his hand.
Disgusted, she threw his hand away and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. "Don’t you feel any pain?"
"Are you a little happier now?" Thomas Shannon asked, instead of answering.
Sophie leaned back a little, looking perplexedly at Thomas Shannon, who was acting unusually strange today. "Are you trying to scheme against me again?" she suspected. After all, it wouldn’t be the first time he’d been so cunning and devious. Simply having a meal with him could lead to a repayment of a debt in flesh—hadn’t he done that often enough?
He casually picked up the napkin, wiped the bloodstain, and said indifferently, "Let’s eat."
It was Sophie’s first time seeing Thomas Shannon act so unusually.
Apprehension filled her heart; she couldn’t shake the feeling that Thomas Shannon wouldn’t let this go so easily.
William Guillen picked up his wine glass, an intriguing smile playing on the corner of his mouth. "Maniac, here’s to you."
Sophie raised her wine glass, and they clinked. William Guillen downed his in one gulp.
Just as Sophie was about to take a sip, Thomas Shannon grabbed her wine glass. "I’ll do it."
Sophie was speechless.
The crimson wine flowed down those sexy thin lips and into his throat.
He put down the wine glass, propped his head up with one hand, and spoke lazily, "Have you forgotten the doctor told you that you can’t drink alcohol?"
Sophie lowered her head and began to focus on her meal.
She couldn’t make heads or tails of what the three of them were discussing, so she decided to just tune them out and focus on eating.
By the end of the lengthy dinner, Thomas Shannon was slightly tipsy.
His arm was draped over Sophie’s shoulder, and a light blush had appeared on his handsome face.
His deep eyes were intoxicatingly hazy.
"Thomas, want to go to the bar for a while?"
"If you want to find a woman, go ahead. I’m going home."
William Guillen looked at Edward Benson. "Bay King, what about you?"
"I’m going home too."
Feeling rebuffed, William Guillen rubbed the tip of his nose. "Fine, you’re both good men. I’ll go to the bar alone."
Leaving the private room, Thomas Shannon’s entire weight leaned on Sophie.
How could her delicate frame support his weight?
Annoyed, Sophie nudged him. "Thomas Shannon, stop pretending to be drunk! Walk by yourself!"
"You heartless thing." Thomas Shannon lowered his head and lightly bit her red lips.
Only after biting her sufficiently did Thomas Shannon let her go. Charlie River took two steps forward, his face etched with worry. "Young Master, are you alright?"
Thomas Shannon released Sophie and straightened up. Charlie River, still uneasy, tried to support him but was waved away.
"Young Master, are we returning to the manor now?"
Thomas Shannon casually lit a cigarette, took a deep drag, then finally looked at Sophie. "Where else do you want to go?"
Asking me? Sophie thought. She genuinely didn’t have anywhere she wanted to go. She shook her head. "I don’t want to go anywhere."
"Then let’s return to the manor."
On the way back to the manor, Thomas Shannon was uncharacteristically silent, which only made Sophie increasingly uneasy.