Chapter 3
I probingly ran my hand along the side of her smooth, silk-stockinged leg. Just as I prepared to venture deeper, Chloe’s hand finally shot out. She clamped down on my wrist, desperately trying to push me away.
Under the cover of darkness, we engaged in a silent wrestling match, neither of us willing to yield an inch.
After a long stalemate, terrified that she might actually panic and cause a scene that would alert Valerie right next to us, I settled for the next best thing. I smoothly reversed my grip, forcefully pulling her hand over, and placed it firmly on my own thigh.
Chloe yanked her arm a few times. Realizing she couldn't break free from my iron grip, she finally abandoned her resistance. Her body gradually relaxed, allowing me to hold her tightly.
I didn't take in a single frame of whatever black-and-white silent film was playing on the screen. My entire mind was focused entirely on playing with her slender fingers. Even though the lighting was too dim to see her expression, I could clearly feel that the hand enveloped in mine was trembling slightly, betraying the intense turmoil in her heart.
Exhilaration and adrenaline surged through my bloodstream. Like a greedy gambler, I inched higher and higher, pulling her hand toward my slowly awakening danger zone.
Just as her hand was a mere fraction of an inch from the destination, Chloe suddenly stood up as if she had been shocked by a live wire. She grabbed Valerie, whispering that she needed to use the restroom.
I had no choice but to reluctantly let go of her hand in the dark. Those few minutes of waiting were agonizingly long. I even began to suspect that the thrill had been too much for her, and she had dragged Valerie out to make an escape. My heart didn't settle back into my chest until I saw them fumbling their way back to their seats.
The very second she sat down, like a predator reclaiming its prize, I aggressively captured Chloe's hand once again.
She resumed her play of token resistance, pushing back with even more force than before.
But the moment I brought the back of her hand to my lips and planted a burning kiss on it, it was as if someone had completely pulled the spine right out of her body. Her hand instantly lost all its strength, going entirely limp. She permitted me to guide her slender fingers into my mouth, sucking and tracing them freely.
A surge of conqueror's euphoria swelled in my chest. I felt incredibly proud of my shameless yet highly effective audacity.
Emboldened, my free hand once again covered her thigh. This time, Chloe violently snapped her legs shut, trapping my hand tightly between her thighs, rendering me completely unable to move it even a fraction of an inch.
Just then, the clicking of the projector abruptly stopped. A rustling sound swept through the sparse crowd—the film was over.
One second before the overhead lights clicked on, I interlaced my fingers tightly with hers. I squeezed my palm hard, released it, then squeezed it hard again, before finally letting go. Chloe understood the signal immediately and secretly responded with an equally firm squeeze.
In that moment, an indescribable, wild ecstasy rushed through my entire body. I practically wanted to tilt my head back and howl in that retro basement to vent the ultimate thrill of this illicit affair.
The overhead lights flickered on, and the audience began to rise. I turned my head to look at the prey beside me.
The first thing I saw wasn't her face, but her full breasts heaving under her silk dress, proving that the silent battle had left her just as breathlessly aroused as I was.
My gaze traveled upwards, meeting an exquisitely pale face that was now flushed a vibrant, sunset crimson. Her large, watery eyes stared silently at me. Her expression held a touch of reproach, yet it was wrapped in a lingering, inescapable shyness. That complex blend of emotions was absolutely soul-stealing.
A triumphant smirk was just about to bloom across my face.
"Hey, what are you zoning out for?"
A name exploded in the very depths of my mind—Valerie!!!
A human lifetime is always full of unpredictable, twisted irony. We blindly, optimistically believe things will travel perfectly along the tracks we’ve laid down, completely forgetting how fundamentally insignificant humans are. We can't prevent an economic crisis, we can't dictate the timing of a traffic light, and very often, our own fates completely derail at the most trivial intersections.
I felt like the ultimate cosmic joke. I had frantically swung a shovel to dig a massive trap, only to discover that the person getting buried was me.
Three days after we returned from the vineyard, Valerie actually called me personally. She invited me to participate as an audience member in the recording of a high-end interactive television show hosted by her network.
I went next door to ask Chloe and found out that this aloof Vice President's wife wasn't just a powerful societal figure—she was the Executive Producer of this flagship entertainment program.
I knew exactly what this was about. Valerie's invitation was absolutely not just a friendly gesture. During that time in the dark theater, she must have noticed something, or perhaps misunderstood something. I tested the waters with Sarah, saying, "This show seems kind of boring. Should I just find an excuse and turn it down?"
Sarah rolled her eyes aggressively and pointed a finger right at my nose. "Who the hell do you think you are? Brad Pitt? She only gave you a VIP ticket out of respect for Chloe! And here you are, acting like you're above it. People crack their heads open trying to find a way to suck up to the big shots in the media industry and can't even get in the door. What harm is there in building some high-end networking contacts?"
Looking at my wife's eager, mercenary expression, I just played along. "Alright, alright, stop nagging. I'll go, okay?!"
Internally, I sneered: You’re the one pushing me right into the fire pit. Whatever happens next, you can't blame me for not keeping my pants zipped.
The setup at the studio was extraordinarily lavish. There was even an ice-breaker game allowing the audience zero-distance interaction with the celebrity hosts. Chloe, as one of the network’s signature faces, led several of her co-hosts in participating.
Valerie stood behind the producer's console, smiling warmly as she surveyed the room. However, her deep, sharp gaze would occasionally sweep over the crowd and land with pinpoint accuracy directly on me.
Today, she was wearing a perfectly tailored, deep-V black dress. The bottomless cleavage completely unleashed the raw sex appeal she had ingrained in her bones. A thirty-year-old woman is at the absolute peak of maturity. Combined with her commanding, superior aura, she effortlessly outshone every single glamorous TV girl on that set.
Previously, my mind had been so utterly consumed by Chloe that I genuinely hadn't registered just how much of a premium catch this woman was!
A certain dangerous idea instantly reignited from the ashes in my mind.
After the game segment concluded, the hosts led the guests on a tour of the multi-million dollar studio and broadcasting center.
Valerie, in her high heels, walked elegantly toward me. Because of our subtle encounter at the estate, the air between us was fraught with an unnatural tension.
