Chapter 183 Chapter 183
He swallowed hard. No, he corrected himself mentally. She definitely isn't skinny there. He vividly remembered that one of his hands wasn't enough to cover everything.
He knew better than anyone at that table (and perhaps in the world) that she wasn't a “bamboo stick.”
Nicholas's gaze became deep, burning, and predatory.
As Caroline continued to chatter about her ideal weight, she sensed a change in the atmosphere. The air around her seemed to have grown warmer.
She stopped talking and looked up.
Nicholas's eyes were fixed on her. Not on her face, but... a little lower.
Caroline followed the direction of his gaze and froze.
Blood rushed to her face in a burst of embarrassment. Her cheeks turned as red as the roses he had given her.
“Y-You...!”
She stared at him, scandalized, and immediately grabbed a decorative pillow from the chair, pressing it against her chest to block his view.
“Pervert!” she screamed in her mind.
We're in a public restaurant! With her sister and best friend at the table! What was he looking at with that hungry wolf face?!
“Yes.”
The shameless man not only didn't look away, but nodded his head in agreement with her internal assessment.
“You're right,” Nicholas said, his voice hoarse and a smile playing on his lips.
“You do have meat. Even though you're thin, you have... plenty.”
He spoke with the authority of someone who had made a complete inventory.
Caroline wanted to dig a hole in the floor of the revolving restaurant and bury herself right there.
How could he say that so casually?
Although Nicholas didn't have much experience with women before her, he knew how to recognize perfection when he touched it. And his wife's body was undoubtedly a masterpiece he couldn't wait to explore again.
That night, he was beside himself and went too fast. But next time...
Nicholas took a sip of wine to calm the heat rising through his body, but the satisfied smile did not leave his face.
Tania nodded enthusiastically, as if defending an academic thesis.
“Exactly! Prince Charming, you have a keen eye. Carol looks skinny, but it's just an optical illusion. She's not ‘meaty,’ she's... strategically padded!”
Tania winked mischievously.
“Don't underestimate her delicate appearance. She wears a reinforced medium-sized bra, you know? And if you're not careful...”
“TANIA!”
Caroline blushed bright red. She jumped out of her chair and tried to cover her friend's mouth with both hands.
“Ah... humph!” Tania laughed, dodging Caroline's hands. “Honey, why are you trying to shut me up? I'm just telling the truth! Anyway, even if I didn't say anything, Prince Charming would know!”
Tania gave a suggestive smile, raising her eyebrows.
“Actually... I think he knows the measurements better than I do. After all, you sleep in the same bed, don't you? You must have already done the...”
“Tania, shut up now!”
Realizing that Tania's vocabulary was about to enter the “forbidden for minors” zone, Caroline felt a mixture of shame and panic. She wanted to dig a hole and hide.
But before she could silence her friend, a strong arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her back.
Caroline lost her balance and fell softly against a broad, warm, firm chest. Her back pressed against Nicholas's torso, and his scent—woody and masculine—enveloped her completely.
The man's deep voice vibrated against her back, and his warm breath tickled her ear as he leaned in.
“Size M, huh?” he whispered in a hoarse tone that made Caroline's knees tremble. “So my baby has plenty, then?”
At that moment, Caroline's face flushed. She was sure she was smoking.
Nicholas's lips brushed her earlobe provocatively.
“D-Don't listen to her nonsense...” Caroline stammered, trying to pull away, but his arm was like an iron bar.
Seconds later, she heard a low, hoarse chuckle from him.
He whispered again, at a volume only she could hear, creating a private world in the middle of the restaurant:
“I took a quick look just now...”
From what I could see in my ‘visual inspection’, she's not talking nonsense. You are... substantial.
Caroline spun around in his arm and stared at him, her eyes wide.
“Nicholas...! Y-You pervert!”
“I'm a pervert?” Nicholas arched an eyebrow, feigning innocence. “How does admiring my own wife's attributes make me a pervert? I call that marital appreciation.”
The man smiled mischievously.
There was a glint of desire and mischief in his eyes that Caroline had never seen before.
His current behavior was the opposite of “Ice CEO.” He seemed... alive. Dangerous. And incredibly sexy.
Caroline was stunned.
To begin with, Nicholas was already offensively handsome. Even when he was serious, he attracted attention. But now, smiling like that? It was criminal. That smile could bring down empires and steal souls.
Even Caroline, who saw him every day, felt her heart skip a beat.
She stood frozen, admiring him like a fool.
Until...
“Honey, is your husband so handsome that you have to drool over him?”
Nicholas chuckled softly, loving her reaction. With a tender gesture, he reached out and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear.
The touch of his fingers on the sensitive skin of her neck was electric.
Caroline blushed furiously. Her cheeks, ears, and neck turned a deep shade of scarlet.
With her eyes wide and her mouth slightly open, she looked exceptionally adorable.
Beside them, Tania watched the scene in silence.
She couldn't hear what they were whispering, but she didn't need to be a genius to understand body language. The intense looks, Caroline's blush, Nicholas's predatory smile...
They were in a world of their own.
Tania felt a warm, cozy wave in her chest.
Back when Caroline was dating Edward, Tania never felt jealous. She only felt concern.
But now...
Seeing how that powerful man looked at her “baby” — as if she were the only woman on the planet, as if he wanted to devour her and protect her at the same time — Tania felt a pang of desire.
Being in love seemed... wonderful.