Chapter 165: Backup Ride

Elias turned his head.

A car had stopped at the curb, the window rolled all the way down. Naomi Vale had one arm propped along the open frame, her pretty face carrying a faintly roguish edge as she looked him over.

From that posture alone, it was obvious she had driven over with one hand.

Elias silently removed Naomi from all future transportation options.

He would never let her pick him up or drive him anywhere again.

He was afraid he would die in her car.

What kind of reckless idiot had passed her driving test?

The moment Naomi saw him clearly, she looked as if she had seen a ghost. She sucked in a sharp breath.

"Whose life force did you suck dry?"

How did his whole face look different?

Was he actually an incubus? Did he drain someone’s essence and come out prettier?

Good.

Definitely a reckless idiot.

Elias rolled his eyes inwardly and did not bother answering her. Instead, he turned back toward Liora.

"Thank you for coming out to see me off," he said. "But I already have someone driving me. Go back inside. The wind is cold this late. Don’t get sick."

Then, right in front of Naomi, he took one step closer to Liora.

He rose slightly onto his toes, one hand brushing Liora’s face. Then he pressed a light kiss to her red lips and murmured, "A reward for behaving."

Elias withdrew his hand and gave Liora a faint smile.

Then he turned and walked toward Naomi’s car.

The second he got in, Naomi’s questions came out like gunfire.

"Wait, who was that? What did you do to her? Was that a kiss? If I saw that right, isn’t she Serena Blackwood’s adoptive sister? Holy shit, are you taking both sisters? Is that real?"

Elias turned his head and sliced her with a look, teeth clenched.

"Shut up. Are you a walking question machine?"

He had only just gotten out of Serena’s bed. Maybe he was still a little irritated, or maybe his face still carried the heat of what had happened. His cheeks were lightly flushed, and when he glared over, the look somehow became bright, furious, and almost coy.

Naomi’s eyes were dazzled for half a second.

She silently turned her head away and stopped looking at him.

"What happened to your face?"

Elias sighed inwardly.

He should have put on the glasses.

But he had still been flirting with Liora, so there was nothing to be done.

His voice cooled. "I’ve always looked like this. Your eyes are bad. You saw wrong."

Naomi paused. "Uh..."

That made sense, in a terrible way.

It had to be that she had seen wrong.

What else could it be?

Was he really an incubus?

If System Theta knew what she was thinking, it would probably have said that there did not seem to be much difference anymore.

Elias said, "Take me home."

He gave her the address. It was the apartment Serena had rented for him.

"Mm." Naomi nodded to show she had heard.

Then she said, "But now I know why you managed to hook both Blackwood sisters."

Because damn.

With a face like that, who would not want to hook him?

Even she kind of...

Cough.

Elias seemed to see straight through her. The corner of his mouth lifted.

"Don’t fall for me. You can’t afford it."

Naomi’s eyes filled with amusement. "Oh? Pretty arrogant. But I guess you do have the right to be." 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

Then Naomi turned into a curious child again.

"But how did Serena not notice? My mother praises her all the time. Says her instincts in business are as sharp as a wolf’s. And yet she didn’t notice you were messing around with her sister? Wait. Don’t tell me you’re two-timing both of them and neither Liora nor Serena knows you took both sisters."

Elias was too lazy to explain.

Naomi was only a drama lover, not one of his mission targets. She was not worth wasting that much breath on.

So he gave up.

"Yeah, yeah, exactly."

Naomi went silent for a second.

She clearly recognized the brush-off. Since she knew she would not get an answer, she stopped asking.

"Fine. Then what about Giselle? What’s going on between you and Giselle?"

After thinking of something, she added, "You have to tell me this one, at least. I transferred you five hundred thousand, remember?"

Right.

She had given him five hundred thousand.

Elias’s attitude improved instantly.

"Her?" he said lightly. "She’s my Bestie."

Naomi’s mouth twitched. She was obviously trying not to laugh.

"Bestie?"

Maybe that kind of thing was real between two men.

But between a man and a woman, out of ten so-called Besties, eleven had something improper going on.

Outside blood relations, pure friendship between men and women might exist. But that purity was usually inversely proportional to looks.

Other than that, whenever someone said, we’re really just Besties, it usually meant someone had the desire but not the nerve, or they had lied to themselves so successfully that even they believed it.

People like that were usually the first to panic when the person they liked got a Bestie of their own.

In the end, Naomi could not hold it back.

She burst out laughing.

"Hahahaha, Bestie? You’re really using Bestie? I don’t believe you."

"You don’t believe me?" Elias huffed. "Giselle and I have never kissed. We’ve never slept together. We’ve only held hands and hugged. If that isn’t Besties, then what is it?"

He said it with such righteous confidence that Naomi froze.

After a long while, she finally said, more slowly, "I’m telling you, you should still know where the line is. Don’t actually play Giselle to death. Her mother is not some kind-hearted woman."

Naomi’s tone was rare in its seriousness.

She was warning Elias out of goodwill.

But Elias did not need it.

How could he bear to play Giselle to death?

And even if he really did play Giselle to death...

Victoria Frost would not be able to do much.

"Wait." Elias suddenly noticed something. "Where are you driving?"

Naomi smiled. "Your place is too far. Why don’t you sleep at mine tonight?"

Elias turned his head sharply to look at her.

Naomi teased him. "What? Afraid I’ll force myself on you?"

Ha.

Elias gave two cold laughs in his heart.

Give her ten times the courage, and she still would not dare touch him.

Naomi pointed at him with one elegant finger.

"Hey. What kind of look is that? Are you looking down on me?"

"Yes."

Elias suddenly smiled.

His eyes turned soft and alluring, the corners lifting as his lips parted.

"Can you make me look up to you, then?"

Naomi almost did not withstand it.

She jerked her head aside. "Fuck. Don’t seduce me like that. My self-control isn’t as good as you think."

Elias got out of the car with careless ease.

"What seduction? You brought me here. I thought you actually planned to do something to me."

Naomi looked helpless. "Do I look that desperate?"

"No." Elias shook his head. "But I understand my own charm. If you really did something to me, I wouldn’t be surprised."

Naomi went quiet.

After a while, she finally said, "Respect."

That confidence came straight out of his bones.

It was not something an ordinary man could have.

Naomi locked the car and followed behind him.

"Oh, right. Want to go play at a private club?"

She knew someone like Elias had probably been to plenty of places like that.

Elias shook his head and opened his mouth in a yawn.

"Ah... forget it."

Tonight had already been tiring enough.

Right now, he only wanted to sleep.