Chapter 5 – FORCING HER INTO SUBMISSION

The black Lamborghini pulled over at the mansion and once the door opened, three imposing figures stepped out. Two were men, and the third was a familiar woman with a pair of seductive green eyes and amber hair.

"Darling, we're running behind schedule," she remarked to the detached man by her side, glancing at the time on her Patek Philippe wristwatch.

His answer was a simple shrug before walking to the mansion. He didn't want to be here anyway.

The other man placed both hands behind his neck, his playful light brown eyes gleaming with mischief. "Isn't he the coolest?" He said to Selene sarcastically.

Selene looked at him from the corner of his eyes, her eyes unfriendly as she walked past him.

He slowly followed behind the odd couple, a large portion of his brown hair falling over his face as he walked, due to his fringe hairstyle.

He was wearing a white turtleneck knitted shirt and gray pants with a pair of brown sandals. His appearance looked clean, fresh, and laidback like his personality.

The man walking up ahead briefly stopped when he reached the front porch, his parted sweep dancing around his face when the cold wind hit him.

Standing on the front porch reminded him of how things had moved from being sweet and friendly to bitter and disastrous.

It had all started many years ago, the era of a new dawn in his life.

After his mother passed, his father quickly replaced her absence with a hot, savvy woman who worked as a secretary in his workplace.

He swallowed, bringing his thoughts back to the present moment.

There was no use thinking about the past. He didn't care about it anymore.

"Chase,"

The sweet cologne of his perfect wife caught up to his nose and it made him look to his side where she was standing, her eyes shining with delight as she looked at him.

He cleared his throat and stared straight ahead.

It was Selene O'Malley, his wife.

Her face was perfect; her body was perfect.

"I'll go in first," She said softly before walking in front of him to the door.

Even her walking pose was perfect.

And that perfection of hers was what was suffocating to him.

Unlike the woman he had a one-night stand with the previous night, she felt fake. Chase knew comparing his wife to a woman he'd only met briefly was cruel but he couldn't help it. His wife was just too remarkable but she had no depth.

Chase stared at the open door and could subtly hear familiar waves of laughter of excitement from within.

She was even the perfect daughter-in-law.

But all of that didn't matter when she couldn't light a single spark in him as his wife.

"What are you doing?"

Chase looked behind only to find his cousin, West staring at him with a knowing grin. "Won't you go in?"

Chase looked straight ahead and walked in, his cousin moving slowly behind him.

The lights, and chandelier that was hung in the middle of the living room… It hadn't changed but the house was no longer what it used to be. It wasn't his warm and safe haven anymore.

"Chase, you're here!" His father's voice called out from across the room.

"I'm here too, uncle Richard," West remarked playfully, heading towards the dining table.

Chase watched his wife and cousin as they blended beautifully, fitting in with his supposedly cultured family.

His father, Richard Axford was wearing a t-shirt and jeans. Simple clothing, you'd agree but his blue eyes and charming smile made him look beyond simple.

His wife, Eleanor was right by his side wearing a sparkling black dress and a full-face makeup but her straight eyebrows and red lips were the main highlights along with her bob hair.

Her son and Chase's stepbrother, Jeffery, was sitting quietly like a perfect son, not even making an effort to greet him but Chase didn't mind it. He couldn't be bothered either.

Next to Jeffrey was his wife, Mackenzie. She looked normal as usual but then he noticed something different about her tonight. Her aura seemed more sensual than usual and it called out to him.

"Chase, my son!"

Chase's attention was averted once again by his enthusiastic father.

"Apologies for the delay," he addressed his father, though his tone held no hint of remorse.

"No worries. Anyway, I'm pleased you could join us. And you've brought West with you!"

Mackenzie ran a finger over the curls on her face.

Ever since Jeffrey's brother, Chase Axford, and wife, Selene O'Malley joined the table, she'd noticed the subtle look her husband gave Selene and it disgusted her to her very core.

Chase Axford.

He was a graceful man with a handsome appearance but he always seemed so cold and unattainable. She wondered how Selene was lucky enough to bag such a good man and yet cheat on him. But it was also no wonder, after all, Selene was a beautiful woman. There were just some things that were acceptable for her to do.

Everyone finally settled down at the dining table and Mackenzie felt insecure sitting with her husband's family.

They all seemed to carry an aura of wealth that she lacked despite the fact that she was wearing her expensive purple dress.

It didn't help matters that she'd left her hair curly as a way to protest against her husband and embrace her real self but somehow, being herself in a sophisticated family like this one felt impossible.

Her mother-in-law's perfect bob made her look younger than her age and her brother-in-law and his wife looked like royalty.

Chase Axford was wearing a simple black suit but on his body, it looked firm and sleek. His face… was like a dream. The parted wave of black hair crossed over his face gave him the perfect conjuring appearance.

His eyes were deep and reminded her of the stormy seas. It was intimidating to look at, yet for some reason, she found herself glancing at him from time to time which was very unlike her.

His perfect nose…

His heart-shaped pink lips and chiseled V-jawline looked as though they were carved by gods. His bulging Adam's apple when he swallowed… was the sexiest motion she had ever seen, for some reason.

Watching him do basic things was, for some reason, turning her on.

Watching his hands as his picked up a glass, the veins flexing against his skin with the motion. The way he lifted it to his lips and drank from it. She was held spellbound, watching him swallow. Then he brought the glass down, a flash of his tongue subtly licking the moisture on his bottom lip.

She wouldn't have paid attention to him at all. She was usually too busy making sure her husband ate well to care but after what her husband did—

She didn't care if admiring his brother's features lustfully was wrong.

As Chase placed his half-filled glass down, his gaze moved to Mackenzie.

As they made eye contact, she froze, her breath hitching in her throat from how unreal he looked. Sea blue clashing against hers.

Intimidated, she looked away.

Chase didn't.

For some reason, she sparked something in him looking like that.

Her curly hair.

Her sexy fiery hazel eyes.

Her natural plump pink lips.

The purple V-neck dress she was wearing hugged her body.

She was beautiful tonight and the awkward shyness that she emitted after getting caught staring at him was cute.

But for some reason, she looked familiar. Her subtle intricacies, and the way she carried herself.

"Mackenzie," Richard Axford said after a couple of minutes.

Some conversation had gone around without Mackenzie getting involved. He wanted to involve her as well.

"Is that a new hairstyle that's in trend these days? It looks lovely on you, dear."

"Thanks, father," Mackenzie said with a smile, "But I have to say, it's my natural hair."

Something in Chase's chest tugged afterward.

Jeffrey's wife's natural hair had always been curly. How could that be? He always saw her wearing straight hair. Tonight is an exception, of course.

"Jeffrey always preferred straighter hair, so I made it a habit of straightening my hair,"

She always had curly hair?

Chase looked at her and immediately remembered last night.

The mystery woman who had crossed his path and seduced him to bed with her fiery eyes and raw passionate tone.

For some reason, Mackenzie and the woman he had a one-night stand with, seemed too similar, or was it just his imagination?

"Why didn't you go for straight hair tonight?" Selene inquired, her tone carrying a hint of superiority.

"I simply wanted to give my hair a break," Mackenzie responded, sweeping her curls aside. It was at that moment that Chase realized something.

He found Mackenzie so familiar because he knew her from last night. She was the woman who'd begged him to make love to her. She was the woman that evoked sexual desires out of him just by looking at him. And right now, he could feel himself getting turned on by her voice and sensual nature that seemed so natural to her.

Chase clenched his fists but kept them hidden under the table.

This innocent wife of his stepbrother was not who she portrayed herself to be.

Chase usually didn't like to meddle in other people's affairs but in this case… He had to show her her place.

How dare she get him involved in her suspicious parade while she was married, and to his half-brother!

It was beyond annoying. He had to get back at her somehow!

While last night had meant a lot to him, to her, it was just a fun activity, a pastime.

Ring!

Ring!

Chase snapped out of his trail of thoughts on hearing his phone ring in his pocket.

It wasn't a call he had to pick, but he used the opportunity to excuse himself from the table to get himself together.

He'd never felt this used in his entire life.

He understood that life had a series of problems and it was inevitable to run into countless few but this joke that was played on him seemed a bit too much from the side of the universe.

How could the woman that had evoked his desires last night be his half-brother's wife? He didn't understand it at all!

While organizing his thoughts, he saw Mackenzie storm down the hallway.

Was she trying to leave because she recognized him? That had to be it! Although, he had to applaud her for maintaining a poker face at the dining table.

Without hesitation, he followed her outside, his heart slamming hard against his ribcage as he did.

"Mackenzie!" He shouted.

She came to an abrupt stop and pivoted to meet his gaze, her eyes trembling as they locked onto his.

"It's you, isn't it?" He pressed, his voice demanding, "The one who pleaded with me to sleep with her last night."

"What are you talking about?" Her voice quavered, recognizing the accusing shades of blue in his eyes.

She didn't understand why he would say something like that to her. He was her brother in law, how could he—

Mackenzie's thoughts went out the window when he leaned in and kissed her hotly, his tongue forcing her into submission.