Crashing into an Old Flame
Chapter 131: I’m about to kiss you

Chapter 131: I’m about to kiss you

He was about to look around the office once again when there were two consecutive knocks on the door.

It was her.

He did not have to see it to know that it was her. She knocked like that, the first one lighter and the second one louder.

And it was creepy how he observed her knocks too. Borderline disturbing how he could tell her knocks from other people’s

He hurriedly picked up the book from the table when the door was pushed open.

Maxim focused on the book so intensely as if he was soaking every word to etch them into his soul.

Diana glanced at him, ’’You haven’t left yet?"

He looked up from the book as if he just noticed her presence, ’’When did you come?"

Suddenly, Maxim felt like he deserved a chance in Hollywood. This woman did that to him.

She brought out the best and worst in him. He did not know what to feel about it.

’’When you were reading,’’ she said, leaning back on his desk as she tilted her head down to look at him, ’’You haven’t left yet, Warner?" she repeated her question.

’’I was reading a book,’’ Maxim replied, still focused on the same page of the book.

’’Too engrossed in it to notice that it is way past your leaving time?" Diana fiddled with her coat.

Maxim nodded, flipping the page calmly.

’’Is the book interesting?"

’’It is,’’ he said.

Diana nodded as she grabbed the book from its spine, gently pulling it away from his hand, ’’I bet reading it upside down amplifies your good reading experience,’’ she casually threw the book towards the edge of the desk, letting it perfectly land on his laptop.

His face darkened.

Maxim’s eyes narrowed slightly, ’’And what has it got to do with you how I like reading my books?" he pushed himself to his feet, towering over her, the swivel chair moving back as he stepped to the side.

Diana’s chest rose and fell a tad bit faster but the calmness on her face did not falter, ’’Absolutely nothing.’’

’’Then, the cause of your curiosity?" he arched a brow as he stopped in front of her.

Diana straightened up from the desk as she turned around to leave, "My assumptions.’’

’’And what did you assume?" she had just taken a step ahead when he grabbed her hand and slowly pulled her towards him till she stumbled back into his arms, her back against his chest.

Breathing was never such an arduous task before as it was today.

’’I assumed that you have been finding excuses to stay here,’’ her voice sounded foreign to her ears.

Maxim lowered his head till his chin was almost grazing her neck, ’’Excuses for what, Ana?"

’’For me, perhaps,’’ Pornstar Diana Chen took over her throat, and from where she got that confidence from? She had no idea.

She regretted her words as soon as she uttered them. Maybe he really had something to do in the hospital that’s why he had been staying back.

Where did her sudden bout of narcissism come from? When she heard Mary’s words, why did she assume that he could probably be wasting his time by sitting here, doing nothing because what? Because he wanted to give her a ride... back home?

Wasn’t she being silly—?

’’No,’’ Maxim said, his words fell in her ear and warmth crept on her face.

Embarrassment made her toes curl in her stilettos. She should have known...

’’Not perhaps, sweetheart. For you, certainly,’’ Maxim finished his sentence.

’’W-What?" Diana felt like she misheard him. His words. His ’sweetheart’.

Her ears were surely ringing.

He had called her sweetheart over the phone call a few days ago when she was feeling conflicted over her parents but it was the cajoling kind of a sweetheart.

The sweetheart he uttered just now... sent a shiver down her body.

’’What part of my words did you not understand? Tell me, I will rephrase it,’’ he said, his voice mocking.

She was not offended. She was far from being offended.

His dry humor made her body warmer. She was weird. She was a lost case. Officially.

’’Every part... Everything,’’ she mumbled, ’’Rephrase them all. What did you mean?" she stepped away from him and turned around to look at his face.

His gaze zoomed in on her reddened cheeks, ’’You want the truth?" he asked, meeting her eyes.

Diana nodded and he leaned closer again, his mouth right next to her ear as he spoke, ’’Here it is. I have no business, no particular interest in succulents, no interest in books since you started working here. I sit here, doing nothing except waiting for you to be done with your work. It’s silly, stupid, and childish but I can’t help it, ’’ he leaned back and glanced at her blank face, ’’Surprised?"

Maxim’s eyes raked over the loose strands of blonde falling on her face and he raised his hand, his fingers itching to tuck them behind her ear but he froze when she slapped his hand away.

Everything that happened afterward was a blur.

She grabbed his collar and dragged him towards her, catching him off guard as she tiptoed and captured his lips.

Unlike last time, she did not just press her lips against his.

Diana licked his bottom lips, inching closer to him as her grip on his collar tightened.

Maxim stood frozen.

When he did not respond to her, disappointment weighed her chest with crushing pressure. She let her lips linger on his for a moment before she loosened her grip on his collar.

Diana stepped back from him, the tingling sensation on her lips reminding her of what she had done and how he had responded.

She gulped, not meeting his gaze, ’’I am sorry. I...’’

He interrupted her words, ’’Who am I, sweetheart?" his voice was barely above a whisper as he asked.

Diana was dumbfounded, ’’What?" her head snapped up as she met his gaze.

’’Who am I?"

’’What are you talking about, Warner?" she looked at him in disbelief. Was he that shocked that he forgot his name?

She was in no way Princess Tiana whose magical kiss tranformed the frog alright?

’’You are not sick,’’ he stated.

’’I. Am. not.’’

’’Good. You recognize me, you are not sick. You did it in all your senses,’’ Maxim placed the tip of his index finger under her chin and tilted her face upwards, ’’Let’s do it properly.’’

’’W-What...’’ her brain crashed when his other hand grabbed the back of her neck as he crashed his lips onto hers.

The finger resting under her chin disappeared and she felt one of his arms wrapping around her waist as he hoisted her up in the air.

Her legs wrapped around his torso instinctively as he turned around and emptied the contents of his desk onto the floor.

The glass vase shattered on the floor with a loud crash yet she was way too engrossed in him to be shocked by the sound.

He sucked her bottom lips and she found herself raising her hands to hook them around his neck as he placed her on the desk.

One of his hands slid inside her coat and she gasped when she felt the graze of his calloused fingers through her blouse. His tongue thrust inside her mouth and Diana felt dizzy, her body warmed up and she tried to press her legs together but he let his hand slide down her leg till he was clutching the back of her knee.

He yanked it to the side and stepped in between her legs, deepening the kiss. Her hands trembled around his neck as she gradually reciprocated him.

When their lips parted, she felt gentle strokes on her lips.

She slowly opened her eyes and glanced at the man who was grazing his thumb on her bottom lips with a contemplative gaze on his face.

Diana wanted to hide but it was too late.

’’You were not breathing decently,’’ he mumbled under his breath.

Only then did she realize that she was gasping for air. Her face seemed like it was one step away from blasting.

She wanted to tell him that it was not everyday that she was kissed like that. She wanted to tell him that she was never kissed that way at all but recalling the number of women he was associated with, she was reluctant to show her lack of experience.

’’I... was caught off guard earlier,’’ she did not look at him.

’’Try again then. I am about to kiss you,’’ his warning remained brief as he dove for her lips yet again.