Anders Larzelere's PoV:

– "Practise, We Need To Do Lots Of It,"

"W-What the h-hell do you mean?" I blubber, completely flabbergasted and befuddled beyond comprehensible belief.

"Oh, you thought I was telling that for real? Ha! You wish. It will be a fake one." She declares, grinning down at me triumphantly.

"O-Oh," I splutter, blinking rapidly.

"Haha, I had you there for a moment, didn't I?" She smirks, and her eyes are twinkling with mirth with the victorious grin still etched onto her face.

I have a feeling that she will be smiling like that for a lot from now on.

"Y-Yeah," I mumble, still too shocked to move.

Marry her?! Like marry, marry?' Or just marry?!

"Like marry, marry." She replies my question, and I turn to her with yet another shocked expression.

"H-How?!"

"You were talking aloud, 'babe'," She mocks me by making air quotes, and my cheeks heat up in involuntary embarrassment.

Way to prove your macho-ness—if that's even a word—to a girl like her, Anders.

"I-I'm sorry about that. I'm normally not like that. It's just...you said you kidnapped me...and I flipped out. I don't degrade girls like that, I swear—"

She places her fingers on my lips, shushing me.

I freeze.

Because I can feel sparks,

And fucking tingles.

"I know. You don't have to explain,"

Anders, did you inhale nitrogen or something? Since when did you start hallucinating?!

"Oh,"

"Yeah..." She trails off and awkwardness descends in on us like a thick rain cloud.

Now, her position on top of me isn't helping in any way either.

"So...Why should I marry you?" I blurt out, trying to say something that would ease the awkward energy wrapping us.

"Oh. That's...that's because I want to win the competition."

"Competition?" I repeat, confused.

"Yeah...My friend and I—I mean, my ex-best friend and I, we have a...competition sort of thing going on between us, ever since she ditched me in high school for the Populars. Then again, I became the queen of them all after that, but that's another story for another day," she pauses, "last month, she found her Alp—I mean, CEO boyfriend, whom she's gonna marry next month. But, I want be the one to win this and be the first one to be married." She finishes in one breath, "And since you're the heir to the Larzelere Industries and I'm the heir to the DeVega industries, I think the two of us are a perfect match." She proclaims, grinning that 'I'm-so-gonna-win-this-one' grin again.

I look at her in surprise.

"I meant a fake one!" She corrects herself rapidly, and I nod slowly in reply.

Oh.

"Um..."

So basically, she's Mariano DeVega's only daughter — which explains the ultra-expensively decorated room — whom I've heard about several times in my life but never met before.

And she wants to marry me.

To win a competition against her arch-nemesis.

"So...will you do it?" She queries hopefully, "Or should I tie you to the bed?" She adds teasingly, throwing in a wink.

I glower at her.

"Not funny," I warn, pushing myself up on my elbows. She understands that I'm trying to sit up, and quickly scrambles off me, jumping to a quick stand, in a move elegant that a gymnast's.

Impressive.

"Wow," I whisper under my breath, unable to hold in the awe and admiration in my voice.

"Haha," she laughs airily at me, flipping her thick hair over her shoulder.

How did she hear it?

She adds in a saucy wink to tease me further, as she bends down and dusts the knees of her dark skinny jeans.

My cheeks heat up automatically, and I curse myself for the umpteenth time for blushing and stuttering so damn easily.

"I know I'm hot," She whispers in a throaty voice, and I blush even harder.

Ugh, Anders! Stop the damn blushing already.

I turn my head away in an attempt to hide my heating cheeks, as I stand up as well, but not as lithe and flexible as her. That's a shame, because I'm one of the best players of my team.

I shake my head at myself.

"What will I get out of it?" I question, finally looking at her eyes, having calmed down my heating cheeks.

"Getting to kiss and and do whatever you want with me, of course!" She gestures to herself with a hand, "Isn't that benefit enough?" She asks in a teasing tone in reply, waggling her shapely brows at me in the most suggestive way possible.

Crap.

That makes me blush.

Again.

"N-No! I don't mean that!" I exclaim in protest, shaking my head rapidly.

She pouts dramatically in reply.

"No? Well, you actually don't have a choice. You can either do it willingly and enjoy yourself," She widens her eyes with a pause, adding a dramatic effect, "Or, you can be tied by me to the bed and taken pictures of yourself—in some...'poses' with me to be shown to others." She shrugs casually as she says — no, threatens me to stay here.

Shit.

Is this girl really crazy?

"But—" I start, but I get interrupted again.

"Don't for a second think that I won't hold my end of the promise," she adds in a serious warning tone, and for a second, the way her golden eyes almost darken like in those fantasy movies, makes my stomach drop in fear.

There is no way her eyes could've literally darkened. Stop seeing too much into things, Anders.

Should I do it?

There's no need to worry about my safety because I can sue Mariano and tell my Uncle to threaten him that he would remove all his shares from his company, if anything happens to me.

Then, what am I hesitating about?

Oh yeah, the gossip.

I'll be the centre of gossip, and we'll be the next 'it' couple.

"And oh, you don't have to worry about the tabloids and magazines. No one knows that this house even exists. It's so far off the city, into the forest that no one has suspected us living here." She informs me with a sweet smile, almost looking like the descendant of an Angel.

How does she read my mind so perfectly?!

"You're an open book. I can almost see the thoughts reflected in your forehead, besides, you often mumble things." She explains with another smile, and I throw my hands up in frustration.

"Okay," I sigh, letting my shoulders droop in defeat.

"Okay?!" She yells, and I cover my ears to block the high-pitched sound from piercing my eardrums and making me go permanently deaf.

"One month, you say? It's better spending it here, rather than hide away at that mansion," I grunt, shoving my hands into the pockets of my jeans in a self-conscious habit.

"Are you serious?!" She shrieks, jumping slightly in excitement.

"Yeah..." I acquiesce hesitantly,

"Yes!" She jumps forward and launches herself into my arms, throwing hers around my neck. I stagger back in surprise and almost let us both trip backwards, but thankfully, years of training makes it easy and I balance us both in the last minute from tumbling down to the hardwood floors.

"Eeeeeep!" She squeals and I laugh at her enthusiasm. I want to so badly not hug her back, but she just feels so perfect wrapped around me like that, I just can't resist.

So a second later, I hug her back.

Suddenly, I feel warm lips pressing themselves against my stubbled left cheek — effect of getting kidnapped and not shaving — and I almost drop the girl in my arms in surprise.

I still don't know her name and I agreed to marry her!

She pulls back with a loud smack, making me blush ten thousand shades of red.

"What was t-that for?" I ask, looking at her through heavy lids.

"Practise. We need to do lots of it,"

•••

Btw, keep in mind, what Alarice tells Anders throughout the book is only a of what's really happening. I'm sure you would've read a of werewolf books, so think supernaturally and try to guess what might be happening on the side.