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Chapter 46: Chapter 46: My Heartbeat Wants to Sleep with You More Than I Do

”Your second brother may be in his thirties and single, but he’s mature. He never fools around outside of work. Then there’s your eldest sister—besides being busy with the company, she gets along great with all the socialites and heiresses here in Quartos. And your second sister is on an international tour, surrounded by colleagues who share her passions. Besides, they’re both girls, so there’s no rush for them to find boyfriends.”

Nina Norton went on at length, praising every one of her children except for Ian Sterling, the very person she was lecturing.

Ian Sterling gave a noncommittal ”oh” and said to the stylist, ”Style it for me after you finish the dye job.”

”Of course, Finn.”

His indifferent reaction left Nina so furious she could barely breathe. ”I just said all that and you didn’t hear a word of it, did you?!” she snapped.

”I heard you,” Ian Sterling said, looking at the screen. Seeing his mother’s eyes wide with rage, he asked in confusion, ”What’s wrong?”

”You heard me and you’re still not the least bit sorry? You’re still going to get your hair styled?!” Nina clutched her chest, muttering, ”I must have eaten something wrong when I was pregnant with you to have ended up with a scoundrel like you.”

She ended the video call. Spencer Sterling came out of the bathroom to find his wife’s brow deeply furrowed as she gasped for breath. ”What’s wrong?” he asked. ”What’s got you so worked up?”

”It’s your youngest son!” Nina hurled her phone at him, gritting her teeth. ”He inherited your knack for playing dumb! He’s in his twenties and just now deciding to have a rebellious phase!”

Spencer Sterling caught the phone, amused. ”I told you we should’ve stopped, but you wouldn’t listen. He was restless even when you were pregnant, and it only got worse after he was born. He’s been a little terror since he was a kid—bullied every single one of his older siblings. You know that as well as I do.”

Nina’s anger flared. She pursed her lips, her voice full of grievance. ”All four of our children look like you. Was it so wrong for me to want just one who looks like me? How was I supposed to know he’d have this kind of personality?”

”Alright, alright, don’t be angry. You’ll get wrinkles,” Spencer Sterling said, sitting on the edge of the bed and wrapping an arm around Nina’s shoulder, coaxing her softly. ”I’ll call him home tomorrow and give him a stern lecture. If that doesn’t work, I’ll have to get tough. How about I teach him a lesson for you? Would that make you feel better?”

The moment she heard that, Nina changed her tune. ”Don’t you dare lay a hand on my son.”

Spencer Sterling was speechless. ”Alright, I won’t,” he said, resigned.

Lying in bed, Nina tossed and turned, unable to sleep. Spencer Sterling let out a drowsy yawn and patted her shoulder. ”Why are you still awake?”

Nina switched on the bedside lamp and sat up. ”I’m still worried about Finn,” she said to him. ”He was so devastated back then. Why is he getting mixed up with Lynn Winslow again?”

Fighting off his drowsiness, Spencer Sterling sat up and pulled Nina into his arms. ”Finn’s a grown man now,” he reasoned. ”He can make his own judgments. All you saw was Lynn Winslow dumping him, but we don’t know the full story of what happened. If Finn can let it go, why can’t you?”

Nina bit her lip and mumbled, ”If I’d known it would be like this, I never would have had him. I would’ve saved myself a world of worry.”

Spencer Sterling chuckled softly. It was one thing for Nina to say such things, but if he or any of their other children said the same, she would fly into a rage.

”Okay, okay. Let’s get some sleep.”

Ian Sterling, completely oblivious to his mother’s fury, kept his head down, his fingers flying across his phone as he messaged Lynn Winslow.

Lynn only sent the occasional reply, stringing him along and making his heart ache.

It was midnight by the time his hair was done. Ian Sterling drove to Amberly Bay alone and, without a second thought, parked right in front of Building 7.

Having slept too much during the day, Lynn couldn’t get to sleep. She was sitting on her balcony, sipping wine and enjoying the evening breeze when the piercing roar of a sports car shattered the night’s tranquility. She stood and walked to the railing to look down. A black supercar was parked at her gate.

Ian Sterling opened the door and got out, leaning lazily against the side of the car. He glanced up at the second-floor balcony, and his eyes locked with Lynn’s.

Lynn froze when she saw him. Before she could even process it, her heart began to hammer in her chest.

Under the dim yellow glow of the streetlamp, he leaned against the jet-black car. His new red hair made his already pale complexion seem almost luminous. With his hair now slightly wavy, accentuating his flawless, sculpted features, he looked both indolent and utterly captivating.

Lynn pressed a hand to her chest and took two steps back, bumping against the small round table. A blush bloomed on her cheeks.

’I remember that saying that went around online: ’My heart recognized you before my mind did.’ For us, it should probably be: ’My heart wanted to sleep with you before my mind did.’’

When Ian Sterling saw her disappear from view, he pursed his lips and rang the doorbell. Lynn sent a quick message to the bodyguards on night duty, telling them to stand down and get some rest. She made her way downstairs slowly. Through the gaps in the ornate iron gate, she bit her lip and asked, ”What are you doing here?”

”I couldn’t sleep, so I thought I’d just come by and look at your house,” Ian Sterling said, his gaze lowered and his lashes fluttering. He sounded aggrieved. ”You weren’t answering my messages, and you wouldn’t let me come over. This is my only way to... ’gaze at the plums to quench my thirst.’”

”...” ’So that’s how you use that idiom now,’ Lynn thought. She opened the gate and looked up into his eyes, letting out a soft huff. ”And I suppose you’re aware that your car is incredibly loud.”

Of course Ian Sterling knew. He had done it on purpose.

And how could Lynn not see through his little ploy? She shot him a glare and turned back toward the villa.

Ian Sterling lowered his gaze to hide the triumphant smile threatening to break out, closing the gate behind him as he followed Lynn inside.

Lynn pointed to the guest bedroom across from the master. ”You can stay in that room.”

Ian Sterling glanced at the guest room door, then back at Lynn. All six-foot-three of him took a cautious step forward and gently took her hand. ”Can’t I sleep in the master bedroom with you?” he whispered. ”I promise I won’t do anything.”

Lynn was at a loss for words. Staring at his face, his new hair, and the sleek, sexy lines of muscle faintly visible beneath his thin shirt, she caved yet again. ”Fine. But you behave yourself.”

Ian Sterling hummed in agreement, slipped past Lynn into the master bedroom, and made a beeline for the bathroom to shower. He emerged a short while later wrapped in nothing but a bath towel, citing the lack of pajamas and a fastidious need to not re-wear yesterday’s clothes.

Lynn, who was lying in bed on her phone, glanced over at his shameless display. She rolled her eyes and turned over, going back to her phone.

’As much as she lusted after his body, she didn’t have the stamina for a repeat of last night.’

Ian Sterling paid her indifference no mind. He walked to the edge of the bed, dropped the towel, and slid under the covers.

He was well-behaved at first, but he gradually grew bolder.

First, he draped an arm over Lynn’s waist, his excuse being that he couldn’t sleep without holding something. Then, his fingers began to wander upward, his new excuse being that it was an accident.

Lynn pried his errant hand away. ”Are you going to sleep or not?” she said through gritted teeth. ”If not, get out!”

Ian Sterling blinked. ”I am,” he whispered.

With that, he pulled Lynn beneath him. ”What are you doing?!” she demanded.

Ian Sterling truly was a master of playing dumb.

”Weren’t you the one who asked if I was going to sleep?”

”Don’t you dare play dumb with—mmph...” Lynn’s words were cut off as she arched her neck, unable to suppress the sound.