She Used Me for a Dare… Now I Own Her Mother

“Y-Yes! Right away, Madame—I mean, of course!”

Caught between lingering shock and sudden relief, Emma and Madison exchanged a breathless look before nodding in hurried, reverent agreement.

“We’ll set the table and bring out the dishes right now!” Madison chimed in, practically tripping over her own heels as she scrambled to follow Emma.

The two retreated into the dining hall in a flurry of hushed, panicked murmurs, eager to throw themselves into kitchen work just to escape the staggering pressure lingering in the foyer.

As the swing doors to the kitchen clicked shut, the living room fell into a comfortable, intimate quiet.

Victoria let out a soft, amused breath through her nose, turning back toward Alex. Stepping directly into his personal space, her manicured fingers reached up to loosen the silk knot of his tie before sliding smoothly under the lapels of his dark suit jacket.

With practiced, effortless grace, she eased the heavy tailored coat off his shoulders.

The heat radiating from his chest met the cool orchid fragrance lingering on her skin. Victoria took the jacket in both hands, preparing to drape it over the back of the sofa, but the moment her hand brushed the fabric near his right shoulder, her slender fingers abruptly froze.

Her dark eyes narrowed. A faint, almost imperceptible twitch pulled at the corner of her lips.

Without a word, Victoria lifted the lapel slightly, leaning in close until the tip of her nose brushed the dark fabric. She inhaled once… deliberate and sharp.

It was an unmistakable scent: an overly sweet, cloying blend of night-blooming jasmine and expensive French musk, far too heavy and aggressively seductive to be accidental. The signature fragrance of a woman who wore perfume like a weapon, intentionally trying to rub it off on a man’s clothes.

Victoria lowered the jacket, her gaze snapping back up to lock onto Alex’s face. The soft, demure warmth from moments ago was replaced by a dangerous, aristocratic amusement.

“Whose bitchy scent is this?” she asked coolly, tilting her head as her dark eyes pinned him down. “And why does it smell like some desperate little socialite practically glued herself to your lapel?”

Alex didn’t flinch. A low, genuine laugh vibrated in his chest as he reached out, his hand coming to rest lightly against the curve of her hip, his thumb tracing a slow circle against the silk of her robe.

“Since when did the dignified Madame Blackwood become the jealous type?” Alex teased smoothly, his voice dropping into a low, amused rumble.

Victoria didn’t back down, though the razor-sharp edge in her eyes softened into a dry smirk.

“Jealous? Over a woman who needs that much cheap musk to get noticed?” Victoria scoffed under her breath, turning to drape his jacket over the armchair with deliberate precision. “Hardly. I just have high standards for the man sharing my bed. If someone is going to leave their scent on you, she had better at least be worth looking at.”

“You can relax,” Alex said, closing the half-step between them and catching her chin between his fingers, tilting her face up to meet his eyes.

“Just a stray alley cat clawing for attention at the banquet,” he murmured smoothly, his thumb tracing the soft contour of her jaw. “Desperate, clumsy, and dismissed before she could even finish purring. Did you really think a few drops of cheap perfume could distract me from coming home to gold?”

The dismissal was total, reducing whoever it was to something entirely beneath her notice.

Hearing him brush off the encounter as nothing more than an irrelevant nuisance stroked Victoria’s pride in all the right ways.

A pleased, possessive smile tugged at the corner of her mouth as her hand settled against his chest, feeling the steady, rhythmic beat beneath his dress shirt.

“Still… good boy,” she murmured playfully, leaning up on her toes to press a light, teasing kiss against the corner of his jaw. “If you had let that little vixen touch you, you’d be sleeping on the terrace tonight.”

Alex offered a wry, amused smile, shaking his head slightly at her unapologetic possessiveness.

Before she could lean back, his hand slid firmly around her waist, pulling her flush against his chest until the whisper of her silk robe pressed tight against his dress shirt. He dipped his head, his lips grazing the sensitive, warm skin just beneath her ear, sending a sudden tremor through her pulse.

”Why would I waste a single breath on outside noise,” Alex murmured, his voice low, intoxicating, and laced with quiet conviction, “when I have something this breathtaking waiting at home?”

Victoria’s breath hitched, a faint shiver running down her spine. The aristocratic composure she wore like iron before the world melted completely, her heart fluttering against her ribs as color flooded her cheeks. For all her authority, a single line from him was enough to disarm her entirely.

Just as the silence between them grew heavy with lingering heat, the clatter of fine porcelain and the soft clink of silverware drifted through the archway, breaking the spell.

Emma stepped out from behind the doorframe, her hands folded neatly in front of her. While a nervous flush still lingered on her cheeks, her posture was noticeably more composed than before.

“M-Master… Madame Victoria,” Emma announced softly, lowering her gaze with quiet deference. “The dinner table is prepared.”

Alex didn’t rush to break the moment. His gaze lingered on Victoria’s flushed face for an indulgent second, the faint smirk playing on his lips making it clear he thoroughly enjoyed seeing the usually untouchable matriarch disarmed.

Slowly, his hand slid from her waist down to clasp her fingers, lacing them with his own as he guided her toward the archway.

“Come on,” Alex said softly, his voice steady and intimate. “Let’s get some food in you first. We have the rest of the night to ourselves.”

Victoria cleared her throat faintly, willing the heat in her cheeks to subside, though the soft glow in her dark eyes gave her away completely. She let him lead her forward, falling naturally into step beside him and leaning comfortably against his arm as the pearl-white silk of her robe drifted behind her.

“I almost forgot how hungry I was,” she murmured, a faint sigh slipping past her lips as the tension in her shoulders melted away. “I’ve actually done quite a lot since I arrived.”

Alex glanced down at her, a brow arching with mild curiosity. “Really? What have you been doing up there?”

Victoria turned her face up to him, a secretive, mischievous glint flashing in her eyes as a knowing smile curved her lips.

“You’ll know.”