Marcus'' deep, maic voice, tinged with a hint of helplessness, drifted into Natalie''s ears. "I don''t want you to regret your actions once you sober up, regretting what you did when you were drunk."


    Natalie, still a little dazed, didn''t quite understand what he meant, but she yawned. After themotion, her fatigue hit her again.


    "If you don''t want me to touch you, fine, you''re so stingy." Natalie pouted and turned her back on him, no longer cuddling Marcus.


    Seeing her childish behavior, Marcus chuckled. He hugged her from behind and kissed her hair. "When you''re sober, and you know what you''re doing, if you still want to touch me, I''ll let you. Okay, now sleep."


    Natalie mumbled something, but Marcus couldn''t hear it clearly. He carefully held her from behind, gently patting her shoulder, like his grandfather used to do when he was a child,forting him to sleep when he was afraid.


    It didn''t take long before Natalie fell into a deep sleep.


    Marcus wasn''t sleepy. He waited until Natalie waspletely asleep before slowly pulling his hand away. He then pulled her closer and grabbed the remote to close all the curtains. He turned off the lights in the room before finally closing his eyes.


    ...


    Natalie slept deeply and soundly, and she had a dream. In the dream, she caught a stunningly handsome man, half-covered by a white veil. She trapped him on the couch, touching him all over.


    The man''s eyes were cloudy, with the corners tinged red. His long, thick


    eyshes trembled as she teased him, looking like he was about to cry. The more she saw him like that, the more she wanted to tease him.


    "Don''t move, I''ll take care of you." Natalie grabbed the man''s chin and kissed him through the veil.


    The next second, the veil fell off, and their lips met. Natalie finally saw the handsome face under the veil. Her eyes widened instantly, and her heart screamed in shock. It was Marcus.


    Before she could react, Natalie suddenly shot up from the bed. As soon as she moved, she felt something pulling at her wrist. When she turned, she saw Marcus lying beside her, eyes closed.


    What was going on? Natalie was in a panic.


    Could it be that she was still dreaming? Was this a dream within a dream? Had she really taken advantage Marcus in her dream? She waspletely frantic.


    Right, to figure out whether she was dreaming, she could just pinch herself. So, she raised her hand and pped herself.


    "Ouch. That hurts."


    So, it wasn''t a dream.


    Marcus, hearing the noise, slowly opened his eyes and saw Natalie''s dazed expression. He gracefully sat up.


    "Are you awake?"


    "You... I... we..." Natalie''s brain short-circuited, unsure how to describe or exin the situation.


    Marcus chuckled softly and raised his left hand. "Last night, you were afraid I''d escape, so you tied me to you with this."


    Natalie was stunned. She looked in disbelief at the tie on her wrist, and sure enough, the other end was tied to Marcus'' wrist.


    "You don''t remember anything fromst night, do you?" Marcus smiled slyly and sighed. "What should I do? You said you wanted to marry mest night."


    "W-What?" Natalie froze again, staring nkly at Marcus, her mind shing back to the dream she''d just had.


    That dream... had been a little... suggestive.


    In the dream, the handsome guy had such a great body! His abs were well- defined, and he felt amazing.


    Could it be that she wasn''t just dreaming? Had she actually done that to Marcus? "I... you... that..."


    Natalie stumbled over her words, hastily ncing down at her clothes. She was dressed properly, but Marcus wasn''t-his clothes were


    torn, buttons missing, and ther.


    were several nail marks and dong red scratches on his chest.


    In the dream, she had done the same thing to that man.


    Instinctively, Natalie traced her fingernail over the marks on Marcus'' chest,paring them to the red scratches.


    Marcus nced down at her, the corner of his mouth curling into a smile, and didn''t stop her from examining him.


    After shepared everything, Natalie''s hands flew to her face. This was really her doing. Her face burned with embarrassment.


    Next, Marcus reached out and gently pushed her head into his chest. Natalie suddenly heard his strong, rapid heartbeat.


    "Now, you''ve got to be responsible for your actions and my feelings, okay?"


    "I..."


    "If you want to say no, then don''t say anything." Marcus interrupted her. "We slept togetherst night, and you... did things to me. Nat, you''re not the type to be a heartbreaker, are you?"


    "I..."


    Marcus let go of her, lifting his wrist. "Don''t rush to answer."


    "I''m yours. You can''t escape," he added, smiling. "And I''m not running away. Actually, I wouldn''t mind."


    Had he known that Natalie, after getting drunk, would be such a big fan of his face, he would have gotten her to drink with him much earlier.


    After what happenedst night, Marcus was sure that Natalie didn''t feel nothing for him, as she''d imed. On the contrary, she liked his face.


    Natalie''s face turned even redder, and she could hardly handle the heat. Her gaze automatically


    abs. I her dreamst night, she


    dropped to his chest, then to his


    touched and squeezed them thoroughly enjoying it.


    In the dream, she''d even done worse things...


    had


    Natalie quickly shoved those unttering thoughts down, took a deep breath, and


    then looked at Marcus with a more determined expression.


    "You''d better get ready. We''re going to get our marriage registered."


    "Mm, okay." Marcus didn''t hesitate to agree.


    "Sorry, I was drunkst night, and I might have done things to you." Natalie loosened the tie that bound them together. "I didn''t do anything else that was too outrageous, did I?"


    Marcus shook his head. "No, you only targeted me."


    "Then... I''ll take responsibility," Natalie exhaled deeply. "Let''s register our marriage!"


    "Okay."


    Marcus looked at the calm Natalie before he couldn''t resist. "Nat, what was your first reaction when you woke up?"


    Natalie was a bit confused. She looked at Marcus, who was seriously asking. Her first reaction was that she felt like she was going to lose all her dignity.


    After all, the dream had been so real that she couldn''t help but believe she had really done those things.


    Vol


    "Marcus, you don''t want to register our marriage?" Natalie furrowed her brow. "If you don''t want me to take responsibility, what kind ofpensation do you want? it''s my fault. I shouldn''t have done that to you, and I''m really sorry."


    Marcus was confused. He hadn''t expected things to spiral out that way.