Rising from the Ashes (Andrew and Lauren)

Andrew let out a cold laugh as he stared at the trembling Aspen right in front of him. "What am I doing? What do you think I'm doing? When you were trying to suppress Christina and Davon earlier, you used my presence to scare them off. Don't tell me you forgot that?"

Aspen flushed, both embarrassed and angry. "I didn't forget! But what I said-was any of it wrong?"

Andrew snorted. "No, it wasn't wrong. But you did get one thing messed up: your grudge with Christina has nothing to do with me, so don't drag me into it just to make yourself look good. You used your own boss as a pawn. That takes some guts, Aspen."

Aspen instantly felt a chill. She shrank back and begged, "I-I-I... I won't do it again, okay? Andrew, just let me down first. My butt's right up against the window, and if someone walks by and sees this, how the hell am I supposed to live that down?"

The corner of Andrew's lips curved into a teasing grin. "Isn't that perfect? You're my little secretary. This? This is very fitting."

Aspen almost blurted out, "Fitting your ass!"

Her position was humiliating-bent over in the passenger seat with her ass stuck up in the air. Anyone walking past the luxury car could instantly tell what they were doing inside. Just the thought of it made her want to vanish into a hole in the ground.

She struggled and shouted, her face burning with shame, her voice trembling with fury. "Andrew! Let me go! Let go of me right now or I swear I'm not going to be nice!"

Andrew's hand came down hard twice, right on her backside. The heavy slaps sent a jolt through her, and her whole body tensed. The pain was sharp, making her eyes well up on the spot.

She hissed, "You bastard! You actually hit me?"

Andrew's voice was flat and cold. "What, did you think I was here to whisper sweet nothings to you?"

Just like that, he gave her a few more hits, solid and heavy.

Aspen did not even need to look. She could feel her butt had to be red and swollen by now.

The tears finally spilled over, clenching her teeth hard. Her hands were tied, and with nowhere to vent her fury, she did the stupidest thing imaginable—she lunged and bit down on Andrew's mouth.

Caught off guard, he jerked back as pain exploded across his lip. Her bite had broken the skin, and he tasted blood instantly, the metallic tang flooding his mouth.

Andrew could not believe his servant was being so disobedient and dared to bite him. His anger erupted, and his arm tightened around her body, yanking her firmly into his chest.

The mix of stinging pain and a strange, tingly numbness made Aspen let out a soft whimper, caught between a sob and a moan. Her eyes were glassy with tears, But the fire inside her had not gone out.

She clenched her teeth and thought, 'Screw it. If I'm going down, I might as well take this bastard with me!'

She opened her mouth again, going straight for his lips-hell, even his face if that was what it took.

Andrew's brows furrowed, and his voice dropped low. "Enough. Or do you actually want to die?"

Panting, her chest heaving, Aspen glared at him with hate burning in her eyes. "You hit me, humiliated me-what the hell do you think that is?! Either kill me now, or I swear I'll bite your damn face off!"

She lashed out again, baring her teeth like a wildcat.

Andrew let out a mocking snort. One hand pinned her in place, the other grabbing a firm fistful of her ponytail.

Aspen's head was yanked back, her lips smeared with a mix of lipstick and blood. Despite the tears running down her cheeks, she smiled-fierce and full of spite.

"What? You gonna kill me now? Go ahead! I already know you're not the type to show mercy anyway!" Her voice trembled, but the fire in it refused to die.noveldrama

Andrew stared at her blankly. "You know what you look like right now?"

Aspen had already thrown caution to the wind. She sneered and shot back, "Of course I do. A crazy bitch. A whore. Trash. Middle-aged luhatic. I've lost all my dignity already, so say whatever the hell you want!