Possessed No More: The True Star Returns to Claim Her Throne-Chapter 53: Kiss

The elevator doors opened, and Riley Perry stepped inside first. When she turned and saw him still standing there, she quickly stepped back out and pulled him in. "What are you doing? Spaced out?"

Cole Sinclair lowered his gaze, looking at the small, fair hand tugging on his fingers. He felt the warmth spreading from her touch and let it seep into his heart. He then quite naturally turned his hand over, enveloping hers within his large palm.

When she didn’t pull her hand away, the corners of his lips curled up into a smile he couldn’t seem to suppress, no matter how hard he tried.

"Have you been here before?"

Riley Perry glanced at their intertwined hands, her own lips curving into a smile. "Nope. I just heard this place is really famous, so I wanted to come check it out."

At the next floor, the elevator doors opened again, and four people got on: two men, one woman, and a child.

Riley Perry automatically took a step back. Cole Sinclair simply turned to face her, effectively shielding her in a corner of the elevator.

The elevator continued to stop, the doors opening and closing as more people got on. The space between them grew smaller and smaller until Riley Perry was pressed completely into Cole Sinclair’s embrace.

Riley Perry looked up at him and gave a sudden blink. Then, she rose onto her tiptoes, pulled down his mask with one hand, and planted a kiss on his lips.

Cole Sinclair’s eyes darkened. Seeing her about to pull away, his large hand instinctively wrapped around her slender waist as he pressed his own lips against hers, refusing to let her go.

’Crap. I’ve really lit his fire. I can feel it...’

Luckily, the CEO only lost control for a few seconds before regaining his senses. He gave Riley Perry’s lips a lick before pulling away, then silently put her mask back on for her before fixing his own. He created a little distance between them, slowly trying to calm his racing pulse.

When they finally reached the eighth floor, the other passengers gradually filed out. Cole Sinclair removed his hand from Riley Perry’s waist, only to take her hand in his once more. As they stepped out of the elevator, Riley tried to pull her hand free, but he held fast.

Riley Perry looked at Cole Sinclair.

But Cole Sinclair deliberately avoided her gaze, a smug grin spreading across his lips beneath his mask.

’Shopping like this, holding hands,’ he thought, ’is actually pretty nice.’

His confidence surged. ’She’s my little lover. I can do whatever I want. Why should I feel embarrassed?’

And so, he gave the soft little hand in his another squeeze. "Let’s go. Buy whatever you want, it’s on me. We can call it a celebration for your narrow escape yesterday."

He soon pulled Riley Perry into a women’s clothing store.

It was a major international luxury brand, and the sales associates were all top-notch, greeting every customer warmly regardless of their attire.

Cole Sinclair gestured for Riley Perry to pick out some clothes, finally releasing her hand.

Riley Perry didn’t hold back. It wasn’t like she was short on cash, and besides, a woman can never have too many clothes. She was usually too lazy to shop, but since she had someone to carry her bags today, she was determined to pick out some nice things.

Soon, she had picked out five dresses, none of them cheap.

To Cole Sinclair, however, the price was negligible.

After he paid, Riley Perry just stood there, unmoving. At first, Cole Sinclair didn’t understand. "Let’s go."

He even stepped forward to take her hand.

Riley Perry gave the shopping bags on the floor a petulant kick. "What about these?"

Cole Sinclair glanced at the bags. Just as Riley Perry was expecting him to carry them for her like a normal boyfriend, the bodyguard who had been following them walked over, picked up the bags without a word, and promptly vanished from the store.

Riley Perry’s brow furrowed almost imperceptibly. She was finally realizing that something was off.

’Cole Sinclair didn’t have this many bodyguards with him before; she was sure of it. The time he took her to the airport, there was only one car following them. Including the drivers, he had five bodyguards at most.’

’But now, he had a huge number of bodyguards following his every move.’

’Could something have happened when he went abroad the other day?’

Next, they visited a few more women’s clothing stores, but Riley Perry only bought two more pieces before refusing to continue. Instead, she pulled Cole Sinclair into a men’s clothing store.

"Mr. Sinclair, now it’s your turn to try on some clothes."

Riley Perry was pointing to a deep blue suit with dark yellow trim on the pockets. She also picked out a matching dark yellow shirt with an embroidered cloud pattern and gestured for Cole Sinclair to go try them on.

Cole Sinclair glanced at the suit. It wasn’t that he needed clothes; everything he owned was custom-tailored. And while the styles varied slightly, they were all very conservative. He’d never worn a suit with a second, contrasting color like this one.

But he went to try it on anyway. When he came out, he saw Riley Perry’s eyes light up immediately.

"Mr. Sinclair, you look so handsome in this suit!"

Cole Sinclair looked at himself in the mirror. He had to admit, it really wasn’t bad. The dark yellow accents on the shirt and suit seemed to soften his cold, arrogant aura, and maybe even made him look a little younger. "Alright, let’s get it."

’If his little lover liked it, he supposed he could wear it from time to time.’

He went to change back into his clothes, and in the meantime, Riley Perry paid for the suit.

When Cole Sinclair came out ready to pay, he was utterly stunned. You could tell by the blank expression he wore for a full three seconds. It was the first time in his adult life that a woman had ever bought clothes for him.

’The very first time.’

’Do other men’s sugar babies also pay for their sugar daddies?’

’He seemed to recall someone saying that those "canaries" were only supposed to wring every possible benefit from their patrons. So why was Riley Perry always so different?’

He opened his mouth, but in the end, refrained from saying anything that would spoil the mood. "...Thank you."

Riley Perry looked up at him, a dazzling smile on her face. "You bought so many things for me, Mr. Sinclair. Please consider this suit my gift to you in return. I hope you’ll accept it."

To be fair, a suit costing over two hundred thousand was already extremely high-end. Even Cole Sinclair, who was used to wearing custom-tailored clothing, couldn’t possibly find fault with it.

After their clothes shopping, they wandered around the other floors. They bought quite a few more things, all of which Cole Sinclair insisted on getting for Riley Perry, and he personally picked out every single item.

Seeing that he was developing an addiction to shopping for her, Riley Perry quickly grabbed his arm. "No more shopping. I don’t really need most of this stuff. It’s just a waste."

Cole Sinclair instinctively started to pull away—holding hands was already the most intimacy he was comfortable with in public. But then he remembered the kiss in the elevator...

’Oh, what the hell. They were both wearing masks, so no one would recognize them. If she wanted to cling to his arm, he’d let her.’

’So much for his boundaries. They were apparently made to be broken.’

Cole Sinclair looked at the display of collector-grade jewelry before them. "Are you sure?"

’Weren’t women supposed to like shiny, sparkly things?’

’The pieces he had at the apartment were just for everyday wear and not that expensive. These, on the other hand, had starting prices in the seven figures. She really didn’t want any of them?’