Age of Adepts - Chapter 13

[Mature Content:]Alaric was too close to Nicolette.Her mouth was just inches away from his.He could smell the lavender on her skin, the heat radiating from within her.But he held back, refusing to be carried away by her charm…“Mr. Allens…” she purred, and he looked down at her.Her eyes widened with desire, and he knew, in that moment, that if he wanted to kiss her, she would let him.The last thing he wanted was commitment. He knew that Nicolette didn’t want that either.But why was she this tempting?So willing?It was that willingness that confused him.She blinked, then swallowed as she pulled the jacket off her shoulders. His eyes lingered on her exposed neck.God.He just wanted to bury his mouth in that hollow spot.“Here,” Nicolette said calmly, extending the jacket to him.He took the jacket, his hand brushing hers just a second. She flinched, her face turning pink as she clutched the towel against her chest.His stomach flipped at the sight.If only that towel would give way to…Before he could stop himself, Alaric pressed his arousal against her stomach, pushing her against the wall, cornering her.She gasped at the sudden movement and for a moment, he lost his mind.“Cole…” he breathed, crushing himself against her.Her eyes gleamed with desire and a vulnerability that rocked him to his core.He would be foolish not to give in to this feeling.But he would also be a fool if he did.She had chosen to marry him.Not her boyfriend.And definitely not Lucian Crawford.Yet, he couldn't help it.She was only his for a year.But still…***************When her business and the gallery she inherited from her mother burn to the ground, Nicolette Voss is determined to rebuild—and get revenge on her father.She turned to her father’s rival, Alaric Allens, for an alliance.Alaric is willing to help, but on one condition—she must be his wife for a year.They called him Ruthless Alaric after an infamous incident 6 years ago. Alaric is back in town, and so are the crumbs of his past. But he is determined to change everything with a wife.He has his hidden agenda.She needs her revenge.But will this marriage between storm and steel survive the heat? And what will they do when deep secrets threatens to destroy them both?

I seem to have reincarnated in the world of an r-rated romance fantasy novel. And not just as an ordinary character, but as the witch who loses her life to the crazy male lead!

Luckily there is a long 200 years until the main characters are born and grow into their roles.

Now that my life is not in imminent danger, shall we leisurely think of ways to avoid death?

However, I had not taken notice of a very important detail about the time I’d be spending ‘safe from imminent danger’. 200 years was by no means a short waiting period and by the time the younger version of the male lead appeared in front of me , I had completely forgotten the original novel’s plot!

Oh, whatever, now that it’s come to this, the only way to survive is to raise the male lead into a sane and stable adult! The first step to avoiding death by the hands of the tyrant male lead is changing this extremely frightened child’s life.

“It must be very inconvenient for you to have me suddenly show up on your doorstep, I’m sorry. You can tell me to go away, I’ll be fine.”

“Nonsense. Do I look like someone who could be inconvenienced by a little boy like you? Also, what do you mean by you’ll be fine even if told to go away? It’s not like you have anywhere to go back to, kid.”

The little boy burst into tears.

‘Oh, this is so not it.’ Was what the witch thought to herself as the little boy sobbed

Is reality difficult? Is work unbearable? Is your daily Nine-Five routine boring? Is there no excitement in your dull life? Is the inner child in you dead? Fear not, enter Virtual Reality, and live up to your dreams.You can be anything here! Do you hear me? Anything! A King with an infinite harem, a cultivator that can slash the heavens with a sword, a child adored by a loving family, the protagonist of a story you create, and many more.You are limited only by your imagination.

Modern Earth was suddenly thrust into an era of hyper-artificial intelligence and realistic, human-like machines called Androids by a woman who went by the name Maria Evernight.Within a short decade, this unfathomable woman spread the influence of her behemoth enterprise; Evernight Group International, across the known globe, forever propelling the human civilization into an era of technology that could only be described as otherworldly.This woman patiently groomed her son into the most fearsome CEO of the most influential existence on the face of this little blue planet, planning to slowly transition total control of the globe to her son.She planned to keep him entertained by the mundane life among mortals while keeping him in the dark about his past and heavy, predestined responsibilities. Alas, who would have expected that the rural blue planet in the middle of nowhere among the sea of stars would be discovered by immortal cultivators?Before people could adapt to the new world of futuristic technology, the world of cultivation took them by storm. Many young and old of the people yearned for power and immortality, and Maria’s son, Leonardo Evernight, was no exception.Perhaps it was as the heavens preordained, but Leonardo picks up the path to power.However, after stepping onto this path, he found out that his mother didn’t have many years left of her age, throwing his mental state into disorder as the path to power was a path of no retreat, only advancement.With a heavy heart of responsibility, Leonardo left the comfort of his little blue planet for a future unknown…