Chapter 4
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I couldn't believe those words had come out of Jonathan's mouth.
My ears must've been bright red, and the back of my neck felt like it was burning.
I raised my hand, trying to push him away, but Jonathan tilted his head and kissed me lightly on the earlobe.
"They're back," he whispered.
Startled, I looked out the car window. Jasper and Kimberly were walking back, chatting and laughing.
I quickly pushed him away, sat back in my seat, and pulled the blanket over me to pretend I was still asleep.
But the moment I closed my eyes, the strange sensation on my lips reminded me of what had just happened.
I took out a small makeup mirror to check.
My lips were slightly swollen and glistening, and my lipstick was smudged. No matter how I looked at it, it seemed suspicious.
I couldn't help but glare at Jonathan. "This is all your fault—my lips are all swollen!"
He leaned back against the car seat, calmly cleaning his glasses. Then, he glanced at me and pointed slightly with his chin toward something.
"Then who should I blame for this?"
I instinctively followed his gaze, and my eyes widened in shock.
"You—You—How can you…?" How could he have an erection?
Didn't Jasper say he was indifferent to women and completely uninterested?
"Katherine, I'm still a normal man," Jonathan replied, putting his glasses back on and gently pushing the frame up his nose.
In just an instant, the raw, intense energy from our heated kiss vanished without a trace, sealed away like it never existed.
He was back to being the cold, restrained Dr. Clayton.
But somehow, that stark contrast made my heart flutter with secret delight. After all, who didn't want to pluck the unattainable flower from its pedestal?
Who didn't want to see a man, usually so distant and composed, lose control—burn with desire and go absolutely mad over them?
Doubting men, understanding men, becoming men… That saying seemed to be the ultimate truth.
As Jasper and Kimberly approached the car, Jonathan suddenly pulled out a small bag of spicy snacks from who-knows-where and handed it to me.
"Open this. Don't eat it. Just make it look like you did."
"Why can't I eat it? I love these," I muttered.
"Junk food. No nutritional value," he added dryly.
Rolling my eyes, I muttered under my breath but still tore open the packaging, ready to eat—only for him to snatch it from me and toss it straight into the car's trash bag.
The car door opened, and Kimberly climbed in, immediately glancing back at me.
"Kathy, what's wrong with your lips?" she asked.
Keeping a straight face, I pointed at the trash bag. "Ate too much of the spicy snacks. Got a little swollen from the spice."
Kimberly giggled, covering her mouth, then turned to Jasper. "Jazzy, if we didn't know better, we'd think Kathy's lips got that swollen from kissing someone!"
Jasper glanced at me, his brows faintly furrowed, suspicion flickering in his eyes. But when his gaze shifted to Jonathan's cold, unreadable face, he quickly softened his expression.
"Don't talk nonsense," he said lightly. "Kathy has been sitting in the car the whole time. Who could she possibly be kissing?"
"Well, you never know. Who knows what Kathy did after we left?" Kimberly teased.
But before she could say more, Jonathan's gaze snapped to her, his voice icy and sharp.
"She's been asleep in the car the whole time. She woke up five minutes ago. I can vouch for that."
Kimberly froze, stunned. "John…"
But he cut her off without hesitation. "The Claytons and the Jensens aren't close. I'm not familiar with Ms. Jensen either."
Her face flushed bright red, her eyes welling up with tears as she turned to Jasper, looking pitiful.
Jasper glanced at Jonathan's cold, stern expression, but in the end, he didn't dare say a word.
Kimberly looked utterly humiliated, but there was nothing she could do. After all, the Jensens still needed to cling to the Suttons.
