Apocalypse Queen: My Space, My Rules Chapter 194: Sweet Temptation

Mariella shifted her gaze and looked straight at him, unsure what he meant.

"If we're officially together, you can look at my chest whenever you want." He held his collar loosely, revealing a stretch of bronzed, toned skin—faint outlines of firm muscle visible.

Is he seducing me?

Mariella didn't stand a chance against that kind of temptation.

Under his deliberate charm, she gave in completely. Not only did she look, but she also reached out. And not only did she reach out, she went further than that.

Chandler clearly had no experience with something like this and didn't know how to react.

This was moving way too fast.

Mariella looped her arms around his neck and kissed the lips she had been eyeing for so long.

His lips were full, and the taste of them made it impossible for her to stop.

"Shouldn't we take this a little slower?" he said, holding her, his dark eyes slightly unfocused. "We just got together. This feels a bit fast."

Even though he wanted it, he felt like it might be too abrupt for her.

They had just defined their relationship. Shouldn't there be some kind of gradual progression?

"Compared to last night, we're already being pretty restrained," Mariella murmured, leaning against him, her mind hazy, unable to tell what was real and what wasn't.

Maybe she had always felt something for him, and she just hadn't dared to face it.

Now that the barrier had been broken, she felt strangely relieved and willing to take the next step.

"Last night?" Chandler frowned slightly, confused, as if he had missed something important.

Mariella suddenly remembered that last night had only been a dream, and he knew nothing about it.

A little embarrassed, she brushed it off. "I mean... since last night, things between us just feel different."

It was like that dream had shattered some invisible balance, pushing her to take that final step and turning things real between them.

It was just a dream, but not one that could be erased.

She felt like they could never go back to being two parallel lines again.

Chandler thought about it for a moment, then smiled. "So you spent all night thinking about us? And now you've finally figured it out."

His tone was light, clearly pleased that she had taken their relationship so seriously.

Mariella rolled her eyes.

She had thought about it all night. Just not in the way he imagined.

Of course, she couldn't tell him that. It would be better to let him misunderstand.

This time, he kissed her first, deep and lingering.

As his breathing grew heavier and warmer, Mariella pushed him lightly and said with a teasing tone, "Your belt is digging into me."

Chandler pressed his lips together.

He didn't explain. He just quietly adjusted himself.

Then they continued kissing... until someone's stomach growled.

"Huh. They say beauty is enough to satisfy hunger, so why am I still starving?" Mariella complained.

Chandler gave in. "Food first?"

"Food first."

...

They returned to the space, and she casually stored the speedboat as well.

Inside the villa's dining room, a full dinner quickly filled the table.

Mariella even opened a bottle of champagne and poured one for each of them.

"To celebrate today's gains!" she raised her glass.

Chandler lifted his as well. "What gains?"

She blinked, instantly catching his meaning, and played along. "The fuel trucks are nothing. The real win is that I have a boyfriend now! Cheers to both of us being officially off the market!"

Chandler laughed openly and drained his glass in one go.

...

After dinner, the two of them went to work in the garden.

The garden had already expanded into a full field that was about an acre in size.

Their crops needed watering, and the strawberries, blueberries, and pumpkins were ready to harvest.

There were also vegetables that were ready to be picked. The peppers and eggplants were ripe, and the leafy greens needed another round of harvesting.

After more than half an hour of work, they finally finished everything.

The crops were watered, and all the harvested fruits and vegetables were stored in the static space.

Once they were done, Mariella brought out another batch of saplings.

"I really love cherries. I wonder if they'll grow here."

Chandler dug holes with a shovel while Mariella planted the saplings and filled the soil back in.

Soon, they had planted ten black cherry saplings, along with three apple trees, three pear trees, two persimmon trees, and two jujube trees.

Even though the black soil sped up growth to three and a half times faster than normal, it would still take close to a year for the fruit trees to mature and bear fruit.