Chapter 796

Natalie peeked into Kristin's bedroom and found the little girl fast asleep. She figured Kristin must have finished her homework, earning a little TV time as a reward from Marico. He had probably sat down to watch it with her, only to drift off first.

Afraid of waking him, Kristin hadn't taken the remote from his hand to turn off the TV. Instead, she had draped a blanket over him before quietly slipping back to her own room to sleep.

Natalie leaned down, pressed a soft kiss to Kristin's cheek, and then returned to the living room to sit down beside Marico.

During the drive home, she had been in a terrible mood. She was furious with Hamilton and wracked with guilt over the disruption to the film crew. Underneath it all, a lingering fear gnawed at her, wondering what Hamilton might do next.

She had walked through the door carrying that heavy, tangled mess of emotions, but the quiet peace of her home had already begun to soothe her.

She couldn't stop whatever Hamilton had planned, but she could guard her own heart and refuse to let him hurt her anymore.

Natalie closed her eyes, savoring the moment of tranquility. Suddenly, a half-asleep Marico slumped heavily against her. His hands blindly groped her as he leaned in, trying to steal a kiss.

Natalie lightly slapped his cheek, hoping to snap him out of it. Instead of waking up, he pulled her tightly against his chest, dipping his head to capture her lips in a fierce, demanding kiss.

"Marico!"

Furious, she smacked him again. As if provoked, he kissed her even harder, his hand boldly sliding under her clothes.

"Let go of me..."

"Baby, stop moving," he mumbled groggily.

"Marico..."

"Damn, you smell so good."

"Let me have a taste."

He was already unfastening her clothes. Furious, Natalie bit his tongue. Misinterpreting her resistance as playing hard to get, he pinched the soft flesh of her waist and muttered a sleepy threat, "Be a good girl, or I'll make you beg for it."

Natalie kicked him hard, but he was wrapped around her like an octopus, impossible to shake off.

"Mabel, I'm dying for a taste."

Mabel?

Natalie gritted her teeth. Not only was he having a passionate dream about another woman, but he was also mistaking her for some girl named Mabel.

This time, her temper flared completely. She swung her hand and delivered a sharp, resounding slap directly across Marico's face.

Smack.

That did the trick. Marico jolted awake. Clutching his cheek, he opened his eyes to see Natalie pinned against his chest. Her hair and clothes were disheveled and she was glaring at him, teeth bared in absolute fury.

He licked his lower lip. "I was right in the middle of a beautiful dream, and you just slapped me awake. Unbelievable. You owe me compensation for that."

With that, he leaned in again, trying to sneak another kiss. Natalie immediately raised her hand for

another strike, and he quien

covered his face, dodging away.

"You slap me every single day. Watch it, or I'll strike back!"

Natalie narrowed her eyes. "You were pretending to be asleep just now, weren't you?"

"Don't falsely accuse me!"

Natalie scoffed. Marico was a

shameless bastard. It wouldn't surprise her at all if he pulled a stunt

like this just to cop a fee

And

bringing up some girl named Mabel?

He was certainly a convincing actor.

"Ahem. So, why are you back so early?"

Natalie frowned. "None of your business."

Marico furrowed his brow. "No matter how you look at it, I am your husband. Asking

a simple question is perfectly reasonable, don't you think?"

Her chest felt tight with frustration anyway, so Natalie finally relented, giving Marico

a rundown of exactly what had happened that night.

Marico gritted his teeth. "Hamilton actually dared to harass you again? I'm going to beat the living hell out of him tomorrow!"

"If beating him up would actually solve anything, I would have done it myself."

Marico reached out and pulled Natalie toward him, urging her to lie against his chest. She resisted at first.

"I won't try anything."

He coaxed her softly until she finally relented, leaning her weight against him.

"Want to watch a movie?"

"Hmm."

"Tomorrow is Saturday. I'm off work, Kristin doesn't have school, and you have a day to rest. So, it won't matter if we stay up a little late tonight."

Marico selected a random movie and hit play. Wrapping his arms securely around Natalie, they fell into a comfortable silence, simply watching the screen together.