LOGINI woke up feeling tired and grumpy. I sighed and swung my legs over the bed frame and grabbed an almond candy and popped it into my mouth. I had completely ravaged the guy yesterday, to his surprise. I was sure it wasn’t everyday he got a client who had a sex drive as mine. After paying him, and getting home I had instantly crashed, worn out and tired.
There that’s better. I sighed as the almond candy hit my taste buds I stared at the digital clock on the wall and I cursed. 9:46? How long did I sleep? I grabbed my toothbrush and hurriedly scrubbed at my teeth, by the time I was done in the shower and fully dressed it was already past ten. I stared at myself in the mirror and I shook my head. This skirt needs to be shorter, maybe if Mark sees my full butt in a tight skirt that annoying fatherly resolve would break. I smiled to myself and slipped out of the skirt and into another shorter and tighter one. I even changed the blouse into something that packed my cleavage together. There, this should torture him a bit. I grinned and tied my hair into my usual ponytail style. My phone buzzed and I stare at the message; it was from Nathan, the fucker. Where was him when I needed someone to fill me up. I ignored the message and my phone started ringing and I sighed in annoyance. I picked on the third ring. “What is it Nathan?” I asked and he sighed, his voice was raspy on the other hand. “Just saw your missed calls Miss Wesley, you got any job for me?” He asked and I scowled. I put the phone close to my ear and reached for the door knob. “Where the Fuck where you at yesterday?” I asked as I locked the door to my apartment and headed for where I parked my car. “Pleasing a client, you’re not the only one you know” he said and I clicked my tongue. “I feel offended, I thought you had eyes for only me” I joked and he laughed. I smiled, Nathan was also a friend as well as he was my solution to my raving needs. We used to go a long way back. “I am sorry, okay, next time. I’ll leave whatever I am doing and come to you. Even if I am about to…….you know” his voice was full of mirth and I chuckled. “Yeah, do that. I’ll see you later Nathan. I’ll call you” “Okay Miss Wesley” his reply was gruff. “Sage” I corrected. “Miss Welsey” he said stubbornly and I clenched my teeth. “Fuck you Nathan” I said and cut the call but not before I heard him laughing. Damn prig liked messing with me. It’s a wonder how we even get intimate. The ride to work was just a blur, I tore through the highways, blaring Tina Turner on the radio as I drove. Beth was so going to kill me, she was an early bird and hated when I came late. As for Mark, I didn’t know how he would react which was what scared me the most. Would he be angry? Disappointed? Punish me? Punish me. The thought passed through my head like a siren’s whisper. I shook my head. Concentrate Sage, you’re fucking driving I slammed the brakes as soon as I drove into the company’s driveway and I literally ran up the stairs. I ran through the long hallways and stumbled into someone. Someone strong, someone hard, someone male. I look up to find Mark's handsome face staring down at me. He smelled so good. I sniffed and his bright green eyes flickered to mine, I couldn’t tell if he was annoyed that I came late or I just sniffed like a dog. “You’re late” his voice was oddly calm and I stared at him. He was supposed to be annoyed with me, most bosses I knew would have thrown me out, the former one included. “I am sorry sir….I……” “Mark can do little bird, enough to with the formalities already” he said and I stared at him, surprised. “But you’re my boss” I ground out and he raised one elegant dark brow. “Bullshit” he said and my mouth dropped open. Did he seriously just say that? “Well I am still sorry Mark, I was all preoccupied with things yesterday” I said and he stared at me. Pls don’t look at me like that, it’s doing wicked things to me “Mind if I ask what preoccupied you yesterday. That made you come late, the reports showed that you were always early” he asked and I shrugged. Maybe you should know. “Sex” I answered and his green eyes roamed my face as if trying to see if I was messing with him. “I see” he gulped, “Wanna have coffee, I am sure you didn’t have anything for breakfast before coming here” he added and I nodded. Oh we’re just starting sir. I won’t stop until you’re inside me The rest of it was awkward, at least to him. I didn’t mind one bit. I watched as he did coffee from a counter at far end of his office. The office was spacious, too spacious. It looked like he had the office renovated. I walked up to the huge city view windows and watched as Miami thrived. “Like the view?” He asked and my perverted mind thought something else. I shook my head to clear those thoughts. “It’s good,” I said, taking the coffee he handed to me. “I can have your office done like that too” he said and I shook my head. “You’ve done enough Mark. This would be too much” I said softly and he smiled. “Too much? It’s nothing. I can still………” “Why are you doing all this?” I interrupted and he paused. He stepped closer, dwarfing me with his towering height. I forced my head back to stare at his face. Did he seriously have no idea what he was doing to me? “I wasn’t there for you when your dad’s family came for you. Won’t let it happen again, I would be there anytime for you” he smiled and kissed my forehead. I closed my eyes. No, no, no. I pleaded, but my pussy didn’t listen. It floodedMark PovThe heat in Cairo hit me like a physical punch—dry, suffocating, and reeking of exhaust and dust. It was the kind of heat that made a man reckless, which was probably the point.I’d flown commercial, taking every measure possible to look like a tourist who'd gotten spectacularly lost. But the second I stepped off the plane, every muscle in my body screamed 'target.' I didn’t trust the air, didn’t trust the ground, and definitely didn’t trust the metallic voice that had led me here.The coordinates led me to a vast, half-finished construction site on the outskirts of the city. Empty sand, skeletal steel beams, and a silence that felt heavy and wrong. Perfect for an ambush.I parked the rental car, a beat-up sedan, next to a concrete pylon and walked toward the center of the site. I was wearing lightweight tactical gear under a linen shirt, and the heat still felt like a vice. My hand never strayed far from the concealed weapon strapped to my back."Mark Arthur. Punctual, if a
Sage POV The sun was already streaming through the blinds, painting stripes across the duvet. I woke up feeling pleasantly wrecked, every muscle vibrating with the memory of the night before. Mark had been ferocious, desperate, like he was trying to exorcise every demon in the room, and I loved every chaotic second of it. I smiled, reaching across the cool sheets for his solid body, eager for a round two. But the space beside me was empty. My eyes snapped open. Not just empty, but cold. I frowned, sitting up. He never left before me. He was always there, usually scowling at his phone while I stole his body heat. That’s when I saw the note. It was propped against my glass of water, held down by his heavy, silver wristwatch. My stomach tightened, a cold little knot forming. I snatched the note up. It was Mark's messy scrawl, quick and rushed. "Love you. Went to Egypt. Back soon. Don't worry. M." I stared at the paper, then burst out laughing. It wasn't a happy sound; it was hyste
The silence in the bar was thick and sticky, broken only by the whimpering of the attacker beneath my knee. But I pressed harder, demanding a name, demanding an organization. I could feel the adrenaline fading, leaving behind the cold reality of my exposed vulnerability."Who. Sent. You," I ground out, my forearm tight against his throat.The guy just shook his head, a desperate, strangled sound escaping his lips. His face was a mess of blood and pain, but his eyes held something I didn't like—a chilling professionalism, even in defeat. He was ready to break, but he wasn't ready to talk.Suddenly, his body went rigid. I felt a quick, subtle shift of weight, a muscle twitch, and before I could compensate, his hand shot out. Not toward the dropped gun, but toward the small, sharp edge of his broken stool leg lying on the floor.He slashed it upward, aiming for my leg.I reacted instinctively, rolling off him to avoid the strike, the movement burning across my bruised ribs. That single s
Mark POVThe scallops were bland. The bourbon felt like water. Every sound in the decadent restaurant grated on my nerves, but I kept the performance going for Sage. I laughed at her jokes, kissed her hand over the tablecloth, and watched her eyes with enough intensity to convince a film director. All while the coordinates to my personal hell burned a hole in my pocket.She was vibrant, relaxed, and finally happy. I had to shatter that peace in forty-eight hours, and the lie was already choking me. We got home late. I let her go ahead to the bathroom, that innocent sound of the running water a painful soundtrack to my treason. I slipped into my office, pulled out the burner phone I hadn't used in months, and texted Hector: Operation Clean Slate is now Operation Inferno. Prep Cairo. ETA 24 hrs. Tell no one.The flight was too soon. Too public. I had to create a gap—a controlled moment of vulnerability that would draw out the rat watching the penthouse. The note hadn't been specific a
Mark POVThe victory felt heavy, and somehow incomplete. I watched Alistair Vance get hauled out by security, yelling obscenities that no one cared about. I’d won the battle, securing my position and exposing the corporate rat, but standing there in the boardroom, the silence wasn’t celebratory. It felt like a warning.I ignored the sycophantic praise of the board members and walked straight out. I needed Sage. I needed the messy, undeniable reality of her to clean the corporate grime off me.I found her waiting outside the door, her emerald dress vibrant against the sterile gray of the hallway. She looked triumphant, a true queen.“You were magnificent, Mark,” she murmured, her hand immediately going to my chest.“He was a small problem, easily dispatched,” I said, pulling her into my side. “Thorne is still the loose thread, and your vultures still have my resources tied up.”“We celebrate the small victories,” she countered, tipping her head back. “Vance is gone. That’s a win.”We
The apartment buzzed with activity, not from press or bodyguards, but from Hector's covert tech crew. They looked less like spies and more like exhausted IT professionals, running cables and whispering into headsets while Mark gave orders from the kitchen counter."I want the digital footprint of Alistair Vance erased and rebuilt with a massive, glaring vulnerability," Mark commanded into his phone, his voice a low, focused rumble. "Give me something undeniable. Something that links him directly to a hostile takeover attempt."I watched him, nursing a cold cup of tea. He was back in his element now, not fighting bullets, but fighting spreadsheets. It was just as brutal."You look beautiful when you're committing corporate espionage," I commented, sliding a hand up his arm.He glanced down, a flash of appreciation in his eyes. "You look beautiful when you're getting me fired." He kissed my forehead, then pulled his focus back to the war map. "Hector, what do we have on Thorne's liquid







