Chapter 5: A shirtless man

"Are you sure about this?" 

Naya's voice was shaking, her eyes flicking nervously around the room. 

She clutched the edge of her chair, as if the sterile office walls were closing in on her.

How had her life degenerated into this in the twinkling of an eye?

Adrian leaned back in his seat, smiling at her with his piercing blue eyes.

"I've never been more certain about anything, Naya. You need protection, and I can provide it. But you have to trust me.”

Trust…

The word reverberated in her mind with a bad aftertaste in her mouth. 

It was the last thing she could afford after all that had happened.

How cold she trust this dazzling man with a charming smile after everything with her husband and her bestriend?

Naya pressed her lips together, and inhaled deeply, forcing herself to push those thoughts away.

“But first you need to be brutally honest with me. I need to know everything if I'm to help you win this case.” Adrian's sultry voice cut into her thoughts.

“Asking me to trust you is going to be difficult. I'm sure you can imagine why…” Naya trailed blowing a strand of hair away from her face.

“That's fair enough.”

Naya watched Adrian as he sat, unruffled and composed, like offering sanctuary to a marked woman was the most natural thing in the world.

"And what's in it for you?" she asked, narrowing her eyes. She didn't buy the idea of anyone helping out of the kindness of their heart, especially not a billionaire lawyer with a reputation as ruthless as his.

She'd overheard a couple of officers talking about him earlier on.

Adrian's lips curled into a small smile, one that sent a shiver down her spine. 

"I don't need anything from you, Naya. This isn't about me. It's about you staying alive long enough to fight back."

Her breath hitched. He made it sound so simple, as if her survival was just another business deal. She hated how his confidence drew her in, like a moth to a flame.

"And what if I refuse?" she challenged, much firmer now.

"You won't," Adrian said, still sultry but firm. "You are smart enough to know that you can't handle it by yourself. Stay in my penthouse. Let me help you figure out who's after you. And then, when the time is right, we strike hard."

Naya scoffed. “Yeah right. Stay in your penthouse? Who are you kidding?”

Naya crossed her arms over her chest, chewing on her bottom lip. 

Moving into his penthouse was out of the question. She knew him hardly at all, and the very thought of being under the same roof as 

Adrian seemed akin to walking into a lion's den. 

For the first time since she'd met him a couple of hours ago, Adrian laughed. 

“What's so funny?” Naya shot back with a frown.

“What's so funny is you sleeping under a bridge tonight.” He intoned with a smirk.

Naya wanted nothing more than to reach over and wipe that smirk off his face. But he was right.

She had no where else to go.

But the alternative, which was staying out in the open, vulnerable and exposed, was decidedly worse.

"I don't like this," she whispered.

"You don't have to like it," Adrian replied, rising and smoothing the cuff links on his crisp white shirt. "You just have to do it."

****

The drive to Adrian's penthouse was silent, and the silence was as heavy as the night.

Naya watched the lights of the city outside her window, her head in a haze. 

How did her life get so out of control? One week ago, she was concerned about her husband and making his birthday party the best she'd ever thrown in years, and now she was running.

Running away from him and her best friend.

Without meaning to , she muttered a curse under her breath and kept her face glued to the window as a tear slid down her left cheek.

Finally the sleek black car pulled into an underground garage. 

Adrian stepped out first and extended a hand for her. Naya hesitated, then took it, noting his cool, steady grip.

"Welcome to your temporary fortress," he greeted her as they entered a private elevator.

The penthouse was everything she'd imagined and more. 

Floor-to-ceiling windows framed the glittering cityscape, and the open layout was filled with sleek, modern furniture. It was a space designed for power and luxury, yet somehow it felt oddly inviting.

"This is where you live?" she asked, her voice tinged with disbelief.

Adrian smirked. "Surprised?"

"It's… a lot," she admitted, crossing her arms as she stepped further inside.

“You’ll get used to it,” he said, walking over to the bar and pouring himself a drink. “You have the guest room. It’s down the hall, last door on the left. Make yourself comfortable.”

Comfortable. Right. As if she could relax knowing she was living with a man who was practically a stranger. Naya set her bag down by the couch and turned to face him.

She was grateful that Bianca had packed a bag for her regardless.

“So, what now?”

"Now," Adrian said, taking a sip of his whiskey, "you get some rest. Tomorrow, we start working on a plan."

She nodded slowly, as a yawn escaped her lips.

It wasn't until she reached the guest room and closed the door behind her that she let her breath go. 

This was temporary. 

Just until she figured out how to get herself out of this mess.

Then she'd be gone.

Or so she kept telling herself.

***

That night, Naya found herself wandering into the kitchen. 

She could not sleep.

The quiet of the penthouse felt oppressive, and she needed something to ground her, maybe a glass of water or a distraction from her restless thoughts.

She froze the moment she saw Adrian.

He was shirtless.

Standing in front of the open refrigerator, he was shirtless, his toned back and sculpted shoulders bathed in the kitchen's soft light.

His sweatpants hung off his hips, and Naya's breath caught in her throat.

It's been a while since she'd seen a naked man. 

He turned, catching her staring.

She watched a slow smirk cross his lips. “Like what you see?” 

Naya swallowed and pressed her lips together. “I…uh…”

"Can’t sleep?" he asked, his voice low and smooth.

"I just needed water," she stammered, cursing herself for sounding so flustered.

Adrian's lips quivered into a playful grin as he closed the fridge and leaned against the counter.

 "You're welcome to more than water, you know. Mi casa es su casa."

She rolled her eyes, desperate for some semblance of composure. 

"I'm not here to play house, Adrian."

"Pity," he said, his gaze dipping briefly to meet hers. "I think we'd make a good team.”

Her pulse quickened. Was he teasing her? Or was there something more to his words? 

 She couldn't tell, and that frustrated her.

In an instant, Naya's eyes darted away, and her cheeks flared crimson as the impossible-to-be-ignored sight of Adrian's firm chest and shapely muscles caught her guard down, so casually and unsuspectingly displayed.

"Sorry," she muttered, turning her back to him and staring harder at the window.

"For what?" Adrian asked, the amusement now laced into his voice.

"For… this," she returned vaguely, gesturing at the air between them. "You could've warned me."

"I didn't realize I needed to," he answered now, teasing. "It's my penthouse, after all."

Naya bit down, hard, refusing to let him rattle her. "Just put a shirt on."

Adrian laughed, low and warm. "Why? Does it bother you?”

He'd closed the distance between them and when she spun around, she slammed head first into his chest.

“Easy there tiger…” he coaxed, handing her a glass of water.

Her face was burning, but she managed to glare at him. "You're insufferable."

"And you're bad at concealing just how ruffled you are," he shot back, as she collected the glass of water.

Naya was all too aware of his fingers touching hers,of his chest, of him…

“Focus Naya…” she told herself.

Naya fisted her hands at her sides, refusing to give him any kind of satisfaction.

Still, Adrian proved dangerous on levels she really wasn't quite sure how much longer she could withstand.

She stormed past him to the guest room, and behind her, Adrian's voice was smooth, inf

uriatingly confident.

"Goodnight, Naya," he called after her. "Try not to think about me too much."

She slammed the door behind her, her heart racing.

What had she just gotten herself into?