LOGINAndrew leaned back in his chair, staring blankly at the laptop on his desk. Although the office was brightly lit, the floor-to-ceiling glass walls made the darkness outside impossible to ignore. He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. Who exactly had made Axel ask for extra undercover security at the event? It wasn't as though they had enemies lining up outside their doors. At least, none that Andrew could think of. There had been Luis. But Axel had dealt with that. As for everyone else... No one came to mind. Unless someone had taken Axel's coldness a little too personally. He almost smiled. Unlikely. This had to be something else. Axel hadn't explained himself. He'd simply instructed Andrew to increase security around the venue. And that was all Andrew needed to hear. Just then, a knock sounded at the door. Andrew's thoughts scattered instantly. He looked up. Before he could call the visitor in, the door swung open. The moment he saw who it was, his
Almost an hour later, Axel slowly opened his eyes. The pounding in his head was gone. For several seconds, he simply stared at nothing. Then his hand drifted to his forehead, brushing his hair aside. No pounding behind his eyes. No burning beneath his skin. Nothing. He felt... perfectly normal. His brows drew together almost imperceptibly before his eyes landed on the blanket covering him. He frowned. Pushing it aside, he sat up. His hair immediately fell back across his forehead, but he barely noticed. His attention had already shifted to the pillow resting against the couch's arm. Neither the blanket nor the pillow had been there when he'd closed his eyes. He took in the room. The hotel bed had been stripped bare, and his clothes were neatly laid out on top of it. Mia. He had told her not to bother. She had ignored him. But that wasn't what bothered him. He had slept. Properly. No nightmares. No restless tossing. No waking every few min
As soon as Mia finished massaging his head, and definitely not spending several extra minutes appreciating how ridiculously soft his hair was... she found herself staring at it. It looked slightly messy now. Not that she minded. Then a thought appeared. A terrible thought. One quick sniff. Just one. Purely for research purposes, of course. He wouldn't know. Probably. Hopefully. Actually, now that she thought about it, that sounded exactly like the kind of thing people said right before they got caught. Still... Axel hadn't moved once throughout the entire massage. His eyes had remained closed the whole time. He was asleep. He had to be asleep. Otherwise, surely he would have said something by now. Taking that as confirmation, Mia quickly leaned down and stole a sniff. Just one. Her eyes widened instantly. She shot back upright. Good heavens. It smelled good. Like... really good. There was definitely coconut in there. Coconut and something
After Mia finished making the coffee, she carried it to his room. The door wasn't locked. Axel had intentionally left it that way, so all she had to do was knock lightly before stepping inside. He was still sprawled across the couch, though he'd shifted positions. Now he was lying on his stomach with his arms crossed over the armrest, using them as a pillow. His eyes were open. They landed on her for a second before drifting elsewhere. For some reason, Mia found the position ridiculously cute. Maybe it was the way he looked half-asleep. Or maybe it was the curtain of hair that had fallen over his face, nearly hiding his eyes. However, a few steps into the room, Mia stopped. Her brows drew together. The food she had brought for him was still there. Untouched. She could tell immediately, it was still uncovered, exactly as she had left it. Not a single thing had been touched. She glanced at Axel. Honestly, he was starting to remind her of his younger self. A
Mia settled into her room, took a shower, and slipped into a light gown, twisting her hair into a loose bun. It wasn't what she intended to wear to the event, but with nearly two hours left before it began, there was no rush. The doorbell suddenly rang. That must be the food. Earlier, she had arranged for both her meal and Axel's to be delivered to her room. Immediately, she dropped Axel's coat onto the bed before anyone could catch her doing what she'd just been doing with it. Then she got up and headed for the door. When she opened it, she was greeted by the sight of a trolley laden with their meals. "Good evening, ma'am," the hotel staff greeted. Mia returned the greeting with a smile and stepped aside to let her in. The woman wheeled the trolley into the room and carefully set the dishes on the table before quietly excusing herself. Left alone, Mia wandered over to inspect the spread. She lifted one of the lids. A mouthwatering aroma greeted her immediately.
Arriving in Sochi, it was already 4:18 p.m. when they reached the hotel. The weather was slightly colder than expected, but Mia didn’t dwell on it. It was already evening anyway. Besides, she was too busy trying to keep up with Axel to notice much else. The man had abandoned her the second the car stopped, leaving her with the bellhop and their luggage while he strode ahead without a care in the world. Wickedness, she thought as she hurried after him. The moment Axel reached the counter, the receptionist looked up. "Oh." Her lips parted. "It's you." He didn’t particularly like this hotel, but he couldn’t blame Mia. The booking had been handled by his former PA. The smile that followed was impossible to miss. So was the way her eyes traveled over him. Axel spared her a glance. "I assume my room is ready." Unfortunately, she was one of the reasons he would have preferred not to stay here. "Always." Her eyes swept over him again. "I make sure you get the best
Luis’s frown refused to leave his face throughout the entire drive home. He had just spent millions, every last cent in his account. And he couldn’t help thinking that Mr. Bennett had been shameless in demanding such an outrageous sum. By the time he arrived, the sky had turned a dull shade of g
The men’s eyes narrowed further. Were they seriously supposed to fight him hand-to-hand? Axel looked like he meant every word. He rose from his seat, slipping his hands into his pockets as he began to circle the room at an unhurried pace. Every gaze followed him. He stopped behind the couch, c
"It’s not like I wanted to… I was just—" The officer’s eyes narrowed slightly. "I was following orders from my superior. And I can’t give you any more details. You’ve already heard enough." Yes. They had heard enough. Those goons were never arrested. It meant only one thing. But Axel nee
"Freeze," a police officer ordered, gun raised. Mia released a shaky breath she hadn’t even realized she was holding. For a brief, terrifying moment, she had truly believed she was about to die. Angela was rescued almost immediately. One of the female officers held her gently, hands moving fast







