Chapter 1
“Stella, where were you? Do you know how frantic I was searching for you for ages?”
Derek was working on his laptop in bed, his leg injured from pulling me out of the water earlier that morning. The moment he saw me, he immediately dropped everything.
He muted his microphone and turned off his camera on the video conference, then spun to face me, stretching out his arms like a child begging for a hug.
“Can I have a hug? Tell me, am I sick? A few hours without you and I can barely stand it.”
“I should claim workers’ comp! Come here and compensate me!”
He completely ignored the screen where “Mr. Thorne” was being urgently called.
If I hadn’t felt Derek’s heart thrumming wildly in my chest,
I might have actually fallen for his sweet words.
This feeling was all too familiar, the kind Derek only had when we were lost in passion.
My gaze instinctively flickered to the strange bulge beneath his blanket.
Suddenly, I understood his reaction.
It was the middle of a scorching June day, and sweat beaded on Derek’s forehead,
yet he’d pulled the blanket up to his waist, tucking it in tightly.
Noticing my gaze, he gave a pitiful, wounded smile.
“It’s a little chilly in the room. Don’t think I’m being delicate.”
But Derek’s slightly ragged breathing, his continuously rising and falling chest, and his slightly hoarse voice betrayed him.
If I wasn’t mistaken, his mistress, Chloe, was having her “meal” right under that blanket.
He’d always been insatiable in bed, a true glutton for pleasure.
Doing this right in front of me was just for the thrill of it.
I suppressed a wave of nausea rising in my stomach,
forced a smile, and a wicked thought formed.
“Of course not. Want me to help you work up a sweat?”
My uncharacteristic attitude left him momentarily speechless.
Before, he’d been glued to my side, wanting to carry me in his pocket even when I just stepped out.
Now, my forwardness visibly flustered him.
The closer I got, the tighter his heart clenched.
Under such violent fluctuations, it felt like I’d been punched in the chest.
I let out a muffled groan of pain, finally stopping.
Derek gazed at me, full of concern, but made no move to get out of bed.
“What’s wrong?”
Suddenly, it felt like all the strength had been drained from me. I didn’t want to make things hard for him, or for myself.
“Never mind. It’s… dirty. It smells.”
Derek didn’t grasp the deeper meaning of my words, thinking I was talking about myself. He subtly let out a sigh of relief.
“What? My darling always smells wonderful.”
I turned and walked straight out of the room, not looking back.
He only managed to call out a perfunctory concern to my retreating back.
“Stella, are you really okay? I’ll come be with you as soon as I finish this meeting!”