"Hot... so hot..."
Annabelle Grant mumbled weakly in her haze, her whole body feeling like it was being roasted alive, the heat so fierce it was almost unbearable.
Her mind was blurry, heavy, dizzy. She tried to fight free from that endless wave of burning heat, but she couldn't gather any strength.
Then, all of a sudden, a cool sandalwood scent slipped quietly into her nose. It was like a thread of chill in the middle of a fire, instantly easing the unbearable heat raging inside her.
Almost on instinct, she moved toward where the scent was coming from. The moment she touched a body carrying a faint, cool temperature, she felt an inexplicable sense of relief.
She rubbed against him unconsciously, like someone drowning finally grabbing onto a lifeline, and murmured in a tiny voice,
"Please... help me... I feel so bad..."
A low, deep, ridiculously magnetic voice sounded by her ear.
"You asked for this."
In the next second, an overwhelming presence pressed down on her. It was domineering, aggressive, impossible to ignore, and she had no room to resist.
Before she could even react, she felt a firm, cool body close in, pulling her completely into a solid embrace.
That fierce, invasive force swallowed up the last scraps of her reason in an instant, like a huge wave crashing straight over her. She couldn't fight it, couldn't escape it, and could only sink deeper and deeper...
As time passed, the thick, ambiguous tension in the air slowly faded.
Sebastian Mercer looked at the girl sleeping in his arms. His long fingers brushed lightly across her cheek, slow and gentle.
He was usually cold and unreadable, but right then, there was a trace of softness in his expression.
Just then, his phone started vibrating. He picked up the call.
"Mr. Mercer, the one who drugged her has already been dealt with. Any other orders?"
Sebastian Mercer glanced at the sleeping Annabelle Grant and replied in a flat, icy tone,
"Tell the commissioner to give him a proper 'welcome.'"
After hanging up, Sebastian Mercer let out a faint sigh. He lowered his eyes to look at her and murmured softly to himself.
"He didn’t even notice he’d been drugged... How can she be this naive?"
After saying that, he pulled her into his arms, shut his eyes, and soon fell into a deep sleep too.
Early the next morning.
Annabelle Grant slowly woke up, her whole body aching like she’d been run over. Bit by bit, her mind started coming back online.
Then she felt it.
A warm, solid arm was wrapped around her waist.
She froze for a second, then carefully opened her eyes, only to realize she was lying right in a man’s arms.
That hit her like a bolt of lightning.
Her whole body stiffened, and her heart instantly started pounding so hard it felt like it might jump straight out of her chest.
She carefully lifted her head and looked at the man beside her.
His features were sharp and deep-set, his face so ridiculously handsome it almost didn’t look real.
His black short hair fell loosely across his forehead, making him look cold and distant, but still weirdly elegant.
His brows were straight and striking. His eyes were closed right now, but even in sleep, the pressure he gave off was intense. His thin lips were pressed lightly together, carrying a natural arrogance and chill, like the kind of noble air he didn’t even need to try to show.
His skin was a cool pale tone, and his face was so refined it looked sculpted, every line clean and perfect, like it had been polished with insane care.
His chest was broad and strong. She could clearly feel the rise and fall of his breathing, and that steady heartbeat made her own heart tremble.
Annabelle Grant’s mind was spinning at top speed.
One look and it was obvious this man was no ordinary person.
But why was she in his arms?
Last night, she had clearly been at the bar drinking with Nora Forsythe. Then it seemed like she drank too much... and after that, her memory turned into a blur.
And now, she was lying in the arms of this noble, unfamiliar man.
The whole thing made panic surge through her.
She carefully shifted, trying to slip out of his embrace. But the moment she moved, she noticed the scattered intimate marks on her body.
Her face went paper white.
What... what exactly happened last night?
How had she ended up with a total stranger...?
The scattered fragments in Annabelle Grant’s head slowly clicked into place, and the second they did, a suffocating wave of fear slammed into her chest.
“Damn it…”
She cursed herself under her breath, panic instantly spiking.
She knew exactly what kind of man this was. A man with status, power, the kind she absolutely could not afford to mess with.
She had to get out. Right now.
Forcing herself to stay calm, she quickly buried the chaos in her heart, reached for the clothes beside her, and slipped them on as quietly as possible, careful not to make even the slightest sound.
She was just about to sneak out. But the moment she pulled the door open, a low, sexy voice suddenly came from behind her.
Deep, faintly husky, carrying the weight of a calm command.
“What? You’re just gonna run after sleeping with me?”