W-what? He wanted her to stay in this dreamlike house with him until those marks disappeared? Wait…would that not take quite a long time? Both the bite mark and hickey, if left to heal on their own, would take at least seven to ten days, or maybe all the way up to two weeks. And from the little that she had interacted with this man, he would definitely drag it for the whole two weeks. That meant a whole fourteen days!

Eva blinked and her mouth gaped open in shock. She could not believe what he had just said. But slowly, the surprised look on her face turned into suspicion. This man…he most definitely should be joking around with her. ‘He’s playing with me again, right?’ Eva thought, insisting to herself that there was no way this kind of man, who could live in such a luxurious mansion, was serious about what he’d just said. Right?

She stared at him with a serious gaze.

'Right, I'm sure that he’s going to laugh the moment I fall for his joke!' She told herself confidently as she focused her gaze on him, observing his facial expressions closely as she waited for his laugh to erupt, which would indicate that he was kidding the whole time.

However, stare as she might, that laughter that she expected did not come. He just stood there, looking at her with the same unchanging, calm expression. It was as though he was still waiting for her response to his earlier proposition. Eva finally creased her brows. What?! Was he really serious? He wasn’t joking?!!

Her lips parted and her palms started getting a little damp as she felt nervousness running through her veins. She was speechless. She had fully prepared herself to be burdened with some serious compensation for her slip up, but he had just wanted her to…wait…wait a minute!

Eva's eyes slowly stretched wide at the thought that came to her. There was no way…could it be that…

Her eyes narrowed and her gaze at him suddenly turned more accusing. There was even a flash of contempt that could be seen in her eyes. So, this man was just like the rest of them! Hah! She had thought that maybe he would be cut from a different cloth than those lowlifes.

The sharp gaze she was currently throwing at him made Gage lift a brow slightly in question.

Running his fingers through his hair with a somewhat offended half-smile on his face, Gage broke the silence. "If you think that I am asking you to stay that duration so you can serve me in bed, then I'm sorry to disappoint you, but you're wrong, pet." His eyes lazily swept her form from head to foot.

W-what? Eva scrutinized his face, and when she saw that he seemed to be serious about his proposition and that what she had thought was his hidden agenda was not, in fact, what he had in mind, she could only blush in shame.

Clearing her throat, she averted her gaze and pretended to look around at the surrounding things. "So, you're saying that I'll just need to stay here…until my bite marks on you disappear?" She echoed his earlier conditions, as if she was still unable to believe it.

He nodded. "Correct. I'm in a dire need of a companion right now."

Speechless again, Eva looked at him with a deadpan expression on her face. Huh? This man…was he a kid in need of a companion just because he was home alone? Could it be just that simple?

"My maid has run away, and I still need some time to look for a replacement. So, since you're already here…and you do need to compensate me…I guess this would be the most convenient arrangement I can come up with on such short notice."

Eva could only stand there and look at him, talking to herself inwardly. M-maid? So he was actually planning to make me his temporary maid? Was he even serious?!

"Any more questions, Miss Eva? Don't tell me that you aren't satisfied with my conditions. You're not going to tell me you would rather me bed you than have you stay with me and accompany me, are you?" He trailed off when she glared harder at him.

Then, he flashed that devilish smile of his again, causing her to lose her composure for a moment. She was currently wishing for nothing more than to strangle his very sexy neck!

"Fine." she bit out curtly, and immediately…but within the safe confines of her mind, she slapped her own forehead. God dammit! Why do I feel like this sly devil is tricking me? But…I don't really have a choice here, right? I have not seen anyone else inside this huge house aside from him. Could it be that he is really all alone and...

'Alright, relax Eva…just calm down. No point getting your panties in a bunch. Let’s go with the flow for now and just stay alert. We can play it by ear.' As Eva talked to herself, her internal monologue helped calm her down somewhat.