It was currently an hour to midnight, but Gage had yet to come back home.

Eva was sitting on his favourite – she assumed – chair by the fireplace, with a laptop on her lap. The past three days had been peaceful, yet busy, for her. She had not slacked off, and had obediently abided by his words and done all the things that she needed to do.

The only thing that had bothered her was...Gage. That devil did not even have the decency to call or send a message to her at all. Eva felt like the man had just up and disappeared into thin air. She had asked the butler and maids a few times already whether he was doing fine, but they had only assured her that the master would definitely come back.

And the most frustrating thing was that Eva did not actually have his number saved anywhere at all! She had told herself that if the man would still not come home tonight, she would call Mr. Park and ask for his whereabouts. Then, she would find that troublesome devil and drag him back if needed.

It was about a quarter to midnight when sleep finally caught up to her. She had been determined to wait until midnight, but could no longer fight off her sleepiness, and eventually dozed off in the chair.

The elegant clock ticked on as she slept peacefully, the faint sound echoing gently in the spacious living room. Just a second before the hour hand hit twelve, the door suddenly swung open, smoothly and without a sound.

Gage strode in. He was dressed in all black, his dark hair tousled as though he had walked through a windy squall. A menacing aura clung to him like a coat as he stood there, looking dangerous, yet still as tempting as sin.

The instant his gaze fell to the fireplace and he saw Eva sleeping in the comfortable chair, the darkness that seemed to be lurking in his eyes slowly receded until it completely disappeared. He looked surprised at seeing her there, sleeping. Did she fell asleep waiting for him?

The corner of his lips lifted before he glided closer to her sleeping form, his steps soundless.

When he reached her, he bent over, every movement impossibly quiet. His gaze fell on the laptop on her lap, then drifted to her hands, which were lax with sleep, and then back to her sleeping face. She looked at peace and vulnerable. The usually fierce little red tiger was in a deep slumber and now looking like an extremely adorable, fluffy kitten in his eyes.

A glorious smile graced his handsome face.

He reached out to touch her, but stilled his hand halfway. His gaze locked on his hand before he retracted it.

Then, he straightened and quickly left the living room in silence. He went straight to the bathroom.

Once he had undressed, he stepped into the shower. The water flowed down his perfectly toned body. As it reached the marble floor, the water’s color was tinged in a reddish pink tone, as if there was blood being washed away from his skin despite it being completely free from wounds.

...

The next morning, when Eva opened her eyes, the first thing that greeted her eyes was a man's glorious face.

She shut her eyes tight then opened them again, blinking as though she was not believing what she was looking at. What a glorious face…wait…Gage!

“Good morning,” he greeted her warmly, smiling mischievously. His morning voice…Eva felt like she had just been introduced to what an angel of the dark’s voice sounded like.

She sprung up from her prone position in an instant. Even his morning voice and face was not enough to stop her from widening her eyes at the sight of the sun rays streaming through the window.

“We’re not late already, are we?” she looked at the clock and yelled. “Oh, my god! We’re going to be late!”

She jumped from the bed as if the house were on fire.

“Relax, Eva. I am the owner. So, you don’t have to –”

“Get up and get ready!” she cut him off. But Gage just smiled and lazily threw his head back on the pillow, shutting his eyes languidly.

“It’s fine even if we were to be late by a couple of hours, Eva. We’re the boss, they –”

Gage could not finish his line as Eva was suddenly looming over him, her shadow covering him. Her hand grabbed at his collar, and she glared down at him.

“No! I can never let us be late for the first day of work. Never on my watch! So, get your ass off this bed, or else…”

He lifted a brow, his eyes gleaming with mischief.

“Or else? What are you going to do, my little tiger?”

Eva gritted her teeth in frustration. She could not believe this man was trying her patience as soon as he came back! He had said that he was lazy, but…oh, god...was he really like this?! She was not sure if she would survive if this would be a daily occurrence. She drew in a long breath through clenched teeth.

He shut his eyes again, still smiling. “Do you know how the prince awakened Sleeping Beauty? I think that method would definitely work on me, too. Why don’t we give it a try?”

Eva’s jaw dropped. ‘My god! What the hell’s wrong with this creature?’

She looked at the clock again and realized that she did not have any more time to argue with him. Fine! She would give him what he wanted. She bent over and unceremoniously crashed her lips against his for less than one second. Then, she pulled away immediately and hissed at him, looking for all the world like an angry tiger cub whose fur was rubbed the wrong way.

“Now, get up, damn it! Don’t you dare keep trying my patience, Mr. Acheron, or I swear I will make you regret it!”

He chuckled, letting her pull him up to a sitting position. “Another punch in the lips, my dear?” he commented teasingly, amused, but now letting her drag him off the bed. “I would like to dare and try it next time to see what you’ll do–”

“Just stop fooling around and get yourself ready. If we don’t make it in time, I’ll hold you accountable!” Eva barked at him as she rushed off to get herself ready for the first day at her new job.