Hannah came out of the bathroom fully dressed and ready to leave. What she didn't expect to see was the man who was lying on her bed with his eyes closed.
She wondered if he was sleeping.
Moving closer to the bed, Hannah waved her hands in front of Axel's eyes but he showed no signs of waking up. She even tried calling his name a few times but he showed no signs of responding.
Sighing to herself, Hannah gave up and sat down beside Axel. She stared at his face for a while and for the hundredth time, she was once again appreciating Axel's beauty.
His usually neat black hair was now ruffled and some of it fell on his face, his eyes were closed and his impossibly gorgeous lashes rested on his cheeks.
Sometimes, Hannah wondered how a man could have such beautiful and dark lashes, far more beautiful than a lady's.
He was handsome as usual but the only difference was the unfamiliar trace of weariness on his face.
Hannah suddenly felt guilty. She knew the amount of work Axel had. Even a secretary like herself couldn't keep up with his pace at times but now, she had asked him to do something else and he agreed.
Every time she thought about it, she realized that she owes this man more than she could ever imagine and today, one more thing has been added to her debts.
"You must ask for something big in return, and I promise not to turn you down a second time". Hannah whispered to the sleeping man and she sighed again.
Silence enveloped the room and the only sound that could be heard was their even breathing and the steady rhythm of Axel's heartbeat.
Hannah listened to the powerful yet gentle heartbeat of Axel and the longer she listened to it, the more she wanted to keep listening to it. As though under a spell, she moved closer to him until her ear was plastered on his chest and his breath was fanning her hair.
Axel's heartbeat was like soft music in her ears and each rise and fall of his chest pulled her heartstrings and eventually pulled her into a peaceful sleep.
…
The warm glow of the sunset poured into the room and fell on the two people who were basking in the warmth of their embrace. Axel's eyelids quivered and his eyelashes fluttered open. The first thing he noticed was the setting sun and he frowned.
He just could not comprehend how he fell asleep in the first place, and in the house of an assassin at that.
He tried to move but when he looked down, he caught sight of someone laying atop him and by the scent that surrounded him, he identified the person as Hannah.
Only Hannah had that unique scent of flowers.
He tilted his body upwards to get a better view of her face. She looked so peaceful while she was asleep. Her pale pink lips parted slightly and every time she exhaled, her hot breath tickled his chest which she rested her head on.
A small smile crept up slowly on his face. He suddenly wanted to engrave this image in his mind.
Just then, Hannah moved and Axel unconsciously stiffened. He even held his breath as he thought that she was about to wake up but Hannah only rubbed her face on his chest like a cat before going back to sleep.
He wondered what she was dreaming about…
He laughed at himself for having such thoughts. No one has ever been able to come this close to him but Hannah, she slept on his chest for hours and he didn't even budge. He would have gotten repulsed be it someone else but when it is Hannah, he was… comfortable?
Maybe that was why he fell asleep… because he was too comfortable.
Her scent surrounding him just made everything better.
He threw one hand over his eyes and inhaled deeply, Hannah's scent and the scent of the flowers in the garden from the open window in the room, and slowly, he fell asleep again.
Hours later, Hannah squirmed awake and her eyes slowly adjusted to the light in the room, and boy how bright it was!
This could mean only one thing…
It was already dark outside.
Hannah only lets her room lights to the brightest when night comes, just to avoid… you know, unforeseen occurrences.
Realizing what time it was, she jumped in surprise but as she was about to stand up, the strong arms of Axel coiled around her waist and pressed her back on his chest.
Oh, she totally forgot about him.
Hannah snapped her head to look at him but she only saw his closed eyes and peaceful face. If he did not just restrain her movements, she would have thought that he was asleep.
"Let me go!" Hannah struggled in his arms but Axel refused to budge. To make things worse, he pulled her up, such that she was now laying fully on his body.
Axel slowly opened his eyes and his beautiful irises were exposed. Hannah, who was laying on him, felt that she was going to get blinded by the sparkles in his eyes and she stopped breathing.
"Breathe Hannah". Axel's husky voice reached her ears and instead of what he said, Hannah's body reacted in the opposite. Not only did she stop breathing, her blood froze in her veins and she felt her brain slowly shutting down.
"You are going to faint if you stay like this". Axel pointed out in a teasing tone and that was enough to bring Hannah's brain back to operating mood, not to mention his fingers that were brushing the side of her face.
Hannah's face burned red and to mask her embarrassment, she began to cough softly. Axel chuckled seeing Hannah's reaction which only helped to worsen Hannah's condition. She turned into a deeper shade of red.
Hannah felt the vibration of his body underneath hers when he laughed and she thought that she was probably as red as a lobster by now given how hot her face was. She inhaled deeply in an attempt to calm herself down but she only got a generous dose of his manly scent and damn, he smelt so good.
She had to admit, Axel's presence had a great effect on her.