''And trust me I would take you down with me… ahh…'' Leona gasped when the man grabbed her hand. His palm was cold as ice but when she felt his grip on her wrist, her hand seemed to have warmed up.
She moved her free hand and attempted to push him away but the man did not budge in the slightest. Instead, he tugged at her hand and pulled her into his arms before settling in the corner of the room.
One of his hands was still holding hers while his other arm wrapped around her waist.
The woman kept struggling and in a split-second, she pulled the gun she had hidden under the layers of her outfit, ''Let go,'' she said softly, but her voice was adamant.
The touch of the metal against his wrist made Zayden look down, ''Till they find us, stay put and be good.''
Leona hated the audacity of the man. She hated that all knowing tone of his that seemed to be proclaiming that she would not kill him. And she hated how right he was about it. She did not want to kill him, not because she could not bear to but because death was too easily, the real suffering was life.
''Why are you doing this?" she clenched her fingers around the gun when the man let go of her hand and held her tighter, one of his strong arms wrapped around her chest while the other encircled her waist. And as much as she tried to move, she found herself frozen in the spot. Her body was already weak and the man was too strong for her.
The gun gradually slid down her hand and she stopped struggling.
Finding the woman in his arms ceasing her movements, Zayden looked down at her head. She fit in his arms so effortlessly as if she was made for them. It has been more than two years since he held her like that but she still felt so small in his embrace, and she seemed to be even thinner.
''You don't seem to be in a good condition. If you die here in my presence, then it will be a stain to my reputation.''
Leona burst out in laughter when she heard that. Once she heard his reasoning, she relaxed in his arms and threw her head back onto his chest calmly.
''What are you doing?" he met the woman's gaze coldly.
''You are giving me body heat so that I don't die and not stain your reputation. Then do it properly.''
His eyes darkened.
And the smile disappeared from her face, ''Get your shirt off me. Let me be warm properly,'' she looked at him challenging.
But the man indifferently loosened his grip on her and straightened her body. He removed his shirt that he had draped over her, then his suit jacket but the man did not not stop there. He removed her suit jacket as well.
Leona's fingers curled into a fist but seeing that he had an aloof expression while he did all those things, she did not move nor did he speak.
The man wrapped his arms around her waist and she felt a trail of warmth seeping inside her body. Then once she was leaning into his chest while sitting between his legs, he made a layer of the clothes that he was holding and draped it over her body.
She felt his arms sliding in the layer of clothes draped over them as he held her tighter.
''Just for a few hours, let us pretend to be strangers who are simply helping each other out,'' the man spoke up from above her head, ''Once this place opens, you can go back to your world and I will go back to mine, having nothing to do with each others.''
He did not get a response from the woman and leaned his head back onto the wall, believing her to have dozed off.
But Leona's eyes were still open as her mind registered his words.
'Strangers.'
'A stranger.'
A self-mocking smile crept on her lips and a distance memory resurfaced in her mind.
...
A/N: If you like this book so far, don't forget to drop votes and comments. Your words are my motivation~<3