The hair dryer was in the second drawer of the bedroom dresser-Serena used it often. But tonight, it was like she'd completely forgotten. As if her memory had vanished, she had no clue where it was.
She opened every drawer and cabinet one by one before finally pulling open the right one.
"Found it!" she exclaimed excitedly, holding the dryer up. Instinctively, she turned around-
Only to see the man still watching her with a faint, amused smile.
"Serena, does it really take that long to find a hair dryer? I'm starting to think you were stalling on purpose."
"I... wasn't!" Serena blinked, her face innocent.
Heaven knows, she really wasn't stalling. It's just... she didn't know what happened, but her mind had suddenly gone blank-and all she could think about... was him.
Xavier didn't respond. He got up from the bed and walked toward her, step by step.
Serena's first instinct was to run, but the dresser was behind her-there was nowhere to go.
She could only stand there helplessly as the man closed the distance.
Thankfully, he stopped right in front of her without doing anything outrageous.
He simply reached out and took the hair dryer from her hand. "Let me do it."
Serena had no room to argue, and could only let him take over. He turned it on and began drying her hair.
The warm air blew across her scalp as his slender fingers gently combed through her hair.
Her heart started to race uncontrollably again.
It felt like... his hand wasn't just touching her hair, but pressing down on her heart.
It was only a few short minutes of drying, but her cheeks were already burning.
The hum of the dryer stopped. Xavier leaned in and touched her flushed cheek. "Did I set the temperature too high? Why didn't you tell me if you were hot?"
"I..." Serena fumbled.
She wanted to say she wasn't just hot-she was flushed and burning.
But if she actually said that, she could imagine exactly what would happen next-and it wouldn't end well for her.
"I'm... not hot! I'm just tired. Let's... go to sleep!"
Without giving him a chance to respond, she ducked past him, climbed into bed on her usual side, closed her eyes, and refused to open them again.
Xavier chuckled softly, shaking his head. He walked over to the other side of the bed, laid down, and turned off the bedside lamp.
In the quiet of the night, they each lay on their side, not disturbing each other.
Serena gradually let her guard down and truly began to feel sleepy.
She turned over once, and not long after, her breathing grew slow and steady.
Xavier listened for a while, and once he was sure she was asleep, he carefully turned over and pulled her into his arms.
The night was long, yet the sweetest dreams always seemed to end too soon.
...
7:00 AM – The next morning
Yesterday had exhausted her, and Serena had slept deeply through the night.
As she woke in a daze, she completely forgot that there was a man lying beside her.
Stretching out habitually, her arm dropped down and landed on something firm yet soft.
Startled, she nearly screamed, jerking her hand back-only to realize that the 'intruder' next to her was still fast asleep.
Xavier's eyes were closed; he didn't seem to have woken up.
Serena had never observed him this closely while he slept. Suddenly, her curiosity was piqued.
Propping her head up with one hand, she lay on her side, facing him, quietly studying his face.
The more she looked, the more unfair she felt life was.
Why did a grown man have to be this good-looking?! How were women supposed to survive?!
Slender, alluring brows, a high and chiseled nose, lips perfectly shaped and full, and those sharply defined facial features...
But the most lethal part-those eyelashes. Long and curled like they were painted on. Ridiculously pretty!
Serena couldn't help reaching up to touch her own lashes before carefully extending her hand toward his.
"Dear god, they must be at least 15 centimeters!" she whispered, awed.
Just as she was about to discreetly pull her hand back, a warm, strong hand suddenly caught her wrist.
Caught in the act, Serena flushed with embarrassment. "Y-You're awake?!"
"Mhm. For a while now."
"Huh?!" She was speechless. This man had been pretending to sleep?! "Since when?!"
"When you hit me."
"Oh... sorry!" she apologized, suddenly feeling guilty. "I didn't mean to. Did it hurt?"
"To be honest, yeah. A little."
Serena was stunned. Was this man trying to scam her?
She was sure she'd barely brushed him. There was no force at all.
She'd tried to be polite, but now she was reconsidering.
Since he wanted to act shameless, fine-she'd play along. Let's see how far he'd take it.
"Where does it hurt? I'll rub it for you."
His eyes darkened, and in a husky voice, he asked, "Are you sure?"
"Of course!" she answered confidently. "I didn't even notice where I hit you. If it really hurts, I should definitely give it a proper rub. After all, you're a precious young master. If something happens to your delicate body on my watch, I'd be in serious trouble!"
He clearly caught the sarcasm, but didn't seem to mind at all. His lips tilted up slightly. "You said it. Don't regret it. And don't back out later."
"You want it or not? If not, I'm out."
Xavier said nothing more. He simply guided her hand... downward... until it hovered over a certain area.
With a straight face, he said, "Right here. You hit it earlier. Go ahead, rub it."
Then he let go of her hand, but Serena couldn't bring herself to touch where he'd indicated!
Her face turned crimson, burning so hot she thought she might combust. She didn't even dare lift her head. "Um... I... I..."
Propping his head up with one arm, Xavier watched her with great interest. "Who said they'd give me a massage? What, can't follow through now?"
"I..."
At this moment, Serena just wanted the ground to open up and swallow her whole.
That part of his body-how was she supposed to touch it?!
Just when she was completely at a loss, a phone rang, saving her from the depths of her awkwardness.
Xavier frowned. "Who's calling this early?"
***