The car ride to L&Z International was quiet.
Too quiet.
Xu Meilin sat beside him, her posture straight, hands folded neatly in her lap. Her cheeks still held the faintest flush,an echo of the chaos that unfolded earlier that morning in the master bedroom.
Li Zeyan hadn't said a word since they stepped into the car.
Neither had she.
But silence wasn't peace.
It was heavy.
Tight.
Almost tangible.
His eyes drifted to her fingers once, how they nervously twisted the hem of her blouse. Her lashes stayed low, pointed at the blur of buildings beyond the tinted glass.
And all he could think about was how she looked when he pinned her down.
The way her eyes widened.
The way her breath hitched.
The way her lips parted like a secret waiting to be stolen.
> Why do you blush like that?
Why do you tremble like that?
And why the hell do I want to see it again?
The car pulled up to the private executive entrance. Meilin stepped out quickly, avoiding his gaze.
Zeyan stayed back a moment longer, hand tightening on his lap.
He needed to pull himself together.
---
In his top-floor office, Shen Rui stood beside his desk, tablet in hand, his voice brisk and professional.
"9:30, meeting with the European investors. 10:15, financial review with CFO. At 11, a potential merger pitch with the LUX tech group..."
He nodded absently.
Eyes on the screen.
But his mind…
Nowhere near the numbers.
Nowhere near the investors.
> That little pink blush.
The way she ran when she's flustered.
The quiet stares, the soft smiles she hides when she thinks I'm not looking…
His jaw clenched.
Damn it.
He was losing focus.
Shen Rui raised an eyebrow. "CEO Li?"
"…Hmm?"
"You just agreed to host the LUX pitch in the imperial city T."
He blinked. "Did I?"
"You nodded."
"…Push it. Two weeks."
"Yes, sir."
He left without another word.
Zeyan stood, walking to the floor-to-ceiling windows. His reflection stared back at him,sharp suit, cold face, ruthless reputation intact.
But beneath that armor, something was burning.
> What is it about her?
She's barely said two words to me today.
We've been in this… marriage for a month. And I don't even know her favorite color. Don't know her fears. Don't know her dreams.
But I want to.
God, I want to.
His mind betrayed him further,imagining her in his office, not in her work blouse, but in his shirt…bare legs brushing the floor… her voice soft, whispering his name, not out of formality, but something deeper… warmer.
> I want to unwrap her.
See what makes her flinch. What makes her moan. What makes her....
He cursed under his breath and unbuttoned the top of his shirt, the office suddenly too warm.
No.
Not now.
He had an empire to run.
But as he looked out over the skyline of city Z, not even the city's gleaming towers could distract him from the single thought clawing its way back into his mind.
> Xu Meilin.
What are you doing to me?