Dominic was speechless. He sighed and raised an eyebrow.


    "Are you taking revenge on me?" he asked.


    "Of course not!" Vespera ced her hand on her chest, swearing by her words.


    "I''m trying to save you! I''m the only one who would save you in this situation. Do you think it''s easy to gather all this ice? I''m deeply hurt that you think that of me," she vouched for her innocence, as if she were in court.


    Heid his arm on the edge of the bathtub. "I guess I should be thanking you then? Should I give you a Most Devoted Secretary of the Year award?" he asked jokingly.


    "I dly ept," she said with all seriousness.


    As Dominic stared at her, his anger turned intoughter.


    An hour had passed since he''d been in the ice bath, and his face had gone pale from the cold. Even better, his "devoted" secretary had been adding ice to the bath throughout.


    "I think I''m done," he said, starting to get up.


    "No! You can''t leave the tub!" Vespera sprinted toward him and pressed him back down into the water. "Maybe it isn''t that effective, but at least it keeps your urges at bay. If you give up now, it''lle back stronger than before!"


    Heid back in the tub. "Has it ever urred to you that it never worked from the start?" he asked, his voiceced with a dangerous edge.


    "Of course it worked. Didn''t you say so yourself? The effects of the drug are finally fading off, "she reassured him, patting his shoulder. "Hang in there, Mr. Reid. Trust me, it works."


    She stood up with a smug smile on her face. As she backed away from the tub, a grip on her arm pulled her into the icy water.


    It happened so fast. When she sank into the icy water, the double shock of surprise and cold


    made her scream.


    "Ahh! What are you doing? It''s freezing in here!"


    She scrambled to get out, but underwater, a hand reached for her waist and held onto her tightly.


    "So you do know it''s cold?"


    Vespera gritted her teeth from the cold and tried to free herself from his grasp. "Why on earth did you pull me in? Let me go!" she said angrily.


    100 159


    "Are you cold?" he asked again.


    "Of course I''m cold! This is ice water!" she yelled. She desperately tried to get out of the tub, but his grip on her tightened.


    He pulled her closer. "Then what about me? Do you think I''m not cold?"


    Having heard that, she stopped and averted her gaze. She looked into his eyes again.


    "It''s not the same. You''re under the influence of the drug. You need the ice to contain the heat so it won''t be as cold for you," she retaliated. "But if you really can''t take it, then I suppose you could get up. Just so you know, I''m doing this for your sake, and you''re being unreasonable by getting mad."


    He scoffed, staring at her in silence.


    It was cold enough, but Vespera felt a chill run down her spine under his gaze.


    Her legs had. gone numb, and she had to shift her position in the tub.


    After adjusting, she ended up on top of Dominic, her legs apart.


    He was slightly surprised.


    Suddenly, she tugged at his hand and tried to escape again. “Let me go!”


    His grip tightened on both her waist and hands. Vespera felt as if her hands were going to break


    The warmth from his hand seeped into her skin, despite being submerged in ice- cold water. He inched closer to her face. "I think it''s working I''ll stay here for a while longer, so why don''t you keep mepany?"


    Her heart raced like crazy. Something about his behavior felt off. Suddenly, she felt disoriented, as if the cold was ying tricks on her.


    Her vision started to cloud over.


    Through the mist, she saw his wet robe clinging to his well-defined chest, water droplets glistening on the fabric. It radiated nothing but raw desire.


    The robe slow! egan to loosen, drifting apart like a ck dahlia.


    "Mr. Reid, 1-1 think you can get up now! For real! Y-You can get up now!"


    now!" Vespera stuttered. She ced her hands in front of his chest, trying to push him away.