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"He won't even blink." He pulled her close as the doors opened, and as he pressed a kiss to the top of her head, he met Wickham's gaze with a warning glint in his eyes.Don't fucking react to anything.

Wickham managed to nod even as he fought against the urge to snicker and smirk.Ms. Jones had struck again, he thought in amusement. It was only a matter of time before this woman had the boss on bended knee and swallowing every cynical, disparaging word he had uttered against holy matrimony.

Pippi couldn't help peeking at Wickham's face as Acheron helped her down, and she breathed a secret sigh of relief when she saw the older man's benign expression. He definitely wouldn't look like that if he had noticed the musky scent tingeing the air inside the ambulance.Right?

As Acheron walked her to the door, Pippi made sure to keep her fingers around the straps of her bag, not wanting to accidentally risk touching him. There might not be anyone around at this time of the night, but who knew how many of her neighbors were spying on them from the safety of their living rooms?

Pippi's innate shyness kicked in as they made it to her doorstep, and even though she badly wanted to ask him in, the words seemed stuck in her throat. She cleared her throat.Come on, Pippi.She looked up at him.Just ask if he wants to come in.She took a deep breath.

"Sooooooooooooo..."

And that was it.

That was her honest best.

And now she wanted to face-palm herself to death.

Really, Pippi, really?

Acheron hadn't any trouble interpreting the play of expressions on Pippi's face, and he couldn't help smirking as her face contorted with a half-desperate, half-revolted grimace. She clearly wanted to invite him in, but just as clear was how her shyness wouldn't stand for it.

Taking pity on her, he said soothingly, "It's okay,mikrí mou.I'll talk to you later, alright?"

She could only nod, realizing how uncannily good the billionaire was at reading her every thought.

"One day," Acheron murmured, "I'll earn the right to kiss you goodnight, and when I do, I'll make sure it's a sight your neighbors will never forget."

Err...what?

But by the time she recovered from her shock, he had already turned away and was striding back into the ambulance. In a blink of an eye, he was gone, but the heart-thumping, body-throbbing force of his presence lingered so that Pippi still found herself floating in cloud nine as she let herself in.

As she headed up the stairs, amative flashbacks started playing in her mind, so agonizingly vivid that by the time she made it to the shower, she was already blushing and her whole body was once again aching for his touch.

It was just so scary, how addictive lovemaking could be.

And to think they actually hadn't had sex yet, Pippi found herself fretting as the cold blast of water failed to douse the sexual heat licking all over her body. She didn't even want to imagine how much worse it would get, when - and not if - Acheron finally made her his.

Vik was waiting for her when Pippi came out of the shower. She had in her arms a fresh change of linen and towels, all of which she promptly dumped on her unsuspecting sister. "Monarch Room, please."

"Oh. Um. Okay." One of the unspoken rules of the house was that Pippi, being the one with the full-time job, was only expected to pitch in during weekends. "Does this mean we're fully booked on a Thursday?"

"For the entire week," Vik confirmed with a grin.

"That's great news!" Pippi's spirits immediately lifted. While her pay raise already had next month's loan installment covered, having additional savings never hurt, and she found herself beaming ear to ear as she made her way down to the Monarch Room.

It was the house's biggest and therefore most expensive room, with its en-suite bath having its own whirlpool bath. It had been one of their biggest investments, but since it had also become the key to having Mariposa House featured in last year's Top 10 B&Bs in Key West, Pippi considered the luxury installment money well spent.

Pausing before the door, she knocked politely before calling out, "Housekeeping." Hearing the approach of footsteps, she quickly pinned her professional smile in place.

The door opened.

Pippi's smile disappeared in the face of her shock."Acheron?"