The man who had been staring at her without haste extended his hand. The moment she was about to fall, his strong arm wrapped around her waist, and he steadily hoisted her back up.
Joanna fell into his embrace.
Her hands instinctively wanted to grab onto something, and she caught hold of the chest muscle she had just been fantasizing about.
The man’s body was burning hot.
What she felt in her palm was a scorching, slightly burning skin.
As she pressed her hand down, a deep muffled groan sounded above her head, and the arm around her waist tightened abruptly.
The man’s breathing began to grow rapid.
Like she had been electrocuted, Joanna immediately retracted her hand.
She looked up in a panic, only to collide with the man’s bottomless, dark eyes. Seeing the familiar hint of desire in the depths of his gaze, her legs suddenly weakened.
Just as she reached out to push him away, both her hands were tightly held.
The man had been plotting this for a while; there was no way he would let her escape. Pinching her jaw, he gave her a deep kiss.
When she was pressed onto the sofa and unable to struggle any longer, she finally gave up.
A few minutes later...
"Wait a minute..." Joanna’s mind was a mess after the intense kiss, and she nearly forgot about something important. She grabbed Ashton’s arm and said, trying to steady her breath, "A-a condom."
She had initially thought that Ashton had not prepared any.
That way, she would have a reason to reject him.
However, to her surprise, the man responded to her request by raising his thin lips slightly before calmly sitting up, reaching his arm to the side of the sofa, and producing a condom out of nowhere.
Ashton looked smug and raised his eyebrows while bending down again to place the condom in her hand.
His voice was low and hoarse, incredibly sexy as he said, "Baby, help me unwrap it."
Joanna’s heart skipped two beats.
She slowly opened her palm and looked down at the condom that had been stuffed into her hand.
A certain brand, strawberry-flavored.
The size, extra-large.
By the time they had lunch, it was already two hours later.
They didn’t go out to eat.
Instead, Cody brought them takeout.
Cody delivered the takeout to the door of the office, knocked, and caught a glimpse of President Ashton’s chest, which now bore several fresh scratch marks when he came to pick it up.
At a glance, they looked like they had just been made.
Upon guessing what might have happened inside the office, Cody’s feelings were complicated, to say the least.
His President Ashton... had really changed.
He was no longer the workaholic Ashton who had been cold-hearted, shunning women, and focused solely on his work.
He had become so vulnerable to temptation.
Ashton closed the door and entered the break room with the takeout.
On the single bed in the break room,
Joanna lay wrapped in a bathrobe, looking utterly exhausted. She was sleeping with her eyes closed.
"Baby, eat something before you sleep."
Ashton went over and sat down on the edge of the bed, gently pinching her face with his hand.
"Leave me alone, you’re annoying."
Joanna was too tired and drowsy to move, her waist, legs, and whole body aching. Naturally, she had no intention of showing kindness to the person responsible for her state.
After satisfying his appetite, Ashton was in a good mood, remaining patient even as she yelled at him. He spoke gently in a low voice, "Baby, be good and get up to eat first. Not having anything in your stomach before sleeping is bad for your health."