Female Novel"No, you have to rest with me. You can't wait for me to fall asleep and then start working again," saidLuca, wrapping her arm around Luke's waist.
She did this so that Luke would have to move her hand away if he tried to get up, and she would wakeup immediately.
Luke knew her little trick, and a smile spread across his face as he said in a sweet tone, "Okay, I'll restwith you."
"No sneaking off to work,” added Luca.
"Okay." Luke looked at her affectionately. He then leaned over to plant a kiss on her forehead.
Luca hugged his waist and closed her eyes.
It was the scent she was familiar with. Shortly after closing her eyes, Luca drifted into her dreams.
Luke, as promised, also closed his eyes. He did not get up to work but instead accompanied her tosleep.
After a while, the alarm clock rang in the quiet room.
Luca slowly opened her eyes, glanced around, and remembered where she was. She reached for thephone on the bedside table and turned off the alarm.
Then, she turned on her side and slightly tilted her head back to meet Luke's gaze.
"Good afternoon." Luke's eyes were filled with a smile as he leaned down to give her a lingering kiss onher lips.
Luca's face turned slightly red.
After that, Luke chuckled softly and said, "Why are you blushing again?"
"I'm not blushing. That's just the makeup..." Luca whispered words she did not even believe herself.
"Uh-huh, it's the makeup." Luke pressed his lips against hers again.
Luca gently pushed him away. "You're smearing my lipstick!"
"It's okay, I'll make up for it if it's gone." Luke's eyes twinkled with amusement as he realized he hadindeed kissed away the remaining lipstick from Luca's lips.
The man beside her was pressing her down. Luca gently pushed him and said, "I need to get up anddo my makeup again."
Okay." Luke agreed but did not move. If she were not injured, he would not be letting her off so easily.
Luca pushed him away again. "Stop fooling around. We have important tasks this afternoon.
There were still two more herbs to find, including the herbs she had not reported yet.
Luca was curious about why Shanks needed those herbs. That was why she planned to collect somefor herself as well. She figured that once she collected them, she might have some ideas.novelbin
With this in mind, Luca knew she could not slack off in the afternoon when it came to finding thoseherbs.
"Okay." Things about Abel crossed Luke's mind. A hint of seriousness flashed across his eyes as hesat up.
Abel, along with the organization behind him, was indeed not to be underestimated.
The moment he sat up, Luca followed suit.
Luca frowned when she sat up as she had forgotten to pay attention to the bruise on her lowerabdomen.
"Does it hurt a lot?" Luke noticed that. He looked concerned as he tried to lift her clothes to see if herbruise had worsened. "Let me see. If it's serious, we must go see a doctor."
Even though Luca said that Abel had avoided her vital organs, who knew if he left any hidden dangers?
Luke had witnessed the methods used to interrogate prisoners on the Island of Despair. A simple twistcould make someone endure unbearable pain, and they could only rely on painkillers to get throughthose difficult seven days.
He was worried that Abel might retaliate against Luca using similar methods.
"No, I just accidentally touched it," replied Luca when she saw him about to lift her clothes to check thewound. She could only let him do so.
She knew that she had to let him see that she was really okay for him to feel at ease.
Luke carefully examined the bruise on her abdomen, which appeared about the same as before theywent to sleep.
"It's normal for the bruise to become slightly bigger. Bruises don't always show up immediately after afall or impact. I know my body, and I'm really fine," reminded Luca.
"Okay. Don't try to be tough," said Luke with a deep gaze.
"I won't. Don't worry," reassured Luca, holding his hand tightly. She was surprised to find Luke's handtrembling slightly.
He was worried about her. That was why he had such a reaction.
Luca held his hand tightly and comforted him in a soft voice, "Don't worry, I'm really fine."
"I know." Luke looked at her worried expression. His eyes darkened, and he said, "Go freshen up. Ihave an email to reply to."
He was not used to taking a nap at noon. He had only dozed off for about ten minutes before wakingup.
His phone had also vibrated a few times. When he glanced at it, he saw an email from Jason.
Luke had intended to reply to the email at that time but remembered his promise to Luca. Hence, heput his phone aside and continued to rest with her.
"Okay." Luca chuckled, feeling pleased that Luke had kept his promise. She then took her bag andwalked into the bathroom to touch up her makeup.
Meanwhile, Luke sat on the couch and read the email Jason sent to him. It contained documents thatneeded his review. He quickly browsed through them twice, found no issues, and replied to the email.
Luca had finished touching up her makeup too. She walked out of the bathroom.
"Are you done?" asked Luca as she checked the time on her phone. It was almost three o'clock.
It was almost time to leave for the venue, which would take about ten minutes to get there.
"Yes, I'm done.” Luke rose to his feet, picked up his coat, and said, "Let's go."
"Wait a minute." Luca shook her head and walked over to him. She helped straighten his tie andsmooth out the wrinkles on his shirt. "It's a bit wrinkled."
Luke lowered his gaze, watching her fix his clothes.
After Luca finished tidying his clothes up, she was still not entirely satisfied. "You should've changedyour clothes during the break. Your shirt's still a bit wrinkled."
"It's okay, the coat will cover it," replied Luke as he put on his coat. "It won't be noticeable like this."
Luca nodded and smiled. "My man is seriously hot."
"Bea, I don't feel like going out anymore after hearing you say that." Luke's voice grew deep, eachsyllable carrying a hint of flirtation. There was also a longing to make her his own.
"Oh, come on. Hurry up." Luca, like a rabbit, quickly took a step back. She widened the distancebetween them.
Luke let out a chuckle. "You're such a little troublemaker."
"I'm not," replied Luca. She took out the room key card and opened the door. Then, she looked at thetwo people standing at the door with a surprised expression on her face. "How long have you beenwaiting here?"
"Good afternoon, Mr. Crawford, Dr. Craw," Evan greeted them with a smile and then answered herquestion, "We haven't been waiting long. We just arrived a moment ago. Sorry for not knocking."
Luca's face turned red at once. Even though nothing had happened between her and Luke inside, thethought of people standing outside the door made her feel shy.
Evan and Warren must have been worried about disturbing them, which was why they did not knock onthe door.
"Let's go," Luke's voice took on a chilly tone as he spoke. With others around, not only did his toneshift, but even his expression changed.
He had now returned to his usual cold and indifferent self.