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A professional message, no ambiguity. But his cell vibrates again, and this time the text pops up without me having to open it.

[Zoey Thompson

I forgot to mention… Everyone here can’t wait to have you back. Including me.]

When I meet up with Clémentine, I keep the discovery to myself. She has other things to worry about and needs to relax. Niels joins us in his neon-orange, banana-print swim briefs, and for a few hours, the three of us lounge in the various pools, cocktails in hand.

At the end of the day, I head back to my room and find Vadim in front of the giant screen in the living room. He’s sitting down to watch the latest movie news, freshly showered after his workout. When he hears me come in, his expression turns serious. He takes in my still-damp bikini.

“You took your time, Lancaster.”

“Did you see your latest texts?”

He nods silently, then gives me a wry smile. “They were marked as ‘read.’ Strange, isn’t it?”

The irony in his voice isn’t lost on me.

“Your assistant seems quite unhappy without you.”

“Maybe you should stop reading messages that aren’t addressed to you, Alma.”

“And maybe you should go home instead of making her wait. She’s obviously pining away in that big, empty office without you.”

The smirk forming on his lips makes me want to kill him.

“The only woman who has ever lain on the desk in my office, Alma, is you…”

His husky voice, his playful look, and his provocative words leave me breathless. Vadim slowly approaches, and I back away.

“Several times, actually,” he continues.

“Don’t even think about it.”

“You can stop me from touching you, Alma, but you can’t stop me from thinking about it.”

Faced with his cockiness, I lose all my composure, and he loves it.

“Try telling me you’d be okay with a colleague sending me something like that.”

“I wouldn’t be okay with it.”

He doesn’t even try to deny that it was inappropriate.

“Then tell Zoey to keep it professional.”

“Already done.”

I stare at him, captivated by his looks, by the darkness within him that draws me in.

“I asked her to keep her comments professional, and she apologized immediately.”

He looks at me, so self-assured, and my inner turmoil intensifies.

“Do you want proof, Alma?”

He starts to pull his cell from his pocket, but I throw myself at him instead. The more he gets under my skin, the more I want him. It’s a chemical reaction.

“Not so fast.”