Chapter 213: Fool
First night, nothing.
Second night, nothing.
Third night, still nothing.
They talked on the phone every night - he was the one who called - but she never came over to surprise him.
The next day was Saturday. James called Mia that evening and asked if she was working overtime this weekend.
They'd both been really busy lately.
Mia told him no, she wasn't working overtime.
As they chatted, he steered the conversation in a sexual direction again, teasing her until Mia hung up, her face burning red.
James, who had also broken into a sweat in the air-conditioned room, got up from bed and went to the bathroom for a cold shower.
It took a while to suppress the heat in his lower abdomen.
Finally calming down.
Back in his room, James didn't sleep. He walked over, opened his laptop, and continued working.
He really missed Mia.
Not just her body, but her.
Since Mia wouldn't surprise him, James found out she wasn't working overtime on the weekend.
He finished work a day early and flew back on Sunday to surprise her instead.
After landing in Imperial City, he didn't go home. He had Robert take his things back to the company while he drove to the supermarket for a big shopping trip.
He bought a bunch of vegetables Mia liked to eat. Passing the snack aisle, he saw some new products and picked out a few for her to try.
Finally, passing the personal care section, he selected a few items Mia liked and tossed them in the cart before heading to checkout.
After shopping, he immediately drove to Silver Oak Manor.
He'd been on this business trip for four days, and with how busy they'd both been with work before that, he hadn't cooked for Mia in nearly ten days.
He parked the car, carried two full shopping bags upstairs, and knocked on the door.
"Mia."
He knocked twice. No one answered.
Not home?
Didn't she say she wasn't working overtime today?
James set down the shopping bags and pulled out his phone to call Mia.
The phone was off.
Just as he was about to call her company to ask her colleagues, the neighbor saw him.
They recognized him.
He'd been coming and going from here regularly lately.
The neighbor had long assumed James and Mia were a couple.
Seeing him unable to find her, they volunteered, "I saw your girlfriend this morning with a suitcase and a passport in her hand..."
When James heard "passport," his heart sank.
He handed the two large bags to the neighbor, turned around, and called Robert to check Mia's flight information.
...
Valeria
Mia was here to negotiate a business deal - the first time Benjamin had let her take full charge.
After landing, she went to the hotel she'd booked earlier and checked in.
Since she'd slept on the plane, she didn't rest after entering the hotel. Instead, she opened her laptop and continued working.
Before coming to Valeria, she'd already done a lot of preparation. Now she wanted to make it even better.
She worked until the early morning hours. Only after confirming her proposal was perfect did she close her laptop, feeling confident about tomorrow's negotiations.
She lit the aromatherapy she'd brought and took a relaxing bath.
Her whole body relaxed, she went to sleep.
In a different place, she didn't sleep well.
She got up to find sleeping pills. After taking the medicine and setting an alarm, she finally felt comfortable enough to sleep.
She slept until she naturally woke up. Mia discovered a man's arm around her waist.
She slowly opened her eyes. The curtains were still drawn, the bedroom was dark, and she couldn't see clearly, but she could tell she wasn't sleeping in her own room.
She yawned lazily and just lay quietly in the strange man's arms without struggling.
The "strange" man behind her noticed the person in his arms had woken up and tightened his grip.
Mia noticed and knew he was awake too.
Without turning around, she just cooperatively snuggled deeper into his embrace and nuzzled against him.
Her whole body radiated relaxation and laziness.
Her cooperation didn't improve the man's mood - it made it worse.
Annoyed, he flipped Mia over to face him, gripped the back of her head, and bit down hard on her lips to vent his frustration.
Not hard enough to break the skin, but it really hurt.
Mia cried out in pain.
Angry, she opened her mouth and bit his chest. He wasn't wearing a shirt, so she bit right into his flesh, much harder than he'd bitten her.
Only after biting did she say indignantly, "James, what are you doing!"
That hurt like hell.
James was speechless.
And she was throwing a tantrum!
James gripped her chin, looking at her with dark eyes. "Waking up first thing in the morning in a strange man's bed, and you're this cooperative!"
Mia found James's words completely absurd.
Had James's IQ really dropped this low after falling in love?
"James, are you stupid?"
She was speechless!
"We've slept in the same bed for years - you think I can't tell who's holding me?"
In a groggy state, maybe she couldn't tell right away.
But the moment she woke up fully conscious, she'd already confirmed the person holding her was James.
If she hadn't been sure it was him.
How could she have acted cute and nuzzled into his arms?
James felt deflated.
He'd chased her to Valeria. Knowing she was staying at this hotel, he'd booked a room early.
He'd originally planned to thoroughly punish her as soon as he arrived in Valeria.
When he went on business trips, because he cared about her and worried she'd overthink things, he reported to her immediately, wanting to give her a sense of security.
But what about her?
Not only did she not care about his business trip, she didn't even tell him about her own.
He'd rushed back excitedly to surprise her.
Only to come up empty.
He knew he had no right to be angry. They weren't boyfriend and girlfriend. She didn't need to report anything to him.
But he just felt blocked up inside!
During the flight, he'd already imagined countless ways to torment her.
Her room's bed was too small - not suitable for sex.
He opened her door and picked her up.
Being picked up nearly woke Mia, but smelling his familiar scent, she just nuzzled his neck like a kitten and fell back into deep sleep.
Carrying her back to his room, looking at Mia sleeping so soundly, James couldn't bear to wake her.
He'd rushed back to Imperial City and immediately flown abroad - he was exhausted.
He quietly went to the bathroom for a shower, then returned to the room and efficiently stripped off Mia's clothes.
Then he lay down beside her, pulled her into his arms, and closed his eyes.
With her in his arms, James quickly fell into a sweet sleep.
He'd deliberately stripped her clothes to scare her.
In his imagination, she'd wake up naked and scream in fright.
Then he'd pin the frightened her to the bed and punish her thoroughly.
To teach her a lesson, to have some security awareness.
From now on when going out, she needed to report to him!
But he didn't scare her - he just made himself feel worse.
In his current relationship with Mia, she held absolute control.
He really had no way to deal with her!
The only place he could control her even a little was in bed.
"Aren't you clever."
James helplessly pinched the soft flesh at her waist, not too hard.
She was ticklish.
When he pinched, she naturally squirmed on him, trying to avoid it.
First thing in the morning, squirming on a man who'd been holding back for a long time.
Almost instantly, Mia noticed.
James's Adam's apple bobbed, his breathing immediately becoming heavy.
Holding Mia, he rolled over and pressed her beneath him, his long legs spreading her legs apart.
Gripping her chin, he kissed her urgently.