The Billionaire’s Secret Quartet (Thalassa and Elowen) novel Chapter 2017

A charming smile spread across his handsome face. "Feeling tired, huh? Better hit the hay early and stop fretting about all that mess."

His warm, suggestive breath caressed Hertha's face, a robust aura seeping through her skin into her pores, making her blood simmer with a faint heat.

Hertha snapped back to reality, her gaze locking with Alaric, meeting his seductive, fox-like eyes.

Amber pupils shimmered like water under moonlight, casting a bewitching glow.

Just one glance was enough to unsettle the heart and disrupt one's breathing.

Hertha thought to herself, she was done for. From the moment she was dazzled by Alaric, she had fallen into a trap of her own making, not one laid out by Alaric.

The traps set by others weren't the scariest; the ones we set for ourselves were, like a maze with no exit in sight.

But then again, who could resist being a hopeless romantic?

With a smile that bloomed like the brightest of dawns, Hertha replied to Alaric, "You're right, time to sleep. Goodnight."

With that, she kicked off her shoes, swung her legs up and through Alaric's arms, and hoisted herself onto the bed. With a roll, she nestled into the center, pulling the covers over her and closing her eyes—all within a matter of seconds.

Alaric was taken aback. He thought Hertha would throw a tantrum, engage in a little back-and-forth, but she complied so easily?

The shoes she kicked off hit him square in the buttocks, a surprisingly painful reminder of her presence.

Straightening up, Alaric looked down at Hertha, who seemed to be sleeping peacefully, sensing something amiss.

Hadn't the comments from the receptionist been enough to rile Hertha up?