Droplets of sweat were rolling off Jack's body as he finished his repetition of lifting his bench press.

Clank!

Went the sound of him setting the heavy barbell back on to the rack. He sat up, breathless, knowing he had gone a little too hard with his work out this morning.

The possible reason was that he had hardly gotten any sleep from the night before as well. In fact, it was roughly around 5am, and he had just finished. He never worked out this early in the morning, but he didn't feel like staying awake and being unproductive.

The King snatched the black towel that was hanging nearby to wipe off his perspiration. He had better go shower it off and get changed.

As he walked out onto the hallway from his work out room, he could still hear the rain outside; although, not as heavy as the night before. It sounded like a light drizzle, which should hopefully be getting lighter as the hours go by.

The thorough ten-minute shower was enough to reawaken Jack from the fatigue of his intense work out. As he stood brushing his teeth with the white towel wrapped around his waist, he wondered if Carly had gotten any sleep the night before.

He opted to check on her after he dressed in his black muscle shirt and fitted black jeans. His hair was, of course, already styled as well.

There was a thought of not wanting to disturb her sleep as Jack stood before the master bedroom door, but Jack figured he could carefully and quietly open the door.

Carly had scarcely slept the night before and he was aware of how he had frightened her from his reaction to his own dream as well. It was traumatic, to say the least.

He turned the knob to slowly open the door. From the crack in the door, he could see that she was indeed still sleeping. The girl was sleeping on her side, slightly curled up. Jack let the door swing completely open so he could take a better glance. She looked peaceful..and beautiful.

His eyes tightened at her sleeping figure as he focused on his thoughts about her. Even when she was asleep, she attracted him so.

He burrowed his eyebrows together, frustrated at himself. How is she doing this….

Jack didn't know how long he had stood there, must had been at least ten minutes before he realized that he could have stood there all day watching her sleep, or just simply watching her exist.

Just as he was about to leave, denying his thoughts on it, he noticed her turning in her sleep a little. She was waking up.

He didn't move, not even when she blinked her eyes a few times and sat up to look around.

Carly quickly noticed that Jack was there before her. He leaned again the doorframe with his arms crossed with his eyes centered to her.

Feeling embarrassed because she had just woken up, she tried to avoid eye contact while combing her bed hair.

"Early riser or light sleeper?" He asked since it was a little after five in the morning.

"The first…" She blushed. Realizing that she was still in his bed, she shyly threw back the covers and set her feet to the floor with the intentions of getting ready to start the day.

"Your clothes are in the bathroom." Jack started as he stood straight from leaning on the doorway. He dropped his hands to his side, shoulders squared, "It's still raining outside. I'll check how the roads are doing as you get ready."

Carly nodded, "T-Thank you, Mr. Atlas."

Jack nodded back and continued, "I suppose you owe me one now."

Her face reddened more, "What would you want..?"

His seemingly apathetic face turned into a sly smirk as he closed his eyes for a moment, "I'm Jack Atlas. There isn't anything you can give me, that I can't get myself."

She nodded again, feeling a little relieved at that.

"It's more about what you can do for me."

Carly lifted an eyebrow to the side, intrigued.

Jack opened his eyes, still smirking at the girl, "Breakfast."

"You would like for me to prepare breakfast for you?"

He scoffs, "I doubt someone who barely eats can cook as well as I."

"Then..?"

"Go get ready. You will find out soon." Jack said as he turned to leave.

Carly breathed in for a moment to relax. It would seem like every time she was around Jack now, she felt knots in her stomach tighten.

After collecting herself for a moment, she left the bathroom to venture to the bathroom across the hallway.

When she turned on the lights, she could already see the clothes she was wearing the day before, resting on the side of the sink, neatly folded. Beside the clothes was a toothbrush and toothpaste.

Carly neared the sink to take a better look. He's so…attentive…but why? She wondered as she took the toothbrush and toothpaste to utilize first.

Once she brushed her teeth and washed her face, she took a quick shower. She wanted to extend the time in the bathroom as much as possible, anything to keep herself away from Jack.

However, there was no avoiding it anymore. It was already appearing strange that she was taking so long. Knowing Jack, he might just come in there to check to see if she was alive.

She slipped on her underwear, followed by the long flowing white skirt that touched the floor, and dressed in the navy-blue spaghetti strapped asymmetrical blouse.

Taking a deep breath, Carly made her way to the kitchen. From the kitchen entrance, she saw that Jack was putting a bowl congee on the side of the kitchen island where the stool rested.

Jack saw her from his peripheral. "I assume that you are ready."

She walked over to the edge of the kitchen island, "…For?"

He crossed his arms as he stood across from her at the kitchen island, "For the favor you owe me." His eyes glanced at the bowl of food and then back to her, "I want you to eat something."

"I'm n-"

"-Not hungry." He finished the sentence for her and sighed in frustration, "I know. But you owe me."

"This isn't doing something for you though…"

"It's what I want." Jack placed his hands on the kitchen island, leaned in a little bit, eyes intimidating her, "Are you not willing to pay up?"

The girl secretly sighed as she went over to sit on the island stool. She looked to the bowl of the congee and back to Jack, "I don't know if I can finish it all…"

"And I'm not asking you too." The King reached over to the teapot and empty mug that was also on the kitchen island to pour a cup. He pushed the mug of tea next to the bowl for the girl.

Carly nodded and lifted the spoon to the bowl to eat small bites. Jack felt satisfied, and honestly, he was feeling warmth inside. He was glad that she was eating and that it wasn't as much of a struggle to get her to do so this time.

He hid his cracked smile by turning away to focus on clearing the pots and cooking tools he had used to make breakfast.

The girl looked to his back as he was rinsing a pot in the sink so he could put it in the dishwasher, "A-Aren't you going to have breakfast too…?"

"I already ate my share. You took a while in the bathroom." He closed the dishwasher door and left the kitchen.

Carly looked down at her bowl and decided not to engage in any interaction with him anymore. With how abruptly he had left, she suspected Jack became annoyed by her.

Pushing away her thoughts, she went back to focusing on finishing her breakfast. While she was going to finish her breakfast, she suddenly felt a blanket lightly draped over her shoulders.

It took her by surprise. She looked up towards her shoulder to see that it was Jack who placed the blanket on her. Her eyes blinked at him a couple of times.

Jack frowned as he stepped back, "Is it your goal to get become ill?"

"Thank you Mr. Atlas.." Carly felt how soft the blanket was and even caught Jack's scent on it.

The King left her side and ventured into the living room. He bent down to the coffee table to pick up the remote for the television, "It' still raining, but the roads are clearing up. I will take you home after you finish."

The Girl twisted her body to the direction of the living room, "That's alright…I can take the bus."

"I thought you were smart, Ms. Carmine." He stated, without looking at her, his eyes were staring at the television as he was standing there flipping through the news channels.

She didn't understand him, "Pardon..?"

"You should know by now that there is no point in arguing with me." Jack turned his head to the kitchen area, catching sight of the confused girl, "I am taking you home, and there's nothing else to be said about it."

xxx

Ding!

The elevator doors open for Jack and Carly to step through. The king dug his hands into his leather jacket pockets after he pressed the button to lower them down to the parking garage.

They stood in silence next to each other as the elevator started its descent. It seemed like forever until the doors finally opened.

Carly followed Jack into the parking garage, while doing so, she looked around at the rows of expensive cars and rows of duel racers.

Jack stopped in the middle of the parking garage, a couple of feet from her. She ceased in her tracks too, eyes curiously watching him.

"Choose one." He said, not even blinking an eye at her.

The girl looked at him even more confused than ever.

Jack motioned with both hands to illustrate the rows of the vehicle on either side of him. "Which one?"

"These..all are all yours?"

Jack nodded, no hesitation, but there didn't seem to be any ounce of arrogance in his demeanor. It was simply a fact.

Carly looked around once more, taking her time now to really acknowledge all the cars.

"Your answer." He took a couple steps to her to close the wide gap between them. "Well?"

She slightly shrugged, "I'm n-not sure."

This time Jack looked around for a moment and opted for his best option. His favorite dueling bike; The Pheonix Whirlwind. Normally, he would keep it covered up and more protected, but he had planned to train with it today, so he didn't bother.

It was conveniently nearby and next to them. He approached it and took out his riding helmet from the hidden compartment, "Let's go."

"That's Pheonix Whirlwind..don't you keep it strictly for dueling, do you not?" Carly questioned softly as she neared Jack.

The king slipped on his riding gloves, "Then it must be your lucky day." He placed on his helmet over his head and got himself comfortably seated in his dueling bike.

The girl remained confused. The turbo, in fact, all dueling bikes, were single seated. Where would she sit? Did he want her to hang off his bike?

"Get in." He said when turned the system on and the engines came to life. His hands gripped the handles on each side, waiting.

"W-what do you mean?".

An annoyed sigh escaped from his lips. He locked his eyes with hers when he took her hand and pulled her down. She fell into his lap, face immediately red.

Carly adjusted herself as much as she could. She had to sit bridal style with her legs completely on one side, but she tried her best to sit as straight as possible so there was somewhat of space between them.

Their eyes caught one another once more. He smirked as he started the vehicle to roll out of the parking garage.

She turned her face toward the opening parking garage door, revealing the daylight and rain.

Before they started the journey, Jack turned on the transparent protector of the vehicle which created a clear bubble to shield them from the rain all around.

"Brace yourself."

The next thing that Carly knew, the space that she tried to create between herself and Jack, never mattered in the first place.

With how fast Jack took off with the turbo, the momentum pressed her back onto Jack, and she could hear a slight chuckle from him.

He was zipping past other vehicles, dodging, swerving, skillfully. Other cars, even traffic lights pass by in lined-blurs.

It was making Carly nauseous; her stomach was churning enough to make her feel like she was going to lose it at any moment. She had no choice but to turn her face into Jack's shoulder.

Her closeness and how frightened she was, amused The King. He liked how she felt sitting in his lap, her body close to his, her face buried in his shoulder. He could even feel her breath at the nape of his neck.

It wasn't long when Carly felt Jack slow the vehicle down and eventually came to a stop. She dared not look though; it could just be a quick stop before he took off again.

"I'm not going to know if we're actually here unless you look."

Assured that he wasn't going to take off again, Carly lifted her face away from his shoulder and looked around. They really were in front of her apartment building.

"We're here…Thank you Mr. Atlas."

Jack turned off the engine and placed the vehicle in park mode. Carly was about to get off his lap and out of the vehicle, but she felt one of Jack's hands at the small of her back, and then his other hand holding the area underneath her knees.

Her face blushed deep red when he lifted her out of the vehicle. He stood on his feet outside of the bike and made his way to the little pawning in front of the entrance of the apartment.

They had just gotten a little wet from the drizzle of the rain, but it wasn't too bad. Jack set her on her feet, and she stepped back from him, "Thank you again…for getting me home."

The King looked to the entrance of the apartment and then back at her, "Get inside, before we both become ill."

Carly nodded to his instruction. She walked to the doors to head on in, but she heard him call out, "Carmine."

She turned back to see what he wanted.

"You owe me another one now." Jack said bluntly and very direct, and then got into his turbo motorcycle to rev up and ride away.

Carly exhaled, thinking, "What would you want now…."

XXX

Hi Jack, I was wondering if you were free to meet up for dinner, so we can talk about an opportunity for an upcoming big tv interview about your next big duel?

Jack apathetically saw the message from Mina light up onto his mobile device. He slightly rolled his eyes and scoffed at it.

Mina wasn't the person he cared to get any messages from. He knew that deep down.

He also knew that Mina never stopped having romantic feelings for him, and that she wanted to wait for her chance with him.

It was never going to happen. Jack, if anything, only ever saw her as an acquaintance, barely even a friend.

He clicked his phone off and shoved it into his side pocket of his racing suit. Nonchalantly, he got out of his duel runner and took off his gloves.

The King had just gotten done with a virtual practice duel for some training. He wasn't exactly tired, rather he was distracted.

He had been distracted for about a week now. The same amount of time that had passed since his last encounter with Carly.

His mind was constantly plagued with the thought of her, as well as his urges to see her- even if it was for just a few seconds.

No..A few seconds wouldn't be enough. Even he realized that, and there was no way he could deny it either.

As Jack was walking from his turbo duel to the elevator of the parking garage, his smart phone went off again.

He gritted his teeth, clearly at Mina's new incoming message.

That was it, he made the decision to simply tell her 'No.' to her request.

Heatedly, he took out of his phone again from his side pocket, ready to reject her invitation, when he noticed that it was not another text message from Mina.

It was from his manager regarding a potential article that would be published about Jack's newest goal he wanted to reach.

He wanted to open an exclusive company that produced the best parts for duel runners, accompanied by lessons that people could take as well. This had been a dream of his for a long time now, and it had finally come to fruition, albeit slowly.

The article would be published in THE biggest dueling magazine, and Jack would have a six-page spread detailing his experiences, from his childhood to the present day.

Jack, on the other hand, was in no mood to have a reporter follow him around constantly, days in and days out, just so that he or she could record every little moment he had.

What could be possibly interesting about what he ate on a daily, or how long he would take a cold shower after finishing a workout?

But what if…he could choose reporter/writer…

The king didn't want to admit it; yet he was internally excited. He calmed himself down before texting his manager back about his thoughts on the matter.

There was only one person he had in mind that he wanted to be his reporter/journalist.

Carly Carmine.

XXX

"Carmine, you've been assigned." Mr. Potts blatantly put it right when Carly walked in the door of his office.

Carly closed the door after her, still feeling shocked. "Sir?"

"You have been assigned to write a big article for a very well-known celebrity."

She blinked twice as she sat down on the chair in front of his desk. Mr. Pitts was still typing away on his computer, eyes focused on the screen, rather than looking at her.

"You are to shadow after him, detail down everything in his daily life, and be sure to report about things from his past as well. This will be a six-page article." Her boss said, still not even looking at her.

"That's not a problem at all, and I'm grateful for this opportunity…but why me?".

Mr. Potts finally looked up from his computer. He sighed while lacing his fingers together, "Because you were personally requested."

"By whom?"

Right at the end of the question, the prestigious person walked in. Jacked stalked through the door, effortlessly, eyes centered on Carly.

"Ah, Mr. Atlas." Mr. Potts greeted, standing up from his chair. "I was just informing Carly that she had been chosen by you to cover the spread of your accomplishments."

Carly stood up too, eyes wide, face flushed. To say she was nervous was an understatement.

Jack neared them, "I trust that you can take on the task?"

The girl was so taken back that all she could do was nod. She will save her questions for later.

"All right, to the both of you, I will leave you both in good hands." Her boss clapped his hands together, remembering something, "Also, Mr. Atlas, you did mention that all of Carly's expenses for the next month or so will be covered?"

Jack nodded to him, "I will take care of everything." He looked to Carly, "Come with me."

The King began to leave the room, and so did Carly, but not after giving a slight bow to her boss in respect.

Carly caught up to Jack who was already walking down the hall toward the elevator to leave.

Neither of them said anything yet. Carly was still in disbelief, and Jack didn't want to discuss matters at hand when there were people around.

It was not until the elevator doors opened to the main floor, and they made their way to outside of the building, did Carly felt brave enough to say something.

They watched the traffic pass by as Jack waited for the valet to pull up with his car.

"Mr. Atlas-"

"You would like to know why I chose you to be the one to write the article."

Carly turned her face to the side where he stood next to her and nodded.

They turned completely to face each other now, Jack wanted her to see that he was serious with what he said, "We are not strangers to each other. You should know my habits, certain things about me, well enough by now to cut the time short."

She was still confused, and it showed on her face.

He continued, "An unfamiliar reporter would have to follow me around for months to cover the article in full detail, and even then, they might get it wrong. You and I have spent enough time with each other in the past that it would be less time needed to get the story. That way, I don't have to waste time or have some lapdog trailing me around for months on end."

Carly understood now, she looked down but nodded.

The timing couldn't be any better as well. The Valet pulled up Jack's luxury car, handed him the keys, and bid him farewell after The King left him a hefty tip.

Jack walked around his car to the driver's side, but before he entered, "Get in."

"Thank you, but there is no need. The bus is nearby."

"I'm not going to repeat myself."

Carly did know better by now, nothing she could do or say would get Jack to change his mind.

Jacked zoomed past the cars, luckily, there weren't many on the road today, but he was heading in the wrong direction.

Instead of the direction of Carly's home, it appeared like he was driving towards the destination of his home.

"Mr. Atlas…? Where are we going?"

"Home."

Not a moment too soon, Jack pulled into the parking garage of his apartment. He parked his car in one of the empty spaces when he heard Carly ask, "Why are we here at your home though..?"

Jack didn't respond. Instead, he got out of his car, walked around to the passenger side to open the door for her.

The Girl got out of the car, still waiting for her answer though. He still didn't give her one. They both started walking toward the elevator so they could ascend to his apartment.

Jack let them in his luxury apartment, which Carly shyly went in first. She stood in the living room waiting for him to walk in as well.

"Mr. Atlas…? Can you tell me now? What we are doing here…?" She asked again, this time determined to get an answer.

He answered dryly, "I told you we were going home, did I not?"

"Yes…but why are we at your home..?"

"It's your home too." Jack turned on his heels to face the direction of the hallway that would lead to the many rooms on its' sides. "At least for some time, it is."

Carly tilted her head to the side with round wide eyes, very puzzled now. She followed him down the hallway until he stood at the bedroom next to the master bedroom. He opened the door to reveal what was inside.

The room was large, a lot bigger than Carly's own bedroom. Inside, the king size bed was decorated with a deep navy-blue silk linen and heavy covers. To the right side of the bedroom held a fancy European style drawers that stored her sleepwear clothing. At the same side of that room, there was a computer table for her new laptop and desktop, accompanied by a new DSLR camera.

On the other side of the room had doors that opened to a walk-in closet, which was kept open in preparation for Carly to see that there were already newly bought clothes for her.

She looked at The King, but he only motioned her to go in to take a closer look. Carly did, she stood in the middle of the room and made a slow turn to everything until she faced Jack again.

"Until the article is written, you will be staying here." Jack explained as he stood in front of her. "You won't need to return to your apartment for anything. Everything that you may possibly need, I have already prepared for you."

"I-I can write this article without needing to live here, Mr. Atlas." She tried to reason.

"You live on the other side of town. Would you be able to make it to every race I have on time? Is there a way for you to know all the details about my daily life if you were to be that far away?"

Carly looked away; he does have a point, but she continued, "All of this is not necessary though.."

"If you are going to be seen with me, I expect you to dress properly and with the appropriate equipment to do your job correctly." He crossed his arms and glared, a stance that had become his signature, "Furthermore, I expect you to understand one thing."

His eyes stared into her soul, "I am your boss going forward, at least until the article is written. You work for me now."

The Girl gulped quietly to herself. He was so intimidating, but he was also so attractive that Carly couldn't help but feel herself beginning to swoon.

Jack came closer to her, only standing a foot apart now. He towered over her petite figure, though eyes now slightly softer, "Make yourself at home, there's no reason not to. You will be here for awhile."

XXX

Grey hues started to form in the clouds in the sky as it was reaching the afternoon. It looked like it was about to storm again that night. Carly thought of how convenient it was that the weather seemed to reflect what she was feeling inside.

She went back to tapping her index finger on a blank space of her new keyboard. The computer screen shining brightly at her face as it held a blank white document.

When she sat down at her new desktop, she had the intention of starting an article that she had collected information on but had not started. Her concentration was just not there.

A few hours had passed by since she had "moved in". More or less, she was trying to grow accustomed to her new surroundings, but who was going to blame her if she didn't get used to it right away.

Temporarily moving in with someone who inadvertently broke her heart years ago was not ideal for any woman, but was Carly in a position to complain?

She was about to get a big break in her career, and it was all being handed to her on a silver platter. Her expenses were paid, heck, she was being pampered with everything she never asked for, didn't know she needed or wanted, and she didn't have to worry about her living costs for the next month.

Still.

The Girl was concerned at Jack's newfound generosity. One moment, he can be as cold as the snow in the winters, and then the next moment there were glimmering moments that he was a human being, capable of caring for someone else.

Carly had seen his dedication and loyalty to his friends in the past. That was no doubt. If one were to win Jack's trust, respect, and concern; that person had surely gone the thousand miles to achieve it.

However, Carly was far from being his friend.

So it begged the question…why?

She made up her mind to ignore it for now. It was best to accept it and move forward. Perhaps she could just treat it as any other job, paid expenses and all..but at the same time, she should show him so much gratitude.

But how?

He had said so before. He was Jack Atlas, there was nothing that she could give him that he couldn't get himself.

Carly could feel herself getting frustrated at the situation. In fact, she was irritated with herself. How did she get into this predicament in the first place. She had moved away, worked remotely, avoided Jack at all cost, and still..life brought them on the same path again.

Shaking her head, she decided to stretch her legs by getting a glass of water from the kitchen.

The kitchen was empty and quiet when she flicked on the lights. It was expected, Jack had briefly said that he was going to go out for a run and wouldn't be back until later.

This allowed Carly to move about freely. Even though Jack had stated that she could make herself feel right at home, this was something she would need some time to do as well. The man to her, was like live wires or land mines. One wrong move, who knows what might explode.

Needless to say, he was a bit of a stranger to her now.

The Girl sighed to herself as she opened one of the cabinets to pull out a glass for the water. She held the crystal glass in her hand while she opened the refrigerator door with the other.

The filtered water pitcher was placed at the high shelf of the refrigerator, but before Carly would reach for it to pour herself some water, she noticed all his other groceries.

The vegetables, protein, and condiments were all fresh. The lightbulb came on in her head.

Maybe I can make him dinner to show my appreciation…

She was aware of his comments about her not knowing how to cook, since she rarely ate; however, this would be a good time to prove him wrong on that.

While she didn't eat much, she did know how to cook. Plenty of times, she had cooked for her friends and colleagues, and when she had a family back then, she cooked for them too.

It was settled, she was going to cook him dinner. Whether he liked it or not, he would at least know that she was trying to get along.

XXX

The moment that the elevator slid its' doors opened, Jack could smell the delicious aroma of someone's cooking.

It smelled like steak, seasoned, and grilled to perfection. His appetite was becoming of him as he walked to his apartment door.

The scent of the cooking was stronger when he stood at his door. Could it be coming from his apartment?

Impossible…He couldn't imagine Carly wanting to cook anything for herself. Getting her to eat anything had been an effort.

Sure enough, when he walked through the door and moved across the living room, he found The Girl there in the kitchen.

Immediately, he noticed the cast iron skillet sizzling a couple of juicy steaks and the pot of mash potatoes sitting next to it.

The kitchen island was set with a bowl of salad in the center, a set of plates for one guest, silver utensils, and a glass for water.

Carly's back was facing him as she spooned some of the natural fats from the skillet back onto the steak for cooking and flavoring. She was about near done, just needed a little bit more salt.

She slid a couple of steps to her right side to open the cabinet slightly above her. Unfortunately, the shaker of salt was on the highest shelf. Standing on her tiptoes, she did her best to stretch for it.

Her eyes widened in surprise when she felt a pair of masculine hands at her waist to hold her up. She was lifted to the highest shelf with no struggle, suddenly the salt shaker was eye level.

Carly looked down to find Jack looking up at her nonchalantly. She froze, reddened like the color of beets.

"I can't hold you like this forever. Get what you need. Now."

She looked back to the cabinet to make sure she was fetching the salt shaker and not the pepper shaker before grabbing it. "Y-You can put me down now."

Jack began to lower her down with his hands at her waist but as he was doing so, he slowly turned her around as well, so when her feet touched the ground, she would already be facing him directly.

Carly felt petite as they stood so closely together. They were inches apart, so close, that Carly could see the glistening of the kitchen lights from his perspiration.

Of course, she would, the man had just finished a four-mile run…He was so athletic…

She backed up but then felt the small of her back touch the counter next to the stove. At least there were a few more inches separating them now.

"You?" Jack started, halfway finding it humorous for him to even say so, "Are having dinner?"

Carly cleared her throat softly, "I figured you would be hungry after your run…. It's the least I can do.. Is it not?"

"This is your attempt of thanking me for hiring you?"

She nodded.

He scoffed, "How do I know it's not poison."

Carly grimaced, "What would it benefit me to poison my boss?"

"Fair point." A handed held the counter that was close to her side, "But you know that everything you have done so far means nothing unless you eat too."

She didn't change her frown, but she tried to not to lose her patience, "I'm not the one that just came back from a run-"

"You are the one that hasn't eaten the entire day." He leaned his face down, the tips of their noses were close to touching now. "Don't act like you don't know what I want from you."

Carly turned redder, feeling hot all over, "I am only here to collect enough information to write an article on you.."

"That's barely the truth." His other hand that was hanging by his side, grabbed at the other side of the counter. Now both of his hands were at her sides, trapping her at in place.

"Then what is the truth?"

"The obvious." Jack replied plainly. He moved slightly closer, their hips were about to touch but he refrained himself just enough, "If you want this promotion with this article on me, you will do your best to fulfill any requests that I make."

She bit her lower lip, "And if your requests…are unreasonable?"

There she went again, biting her lower lip. Jack couldn't understand why seeing her do that every time was enough to cause temptations to stir.

He gripped the counter with his hands, "There is nothing unreasonable about me wanting you to have enough energy for the next day so you can do the job that I hired you to do."

A smug pull of his lips started, but he clenched his jaw when he realized that she may possibly win this argument just by being naturally sensual.

He growled more at himself than at her. He lifted a hand to her jaw to snatch it which caused her to gasp softly, "You are thinking that I am some lecherous man that would take of advantage of you just because I have become your boss."

Carly shook her head lightly as he continued to hold her jaw, "That wasn't what I was thinking."

"Then what are you thinking."

Her eyes evaded downward, "..I just wanted to cook you dinner to thank you for everything you have done."

The King could tell that she was being genuine, but that wasn't helping his case. He could tell that she didn't want the glory of the article. Hell, she never asked for this promotion. She wasn't like all the women that would follow after him, swooning for his fame and money.

His eyes trailed from her face to down her body, slowly. He noticed finally noticed that she was in a loose wine-colored thin strapped blouse. The v-neckline of the blouse accentuated her chest.

He didn't realize that his hold on her jaw had hardened. It began to hurt her a little bit. Enough to where she grabbed his wrist gently in hopes for him to loosen his grip.

Her supple hand on his wrist intensified his growing urges. He closed the few inches between them by pulling her in from his clutch on her jaw, "Like I mentioned before, don't flatter yourself. I'm not that type of man, and even if I was, it wouldn't be you."

Abruptly, he roughly let her go and stepped back, "Prepare yourself a share of what you cooked. I won't eat anything unless you eat too."

Jack added, "It's not up for debate." He stalked out of the kitchen to take a quick shower before dinner. A cold shower…

It wasn't until he left the kitchen when Carly noticed how fast and hard her heart was beating. It was as though her heart was going to explode out of her chest. She tried to steady herself as she wondered if that whole ordeal was Jack being cold and demeaning of her…or was it a seduction.

If she could, she would be writing more about how sensual Jack could be with a female, even when he wasn't trying to be. Unfortunately, she knew that he wouldn't appreciate that being published anywhere.

The Girl closed her eyes and touched her face. Exhaling, she knew the days leading on would be long ones, because she now had to focus on not let herself fall for this man again.