Stella rolled over, just about to drift into a deep sleep, when a heavy weight settled over her. A man pinned her beneath him, his lips capturing hers.

Lately, Joshua seemed to be growing less and less gentle. Every time they were intimate, Stella felt a flicker of apprehension, even going so far as to deliberately stay up late to avoid him.

Feeling his eager kiss, her sleepiness vanished instantly. She snapped her eyes open, meeting a pair of dark, quiet eyes.

"Joshua, I'm a little tired. I just want to sleep."

He looked down at her, a cryptic smile playing on his lips. "Star, that's exactly what you said last night."

Stella's eyes darted away guiltily. "How about tomorrow? Can you just let me rest today?"

Joshua gazed at her, his expression unreadable. "I've noticed you've been avoiding me these past two days. Did I do something wrong? Or is there something I'm doing that you don't like?"

Stella felt a headache coming on. Joshua was entirely too perceptive. No matter what excuse she made, he always saw right through it. Just like Abby had said— when you were with Joshua Gardner, you couldn't get away with anything.

"No," Stella sighed. "It's just that too much has been happening lately, and I'm just not in the mood."

"Are you upset because Wilbur left?" he asked suddenly.

He stared at her without blinking, his dark eyes as deep and unfathomable as an abyss, looking as if they could pierce straight into her soul. Under that intense gaze, lying was impossible. There was no point in even trying to find an excuse.

"Wilbur has been by my side for a while now," Stella admitted. "Him leaving so suddenly means I have to scramble to find someone I can trast to take over he duties you know I don't have many people I can rety on. Abby is doing her best, but she's stretched thin and there are things she just can't handle."

She looked up at him, a trace of wistfulness in her voice. "Honestly, Abby, Wilbur, and Gideon combined aren't as effective as you are alone."

That was just the cold, hard truth. Back when Joshua was working for her, he alone was enough to orchestrate everything flawlessly. Now, even with three people, they couldn't match his efficiency.

With Wilbur gone, his workload had to be delegated. Abby and Gideon might not be able to handle the overflow, which meant Stella had to find and train a new assistant.

Just thinking about it made her head

throb, killing whatever mood she might have had. Add to that the fact that Jeshua had been acting like an unchained beast in bed lately and she was simply

exhausted-physically and mentally.

Her words seemed to please him. His gaze softened considerably. He kissed the corner of her lips, his voice dropping into a low, hypnotic murmur.

"Let me come back and work for you."

Stella rejected the idea without a second thought. "Absolutely not. You have your own empire to run. I can't have you trailing after me all day—it would be a massive waste of your talents."

"I've wrapped up everything on my end," Joshua insisted. "I've got nothing but free time, and I'm itching for something to do. Star, wouldn't it be great if I came back to work for you? Then we could spend every single day together again

Stella looked at his strikingly handsome, flawless complexion and let out a helpless

sigh. "We already spend every day together."

He buried his face in the crook of her neck. "But we don't spend as much time together during the day as we used to."

"We spend plenty of time together," Stella argued gently. "Joshua, we're together during the day a lot now."