16 Clean Slate

She really hated herself right now. Didn't she just say that she would cut him out of her life? So how did she end up in his place?

Her eyes twitched when she heard something like a drop of water on the window? Was it raining? There was a weather forecast yesterday that it would rain today. Good thing it's already Sunday morning, and she didn't have any schedule today. She wondered if Skyler was enjoying their kids' sleepover at her gramps' place.

Groaning softly, she tried to shut her eyes tighter against the light and tried to fall asleep again. She really needed a break. Her desire to remain asleep was so tempting; she could sleep the whole day.

Her hand moved involuntarily on the nearest pillow she had on the bed. Her delicate finger caressed something smooth and warm instead. Was she resting her head on something firm instead of her fluffy pillows? Why did her body pillow felt warm against her skin?

She opened her eyes slightly in confusion. What the hell was wrong with her bed? She used her elbow to lift up her torso and noticed an arm falling down from her waist to her side. As soon as she noticed the arm that clearly didn't belong to her, she jolted up from her lying position.

Looking beside her, she was surprised to see the sleeping devil beside her. He was half-naked without a shirt. They were both lying in his king-sized bed.

Did they have sex last night?

She looked down at herself and noticed that she was covered with dark hickeys in her upper torso. Although she was mostly naked, she saw she's still wearing her underwear upon looking down.

Did that mean they didn't do it all the way?

She clutched the white bed sheet to her naked chest and sat up. Her eyes scanned her surroundings. It seemed that her assassin instinct was getting duller as time passed. She had never used these skills when she was abroad with Skyler. Now, it was a necessary thing to improve to help her advance to her goals.

She didn't belong in the top-tier even if she was previously a mercenary of Eli.

In her past missions, she was always the backup and never joined the front liners whenever Eli sent them for missions. She dearly missed her sniper rifles. She hadn't held one since she left the country. She decided in her mind; one of these days she had to pay a visit to a dear friend who used to make her custom guns and weapons.

When she felt a tugging and shuffling of the sheets behind her, her attention drifted to the other occupant of the bed. Turning her head, her eyes met gray ones as his toned chest was revealed from the silken sheets, his eyes looking at her with concern.

"You're awake," he said.

Slowly, he lifted up and moved his body under the sheets. His lower half remained covered as he sat up beside her; his head tilted towards her, his eyes looking down at her even in their seated position. His hand slid to her cheek as her body turned toward him, his thumb gently caressing her skin.

"What am I doing here?" she asked.

"Good morning to you, too," he murmured.

She shot him a glare. She had a rough idea as to why she ended up sleeping in his bed, naked.

Ririna knew that she passed out last night from excessive drinking. She was actually expecting that Evan and Louie would show up later that night and help her get home safely. What she didn't consider was the devil himself tagging along with the usual stalker-husband duo.

Good thing their circle of friends had a silent rule never talk about Skyler in public. She had already spent a lot of money making Skyler's information limited and confidential within the public and from the underground.

Maybe some underground operative could find him if they had a motive or willing to pay a huge amount to uncover his identity. So far, no one had come to find out anything about Skyler. With her connections in the Underground world, she only assumed that her targets and Eli haven't found out about Skyler's existence yet.

"You spied on us," she concluded.

He only smirked in her deductions. He could never outsmart this woman for too long. She always found a way to uncover his tricks. He wondered how could she predict his attitude and make the most of it to her advantage.

Hmm... It looked like she hadn't realized that she's still practically naked on his bed. Didn't she know she looked so tempting right now?

"Did we have sex?" she asked. It wouldn't hurt to know, right?

If Eli could laugh, he probably would have laughed at her question. Because of his cold personality, he only smirked at her.

"Do you think you would be able to move and walk if we did?" he asked, "We could continue where we left off if you want."

Ririna's cheeks flushed in a deep shade of red. This man was really so forward and shameless. Could someone give her a free pass so she could slap him again?

"We should stop seeing each other like this," she said.

"Like what?"

She groaned, her eyes rolling at him.

"Mr. Park, I'm not the same Ririna you have known for years. I have left your side for me to have my own identity. I'm not your property anymore. So please can you stop harassing me?"

He only stared back at her, watching every move she made as she slipped out from the sheets and took his discarded dress shirt to cover her naked body. He savored the view of seeing her body clad in nothing but his white button-up shirt from the night before, her slender legs peeking out nicely in his clothing.

And she said she wasn't his anymore?

"Why? Are you seeing someone else?" he asked. His gray eyes dangerously narrowing at her.

So what if she was or wasn't? He had nothing to do with it.

"Nope, not interested. Isn't on my priority list."

It wasn't that she was short on having suitors, she just wasn't interested. She was also not quite over him yet, and she would rather give all her remaining love to Skyler.

He looked at her as if trying to find the unknown answer in her face. What's wrong with this man?

"If I court you properly, would you at least consider me?" He said after a long silence.

Ririna blinked in surprise.

"W-what?" she blurted out. What did he just say?

"Will you please go out with me, Miss Ririna Han?"

Was he really asking that they start with a clean slate?