Chapter 273 Kiss you to death

Cole recalled the ripples in the water just now, and... the bathrobe carelessly tossed on the floor...

His gaze swept over Alana’s unusually swollen lips, and his fist clenched unconsciously.

He wasn’t a three-year-old child, nor was he some inexperienced man; naturally, he understood exactly what those marks meant.

For a moment, he wanted to push her aside, storm into the hot spring room, and drag that man out.

But...He had no right to do so now.

Even if he did storm in, it wouldn’t do any good.

It would only make him look even more like a clown.

Cole took a deep breath and suppressed his surging emotions.

“Alright, let’s go.”

*******

At a French restaurant, Alana, Cole, and the others sat at a square table.

Carla sat next to Alana. “Yuan Yuan, where did you go just now? We’ve been looking for you for ages and couldn’t find you.”

Alana cleared her throat nervously. “Sorry, I went somewhere else for a bit, and then I

accidentally fell asleep, so...”

Carla realized, “So you fell asleep. No wonder you didn’t answer my calls or reply to my messages.”

Alana lowered her head, looking embarrassed. “Uh-huh, I’m sorry. I caused you all trouble just now.”

Danielle snapped, “It was more than just trouble! If we hadn’t found you, we almost turned the whole hotel upside down. Especially Manager Cole, he was about to call the police just now!”

Hearing this, Alana couldn’t help but glance at Cole.

Cole met her gaze; the eyes behind his glasses were dark and intense.

Alana instinctively looked away, unable to hold his gaze any longer.

She ate the meal with her mind elsewhere.

After the meal, the group gathered again to discuss tomorrow’s work schedule.

The purpose of this business trip was to inspect the branch office in Vinox, assess the progress of product promotion, research competing products, and understand customer needs, among other tasks, over the course of five days.

After everyone confirmed their respective responsibilities, they went back to their hotel rooms to rest.

Grace gave a final reminder: “Remember, we’re meeting at 8:00 a.m. tomorrow morning. We’ll have breakfast and then head out to the branch office together.”

Everyone replied in unison, “Got it!”

Alana and Carla returned to their room, freshened up briefly, and then each lay down on their single beds, pulling the blankets over themselves.

Carla, full of energy, chattered on in bed about her experience at the hot springs and mentioned that they would go again tomorrow night.

Or climb the mountain behind the hotel to enjoy the scenery, and so on.

Alana responded half-heartedly, her mind already wandering elsewhere.

Suddenly, her phone vibrated, signaling a new message.

Alana picked up her phone and glanced at it. As expected, it was from Stephan.

[My room number is 2009. When are you coming over?]

Alana froze. [Your room is two doors down from mine?]

Stephan: [Yeah, on purpose. So it’s easier for you to come over and sleep with me.]

Alana was speechless.

This man was too calculating?

When she didn’t reply, Stephan asked again;

[When are you coming over? I’m already lying in bed.]

He sent over a photo of his abs.

The man lay on the bed, his long, slender fingers lifting the hem of his pajamas to reveal the well-defined eight-pack beneath.

On those sexy, alluring abs, there were even a few faint, suggestive scratch marks left by her.

The whole thing was so provocative and sensual.

A clear-cut attempt at seduction.

Alana couldn’t help but blush. Biting her lip, she quickly replied, “Wait a minute, my coworker isn’t asleep yet.”

She planned to wait until Carla fell asleep before sneaking out.

But she hadn’t counted on Carla being such a chatterbox at night, once she lay down on the bed, she kept rambling on about all sorts of things.

Stephan: [Hurry up. I’m waiting for you!]

How could something like this be rushed?

Carla asked Alana if she wanted to go hiking together tomorrow, but when she didn’t get a response, she couldn’t help but call out, “Lana?”

“Lana, are you asleep?”

The lights in the room were already off. It was pitch black...so dark you couldn’t see your hand in front of your face and it was impossible to tell whether the other person was asleep or not.

Alana closed her eyes and pretended to be asleep.

She thought to herself that if she just pretended to be asleep, Carla would have no one to chat with and would naturally fall asleep too.

Carla sighed, “Ah, such a lovely night, and yet you’re already asleep. What a shame.”

“But I’m not sleepy yet. What should I do? I don’t feel like sleeping.”

Alana pouted.

Please, just get sleepy already!

After who knows how long, she finally heard Carla snoring and grinding her teeth.

After all that fuss, she finally fell asleep.

If Carla didn’t fall asleep soon, Stephan, with his short temper would be breaking down the door any minute.

Alana slowly climbed out of bed, put on her shoes in the dark, and then tiptoed toward the door.

She held her phone in her hand, using the faint light from the screen to guide her way.

She didn’t dare turn on the flashlight, it was too bright, and she was afraid it would wake Carla.

She moved forward in small, laborious steps.

Suddenly, Carla let out a shriek.

“Ouch, don’t walk there!”

Alana shuddered in fright; her heart nearly leapt out of her chest. Had Carla woken up?

And discovered she was sneaking out?

Before she could turn around to take a closer look, she heard Carla’s shrill voice again.

“Handsome guy, don’t go! Let me give you a kiss!”

“Let me feel your abs!”

“Hehe, I’ve got you now...see if you can get away!”

“I’m going to kiss you to death, mwah mwah mwah...”

Alana blinked...what the...

Turns out she was just talking in her sleep...the kind of dream Carla was having was very concerning.

Alana let out a sigh of relief and finally opened the door with confidence, slipping out.

The moment she stepped out and quietly closed the door, the door next door clicked

open.

Alana looked up and happened to lock eyes with Cole as he stepped out of his room.

She felt a bit flustered. She hadn’t expected Cole to be living right next door.

And now, of all times, she’d run into him.

“Um, it’s so late...aren’t you asleep yet?”

Cold stared at her and asked in return, “What about you? It’s so late, aren’t you asleep either?”

“Yeah, I’m not sleepy. I just came out for a walk.”

“Me too.”

She felt a little awkward. “Um, maybe we should just walk on our own.”

Cole spoke up, “Want to walk together?”

Alana instinctively refused, “No, thanks. I’ll just walk by myself.”

His eyes darkened. “Lana, do you really have to reject me that much? Even if you don’t have feelings for me anymore, can’t we just chat like ordinary friends?”

Alana shook her head. “It’s not that. I just feel that since I have a boyfriend, I should keep my distance from other men.”

Cole couldn’t help but frown. “You’re keeping your distance from other men, but what about him? Would he keep his distance from other women for your sake?”

Alana was silent for a moment. “The most important thing in a relationship is mutual loyalty. Keeping your distance from the opposite sex is just basic. I’ll be loyal to him, and at the same time, I’ll trust that he’ll be loyal to me.”

Cole thought she was too naive. Even he couldn’t guarantee a lifetime of loyalty to a single woman...let alone any other man.

And definitely not a man like Stephan Hudson!