"Why do you have to call us to work on the weekend?" Markus grumbled, picking up one of the folders that were on the table.

Noah called him to report what happened to his business trip in India. When he came, he was expecting that it would just be an hour or two. He was expecting Noah would just like to hear the information firsthand even though it was already in the report that he finished and gave to Antonio.

However, when he entered Noah's study and saw Antonio, he knew Noah wanted him to do more than just give his report.

Now, they had been working for more than four hours, perusing all the documents of the company acquisition, and walking through the next steps that they are going to do to get the new laboratory over there up and running.

Noah wanted everything in order before the annual shareholder meeting. No one couldn't blame him since, other than the laboratory and office that he was running here in Cali, the one in India would be the biggest laboratory that he acquired during his time being a COO of ANAT.

Now that he wanted to get the CEO position he needed something to impress the shareholders of the company, which he didn't actually understand since his grandfather wanted him to have the position and everyone in the higher-ups knew that whatever the Old Tiefenbacher wants, he gets.

"Did you hear that?"

"Stop dilly-dallying, Markus. We need to finish this all up before midnight."

He clicked his tongue and went back to his computer. "It wasn't me who left work."

Noah gave him a dagger look that made him chuckle.

"Someone just opened your door," he cocked his head to the door, straining his ears to listen. "Now, that someone is walking inside your house."

Noah and Markus exchanged glances. When Markus raised his eyebrow, Noah slowly opened the drawer of his desk, groped his hand inside, and pulled the gun that he had stuck on the back of the drawer.

When his hand touched the cold metal of the gun, he slowly got up from his chair, walked to the door on his toes.

"Someone is now in the hallway," Markus whispered.

Antonio, who was watching Markus and Noah, slowly got up from his chair, just like them, as he gripped a puncher in his hand.

He followed behind Markus who was following behind Noah.

Noah, who was holding a gun in his right hand, slowly opened the door of his study, using his free hand.

Antonio didn't have an idea that his boss had a gun in his desk drawer. He gripped the puncher in his hand tighter when a soft click was heard in the room when Noah pulled the door slowly.

Noah has his gun steady in his hands when he gets a glimpse of the intruder in his house. He pulled the door of his study wider and clicked the safety pin of the gun back on.

"Hello, Miss Zimmerman," he drawled every syllable of Jess's name. A chuckle escaped his lips when Jess, gripping her bags on her chest, slowly turned her around in their direction.

Her eyes were like a doe caught in the headlight. 'His pretty little doe,' he exhaled a soft sigh. He was stunned at how his body felt an urge to cross the space between them, pushed her to the wall with her back facing him, to take her right there and then.

Jess stiffened when she heard the cocking of a gun behind her. She gripped her bags, and with her heart pounding in her chest, she slowly turned her head to see Noah, standing in front of an open door.

Seeing a glimpse of a tall bookshelf inside, filled with books, she assumed that the room was his study.

Noah has a gun in his hand, when she faced him and the other two men behind him, he put down the gun.

"I can't seem to fall asleep in my bed," she said, her voice trembling. The sound of the cocking gun was still echoing in her ears.

Noah smirked when he heard Jess's explanation for entering his apartment without any notice. The idea of her crawling in his bed made him think of all the things he wished he could do right at this moment.

"Nice seeing you again, Miss Zimmerman," Markus said, chuckling. "We should stop meeting in such an awkward situation."

His dirty thoughts were halted when he heard Markus, teasing voice behind him and Jess blushed in embarrassment.

He snapped his head to Markus and pushed him inside the study. "Go finish your job!" He looked over Markus's shoulder and saw that Antonio was back on the long table, in front of his laptop.

"I'll be right back," he said, pulling the doorknob of the study. Before the door closed, he heard Markus mumble, "Yeah, right. You'll be right back."

He shut the door of his study behind him and shoved his gun at the back waistband of his jeans before he walked to Jess who was still rooted in front of his bedroom door.

Even when he opened his bedroom door, Jess didn't move from where she was standing.

"Won't you come it?" he grinned.

Jess was jolted in her thoughts with Noah's question. She threw him an apologizing smile, stepping inside the door.

The moment Jess stepped inside his bedroom, he grabbed her waist and pinned her against the closed door. "Miss Zimmerman, tell me again the reason why you are here," he was breathing heavily from his desires.

"I can't sleep in my bed," she replied in a small voice. Her eyes were drawn to Noah's smoldering blue eyes, laced with carnal desires.

The corner of her lips, curled up in a smirk, "Can I sleep in your bed?"

"Minx," Noah growled as he lowered his mouth against hers, taking her lips in a kiss that shook the floor under their feet.

"You can do more than sleep in my bed, Miss Zimmerman," he smiled, his lips hovering over her slightly parted lips - still begging for more kisses.

Jess just realized that her bags and her shoes were no longer in her hands. She didn't remember how she dropped them.

Seeing that her hands were now free, she raised them and hooked on Noah's neck, "I would love to, but right now I just needed some sleep."

Noah's lips were back on hers but this time his kisses were soft, gentle as if he was just having a taste of her.

He pulled the small of her back away from the door, his hands went down her buttocks, and lifted her up to his arms.

Jess wrapped her legs around him and nestled her face on the crook of his neck. She didn't say anything as Noah brought her to his bed.

Noah folded his right knee on the edge of his king-sized bed and slowly put down Jess on the mattress.

"Do you want me to tuck you in?"

Jess's legs didn't let go of his waist when he put her down and he almost toppled over her if he didn't push his elbow on the mattress.

"Yes, please and if you aren't too busy, can you stay with me until I fall asleep?"

His eyes scanned Jess's face and it didn't escape him that her eyes were red, most probably from crying. Now, he confirmed that Jess didn't just enter his house, and planned to crawl in her bed quietly because she wanted to play around with him - which he doesn't mind if she does.

Imagining Jess, waiting for him in his bed, made his shaft squirm in excitement.

However, tonight that image won't happen. Jess didn't come to his house for sex but for comfort. And that was way better because it means she trusted him.

"You changed the bedsheets," she commented when Noah didn't say anything and just kept on staring at her face.

"Yes. I was thinking that I won't get any sleep if the bed smells like you."

"But then, I'm back," she chuckled.

"Yes," he lifted his hand and stroked her forehead, "...and you have no idea how happy you made me. I never thought I would be so happy to find an intruder inside my house."

"Ah, yes...I do look like an intruder."

"A very welcome one," he laughed. He bent closer to her face and pressed soft kisses on her eyes, still showing some evidence of crying.

He lifted her up from the bed to pull the blanket under her. He maneuvered her to be under the blanket in an easy manner. She doesn't weigh that much. He should feed her to gain some weight, he thought to himself.

"Close your eyes," he told her as he dropped himself on top of the blanket next to her.

"Sorry for disturbing you," she muttered, closing her eyes.

Noah chuckled softly, "I just told you, you are very much welcome in the house."

He pressed a kiss on her cheek and started humming Merry Go Round, the OST of the film Howl's Moving Castle until Jess's breath became even.