Chapter 3

Stella's schedule was as grueling as ever, but thanks to her arrangement with Louie, she began landing elite resources that were once far out of her reach. Occasionally, Louie would make an appearance at her major industry events.

On paper, he was there as a corporate sponsor. In reality, he acted as her personal, incredibly intimidating bodyguard.

Backstage at the awards ceremony, Stella had just finished her interview, feeling a wave of exhaustion wash over her. Suddenly, Louie was there by her side, pressing a glass of water into her hand.

"Thanks," Stella murmured, taking the glass. Her eyes naturally fell to his long, elegant fingers with prominent veins.

'Is she looking at my hands? Does she want to hold my hand right now?'

Stella nearly choked on her water. She literally just glanced at his hand.

"Are you tired?" Louie asked. His voice was low, carrying a faint, subtle trace of genuine concern.

'I want to pick her up. I want to sit her on my lap and kiss the exhaustion right out of her.'

Stella's heart gave a violent thump. She knew Louie wanted to touch her, but his disciplined nature was holding him back because they were in a room full of production assistants and makeup artists.

She looked at his large hands shaking at his sides. A wicked urge to mess with him flared in her chest.

She set the glass on the vanity. Slowly she stepped into his personal space, took his slightly trembling hand, and placed it flat against the smooth skin of her thigh. Louie's entire body turned to stone. His eyes blew wide open in sheer shock.

'She initiated it. Holy shit. My hand. Her leg. Am I having a dream?'

Stella watched the panic and elation explode in his eyes and had to bite her lip to keep from laughing. Going up on her tiptoes, she leaned in and pressed a soft kiss directly against his pronounced Adam's apple.

The touch of her warm lips sent a visible shockwave through Louie. He swallowed hard, a suppressed groan vibrating deep in his chest.

'Fuck. She kissed my throat. She kissed my throat. I'm excited. No, wait, calm down. Breathe. We are backstage. There are forty people in this room. But fuck, I can't hold back.'

Feeling the rigid tension radiating off his body, Stella wore a smirk and took a slow step back, looking up at his devastatingly handsome face, which was currently flushed a deep red.

"You really do have beautiful hands, Mr. Stone," she whispered.

Louie's breathing was ragged. He stared down at her, his eyes burning with a suffocating wave of lust. He opened his mouth, but his brain had completely short-circuited. No words came out.

'She is playing with fire. Does she have any idea what she is doing to me right now? I am going to lose my goddamn mind.'

Stella looked at Louie, who looked like he was about to spontaneously combust, and she felt a rush of absolute power. The ice billionaire was melting, and she was the only one holding the blowtorch.

When the weekend arrived, Louie proposed a quiet afternoon at the museum. Antiques were hardly Stella's cup of tea, but she nodded anyway. It was, after all, another performance to uphold the harmony of their paper marriage.

The museum's climate control was set to freezing. Stella had worn a sleeveless sundress, and she instinctively crossed her arms, rubbing her bare shoulders to ward off the chill.

Louie noticed immediately. Without a word, he shrugged off his bespoke suit jacket and draped it over her shoulders. The heavy fabric was still holding his body heat. The rich scent of cedarwood and expensive cologne instantly enveloped her.

'She's freezing. Is the jacket enough? I really just want to wrap her inside my coat and use my own body heat to warm her up.'

A genuine warmth bloomed in Stella's chest, but she kept her acting mask firmly in place. "Thank you, Mr. Stone. You really didn't have to," she said politely.

Louie didn't respond. Instead, he casually reached up and unfastened the top three buttons of his crisp dress shirt. The movement caused the fabric to part, offering a fleeting view of his deeply tanned, rock-hard pectorals and the defined lines of his upper abs.

Stella's eyes snapped to his chest like a magnet. She couldn't stop staring.

'She's looking. She is definitely looking. My core routine is paying off. They look perfect, right?'

Louie leaned down, tilting his head until his lips were hovering just millimeters from the shell of her ear. His voice dropped to a hypnotic whisper. "Do you want to touch them? You're the only person on earth with clearance."

Then he pressed a soft kiss against her flushed earlobe.

Stella gasped, a violent shiver shooting straight down her spine. Her ear felt like it was on fire.

'Got her. God, her skin is so soft. She smells like vanilla. I just want to sink my teeth into her neck.'

Stella's face flushed a brilliant scarlet. She shoved both hands against his chest, pushing him back a step. "Louie. We are in a public museum," she hissed, thoroughly embarrassed.

Louie flashed a sinfully arrogant smirk, but his eyes remained wide and perfectly innocent.

'She's blushing. So cute.'

Stella wanted to scream in frustration. How did this man seamlessly oscillate between a predatory mastermind and an innocent golden retriever?