Please Be Gentle

Heat Again

Grace couldn't help but chuckle at the image of Gabriel, the big-time businessman, scrambling out of the bathroom, naked as the day he was born. It was an oddly satisfying thought.

She tried to hold back the laughter, but when she saw his flushed face and the way his lips twitched, she couldn’t help herself. A burst of laughter escaped her lips.

"Don't give him any paper!" Grace giggled. "Let him go room to room, naked, looking for it! Haha, that’s priceless!"

Her sharp humor only made Gabriel more frustrated. He glared at her, his face darkening to a shade even darker than the storm clouds gathering outside.

Grace, still laughing, patted her chest as she wiped away a tear. "I'm dying here, Gabriel—just imagine him running around, all exposed. Hahaha!"

Her laughter was so genuine that she didn't notice the dangerous glint in Gabriel's eyes. He stepped toward her, his presence suddenly cold and intense.

"You seem really interested in a man’s… vulnerabilities," he said, his voice low and laced with something dark.

Grace blinked, taken aback. She wasn’t sure what he meant, but it wasn’t her fault that his embarrassment was so amusing.

"Well, if you think I’m some fragile thing, maybe you should think again," she said, trying to hold her own against his intense gaze.

His eyes narrowed, his jaw tightening. "You think you can just make fun of me like this?"

Two little voices interrupted their standoff.

"Grace, please stay with us tonight!" pleaded the two girls, their faces streaked with tears. "We’re afraid you’ll leave and never come back!"

Grace’s heart softened at the sight of them. She had promised them she’d stay, after all. "Fine, I’ll stay. But don’t cry, okay?"

The two girls cheered, pulling her into their room. Gabriel, seething with barely contained rage, watched from the doorway, his lips pressed into a thin line.

Later that night, the girls had a different mission in mind. They tiptoed to Gabriel’s study, looking guilty but determined.

"Uncle Gabriel," little Sakura said in a soft voice, "are you still mad?"

Gabriel didn’t look up. He was lost in his book, pretending not to hear them.

"We love Grace, but we love you too," said little Peach, pouting as she tugged at Gabriel’s hand. "Don’t be angry anymore. Grace is staying with us tonight. You can see her tomorrow."

His cold facade cracked just a little. "You two always know how to get me," he muttered, but his eyes softened as they continued to plead.

Later, Grace was in the bathroom, taking a long shower. Gabriel sat alone in his study, still replaying her laughter in his mind. The image of her, half-dressed, flooded his thoughts again. His breath hitched, and suddenly, the heat from earlier wasn’t from his anger anymore.

Damn it, why was his body reacting this way? The thought of her, naked and vulnerable, had him restless, like a fire he couldn’t quench. Maybe it was time for him to cool off… with a shower of his own.