Late at night, Beicheng.
In a massive villa sprawled at the base of the mountain, shrouded in darkness.
A swift figure leaped over the wall and landed quietly on the balcony of a large bedroom.
Anna Blake stood firm, then pulled out a small spray bottle laced with a sedative. She aimed it through the narrow window gap and gave it a quick puff inside.
Then, she slipped into the room.
No lights were on inside. It was pitch-black. In the dimness, she spotted a slight rise and fall on the king-sized bed—a tall, lean silhouette stretched almost the full length of the mattress.
The man under the covers was none other than Nathaniel Cooper, the infamous second young master of the Cooper family in Beicheng.
Anna’s heart kicked up a beat. She peeled off her extra layers, dropping them carelessly at the foot of the bed.
Once prepped, she climbed onto the bed as gently as possible.
Soft as clouds.
She let out a slow breath, lifted the blanket—right then, that tall form came into view.
With the faintest light, she could just make out his sharp, chiseled features.
Her lips twitched up smugly. Eyes narrowing, she let out a hushed chuckle. “Sorry in advance, Mr. Cooper.”
With that, her hand crept toward his waist.
He had on a robe, tied at the waist. She’d have to undo it to pull off the rest of her plan.
But just as her fingers grazed the belt, an arm shot out of the shadows and grabbed her by the throat.
She choked.
One more ounce of pressure and her neck would've snapped.
“Who sent you?”
His voice came slow and low, rough around the edges—it sent chills down her spine.
Anna’s instincts kicked in at once. Panicked, her hand darted downward under the robe like a slippery eel—then latched onto something soft, warm, and very... private.
The man hissed through his teeth.
Anna smirked through her cough. “Look, if you want to keep your equipment intact, I suggest you play along, Mr. Cooper.”
If there’d been any light in the room, she was sure she’d see his face twisted with rage.
But since she couldn’t see squat, she could afford to be bold.
“Wanna die tonight? I can sort that out for you.”
The menace in his voice crawled across her spine like ice. Just a blanket between them, and his presence felt lethal.
Everyone knew Nathaniel Cooper didn’t play nice.
But Anna Blake wasn’t the kind to play it safe either.
She tilted her head, brow raised, snapping back, “Try me. I’ll make sure you never pee standing up again.”
A mocking chuckle slipped out from the darkness.
Anna’s eyes flew wide.
She still couldn’t see him, but that cold, dangerous air pressing in around her said enough.
The laugh stabbed at her pride like he thought she was just messing around way in over her head.
And honestly? That ticked her off more.
“What the hell are you laughing at?” she snapped. Then twisted her grip, just a bit.
The next second, something heavy pressed down hard on her.In just a blink, the hand reaching under the robe suddenly grabbed at nothing. Nathaniel Cooper, previously pinned beneath Anna Blake, had flipped the script, pressing her firmly under him.
A beat later, the hand at her throat abruptly let go.
Startled, Anna's eyes widened. "What... what are you trying to do?"
Click.
The faint light on the nightstand suddenly lit up the room.
Her first reaction wasn’t to squint at the light, but to dive beneath him, yanking the covers over her face like a startled cat.
Then, like some slippery eel, she started wriggling under the blanket, twisting and rolling in every direction.
Nathaniel sat leisurely at the head of the bed, eyes half-closed, calmly watching her fumble in the sheets.
Just when he assumed she was done for, completely caught with no way out, a swift shadow darted from under the quilt.
Instead of bolting in the other direction, she lunged straight at him.
Anna crashed into him without warning.
Rip.
In a flash, she yanked open the robe over his shoulder and sank her teeth into his bare chest with zero hesitation.
Yeah, her bite wasn’t just for show.
A sharp jolt of pain shot through him. Nathaniel's brow twitched, and his hand shot out to grab her by the waist.
But before he could even touch her, she twisted away and tumbled off the other side of the bed.
Her speed caught him off guard.
A second later, Anna had darted toward the balcony. Before she jumped, she wiggled her backside, made a goofy face with her hands pulling at her cheeks, and laughed loudly, “Bye now, second master!”
Then came a loud thud as her feet hit the ground. Nathaniel narrowed his eyes—the glint in them icy, dangerous, and sharp like a blade unsheathed.
...
"Who's there?!"
Crap.
Anna hadn’t expected the guards to react so fast as soon as she landed.
She crouched behind a giant potted plant by the wall, curling herself up tight. When the black-suited guards ran past, she bolted out with a quiet whoosh toward the back garden wall.
"Jasper Carter! Give me a lift!"
The second her call ended, a thick rope flew in from the other side of the wall. Grabbing it, she kicked off the ground and climbed up in seconds.
Outside, Jasper caught her without missing a beat.
"Anna, you okay?"
"I'm fine, but I’ve been made. We need to go!"
...
"Michael Johnson, there's a gray van by the side path at your nine o'clock. Have it—and whoever’s inside—brought to me before sunrise."
Three minutes later, on the balcony, Nathaniel tossed aside the phone he’d just used.
In his other hand lay another phone, sleek and silver, definitely an old model, probably a few years outdated and clearly meant to be trashed.
He’d found it by the cabinet near the door. The moment he picked it up, the camera shut itself off. It was still off now.
He stared at it for a while before glancing down at the bite marks on his chest. Slowly, the corner of his lips curled into a dangerously intriguing smile.
No one had dared to pull a stunt like that on him.
She was definitely one of a kind.