s suite. Hanna dropped her suitcase with a heavy thud onto the silk carpet an

steel. "Tomorrow morning, we're asking for another room. Make something up-tell them you snore, that I need spac

nce. He unbuttoned the first button of his shirt and turne

o took a step toward her, lowering his voice. "If the maid comes in tomorrow and sees one of the guest beds has b

ed. "But it's still a shared space. I can't... I can't just close my

ut a dry, hum

includes the whole package, Hanna. That means, behind closed doors, this is our sanctuary. If we start with separate rooms, the staf

. "My peace of mind is not for sale. If I don't sleep, I won't be able to

ding only inches away. Hanna could smel

se: either you sleep in that bed with me"-he pointed to the mattress-"or you settle for that small armchair. But you aren't

arce closing in on her. The silence in the room grew heavy, broken only by the ti

a. It wasn't a mere whim; it was her final trench in mai

elvet

g. The opulence of the room seemed to shr

ed," she said, pointing to the gray velvet sofa at the foot of the window. "I'll s

iece of furniture. It was elegant but cle

sleep on," he remarked dryly. "You're going to wake up with a wrecked neck and a terrible mood

tting coldness. "To you, this is a business, a strategy. To me, sleep is the only thing I have left that doesn't bel

of her words. He watched as she walked to the closet, pulled out

ickle of irritation. "If you look like a zombie in front of my parents tomorrow, t

back and settling into the narrow seat, marking

ght across the velvet sofa. Hanna was curled in a ball, wrapped in the blanket,

nt before leaving. He watched her in silence. The determination of the previous night now looked like a tired fr

t Elena, the head

djusting his cufflinks with a mechanical gestur

Montes," the woman

e whatever she asks for. And make sure all the staff is at her full disposal. I want her treate

gio left the house, leaving a

ours l

had run over her. She sat up with difficulty, rubbing her eyes, and the fi

at the door

instructions to attend to you as soon as you woke up. Would you like breakfast in the garden

d her to sleep in that room against her will, but now he seeme