That One Time Read Online Free Page B

tired.”
    She tried to protest but ended up yawning instead. He raised an arrogant brow at that, an ‘I told you’ expression on his face, and she grimaced.
    “Sleep.”
    “So bossy,” she retorted, but it was completely ruined by another yawn she couldn’t control. With a sigh, she snuggled closer to him.
    He wished he could place her on his lap but knew it would be too much, even for someone like him.
    “Tell me a story.”
    He rolled his eyes. “Do I look like a storyteller to you?”
    “Please.”
    “No.”
    “But I can’t sleep without a story.”
    “Are you seriously asking me to tell you a story?”
    “I’m seriously asking you to tell me a story.” And she promptly ruined that by giggling. She couldn’t help it, with Luuk sounding so aghast. Rubbing her eyes sleepily, she pleaded, “Just one, please? I have a hard time falling asleep when flying.”
    Letting out a frustrated sigh, he said, “What the hell do I know about bedtime stories?”
    “It doesn’t have to be a bedtime story like a fairytale,” she answered quickly. “It can be, like, anything…like…why are you flying to Amsterdam?”
    “It is where I live.” He should not have said that, but he had.  
    “Oh.” She waited for him to ask why she was flying to his city. When moments passed and he did not, she laughed, knowing that it was typical arrogance that had him refraining from asking any questions. She told him, “I’m on my way to Paris.”
    “I know,” he said dryly right away. “You let me read your travel itinerary, remember?”
    “Oh.” She made a face even with her eyes closed. “I forgot about that.”
    He chuckled. “You are sleepy. Admit it and go to sleep.”
    “I’m trying.”
    He sighed again. “What else do you want to know?”
    “Umm…what’s your job?”
    “Troubleshooting.”
    “Oh…” When he didn’t say anything else, she didn’t press him, thinking that he might be one of those types who were self-conscious about their jobs for whatever reason.
    Deciding it was his turn to ask, he returned the question to her.
    “My job? I’m a troubleshooter, too, in a way. I do search engine optimization for websites and blogs.”
    He was impressed. Nic had no doubt Ayah was a nice girl, but with how impressionable she seemed to be, he had assumed that she was not the type to have such a technical job. “You work for a company?”
    “I freelance. It’s how I get to travel.”
    They exchanged more questions and answers, her words becoming slurred and slurred, and in another few moments she was sleeping, her breathing becoming deep and regular.
    Her face was a picture of innocence – and it would not stay that way if, after this flight, he maintained contact with her.
    The hours passed.  
    He could not sleep, could not stop staring at her, and worst of all he could not find a way to convince himself that he did not feel anything for this woman he had known for less than a day.  
    She made him feel weak and powerful at the same time.
    She made him… feel, bottom line, and Nic just couldn’t have that.  
    The overhead light for the seatbelt option lit up and the pilot’s voice boomed out of the speakers as he announced the plane’s imminent safe landing in Amsterdam. He secured her seatbelt for her, but she did not stir.  
    The plane landed and still she did not wake.
    He was not the kind of man who believed in fate, but for this special girl whose trusting soul he had taken advantage of, Nic was willing to give it a try.  
    If she woke up, it meant…
    The plane had touched down, and the passengers started to walk past them. He straightened in his seat and with a swift scan of his surroundings, Nic saw that they were the only ones left.
    Still, she slept.
    He couldn’t breathe. Wake up, Ayah. Wake up. Wake up.  
    A flight attendant paused next to their aisle. “Sir?”
    He said hoarsely, “Let her sleep for a few more minutes. She’s exhausted.” The look on the other woman’s eyes