The morning light filtered through the hotel curtains, casting a soft glow over the room. Evan groggily blinked awake, feeling an odd sense of exhaustion despite having slept for hours.

  Then the memories of st night came rushing back.

  His wrists ached slightly, and as he turned his head, he caught sight of the faint red marks circling them. He let out a sigh, rubbing his temples. She’s a devil. There was no other expnation.

  The so-called reward he had expected had turned into a night of pure Sienna’s revenge. Blindfolded, restrained, and entirely at her mercy—she had taken full advantage of the situation. And the worst part?

  He had enjoyed it. Way more than he was willing to admit.

  Evan groaned and flopped onto his back, staring at the ceiling. Next time, when it’s my turn… He smirked to himself. She’s going to regret every second of st night.

  He turned his head and saw Sienna, dressed immacutely in business casual, her sharp eyes glinting with amusement. In her hands, she carried a steaming cup of coffee.

  “Morning, sleepyhead,” she said, strolling over. “Sleep well?”

  Evan gave her a deadpan look as he sat up, wincing slightly. “You know I didn’t.”

  Sienna simply smirked, setting the coffee on the bedside table. “Oh? I seem to remember you being very… responsive st night.”

  Evan’s face heated, but he quickly masked it with a scoff. “I was suffering.”

  She chuckled, tilting her head. “Mhm. Keep telling yourself that.”

  He shot her a gre, but the red on his ears betrayed him. Sienna, of course, caught it instantly.

  Before he could say anything, she sat beside him on the bed and gently reached for his arm. “Let me see.”

  Evan blinked as she took his wrists in her hands, her fingers brushing over the marks with surprising tenderness. She sighed. “You bruise too easily.”

  He looked away. “Not my fault you went overboard.”

  Sienna gave him a knowing gnce but didn’t argue. Instead, she pulled out a small tube of ointment from her pocket, squeezed some onto her fingers, and started rubbing it onto his skin. The cool sensation made him shiver slightly.

  Evan kept his gaze elsewhere, refusing to acknowledge how nice it felt. “Did you pn this?” he muttered.

  She hummed thoughtfully. “Define this.”

  “You tying me up and—” He coughed, trailing off.

  Sienna chuckled, her grip on his wrist tightening slightly in amusement. “Oh, sweetheart,” she teased, “if I had pnned it, you wouldn’t be sitting up so easily right now.”

  Evan choked on air, whipping his head toward her with wide eyes. “You—”

  She gave him an innocent smile. “What?”

  He groaned, yanking his hand away and grabbing his coffee. “I hate you.”

  Sienna simply ughed, leaning back on her hands. “No, you don’t.”

  Evan grumbled under his breath as he took a sip of the coffee. It was exactly how he liked it. Damn her for knowing his preferences so well.

  A comfortable silence settled between them for a moment before Sienna stretched her arms. “Well, we’ve got a meeting soon. Time to get moving.”

  Evan exhaled, finally gathering himself. “Yeah, yeah. Let’s get this over with.”

  As she stood up and walked toward her suitcase, Evan stole a gnce at her. She looked completely at ease, as if she hadn’t just tormented him the night before.

  His grip tightened around his coffee cup.

  Sienna Lancaster, you may have won this round… but just wait until next time.

  A slow smirk curled at his lips as he started plotting his revenge.

  ***

  "Alright," she said, her tone steady and focused. "Today, we're talking about battery storage solutions, which is going to be critical for Lancaster Energy. We’re moving into energy storage as a way to expand our capabilities with renewable energy, and GreenWave Technologies is one of the leading companies in this field."

  Evan nodded, making sure to take mental notes. Sienna continued, expining the importance of these partnerships to their long-term business strategy, but Evan’s mind wasn’t entirely focused on the subject. He still couldn’t shake the thoughts of st night, his pride a little bruised.

  She gave him a gnce when he didn’t immediately respond. “You with me?”

  “Yeah,” Evan replied, forcing himself to tune back in. “Just a little... distracted.”

  “Hmm, I wonder why,” she said with a smirk. “You’re not still upset about st night, are you?”

  Evan shot her a look, but said nothing. His silence was enough of an answer, and Sienna seemed quite pleased by it.

  “Focus up,” she said, her tone shifting back to professional. “We’ll be meeting with GreenWave’s CTO and their Senior Engineer. We need to make sure we understand how their innovations can fit into Lancaster Energy’s future pns.”

  Evan nodded, though he knew the meeting would go smoothly. Sienna had a way of getting exactly what she wanted, and it was clear this partnership was no different.

  Later, in the te morning, they found themselves at GreenWave’s headquarters, a sleek, modern building filled with cutting-edge technology. The CTO and Senior Engineer were already waiting in the conference room, and the discussions proceeded seamlessly.

  Sienna led the conversation with practiced ease, asking insightful questions, challenging assumptions, and always steering the discussion in the direction that best suited Lancaster Energy’s goals. Evan listened, mostly content to observe, though his mind wandered occasionally to st night’s events. He couldn't help but feel a sense of excitement mixed with frustration.

  As the meeting wrapped up, they stood to shake hands with the GreenWave team, and Evan instinctively extended his hand, only to see the Senior Engineer gnce down at his wrists. The engineer’s gaze lingered for a moment too long before his eyes shot back up to Evan’s face, a slight raise of his brow betraying his curiosity.

  Evan felt a flush creeping up his neck, his hand freezing for a split second. The engineer’s gaze was subtle, but Evan had noticed it, and now he was painfully aware of the faint marks left from the cuffs—small but noticeable. The Senior Engineer cleared his throat, shaking Evan’s hand with a little more formality than necessary, but didn’t say anything. The awkwardness hung in the air for a moment.

  Sienna, watching the entire exchange, couldn’t suppress the grin that spread across her face. She leaned in slightly, her voice low enough for only Evan to hear. “I see my handiwork is still on dispy,” she teased, a pyful spark in her eyes.

  Evan quickly withdrew his hand, trying to hide his embarrassment. “Shut up,” he muttered, but the heat in his cheeks betrayed him. He couldn't help but be flustered by how easily Sienna was enjoying his discomfort.

  Sienna, however, only seemed to find his reactions more amusing. "You're cute when you’re embarrassed," she said with a knowing smirk, clearly loving every second of his unease.

  The Senior Engineer was quick to shift his attention elsewhere, sensing the awkward moment, and Sienna gave Evan a sympathetic pat on the back as they all made their way out of the conference room. But Evan couldn’t shake the feeling that the marks on his wrists were the topic of silent conversation between the engineers, even if no one spoke of it.

  Back at the hotel, the excitement of the day’s progress quickly faded as they were met with an unexpected downpour. The sky darkened, rain hitting the windows with an almost angry force, completely ruining their pns to go sightseeing.

  Sienna, however, remained unfazed. “Looks like we’ll have to put that on hold,” she said, her voice smooth as she grabbed her ptop and settled into a corner of the room. “I’ll get some work done. You can amuse yourself however you like.”

  Evan, with nothing else to do, decided to take a short stroll around the hotel’s lobby, his mind still preoccupied with the strange mix of emotions from the past few days. When he returned to the room, feeling restless, he flopped down onto the bed.

  A few minutes passed, and after a long stretch of silence, he grabbed his phone and started texting Finn.

  Finn:

  Wait, you’re texting me while on a weekend getaway? Is everything alright with you and Sienna?

  Evan frowned at the phone. Finn was always ready to tease him. He typed a quick response.

  Evan:

  Yeah, it’s fine. Just... bored. Thought I’d check in with you.

  Finn:

  Bored? You? What’s she doing?

  Evan hesitated. His mind wandered back to st night, his wrists still stinging lightly. The thoughts of Sienna, of the way she had handled him, made his stomach do a strange flip. He bit his lip, not realizing that his fingers had already started typing.

  Evan:

  I need to come up with a revenge pn for st night.

  His eyes widened the moment the text was sent. Shit. He quickly unsent it, his heart hammering in his chest.

  Finn had already seen the message, though. Evan could almost hear the cogs turning in his friend’s head.

  Finn:

  Wait, what was that? Revenge pn? Dude… Did you two—? OMG”

  Evan cursed under his breath, looking at his phone in a mix of panic and regret.

  Evan:

  Nothing. Forget about it.

  Finn, ever the curious one, responded quickly.

  Finn:

  Right. Sure. Lately, I’ve come to discover a whole new side of you. Anyway, If things are what I think they are, you’re about to make a huge mistake.

  Evan stared at the text. What does he mean by that?

  Evan:

  What do you mean?

  Finn responded with a knowing tone, almost like he was giving him life advice.

  Finn:

  If you do what you’re thinking, that revenge is going to backfire.

  Evan frowned, confused.

  Finn:

  Think about it. Whatever you're plotting, isn’t that just a reward for her? If you try to get her back, you'll just end up giving her what she wants.

  Evan groaned, leaning back against the bedframe. Great. More advice from Finn.

  For someone who was usually so quiet and reserved, Finn sure had a lot of opinions about Evan’s love life. And honestly? He was a little too passionate about it.

  Finn:

  What you need to do is make her earn it. Let her wait. Let her feel like she’s missing something. Trust me. The next time, she’ll be a lot more aware.

  Evan scratched his head, conflicted. On one hand, he hated the idea of holding back, of giving up sex tonight. On the other hand, Finn made a solid point.

  He typed back slowly, thinking it over.

  Evan:

  Fine. I’ll try it your way. But you owe me if this goes wrong.

  Finn:

  Deal. Now get some rest, and stop letting her run the show.

  Evan sat in the silence that followed, staring at his phone. His mind buzzed, but a part of him already regretted this new pn. Was he really going to hold back tonight? Would it work?

  Sienna, however, seemed utterly unaffected by his inner turmoil. When she gnced at him from her corner, her eyes narrowed slightly, a knowing smile tugging at her lips.

  “What’s with the face?” she asked, a pyful glint in her gaze.

  Evan turned his head, doing his best to act aloof. He crossed his arms and simply muttered, “Nothing.”

  She raised an eyebrow, clearly amused. "Oh really?"

  Evan didn’t respond. He stared at his phone again, pretending to focus on it.

  Sienna watched him for a moment longer, then shrugged. "Alright then. Let’s see how this goes."

  The night dragged on slowly. After dinner, Evan followed Finn’s advice reluctantly and headed to bed early, hoping his pn would pay off. He tried to ignore the way his heart raced every time he heard Sienna moving around in the room. He hoped, for once, that pying the part of the "reluctant one" would teach her a lesson.

  LunarEcho