SIMOUN'S POV

"Your private jet is fueled up and ready to go by five in the morning. The pilot will be expecting you, and the second we land in Japan. There's a car I'll have waiting for us. We'll check in at our hotel, catch a bit of sleep, then prepare for our meeting with Onel Satoh that evening," Kai said.

"You have a penthouse suite booked, correct?" I asked.

"I do."

"And the car has tinted windows?"

"It does."

"And you'll be driving. Not someone else?"

"I'd never stick you with someone you haven't vetted yourself. Not since the incident."

"Good. You're the only person I remotely trust at the moment. And until we get through this stuff with Mr. Satoh, you're the only one I trust. We're there for the week, correct?"

"Yes, sir. One week in Japan, wining and dining Mr. Satoh until he can't do anything but say yes. However, there's one last preparation we need to discuss."

I shook my head as I swiveled my chair and gazed out the window of my office.

"We've been over this," I said. "I don't need a fake fiancée hanging off my arm during this trip."

"You told me to set this up so that you were in a position to win, no matter what. Onel Satoh comes from royalty. That's how old his money is. And since we'll be in his territory, we have to abide by his rules and traditions."

"And tradition states I need a fiancée?"

"Tradition states a man of your wealth and age should already be married with a child, but I'm settling for a fiancée."

"No."

"Sion, Onel's perspective concerning stability and security is paramount. He doesn't trust a man who doesn't have a woman at his side."

"Explain to me again why that is? Without throwing the word 'tradition' around."

"Where Onel comes from, if a woman approves of a man, then anyone else can. In his world, women are the strongest vetters of men there are. Onel won't trust or do business with a man without at least a fiancée because, in his eyes, if a man cannot get a woman to trust him, a man isn't capable of doing anything else. Plus, I've done some research into his other partners."

"Let me guess. They're family men," I said.

"All of them. Each with their own wife, children, and sometimes mistress on the side."

"Nice to know they have a moral code," I said flatly.

"You have to play the part if you're going to secure this for our company," Kai said. "At least until the deal is signed. The fake fiancée will give the perspective that you are stable enough to take this on, and then we can arrange some sort of argument. A dissolution of the engagement. You'll stand on your own, Onel will get a taste of how you stand on your own without a family, and all will be settled."

I shook my head as I ran my finger across my upper lip. I didn't like this. I didn't enjoy playing pretend. Fake wasn't something I did. Smoke and mirrors were something I avoided wholly. This was the part of my business I detested the most. Schmoozing future clients and partners and having to make all sorts of small talk. I wanted to get down to business. I wanted to strip away all the niceties and lay out the pros and cons of every move we were to make as partners from here until the end. That was how I operated.

But apparently, Onel Satoh worked under pomp and circumstance.

"I'm there to make a deal. Not play house," I said.

"And playing house is one of the ways to seal this deal. If you want to succeed, then we'll discuss what kind of woman you want hanging off your arm," Kai said.

I sighed and closed my eyes. I wanted this deal. More than anything. I'd lived it and breathed it for months, and the time had come to meet face-to-face and sign the paperwork. I knew there was a catch the second Onel didn't want to fly to us. He'd been flying into the Philippines from Japan every chance he got. The tables were turned, and I was being asked to step up to the plate, and I had to admit that Kai had never steered me wrong before. Even if his plans seemed a little off the rails.

"Okay," I said.

"Okay?" Kai asked.

"Yes. Okay. But I have no idea where you're going to find a woman that will impress the likes of old royalty like Satoh and hold herself with a poise expected of a woman at my side."

"A professional, of course," he said.

"A professional that won't want to sink her claws into Manila's most eligible and richest bachelor?"

"Nice to know you don't have an ego."

I turned my chair back around as a grin slid across my face.

"The magazine called me that. Not myself. And if we're going to do this, we're going to do it perfectly. I'll have picky standards, from how she looks to how she speaks."

"Hence a professional," he said again.

"I'm curious as to what you mean by that."

Kai began typing on his laptop as I drew in a deep breath. He'd been my right-hand man at G.P.S software ever since its inception. What began as a company developing GPS software with military uses grew into technology I spun off into a dozen different subsidiaries over the years. After the military made my technology standard in all their drones and newly developed ships, the money I raked in went to other projects I founded in different countries for different reasons. And Kai had been there to oversee every single one. A friend since college, an equal partner in my businesses, and the only person I trusted after my childhood best friend stole my technology right from underneath me and attempted to sell it as his own.

Good thing it was only the first beta and was riddled with bugs that needed patching.

I spent all my time working. It was the only thing I knew. I had an ensuite bathroom and small bedroom attached to my penthouse office suite on the top floor of my headquarters in Manila City. Besides the view from my penthouse apartment, it was my favorite place to sit and overlook the city. The press constantly hounded me about who I was dating, if I was married, if the woman that had come forward and professed her child to be mine was, in fact, mine.

But I didn't date. I had no time. No patience. No trust when it came to people.

I didn't enjoy the game of it all. The sitting down for dinner and plastering on smiles. The fake laughs at jokes that were never meant to be funny. And I sure as hell didn't enjoy women contorting themselves in bed to my every whim just so I'd pull out my wallet for them in the future. I didn't enjoy games and I didn't enjoy facades, so dating wasn't something I indulged in.

Work was the only thing that stayed honest and ungirded, raw and vulnerable without any shame or shadow.

Work was my only love. My only passion in life. And my bank account boasted of the success I'd had over the years.

"This is what I mean," Kai said.

His voice ripped me from my trance, and I watched him set his laptop down in front of me.

A website entitled "Executive Call Girls" sat on the screen, and I rolled my eyes. A legal prostitute. Great. I sighed and shook my head, my eyes closing as a headache began to creep up on me.

"Here, read their 'about' section."

"The callgirl site has an about section?" I asked.

"Just read it, asshole."

A chuckle fell from my lips as I opened my eyes. They flickered across the screen, taking in the promises the company said they could deliver on. Intelligent women. Decorous women. Discreet escorts for businessmen on the go. Discreet was nice. She'd have to keep her mouth shut on the deal at hand. But I didn't simply need someone intelligent; I needed a woman with grace. A woman with poise. A woman with a taste for muted decadence and one who would keep her legs closed around the rest of the rich men I'd be around for an entire week.

"You want to hire me a high-class call girl," I said.

"From the research I've done, they provide the most tailored experience and the best women to do exactly what we need for the next week."

"Did you try this out personally?"

Kai groaned as he reached over and clicked a button.

"Look through these pages. You can tailor down what you're looking for in a woman, though I already set a few parameters," Kai said.

"Foreign languages?" I asked.

"Yes. I already filtered it down to a woman who can speak multiple languages, a woman who has a bit of talent outside of sitting and drinking wine, and a woman with curvier features." My eyes locked on to Kai's as he sighed.

"Just look through the women. There's pages of them, Sion. We have to nail this. And if you want to nail this, then you have to pick a woman. Simple as that."

"I'm not nailing her, if that's what's required of me."

"Nope. Only the perception," he said.

"Good. The last thing I need is some call girl thinking this is a James Bond 007 movie."

"Nice reference drop. I'll applaud you later."

I pulled the laptop to me and began clicking through the pages. Women with jet-black hair and blonde hair. Brown eyes and green eyes. Some women had tattoos, and others were talented artists. Jugglers. Fire breathers?

No.

I clicked through four pages of women before my eyes fell onto one of them. Amber, no last name. I pulled up her profile and began to read her talents, and one of them jumped out at me immediately. The young woman was fluent in Japanese and also familiar with the world of finance. That would help me greatly during my stay in Tokyo. But when I clicked on her profile picture and toggled through the five photos she had on her page, I was blown away when I saw the sexy brunette with sloping curves and breasts that made me want her in front of me and not Kai.

"Ah, she's a good one. She caught my eye as I was flipping through the pages."

I jumped at Kai's voice as he peered over my shoulder.

"How long have you been there?" I asked.

"Long enough to see how long you've been staring at her picture. She'd be perfect for the role. Especially with that long neck. Slap a decent set of pearls on it, stick her in a black cocktail-"

"Find another one," I said.

I shoved the laptop to him before I scooted my chair back.

"But she's perfect."

"Find another one," I said plainly.

That was the issue. She was perfect. Too perfect, with those beautiful hazel eyes and long limbs that held curves I already wanted to sink my teeth into. I came across plenty of women my cock wanted throughout the day, but it had been a long time since I'd wanted to jump into bed with one of them. And the sight of Amber in those pictures alone made me struggle. No. She was the worst option. I didn't know if I'd be able to resist the temptation of what she held between her legs if she was at my side an entire week. I didn't know if I'd be able to not take advantage of all the talents a call girl had at her disposal.

"Are you sure?" Kai asked.

"Positive," I said as I grabbed my suit coat. "I'm going home to pack. You should do the same."

"Already have."

"Good," I said. "And seriously. Pick someone else."

"I heard you, sir."

I shot him a look as he packed up his things, then waited until he walked out of my office. I didn't care that he was upset. I also didn't care that she had the skill set I needed for this trip. If a pair of long, juicy legs like hers were pressed against me for any amount of time underneath a dinner table, I'd be paying Onel Satoh absolutely no mind.

Not when I was trying to bury my fingers into what I knew would be a warm, tight pussy.

SIMOUN'S POV

I flipped through my phone, checking my emails while my eyes darted to the clock on my phone. Not only was Kai in the fucking hospital with food poisoning all of a sudden, the woman he apparently hired to occupy my side was late. Kai's "bright idea" to seal this deal for me was fifteen minutes late. I hated it when others were late. I hated it more than not working. Punctuality ruled my world, and this sorry excuse for a woman already had me fifteen minutes behind schedule. A had a dozen different businesses I ran within a given day. I couldn't afford to wait hand and foot on a woman who spent too much time dousing on mascara and applying fake eyelashes.

I glanced out the window as I shot a text off to Kai. didn't like that he was sick. Not only did that leave me down the only person I trusted in my world, but I couldn't stay behind to make sure he was okay. Kai was a bachelor like myself, so if the hospital staff weren't taking care of him, then he was in bed until things like this passed. I should've known things would go terribly wrong once he told me he was sick and not able to make it to Japan.

"Miss Villadoza?"

"Yes, Mr. Cardenas?"

"Go ahead and close the door. Apparently, my other passenger isn't going to be making it either," I said.

"Yes, Mr. Cardenas. We'll get you up in the air soon enough."

I watched my personal flight attendant walk over to the stairs to get them pulled up. I tried Kai's bright idea. It wasn't my fault the woman didn't know how to set an alarm. I tried it, and it didn't work. Which meant I was officially off the hook. Then, I heard the clicking of heels coming up the stairs.

"Sir?" the flight attendant asked.

"Yes?"

"I believe your party has arrived."

A woman came around the corner, and the second I saw her, two things happened. My cock stiffened against my pants, and my anger flew out of control. I gripped my phone tightly as the long-legged, brown-haired beauty came walking down the aisle with her head held high, her long neck accented with a dainty emerald necklace and her suitcase rolling behind her.

It was the beauty I told Kai not to hire.

When it rained in my world, it poured.

"Mr. Cardenas. I'm Amber. Your companion for the week."

She came close and held out her hand, and her scent blanketed me. Musky, with a slight hint of fruit. An expensive scent that forced all the veins in my groin to pulse. I looked down at her hand, at the dainty fingers decorated in the slimmest rings. Rose gold, a beautiful color that accented the lightly tanned nature of her softness. I was so distracted by her grace and her long, fluid legs that I'd almost forgotten to respond.

This was exactly what I didn't want to happen.

Exactly what I didn't need this week.

"Simoun Cardenas," I said as I took her hand. "But call me Sion. Or any other pet name you wish to regard me as for the week."

"I took a look at the file my boss put together on you. I thought something along the lines of 'honey' or 'darling' might suffice."

I whipped my gaze up to hers, and she graced me with the smallest grin. A sense of humor. A dry sense of humor.

My cock throbbed as I gazed into her hazel eyes.

Her long brown hair was set in natural waves that cascaded just beyond her shoulders. Her eyes were highlighted with a neutral eyeshadow and cat-winged eyeliner that drew me into her mysterious grace. Her shoulders were strong yet harnessed a delicacy that dripped into her voluptuous bosom. Her waist fell inward, beckoning to my hands as I took in the softness and warmth of her handshake. I released her, concerned that if I kept a grip on her I'd soon find my palms at her hips with my face between her thighs.

What I wouldn't give to toss those legs over my shoulders and fold her in half.

"Mr. Cardenas? Miss Amber? It's time to buckle up and take off."

I peeled my gaze away from her face and nodded toward my flight attendant.

"Of course, thank you, Miss Villadoza. Amber, won't you take a seat?"

"I'll get these for you," the flight attendant said as she took Amber's suitcase.

She sat down with ease into the leather seat across the aisle from me. Her deft fingers quickly buckled her body into the seat before she crossed one smooth leg over the other. My eyes drifted along her lines, along the long form she donned before taking in her heels-red-bottomed with a black, sleek outline. Saucy, but with a conservative cover. I felt the back of my neck heat as I cleared my throat.

I didn't have time for distractions. Not when a huge deal like Onel Satoh's partnership was on the line. I released the grip on my phone and opened up a text message to Kai. I had a very serious bone to pick with him.

To: Kai

What the hell is wrong with you? This was the woman I specifically asked you not to request.

He shot back with a response that made me chew on my inner cheek.

From: Kai

I did. Her name was Samara. But her passport was expired, and Amber was the only other woman with the necessary skills to pull this off. She'll be fine. Good luck.

I was tempted to shoot him a text message back to tell him to choke on his own vomit, but I resisted. The plane began to taxi on the tarmac, and I slipped my phone in my pocket. I needed to calm myself down. Take deep breaths and not think about the fact that the most beautiful woman alive was sitting across the damn aisle from me. I snuck a glance at her and watched her turn her head. That long, graceful neck swiveled, and her veins rolled underneath her glistening skin. I held back a groan as I watched her gaze out the window, losing herself in her own little world as she folded her hands in her lap.

She was perfect for the role. Even when she thought no one was looking at her, she held herself with a poise I only found in women raised with riches around them.

I wondered what her life was like outside of that website.

"Have you ever been to Japan before?"

Her voice caught me off guard as the plane leveled out in the air.

"I haven't," I said.

"It's a beautiful place. I enjoy walking around it at night. I went to see one of my favorite operas in the New National Theater Tokyo."

She turned her gaze to me, and I watched her eyes twinkle.

"You enjoy opera," I said.

"Very much so. My favorite Madama Butterfly , but Kurofune is a very close second. There's this bakery that sits not too far down from the opera house, actually. They make these wonderful apple strudels that make me salivate even before I turn the corner. And if you make your way to the 'snack market,' as they so accurately call it, there's this chocolate shop that has a small edible city that lines the wall of the shop. You can actually pay a small fee and choose what part of the city you want to devour and then watch them make a replacement in the back. It's incredible. One of my favorite places to go, by far."

I sat there, entranced by the look on her face. She talked as if she knew the place well. The sparkle in her lovely eyes pulled me in, but the lilt in her voice and the happiness she seemed to exude kept me hooked. She told me stories of strolling up and down the streets and the street performers that had pulled her into her acts.

I enjoyed listening to her talk.

"What do you do for fun?" she asked.

I drew in a deep breath as a small smile crossed her cheeks.

"I read," I said.

"Oh, so do I. Though I'm a sucker for my tried-and-true love stories. What do you read?"

"Technical manuals. Business books. Self-help things. I enjoy staying on top of my industry as well as my mental health."

"Mental health is very important," she said. "For many, it's a constant struggle. It's a facet of many people's lives that goes unchecked because of the stigma it comes with in this culture."

A sadness permeated her eyes for a split second, and I wanted to ask her about it. But she changed the subject before I could.

"What about movies? Do you enjoy any recent ones?"

"Not really a movie-goer," I said. "Don't own a television."

"Isn't technology your industry?"

"It is, but that doesn't mean I enjoy surrounding myself with it when I'm not working."

"Are you ever not working?" she asked with a grin.

I chuckled and shook my head. She was intuitive. Another facet of her I enjoyed.

This really wasn't good.

"Would either of you enjoy anything now that our flight has stabilized?" Miss Villadoza asked.

"I would love a mimosa, if it's possible," Amber said.

"I'll take one as well," I said.

"Anything to eat?" Miss Villadoza asked.

"I'm okay for now, but thank you," Amber said.

"Two mimosas will be all, thank you," I said.

I had every intention of ignoring the drink, but I needed to get into the habit of doing things alongside her. If she ordered something, then I needed to order something. That was how being a couple worked, right? I knew she was asking me questions and telling me stories so I had some so I had some sort of backstory on her, so I needed to make sure I got into the same groove-to learn the same kinds of things about her in case Onel started asking me things about my fiancée.

The flight attendant came back with the mimosas, and Amber reached for hers. And the second she did, her dress rode up her thigh. The soft skin came into view, riding up just beyond the middle of it, and suddenly I was reaching for my drink and taking it down in one gulp. My mouth felt dry. My cock screamed out in anger. She lowered herself back into her seat, but her dress stayed put, taunting me with its softness and direct trail to the place where a woman's body was always warm.

Before I knew it, I was on my third mimosa and feeling very mellow.

Damn it. This was the problem-the issue with women like Amber. I shoved my empty glass away and pulled out my phone, relegating myself to something else other than conversing with my call girl for the week.

"So, what exactly does your business-"

"I need to work," I said.

I felt her look over at me, and I forced myself not to look back.

"Then I suppose I'll take a nap," she said.

"Enjoy."

I started responding to emails and checking on certain things as Amber leaned herself back. I had no idea how long I was staring at my phone, but the second I heard soft, even breaths coming across the aisle, I could no longer keep my eyes away from her. I tried not to stare at her as the hours passed. I attempted to get as much work done as I could. But she was too damn beautiful, and I had way too much champagne in my empty stomach.

It was going to be a very long week.

AMBER'S POV

By the time we landed in Japan, it was after midnight their time. I stretched myself a bit as the flight attendant gathered my things, and I walked behind Simoun to disembark the jet. There was a car already waiting for us, blacked out and sleek as the night sky of Japan back dropped the airport we had descended into. I still felt groggy from the flight, but with each step I took toward the car, I grew excited.

Awake. Alert. I hadn't been in Japan since my days at boarding school in China and I couldn't wait to take in all the familiar sights and smells.

I missed my former life. It enabled me to travel the world in first class at the drop of a hat. I missed having my father around. I missed indulging my sweet tooth with him. I missed watching him and my mother kiss under the Cherry blossoms tree while I'm eating my favorite sushi.

Now, I was lucky if I didn't have to fly coach.

Being on Simoun's private jet was decadent, much like the life I used to live. I hauled my things into the back of the car, watching as he bypassed me with his nose in his phone. Well, I guess I didn't need to expect a gentlemanly demeanor from him during the week. I shut the trunk and slid in beside him, trying to keep up my poise while containing my excitement.

Simoun didn't strike me as the type of man to get excited about anything.

Without a word uttered between anyone, the driver pulled off the tarmac. We traveled through streets I recognized and rushed by shops I used to shop in as a little girl. I smiled as I peered out the window at the darkened world behind the tinted windows of the SUV The partition was rolled down, and Simoun was typing away on his phone, doing whatever it was he did.

I ran through some of the information he had fed me on the plane about himself, trying to piece together who this man might be. I needed to be able to talk intelligently about him and act as if we were in love. If I'd read the file right, I was acting as his supposed fiancée. That came with an entirely different set of parameters for how I needed to address him, appear around him, and act with him.

But I didn't have much to go on. Even after a nine-hour plane ride.

The car pulled into a very old, very expensive hotel I recognized immediately: Amanemu-ishe-shima National Park. I contained my excitement as it bubbled in my gut. I'd only been to this hotel once, and it was by far the best stay I'd ever had in the country.

And even though Simoun was quiet and removed, he really was a looker.

I stole a glance at him as he started talking to the driver.

He had dark blond hair swooped meticulously to the side. He was tall, with long legs that sprawled out and comfortably occupied the space he demanded as his own. His suits were tailored to his body, allowing my eyes a peek of the lean muscle he had underneath the layers of expensive fabrics. He had on thick-framed glasses that hid his emerald-green eyes, and his long, dexterous fingers continuously rolled over his phone screen. His hands were large, his legs were strong, and his wingspan was easily double mine. His jawline looked as if it had been chiseled from marble, and his pouty lower lip jutted out whenever he was deep in concentration.

Maybe making some bonus cash with him wouldn't be as distasteful as it usually was.

I enjoyed sex.

I was an independent woman at the prime of her life. I loved it, actually. I loved experimenting with it and sweating during it. I enjoyed the sounds and the tastes and the memories it created. I considered myself a strong, independent woman, one who owned up to her faculties in life and never once shied away from things many men traditionally expected a woman of my stature to shy away from. But that didn't mean having to pretend to be aroused with random rich men who wanted what they could pay for was enjoyable. In fact, it was the exact opposite And in a lot of ways, it had spoiled sex for me.

After my first three encounters with men who wanted nothing more than to do with me as they wished, I went the other route with my temporary career. Straight arm candy, and nothing else. I enjoyed that line of work. I enjoyed clients who wanted me to be charming, intelligent, and well-mannered without all of the other stuff that came along with the reputation of a "call girl." Of the three men I'd been with throughout my career, they had one equal complaint: that it didn't seem as if I was enjoying myself. And I hadn't. I couldn't. Sex was something to be enjoyed only when one's heart was in it.

And rich men who had diaper fetishes didn't trip my trigger the way it did theirs.

Then again, I was a call girl. So why should my heart be in it? I let out a silent sigh as Simoun climbed out of the car. If he had addressed me, I'd been too deep in my thoughts to notice. I slipped out of the car and pressed my heels into the ground, then wrapped around to the trunk and grabbed my things out of the back.

The driver was grabbing his things, and I had half a mind to tell 'Simoun darling, get your shit here.'

The penthouse suite of the hotel was gorgeous, quite unlike what I remembered from my childhood. Everything had been updated. The walls had been painted a gorgeous cream color-much better than the brown they used to be. The furniture was all new. That terrible leather was gone, and it had been replaced with a microfiber that felt almost like silk. I looked around the room and smiled. Part of me wanted to regale Simoun with the memories I had of this place.

And part of me wanted to go to my room and put space between us.

"I'm going to work for a few hours, then turn in early. If you want, you can order room service. Just charge it to the room. The bar, the fridge, the snack bar-all of it you can use. The spa services as well. I want you to use those. You'll need to be relaxed and look your best this week."

"Of course," I said. "I wouldn't have it any other way. I am very eager to try the tub in the bathroom, however, so I'll make sure to keep it down."

Simoun flickered his gaze up from his phone before he turned his back on me. Without another word, he dipped for his bag and made his way into his room. That man really had a stick up his ass. I rolled my things into my bedroom and headed straight for the bathroom, pouring an insane amount of bubbles into the hot water I had running. The tub was carved deep, made specifically for those with longer legs, like myself. The marble was beautiful, and I stroked it with my fingertips. The feel of luxury underneath my toes was something I'd missed. It reminded me of a time when I was happier. A time when my family was whole.

A time when my life felt complete and not like the chaotic disaster it had become.

I placed my folded clothes into a chair in the corner of the bathroom. Then, I slipped myself underneath the bubbles. They popped along my skin as the hot water took over, and my muscles relaxed with each second that passed. I ran my foot up my smooth leg, sighing as I leaned back.

I tried to ignore the throbbing between my legs as I closed my eyes.

Simoun was good-looking. And obviously, my body thought so as well. I leaned my head back and allowed the water to soak the tendrils of my hair. The bathroom filled with the scent of rose petals, and I smoothed the bubbles over my skin, cleaning myself of that long flight and the grogginess that still lingered upon my mind.

Then, my stomach let out the loudest growl I'd ever heard in my life.

Despite the finger foods I'd had on the jet, my stomach still roared for more. So much for a long, hot bath. I slipped from the bubbles and unplugged the tub, then reached for the fluffy robe hanging on the back of the bathroom door. I wrapped myself up in its warmth and sighed. I closed my eyes and imagined the arms of my father enveloping me in their comfort. Tears rushed to the back of my eyes, and I shook them away, setting my sights on food. I needed food, not to be stuck in my past.

I headed out of my bedroom and made my way into the living room. I picked up the phone on the table and dialed the kitchen, then ordered a miniature feast fit for a queen: matsutake mushroom, a shrimp cocktail, kujira, a bottle of red wine, ruby roman grapes, and a matcha cake for dessert. I set the phone down and made my way to the couch, falling down onto it, my robe running up my legs. I sighed as

I sank into its softness. It cradled me like a cloud as I propped my heels onto the arm of it. I reached down and wiped away a small trail of bubbles that led up the outside of my thigh, the sensation causing me to giggle. My robe fell down my body even more, exposing my damp skin to the air-conditioning of the room.

Goose bumps puckered against my legs as I reached for the blanket tossed over the back of the couch.

Then, a small movement caught the corner of my eye.