Bilal was taken aback when he realized the emotion that gripped his visceral when Madina side hugged Fox. He swallowed a thick little gob in his throat while cocking his head to the side trying his paramount strength to appear interested in what Daneen was saying but he couldn't.

His mind was elsewhere, right behind them.

It was jealousy, he realized with great dismay. A burning sensation creeped and wired it's way from his stomach then forked out to his chest like coronary infarction. The abs in his stomach steeled like a stone while he clasped his fingers into fists to keep them from doing anything brash.

He was jealous over a wee termagant who insulted and nagged him at every opportunity. Was this some new level of depravity? Had he developed a prostitute fetish? Or does it have anything to do with their stay here in Peru?

When you're attracted to someone it doesn't come along with jealousy, it is purely for their body and nothing more. Why this crippling urgency to get his fist in Fox's fine face and make him look grotesque? To see torment reflecting in the other man's eyes while vindication inundate him?

Bilal excused himself from the flight attendants and went to where Madina was standing with Fox and Mahfuz by both sides in a sort of protective way that should have no relationship with the irk snaking through his veins.

He scoffed inwardly at the that. They do not a thing about this woman they want to protect.

All of them greeted him though Madina's came out begrudgingly like she's doing it because of the men around her not because she wanted to. She doesn't listen to him and he wants their professional life not to mingle with their personal life which is why it never bothered him when she never address his presence in the suite.

Well, it did at some point but then this is Madina Sambo. The most stubborn wee thing he's ever met in his whole life.

Here though? She shouldn't try that because he won't hesitate to either give her a query or fire her. It doesn't matter how deep and abysmal this attraction is, he won't let her disrespect him further than she's already done.

"Miss Sambo, your shoes aren't fit for hiking or perhaps you heard that we were going to the club?" Bilal couldn't stop himself from hauling the scorn right in her face watching it scrunch in that feisty cute anger.

She stood straighter, her chest curled and a brow raised. "I'm perfectly aware of where we are going, Mr. Garo. And you can see that my outfit isn't fit for club either so yeah, I'm going to hike in my heels."

Bilal bit back an awful slander because of the employees around them. To them, he is an impeccable leader and an intelligent cybersecurity guru that has never done a single fallacious thing in his entire life. To them, he's never sinned neither has he insulted a mere mosquito for biting him.

He wants to keep that image in them.

"Well, as long as it suits you and doesn't inconvenient us. Let's move along." He turned around and walked away, balling and releasing his fists repeatedly.

What was the use of going to them when he simply could've just called them over? That woman is going to be his ticket straight to the deep fathomless hell meant only for people like her. First, his impenetrable will to sin because her and second his inscrutable desire to throttle her.

Alternately he cursed Madina and wanted Madina, damned her in waking moments and held her in his dreams.

They filed inside the Cadillac XT6 is a three-row luxury SUV with room for seven people in a nicely appointed cabin. Madina sat at the back with her two men, the air hostesses in front of them and Bilal up front. A car pulled behind them where two of his men mounted before they took off.

On the way, Madina requested that they play some music because she cannot stay suffocated in the car with people listening to their breaths while they make awkward conversations quietly. The driver gladly obliged with a smile on his face. He was probably asphyxiating too.

She was shocked to find out Peruvian man was also a Davido fan so he played them his old song 'Gobe.' Bilal kept quiet throughout the whole ordeal because he wanted to keep avoiding her from now henceforth.

It was three hours later when they reached Vinicunca where Bilal paid for every single one of them from entrance tickets, round trip, lunch and some snacks. Once inside, Bilal watched as Madina struggled with her high heels while he gritted his teeth. The headstrong fool wouldn't just listen to him.

He followed the group as they maneuver around the place while keeping an eye on Madina chortling to himself when she almost landed face first on the chalky colorful sand like her shoes. The place is cold and it seems like she's the only quivering there.

Scoffing at his keen attention on her, Bilal moved ahead of her so he won't see her anymore and notice every single minutiae detail but halfway along he saw a woman selling sneakers and a cotton big plaid cashmere handmade scarf just the color of rainbow. Even though he forced himself to continue walking, he back tracked.

He purchased both sneakers and shawl from the woman and ask her to pack it in a bag for him while making sure none of his employees could see that disconcerting action he found himself doing. Even he can't wrap his head around what he was actually doing. Madina must've charmed him or maybe he just needs a doctor.

Yes! He will get an appointment and go see both a psychiatrist and a cardiologist for his mental health and heart condition.

Pivoting around, his eyes found her straightaway walking a lone path by herself while exploring with wide eyes. Fox and Mahfuz were racing each other while the other air hostesses were staring at an alpaca curiously. Bilal leisurely walked to where Madina was.

As soon as he joined in her short steps, she raised her head to glare at him as though she knew he was the one even before she gazed up making him wonder if he was the only one feeling this kind puzzled attraction. Not saying anything, he nudged the bag in her hands and continued walking beside her for a short while.

When she opened the bag suspiciously and saw the two items, there was a certain expression on her face that he couldn't tell what it meant but for a moment her entire face softened before she raised a brow at him.

Shrugging his shoulders at the unsaid question, he said. "Because you were stupid to come hiking with sneakers and body hug when it's freezing here."

Madina halted and crossed her arms beneath her chest. "Do you want me to thank you for them?"

"I don't need your thank you. Next time, listen to me so I won't have to act like a nice boss to you. I feel nauseous just buying you those." He put a cessation to his footfalls also, his height towering over her wee form but that didn't stop Madina from ever fearing him.

She may not know just how potent he is but she should still fear him as a much larger male. He stood well over a foot taller than she, and easily had a hundred and fifty pounds over her. He could crush her with one of his fists and not feel a trace of pain.

"Same here. Why don't you take them to those bimbos? I'm very sure they must be cold." She tried, he knew what she was doing so he evaded the best he could. He's great at the game she's playing at.

"I asked them and because they do listen to me, they are not cold neither do they need sneakers. It is all you, as usual." With that he strode off so he won't have to answer any of her questions.

He might just drag her somewhere and have his way with her. He is on edge.

An hour later he saw Madina again -as if you haven't been looking for her throughout- with an alpaca that has multicolored necklace-like stuff around it's neck while Fox takes several pictures of her. She's taken his hat and Mahfuz's sunglasses for the poses making him clench his hands again.

Why is she so damn close with them now? Are they seeing one another or something? He wants to find out and damn it, he needs to do something about it.

Not able to stop himself because it feels like his limbs are now working on their own with their own set of brains, he found himself closing the distance between them. Alpacas might be cute but they can be dangerous if not treated right and Madina might be doing the exact opposite.

The alpaca is a species of South American camelid mammal. It is similar to, and often confused with, the llama. However, alpacas are often noticeably smaller than llamas. Their fleece is one of the smoothest and versatile fibers that can be found in the market.

It is more resilient than mohair from the Angora goat. It is more refined compared to cashmere and shinier than silk.

Bilal broke into a run when he saw the alpaca close to Madina spitting uneasily. Knowing what that means, the alpaca is distressed and feels threatened which will result to Madina getting hurt because it is going to kick or bump her. She's touched the alpaca's tail and they do not like that at all.

He made it there just in time for the alpaca to kick her so Bilal pushed her to the side and took the hind leg hit. Since he's fought way too many battles to feel any pain, he remained standing and creeped to the alpaca slowly to ease its restlessness.

They always adore it when touched on top of their back, side of their neck or back with flat hand. He did just that while squatting down to fetch grasses from a basket nearby. When he made sure the alpaca is calm, he slowly moved back and let its caretaker take over.

Meandering around, he saw Madina still on the floor staring at him with miscellaneous wide eyes. Bilal couldn't help but roll his eyes at that while feeling Fox and Mahfuz's eyes behind him. Why didn't any of them stopped her? She would've been badly injured.

"And you care because? Yes, answer that. Why do you care when you loathe her?"

He gritted his teeth, he shouldn't have done that. But then again, they always knew about his gentleness which means they will give all fault to Madina whenever she talks bad about him. Then how is he going to console himself? Why does he fucking?

He passed her a smug smile then watched as she leisurely stood up whilst maintaining eye contact. Something stoked dying embers from within him but he didn't look away.

She stood, sauntering to him with that hip-swinging swagger that riveted his gaze and ratcheted up his pulse. His eyes were riveted to her movements in that ingenious garment -one created to make males fantasize about slowly unlacing those ties to free her bound flesh.

But other men are watching, dammit!

She came to stand right in front of him, eyes challenging and emotionless at the same time. The feminine smell of her was a potent aphrodisiac, causing him to respond like any rutting bull in heat, and he either had to have her or find some way of getting rid of his desire for her.

"You definitely deserve my thanks now." She said tonelessly, eyes moseying all over his facial features like she's seeing him for the first time.

"No. Go and cook it, I'm sure it'll be delicious." He felt uneasy with the way she was staring at him but refused to show it.

That elicited a teasing knowing smile from her face. That I-know-it-all look that he's always detested. "You've tasted my food before then? Did you perhaps, stole my food, sir?"

His scoff was immediate which almost confirmed that he's indeed stole her food. "Your coffee? Yes. But your food? What are you talking about?"

Madina gave a mocking laugh aloud, the sound bouncing around them. "Don't worry about it. I like keeping things for my knowledge only."

*^*

The night was long, restless and fire stoked that he couldn't sleep for the entire night after he's woken up with discomfort down south from a memory long ago. He's buried it because of reasons like this but it emerged today for some odd reasons.

It was when he's given Madina his virtue and she did the same while they were both ignorant on the topic but they knew they had to soothe that undying ache they used to feel for one another. Especially Madina who wouldn't stop clinging to him with desperate need and pure love.

Hurriedly Madina lowered her head, finding his mouth with her own, shivering slightly as they first touched. His lips were warm, firm, undemanding. He had no idea what to do even though he's seen his friends doing something similar, he was unaware of how to move his lips.

She knew that it was an inexpert kiss, for she did not know what to do too except to press her mouth against his... surely a man of his experience would not be satisfied by her un-worldliness, she had thought and whispered her concern to him.

"Bitty, you are the first women I've ever kissed in my entire life." He said, words choking in his throat, he couldn't let them out.

A younger Madina's face brightened like he's plucked the moon from above for her. "Really?"

But when she lifted her head with a shaky breath, Madina saw that Bilal had also been affected. His gaze was soft and hot with desire, his chest rising and falling a degree more quickly than before. Underneath her hands, his pulse had increased in strength and another organ of his that made her delirious.

The silence was broken only by the faint sputter of a horns blaring from the street.

Bilal was unaccountably touched by the innocence of the chaste caress. As Madina watched him with the wary courage of a kitten, he fought hard to tamp down the violent strength of his response to her, and he won the inner battle by only a hair. But the very next second they were both bare and did what only real adults should know how to do. Not someone without experience like himself.

Bilal stood up from the bed, wore sweats and went out to run in the dark. He would've gone crazy if he had stayed back in that suite for a second longer or barge into Madina's room unannounced and do the unthinkable. Which obviously shouldn't be an option he should contemplate.

His mind kept wandering back to one absorbing, exasperating subject, and he was completely occupied with thinking of a way to end this maddening situation. It was exhausting . Doting on the same woman because she is the only one till date that could make him feel such sinful things.

Never one to allow a problem to nag at him for long, Bilal came to the conclusion that he had to make some sort of decision soon. He would not let his reason be eroded by some little dark-eyed wench with a teasing I know it all smile and drop dead body.

He pushed himself until his lungs were heaving and his muscles quaked. Mud splashed up, all over his shuddering body, and still he ran. He won't stop until his feelings ebb and decamp. He must be crazy in the head or something.

It's safe to say he's ran until the sun was up but feelings were still there flaring like they were stirred.

Thank you so much for your prayers😭I'm overwhelmed because the exams are going smoothly so far. Three papers lefttttt...