Chapter 4 - Mystery Man

Mystery Man's POV

"Damn it… those bastards…"

I fumbled for my key card with trembling fingers to get inside before the drug raging in my veins took full effect.

At the party just now, they’d tried every trick to pry the next project’s plans out of me. I refused—and this was their answer.

I wouldn’t let those fools off the hook. They thought sending a woman to break me would work.

Pathetic. Ever since that incident, no woman had been able to tempt me. No one stirred me anymore.

My assistant, Miles, stayed behind to clean up the mess. All I needed now was an ice bath.

But the hallway stretched longer than I remembered. My steps faltered. 1203, 1204, 1205…

And then, outside my room 1207, I saw her.

A woman.

She’d appeared suddenly there, hair dripping, skin damp from the pool, unsteady on her feet. Wrapped in nothing but a towel, she had looked up at me with those wide, hazy eyes.

My God… she was breathtaking.

Like a bee drawn helplessly to a flower, I found myself moving toward her, powerless to resist.

I had never felt so turned on. She ignited something in me no one else ever had. All rational thought vanished, and my primal instincts drove me to her.

Her lips had been warm, her skin impossibly soft. Her kiss—eager, dazed, unguarded—had drawn me in.

What had I said just moments ago? No woman could tempt me? Totally a joke.

Or was it just the drug tightening its grip on me?

Heat coiled low in my body, and I could feel myself straining against the confines of my clothes, unbearably hard.

I moved toward her instinctively, pulling her into my arms. I had never seen her before, but damn it—

The moment I kissed her, it was hard.

I’d never tasted lips so sweet. The sensation was overwhelming, devouring my reason—even when she moaned someone else’s name, I didn’t stop.

If anything, it sparked something—anger?

My kiss deepened, more forceful, my teeth catching her tongue like a small punishment. She didn’t back down—bit my lip in return.

The sting lit a fire in me.

Gripping her hand, I led her toward my room. I knew exactly what was about to happen.

A carefully planned drug, a woman thrown into my arms—If it was all arranged, why should I show her mercy?

Just when I almost pulled her to the bed, I heard her whisper the name again. "...Stan…"

It had snapped me out of the strange trance that had taken me over.

I had pulled away as disgust hit me like a wave. Not at her—but at the situation. At myself. At the sharp realization that I had come dangerously close to crossing a line I swore I never would. 

The thought made my stomach turn.

The drug in my system had made it worse—heightened every sensation. Her smell, her beauty, her presence had lured me in. I’d lost all control over my actions.

 "What the hell did I do?" 

Reason clawed its way back, and I tore the innocent girl out of my arms.

Her moans only grew louder, her body twisting against mine, rubbing unconsciously against me.

"Damn it—don’t move," I muttered, as though reasoning with a drunk would do any good.

Instead, she only grew bolder, wrapping her legs tightly around my waist.

A sharp breath hissed through my teeth as I felt her pressing against me, something soft and trembling, like the brush of flower petals.

Beautiful. Fragile. Tempting.

I pinned her to the bed, my lips crashing down on hers.

This was her doing. This was what she wanted. I couldn’t think anymore.

"…Stan…" The name slipped past her lips again.

Her breath came fast and hot, her body arching with need—yet every word was for someone else.

"Stan, I missed you… don’t do this to me." She murmured through tears.

Shit.

I forced myself to stop, every muscle straining against the urge to give in. I couldn’t take her—not like this. That would make me the very man I despised.

And worse, she wasn’t even seeing me. She was seeing another man.

Stan. Who the hell was he? Her boyfriend?

Ridiculous. To think she’d mistake me for some nobody.

I stumbled into the bathroom, gripping the sink as I stared at my reflection. My face was flushed, my body burning with frustration. Unsatisfied might as well have been written across my forehead.

I yanked a towel around my waist and called Miles.

"Miles. Book me another room. Now." A moan drifted from the bed behind me, and my body clenched in painful response. 

 "Hurry," I snapped.

"Yes, sir. The new room number has just been sent to your phone. Are you… all right? You sound a little…"

"Listen to me. I don’t care how you do it. Get me a girl’s file." I didn’t dare look back at her, afraid I’d lose the last shred of restraint. "Money, power—use whatever it takes. But by tomorrow, I want her information on my desk."

"But sir, tomorrow your schedule is Tristan’s wedding. And I heard his bride has been—"

"What the hell does that have to do with me? I’ve already done more than enough for him." I snapped to the phone. "Focus on your task. That girl—I need to know who she is."

******

Amelia’s POV

I woke up the next morning. Sunlight spilled into the room, but the bed beside me was empty.

No note. No man. No answers.

Confused, I sat up, head pounding with the dull rhythm of regret. Before I could fully gather myself, my phone buzzed across the nightstand.

Tristan.

I answered with a mix of nerves and hope. "Tristan? Where did you..."

"Amelia." His tone was cold, clipped. "I called to tell you not to show up at the wedding today. Your presence will only cause problems."

I froze. "Wait… what?" 

Last night. The kisses. The way he held me—

"Tristan, what was that last night?" I asked, heart in my throat. "Why would you come here, and then say this? Didn’t you apologize to me?"

There was a long pause on the other end.

"Come there? Apologize? You must’ve been dreaming, Amelia. I was at the hospital last night. With Victoria."

My stomach dropped.

No.

I went still, the breath sucked from my lungs. "You weren’t at the hotel?"

"No. Why would I be?"

My hand slowly lowered from my ear. The phone call ended, but the silence that followed was deafening.

If Tristan was never here… then who was the man I kissed last night?

And why did he wear the Lancaster crest?