5. Two Total Strangers

Stephanie:

My fingers fisted my hair, and I moved the glass of vodka away as my phone vibrated in my pocket.

Reaching for the phone, the screen lit up with a new message from SilverGate Medical Centre. My heart dropped to my stomach, and I pushed away from the table, ignoring Sloane’s curious look.

“Restroom,” I muttered.

“Oh,” She nodded and pointed towards the corridor, “The last door down the corridor, on the left.”

I nodded and left, squeezing past the crowd of people.

Once I was away from the loud music and noise, I swiped and tapped the email, pushing my glasses up the bridge of my nose to read.

“Dear Ms. Clark, This is a reminder regarding your mother’s outstanding medical expenses. A sum of $70,000 has been received toward her care, and the current balance remaining is $376,500, which is needed for the continuation of her dialysis sessions and the preparation for her kidney transplant.

Please note that our team has already extended deadlines, and unless the outstanding balance is cleared within seven days, we will no longer be able to administer dialysis or keep her admitted.

Billing Office.

SilverGate Medical Centre.

My steps faltered, and I mentally calculated how much all the furniture and gadgets in my house would amount to if I put them on sale, but my fingers pressed into my closed eyes when I concluded and realized it wouldn't amount to even half of the payment needed.

Everything was crumbling, and there was nothing, nothing I could do.

The only other option to get money would have been my father, but he stopped caring about my existence right when Grace and Anna came into his life. Even if I crawled in dirt and cried a river, he wouldn’t give me a single dime.

Debts were lined up against my shoulders, and everything felt suffocating, like I was drowning and had both my hands and feet tied.

A sharp bump on my shoulder suddenly pushed me backwards.

“Oh—sorry,” a voice said, but I hardly registered it before I stumbled sideways from the push.

I reached out blindly and pressed against the closest door. It swung open under my weight, and I tumbled inside, trying to clutch it for balance.

My phone slipped from my hand during the stagger. Spinning around, I tried to make sense of the room and soon realized it was one of the private rooms in the club.

Cursing under my breath, I lowered to the floor, swiping my hand on the hard surface to find my phone.

A sigh of relief escaped my lips as my fingers grazed it. I grabbed it and stood up on my feet, intending to leave the room before someone else came in.

My fingers grabbed the door handle, and I pulled it open, but just as I did, my ears picked up the soft sound of footsteps from behind me.

Before I could make sense of what was happening, a hard body pressed close to my back, and my whole body jerked forward, pushing me towards the door and shutting it close.

My brows pulled into a tight frown, and confusion settled into my heart, but my head was clear enough as I turned around, stretching my arms against the hard chest to push him away.

His hands covered mine against his chest, and his hot breath fanned against my skin as he leaned closer. “You’re twenty minutes late.”

What? I was just about to push the man off and tell him I was in the wrong place when I heard voices from outside.

“Are you sure she's the one? I doubt the lady that's supposed to enter that door is someone in pajamas.” Someone muttered.

“I don't know, man. The order was to make sure she entered and then report back. No specifics were given about what she looks like or what she's wearing.” The second voice said.

The men kept talking, and soon all I could hear was their receding footsteps.

My eyes widened as realization settled in. I had gotten into the wrong room.

The man pressed against me, and before I could move, his lips landed on my collarbone. My whole body turned still.

“Why…uh—wait, what's going on?” I tried to make sense of everything.

Instead of answering, he pressed soft kisses on my shoulder blade. I should shove him or run out, but that was the last thing on my mind because, for a second, the hopelessness in my chest completely loosened.

The kisses were so, so gentle; a soft sigh escaped my lips, and my head fell back to his chest, my thighs pressing together.

My stomach fluttered as warmth pooled low in my body, which I couldn’t explain. I wanted to pull away and to shove him off, but my body wanted something else.

Another kiss grazed my neck. I gasped, my breath coming in short.

My body reacted before my brain could protest; I leaned into him, almost without thinking, because my whole body craved closeness, any kind. And at this point, with anyone.

The man had a nice scent to him, a cologne that was too familiar to ignore, and I couldn’t resist pulling closer.

He tilted my head gently, his hands settled on my waist, lowering to my hips and then my thigh before he lifted me effortlessly.

He turned around towards the bed and settled me right on it.

My head swam, holding me back from quickly processing what was going on, but also not needing to.

My fingers gripped him, and my body felt both tense and oddly light, then he suddenly asked, “How much is Niko paying you?”

“What?” It felt like a bucket of water was splashed right on my face.

He slowly started pulling away, but I didn't want that, so I gripped him by his shoulders and pulled him closer, feeling the firm ridges of muscle under my fingers.

“How much is it?” His voice dropped lower, like he was already losing his patience.

My lips pressed tight, “I…”

Why were we even talking? And God, why was he pulling away?

Before I knew what I was doing, my lips brushed his, and his whole body stiffened as I pushed him to the bed and climbed on top of him, sealing our lips in an intense kiss.

The kiss was clumsy, my hands fumbling on him and searching for buttons.

He cursed under his breath and turned completely still underneath me. “Are you drunk?”

“Yes... I mean no,” I said, “but only a glass; it wasn't much.”

I had no idea why I was being completely honest; I just didn't want him to stop what he had started.

“Christ,” he mumbled something and sat upright, pulling me away. “If you were forced into this by Niko, get out.”

“Huh?” I blinked, my body still thrumming with heat as I looked at him in disbelief. “Get out? No…”

His jaw tightened, and even in the dark room, I could almost see the twitch in his jaw. He tried to rise from the bed, but I immediately whispered, “I don’t want to go.”

His brows drew together. “You’ve had a glass. Why would you—why the hell would you even put yourself in this situation?”

My chest rose and fell rapidly as I clutched his shirt tighter. “It was just one. I’m not drunk. I know what I’m doing.”

He let out a low, frustrated sound, almost a growl, pushing at my wrists.

“You think I’m going to just take your word. What the hell was Niko even thinking?” He was already buckling up his belt as he attempted to lift me from his lap and drop me on the bed.

“What?”

“You’ve had a drink; by tomorrow you’ll regret this.”

My eyes widened at the thought. Before he could finish, I blurted out fast, “I promise I won’t.”

When he still didn’t move, my fingers shook as I clutched his shirt, realizing the bold move I was about to make. “I might regret a thousand things in my life, but not this, and not right now.”

He stilled. “You don’t know what you’re saying.”

“I do.” My voice was clear. “Like I said, I’m not drunk. I know exactly what I want. And it’s this.”

I could feel how deeply his eyes were burning into me. I was desperate. Unashamedly desperate for a release of everything. Just a moment of bliss that would make me high, even if just for a few minutes. And unfortunately, I don’t do drugs, so this was all I had.

I might have stumbled in by mistake, but staying back was a choice I held onto. And doing this was something I wanted, because, God, the man had a body made of steel. I couldn’t see him, but from how smoothly his fingers brushed my skin earlier, I was certain he knew exactly what to do.

I added in a low voice, “If you send me away, it won’t be because I didn’t ask for this. It’ll be because you don’t want me.”

His body stiffened beneath my legs as his voice came out low, and then he muttered in realization, “You aren't Bella.”

My heart dropped to my stomach as I realized he had figured out I wasn’t whom he might have been expecting, but I confessed truthfully, “I don't know who you might have been expecting, but I stumbled inside and… and I didn’t mean to intrude.” I swallowed a tight lump and muttered to myself, “Actually, what was I even thinking?”

I tried to slide off him, but his hands tightened around my waist before I had the chance to step away.

His jaw flexed, and for a moment I thought he’d throw me off. But instead, he tried to see my face clearly. “Then why didn’t you leave? You had every chance to walk.”

That was a question I had no reasonable answer to, except for the fact that the moment he touched me, it gave me the instant release of tension my body had craved all day. It made me forget the chaos I was in.

And I didn't want to think or talk or anything. I simply just wanted to feel. It was unreasonable and impulsive, but I wanted him to touch me in ways that’d make me forget.

The idea that we both didn't even know each other wasn't enough to throw me off and make me not want him. It made me want him more.

Biting down on my lips, I answered, “I don't want to leave.” A thought suddenly struck me, and I asked slowly, “Were you expecting your girlfriend or—”

“No.”

“Oh.” The silence suddenly felt awkward as it settled that we were both strangers here.

His whole body tensed for a moment as he asked. “Do you want the lights on?”

I shook my head quickly. “No.”

He studied me, and I could tell he was trying to make an outline of my face. “Why do you sound so familiar?”

The words sent a shiver down my spine because my glasses weren’t aiding me in the dark room, so I couldn't tell if he looked familiar or not. But instead of answering and prolonging the moment, I crushed my mouth against his, sliding my fingers into his shirt to feel the hard lines of his chest, but he wrapped his fingers around my wrist to stop me from exploring.

A disgruntled sound rose from his chest as I attempted to pull the shirt off. “Don’t.”

My fingers froze as it dawned on me that that was a no-go area. He wanted to keep his shirt on, and he didn’t want me touching his chest either.

It seemed unfair considering the buttons of my pajamas were almost off and the line of my cleavage was lying on display.

Before I could ask him why, he moved. With a smooth shift, he flipped us, pressing me into the mattress. He pulled out my glasses and dropped them aside, then opened the drawer by the bedside table to pick up something. I heard the tear of a wrapper in his hand and realized it was a condom.

Without a word, he grabbed my jaw and pressed his lips on mine. A deep groan escaped his lips as he slowly rolled his hips against me so I could feel the hard outline of his cock straining through his trousers.