Let me go!

The thin silk of my dress ripped with a sharp, ugly tear.

"Hey! Let me go!" I gasped, thrashing beneath him as Aaron's hand shot out with terrifying strength, grabbing one of my bare breasts right through the torn fabric.

He didn't hesitate. Before I could even swing my arm to hit him, Aaron leaned down, his mouth latching onto my other breast while his fingers pinched and rolled the sensitive skin of the first. A hot, traitorous shiver shot straight down my spine, making my breath catch in my throat.

"Stop it! Get off me, Aaron!" I screamed, shoving my hands against his chest with all my might.

But it was like trying to push a brick wall. For being completely drunk just five minutes ago, Aaron suddenly possessed a terrifying, overwhelming strength. The alcohol seemed to have turned him into an aggressive animal. The harder I pushed, the rougher he got, determined to completely subdue me.

With a swift, practiced movement, he grabbed both of my wrists, pinned them firmly against the mattress above my head with one heavy hand, and pressed his full body weight down so I couldn't move an inch.

"Let me go, you jerk!" I thrashed wildly beneath him, twisting my hips and kicking my legs, trying to find any angle to throw him off.

Aaron didn't say a word. His dark, heated eyes burned down into mine, wild and reckless. His breathing was heavy, smelling faintly of expensive whiskey and mint. His free hand trailed slowly down my stomach, slipping past the ruined hem of my dress, sliding lower and lower.

I froze. My breath hitched.

My mind screamed at me to fight, but my body,ever since my messy encounter with Wade, had this horrible, embarrassing habit of reacting to the slightest touch. Even now, trapped under Aaron, my nipples were already stiff and aching against the cold air, and that crazy, warm pool of liquid heat was already forming deep inside my stomach in response to his heavy body pinning mine down.

Could my body be any more of a traitor?

I squeezed my eyes shut, hating myself for how easily I responded to him.

Then, down below, Aaron’s fingers pressed against the thick cotton of my underwear.

He stopped moving instantly.

His hand paused against the padding. His fingers squeezed once, twice, feeling the bulky, unmistakable shape of the sanitary pad taped inside my jeans.

Aaron’s eyes suddenly flew wide open. The wild, hungry look in his gaze vanished, replaced by an expression of pure horror, as if he had just touched a live electrical wire.

"What the...?" Aaron blinked, his jaw dropping open.

 "Why didn't you tell me it's that time of the month?!"

Before I could even process his words, Aaron yanked his hand back as if he’d been burned. His grip on my wrists instantly loosened, and my hands fell limp against the mattress by my sides.

Instead of answering him, instead of explaining a single word, I scrambled backward, pulled my arm back, and slapped him across the face with a loud, ringing CRACK.

The slap echoed through the quiet penthouse bedroom.

Aaron’s head jerked sharply to the side. He didn't yell. He just slowly turned his head back, staring down at me with a dazed, drunken blink, his cheek bright red where my hand had connected.

I scrambled out from under him, scrambling to my feet by the side of the bed. My chest was heaving, my breath coming in ragged gasps.

I was on the verge of turning around and walking right out of the hotel room naked if I had to, when I looked down at myself and realized the ugly truth: the black designer gown was practically shredded. The shoulder strap was hanging by a thread, the front was torn open, and I was an absolute, disheveled mess because of Aaron Adams.

I couldn't walk through the hotel lobby looking like a disaster victim.

Realizing the absurdity of what I was about to do, I stopped, turned right back around, and glared down at the basketball star who was still sitting dazed on the edge of the mattress.

"Give me your clothes," I demanded, crossing my arms over my ruined chest.

Aaron blinked up at me, letting out a loud, sloppy, drunken laugh. He threw his head back against the pillows, waving a lazy hand in the air to dismiss me.

"Are you crazy...?" he slurred, shaking his head. "Get out of here…...."

"I'm not leaving until I have something to wear, you jerk!" I snapped.

Since he was too drunk and dizzy to argue or stop me, I marched right over to the side of the bed, grabbed the hem of his expensive designer shirt, and started ripping it off him. I pulled off his designer jacket, his torn shirt, and even his matching white singlet, stripping him down until he was sitting there in nothing but his tight black boxer briefs.

"Hey... cold..." Aaron mumbled, shivering slightly as he flopped back down onto the pillows, completely out of gas.

I didn't care. I scooped up his clothes, clutched them to my chest, and practically ran into the master bathroom, slamming the door shut behind me.

Once I was locked safely inside the bright, marble-tiled bathroom, I let out a massive breath of relief.

I stripped off the ruined black gown and tossed it straight into the hotel trash can. Thank God that I had come prepared with an extra sanitary pad in my bag,which I had thankfully left on the sink counter before everything went down. I quickly cleaned up,flushing down the ruined one, I  changed my pad, and splashed cold water over my hot, flushed face. 

Then, I looked down at Aaron's clothes piled on the counter.

Without wasting another second, I slipped his thick, oversized white designer singlet over my head,it hung down past my thighs like a mini dress and shrugged his heavy, expensive black designer jacket over that, It swallowed me whole, smelling strongly of his expensive cologne, clean laundry, and a hint of masculine musk that made my stomach do another unwanted flip.

I unlocked the bathroom door and crept quietly back out into the bedroom.

Aaron was completely dead to the world, snoring softly on the giant king-sized bed, sprawled out on his back with one arm hanging off the edge.

I didn't say goodbye. I turned on my heel and walked out of the penthouse suite, keeping my head down as I walked down the dim hallways. Thankfully, the party outside had completely died down; the remaining guests were either passed out on the couches or had already gone home, leaving the hotel quiet and empty.

I hurried toward the private elevator, hit the lobby button, and stepped out into the cool night air outside the Grand Azure Hotel.

The night city lights hummed above me. I pulled out my phone, unlocked the screen, and opened my rideshare app to order a car back home.

Just as my thumb hovered right over the red Order Ride button, a voice rang out from the shadows beside the valet stand.

"Hey... aren't those Aaron's clothes?"

I froze. My heart jumped straight into my throat.