Stranger

Lucia's POV 

I expected to find myself in the afterlife or maybe if I was lucky enough, I could be in the hospital. But what I didn't expect was to wake up in bed, beside a shirtless man. 

I blinked severally, rubbing my eyes to make sure I wasn't in a dream or even imagining things. But then, this was as real as the hair on my head.

I scrambled to sit up, my heart racing. The stranger's chest was bare, but I was more concerned about my own attire.

I looked down and gasped. I was wearing a big white button shirt, and my clothes were nowhere to be seen.

What the fuck happened last night? I'm sure I was drowning just then, but now —this? How do they even relate? Did I really drown, or was I just imagining the whole thing in my drunken state? 

My memory was failing me big time, not to mention the serious throbbing in my head. 

I threw off the covers and swung my legs over the side of the bed. As much as I wanted to know what happened between us, I also knew that I had to get out of there as soon as possible. 

I took advantage of his slumber to scan the room. My clothes were neatly folded on a chair like they had just visited the laundry room, but my phone and purse were missing. I can't even remember where I dumped those. 

I quickly picked up my dress and started tiptoeing towards the door to avoid waking him up. 

"Good morning," the stranger greeted casually behind me, his deep voice stopping me in my tracks.

I spun around, disbelief written all over me.

Good morning? I thought in disbelief as I rolled my eyes at him. 

He sat up, rubbing his eyes. "How was your night?" he asked, smiling lazily.

His gaze drifted to my face, and his eyes crinkled at the corners.

"You look lovely in my shirt," his voice was low and husky.

My face burned with rage but I just ignored him as I headed for the door, hoping to get out of this place as fast as I could. But then to my greatest surprise, the room was locked and even if I wanted to open it, the key was missing from the handle. 

"Really?" I said turning to him angrily. "Haven't you had enough? How many more rounds do you want to go?" 

He chuckled, "What the heck are you talking about?" 

"You should be happy that I'm just letting this slide cause you deserve to be behind bars for taking advantage of a drunk girl." I spat defiantly. 

The stranger leaned back against the headboard, "If saving a wasted girl from drowning is an assault, then I sure am guilty." 

"Oh!" I said as I tried to recall last night's events. "So I was really drowning? How then did I get here?" It all just wasn't adding up.

His expression turned serious. "You were drowning in the hotel pool," he explained. "I pulled you out and brought you here to recover. Any more questions miss interrogator?" 

"Well then, if you didn't take advantage of me, why then am I in your shirt?" I pressed but immediately regretted asking. 

His eyes met mine. "If only you were not dumb, you would know that after bringing you out of the pool, we both were soaked." 

"I was nice enough to change you since you just couldn't do anything properly. I know what you want to hear, but I didn't fuck you. I'm not a fan of virgins..." His words irritated me and I found myself frowning at him. 

How the fuck did he know that I was a virgin? Was it that obvious? My face turned red with embarrassment as I turned back to the door. 

"Unlock the door," I demanded, breaking the tension.

"Not even a thank you?" He said, locking gaze with me. 

I suddenly began to feel bad, I was so concerned about what he must have done to me that I failed to recognise what he had done for me. I would have been dead if not for him... 

“I’m so sorry, I never meant to sound ungrateful.” 

“Thank you so much for saving me,” I said with uttermost sincerity. 

He stood up and walked towards me, extending his hands to me. “I’m Rhein...” he introduced. 

“Rain As in R... A... I... N?” I asked.

He chuckled lightly, “It’s R... H... E... I... N” 

“Oh!” I said with a smile. “I’m Lucia.”

The tension between us grew as we held hands. My eyes ran through his chest, his handsome face and messy hair. And finally my gaze got caught on his lips, and my body began to heat up. 

Rhein's gaze intensified on me, and I felt a flutter.

"Lucia," he whispered, his voice husky. "You're welcome." 

I pulled my hand back, breaking the spell.

"Now if you don't mind, I have to get back home," I reminded him, trying to regain control.

"Oh!" he said, retrieving a key card from his pocket as he leaned in, his body very close to mine as he passed his hand around my waist. 

"Wh... what are you doing?" I said in a barely audible tone. 

"How else am I to unlock the door with you standing right in front of me?" I immediately came back to the realisation that I was standing in his way. 

"I'm sorry..."

He unlocked the door, but as I turned to leave, Rhein caught my arm.

"Don't get into any more trouble," he said, his breath hitting against my skin. “I might not be there to save you the second time.” 

With that, he released my arm, and I stepped out of the room. 

"Phew..." I let out a heavy sigh as I leaned against the wall there in the hallways. 

My skin was red as fuck and my heart was pounding so very fast. I face-palmed myself as I tried to calm my racing thoughts. In between my troubled thoughts, I found myself asking, 'What the fuck is wrong with me?' cause I really had no idea why my body was reacting so much to this strange man. 

I heard the door creak and that was when I realised I hadn't moved an inch since I got out of his room. "Shit!" I cursed, walking away as fast as I could. 

**** 

As I walked into the house, I could feel the tension in the air. My dad, Alpha Herod, stood in the living room, his eyes fixed on me, anger and curiosity sparkling in them. 

“Lucia, where were you?” he demanded, his voice firm and authoritative.

I rolled my eyes, not in the mood for his interrogation. “Are you really curious about where I was last night?” I said curtly, my tone dripping with sarcasm.

He immediately became speechless, knowing that any little provocation could lead to his secret being exposed. But then his ego as an Alpha wouldn’t let him stay quiet. “How dare you speak to me in such manner?”  

“Herod, please... Lucia is safe, and that’s all that matters.” Luna Elsa, my mom, turned to me, relief evident on her face. “Lucy, go upstairs and freshen up, we will discuss this at night.”

I nodded, grateful for my mom’s timely intervention. I didn’t want to deal with my dad’s anger right now. I just wanted to go upstairs, take a shower, and forget about the events of last night.

As I turned to head upstairs, I caught Mario’s eye. He looked guilty and ashamed, and I couldn’t help but feel a sting of anger and hurt. 

 I never believed that one day I would be so disgusted by his presence, what a fool I had been all these years for thinking he loved me.