chapter 2. overnight stay

Emily

Adrian Carter’s words stayed with me long after I left the sitting room.

They clung to my skin, to my thoughts, slipping under the careful numbness I’d perfected over the years. I tried to shake them off as I returned to the party, but it was like trying to forget a hand that had already closed around my wrist.

I didn’t want Nathan.

I didn’t want this marriage.

And somehow, Adrian knew.

I reached for a glass of champagne. Then another.

No one noticed. No one ever really did.

The alcohol warmed me quickly, loosening the tight coil in my chest. Conversations blurred into background noise—laughter, clinking glasses, polite congratulations. I smiled when required, nodded when spoken to, but my thoughts kept drifting back to dark eyes and a voice that didn’t ask permission.

By the time the party began to thin out, I felt… light. Not drunk enough to lose myself, but enough that the edges softened. Enough that my body felt louder than my conscience.

When I finally excused myself, it was with a polite lie about being tired.

A housekeeper pointed me down a hallway. “Guest rooms are on the right,” she said.

I nodded and walked—slowly, carefully, heels quiet against the carpet.

The door I chose looked like any other.

I didn’t realize my mistake until I was already inside.

The room was darker than I expected. Larger. Masculine in a way the guest rooms weren’t—deep colors, clean lines, a faint scent of cologne and something sharper beneath it.

I should have left.

Instead, I sat on the edge of the bed.

My head felt heavy. My thoughts slow and slippery. I told myself I’d rest for a minute and then find the correct room.

That was when the door opened.

I looked up.

Adrian stood there, jacket already off, sleeves rolled back, as if he’d been expecting to end his night alone—until he wasn’t.

His gaze dropped to me.

The silence stretched.

“You’re in the wrong room,” he said.

“I know,” I admitted. My voice sounded softer than usual. Less guarded.

He didn’t move to leave. Didn’t tell me to go.

Instead, he closed the door behind him.

The click echoed in my chest.

“You’ve been drinking,” he observed.

“A little,” I said. Then, because the truth felt lighter than usual, I added, “You made me nervous.”

That did it.

Something changed in his expression—not surprise, but decision.

He crossed the room slowly, stopping a careful distance away. “Are you asking me to take responsibility for that?”

I swallowed. “No.”

I stood, a little unsteady, and he reached out—not to touch me, but to steady me. His hands hovered, giving me time. Choice.

I didn’t step away.

That was when his fingers finally closed around my arm.

Warm. Firm. Controlled.

“You should leave,” he said quietly.

“I know,” I replied.

Neither of us moved.

Then his lips were on mine.

He kissed me like he’d been waiting.

Not rushed. Not desperate.

Claiming.

His hand slid to my waist, grounding me, anchoring me as the world tilted. I kissed him back without thinking, without planning—my body responding before my mind could catch up.

I was drunk enough to be honest. Sober enough to know exactly who I was kissing.

Adrian pulled back just enough to look at me.

“This doesn’t happen if you don’t want it to,” he said.

I nodded. “I want it.”

That was all it took.

His lips were back on mine. Deeper now, more aggressive, like he wanted to swallow me whole.

I responded as much as I could, moans slipping out of me before I could control them.

I clamped my mouth shut trying to stifle the moans as his mouth traced down my neck, his teeth grazing my skin.

That would definitely leave marks, but I was too overwhelmed to worry about that.

His eyes moved slowly towards my hands covering !y mouth.

"What are you doing?" he asked. Curiousity and something else...fear maybe, flicking through his eyes.

"There are people in the house" I replied, expecting him to get it. But he didn't.

"And?"

"They'll hear us."

He smiled, relief spreading across his face as he buried his face in my neck.

"I thought you changed your mind." he said, his hand moving along my back to unzip my dress, his eyes locked into mine.

I place a kiss on his lips.

Maybe it was the alcohol, but I'm being so bold right now. This is so unlike me, but it would be nice to unshackle myself once in a while right?

"I didn't" I reply, dropping my arms and letting the dress fall down to my waist.

It was an armless gown and I didn't wear a bra underneath.

His gaze moved over me slowly, as if committing each part of me to memory. The desire and hunger in his eyes made my proud of myself in a way I'd never been.

It made me feel beautiful.

I stood up gently, letting the dress fall to the ground and kicking my heels away.

His eyes roamed over my body as he took me in, his desire for me burning in his eyes.

I loved it, the way he looked at me like I was the most beautiful woman in the world made my heart race.

"We still have to be quiet" I reminded him as he took my hand in his and guided us back to the bed.

"Don't worry, this room has enough soundproofing" there was pride in his voice "you can scream as much as you'd like.

I flushed, my heart racing as he laid me back against the bed, his lips all over me again, this time harder and faster like he couldn't wait to taste every part of me.

My hands moved along his torso to undo the button on his shirt and I gasped at the feeling of his skin on my fingers.

He was fit. For an older man, I wasn't expecting much but he was muscular, his body packed with muscles in the right places, how could someone be this perfect?

My hands moved along his upper torso, fingers brushing him softly above his belt.

He flinched, his breath getting deeper as he grabbed my hands, pinning them above my head with one hand as he continued worshipping my body with kisses, his other hand tracing the lines around my breast, making me moan in anticipation.

I gasped as he took the breast in one hand, kneading it softly, his thumb rubbing my nipple in a way that made my toes curl, heat pooling in my belly. His mouth was on the other breast, bitting and sucking, his other hand left mine, taking my breast in it.

I screamed, my back arching forward as his tongue traced circles along my nipple.

His mouth left my breasts, tracing kisses down my belly. His hand stopped at the strap of my underwear and he looked up at me, his eyes begging for permission.

I nodded, once, and he smiled, the underwear gone in an instance.

"You're wet" his voice was tense, his breathing ragged, like he was trying to restrain himself.

His fingers moved along my inner thigh and I sucked in a breath, my eyes shut in embarrassment.

"Look at me" he commanded, his thumb tracing circles around me, my eyes flew open, insides twisting at the authority in his voice.

"Oh my God!" I sreamed, my body tensing as he slipped a finger into me, heat pooling low in my belly as I clung to him, my fingernails scratching into his back.

Another finger, and I came, screaming loudly as the heat rushed through me.

"Fuck" his voice was husky, eyes locked onto mine, "do you really want this? Can I?"

Why does he keep asking the same question?

I nodded.

His hands left me to unbuckle his belt and I watched as his pants came off, his eyes on mine as he took off his underwear.

I tensed, and he smirked, "don't worry it'll fit"

"It... it's my first time," I stammered, how am I supposed to survive that thing.

"I know" he replied, "I'll be gentle"

He moved closer, and I instinctively moved back, my eyes locked at the weapon between his legs.

He grabs me, pulling me closer as he settles himself between my legs.

"I'll be gentle, I promise" he reassured, lips brushing against mine.

But I didn't believe, how gentle could you be with that thing.

The kiss deepened and I felt myself melt in his arms, the tension leaving my body slowly.

His mouth left mine as his hands slipped between us, his eyes locked on mine as though reassuring me.

I winced as I felt him enter me.

He tensed, his eyes on me.

"Continue" I said, my teeth gritting in pain.

Another thrust and I cried out, tears pooling in my eyes, he paused, holding me in his hands as he soothed me.

"Are you ok?"

"I'm ok, is it all in?"

"This will do for now" he replied, "you can't take more "

I wanted to protest, but he shut me off with a kiss, withdrawing a bit and thrusting back in as slowly as he could.

The rest of the night unfolded in fragments. I don't know how many times we did it or how long we spent, but I loved every bit of it, his mouth tracing slow, deliberate paths; his hands learning me with patience that felt almost dangerous. He guided rather than took, watching my reactions like he was memorizing them.

I felt exposed in a way I never had before.

Desired without being dismissed.

Wanted without being compared.

The quiet sound of my name on his lips. Time blurred. Thoughts dissolved.

By the time I finally slept, it was with his presence wrapped around me, warmth enveloping me in a way that made me feel protected.​