_Chapter 003

[Warning: R18 Scene ahead.]

Valerie's POV

~~~~~~

“If you were planning to take advantage of me…” I tilt my head slightly. “I just want to say you’re doing a terrible job right now.”

I hold back a laugh when I notice the way his arm turns rigid in my grip. He stays silent for quite a while. Enough to make my mind go wild with thoughts I didn't know I was capable of having.

God, his suit was so tight, I bet he packs a lot of muscle underneath. And I'll love more than anything to see them right now.

“Again…” he clears his throat. “You're intoxicated and don't know what you're talking about.”

“I know exactly what I'm talking about.” I refuse to let go, my fingers only digging harder. “What's wrong? You don't… find me attractive?”

The air feels heavier before the words fully land. He turns to face me fully, his shadow looming over me in a way that makes me feel equal parts safe and terrified.

I notice the way those golden orbs glow even brighter than the room's lighting — or maybe that's just my imagination.

“Far from it.” He finally says, so simply too. “I can barely contain myself.”

I grin. “You say that like you've known me for a while.”

He chuckles, a rich, husky sound that makes me bite my bottom lip. “You have no idea…”

A sudden wave of confidence hits me and I get up before I can stop myself. My legs are wobbly at first but I steady my footing, grabbing his other arm.

“Stay.” The plea comes lower than a whisper. “P–Please. I know you think I don't want this—but I do. This is what I've wanted since the… since the divorce…”

His body stills. For a moment… I think I’ve said too much.

Fuck.

Now I'm trauma dumping on a total stranger. Well, I'm begging him to fuck me too, so I guess we're way past being mysterious.

When he tries slipping his arms away, I only grip harder, pulling my mouth close to his ear. “D–Don’t leave me like he did,” my voice cracks. “Don't leave… please. If you truly want me—prove it.”

His arms go limp.

Slowly, as my eyes narrow, I notice him grabbing me gently by the elbows. I don't know what's happening until I feel myself crash on the bed behind me.

I think he's about to leave and whimper… until I feel the bed cave under the weight of someone climbing onto it. I lift my head, a shaky exhale escaping my mouth when I see him on top of me.

He has me between his legs, lowering his head until he is a breath away from my neck. “I'm never leaving you.”

I should probably sober up and be afraid that a stranger was telling me that. But I ignore my nerves, grabbing his face. We only hesitate for a moment before our lips crash into each other.

The kiss is soft at first. Easy. Almost like he’s testing the waters and still checking if I want this.

I wrap my legs around his body without thinking; the exact moment his restraint snaps. He grabs my wrists, pinning me to the bed without warning.

I gasp when he brings his lips to my neck, kissing hard until I squirm beneath him. My eyes roll back. I tighten my legs around him, rocking my hips against his. He rocks back, releasing one of my wrists just so he can grab my waist.

His kisses trail back to my mouth. He nibbles teasingly on my bottom lip, sliding his tongue into my mouth. He tastes me like he’s trying to memorize it.

“I've waited…” he murmurs loud enough for me to hear. “... So long. Ignored… the pull…”

His hand travels from my waist to my boobs, fondling them almost reverently. Then his fingers slip beneath my dress, grabbing one firmly enough to make me moan without holding back.

He leaves my mouth. The world tilts before I realize he’s flipped me onto my stomach. Then he unzips my dress with the fluidity of a man who's done this a thousand times.

The chilly room air touches my skin first. I feel his lips press against the small of my back, making me shudder. He trails his kisses higher—all while keeping me in place with one hand on my ass and the other around my chest.

After torturing me with his touch, he turns me around again. He takes off my dress and underwear completely, his fingers rubbing the throbbing wetness between my legs.

I bite back a sound I'm certain I want no man to hear as I spread wider for him. “Your… your clothes…”

Without hesitation he's already unbuttoning his suit, peeling it off alongside the shirt underneath. I get the chance to marvel at that chiselled, hairy chest.

“Damn.” I blurt before I can stop myself.

He's even hotter than I imagined.

No—worse. Because now I actually have to pretend I can resist him.

I catch my bottom lip between my teeth as my hands lift. My palms rake over every inch of his torso, from his stomach to his chest.

He grabs my knees, lowering himself unhurriedly. “You’re not going to forget this… even if you try.”

I thread a hand through his hair, trembling despite myself. “I wasn't planning to.”

My breath catches as his hands slide lower. And then—everything unravels, the world around us dissolving into sound and sensation.

*****

The burning rays of the morning sun make my brows knit. I struggle to roll over the bed, slowly realising I'm naked. Covered under nothing but a fluffy bed sheet.

I groan, lips pursing as I sit up. “What… how am I…?”

Gradually, like a slide show, images of everything that transpired last night flow through my mind. From the way I begged that man to stay. To the words he told me as he sucked my clit harder than anyone in my over two decades of existing.

And then… the way he filled me with his length, fucking me hard until I came multiple times.

My cheeks flush and I'm uncertain if it's from embarrassment or arousal. I spin my head around, hand subconsciously searching the other end of the bed.

Nothing.

All that's left of him are the broken memories in my head and the strong scent of his cologne on me.

“Val, what the hell?” I rub my forehead in disbelief. “How drunk was I to let a stranger fuck me? Without a condom even.”

I didn't need to touch myself down there to feel the residual wetness of his seed.

“My phone…” I turn to the lamp stand, hoping to make a quick call for a doctor's appointment.

Fortunately, the guy is no thief and my phone is there—surprising since I don't even remember holding it after what happened on the dancefloor.

I'm about to reach for it when I see something else. Lying beside it was a small card. It was creamy white with golden floral designs sewn at the edges.

A raven with a black rose between its beak is etched at the centre. I pick it up, mesmerised by the design—until I turn the card over.

Ice runs through my bones, my fingers trembling when I see the figures at the back. One is a phone number. And the other is a name that instantly makes my heart leap.

No way—

“Mourningale International…?”