Chapter 2

**Aurora**

The subsequent screams that erupted from my lips were loud enough to shatter glass. My hands flew to cover myself, but it was too late. The damage was already done. Standing in the living room area is an incredibly hot stranger. Tall, frustratingly goodlooking, and infuriatingly calm while my dignity evaporated in real time.

"What are you doing in my room?" I yelled, eyes darting around for the nearest object I could defend myself with. "Get out!"

Is it possible that a thief sneaked into my room? What if he murders me?

Oh God, haven't I had enough bad luck for one night?

"Relax, sweetheart," he said calmly, his deep voice echoing through the suite.

Sweetheart?

He leaned against the doorframe, watching me closely. "You're the one trespassing in my suite. Don't blame me for walking in on the show."

My jaw dropped. Trespassing? My fists clenched at my sides as I crawled back to the bed, yanking the blanket around me. "Excuse me? This is my suite. 12rb. Paid in full. You're the intruder!"

One of his perfectly shaped brows lifted, amused. I mentally smacked my head for noticing how perfect his brows were.

"Really? Because I checked in yesterday. Same number, same suite."

For a moment, my eyes darted towards the shiny gold plaque on the door. Had I actually made a fool of myself and barged into the wrong room? But the number on the door said otherwise. 12rb. Clear as daylight. I'd even gone over the number at least ten times in my head last night. Heck,I still had the key card with the number printed on it in bold letters. No. I wasn't crazy.

But he was so sure of himself, so irritatingly confident, that my conviction wavered just a little bit.

"I don't care what fantasy you've cooked up in your head," I snapped, securing the blanket tighter around me like an armour. "This is my room, and you need to leave. now."

His eyes moved down to my hands holding the blanket, and quickly snapped back up to my face. "Tell you what, why don't we call the front desk? let them settle it. unless..."his eyes skimmed over me again, lingering way too long.

Heat crept up my cheeks. “Unless what?”

"You'd rather keep arguing half naked."

heat shot to my cheeks again, this time threatening to burn through me.

"You're disgusting." I spat out, turning to the bathroom to get a bathrobe.

“Thank you,” he called after me. The nerve.

I yanked on the nearest robe, stormed past him, and jabbed the phone on the wall. "Fine. Let's get this over with."

I answered, and dialed the emergency hotel line.

The line clicked, and a cheerful male voice broke the awkward silence between us.

"Hello! These is the Golden hen Suite. How can I be of service?"

"Yeah, hi," I said, forcing my voice to stay calm even though my pulse was running a marathon. "There's a problem in my room."

behind me, Mr. Smug leaned casually against the wall, arms crossed like he was watching a comedy show.

"What seems to be the problem, ma'am?"

"There's a stranger in here claiming this is his room," I said, emphasizing every word and making sure that he heard me.

the jerk actually scoffed. louder this time.

"Could you kindly state your room number?" the receptionist asked.

"12RB," I replied quickly.

there was a pause. Then, "we'll send someone up immediately to assist. Please stay put, ma'am."

The line went dead, and silence took its place again.

I clutched the phone tightly, more because I was more aware of his presence than I'd care to admit.

"You know," he said smoothly, "For a thief, you're pretty bold."

I could swear my jaw was almost unhinged. "Excuse me?!"

He remained unmoved. “What? you waltz in here, strip, and claim ownership of the place. if that's not bold, i don't know what is."

The nerve of these rich jerks! They think because the suite is luxurious, average humans can't book one.

I wanted to throw the whole phone at his annoyingly handsome face. Instead, I set it down carefully, muttering,"stupid cocky jerk," under my breath.

Moments later, the doorbell rang. I darted forward before he could move, relief washing over me as I opened the door. Two hotel staff stood there,looking confused but professional.

"Good evening ma'am. Sir. We were told there's a mix up?"

"Yes," I blurted, pointing an accusatory finger at him. "He's in my suite."

"Correction," Mr. Douchebag said smoothly, stepping forward. "She's in my suite."

I responded with a glare.

The shorter staff cleared his throat. "If you'll both kindly show us your key cards, we can straighten this out."

"gladly," I huffed, shoving mine forward.

Mr. Smug did the same, sliding his out with infuriating calm. the staff scanned both cards, their brows furrowing. My stomach churned.

Finally, the shorter one looked up nervously. "There's been a double booking. Both of you are registered to this suite."

I blinked. "You've got to be kidding me."

"Terribly sorry, ma'am. sir," the tall one said quickly, bowing slightly like that would fix anything. "Unfortunately, the hotel is fully booked tonight. We can only resolve this by morning."

My stomach dropped. Fully booked? meaning..

The jerk let out a low chuckle that infuriated me. "Well, sweetheart, looks like we're roommates."

"Over my dead body," I snapped.

The nerve. still....why did that stupid chuckle sound so good?

God, I must be so tired, I'm beginning to hallucinate.

The staff exchanged awkward glances. "we can bring an extra blanket and pillow if_"

"That won't be necessary, but thank you for your time." Mr. Douchebag cut in smoothly.

The staffs bowed and left, and he closed the door.

He turned to me, eyes gleaming with mischief. "Simple solution; we share the bed, or you can take the couch."

"You must be joking," I snapped.

"Not at all." His gaze swept over me, bold and unashamed. "It's a king sized bed. Plenty of room." his voice dropped, smooth and challenging."Or are you worried you won't be able to keep your hands to yourself?"

The audacity. My blood boiled so hot I could feel my ears burning. "You're delusional."

"Am I?"he asked, eyes narrowing at me. He stepped past me toward the walk-in bathroom, and I'm immediately hit with the scent of mint, making me a little heady. His stride was unhurried, annoyingly graceful, like he owned every inch of space he walked through.

I hated how my eyes followed him. The way his muscles flexed under that black tee he's wearing. The way I almost groaned in disapproval when he disappeared behind the door.

I really must be tired.

Snatching two pillows from the bed, I dragged them to the sofa, muttering barely inaudible curses. The king-sized mattress looked like pure heaven, and I briefly considered sleeping with him. But no way was I putting myself within arm's reach of that smug jerk. There's no telling what is going on in that pretty head of his.

Luckily, the sofa wasn't so bad.

So much for enjoying my birthday.