One Night-stand

My heart squeezed in sympathy for him. Despite my silence to his words, I couldn't help wondering:

‘Who the hell drugged a man like this?’ This man wasn’t just some arrogant or second generation heir causing a scandal. This man was danger in human form. And someone had sent him here in this condition.

Mark's gaze shifted between us, his brows furrowed slightly. Then, he opened his mouth to speak. “Excuse me, Mister, she's not–”

However, I raised a hand and placed it on his shoulder. When he gazed back at me, I shook my head, discouraging him from speaking further. Perhaps, he heard the stranger's bizarre request.

“But Adele…”

“It's okay, Manager Mark,” I gave him a tight-lipped smile. I strongly believed that I was the reason their guests stood them up at the last minute. I should at least do something in return.

Although the excuse sounded hollow even to me, I convinced myself it was the right thing to do. For the resort. For my freedom. For my job. For the man who clearly didn’t belong in such a vulnerable state.

Mark gave me a long, searching look, but eventually sighed and stepped back. “Alright. Call me if you need anything.”

I nodded, then turned to the stranger.

“I’ll take you to your room,” I said softly, steadying my voice. “Please,” I made a hand gesture for him to go forward. He tried, but swayed. “Careful!” my hand shot out and supported him but he steadied himself.

“After you,” he uttered.

I gave a faint nod before moving forward. He followed, silently and obediently, like a lion trusting its keeper. But every second, I could feel his eyes on me, burning.

Inside the suite, I reached for the thermostat controls, needing to do something, anything besides meeting his stare.

But he moved fast.

One second he was at the door. The next, he was behind me.

“Adele,” he rasped, low in my ear.

I spun around, pressing my palms to his chest to keep him back, only to feel the taut muscles beneath that half-open shirt. Heat shot through me, unbidden.

“Sir, you’re not well,” I managed to say. “You’ve been drugged. You need to rest.”

He frowned. “Rest?” He leaned in closer. “No. I need to get this out of my system. You… you can help.”

I swallowed hard. The room pulsed with tension, mirroring my own pounding heart. He wasn’t in control. But his body was and it was spiraling.

“P– perhaps, you need an escort? I can get the manager to arrange one for you,” I whispered, reaching for the landline. But before I could, his hand closed around my wrist and held it over my head, sandwiching me between him and the wall.

I gulped, my body shamelessly reacting to the close proximity. All senses awakened, and my ‘woman needs’ clawed to the surface. I'd been untouched for nearly a year, and this man had awakened my deepest desires with his closeness and strength.

I felt his heat radiating against me, the sharpness of his breath against my ear. It wasn’t just the intoxicating effect of whatever drug he was under; it was his raw presence, the dangerous energy that clung to him like a second skin.

"Let me go," I breathed out, though my voice trembled, betraying my internal conflict. I wanted to push him away, but at the same time, a part of me was drawn to the wild, untamed force he exuded.

But he didn’t listen. His grip tightened, and he leaned in even closer, his lips barely grazing the shell of my ear. "Adele," he murmured again, his voice laced with urgency and something darker. "I don't share my bed with just any woman."

I froze at his words, the weight of them sinking deep into my chest. His voice was low, commanding, like a warning or a promise. My mind screamed at me to step back, to push him away, but my body betrayed me, pressing involuntarily into him as if it recognized something dangerous that I couldn’t quite comprehend.

"You don't—" My voice cracked, trailing off, unsure of what to say. His words had a way of short-circuiting my thoughts. The heat from his body flooded my senses and clouded my judgment.

His lips brushed against my ear again, sending a shiver down my spine. "No," he whispered, his tone darkening further, "I don’t. But something about you..." He paused, as if searching for the right words, his fingers running lightly down my arm. "Something about you makes me want to break that rule."

A rush of heat surged through me, intense and undeniable. This man, this stranger was offering me something dangerous, something I knew I should run from, but my own body, my own desires, were leaning into him as though they had a mind of their own.

I swallowed, trying to regain control, trying to find my voice again. "This isn’t… this isn’t right," I whispered, even though I was no longer sure what 'right' meant in this moment.

Every instinct screamed at me to pull away, to stop him before it was too late, but the temptation was overwhelming. He was so close, his scent intoxicating, his presence so commanding that it was hard to focus on anything other than the way he made me feel.