Nadine slowly blinked her eyes open. The room was dim, wrapped in that soft kind of quiet that made everything feel still. Her body was warm, heavy, not in the mood to move. It was still pitch-black outside. No hint of morning yet.
She let her eyes close again, ready to slip back into sleep.
Then the mattress shifted beside her.
Her brow pulled together.
"Mmm…" A low, rough moan came from the other side of the bed.
Nadine's eyes snapped open.
Instantly, a knot of dread tightened in her chest. Her heartbeat, calm just seconds ago, started racing. Anxiety snaked through her, sharp and chilling.
Before she even realized it, she wasn't exactly the praying type but somehow found herself mumbling a half-assed prayer, clutching the blanket like it was the only damn thing standing between her and… whatever the hell was happening.
God, please. Please. This isn't what I think it is... right? Please... Keep your flawed, sinful daughter away from... from...
She faltered. She didn't know what word to use. Disaster? Catastrophe? Sin?
In her anxious state, her mind darted in every direction, and that only made her feel worse.
God, forgive me. You know what I mean. Amen.
Despite the fear twisting in her gut, she forced her eyes open again, keeping them wide and alert. With shaky hands, Nadine slowly lifted the blanket covering her body.
Shit.
Her breath hitched. Her whole body went cold.
She was completely naked.
Panic slammed into her chest. Her mind felt like it had just bailed, totally disconnected, trying and failing to make sense of what she was seeing. Slowly, she turned her head.
And there he was. A stranger. Lying next to her, facing the other way.
Half of him was under a clean white sheet. But just one look at his bare back, and she knew. He was naked too.
She stared, frozen. Mouth open, brain short-circuiting.
This wasn't her hotel room.
This place was bigger. Sleeker. The kind of suite meant for someone rich as hell. The air smelled like expensive cologne and something else she couldn't name. But whatever it was, it screamed money.
She didn't belong here.
Her eyes darted around, desperate for answers. Clues. Anything. But before she could even begin to process it all, the guy stirred and rolled over in his sleep.
Nadine held her breath.
He didn't wake up.
But, wow....
That was the only word that popped into her scrambled head. The guy lying next to her was, hands down, the hottest man she'd ever seen up close.
Her boyfriend, Matt, was good-looking. But this guy? This guy was on another planet. Like, cover-of-a-magazine level attractive. Tousled black hair, thick brows, sharp nose, full lips, a chiseled jaw. It was ridiculous how good he looked, even asleep.
There was something weirdly familiar about him. But she couldn't place it.
Her eyes dropped to his chest. Sculpted. Flat stomach. Defined lines everywhere. No way that body came without serious gym time. She could easily picture women falling all over themselves just to get noticed by him.
And somehow, she had ended up in his bed.
Her stomach flipped.
Nadine looked away, her cheeks burning with guilt and shame. This wasn't her. She didn't do shit like this. Especially not while she was still with someone.
Matt... I'm so sorry...
Just thinking of him made her heart squeeze. Loyal, sweet Matt. The guy who never gave her a single reason to doubt him.
She spotted her clothes scattered across the floor like a crime scene. She rushed to grab everything, pulling pieces on as fast and quietly as she could. The last thing she needed was for Mr. Perfect Abs to wake up and catch her mid-sneak-out.
Fully dressed, she slipped out of the room without making a sound.
The hallway was eerily quiet. She was on the top floor. Executive level. The kind of floor meant for VIPs and people with black cards. She had no idea how the hell she got up here.
When the elevator finally came and dropped her back on her floor, Nadine all but ran to her room. The second she got inside, she collapsed onto the bed, shaking and out of breath. She shut her eyes tight, trying to rewind her mind.
What the hell even happened last night?
Then like a crashing wave in her brain, she remembered.
It had started by the pool.
That arrogant asshole.
It was him.
***
Flashback.
Nadine had been lounging by the hotel pool, stretched out on a deck chair under the night sky. The soft glow of ambient lights reflected off the water's surface, casting shimmering patterns around her. A light breeze carried the scent of salt and distant music from the beach clubs down the shore.
A pair of oversized black Ray-Bans still rested on her face, more for style now than function. Eyes closed, she let herself sink into the sounds of gentle waves and the hushed murmur of the tropical night.
"Hey!"
A deep voice cut through the calm, snapping her out of her half-doze. She pushed her sunglasses up onto her head and blinked. Her brown eyes met a pair of intense, pitch-black ones. A guy was standing next to her.
"Me?" she asked, squinting.
"You're the only one here. So yeah, you," he said all casual, flashing a set of perfect white annoyingly symmetrical teeth.
Dentist twice a year. No doubt.
"Can I help you with something?" Nadine sat up, already on edge.
He didn't answer right away. Just stared at her. And she stared back. She wasn't the only one either. The entire pool area had gone suspiciously quiet. A few women were doing the not-so-subtle side-glance thing. Others just gawked. Yeah, he was that kind of handsome.
Which made it even more confusing. Why the hell would a guy who looked like he belonged on a runway walk over to her?
She was damn sure she'd never seen him before. A face like that? Unforgettable. Even with her foggy memory and too-many-late-nights brain, she had a good eye for beauty. And this man? He looked like sin in human form.
His presence had practically painted a target on her back. Now all eyes were on her. Curious, jealous, annoyed. A few of the women looked like they were two seconds away from throwing their drinks at her. The tension prickled under her skin.
Meanwhile, the guy looked completely unfazed. If anything, he seemed used to the attention. The stares from the women weren't just admiration. They looked like they wanted to consume him. It was borderline embarrassing. Yes, he was hot, but calm the hell down.
Nadine frowned.
Then he smiled.
And just like that, it hit her straight in the chest.
Jesus. That smile could ruin lives.
Her stomach did a stupid little flip. She hated it. She wasn't immune, sure. But she wasn't about to swoon either. The longer he kept smiling, the more irritated she got.
Why the hell is he still staring? she thought, subtly checking her reflection in her phone screen. Did she have something on her face? A lipstick smudge? A mascara disaster?
The man's smile curled a little wider, like he could read her mind and found it hilarious. There was amusement in his eyes, like she was the one being ridiculous.
Annoyed, she grabbed the glass of tequila from the side table and downed the rest in one swift motion.
"Okay. Who are you and what do you want?" she snapped. "Do we know each other or are you just randomly creeping on women at pools now?"
The guy blinked, almost offended. His smile faded into something more confused.
"You're serious?"
"Dead serious."
He squinted at her, studying her face like it was some kind of puzzle. Then he laughed. Like, really laughed. The kind that made her want to smack him with her flip-flop.
"You really don't recognize me? At all?" he asked, grinning like this was some kind of joke.
"Why the hell would I?"
He gave a slow smirk. "Well, it wasn't just me doing the looking. You were checking me out too."
Her jaw dropped. "Excuse me?"
"Yeah. My vision's great. No cataracts, no blurry edges, no blind spots. So yeah... I saw you."
The satisfied smile curling on his lips made her blood boil. She had the strongest urge to punch that beautiful face of his.
"Easy, relax," he said coolly as he slid onto the lounge chair beside hers.
The guy's smug attitude made Nadine realize something, the more she reacted, the more he acted out. Feeding into his bullshit was a waste of her time. Silence was the best weapon against annoying men like him.
So she lay back down, completely ignoring the fact that the guy had now taken the seat right next to her lounge chair as if he owned the place. No shame, no hesitation. Either he'd lost his sense of embarrassment at birth or it had been surgically removed. He kept staring at her face like he had nothing better to do.
What he didn't know was that he had just poked a sleeping lioness.
"Asshole! What the hell is your problem? Got nothing better to do? Then get lost and stay the hell away from me!" Nadine snapped, now on her feet and fully pissed.
The guy flinched, like she'd just stabbed him in the chest. His face twisted into some hurt expression like he was the victim here.
What a joke.
"Wait... you really don't recognize me?"
"How many times do I have to say this? I don't know you. And seriously, am I supposed to?"
"Cut the act. You already caught my attention."
***