I opened my eyes and growled at the blinding daylight. I lifted my head an inch or two, but, apparently, my face wasn't ready to say goodbye to the pillow. As the head fell back to its rightful place, my temples turned into taiko drums, and an invisible Japanese guy started to bang the holy shit out of them.
I hated hangovers, and this one was clearly the worst one I'd had in years. What the hell was I drinking last night? Molotov cocktails?! My hand slid through the sheets, hoping to reach the bedside table and the aspirin pill I left there yesterday. As soon as I realized that my hand was too short to reach beyond the bed, I began to crawl, inching face-down in worm-like movements. Suddenly, my nose sank into a white, soft fabric. I inhaled the scent, and the agonizing pressure inside my head began to disappear. I took another breath and bit my lip. Something about this scent caused all my female hormones to do happy little somersaults. My nose wandered through the fabric until it got glued to something sticky and sweet.
I yanked my head up and realized I was sniffing a shirt—a man's shirt... My hand clamped my mouth just in time to muffle my scream as the memories of last night returned in the form of an embarrassing series of images.
I swallowed, staring at the shirt, and I mumbled, "Alex..."
That guy from yesterday was obviously pissed, and now he was waiting for me to return his shirt—his freshly cleaned shirt! I raised the fabric to estimate the damage and let out a painful groan. "God… I even drooled all over it!"
I sucked in a deep breath, then another one and another one until my brain was able to process anything beyond the basic information. As soon as my neurons turned off their sleepy mode, I recognized the softness under my fingertips. My mouth released a hysterical chuckle, and my heart began to race.
The shirt was made of the purest Egyptian cotton. It was also tailor-made and finished by hand. To sum it up, this shirt was worth more than my month's rent—or two months' rent. I sucked in a deep breath and dragged my fingers through my hair.
"Sarah, you got this. You got the oil paint out of your favorite sweatshirt, more times than it should be possible. You surely can remove the sticky something out of an astronomically expensive shirt!"
The self-pep-talk lessened my panic and awakened logical thinking. A few minutes later, I swayed my way to the bathroom and did everything I could to resemble a human being. As soon as that happened, I began the Spotless Shirt Operation. Thanks to my annoying professional habit, I had always carried a few odd detergents in my bag. Now that habit could save my life…
Two hours later, I declared victory over the stain that wickedly corrupted the handsome guy's shirt. Bringing my professionalism to a higher level, I ironed it and hung it on the borrowed cover, courtesy of the hotel's cleaning staff. Proud of myself, I walked out of my room only to realize that I had no idea where I could find the owner of that damn shirt…
"Idiot. Sarah, you're an absolute idiot!" I growled at myself, parading downstairs, a black shirt cover in hand.
Should I ask Jarvis if he had seen him? He might have told me if he had. Of course, I would have to tell him about my embarrassing encounter with Mr. Dark and Dangerous, and then he would probably laugh his ass off, but he could be the only person able to help—
"Excuse me?" A deep man's voice caused my head to snap to the side. "You're that girl from yesterday, aren't you?"
I had no idea what he meant, but my cheeks had already begun to flare with raw heat. "W-what do you mean?" I laughed nervously, scanning the man in front of me, terrified that I might have done more embarrassing things than those I could remember.
"Oh, you're definitely THAT girl." The man grinned, revealing perfectly white teeth, and then it hit me...
"You're his friend," I muttered, recognizing him as one of the mouthwatering quartet in suits. I wouldn't call the recognition part hard since he was wearing a suit even now, and he was looking just as hot as I remembered him in my blissful, alcoholic state.
His green eyes widened, and his smile vibrated with the purest kind of amusement. "I'm Grayson." He stretched out his hand. "And you are?"
I shook his hand and let out an awkward chuckle. "I'm Sarah… And I was just looking for… your friend." More awkward laughter came out of me, and I could almost see my subconscious facepalm.
"Alex?" Now the bright, teeth-flashing grin turned into a smirk. "I'm afraid he might be unavailable at the moment. Do you want anything… specific from him? Perhaps I could replace him?"
Was this guy flirting with me?! I blinked a few times and slowly scanned his wavy hair in a color resembling a mix of blond and ginger, his white shirt with three or four undone buttons, revealing a part of his muscled chest, and the rest of him packed in a suit that fit him like a second skin. He was certainly attractive, but my hormones didn't seem all that impressed.
I cleared my throat and lifted my hand holding a shirt cover. "I have Mr. Alexander's shirt... I washed it and wanted to return it to him."
Grayson's brows rose. "You… washed his shirt?"
My lips stretched into a thin line. "Yes. Is washing his shirts forbidden or something?"
He cracked a grin again. "Not at all." Then he looked me up and down, causing me to wonder if there was something wrong with the shorts or the white tank top I was wearing. "I would have gladly delivered him… his laundry, but, unfortunately, I'm quite busy."
"But do you know where I can find him?" I gave him a pleading look. "I really wouldn't want to spend the rest of my weekend carrying his shirt with me."
"Oh, we cannot let that happen." The amusement in his voice increased. "Here." He pulled out a hotel room key card from his jacket pocket and handed it to me. "You can leave it in his room."
"In his room?" I echoed, sounding like a brainless creature.
He nodded. "Go to the Golden Suite. It's on the top floor. Use that card to enter and leave the shirt. You can leave the card at reception once you're done."
I blinked. "And that's it?"
"That's it." He chuckled and nonchalantly looked at his watch. "I need to go to a conference. Alex is probably busy with business transactions, so if I were you, I would go to his suite and deliver this shirt now."
A second later, he turned around and walked away, leaving me with the golden-black key card in my hand. This task sounded harmless when Grayson described it, so why did it feel like a complete violation of the handsome guy's privacy?
"Screw it!" I decided, shifting my feet toward the hotel elevators. It was my hard-earned vacation, and I was not going to waste priceless minutes trying to find Mr. Sex-on-the-legs no matter how much my lady bits would want me to keep looking!
As soon as I reached the top floor, I realized that finding the Golden Suite wasn't going to be difficult. It was the ONLY suite on the entire floor. I pressed the card against the scanner and grabbed the door handle.
"Hello?" I called out cautiously, but no reply came for several heartbeats. Drawing a deep breath, I walked inside. Who would have thought that the Golden Suite was actually... golden? Well, all right, it was white with an excessive amount of golden ornaments, furniture elements, and curtains. Even the pearl-white flooring had specks of gold melted into the stone. For a moment, I wondered if all that gold was real…
I walked inside, taking in the slightly overwhelming interior, until I found myself standing in a spacious salon with a row of glass doors opening to a terrace with a private swimming pool. Seriously? A night in a suite like this surely cost even more than the shirt I had just carefully washed.
Suddenly, I heard the sound of an opening door followed by a roar. "How the fuck did you get here?!"
I turned toward the sound, and if my mouth had been opened before, then now my jaw must have fallen down to drool over the stone floor. It turned out Alexander was in his suite when I entered. In fact, he was in his bathroom, most likely taking a shower. Now he walked out of the bathroom and stood two feet away from me. He was gorgeously wet… and absolutely naked.
The breath I took evaporated from my lungs before I could use the oxygen. The next one never reached below my throat. Then I stopped struggling and remained… breathless. His soaking wet hair curled in a mass of unruly dark strands, framing his insanely gorgeous face. These strands had to be somehow programmed to emphasize all the most captivating angles because they made him look twice as alluring. The sun illuminated one half of his face, leaving the other half embraced by a soft shadow. Sweet Jesus… He was the most perfect picture I had ever seen.I wish I could say that I resisted the urge to look lower, but it was beyond my control. Before I realized it, my eyes carefully scanned his heavenly body, covered by devastatingly lingering drops of water. I swallowed a hysteric chuckle and slowly took in his neck, his broad shoulders, his perfectly muscled arms, his firm pecs, his geometrically crafted abs, his irresistible V-line, his—"Fuck…" I wasn't sure if the low, strangled half-cr
I inhaled the scent of the man I decided to marry. Yes, I fully acknowledged the ridiculousness of that decision, but most of my half-conscious body and mind seemed to support it. What he had given me went beyond a physical encounter and beyond making love… It was something magical, something I had never experienced before. I felt precious in his arms, like a gem that needed to be treated with the utmost care. I had tasted emotions I never knew existed, even after being in a three-year relationship with a man who was supposed to love me. It was insane. I had sex for hours, taking a break only to eat a few snacks in bed and then continuing until our bodies were too exhausted to move. And I didn't even know Alex's last name! Somehow that knowledge seemed irrelevant because every second with him felt… right.What if fate existed and brought us together? What if we were meant to be? As hilarious and unbelievable as it sounded, nothing in my life had ever felt as perfect as being together
I had spent the last three weeks searching for my scumbag foster brother. I went to every possible place I thought he might be staying and visited all the people who might have known where he was. All for nothing. I was devastated, exhausted, and, above all, furious at myself for believing him."What did the police say?" Joy asked me as soon as I passed the threshold. When she saw tears gathering in my eyes, she handed me a mug of hot cocoa and led me to the sofa.God, I loved her. She was the only person in that whole messed-up world I could count on. Sniffing, I took a sip of far-too-sweet liquid and faced her. "They said that Bram violated the pre-trial release limitations, so they sent an arrest warrant to other states… He is officially a wanted man, but that also means that my money is gone, and I will never get it back." I bit my lip, trying hard not to start crying.Joy sighed and gave me a wry smile. "It could have been worse."I groaned. "How? I lost all my money. I'm jobless
"What do you mean by pregnant?! I can't be pregnant!" The panic building inside me erupted like molten lava. I glanced at my belly and began to wonder if there truly was something growing inside me.Joy rushed to my bed and grabbed my hand while I sucked hectic breaths, acting as if I were already going into labor. "Sarah, you need to calm down and focus." I heard her serene and even voice. It didn't help.I shook my head. "It… It is impossible!" I burst out.The doctor shrugged slightly. "Unexpected pregnancies happen all the time.""You don't understand!" I panted, my eyes flickering between Joy and the doctor. "I can't be pregnant! I'm on pills!"The doctor blinked a few times before glancing at his tablet and swiping through my medical records. He frowned and then sighed. "The contraceptive pills you've been using have been withdrawn from the market recently due to leading to frequent, well… pregnancies."I felt like someone made holes in my lungs. I had been using the same pills
Five years later "Mommy! Let's go!" My son jumped up and down, urging me to get our suitcases from the luggage carousel. I sighed and gave my little devil a meaningful look. "Liam, we have to wait for our suitcases, and they are not here yet... Unless you want me to pick two random ones, then we can go." Liam gasped and shook his head. "No! Other people don't have Spiderman's pajamas in their suitcases, and I really liked mine!" I smirked. "Then we have to wait." I grabbed his little hand and stroked his unbelievably thick, dark-brown hair. "Don't worry. It won't be long." He nodded and grinned. It was his first time in New York, and he was overly excited. Unlike him, I was growing anxious, and even though my confidence had grown over the last few years, a little of the old me had awakened as soon as our plane landed at the airport. A lot had changed during those five years. For starters, I found the love of my life—my son, the amazing, smart, and forever cheerful kid I decided t
My heart stopped. I froze, staring at Alex and watching his grin spread across his face. A part of me wanted to tell him who I was. A part of me wanted to embrace him… and then punch him hard for how he had treated me. It took me several seconds before my brain processed the simple fact: the man in front of me didn't want me. The check he had left for me expressed it loud and clear. He had treated me like a whore, and the fact that my dumb hormones still merrily buzzed at the sight of him required a serious reprimand. Furthermore, he could have been married by now… I saw no ring when I glanced at his finger, but that didn't prove anything.I forced my lungs to stretch as I sucked in a breath. I was not going to let another man hurt me. I was nobody's doormat. And I was definitely not going back to making the same mistakes. I could not let myself be fooled again, and the man in front of me was definitely a natural-born trickster. I couldn't let myself fall for his charms, although all
Oliver helped me find someone trustworthy who would look after Liam while I went to meet the arrogant Ms. Jeanette Duncan. The trusted person in question was Oliver's girlfriend, Nora. I was hesitant when Oliver mentioned her at first, but when I saw this smiling, petite blonde with huge blue eyes, I somehow knew I'd be leaving Liam in good hands. Besides, Liam liked her the second she walked into our apartment, and, unlike his mother, my son was strangely a good judge of characters.Standing in front of the mirror, I combed my auburn hair, smoothing the slightly wavy strands. I took a deep breath. For some reason, a few knots formed in my guts, and the feeling of unease crept its way to the surface, flooding me with cold sweat. I drew another breath, grabbed mascara, and underlined my gray eyes. I had rarely cared about my makeup, but this time, I could already sense that it wouldn't be my skills that testified to my professionalism but my looks. I hated that, but as much as I didn't
ALEXI was sitting on the leather sofa in the Pas Pour Toi Club, a place that belonged to my friend Daniel Wilden. A year ago, he had opened this spot out of boredom, giving it the most arrogant name possible—Not For You. He wanted to make the club a private haven for his friends to talk and drink. Well, it didn't work. The place was currently one of the hottest spots in New York City. Fortunately, Daniel created a VVIP room, to which only five people had access. I was one of them.I drew a deep breath as I stared at the amber liquid in my glass. The pumping bass slightly slipped through the walls and door, but that was the only thing that indicated that we were in the middle of a crowded nightclub. I had always hated club noises, but not tonight. Tonight, it was the silence that I could not bear…Thoughts swirling inside my head matched the insane speed of the blood running in my veins. It took me more than five minutes before I put them in some kind of order and willed myself to lif