Forbidden Secret

Prologue

The city night spreads before my feet. Its lights are so bright that it seems the stars have scattered over the earth. The sky is clear, and the moon smiles down on me with its crescent. Everything predicts an unforgettable night.

I can hear him even before he opens the door to the hotel room and takes the step across the threshold. In the reflection of the panoramic windows of the skyscraper, I see how the stranger freezes in the doorway and stares at me. Apparently, he is deciding whether he should go further or take a step back before it's too late. But I have already made up my mind.

"Beautiful night, isn't it?" I remark, turning to face him, my chin resting on my shoulder.

He hangs a "Do Not Disturb" sign on the handle and locks the door.

"Like any clear summer night," he says in a hoarse voice. Its timbre shooting waves of electricity through my skin. So soulful, enveloping...

Casually discarding his black suit jacket onto a nearby chair, he moves closer, his presence enveloping me from behind. In the dim twilight of the room, his masculine features are accentuated by the play of shadows. I know nothing about this man—his name, his occupation, his daily routines or habits—and yet, the uncertainty only heightens my senses, quickening my pulse and causing my breath to hitch.

I'm not sure how I found myself on this exhilarating escapade.

"Look," the stranger puts one hand on my bare shoulder, hooking the thin strap of the dress with his long fingers, and the other points to the sky. "That is the constellation, Ursa Major."

He connects the stars with invisible lines, forming the familiar shape of the Great Bear. But I can't focus on anything except for the heat of his breath against my neck.

"Beautiful," I whisper softly. He pulls the hairpin from my hair, and it tumbles down in chestnut curls over my shoulders.

"Just like you are," he tickles my ear with his lips, sliding his hand up my neck and brushing the strands over my back.

I see him glancing at our reflection in the glass. His hand grabs my chin and runs his thumb over my lips, outlining their contour. The fingers of his free hand gently pull the zipper of my dress, freeing the fabric from my body. It falls to the floor, leaving me in nothing but panties and heeled sandals.

He also looks at our reflection in the glass. It is so vulgar and dirty it takes my breath away. At this moment, his palms inquisitively explore my body, navigating every curve. A long groan escapes my throat. A smirk plays at the corners of his mouth, and I find myself wanting to wipe away that self-satisfied grin. I run my parched tongue across my lips, looking defiantly into the stranger's eyes.

In one moment, something changes in him. The expression on his face becomes gloomy, the lights of the city night shining in the pools of his black pupils.

Without hesitation, he jerks my panties down and they fall to my ankles. Sharp, burning pain explodes where the lacing of my panties has been. I scream and push my palms against the cool surface of the window.

"Stand still," he breathing heavily.

The sound of a belt buckle being undone echoes louder in my ears than my own heartbeat. Excitement mingles with a sensation I never associated with intimacy before: fear. Panic tightens around my chest as adrenaline floods my veins, the realization of my vulnerability sinking in.

Me and the stranger alone. A room in a hotel where no one will hear me and come running to help if something goes wrong...

As I struggle to gather my thoughts, I fail to notice him undressing completely, his gaze fixated on the shifting emotions on my face. I bite my lip. Broad shoulders, strong torso with sculpted muscles, powerful buttocks, and shins. Light tan on the skin. A snake tattoo coils around his waist.

I meet brown eyes in the reflection and swallow nervously. I have my back to him, still leaning against the glass, which makes my palms go cold. His eyes wander over me, scanning every millimeter, and leaving marks on my body.

The stranger's gaze penetrates my very being, flooding every cell with his presence until multicolored spots dance before my eyes.

My throat is torn from screaming, and I can no longer control myself. Lust overwhelms fear, and I lean back into his embrace, only to be held in place, denied the contact I crave. My cheek smudges the window, smearing the remains of my makeup.

Conflicting sensations wash over me—pain and pleasure, mingling in a dizzying whirl. His hands ruthlessly burn my skin, bringing bruises to the surface, as his lips cover my shoulder with gentle kisses, outlining every mole.

I'm entirely at his mercy, consumed by his presence until I forget who I am and where I am, lost in a haze of heightened sensations that bring both ecstasy and confusion. The presence of the stranger is so much around and inside of me.

"I'll call you a cab," the stranger says, wiping his damp hair with a towel after a shower.

He stands naked in the middle of the room without any embarrassment, and watches as I pull my hair back into a tight bun with shaking hands. When I finally succeed, I tug at the hem of my dress and turn around to face the man. The cool air from the air conditioner irritates my heated skin, bringing to life my emotionally inflamed brain.

"Thanks, but there's no need," I manage a strained smile.

I'm at a loss for how to act around him. After all, we seem to be no one to each other, despite the fact that just fifteen minutes ago, we were drowned in a whirlpool of orgasm, divided in two.

All I want is to flee this hotel room and retreat to the comfort of home. A shower, some soft pajamas, and a snug blanket sound like the perfect antidote to this surreal encounter.

" Are you sure you wouldn't like to freshen up before you go?" The stranger asks, throwing a towel on the bed — the same bed where my high heels were entangled in the sheets while he explored every inch of my body, igniting waves of sweet agony.

I shake my head to get the dirty pictures out of my mind. My lower abdomen unbearably burning.

"I'm sure," I croak, then clear my throat. "I'll call a taxi myself, thanks."

I quickly make my way to the door, grabbing my bag from the bedside table. The strap of the dress, as luck would have it, flies off my shoulder, revealing my breast just as I run past him. With trembling fingers, I hastily readjust the fabric.

"What is your name?" The question flies at my back, but I pretend not to hear it and slam the door behind me so hard that the vibrations reverberated throughout the corridor.

I don't need to know his name any more than he needs to know mine. We're just two strangers who shared a night together and will never cross paths again.