Eva’s POV

The lights in the hotel lobby were very bright. I felt exposed, like everyone could see exactly why I was there. I stood outside the glass doors, holding the room key card so tightly that it bent slightly in my hand. My breathing was fast and uneven.

Should I really do this? I thought.

My fiancé’s sharp, mean words were loud in my mind: “You have no choice.”

I breathed in, then out, and whispered to myself, “This is the last time. After tonight, I leave him. Forever.”

I pushed through the glass doors. I walked down the long hall, which was covered in thick carpet. Each step felt heavier than the one before it. Halfway to the room, I bumped into a woman. Her handbag and papers fell onto the floor.

“Don’t you look where you are going?” she snapped, glaring at me.

Heat rose in my cheeks. “I-I am sorry. Please excuse me.”

She rolled her eyes, made a small sound of annoyance, and we both quickly picked up the scattered items. Then we walked away from each other.

When I finally reached the door number, my hand shook as I swiped the card. The light turned green. The lock clicked open. My stomach twisted into a painful knot.

Inside the suite, I heard running water. The shower was on. He was already here. Already waiting for me.

I forced my legs to move, taking slow steps into the room. Earlier, my fiancé had forced a drink into my hand, and I remembered his ugly smile as I drank it. Now, my skin felt hot. I felt restless and my blood pulsed with an energy I did not want.

I kicked off my shoes. I lay flat and stiff on the large bed, staring at the ceiling. I repeated my instruction to myself: Just let this happen. Get it done quickly. Then I can walk away forever.

The sound of the shower stopped. My heart pounded hard against my ribs.

The bathroom door opened.

A man stepped out.

Tall, broad-shouldered. I couldn’t make out his face. My eyes refused to focus, but his presence filled the narrow hallway like gravity itself had shifted toward him.

I didn’t care who he was. I didn’t have the strength to. All I knew was that the fire inside me needed release, that the fever clawing at my insides was unbearable.

My hand reached out on instinct, trembling fingers catching his wrist. His skin felt cool against my burning palm, the contact both grounding and dangerous.

Cole's POV

The night was already too long. My so called friends thought it was fun to drag me to a crowded event, force drinks on me, and surround me with loud noise and people I did not want near me.

I finally managed to get away to my private hotel suite. I took a shower and tried to clear my mind.

But when I stepped out of the bathroom, a towel around my neck, I stopped completely.

There was someone on my bed.

I blinked once. Then twice. The sight did not disappear. A woman was lying on the bed. Her hair was spread on my pillow. Her body was twitching slightly, like she was fighting something.

And then she looked at me.

I instantly knew who she was.

It was the woman from last night. The one who bumped into me, her face red and messy. The one who had gotten sick all over my suit.

What is she doing in my room?

My first thought was to call the hotel security. I should have immediately demanded to know why she was here. But before I could speak, her hand shot out and gripped my wrist.

Her skin was very hot. Her grip was shaking. I waited for the usual feeling of disgust, that annoying itch I felt whenever anyone touched me. But it did not happen.

Instead, I just felt calm.

Her lips parted. Her eyes looked cloudy, not focused or clear.

“Sleep with me,” she whispered.

The words hung in the air between us. I stood there, caught completely off guard by the shock and a strange feeling I did not want to understand.

I blinked, completely stunned. For a second, nothing moved in the room. I stood by the bed, the towel hanging from my waist, staring at the woman I had just thrown out of a clinic hours earlier. She had my key card. She was in my bed.

Then her hands moved. They slid up my arm, shaking but determined, grabbing my skin like she needed me to hold her in place.

“Please… just tonight,” she breathed. Her voice was soft, but heavy with a need that felt very real.

My jaw went tight. I could feel the intense heat coming off her body, and the way she trembled against my touch. Everything about her signaled deep trouble a desperate situation yet something inside me, something I had buried for years, started to react.

“Do you know who I am? Do you know what you are asking me to do?” My voice came out low and rough.

Her eyes, cloudy and unfocused, slowly looked up at mine. Her lips curved into a faint, painful smile. “If I pretend hard enough… it won’t hurt.” What? Is she drunk or something.

I should have called security right then. I should have pulled away from her. But instead, I found myself leaning in, moving closer than any reasonable person would. I let her stay.

Her fingers pressed into my chest, tracing the hard muscle under my skin. “Don’t think,” she whispered, her mouth so close I could feel her breath on my skin. “Just… stay with me. Tonight.”

I swore under my breath, a low sound of frustration and rising desire. My heart hammered hard in my chest. I grabbed her wrist, and with one strong pull, I tugged her body toward me. She slid across the sheets until her warmth was pressed fully against my own bare skin. The sudden heat was shocking and unwelcome, but I didn't push her away.

My eyes locked with hers. Her eyes were hazy and begging. My mind was filled with a conflict I was about to lose. I felt a powerful current passing between us. The air in the room was suddenly hot, too close, too thick tension.

My mouth moved closer to hers. My lips were a hair's width away, the warmth of her breath teasing my control.

“Be careful with your words,” I warned her. My grip on her wrist tightened. “Say one more thing, and I won’t stop. I will take everything you are offering.”

The silence held my breath. I waited for her to flinch, to pull back and realize her mistake. I wanted her to stop this. I wanted her to run.

But she didn't. She didn't say anything at all. Instead, she just closed the last little bit of space between us and her mouth met mine.

The heat exploded instantly. The moment her soft lips touched mine, all control broke. This wasn’t just a kiss, it was a sudden, violent demand. I grabbed the back of her head, pulling her deeper into the kiss, using my mouth to take everything I had promised to stop myself from touching.

She moaned softly against my lips. Her hands tangled in the towel, pulling at the fabric. The sound and the feeling of her struggling to get closer were enough. I shifted my weight, pushing her back against the silk sheets.

This is a mistake, a small, distant part of my mind screamed. But the woman beneath me was hot, shaking, and completely giving herself over. I didn't care about the consequences. I didn't care that she was the girl who threw up on me. Right now, she only showed desperate need and I gave in to her.