Chapter 4

Amber’s POV

My head was pounding before my eyes even opened, and it was more than the usual headaches I have. The pain was sharp and pulsing, the kind that comes as punishment after making wrong choices.

I groaned, pressing my palm to my forehead, forcing my eyes open to see the low lighting, feel the soft sheets on my skin, and then a scent of clean smoke I didn’t recognize at first. That is, until I turned my gaze to the bare chest beside me, and my stomach plummeted.

Oh God, no.

The memories from last night flickered back in cruel fragments: the champagne, his hands on my body, his mouth on my skin, and the way I’d shamelessly begged for more of him. I slapped a hand over my mouth as shame washed over me, hot and sour.

“What have I done?” I whispered, lifting the sheets higher to cover the redness of my cheeks.

In all my movements, the man remained unmoving. I turned slowly to face him, letting out a breath of relief on seeing that he was just deeply asleep, an arm thrown over his head with an unnerving, absolute calm that seemed impossible after the violence of our night.

Heat flooded my cheeks, and I squeezed my legs together as those vivid memories of him inside me filled my head once again. One thing was certain: he was very capable, because I had not felt this… satisfied in months, even with Liam.

I cringed at my thoughts, especially because I allowed someone I barely knew to sleep with me and I didn’t even know his name. And worse, I had let him take me away while my friends were heavily drunk and unaware of their surroundings. I’d trusted a stranger’s promise without a second thought.

A wave of panic shot through my body.

“What if they never made it home like he said? What if something happened to any of them?” Questions flew through my mind.

I sat up too quickly, eliciting a sharp pain from my clit up my body and worsening the already pulsing pain in my head.

“Shit,” I said, placing both hands on the bed to steady myself as the room spun around me.

Once the pain reduced, I pressed a hand to the wall, standing up with every strength I could muster. Every part of me ached now that I was standing; my thighs, hips, shoulders.

I glanced at the man in the bed again, watching him sleep like someone who’d been perfectly sedated. While a part of me wanted to be concerned, the other saw this as a blessing because he wouldn’t see me leave.

I limped away from the bed, scanning the room for my dress and my underwear. I found my dress, a silk casualty, crumpled on the floor, the zipper slightly torn. I winced as I pulled the ruined fabric over my aching body. After that, I searched for my panties but couldn't find it so I picked what I could find, which were my shoes by the door, and my bag which was half-open, lip gloss sprawled out along with my phone.

I winced as I reached for it, trying not to scream from the pain that mounted on my hips, but then my phone lit up with a notification. I saw five missed calls from work and eight unread texts.

Another call came in, and a sharp curse slipped out of my mouth as I covered the speaker quickly to muffle the ringtone, heart racing as I switched it to silent mode. It was currently 10 a.m., which meant I was supposed to be at the office two hours ago.

I was already in trouble with this whole one-night stand thing. Would I also have to walk into the office looking like a hungover raccoon while giving an explanation to HR as well?

Why didn’t I just wait until Friday to go out?

Another text buzzed in from my colleague:

Sonia: Where are you?? The boss is already around and asking for you.

Ice slid down my spine, and I arranged myself as quietly as possible, tiptoeing toward the door. I paused with my hand on the handle, a silent but stupid desire to look behind one last time, to see the man who had been nothing but a shadow of forbidden thrill and seduction in the morning light. But I was already late, so I didn’t.

Instead, I opened the door and slipped out, closing it silently behind me, and then I bolted down the dim hallway, through the club that reeked of last night’s liquor, and into the cold morning air that slapped me hard across the face.

I stopped at the bus stop, ignoring pointed glances from other commuters as I waited for the next bus. Digging my phone out again, I winced at the rough reflection in a dark window and remedied what I could while my mind ran in circles at the next thing to do.

It was already too late to go home, so the best bet was going to resume at work for now. I unlocked my phone, moving to the contacts to call Sonia, as she’s the only person who could help me out now. My legs trembled as I waited for her to pick up, the soreness impossible to ignore as I got on the bus, finally grateful for an opportunity to sit though it was a pain as well.

“Where are you, Amber?” she gritted in my ears, her voice tight on picking up my call. “I stalled for time, but the boss is not in a good mood.”

“I’m so, so sorry, Sonia!” I pleaded frantically. “My friends invited me for a night out, and things got crazy. I’m on my way now, but I need a favor.”

I heard a disappointed sigh from the other end. “Girl, you know better. We don’t do that on a weekday!”

“I know, but the situation kind of warranted it,” I added, a weak defense to my crumbling case because I did know better.

The line went silent for a while before she spoke again. “What do you want?”

A wave of relief flooded through me, happy that she was willing to help.

“The thing is, I’m still in my dress because I just left this morning… do you have spare clothes? I can’t come in like this,” I asked, and I heard her let out a sigh.

“I promise to replace them… pinky promise, please,” I continued, making my voice soft so it could melt her heart.

“Fine,” she gave in. “But girl, you got to tighten up. Text me when you get there.”

Shame tightened around my chest as I nodded, thanking her and ending the call. The embarrassment I experienced was because of that Godforsaken man.

And worse? A traitorous, hollow ache settled deep in my core. My body still remembered him—the pressure, the possession, the sheer satisfaction—and craved to be back there, under his command.

How pathetic. I need to lock in.

I shook my head hard, tapping my cheeks to bring myself out of that moment.

“No,” I muttered to myself. “I’m not tripping over a one-night stand. I need to delete last night from my brain COMPLETELY.”