Chapter 3 Inside You

~Katia~

"Do you know how hard I've been holding myself?" I didn't answer because all I wanted was to get laid. I could still feel the ache between my legs. He carried my bridal style and led me to his hotel room.

"Now, I can have you however I want because you are now my wife, princess." The room was dark, and I was feeling all sorts of things; I doubt I even remember my name at this point. He sent me launching onto a bed. His finger ran along my lips. His lips traced along my neck. It tickles, and it feels so good. My mind zigzags in pleasure and confusion.

"I love your body, wifey." He pulls up my dress, and now I am exposed. "I couldn't wait to get you here so I could taste you from the chopper. I want to make it memorable for you." His words shocked me like a live wire.

*

Morning slammed into me with cruel sunlight and a splitting headache. I woke up in a room I didn't recognize.

The room screamed money, expensive cologne, maybe. My head throbbed. My body... ached. I was naked under the sheets, tangled in them like I'd been tossed there, and beside me, a man lay asleep. A stranger, panic hit me like a punch to the chest.

I couldn't even look at him. I didn't want to. I didn't want to know what kind of face went with the body that had touched mine, claimed mine. I sat up too fast, and pain shot between my legs like a warning. I gasped and clutched the sheets tighter.

Everything down there was sore and swollen. The ache in my thighs was sharp, deep, and humiliating.

I scanned the floor, found my dress-crumpled and reeking of bar smoke and sweat-and yanked it on, wincing with every movement. My heels were on their sides by the door. I hobbled toward them like I was learning to walk again, forcing myself to stand tall even when I wanted to curl into myself and disappear.

What the hell happened last night?

I remembered the race. The victory. The roar of the crowd. I remembered heading to the bar to celebrate. I ordered one drink, then another, then... then two guys approached me.

Their faces were blurry. Everything after that? Blank, like someone hit the erase button on my memory. There was laughter, I think. Maybe a game of pool. A joke. Something about tequila. And then-nothing.

Just soreness. Just this stranger. Just a room I didn't know.

I found my purse by the couch, slung it over my shoulder, and didn't look back. I didn't want to wake him. I didn't want him to speak. I didn't want him to remember me, either.

I made my way to the parking garage, ignoring the way my legs trembled with every step, found my car, and drove back to my hotel like a ghost at the wheel.

When I finally made it to my suite, I didn't even stop to breathe. I stripped the dress off again, went straight into the bathroom, and turned on the shower like I could rinse off the confusion clinging to me.

The water hit my skin, and I almost jumped, like someone else's body had touched hardly every inch of mine, and I didn't even get the decency of a name.

My chest was tight, my eyes burned, and when I splashed water on my face, something cold clicked against my cheek. I froze and looked down at my left hand, and my stomach dropped into my feet.

I was wearing a ring.

Not costume jewelry. Not something cheap from a souvenir shop. This thing sparkled. It shone. It looked like commitment, permanence, and possibly a felony.

"What the fuck?" I whispered.

I yanked the shower curtain open and stepped out, dripping, breath shallow. My fingers trembled as I turned the ring around, trying to figure out if it was real. It looked expensive. Too expensive. But I didn't remember anything. Not a proposal. Not a chapel. Not even a kiss.

I threw clothes on, barely drying off, and rushed out of my room to find the guy. Any guy. But I remembered I don't remember anything; there was no trail to follow, no clue, not even a room number. I hadn't even checked what floor I was on this morning.

Even if I passed him in the lobby... I wouldn't recognize his face.

"My god," I whispered again, gripping my temple.

I remembered nothing.