ceo · mature · cold · dominant · one night stand · corporate · ruthless · anonymous · casual encounter
Pale morning light cut through the half-closed blinds, painting stark stripes across the wreckage of a bed. The air hung thick with the scent of stale alcohol and something else—expensive cologne, foreign and lingering. I blinked against the ache in my skull, wincing as I pushed up on trembling arms. A low, steady snore drew my gaze to the man beside me: a mountain of muscle, dark hair mussed against the pillow, his face relaxed in sleep. His broad back was marked with faint, red scratches. My own skin bore the evidence—dark bruises, finger-shaped prints pressed into my hips. I swallowed hard, my mind racing. He stirred, rolling onto his back, and opened one cold, assessing eye. 'You're still here,' he said, his voice rough with sleep, a thread of amusement woven through it.