Chapter 2 Where the hell am I

The digital clock on the nightstand read 7:28 a.m. It was a beautiful morning, and the sun shone through the window. The shimmering, warm rays crept into the room and bathed Zarina’s bare skin as she slept. Her messed-up hair flowed in every direction, doing nothing to protect her from the shaft of sunshine attempting to wake her up. Her bed was softer than the ones in the motels, and the fragrance in the air made her feel more at ease than she had expected. The only way she could get rid of the bothersome beams glaring in her eyes was to roll to the other side. Just a minute had gone by before her body tightened and she began to shudder, her eyes squeezed firmly shut. If it was possible, her eyelashes would have left imprints on her sensitive skin. Her lips dried up, and a sob struggled to escape. She was sound asleep but growing restless by the second. She rolled one more time and ended up facing up at the ceiling. “Please!…..Let …me go….Please!…Don’t…do this.” she stuttered. “NO!” she screamed, waking up breathless and struggling for air. She was completely awake, having lost all traces of the peaceful slumber she had had only a few minutes ago. Her lips parted, allowing the air to fill her lungs. Tears lingered in her eyes, blurring her vision, until a little drop fell down her cheeks, followed by another. “Dream. It was only a dream!” she whispered to herself. She sighed in relief, wiping her tears away with the back of her hand and running her fingers through her beautiful brown hair. She began to relax, and that’s when she heard him. “Mantieni la tua voce bassa o io vi ucciderò.” a sleepy male voice snapped at her. [Keep your voice down or I’ll kill you] And here she thought her nightmare was worse. She swallowed as her back tensed in response to the abrupt voice. She couldn’t understand a single word. Not because of her drowsiness, but because it was spoken in a language that was far from her wits. Yet, that seemed to be the least of her concerns. There were clearly more things for her to worry about right now. First and foremost, who the hell was that? Slowly praying under her breath, she snapped her head at the source. Her jaw fell, her eyes widened, and a bolt from nowhere slammed her senses with a hefty pound. “Holy Shit!” She shook her head and looked again. Maybe she was hallucinating? But she wasn’t. The view was still the same. An almost naked man was sleeping by her side. Huge and bulky. Muscular like a beast. Zarina swallowed hard against the painful pounding of her heart. Never in her life had she expected to wake up next to someone… someone like him. The shameless man had nothing covering his strong and powerful chest, which lifted and sank with rapid breaths. And Zarina found it really hard to look away. Instead, she bit her lip and tried not to feel undeserving of someone like him. This man was everything she would want but could never hope to have. He was mind-numbingly gorgeous and fascinating enough to make her drool. Her gentle gaze explored the long-forgotten scars on his body, suggesting he was a warrior. Her heart sank, and she felt sad thinking about what may have made him deserve them. There was a strong desire to feel them and see if they were still hurting. But the thought disappeared as soon as her gaze rested on the white sheets, which skillfully covered his body below his waist. She paused for a moment. Shaking her head, she mentally smacked herself for tempting her to do something unacceptable. Next time, she went right for the face, which was just another masterpiece of God’s art. Anybody would be stopped in their tracks by that face. His tanned complexion was accentuated by his rich chocolate hair. Strong arched brows with eyelashes so thick they could be illegal. The stubble on his cheeks pleaded for her attention, compelling her to stay a mile away, afraid her touch might ruin them. Zarina thought it must be a dream when she didn’t remember bringing anyone home. Home? No. Hotel. She sighed and looked at her bed. Wait! This wasn’t her bed. She looked around. This wasn’t even her room. Where the hell am I? Her stomach churned in a way she didn’t understand. A feeling of wanting to throw up with disgust filled her heart. She shut her eyes in frustration, trying to remember something, anything, that could explain what this guy was doing in her bed, or rather, what she was doing in his bed! Glancing once again at the handsome man lying beside her, sudden fear arose in her stomach. She whipped her head down to look at herself. Pleased with what she saw, a sigh of relief escaped her lips. She was covered in the right amount of clothes. The only good thing that happened to her this morning. But wait a minute! She looked down again and let out a silent gasp. They weren’t her clothes. Her brows snapped in shock. She didn’t remember buying herself a short satin nightgown that failed to cover the skin below her thighs. She panicked. And who the hell changed them? That was it. She couldn’t take it anymore. A lot had happened, and there was no explanation for anything. Especially the man sleeping next to her. She was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Wasting not another second, she scooted from the bed as silently as she could and tiptoed towards the door. Once she reached the handle, she turned back one last time to find that the man was still asleep. She could only see his back from here, but it was enough to leave her palms covered in sweat. Deep down in her heart, she wanted to stay and learn how she ended up with a guy like him, but the thought was creeping her out at the same time. Gulping, she turned back and rotated the golden knob. Nope. Nothing happened. She tried again. Nothing. The door was locked. Maybe from outside? She huffed in frustration. Who the hell does that? This man was really crazy, or maybe a sad case of a psychopath. OK. She shouldn’t have thought that, it only made her trembling body shiver more. Now she seriously wanted to leave this room anyhow. She struggled with the knob again. But it wasn’t ready to grant her wish. “Bisogno di aiuto?” A deep, raspy voice slapped her ears, sending sudden shivers down her spine. [Need Help?]