Chapter two

Jim quickly snapped out of the shock, stretching his hand towards his device and looking quite confused about his next move. He picked up his phone and hurried towards the door in an attempt to flee, but was halted by Lisa.

“Wait,” she whispered, a mischievous glint in her eyes.

Her hands stretched out, grabbing him by his shorts and pulling him back towards her. “Where do you think you're going?”

Jim's heart pounded as her gorgeous, exposed body pressed against his. He opened his mouth to stammer a reply, but she cut him off, pressing a hot kiss on his lips.

He knew this was wrong and that he needed to leave immediately, but her touch was irresistible, and a betraying warmth spread through him as her kisses turned desperate.

“I want more,” she whispers against his mouth, staggering a bit.

Jim froze for a moment before pulling away from her grip. "Maam, please, we can't do this; I'm not who you think…” She cuts him with a kiss and draws a bit closer to him, her fingers lingering along the waistline of his shorts as she gazes up at him with enticing eyes.

“I think you want this as much as I do.”

Jim swallowed hard, and his throat suddenly went dry. As much as he tried to resist her, her intoxicating touch kept stirring desires he couldn't decline.

He succumbed, pulling her towards him. He buried his lips against hers. His lips wandered from her neck down to her bosom and back to her lips. She responded willingly. As her eyes flapped shut, a soft moan escaped her lips, her hands roaming over his body. She pulled his shirt off in a rage as he led her toward the bed, and they were engrossed in a moment of extreme pleasure.

Jim wakes up after dozing off from the satisfactory moment he had just enjoyed. Glancing over, he couldn't help but stare at her beautiful body as she slept so peacefully. What had he done? He knew what he did was wrong, but he couldn't deny the incredible connection he'd felt with this stranger. And deep down, he wouldn't want this to be the last he'd see of her.

“I hope Branden forgives me if he ever finds out what I've done with his guest, but I think I want this one to myself,” he mutters as he redresses himself. He picks up his phone, takes one last glance at her, and then quietly leaves the room.

As the morning light seeps through the windows, Lisa wakes up all alone, her head banging from the excessive liquor she consumed the previous night. She glimpsed at the surroundings, realizing it wasn't somewhere familiar to her. She tried to recall what had happened the previous night, but her memory seemed blank.

She hurriedly took a shower while still wondering whose house she was in and why the person left without letting her catch a glimpse of him. Tried to look through his things to find a photo, at least, but to no avail. Lisa leaves the mansion with confusion and uncertainty looming over her.

*******************

Lisa stomped through the front door, her head pounding.

“Lisa.” Freya's voice echoed through the living room, laced with worry. “Where have you been all night?”

“I've been so worried,” Freya cried as she pulled her into a tight hug.

“Been trying to call, but your phone has been switched off all night.”

Lisa winced, trying to avoid the harsh light as it stinged her blurry eyes.

“I'm sorry, Freya; my phone died, and I had too much to drink,” she explained, collapsing on the couch next to Freya.

Freya pulled back a bit, watching Lisa's awkward behavior; her nose wrinkled at the faint smell of alcohol that oozed from her mouth. “You reek of tequila, Lisa,” she said, not able to hide her disappointment.

Lisa mumbled an apology, her head throbbing. “Freya, can I get some painkillers? My head is banging.”

Freya sighed, quickly fetched the pills and a glass of water, and handed them to Lisa, which she gulped in gratefully. “Thanks, babes; I really needed that.”

“Don't thank me yet, Lis,” Freya chided, her gaze holding a question. “Where were you all night? I don’t want to believe you went home with some random guy you met at the club!”

Lisa frowned, trying to focus while struggling to recall the event from the previous night. “I... I don't remember much. But there was this nice-looking guy who helped me out of the club and put me in a car; that's it. I woke up this morning in a mansion. Alone, with no idea how I got there.”

Freya's eyes widened in shock. “A mansion? And you don't remember who he was or what he looked like?”

Lisa shook her head in response. "No, Freya, I don't remember anything.”

Freya looked confused as she gazed at Lisa, still shocked at what she had just heard. “That's so dangerous, Lis; who knows what would have happened? What if...?”

Lisa shook her head as she interrupted her. “No, no, Freya, don't even think about that. I'm fine, really," she assured her, though she felt quite uneasy. "I'm guessing he was just a good Samaritan who wanted to get me out of trouble."

Freya's worry melted into relief as she embraced Lisa again, relieved to see her safe. "I'm just glad you're okay, but please, Lis, you need to be more careful; it's not safe to rely on strangers,” she advised, her expression filled with worry.

But Lisa waved off her concerns with a playful tease: “Common best girl, I'll be fine; I promise you that no harm will come to me, moreover this doesn't come any close to my family drama,” she joked, trying to lighten the mood.

Freya choked with laughter. "You're such a funny girl, Lisa,” she said, heading off to the kitchen.

As Freya walks away, Lisa's mind swirls with unsettling thoughts about the previous night's event. As much as she tried to reassure Freya that she was okay and everything was under control, she couldn't ignore the feeling of uneasiness in her.

She remembered waking up nude in that lavish bedroom, with no idea how she'd gotten there. A knot formed in her stomach as dark scenarios played out in her mind. What if she'd been taken advantage of in her drunken state? Violated by some cruel stranger while she was powerless to resist?

She decided not to dwell on the past, torturing herself with questions, she had to let go of what had happened and face the present.

"What happens in the mansion stays in the mansion," Lisa muttered under her breath, echoing the related familiar saying that what happens in Rome stays in Rome.

Just then a dreadful thought crossed her mind: “But come to think of it, what if I've been raped and infected with some deadly disease?”