Bound by Secrets

In the arms of Mr Stranger

Warning!!

Explicit content incoming

Elena POV:

I couldn’t move, couldn’t think. I stood there, exposed, vulnerable. The stranger. The man who had marked me. And now, he was standing in my doorway, as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

I should’ve screamed, should’ve demanded answers, but I couldn’t. Not when his eyes were locked on me, burning with something darker than desire. I swallowed hard, my throat dry.

“What are you doing in my room?” I finally forced out, my voice shaking, a mixture of fear and confusion lacing my words.

He didn’t move, just stood there, watching me. “I heard you were looking for me, I guess you missed me.” His voice was so calm, yet so cocky, so certain, as if he knew exactly what had happened, with a smug spread widely on his face.

I shook my head, my heart pounding. “You should wipe that smug off your face, you should be ashamed of taking advantage of a vulnerable woman”

He pushed off the doorframe, stepping toward me with slow, measured steps. I instinctively took a step back, but there was nowhere to go. The bathroom wall was too close.

“I didn’t take advantage of you, baby girl,” he said softly, his tone almost tender, but the predatory gleam in his eyes told a different story. “You practically begged… for it, I remember every plea.”

I felt my chest tighten. The guilt, the shame—everything from the night before came rushing back, threatening to drown me. *Did I really beg?*

I wrapped my arms around myself as if the gesture could shield me from the truth.

He stopped a few feet from me, the space between us crackling with tension. His gaze softened, just a fraction. “Don’t feel bad, that’s what mates do”

I stepped forward, my eyes glaring at him in anger, I had totally forgotten about the mark on my neck. “What mates do? You marked me without my consent” I pointed to the mark on my neck, the dark pattern that seemed to burn beneath my skin. “Don’t give me that crap of being mate, I don’t know you and this stupid mark doesn’t prove anything.”

His eyes darkened, and the air between us thickened. He reached out, his fingers grazing the edge of my towel. I flinched, stepping back.

But his hand didn’t withdraw. Instead, it closed around my wrist, firm. "You think it doesn’t prove anything?”

I couldn’t breathe. My chest ached with the force of his words. “Let me go!” I managed to choke out.

He stepped closer, his body now inches from mine. “I can’t let you go baby girl. Stop pretending that you don’t feel that fire. I feel it too and you are mine”

I could barely think through the fog of desire and confusion that clouded my mind. I wanted to push him away and tell him to leave, but I couldn’t. Not when my body betrayed me at every turn. Not when my heart, inexplicably, responded to his proximity.

"Let go of me," I repeated, my voice barely audible, as I tried to free my wrist from his grip. I prayed silently that no one would hear us.

But instead of releasing me, he pulled me closer, his lips brushing against my ear as he spoke. "I can smell your arousal, you want me just as much as I want you.”

The heat in his voice sent a shiver down my spine, and for a moment, I was lost in the pull of it, the undeniable chemistry, the fire that still smoldered between us.

But then the words broke through the haze. He was *wrong*. I didn’t want him. I wouldn’t want him.

Not when I had Alex.

Not when I had always thought Alex was the one for me.

I shoved him, hard this time. My hands found his chest, and I pushed until he staggered back, his grip loosening on my wrist.

“I don’t care what you think,” I spat, my breath coming in short gasps. “You don’t get to decide what I want. You don’t get to control me.”

He was silent for a long moment, watching me as if he could see straight through me. And then, without warning, he moved.

Fast.

His hand shot out, grabbing me again—this time, pulling me flush against his body. His other hand snaked around my waist, pinning me to the wall.

And then his lips crashed against mine.

The kiss was fierce and demanding. I fought against it at first, pushing at his chest, but my body betrayed me again. The need that had burned between us before reignited, consuming me, and making me weak.

His fingers grazed my thighs, sending shivers down my spine. Slowly, they danced upward, teasing my skin with gentle touches. Then, abruptly, he paused.

His eyes locked onto mine, searching.

For permission.

And without waiting for a response, he claimed my mouth again.