Deus Ex Machina

A woman woke up with a pounding headache, her body feeling heavy and sluggish.

As she shifted slightly, she was shocked to find a naked stranger lying next to her.

WTF?!

She jolted awake, freezing in place.

Panic started to rise as she tried desperately to remember how she ended up in a stranger's bed.

Then, a terrifying realization hit her—she was naked and no longer a virgin.

Just then, the man stirred, his dark eyes fluttering open and locking onto hers.

“Wow, last night was incredible. Want to keep going?”

He sat up casually, completely at ease, his flawless body on full display.

He grabbed a bottle of water from the bedside table and offered it to her.

“Here, drink this. You must be thirsty. We can pick up where we left off if you’re up for it.”

Unable to contain her fear and anger any longer, the woman’s hand moved on its own, slapping him hard across the face.

“Who are you? How did I end up here? What have you done to me?”

The man, Alexander Leonhart, blinked, his cheek stinging from the slap.

He looked at the woman in front of him—a mesmerizing beauty with silky hair and a body that radiated perfection.

Her face was a storm of anger and panic, but her very presence made his desire stir once again.

“You!” The woman, Sophia Lancaster, screamed as she saw something rising on the man. “You better tell me who you are!”

“Calm down!” Alex stared at her.

“You ran to me and asked me to sleep with you. Don’t you remember?”

“Impossible,” Sophia denied, shaking her head vehemently.

It was impossible that she would chase after a man, especially a stranger.

“You must have done something to me!”

She felt the rough texture of the blanket against her bare skin.

Confusion and fear swirled in her mind as she looked around the room, her eyes darting frantically.

The man’s old military backpack and plain clothes caught her attention—nothing in this hotel room indicated wealth.

The smartphone on the nightstand was a cheap one with a cracked screen.

With one glance, Sophia realized the man she had slept with was far from wealthy, just an ordinary man who struggled daily to make ends meet.

"Watch your accusations," Alex said calmly.

"I'm a gentleman, and I would never force anyone. You were the one who came to me, hugged me, kissed me, and begged me to sleep with you."

Sophia’s eyes wide opened.

“Liar!”

“This is my hotel room. You can check the CCTV if you want—see if you came here or if I kidnapped you.”

Sophia didn’t believe a word the man was saying, but suddenly, a memory flashed before her eyes.

She was supposed to have a meeting with Calvin Lecter, the CEO of a rival company, to discuss the ongoing price war that was causing her business to suffer.

She had thought they were meeting to find a solution, but it turned out Calvin had nasty intentions from the start.

He had drugged her, hoping to take advantage of her.

She remembered managing to escape with the help of his bodyguard, but as she ran from them, she stumbled across a man opening a door.

Desperate, she had hoped to hide in his room for a while.

But the drug Calvin had given her was a potent aphrodisiac, which made her desires flare uncontrollably.

A sudden sharp headache hit Sophia as the memories flooded back.

"Oh no! How could this happen?"

"Do you remember now?" Alex smirked. "You were the one begging."

“Shut up!” Sophia’s face turned bright red with shame and fury.

Under the drug’s influence, everything had seemed to make sense at the time, but now, everything felt so wrong. “Damn it!”

“Listen, I’m a gentleman,” Alex offered sincerely, trying to make amends. “I took your virginity. I’ll marry you. How about that?”

Sophia scoffed, her disbelief mixing with disgust.

“You want to marry me? Do you even know who I am?”

She was one of the top beauties in Vancouver, with a rising career as a young CEO.

Wealthy men were something she’d never run out of, and yet here was this poor man, trying to use this situation to bind her with marriage.

He was clearly just another parasite, hoping to latch onto a wealthy woman like her and live off her success.

“Well, I just arrived in Vancouver this afternoon, so I don’t know anyone here yet,” Alex said earnestly.

“But I can assure you, you won’t need to worry about anything for the rest of your life if you marry me.”

Sophia scoffed again, her disdain clear.

“With your old military backpack? And those scars on your body? I guess you’re some low-rank soldier, just returned from a warzone. Your one month’s salary wouldn’t even cover my expenses for a single day.

Sophia was furious!

How shameless this man was!

“Believe me,” Alex said, his voice low and firm, “I’m not what you think. I’m more powerful than any man you’ve ever met.”