His Sweetest Obsession

My head felt like someone had smashed it with a sledgehammer and then carelessly glued it back together. Pain throbbed at my temples, pounding dully inside my skull. When was the last time I’d felt this shitty? Fuck if I knew.

Opening my eyes turned out to be even harder. My eyelids felt like lead, and there was a fucking storm raging inside my head. Then the nausea hit. Fast and vicious, leaving zero room to fight back.

I lurched forward, tangled my feet in the blanket, nearly crashed to the floor, but somehow made it to the door, swearing under my breath. The unfamiliar room swam before my eyes, but instinct took over. I practically stumbled into the bathroom and grabbed the cold porcelain of the toilet.

It felt like I was turning myself inside out.

My chest heaved, sweat running down my temples. I coughed, forced myself upright, and turned on the water with shaking hands. Icy droplets hit my skin, but it didn’t help. I hadn’t felt this sick since my college days after the most fucked-up parties imaginable.

I raised my head. The face staring back at me from the mirror barely looked familiar. Pale. Haggard. Dark circles under my eyes, hair sticking out in every direction. And more importantly—I was stark naked.

“Fuck…” I breathed hoarsely, looking away.

Gathering what little strength I had left, I walked out of the bathroom.

My vision was still blurry, but by then, apparently, nothing should have surprised me.

Sprawled across the bed was a girl. Sound asleep. Young. Very young. Dark hair lay in a tangled mess across the pillow, her breathing slow and even. The sheet had been kicked down somewhere around her legs. Our clothes were scattered across the floor.

For fuck’s sake… I dragged a hand over my face, trying to pull my thoughts together. Okay… What did I remember?

The company party. Champagne. Toasts. The formal part. Then… the club with Ryan, Max, and a few of our business partners. I’d been sitting with my second-in-command, watching the crowd lose themselves on the dance floor. After that—nothing. A black void, like someone had taken an eraser to the rest of the night.

One thing I knew for sure: I was still in that damn club. Which, apparently, had rooms like this on the second floor. I let out a heavy breath and bent down to grab my clothes when a soft knock came at the door. I frowned. Fuck. What now?

I straightened up and opened the door without giving it much thought. Still stark naked.

Alex stood on the other side. My head of security and personal bodyguard. As composed as ever, except this time there was something almost guilty in his expression.

I gave him a silent nod, letting him in.

“Can someone explain what the fuck is going on here?” I snapped, pulling on my pants.

Alex paused briefly before answering, his voice even. “Someone spiked your drink last night. A doctor examined you during the night. He said the dose wasn’t lethal, but… it was high. It knocked you out cold. We decided to leave you here so no one would see you in that condition and start spreading rumors.”

I exhaled slowly, trying to keep my irritation under control. “My wife?”

“She’s out of the country. I don’t think it was her this time.”

I ground my teeth. “And who’s that?” I nodded toward the bed as I fastened my belt.

I looked at the girl. She was still fast asleep, not even stirring. The light fell across her face, highlighting delicate skin and soft features. Features that looked way too young.

Heat shot through me. Had I slept with a fucking minor? Fuck…

My mouth went dry. I dragged in a breath and forced my eyes away from her naked body. Cursing under my breath, I walked over and, summoning what little decency I had left, pulled the sheet over her.

What the hell was she doing here? Was this some kind of setup? Had someone set me up?

The nausea twisting my stomach suddenly had very little to do with whatever I’d been drugged with last night. She couldn’t be that young. Fuck. I raked both hands through my hair, trying to shove the panic back down.

“Alex.” My voice came out rough and hoarse. He looked up at me without a word. “Tell me she’s legal.”

I stared at him as a sickening chill spread through my chest.

He paused for a moment before answering flatly. “Twenty-two. Don’t worry.”

I closed my eyes and exhaled. Christ. I hated this kind of shit.

“You still haven’t told me who she is.”

Alex hesitated. “She’s… one of your employees.”

My head snapped toward him. “My… what?”

I looked at the girl again, trying to remember anything at all. Her face seemed vaguely familiar, but I’d be damned if I could remember her name. And it pissed me the fuck off that I couldn’t remember a thing.

“And my wife?” I asked again, still staring at the girl.

“As far as we know, she’s out of the country, Mr. Hale,” Alex repeated patiently.

I was pulling on my shirt when a sharp pain flared across my back. Grimacing, I walked over to the mirror—and froze.

My back was covered in scratches. Deep. Red. Like someone had really enjoyed digging her claws into me.

I slowly ran my fingers over the fresh marks and narrowed my eyes. So I’d spent the night with this girl… and she’d turned out to be a wildcat?

I scoffed and shook my head. “Took you long enough to find me last night, considering what happened to your boss.”

Alex looked away. “We found you quickly, Mr. Hale. But… we didn’t immediately realize what was happening. That someone had tried to kill you.”

My eyes narrowed. “What do you mean, you didn’t immediately realize?”

Alex stayed silent, as if weighing his words. I turned sharply toward him. “Are you telling me you walked in on me while I was…?”

“It was necessary,” Alex said shortly.

“Right. So you stood outside the door while I was fucking her, then came in afterward to make sure I was still breathing?” I stared at him. “Enjoy the show?”

Alex tensed almost imperceptibly, but his expression remained unreadable. “You know we were just following protocol.”

“Fuck…” I rolled my eyes and turned back to the mirror, buttoning my shirt. If it weren’t for my condition, I’d tear that fucking protocol to shreds.

Well, it could’ve been worse. Still… fuck, I hated not remembering a damn thing.

“How did you find out about the drugs?”

Alex clasped his hands behind his back. “When we realized everyone in the club had been drugged.”

I gave him a skeptical look.

“Everyone, Mr. Hale,” he confirmed calmly. “Most likely, they did it to cover their tracks. It happens at private parties when someone wants to cover up something illegal. Looks like that’s what happened here.”

I frowned, processing that.

“That’s when we came back in, but by then you were already… asleep.” Alex paused, as if choosing his words. “The doctor examined you. Your glass had the highest concentration of the drug. But it didn’t kill you. And the doctor insists that you go to the hospital for follow-up tests. How a dose that high didn’t do more damage is still a mystery.”

My gaze slid back to the girl, and something flickered in my memory. A fragment. Blurry, like a grainy old movie.

I see her reach for the glass. Snatch it from my hand. Bring it to her lips. Drink.

I blinked. “Because she drank it, not me,” I muttered, more to myself than to Alex. And she survived because she wasn’t sick like me.

Alex gave a silent nod.

I dragged a hand over my face, trying to shake off the last of the nausea. “Double-check that my wife isn’t just out of the country. I want her as far away as possible. Not Canada. Not Mexico. Nowhere close.”

“She’s in London,” Alex replied without hesitation. “You don’t need to worry. This time, it definitely wasn’t her. We need to find out who did this. And who ordered the hit.”

I nodded. Not my wife. Was that good or bad? Who the fuck had decided to get rid of me this time?

I looked at the girl again. What the hell was I supposed to do with her? Was she involved in all this, or had she simply been in the wrong place at the wrong time?

Another fragment flashed through my memory. I remembered this much for sure: she’d grabbed the glass and drained it. I’d only gotten one sip—and apparently, that hadn’t been enough to kill me.

“What did you find out about her?” I asked Alex, certain that while I’d been out cold, my team had already managed to dig up something.

“Everything and nothing,” he replied. “We still can’t say for sure whether she was involved. No one knows why she approached you… or who gave her the glass.”

He fell silent, and I let out a frustrated breath. “Right. No one knows…” I muttered. “And you’re absolutely right. I don’t remember a fucking thing.” My jaw tightened. “We’ll need to interrogate her. Have you questioned anyone else yet? Found out anything?”

“Not yet…”

My head snapped up. “No?” I barked, irritation surging all over again.

Alex didn’t flinch. “No, Mr. Hale,” he repeated evenly. “Most of them still haven’t fully recovered from what happened, so getting anything useful out of them right now is difficult. I made the call not to let this go public. We have a list of everyone who was there, and our people are already checking them out. Don’t worry. No one’s slipping through the cracks.”

I dragged a hand through my hair in irritation.

“What do we do with her?” Alex nodded toward the girl.

I looked at her again. She didn’t look like a hooker. At least, I didn’t think so.

She was curled up on the bed with one hand tucked beneath her head. Tiny. Almost fragile. Had she really been the one who left those marks all over my back? A wildcat.

But she looked far too innocent for a night with a man someone had tried to set up. So why? Who had set her up? Or had she really just been in the wrong place at the wrong time?

I scoffed and shook my head. “When she wakes up, question her. I need to get to the hospital. Send someone to a pharmacy. Get her the morning-after pill. Make sure she takes it.”

Alex raised an eyebrow in surprise but said nothing.

“I hope she’s on birth control if she gets into bed with a man that easily. I sure as hell didn’t use protection last night. I don’t need a kid. Especially one with birth defects, considering how drugged I was. And I definitely don’t need anyone blackmailing me over it.”

“It’ll be taken care of, Mr. Hale,” Alex replied shortly.

Fuck. I’d really gotten myself into some shit.