Merging Hearts (Smitten Hearts #1)

Chapter Four

Rain

A scream wakes me up from my sleep, and I see a woman wrapped in my arms as I hold on to her like a lifeline. She tries to free herself from me with wiggles while I continue to stare, trying to make sense of the situation.

Who the hell is this?

You brought her in yourself last night.

The memories of the day before play in my head like a movie.

My heart beats fast against my chest as she continues staring into my eyes. Without thinking, I shove her off me, and she rolls off the other side of the bed with a loud thud.

I jolt off the bed to check on her. Her brows are furrowed in a wince, her hands clamped on her back.

Did I break her back?

“Are you okay?”

“Who are you?” We chorus. I narrow my eyes and straighten my back at her question. She doesn’t remember me?

Wow, she got over yesterday so fast.

Nothing happened yesterday. That sounded so weird.

“What am I doing in your bed?”

“What were you doing in my arms?” We chorus again.

She holds her head with a whimper, and I blink. Did I push her too hard or is she just hungover?

She glances at her body, and my eyes follow hers to the purple dress that now sits high on her exposed thighs. I instantly break eye contact, ignoring the way blood rushes to my head. Her boots sit perfectly buckled on her brown legs, and I cringe at myself.

I should have at least removed her boots.

After her eyes finish scanning her body, she places her hand on her chest and exhales in relief. I scoff out loud, irritation dripping out like a leaked pipe. What the hell is she thinking?

“You didn’t sleep with me, did you?” She asks anyway, while I raise my brow at the bluntness.

I trail my eyes down her body, hoping my expression gives away how disgusted I am. Something flashes in her eyes, and she squirms on the floor under my gaze, but it goes away just fast. “I slept with you,” I point at the bed. “I just didn’t sleep with you.”

“Then why are you wearing only this?” She gestures to my body and I stare down at my singlet, and the sweatpants hanging low on my hips.

A dark snicker falls out of my mouth. I don’t even like wearing clothes to bed. I only did because she was in my bed, and I thought I’d give her that respect. “Forgive me for not wearing a suit and tie to bed. What else do I need, a wristwatch, too?”

She glares at me for a second, then she crumples her brows and peers at me, while I patiently wait for the next stupid thing to fall out of her mouth.

“Are you Mr Coaster?” She tilts her head, as if asking herself and I suppress a groan.

If this woman doesn’t leave my house in the next twenty minutes, I’ll lose my mind.

“Where do you live? I’ll tell my driver to drop you.”

“I don’t know where I live,” she replies softly. “I don’t even know how I got here.”

Her eyes roam around my room and mine linger on her more than it should. I decide to give in to my curiosity and explore her features.

She has shiny brown skin and a short, thick black afro. I shouldn’t admit it, but she looks too good for someone just getting out of bed. If anyone saw her, they wouldn’t believe it.

Her greenish-brown eyes shine with full lips that she licks as her gaze lingers on the illustration that’s hanging a few steps away from my walk-in closet.

I shake my head. I shouldn’t be doing this. Especially not to a woman who has done nothing but get on my nerves.

My mouth drops open to say something, but I stop when she grabs her hair with widened eyes.

“My hairband! Ah, it’s the only good one I have,” she exclaims, frantically searching the bed before lifting up a white silk item. “I found it!”

A curious question comes to mind. I press my lips into a thin line to stop it from escaping.

Don’t ask her.

Dontaskher.

“How old are you?”

“I’m an adult,” she says as she gets up, dusting her dress off and putting her hair into the position it was when we picked her up last night. “I’m twenty-three.” I remain silent, my expression giving away nothing. She looks young, but I’m not expecting her to be that young. Why do I feel like I’ve just been caught commiting a crime? Again, she needs to leave.

“What about you?” My eyes widen a fraction at her question. I’m not expecting her to ask me back.

“I don’t have to tell you anything about me.”

She creases her face, her expression morphing into one of anger. “I told you mine!”

“That’s because you probably can’t keep a secret. I have to get ready for work.” I turn to leave and she stops me.

“Mr Coaster, I—”

“IT’S DACOSTA!” I bark at her, earning a flinch.

My shoulders relax their muscles as I rub the bridge of my nose.

You are being unnecessarily guarded, Rain.

I don’t mean to scare her.

I puff out a breath, deciding to approach her more gently. “Call whoever you need to call. If you don’t, I’ll leave you in front of my house and go to work.” That’s not gentle.

“But I don’t know where my phone is. You took everything from me.” I snigger at her choice of phrasing. She’s talking as if I robbed her.

I point at my dressing table where her purse sits, and she tiptoes to it, as if I’ll scold her if she walks like a normal person.

Don’t blame her when you’ve done nothing but scold her.

She picks up the phone and whines, her lower lip jutting at me. “It’s off.”

I throw my head back with a groan. God, why me? I take the phone from her and plug it into a charger. “Sit right here, I’m going to take a bath. Once your phone switches on, call your friend and I’ll tell my driver to drop you.” She gives a small nod and I enter my bathroom.

I sigh as the water rains down my body. The encounter I’m having with her is exactly the kind I’ve been avoiding for the past five years. No matter how much I try to hide it, I know I’m still tethered to the events of the past.

Nobody can know though. Nobody can know that I still have vivid thoughts of something that happened five years ago, or that I can’t shake them no matter how hard I’ve tried to.

I’m a Docosta, and that means one thing; Perfection.

Outside my private walls, I have to be a perfect man with a perfect business, perfect family, and perfect circle of friends.

What matters to the public is that my business thrives and my place on the achievement lists never wavers.

Who would believe a man with a net worth of fifteen billion dollars holds on to sentimental events for this long? Absolutely nobody.

Before opening the door in my complete outfit of the day, I exhale deeply, praying that the woman is still seated where I left her. To my surprise, she’s typing on her phone, just as I asked.

I clear my throat, and she looks up at me.

Her eyes trail down my body, and my insides heat under her gaze. It’s harmless, but probably holds a thousand dirty secrets. Those doe eyes pretending to be innocent. How much time will it take to dirty her up and reveal the true color behind them?

I groan. Dirty her up? Seriously, Rain?

“Eyes up here,” I snap.

I watch her lips twitch, almost curving into a smile before she clears her throat and whispers, “Sorry.”

Something flickers in my chest, and I curse under my breath.

She needs to leave immediately. Like now.

“Did you call your friend? The one with the black belt in Karate?”

She nods. “Yes, I did. She’s… how do you know she has a black belt?” Her eyes narrow before widening as she puts two and two together. “Please don’t tell me she threatened to beat you up.”

“That, she did.”

“Oh God, I’m so sorry. I called her, and she has sent her address. Thank you for bringing me here. I don’t know what came over me.”

I fix my wristwatch, trying to ignore the situation dawning on me. She’s in my room. A woman is in my room. “Two bottles of beer. That’s what came over you.” Her head drops as she fidgets with her fingers. “I didn’t know you were the type to get drunk and lost in a country you’re visiting for the first time.”

“You don’t know anything about me,” she mutters quietly.

“Of course. And I don’t want to. Now get up, let’s leave.” I turn away from her, cursing myself for appearing interested in her.

She stands up to follow me, and her stomach gurgles. My eyes dart to her belly. She looks at me with those brown doe eyes of hers, pushes her lips out in a pout, and blinks like a malfunctioned doll.

What is that?

“No, I’m not going to feed you,” I deadpan.

I’m too late to deal with this shit. Me, Rain Dacosta, leaving for work at 8:30am. Never happened.

Her lips twist into a contorted shape as she mutters insults at me, but I ignore them. As long as she leaves my house, I’ll take whatever she throws at me.

We get outside, and she greets my driver with a full grin.

So that’s what a smile looks like on those lips.

I clear my throat. “Joe, take this lady here—”

“My name is Hazel Wilmer,” she murmurs.

I ignore her and continue, “—to the address she gives you. If she messes it up, drop her anywhere,” I finish, and she scoffs.

“And you, sir?”

“I’ll drive myself. Just drop her at her house and join me at the office. We have places to be.”

“Yes, sir.” Joe opens the back seat of the car for her, and she replies with a polite “Thanks” before entering.

He gets in after her, and I watch as he drives off. I settle for another car in the garage.