Chapter 1 The Man

"Ever been with a man?" The question should have been lost in the haze of a long day and a few too many drinks, yet it lingered in Emma's mind. It played on a loop like some relentless echo. "Come on. While you're young, snag a hottie and see what you've been missing!" Isabella had urged, her usual brazen humor on full display. What had Emma retorted with? The memory was fuzzy. Tossing in her hotel bed, her cheeks were a rosy shade of tipsy while her lush hair cascaded around her like dark waves. She contemplated her nearly 26 years of life. She was an adult by all accounts, yet her experiences with men were... nonexistent. Even her first kiss was still just a possibility, let alone anything beyond. Isabella's jokes were not new. Spicy banter was her usual style, but tonight, they sparked a different kind of restlessness in Emma. It was fueled by the wine's warm buzz. Restless, she sat up and absentmindedly traced her dry lips. Squinting at her phone, she mistook a contact with the surname 'Brown' as the right one and sent a message. [Send a few over. I want to have a look for myself.] The response was a swift question mark. Her inhibitions dulled, Emma teased back: [Stop playing dumb. A man or some toys… Pick one and send it to room 1501!] A kissy emoji punctuated her dare. She waited, but the screen stayed silent. Pushing off the covers to grab some water, a sudden chime from the doorbell cut through her thoughts. With a shrug, she figured there was no way Isabella had taken her seriously. But upon swinging the door open, her tipsy fog lifted. "M-Mr. Brown?" He stood there, fresh from a shower. His short hair was damp, the droplets of water glistening. The tie of his dark silk robe hung loose, revealing his collarbone that was etched with ink-dark numbers. His well-defined abs hinted at strength and disappeared into shadows just below the waist. He was a towering presence in the doorway. His rugged good looks were half-cloaked in darkness. His gaze, usually so cool and distant, now burned with an intensity that riveted her in place. "You were looking for me...?" She barely got the words out when she felt the firm grip on the back of her head. Her protests were silenced in an instant. Emma tasted the sharp tang of his breath. It was spiked with liquor that did not come from her own mouth… In a whirl of sensation, she was on the bed. Her white nightdress was a stark contrast to his dark form. The room was awash with an atmosphere charged with unspoken promise. Michael Brown had to be drunk to seek out his modest assistant's room. Why else would the CEO of the mighty Colossus Corporation be here? She struggled reflexively, then stopped. After all, it was not a bad deal to surrender her innocence to someone so devastatingly attractive and influential, right? He would not remember her in the morning, just like he did not remember being classmates. They were once even desk mates for a year. 'Just a fleeting encounter,' she reasoned. Even as her boss, she barely saw him at work. With her lowly status, who would believe she had slept with Michael if she told them the next day? After a heartbeat or two, she reached up. With the moonlight spurring her boldness, she drew him closer by the neck...