The Billionaire's Lie [PREVIEW ONLY]

Chapter 3: Waking Up Strangers

Alexa rolled over to lie on her back, her sleep-addled eyes still closed. It was funny, but she didn't remember her sheets feeling this luxurious before. Or her bed. She could even smell a light touch of lavender on her pillow.

She felt something warm behind her, and she turned to press closer against the wonderfully firm masculine chest.

It wasn't a dream, she thought.

She had woken up with a vague memory of Darien on top of her, his lips on hers in a warm, deep kiss. His strong arms felt good around her while his legs teased her knees apart ...

"Ms. Diaz, I would appreciate it if you would stay on your side of the bed."

That wasn't Darien.

Opening her eyes, she saw a strange man lying beside her, his eyes still closed. But he was pushing her away gently but firmly with one hand.

She screamed.

"What?" the man demanded, sitting up. He was wide awake now.

He was shirtless, too — a fact that somehow managed to register in her brain that was still drowsy from sleep.

"Who are you?"

The words left her lips before she realized who it was — the man whose room she was tasked to clean last night.

Also the one who paid her to get into his bed, naked.

"Did you maybe develop amnesia overnight, Ms. Diaz?" He rubbed his face with one hand, before turning his head to her.

"Why ... What ..." She sat up too, pulling the duvet over her chest. "Why did I sleep here?"

"I don't know. You were only supposed to close your eyes for a few minutes." He looked annoyed. "I couldn't wake you."

"What do you mean you couldn't wake me? I wasn't in a coma, I just dozed off for a bit."

"Yes, well, you refused to wake up."

"And you just decided to join me in bed?"

"This is my bed, Ms. Diaz. What was I supposed to do, sleep on the floor?"

She didn't know what to say to that.

They stared at each other in silence, until Kellan lay back down and pulled the duvet over his shoulder. He rolled over to his side, his back to her.

"You can go," he said.

"I, uh, need to get dressed."

"Then get dressed."

"Not in front of you," she protested.

"Do I look like I'm interested in watching you put your clothes on?"

"Well ..."

"Just get dressed and go."

He just lay there, unmoving. Like he couldn't be bothered from his sleep by something as trivial as a virtual stranger waking up beside him naked.

Carefully, she reached under the duvet to retrieve her clothes. She clutched her attendant's uniform against her front and she slid her feet into her shoes before bolting out of the room, making sure to close the door behind her.

As she got dressed in the living room, Alexa's mind went over the events of the previous night. The corner of her mouth curled up in a grin when she remembered the moment he took off his towel, giving her a salacious eyeful of his ... assets.

She didn't get a good look at his fiancée, as her eyes were closed, but she could hear parts of the conversation before she dozed off. It was odd how the young woman seemed hardly ruffled about seeing her in her future husband's bed. Was this some kind of game they liked to play?