A hand grazed her naked inner thigh just as her eyes fluttered open. She was greeted by a white ceiling instead of the usual light pink that her father had painted for her when she was a child, never having bothered to change it.

Her lips carried a frown as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes and yawned before proceeding to gather her bearings.

It was only when she attempted to sit up that she felt the pressure against her stomach. And no, she didn't need to pee. Peering down, her eyes widened in surprise at the mop of unruly black hair that lay splayed over her bare stomach thanks to the crop top she had decided to sleep in, hiding the face of the perpetrator.

Whoever he was, he was definitely heavy. Far too heavy for Darcy to simply push aside.

Panic started to settle in as the severity of the situation dawned on her.

She wasn't wearing the dress from the night before, leaving her in just her underwear and a thin top that barely covered her top half. She was in an unknown room with an unknown stranger sleeping on top of her and she was pretty sure that she couldn't feel her legs. The pounding in her head from an almost certain hangover just the made the whole situation worse.

Minutes passed as she wracked her brain for a possible solution. And yes, she did try to budge him off of her in hopes that she would be able to make a run for it, but he was simply too heavy for her to move alone.

He was a very heaver sleeper. She had learnt this after the several further attempts to push him off of her did nothing, not even when she grew frustrated and tugged at his hair. In fact, he just nuzzled his face deeper into her as if she was his own personal pillow.

That didn't settle well with her.

A loud, ear piercing scream escaped her and almost instantly, the dead weight that had been sleeping on her, jumped up and scrambled to his feet at the side of his bed. "What happened?" He asked, panicked as he looked around the room. "Why did you scream?" His voice was still heavy with sleep; husky, gravelly.

The hunky specimen didn't even have time to rub away the sleep in his eyes or adjust the tent in his light grey jogging bottoms, the only thing that he was wearing.

Her insides churned at the sound and the sight of his naked torso. It did wonders to her insides. Her breath hitched as he brushed the hair out of his face and recognition dawned on her.

Thelonious Knight.

Darcy immediately sat up, pulling the covers so they covered her bare legs. A blush crept up her face as the thought of having slept with a man as handsome as him. She immediately chastised herself for the thought. They definitely hadn't slept together; of that she was sure.

Oddly, she trusted him.

"What am I doing here?" She asked, blinking up at him.

A yawn escaped him. "You don't remember?" Thelonious sat down on the edge of his bed and rested his elbows on his knees, running a hand down his face. His head turned to face her, not leaving enough time for her to tear her eyes away from his tight back muscles that she was so obviously appreciating. He didn't miss her evident appraisal of his body though didn't voice it aloud. He merely smirked in response. "You were drunk last night and about to sleep with some random guy you found at the club." His lips curled up in distaste, the previous smirk having disappeared.

Darcy tore her eyes away from his mouth to find that his eyes were already on her. "You were at the club too?" She questioned, confused. That was strange. She didn't recall meeting him at the club last night. That was not something she wouldn't forget no matter how drunk she was.

He shook his head in answer. "You came into the hotel with him and wanted to book a room." The disapproval was clear in his voice but she searched his face, he wasn't judging her.

She paused. He must work at the hotel. "What happened to the guy?"

"I scared him away." He paused, and chuckled lowly to himself. He didn't care to let her in on the joke, not even when she sent him a questioning look. "I'm a little disappointed, I have to say. I thought you would have better taste in men."

Darcy rolled her eyes and leaned back against the headboard, fighting back the smile that threatened to appear. She didn't know him very well but was sure that he wouldn't be very happy with it. "Why are we half naked?" She asked the obvious, gesturing towards his lack of a shirt.

His chiselled body and defined muscles were making it hard for her to think straight. Just looking at him was befuddling her thoughts.

He shrugged and sat up straight before rolling back his shoulders, stretching out the muscles. He then proceeded to stretch the rest of his body. She couldn't tear her eyes away from him even if she wanted.

"I always sleep shirtless." His answer was short and simple. She was starting to think that's just the way it was with him.

"And me? Why am I half naked?"

His pale blue eyes flickered, almost mischievously. "You started undressing yourself the moment you walked into the room."

Her body froze as his words triggered the recollection of the happening of last night. One by one, everything was slowly coming back to her. He was being nice. From what she remembered, she basically threw herself at him multiple times and he brushed her off every time.

Laughter sounded and when she looked up, she blushed harder. Darcy hardly blushed but the events of last night were too embarrassing not to blush at.

She was absolutely mortified!

"You also assaulted me."

"I did not!" She denied even though he was technically right. But she refused to admit it.

"You stuck your hand down my jeans. If that isn't assault then I don't know what is." He chuckled as he fell back on the bed, his legs dangling over the end of it.

Okay, maybe he wasn't so nice after all.

"I left some painkillers and water for you." He pointed towards the pills on the bedside cabinet to her right.

He was back to being nice again.

Darcy smiled in thanks and popped back the pills, raising the glass of water to her lips.

"You look like you need it." He snorted. And there he goes again!

Her eyes flitted across the room as she sipped leisurely at the water. She hadn't realised she was so parched until the water had passed her lips. It didn't take long for her to finish the whole glass. Having placed the glass back on the bedside table, she turned back to him to find that he was staring at her. His eyes watched her, unwavering. His pupils dilated as her tongue flicked out and licked away a water drop that had dripped onto her bottom lip.

She cleared her throat awkwardly, desperate for a topic change. Despite the little that she was wearing, it was starting to feel hot all of a sudden. "So, this is a hotel?"

He hummed in response.

"How much do I owe for the room?" She asked, trying to remember how much money she had left on her credit card. Last she checked there was a little over two hundred. Minus the money for the few drinks she had the previous night, she was sure that she would be able to foot the bill. It meant that she would have to be tight with money over the next week or so, but she wasn't a freeloader.

"Nothing." His words were nonchalant.

"I can't not pay." She stressed, not feeling completely comfortable staying in a hotel for free. They were in central London. It had to be expensive.

Propping himself on his elbows, he smirked at her. "This is my room and I'm not looking for money payment. So, unless you plan on paying me back another way..." his voice trailed off and he quirked an eyebrow.

Shock passed through her and she gulped, her eyes glued on him. But when his lips twitched higher, she scowled and threw a pillow at him. "That's not funny!" When he laughed harder, she threw another pillow at him.

Unfortunately, he caught both.

"It doesn't feel right not paying for the room." She pursed her lips.

"Don't worry about it, I got it covered." Standing to his feet, he stretched once more before heading towards a door on the other side of the room. A bathroom was revealed when he opened it.

She scooted off the bed and stood right on top of her dress. Picking it up, she cringed at the stench of alcohol and sweat that lingered on it. It definitely needed a wash.

"You can borrow one of my jumpers."

"What?" Her fingers stilled.

He leaned against the door frame of the bathroom as he brushed his teeth. "Just help yourself to whatever is in the wardrobe." He gestured towards the oak wardrobe.

Dropping her dress back on the floor, she headed towards the wardrobe. It was weird going through his clothes trying to decide what would fit, but she couldn't head home in just her knickers, and slipping on last night's dress didn't seem that appealing either. As beautiful as it was, she wasn't looking forward into doing the walk of shame all the way to the nearest tube station.

"Feel free to freshen up. I left a new toothbrush for you. Once you're done, just make your way down to the lobby and I'll be there." His eyes connected with hers before he slipped a black jumper over his head. "You remember the way, right?"

She nodded. "I think so."

"I'll see you in a bit then." He nodded at her, his eyes lingering on her for a moment longer than necessary.

Darcy watched her as he slipped out the room, gently closing the door behind him. She was glad he had left. She needed to clean herself up and gather her thoughts before seeing him again.

Thelonious Knight was far too much to handle. 

-

All my stories can be found on Inkitt for FREE: https://inkitt.app.link/RA__illuminating_

Chapters of Beating Hearts [Knight's Rest #1] will be uploaded on Inkitt a week earlier than on Wattpad as well as exclusive bonus chapters at the end of the story. So, be sure to check out Beating Hearts on Inkitt here: https://inkitt.app.link/RA__illuminating_

Chapter 08 is available on Inkitt NOW!

The next chapter will be uploaded on 14/12/2019!

Layla Knight

15.06.19