Aaron, the driver, called from the front.
She looked at her watch and made a split-second decision. “I’m going to stay at my father’s tonight.” It was already after one AM , and breakfast for Oscar Van Weldt started at eight on the dot. Alyssa had been chastised often enough for her tendency for tardiness. She kept a spare change of clothes in the guest room she regularly used, so it would be easy enough to roll out of bed and into the dining room right in the nick of time.
Grace wouldn’t like it, but as far as Alyssa was concerned right now, Grace could suck it.
She shoved thoughts of her stepmother aside, not wanting the stress of her sour relationship with Grace to ruin the lingering glow from the last few hours. She closed her eyes and focused on Derek, on the intense heat in his gaze, on the way his big hands shook with need as they touched her. On the way he moved his body over her, in her, so huge andstrong but gentle despite his size. She licked her lips, savored the taste of that last, hungry kiss, the way his eyes had moved over her and his hands had clenched around the steering wheel like he was struggling not to grab her and pull her back into his Audi.
For now, she wouldn’t worry about what he would think when he realized who she was. She didn’t kid herself that he wouldn’t find out sooner rather than later. A Google search would bring up thousands of hits, hundreds of pictures.
She swallowed past the knot in her throat, wondering what Derek would think when he read the articles and saw the pictures.
No. She shoved the negativity aside. She wasn’t going to think about that tonight. Tonight she was just another girl who’d had incredible, amazing sex with a gorgeous man, a man who saw nothing but a girl he wanted. Not a celebrity to sell out to the tabloids or use as means to an end.
Pretty sad state of affairs when a man wanting you only for sex is the biggest boost to your self-esteem in recent memory.
Alyssa squeezed out the thought with one of Derek, braced over her, his face a mask of barely checked need as he sank into her with ever-deepening strokes. She ran every second of her evening with him through her head, frame by frame, lingering and savoring every second as the town car pulled off the highway and navigated the narrow streets of her father’s wealthy neighborhood. The few street lamps cast their yellow glow on the rain-damp pavement and illuminated the high fences and gates that concealed some of the priciest homes in the San Francisco Bay area.
As Aaron pulled up to the driveway, fears and doubts came rushing in, chipping away at the lingering pleasure. What if Derek decided to tell the press how Alyssa Miles had practically begged him, a stranger, to take her home with him and have sex? She could only imagine the headlines.The tabloids would pay him a fortune. His place was nice, but not that nice. Definitely not nice enough to guarantee he’d turn down a six-figure payment to tell his story.
Her headache was back in full, brutal force. She was such an idiot. Her father’s words rang in her head. Do you ever consider the consequences of your actions before you make a fool of yourself and this family?
Her stomach churned with shame. She’d been trying so hard, doing so well keeping a low profile, and was beginning to have the kind of relationship with her father she’d always wanted. One where he didn’t look at her like he was waiting for her to fuck up sometime in the next five minutes.
Alyssa and Oscar had made great progress, but their relationship was by no means stable. She had no illusions about his love and approval. It was purely conditional, ready to be withdrawn—along with her generous salary—if she made a single misstep.
And now she’d risked it all, and for what? For one hot night of sex with a gorgeous man who would probably tell the tabloids within an hour.
God, why was she so stupid, so impulsive? Just when everything was starting to go
She looked at her watch and made a split-second decision. “I’m going to stay at my father’s tonight.” It was already after one AM , and breakfast for Oscar Van Weldt started at eight on the dot. Alyssa had been chastised often enough for her tendency for tardiness. She kept a spare change of clothes in the guest room she regularly used, so it would be easy enough to roll out of bed and into the dining room right in the nick of time.
Grace wouldn’t like it, but as far as Alyssa was concerned right now, Grace could suck it.
She shoved thoughts of her stepmother aside, not wanting the stress of her sour relationship with Grace to ruin the lingering glow from the last few hours. She closed her eyes and focused on Derek, on the intense heat in his gaze, on the way his big hands shook with need as they touched her. On the way he moved his body over her, in her, so huge andstrong but gentle despite his size. She licked her lips, savored the taste of that last, hungry kiss, the way his eyes had moved over her and his hands had clenched around the steering wheel like he was struggling not to grab her and pull her back into his Audi.
For now, she wouldn’t worry about what he would think when he realized who she was. She didn’t kid herself that he wouldn’t find out sooner rather than later. A Google search would bring up thousands of hits, hundreds of pictures.
She swallowed past the knot in her throat, wondering what Derek would think when he read the articles and saw the pictures.
No. She shoved the negativity aside. She wasn’t going to think about that tonight. Tonight she was just another girl who’d had incredible, amazing sex with a gorgeous man, a man who saw nothing but a girl he wanted. Not a celebrity to sell out to the tabloids or use as means to an end.
Pretty sad state of affairs when a man wanting you only for sex is the biggest boost to your self-esteem in recent memory.
Alyssa squeezed out the thought with one of Derek, braced over her, his face a mask of barely checked need as he sank into her with ever-deepening strokes. She ran every second of her evening with him through her head, frame by frame, lingering and savoring every second as the town car pulled off the highway and navigated the narrow streets of her father’s wealthy neighborhood. The few street lamps cast their yellow glow on the rain-damp pavement and illuminated the high fences and gates that concealed some of the priciest homes in the San Francisco Bay area.
As Aaron pulled up to the driveway, fears and doubts came rushing in, chipping away at the lingering pleasure. What if Derek decided to tell the press how Alyssa Miles had practically begged him, a stranger, to take her home with him and have sex? She could only imagine the headlines.The tabloids would pay him a fortune. His place was nice, but not that nice. Definitely not nice enough to guarantee he’d turn down a six-figure payment to tell his story.
Her headache was back in full, brutal force. She was such an idiot. Her father’s words rang in her head. Do you ever consider the consequences of your actions before you make a fool of yourself and this family?
Her stomach churned with shame. She’d been trying so hard, doing so well keeping a low profile, and was beginning to have the kind of relationship with her father she’d always wanted. One where he didn’t look at her like he was waiting for her to fuck up sometime in the next five minutes.
Alyssa and Oscar had made great progress, but their relationship was by no means stable. She had no illusions about his love and approval. It was purely conditional, ready to be withdrawn—along with her generous salary—if she made a single misstep.
And now she’d risked it all, and for what? For one hot night of sex with a gorgeous man who would probably tell the tabloids within an hour.
God, why was she so stupid, so impulsive? Just when everything was starting to go
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