When I’d gone back to the studio, Giselle and Alix had been nowhere to be seen, so I’d just gone to my office and done the work I’d been hired to do. The whole time, my brain had been going round and round with all sorts of ideas about what my next move should be. Alix hadn’t done anything wrong, so I had no right to be angry at him. Things had been perfectly clear regarding our roles.

That didn’t stop me from being hurt though. Hurt that I’d been replaced. That the things I thought we both felt hadn’t existed. Or, rather, that they’d been one-sided.

All of that was my fault though. I was the one who’d thought Alix and I had been moving toward something real. And I hadn’t even admitted that to myself until I’d seen Giselle.

By the time I’d gotten home, I’d known I couldn’t subject Alix to whatever awkwardness I’d bring to work because of my own errors in judgment. He already had his new model. He didn’t need my pictures, and he didn’t need me.

I wouldn’t have the money for a visit home now, but maybe a longer venture back was in my future. My lease would be up soon, and if I didn’t find a roommate or a better paying job, I’d need to worry about where to live. And if I couldn’t find a job, I’d be shipped back to Balbriggan.

But that was a problem for tomorrow.

Today, I intended to enjoy my stew and biscuits. Take a hot bath. Do some reading.

And not think about Alix Wexler one single bit.

My resolve lasted until the moment someone knocked on my door, and I heard his voice.

“Sine, we need to talk.”

Dammit.

I couldn’t bring myself to be rude when he’d done nothing wrong, so I opened the door and gestured for him to come inside. I didn’t look at him though. I wasn’t ready for that just yet. I needed a moment to compose myself. I hadn’t planned on seeing him today.

I was just glad I hadn’t done my bath yet because I would have felt a lot more vulnerable than I already did. I was still wearing the skirt and blouse I’d worn to work this morning, my only concession to comfort was my lack of shoes.

“Why’d you quit?”

No small talk. Straight to the point.

At least this would be short.

I took a deep breath and tried to keep it all as simple as possible. “I told Ms. Holloman that I was willing to work until she found someone new, so I’ll have everything organized and in place for whoever comes next.”

“That doesn’t answer my question.” He took a step toward me. “And you’re not just my assistant.”

“You made the right call.” I tried a different approach. “Rehiring Giselle now that she’s finished with her prior engagement. I’m sure she’ll be perfect for the series.”

“Giselle?” He frowned, the look on his face so completely baffled that I wondered if perhaps I’d gotten things wrong.

“She and I spoke earlier today,” I continued. “She explained things, and I don’t wish for you to feel awkward about changing your mind. I thought leaving–”

“Sine.”

I shivered at the way he said my name. No one should be allowed to make two syllables sound like that.

“Start at the beginning.”

Why couldn’t he just let it go?

I sighed and did as he asked. “When I arrived at the studio this morning, Giselle was there. She told me that her previous job was done and that you’d asked her to come back to finish the series.” I kept my voice level and flat. It was a recitation of facts, nothing more.

“Sine, I didn’t–”

“It’s all right,” I cut him off. “And I’m sorry for not telling you directly. You were just...otherwise occupied when I left for lunch, and then neither of you were there when I came back–”

It was his turn to interrupt. “I wasn’t there at all.”

I stopped, mouth open as whatever I’d been planning to say died before it could get out. It took me a moment before I was able to ask, “What?”

He took another step toward me, his hand coming out to lightly touch my arm. “I was with my parents all day today. I left a message.”

I shook my head. “I didn’t get a text from you.”

A sheepish expression crossed his face. “I misplaced my phone.”

I raised an eyebrow.

“I know,” he said. “It sounds like some sort of con, but I promise that it’s not. Last night, I was doing some re-arranging at my place, and I misplaced my phone. I didn’t realize it until my parents showed up here for a surprise visit, but I didn’t find it again until a couple hours ago.”

The light in his eyes was so earnest, I wanted to believe him. But I couldn’t. Not yet. I still had questions.

“I swear, Sine, on the way to breakfast, I stopped at the studio and put a note on the door saying you could have the day off. Giselle must have removed the note.” He scowled. “I won’t be working with her again.”

“How did she get inside then?” I asked.

“I give models guest codes that I usually remove once the job’s done. I must have forgotten to remove hers since her contract ended early.”

He had an answer for everything, and that should have made me suspicious, but it didn’t. While odd, his version of events better fit with the character of the man I’d gotten to know.

“What did you mean when you said I was ‘otherwise occupied?’”

I flushed as I answered, “Giselle said you were in the bathroom, um, cleaning up.”

For a moment, he looked puzzled, and then realization dawned. “You think Giselle and I...” He shook his head. “No. Never.”

“She was naked. What was I supposed to think?” I shifted my weight, unable to look him in the eye. “I mean, you and I–”

I felt him move rather than saw it, my entire body sent buzzing with awareness as he closed the distance between us. He gripped my chin, turning my face back to him. Without my shoes on, I was so much shorter than him that I had to bend my head far back so I could see his face.

“I don’t sleep with my models.” A smile curved one side of his mouth. “At least I hadn’t until you came along.”

His face was more open than I’d ever seen it, and I read the truth of his statement there.

“Maybe it would’ve been better if you’d stuck with that policy,” I said. “A lot less trouble.”

He brushed a couple curls back from my face. “I don’t mind a wee bit of trouble.”

His attempt at an Irish accent made me laugh, easing the negative tension between us. His fingers lingered on my cheek, the gleam in his eyes shifting to a simmer. A coil of heat inside my belly warmed me all the way through.

I pushed myself up on my tiptoes, wrapping my arms around his neck so I could pull him down to me. As soon as he realized what I was doing, he met me halfway, his mouth crashing against mine with bruising force. I didn’t wait for him to take the lead. Instead, I parted my lips and traced the seam of his mouth with my tongue. He growled as his mouth opened, tongue twisting with mine.

He gripped my ass and lifted me, tugging at my skirt to give me the freedom to wrap my legs around his waist. I’d spent so much of my childhood and adolescence wishing I was taller, but with Alix, like this, I was the perfect size.

I let out a squeak as he spun us around until my back was against the door. His mouth moved down my jaw and throat, biting and sucking hard enough to make me wonder if he was leaving marks. Or if I even gave a damn.

“I don’t know if I can be gentle.” The rough words ghosted over my skin.

I gripped his hair and pulled his head back so that his eyes met mine. “Then don’t.”

“Sine...”

“I can take it,” I said. “I want to take it.”

He hesitated a moment longer, giving me the chance to back out. When I didn’t, he claimed my mouth again, his hands working between us so that in only a few quick movements, he was thrusting into me, filling me completely in one motion.

I cried out, but he swallowed that noise, and every other sound I made after it. I couldn’t quiet myself as he drove into me over and over, not waiting for me to adjust or assure him that I was ready. It was rough and aggressive, a blind, primal need, and it matched my own.

I needed him like this. Needed to feel him stretching me to the point of pain while knowing I had the power to stop him with a single word. Because I didn’t doubt for a moment that he would stop.

He tore away the darkness that had been hanging over me since I’d seen Giselle this morning. All of her innuendos and smirks vanished as he filled me, physically and mentally and emotionally and every other way he could. It was all him and me and the world exploding in an intense pleasure that brought tears to my eyes.

I still didn’t know if we had a future between us, but in this here and now, he was mine, and I could accept that.