I’m not sure if this is what I had in mind when I told myself everything had to stay status-quo. I’m not sure if this is what I had in mind when I told Jason we had to pretend what happened last night never happened at all. And now, I don’t know if I said it because I really meant it or because I was afraid of what it happening again might mean.

So this time, I don’t try to stop him.

When Jason kisses me, everything melts away. It’s as though I’m living a dream. A really, really good dream too. You know the kind of dream. It doesn’t feel like a dream at all. And instead of making you forget your problems for a moment, you forget yourself for a moment.

I feel like I’m not me at all. I don’t feel like someone else either, though.

I just...am.

“I thought I told you we had to be careful,” I say, but I know he knows that we both know it’s bullshit.

Maybe I can’t be seen grinding up on Jason Anderson on any dance floors or in any public places, and maybe I can’t have something as drastic as a sex tape come out, or anything like that.

But a kiss? Something as simple as a kiss between a man and his intended bride?

That can’t hurt anything, can it?

“Yeah, you did tell me we had to be careful,” he says, his hands moving down my back slowly, his eyes melting my damn panties with the heat he’s throwing at me, “this is me being careful.”

I can’t help but let out a little moan as his hands come down onto my hips, his fingers squeezing into my flesh softly.

“If you want us to be careful, we should probably get the hell out of here. We say goodnight. We go upstairs. You go to your room. I go to mine. That’s it.”

I swallow hard and watch his eyes intently. He pushes me away slightly, taking in the full length of my body with his hungry gaze.

“Okay,” I breathe, completely relieved but entirely frustrated at the same time. The two martinis I had are swirling through my head and I can feel the sweet memory of Jason all over me, craving him, needing more.

“Go upstairs,” he says, “if you really wanna be careful about this, we should go to our rooms separately.”

Jason sucks his bottom lip into his mouth and pushes his hips out slightly, pulling my hips against his. My hands sink around his waist and I can feel his hardness pressing against me.

God, I’ve been infatuated with this man for so long. And even though something insane and electrifying happened between us just last night, I still can’t believe it’s going to happen again.

Because even though right now he is saying it is not going to happen, I think we both know what’s about to happen.

“Okay,” I reply, “I’ll go first. And thank you again, Jason. For everything.”

“Don’t thank me yet, baby,” he growls into my ear, holding me close and tight.

I pull away from him, nearly trembling. Taking my purse from the bar, I start to walk away, but I can feel his eyes following me. I tuck my chin over my shoulder to take a look at him, and sure enough, he’s watching me as I leave the hotel bar.

And it’s the same damn look he’s given me since before I can remember. It’s the same damn look he gave me on prom night, when he teased me and told me I’d look nice for my date. It was exactly the same; I just didn’t know what I was seeing at the time.

I try to push these thoughts out of my head, because I know they’re crazy. I try to push them out of my head because I know it’s just the martinis doing my thinking for me.

Because Jason Anderson can have any girl he wants, and if wanted me, I’d know it.

If Jason Anderson wanted me, he’d have had me years ago.

And I mean really wanted me. Not just some one-night stand, or even a one-week stand.

But when I look back at him tonight...woo boy, it certainly looks like he wants me.

Attempting to compose myself, I walk over to the elevators just outside the hotel bar. The lobby is starting to be set up for the festivities of the next several days, and a big banner is being erected over the balcony, set between two of the big marble columns that flank either side of the lobby.

It’s welcoming guests and competitors to the pageant, and my face, in addition to a few of the other girls’, is on the banner.

I shake my head and laugh to myself. I guess if they really sunk enough money into promoting silly old me, it really is in the pageant’s best interest to actually keep me in the competition.

The little scheme they came up with is actually brilliant. Not only does it keep me around, it also changes the conversation from a scandal surrounding me to an awesome story surrounding me - prom queen turns beauty queen, marries childhood friend.

It’s like something out of a fairy tale, and I’m the princess. Or queen. Or whatever.

I get onto the elevator and check my reflection in the mirror that takes up the entire back wall of the big car. I’m in here alone, which is fine with me, because I need to steady myself on the little railing and focus on catching my breath after my kiss with Jason.

When I finally get to my floor, I go to my room quickly, passing by Jason’s. Of course I could wait for him outside his room. There’s no one around, and it’s late. The only people around are the people on the night shift, working around the clock to keep the hotel nice and running smoothly for the guests.

But I pass his door and go to my own room like he had told me to. He goes to his room. I go to mine. That’s it.

I get inside and exhale deeply, kicking my shoes off. I quickly slip out of my dress and lay it down on the bed, pulling on my white robe as I hear a knock at my door.

I pad over and check the peephole. It’s Jason, and he has one hand up on the frame of the door, the other casually on his hip.

My heart flips inside my chest as I take a deep breath and open the door.

“You like this,” he says, slipping past me. His scent fills my brain with something familiar and foreign.

And he turns around when he gets inside, drawing me in close to him as I allow the door to close behind us.

Jason Anderson has his hands all over me before I even have time to think.

“I’m glad you’re already out of that dress,” he breathes, pushing my robe down my shoulders. It lands on the floor in a pool around me, leaving me just in my bra and panties. “I was gonna rip it off you if you were still in it.”

Slowly, he slips his fingers under the straps of my bra and pulls them down, kissing my shoulders gently with those sinful lips of his, the ones I’ve fantasized about trailing kisses down my belly for years.

I hold onto him tight, my fingers grabbing his shirt like I’m drowning and need something to hold onto. The intensity inside my body is nearly unbearable as he guides me over to the bed, pushing me down gently.

Jason looks down at me and takes his hands away from my shoulders, leaving my bra straps slipping down them. I feel raw, exposed. Half-dressed, half-undone, and completely in awe of him.

Slowly, he undoes his belt in front of my eyes and pushes his pants and shorts down, letting his cock spring up forcefully. I whimper as he takes it in his hand, pushes it against my lips and leaves a trail of salty-hot precum against them.

This is dirty. This isn’t what I fantasized about after saying goodnight to him. I thought about him in the most vague, abstract terms, and everything was lovey-dovey and sweet and quiet. But of course that isn’t him at all. There’s nothing quiet about him, even though I’ve seen his sweet side many times over the years.

Yeah, that whole anecdote he came up with for Cynthia earlier, that was all true. We really did slip little gifts into each others’ mailboxes our whole lives.

It just never culminated in an engagement ring. That would be a really cute thing to do, though.

But as I allow my thoughts to wander toward what could be with him, he brings me squarely back to reality by pushing his cock past my lips slowly, letting me taste and feel every single inch of his thickness.

“Take it all, baby,” he groans as he slides himself into my mouth. I feel so damn sexy watching his abs as he pulls his shirt off over his head. I wonder what the other beauty queens would think if they knew I had the fucking hottest guy in this hotel’s cock shoved deep between my lips right now.

Jason tips a thumb under my chin, and I know he’s checking to make sure I’m alright. He looks deep into my eyes and bites his bottom lip, making the insides of my thighs even stickier than they already were. I want to reach down and touch myself, but I feel a little strange thinking about that. I’m not very experienced. But the look in Jason’s eyes makes me know that by the end of this week, I’m going to be very experienced.

I start rocking back and forth with his cock in his mouth, just wanting to feel him in the back of my throat, against my tongue. I swirl my mouth up and down his full length, throbbing and so damn sexy. He is easily the sexiest guy I’ve ever been with - and it feels crazy to think about, but he’s also the sexiest guy I’ve ever met.

I feel my belly flip over as he wraps his fist around the base of his cock, pushing himself into my mouth. I feel his fist bump up against my lips and he groans, his head falling back as he puts his other hand on the back of my head.

“Cassie, I don’t wanna cum,” he growls, “but you’re just so fucking hot like this.”

His words just make me go faster, sliding him in and out of my mouth like I can’t get enough of him.

“Fuck, you gotta stop,” he groans, pulling himself away from me. “I’m not gonna cum unless you cum.”

I feel his cock pull away from my lips and I look up at him as he kneels down in front of me, reaching behind my back to unclasp my bra in one fluid, confident motion.

Jason takes my breasts in his hands, sucking one between his lips, and I watch in total hot frustration as his tongue darts out, sweeping against my nipple as the other is being teased by his fingers.

“Shit,” I moan shallowly. Jason pushes my body back on the bed and crawls on top of me, sliding himself up my body until his lips crush against mine.

I open up, feeling myself become lost and completely engulfed in the fire between us. I am hyper-aware of every single spark of pleasure inside my body, but I feel like I’m being swallowed whole, all of my senses being obliterated.

Jason’s mouth works against mine, and I hungrily kiss him back as I feel his fingers come to the inside of my thigh.

“How fucking wet are you?” he moans into my mouth, yanking my panties to the side roughly. He pushes two thick fingers deep inside me and rocks his thumb against my clit, grinding against it wildly.

Each tiny movement of his thumb rocking against my clit sends my body roaring toward an orgasm.

And then he stops, pulling his fingers away from me. I feel myself close up where he was, where he should still be.

“What’s the matter?” I breath, my eyes flying open.

He says nothing; instead, I watch as he kneels between my legs, grabs my hips and flips me over.

I’m still wearing just my panties, but he pulls my hips up so my ass is in the air. He pulls my panties down my ass, then my thighs, and leaves them around my knees.

Then I feel his hands come down on my ass and his tongue slide against my clit from behind.

“Oh my god,” I moan, surprised by the slick sensation against me.

He flicks his tongue against me, spreading me open with his fingers, then slides his tongue from my clit all the way against my wet seam, forcing it inside my slick channel.

I feel my eyes as they force themselves closed, and everything inside my field of vision is purple and black.

“I’m gonna cum, Jason,” I moan, my voice surprising me when I say it. “I’m gonna cum.”

He doesn’t take that as a cue to stop, not that I wanted him to. With the pressure building and intensifying inside my clit, to the point where I can no longer stand it and I feel like I’ll explode at any second, he pushes his tongue hungrily inside my pussy, fucking me with it, making it stiff and wet as his fingers come around to my front, where he massages my clit hard and fast, making me cum instantly.

I feel my legs tremble and become weak as I cry out, unable to keep myself together. He keeps eating me out from behind, never stopping what he is doing, never even slowing down.

“Fuck,” I groan, putting my hands on the wall in front of me, “please Jason, don’t stop!”

He keeps going as I cum, wetness dripping down the insides of my thighs.

“I have to stop, baby,” he groans, “because I need to fuck you.”

That’s right. I haven’t had his cock inside me yet. I’ve had his fingers and his tongue buried deep inside me, but his cock - perfect, thick, and the absolute best thing I’ve ever seen sliding in and out of my pussy last night - hasn’t been inside me yet.

“Stay right there,” he says, smacking my ass gently. I listen as a condom wrapper is torn open. Then he comes back behind me and presses his cock against my wetness, but doesn’t enter me.

“God, you are so sexy, Cassie,” he says, dragging his thickness against my seam.

“Please put it in me,” I groan as the tip of his cock connects with my clit, “please.”

He laughs gently, his hands roaming over my full ass, taking his time.

“I’ll fuck you when I’m good and ready, Cass,” he throws back at me, an infuriatingly cavalier inflection coloring his words.

I feel my nails dig into the wall in front of me as he takes the tip of his cock and drags it gently against my clit, making me even wetter. His hands come down on my ass as one of his knees knocks gently against mine, making my legs spread farther apart.

“That’s it baby,” he says, taking my ass in his hands and guiding me onto his lap. I sigh loudly as he guides me onto the tip of his cock, lowering me down slowly as he inches inside me in a steady thrust.

“Fuck, Jason,” I moan, my hands coming away from the wall. I put my hands on his knees, my legs spread wide, knees on either side of his lap. He squeezes my ass hard as he maneuvers me up and down on his thick cock.

I feel like I’m being split in two as he slowly guides me up and down on his thickness, stretching my pussy wide around him, wrapping him up with wetness and pure sex.

“You feel really good, girl,” he groans into my ear, pushing my hair away from my shoulder. He takes my earlobe between his teeth and nibbles lightly as his hands move away from my ass and begin to roam over my body, touching my breasts, my legs, my clit.

I feel as his cock begins jerking deep inside me with each thrust. Every time he hits the deepest place inside my pussy, he goes a little bit deeper.

Suddenly, he pulls almost all the way out of me, then pushes me forward so I’m on all fours. He grabs my hair and I feel him wrap it around his fist, making me moan in pure hot ecstasy.

“This okay with you?” he growls, fucking me slowly.

“Yes,” I moan, “it’s okay.”

He speeds up, pounding at my pussy over and over, and when I finally feel his cock beginning to sputter over the edge of throbbing and about to explode inside me, he presses his fingers hard against my clit, sending me over the edge again, with him this time.

“You are fucking perfect, Cass,” he groans, cumming deep inside me as my pussy tenses and explodes all over him.

I feel lost inside my orgasm as we both cum together with a delicious, forbidden dirtiness that makes it feel all the more perfect.

My pussy pulses against him as he slows down and then stops, in no hurry at all to pull away from me.

I exhale softly as he allows his hands to roam over my body, guiding me gently as we both lie down with our back flat against the bed and our eyes watching the ceiling.

“That was…” I start, at a loss for words. I guess I don’t have to say anything in this situation, and being at a loss for words right now is acceptable. But still, for some reason I feel like I should say something. What, though, I’m not sure.

Because it was perfect. It was hot. It was incredible, and he was caring and thoughtful and sexy and in control all at the same time.

“That was perfect sex,” Jason says, rolling over to face me. He props himself up on his elbow and grabs the edge of the duvet cover from the other side of the bed, pulling it over both of us. He slides his hand against my belly, smiles at me and then puts his head down next to me.

He’s right. It was perfect. There’s no other way to describe it.

“As good as it was, I’d still like to continue being careful,” I say cautiously, lacing my fingers through his.

“Oh, this is me being careful,” he says, “if we weren’t being careful, I’d have pulled you into the mens room at the bar, pulled your panties to the side and fucked you right against the sinks.”

My belly flips and I look over at him, eyes wide.

He wouldn’t…

“If you think I’m kidding, try me,” he says, leaning over to give me a kiss on the cheek.

He nestles down into my shoulder as I switch my focus back to the ceiling.

I can’t believe Jason Anderson is falling asleep with my fingers laced through his right now.

I close my eyes and throw an arm against my forehead. I can’t believe this is happening.

It just feels too damn good.