“I’d whistle if I knew how to,” Vivienne remarked, pale blue eyes roving over me with approval. “You look like one of those Bond girls—a sexy smoking gun with a lot of spunk.”

Blair giggled as she roved her dark eyes over my face, pleased with the results. “We’ve done a great job! The contouring’s superb, babe. Your ultra-defined cheekbones and nose altered your entire face. The lip trick sure makes your already plump lips have a definite edge to them.”

Exotic. It was the first thing that emerged from my mind the moment all the finishing touches were in place. There was no trace of Gisele Weber. My eyes were heavily rimmed with kohl. The facial contouring profoundly altered my features. It sharpened them. I could easily pass as Russian or Brazilian. Long, thick fake lashes. My lids were heavily painted metallic black. The black on black made my now blue eyes glaringly pop out. It was the first thing one would immediately notice…the first thing they’d be instantly drawn to. Sensual blue eyes. They beckoned. They seared—a glance of lust, a promise of a wild night ahead.

Yes. This is definitely the look that will get his juices flowing down south.

“Good luck with mission penis du jour tonight,” Blair teased as she brushed over the long voluminous tresses that stopped five inches below my shoulders. “Don’t act innocent. Men like Jared will run the other way if he senses you’re not experienced.”

I knew him. He liked his women skilled, but I liked to refer to them as “seasoned.” I’d have expected with someone with Jared’s IQ, it’d be about a woman’s intellect. Unfortunately, that was not the case. He was wired like the rest of the hot-blooded males, letting their mini-mes dictate their choice of mate. He’d dated movie stars, models, divorcees, teachers, and lawyers, but never a college student. The youngest he had dated was a twenty-five-year-old. Two years younger than him. But somehow, he didn’t have a specific age preference for older women. He even dated a forty-year-old once. A hot forty-year-old knockout. Nevertheless, his tastes fell along the lines of pain and pleasure and hot and the furious (Yovanna had attested to as much in the article) and the “seasoned” women preferred it to, too, or so it seemed.

Seeing that the first part of the plan was already done, the whole thing became daunting all of a sudden. A hollow knot began to form in the pit of my stomach, making me feel restless and anxious. It was silly really since I’d wanted this for so long, but now that the wheels were beginning to turn, I was a bit perplexed. As much as I thrived on positivity, this could easily become a disaster. What if he wouldn’t be able to fit? The furthest I’d gotten with a guy was second base, and I doubted fondling breasts counted, not in the league of Jared’s sexual prowess, anyway.

I evoked a soft sigh, anxiously eyeing my friends. “Did it hurt? I mean, that first time?”

Vivienne thoughtfully gazed at me before pausing, seeming as though she was recalling that specific memory to mind. “It didn’t hurt…though it was uncomfortable for a bit.”

Blair snickered. “I was desperate. Desperation doesn’t hurt; I can tell you that much.”

To this day, she would never confess who the mystery man was. She came back one summer and announced she lost her V-card sailing somewhere in the Mediterranean.

She quickly glanced at her vanity watch before reverting her gaze back to us. “You have to go down first. Viv and I will follow in thirty minutes, give or take. We have to be mindful so people won’t recognize you. The last thing we need is for him to hear you’re Gisele. That’s all he needs to hear, and his balls will shrivel.”

We all cackled at the image she painted of Jared.

Everyone who was important in Silicon Valley was here tonight in Hank Rinaldi’s palatial home in Atherton. There were three stairways in this household—one for the servants to use, one for the family, and one for the public, merely for show (rarely used because Mrs. Rinaldi would have a heart attack if she spotted an outline of a footprint anywhere on her sleek polished marble). Taking the usual route via the second stairs, I slowly descended as I nervously skittered towards the rarely used passage leading to the garden. While I hadn’t run into any guests, I did, however, pass by a lot of the catering folks.

Relieved beyond comprehension, I took a moment, pausing just to recoup and recharge. My heart hammering against my chest did little to ease my tension. “Drat! Get it together,” I breathed out before resuming my steps until a voice halted me.

“Well, look at you,” a familiar voice came out of nowhere, blocking me from continuing down the long, mirrored corridor. The mystery person skirted my tensed figure, stopping right before my face. Dark eyes sparkled with mischief and whatever else I cared not to name.

This wasn’t the playboy I intended to secure attention with. “Move out my way,” I gritted through my clenched teeth, earnestly trying not to show my irritation.

“Gisele?” Wyatt, Blair’s oldest brother, wickedly smirked before making a long, winding whistle, enthusiastically checking me from head to foot. “You’re wow!” he whistled again in disbelief. “Just. Fucking. Wow.” His eyes brightened with each word spoken.

Typical reaction coming from this man. “Oh, do shut up already, Wyatt.” I’m wasting precious time conversing with him when Jared had most likely arrived. The man was never late. The party started five minutes ago, so he was out there somewhere, and I’d skin Wyatt alive if Jared was already targeted by some woman who’d want to be next on his list. Let’s face it; women used such events to snag their next trophy husband. The competition was stiff. and I’d rather not get beaten at my own game.

“Make sure to stay out of my father’s line of sight. I don’t like to see him as competition.”

“Ew, that’s sick!” I gagged, sticking my tongue out and all. I recoiled at the thought of Hank Rinaldi’s slithering eyes on me. He already had three mistresses. Surely, a man could be satisfied with his mini harem.

He cheekily winked at me, appearing not appalled at his father’s indiscretions. “He won’t know who you are, so he might get a little jiggy with it.”

“That’s not funny.” Not one little bit. “How the hell did you know it’s me, anyway?” I chose dark makeup specifically to transform my features. How in the world did Wyatt figure it out? Surely, with Jared’s sharp keenness on things, he’d immediately know, too. That was not good. Knowing such a fact made my hesitation skyrocket to obscene levels.

“Oh, honey, that perfume gave you away.” His eyes sparkled, consuming me slowly. “As you know, that night left me wanting. You’ve scarred me for life. No woman compares in my eyes.”

My eyes bulged out as I looked around, hoping no one was using this scarcely used side entrance. “Oh, shush! Your sister will hear you, and if she finds out, I’m going to tear you limb from limb.” The breast-fondling thing? Yeah, it happened with this man. Unfortunately. It was one drunken mistake, and to this day, he wouldn’t stop pursuing me for another impromptu rendezvous.

My outburst didn’t dissuade him from gazing at me strangely. “What are you doing?” his face perked up, sensing something peculiar. “You went to great lengths to transform yourself…hmmm…”

“None of your damn business!”

His hand loosely took hold of my arm, as if daring me to look him straight in the eye. “I’m serious, Gi,” he murmured, slowly closing in on me.

“So am I.” Damn you, Wyatt Rinaldi! He wouldn’t let me off the hook. He was too curious for his own good.

“Wait…wait…” Something flickered in his eyes before he cocked his head to the side. When his gaze landed on me again, I just knew he realized what I was doing here tonight. “Oh, no. Gisele, you bad, bad girl!”

“Shut it down, Wyatt!” The man knew me too well. He immediately figured out my motives without needing confirmation from me. My horrified, stricken expression said it all.

“But he’s too old for you!”

“Twenty-seven is not old!”

“Yeah, but the man has sophisticated tastes…and you’re a knockout, babe, but you lack experience. You’ll bore him within minutes. Maybe even seconds.”

Thanks for the vote of confidence, ass-hat!

His words cut through me. Although I knew it wasn’t his intention, it still affected me greatly. “It’s quite rude of you to say that.”

Wyatt’s face softened as he used his forefinger to lift my chin. “I care about you. That’s why I’m willing to make myself a sacrificial lamb so you can gain experience from yours truly.” Although his demeanor was playful, I also knew he meant every word.

“Not happening, ever.” He’d been attempting to get into my pants ever since I turned fifteen. Nothing had changed since then. It was not as though he wasn’t busy sifting through one socialite after the other. He was just a flirt, a pervert of epic proportions.

“How you pierce my heart, Gisele.” He feigned hurt with a ridiculous pout.

My patience was running thin. “Move. I have a man to engage and seduce for the night.”

“All right.” He held up his hand. “The offer’s on the table. Anytime. I’m only ten houses down. Visit me anytime.”

He finally let me go. “Be careful, Gi. He wasn’t dubbed voracious beast for nothing.

“Bye, Wyatt!” I huffed out, somewhat infuriated as I continued on.

“Don’t let him eat you out…for your own sake!” he threw out for extra intimidation.

I flicked a finger as I strutted the hallway. His laughter echoed as I reached the double doors and strolled towards the opposite side of the garden.

I’d bore Jared? Wyatt’s words rung in my ears. As Gisele, it was a given. But as Lexi Anne, boring wouldn’t be in his dictionary tonight.

Taking a deep steady breath, I hovered in the background. It gave me a great vantage point to see the throng of people from the back, mingling and drinking to their heart’s content. Hank Rinaldi would show himself five minutes before dinner was set to serve. I would be sharing Jared’s table, along with six other people.

Jared St. James, as expected, had arrived and was now circling the crowd of CFOs and CEOs. As my father’s second in command, Jared knew the lot. I took a moment to appreciate him. The ache still thrived, but this time, it was mixed with exhilaration. Seeing him smiling and seeming so in-control of himself made me a little faint. My heart skittered. Breathless and out of sorts, the list of things this man made me feel was rather long. For years, I had pretended he didn’t affect me as much. On the occasion that my father invited him for dinner, I’d sit right across him and pretend my heart wasn’t thumping loudly against my ribs. Blair made sure I’d be seated to his left since his right was reserved for his plus one. But basing from what I had seen, no woman hung off his arm, as I had predicted.

Straightening my Dior black satin mini dress, I quickly gazed down to check that my sparkling stilettos were properly in place. My black painted toenails glinted back at me, my long, toned stems tanned and aglow.

He’s here. You’re ready. Go get your man.

Strutting through the pathway that was specifically set-up on the manicured lawn, I stood a good ten feet away, eyes honed on one man, brazenly appreciating him without an ounce of decorum. While the guests milled and conversed, a few admiring looks came my way, but I didn’t budge my unwavering stare. I was on a mission, and getting distracted wasn’t part of the plan. It was as if I summoned him, or maybe he felt the weight of my stare, because the man cocked his head to the side, intense cerulean blues boring into mine with great magnitude. The men he was surrounded by continued their conversations. He managed to continue the flow of conversation without looking away. His eyes remained, unglued as our gazes locked and battled.

My insides curled and twisted with immense apprehension and excitement. Despite managing to get his attention, his unreadable face made it difficult to know what the man truly was thinking.

As the seconds ticked by, my confidence was being flayed layer upon layer. The intensity of his eyes made me feel faint. My breathing hitched. My confined breasts ached. My body involuntarily reacted to him in the most primal manner, and I knew then I truly was swimming in shark infested waters. No, this wasn’t a kiddie pool. This man would devour me, no holds barred.

Blushing and beyond disconcerted, I hesitantly looked away, as if needing a reprieve. When I directed my sight towards where he stood, I saw my enigma continued gawking.

My heart ricocheted. It teetered. Galloped. It skyrocketed to nirvana and to hell and everything in between. Disconcerted as uncertainty filled me, I hastily broke contact and began making my way towards my designated table. Since most people weren’t seated yet, I gathered my bearings as I stood behind my assigned seat before glancing over to where Hank and Josephine were making their way into his party. Wyatt, Ethan, and Blair hovered close to them. Vivienne was kept glancing about the crowd as Ethan whispered something in her ear.

While I trying to decipher what Ethan was telling my friend, I felt someone right behind me, making me stiffen, standing ramrod straight as my capability to breathe had all but left me.

“Business or pleasure?” His distinctive deep, toe-curling, thong-drenching, heart-attack-inducing voice hotly grazed the back of my neck. His Australian accent more pronounced than before.

HAIL MOTHER OF INSANITY.

I gulped air, and whatever was left of my rationality and lucidity, I surrendered them all in one hefty succession.

It took every ounce in me not to shudder in ecstasy. I willed myself to remain blasé, unperturbed by his close proximity.

Without daring to spin on my heels and face my kryptonite in fear I’d hyperventilate to a full-blown heart attack, I appeared calm, unhurried as I silently basked in his presence. His sheer masculinity permeated the air even though he was a hairsbreadth away from touching me.

As steadily as I could muster, I responded, “Pleasure.”

He leaned forward, and I had to bite back the urge to moan as his lips brushed against my lobe. “What do you do for pleasure?” His hot breath teased my diminishing resolve.

And it just dawned on me; if I relented right this instant without baiting him further, he might disengage and find someone else with more challenge in them. So, with that thought in mind, I knew this flirty banter had to last longer if I craved to have him tonight.

“Is this how you seduce women to your bed?” I snickered, feeling quite wicked.

“You tell me…” he responded huskily, amused. “Is it working?”

“Still deciding…” The heady rush of seducing the man of my dreams thrilled me like no other. Gradually, my nerves eased a little so I wasn’t a basket case.

We were interrupted when it was announced for the guests to take their designated seats. Jared, like a true playboy and a gentleman put together, pulled out my chair, ensuring I was seated first before taking his right next to me.

The candlelit affair was as intimate as it was gorgeous. Mrs. Rinaldi sure knew how to throw one lavish soiree. My eyes properly took in the scene just as Hank and Josephine Rinaldi began thanking their guests for coming on his special night.

“Where’s your plus one?” he murmured faintly enough for our newly seated guests not to catch on.

My brow arched as I cocked my head to him, amused. “Where’s yours?”

“I guess that makes us both single.” He threw me a sexy, devilish smile, making my heart palpitate for a good second.

I suppressed the crazy need to roll my eyes as I lightly chuckled at his not so subtle innuendos. “What do you do apart from flirting with strangers?” The flow of conversation between us was great, and just when I was starting to come out of my shell, I saw Wyatt wink at me five tables to my right.

Fuck. I nervously looked away.

I’m going to skin him alive, I silently swore before I diverted my attention to a more pleasing subject.

“Oh, I do plenty,” the man uttered just as the wait staff began to serve or refill our alcoholic beverages. Once Jared took hold of his cognac, powerful blue eyes held me hostage. “I only flirt when something pleases me.”

God, if only I could devour him right this instant, I wouldn’t hold back. How was it possible to want and crave someone I had barely touched? “What pleased you tonight?”

He leaned closer to my ear before divulging his secret. “I’m looking at her,” he succinctly stated.

I made a coquettish smile while my heart galloped against my chest. “You’re skilled in making a woman blush.”

“My skills are legendary.”

Sending him a scrutinizing look, I took the provocative route. “Care to elaborate on those skills of yours?”

His eyes glinted, the candle’s reflection dancing before his arresting face. “If I give my secret away, then they wouldn’t be legendary any longer, now would they?” His eyes lingered on my lips as he spoke. “I’m more of a direct approach, hands on kind of man. My hands are my weapon. My head, the mastermind. It thrives on new ideas, eager to thrust for new experiences and enthused in exploring wicked thrills. Its inventive pursuits are relentless…utterly ruthless.”

My throat dried. We both knew he wasn’t referring to his “head,” but his notoriously legendary penile pursuits. My body flashed hot and cold, unsure if I should ask him to relieve me of my unbidden thoughts or to run the other way as far as I could. My riotous emotions were unnerving. But there was no mistaking how much I longed for his touch. One hasty look at his handsome face, and all doubt left my mind.

Since his words were loaded with sexual innuendoes, I resorted to safer subjects such as world hunger just to diffuse the escalating carnal tension between us. There was no question I needed a break to reboot my wavering confidence. I still intended to walk into the lion’s den, so to speak. But before I did so, I’d need to load my system with hefty amounts of alcohol. Losing one’s virginity was a terrifying ordeal. And after witnessing the animalistic glint in his depths, I knew he might not be gentle.

Unless I beg him to be, my mind countered, planting an alternative.

Throughout the five-course meal, our conversations were enlightening. For a moment, I wondered if he altogether dropped his sexual intentions with me since he stopped leaning close and whispering into my ear. In between courses, he actually excused himself to speak to someone, a couple, but the woman seemed too flirty for anyone’s comfort. So, while he was engrossed in conversing with someone, I quickly darted my eyes towards my friends, and I was greeted with thumbs up.

Upon returning to the table, Jared and I carried on in a friendly manner. Powerful men came and went from our table as they whispered into his ear, some congratulating him, some desiring to do business with him. As my father’s top person, Jared’s ideas had navigated the company to new territories. He was brilliant, and although his ingenious mind was impressive, I simply wanted him…without the accolades, the fame, and fortune.

As dinner drew to a close, the string quartet upped their momentum. I was just about to mention something hilarious to him when his forefinger lightly touched my arm, sending goosebumps, fireworks, and exploding stars, causing an electrically charged supernova to burst into my system, engulfing my body in flames, liquefying my insides as it sent a tingling sensation in between my legs.

Damn…his touch already felt insane. I couldn’t fathom what sex with him would be like. Good God, I’d most likely convulse and die on the spot. I was going to be royally screwed; I just knew it.

“Dance with me.”

Not yet. I needed more time to prepare me for his holy vaginal exorcism.

I knew how he worked; I’d seen it a few times. He used the closeness of dancing to make you hyperaware of him. By the time the song ended, you’d be a hyperventilating mess, going absolutely gaga over him. I’d be one of those, too. That was why it was safer to decline his go-to “slow dismantling” tactics. “So you can slowly and excruciatingly disarm me? I’ll pass.”

A show-stopping smile appeared on his lips. His eyes sparkled. Feral and dangerous, as if I had baited him with a good challenge.

Good. I need him hungry. Very hungry. Ravenous to the point of madness.

His frame fully faced me, so I pivoted my body, slanting towards him. There was no mistaking how much he desired me. His eyes did all the talking, and boy did they strip me bare. They were explicit in their exploration, and even if I was in my dressed state, I already felt naked before him, ready for the taking. Through those magnetic blues, he slowly disarmed me inch by inch until my reservations were nonexistent.

It was time to cast the bait.

My hand caressed his jawline before I leaned in, making sure my thigh nudged his member, and whispered, “Maybe I'm not all that interested.” I made a coy smile before sipping on my champagne. I waited a beat or two before timidly rising from my seat and exiting the tent then beginning to stroll in the opposite direction, towards the vast dimly lit garden.

The moon was high, and it highlighted my path. I had grown up in this house, too. I knew every inch, nook and cranny the grounds had. And just as I concocted, the perfect spot was a few more minutes away. It was a good enough distance not to be disturbed. The party could be faintly heard from a distance, but it wasn’t loud enough to drown out any sounds if there was someone heading in this direction.

The koi pond had a mini waterfall surrounded by cherry trees. It was one of my favorite places growing up, so much so that my father actually began planting the trees on our estate, too. I’d used to dress in my princess attire, custom armed with my magic wand as I played pretend in my cherry kingdom. But alas, tonight wasn’t about playing pretend—well, in a manner, it was since I wasn’t forthcoming about my real identity. But nevertheless, it didn’t make the situation less nerve-wracking.

If Jared were truly interested, then he'd have followed me. So, I waited. Facing the pond as I stood, gaping at the moonlit sky above, silently praying to grant me this wish.

In less than two minutes, the loose gravel surrounding the pond crunched underneath his shoes. I felt his presence approaching me from behind. There was a hesitation, a pause, as if he was waiting for me to say something, but when none came, his body engulfed me, pulling me against his solid frame. I closed my eyes and shuddered, savoring every second of being with him.

He didn't say a word. But I felt his lips behind my neck before his emboldened hand smoothed over my silk dress, reaching between my thighs and cupping my mound over my dress.

“You are such a tease,” he growled into my ear as his possessive hand curved harder into my groin, making me gasp and pant for air. When his lips nipped my skin, my eyes rolled to the back of my head, moaning as I pressed my bottom against his hardness.

“You seem to like being teased.” Desperately eager to match his hunger, I was heady as his hands and lips traveled my body, cupping, squeezing, teasing me to the point of oblivion.

The need in my loins grew, and when I couldn’t hold back any longer, I brazenly spun around to face my seducer. Gradually backing towards a tree, I coquettishly lifted my dress slightly, inviting him to come and join me.

“You're breathtaking,” he hungrily stated as his eyes roved over my figure, absolutely ravenous. As if he couldn’t hold it any longer, he sat on his heels. Greedy hands began to lift my long dress before his fingers brushed the insides of my thighs.

Wantonly out of my mind, I hastily shifted to spread my legs farther apart for his convenience. He groaned appreciatively when he felt how much he affected me.

He pressed my body against the tree, slanting me at an angle before he lowered, leveling himself in my wet crevice. He let out a guttural moan when he breathed in my arousal before his tongue stuck out and tasted me. My knees buckled from the first lick.

Jesus. He was amazing. I was drunk, horny as hell, so it didn’t take a lot of tongue coaxing to throw my inhibitions aside. Looking down on him lapping up my womanhood, I was a quivering mess as I came on his tongue several times. He didn’t relent as he stuck a finger in me.

“So tight…My finger barely fits,” he ardently hissed with unconcealed hunger.

Oh, shit. It was almost time. Hopefully, I wouldn’t scream like a someone was trying to murder me.

A sheen of sweat coated my body as I nervously tried to relax while Jared prodded my untried hole. “It's been a long time since my last...a few years actually. Does it not please you?”

“Does it not please me? You have no idea,” he groaned, “Bloody hell, you're such a fucking tease.” He nipped my clit before slowly getting up to slide the thin silk straps off my shoulder. Feral eyes devoured my breasts before he dipped his head, capturing a nipple into his mouth while his hand tugged and pulled at the other. “I didn't bring a condom with me,” he huffed out against my nipple while his hardness rubbed against the side of my thigh. “I have a room in Four Seasons. Come with me. Let me show you what I can do to this tight body.”

“Yes! Oh, God, yes!”

Unzipping, he immediately produced his impressive size. His hand led my mine towards his manhood. “Touch me,” he hoarsely commanded as he wrapped my hand around his incredibly engorged length.

I almost fainted on the spot. My hand could barely grip him. I gulped, perplexed and terrified at the daunting prospect of having this mammoth size impale me sometime tonight. My ministration over his silky pole took some time to get used to. Tentatively, I stroked him, sliding my hand up and down his swollen shaft.

He let out a guttural sound as he savored what my hand was doing to him. “Christ, we ought to leave—now. I need you naked, spread-eagled on my bed, my lips, fingers, and cock feasting on this luscious body all night long.”

But instead of leaving for the hotel, his lips found my breast again. He began to knead while kissing my neck. With my hand gripping him, he led it towards my parted thighs, rubbing his cock-head against my entrance, faintly piercing it but not.

“Fuck, you feel magnificent, and I'm not even inside you yet,” he roughly croaked out in wonderment. His prodding hadn’t halted. It only intensified.

His cockhead pried my entrance, stretching it open to accommodate his girth before pulling back slightly. “Squeeze it harder,” he harshly grated out. “Don’t let go until I tell you to release me. Christ. Bloody fucking hell—Lexi!”

I was a shuddering mess, but I couldn’t stop him. I wanted him just as much, and even though I was beyond nervous, as crazy as it sounded, it somehow felt right to be with him.

“Are you safe?” He buried his head in my neck, biting and kissing with urgency.

Safe? “I am.” I wasn’t on a pill, but Blair had made sure I had Plan B in my purse. I supposed I was so consumed by mentally preparing myself to go through the process that I’d forgotten one important tidbit.

Just as my train of thought finished, Jared propelled his cock inside of my passage. The pain I felt earlier was nothing compared to the debilitating pinpricks spreading in my vagina. My fingers dug into him as I tried to stifle the sting that ricocheted through me. I gasped. I reeled. I recoiled from the ungodly pain sawing through me.

JESUS, —is that a dick or a fucking submarine thrusting inside me?

“You feel fucking divine, simply and utterly sublime, Lexi,” Jared groaned, shuddering in ultimate pleasure. “Are you ready to take all of me?” he dauntingly asked in a way that entailed he was about to go ham, and he was trying his damnedest to restrain himself.

I gulped.

All of him?

Abort, mission abort! My mind rattled. My body reeled at the thought. His cock literally planned to murder me. I could scarcely breathe, and he was barely halfway? Yeah, all the way meant pussy carnage.

“Be gentle, please. It’s been years,” I begged, shivering as felt him nod against my neck.

He took me at a measured pace, but no matter how much he tried to slide deeper, my body was too wounded tight to accommodate him. Jared waited for my body began to relax until he hastened his speed. Pain and pleasure entwined, neither distinguishable from the other as he rapaciously thrust with deftly savage precision. I screamed his name as my body seized while my first orgasm washed over my body. My vaginal muscles tightened around his girth as I rode my release. Wave after wave, it spread through me. Jared was close behind. He harshly bit into my neck, as if stopping himself from screaming as he bathed my newly broken canal with his seed.

“I’m so sorry. I hope I didn’t hurt you…I lost control when I felt you squeezing me tight. I had to have you right then and there. I lost control which is unprecedented in itself.” He nipped my neck, kissing my jawline before gathering his breath. “I’ll make it up to you tonight. I promise.”

The man had kissed me in my most intimate parts but never my lips. He was quite careful, too.

“Let’s clean up; then we’ll leave.”

Holding him close, I knew after this rendezvous, going to his hotel where he could easily pull hair during sex would put me in a very dangerous territory. But instead of rejecting his offer, I beamed at him, as if everything was simply dandy. “Fifteen minutes. I’ll meet you at the valet.”

He nipped my neck before biting into it. “Don’t make me wait. I already need you again.”

We strode with his hand around my hips. We parted just before the clearing. He was a few paces in when someone flagged him, needing his attention over something business related.

I stood there for a moment, knowing that even though my wish had been granted, the anguish that would soon follow in trying to move on while tonight’s memories were fresh in my mind would be a brutal process.

But such was life. And I had to make do with what I was dealt…and that was never knowing what it would be like to be truly with him without needing to pretend to be someone else.

With a heavy heart, I hastily went upstairs via the servant’s passageway into Blair’s bedroom and immediately took my mini dress off and washed my achy throbbing bits. There were minuscule traces of blood, but it was faint and not gory. Thank goodness. I didn’t want to impart a lasting impression with him believing I was on my period. It was a ghastly thought.

Once freshened up, I scampered to change into a long pink chiffon gown. I then rummaged for a makeup towelette, swiftly smearing and wiping off my dark-hued makeup. Carefully, I coaxed the fake lashes off with an oil-based solution. Finally, the uncomfortable colored lenses came next. It took three minutes to successfully wipe any traces of Lexi away.

My face bare, I made sure to reapply foundation, a few swipes of mascara, a dewy cheek tint, and lip gloss.

Lastly, I slipped off the wig before I flipped my hair over and made a light tussling gesture to give it a little depth. I then teased it with setting spray, giving it volume and body.

Coming downstairs, I was a few steps away from the foyer when Blair caught sight of me and instantly broke her conversation from someone before hurriedly coming towards me. Vivienne magically came out of nowhere, too.

They had obviously been on the lookout as they waited for me to make an appearance.

Vivienne spoke first. “He’s been waiting outside. Why’s that?”

“I told him to wait for me—I mean, Lexi did. He invited me to his room at the Four Seasons.” My eyes averted to the entrance, guilt washing over me as I wondered if I made the right decision of not indulging in another romp with him. “Should I go say hi?”

Vivienne paled at my suggestion. “Are you crazy? What if he recognizes that it was you fucking him dirty at the pond?

I just wanted to see him off for the last time. God knew when it would be until I saw him next. “We won’t know unless we test it, right?” My decision was set.

“You’re insane,” Blair blurted out, wickedly grinning.

“That I am, my dearest friends…that I am,” I murmured as I strode towards the foyer.

They had a grand entrance reminiscent of Versailles in the designer’s mind. The moment I spotted him, my heart lurched then ached in a span of a minute. It had been over fifteen minutes, and yet, he was here still, waiting. It was so out of character for him to wait for anyone at all. I supposed Lexi had made quite an impression then.

“Jared! Hi,” I called out to him as I descended the steps.

The love of my life spun to see who was calling his name. His eyes lingered on me as I approached him. With the way I was sauntering, one wouldn’t guess the inferno in my crotch. But I had a performance to finish. The inferno could wait to be doused later. He and I never did the customary cheek on cheek kiss, so I stood a good three feet away.

“Gisele, good evening. Always good to see you.” His eyes quickly noted my dress. There was no spark in his eyes, not the way he had eyed Lexi tonight. There was no feral hunger. He simply eyed me like one would if they saw something unimpressive and unappealing to their sight. The vast difference was striking. And as much as it pained me to admit it, my chances with him as Gisele were never going to be more than nil. Might as well bury it now before I continued my hopeless quest.

His black Aston Martin DB11 drove up, and the valet attendant rounded the car to hand him the keys. Jared graciously thanked him after giving him a hundred-dollar bill.

“You’re not leaving already, are you?” I mustered enough enthusiasm to faintly smile at him.

He distractedly glanced at his watch. “I’m waiting on my date to come out; then we’ll leave for the night. It’s been a long day, and I have to oversee the new project your dad and I have been working on tomorrow.”

He wasn’t all that exhausted to commit to a fuckfest all night long, though.

Shifting my stance, I cleared my throat as I longingly regarded the gorgeous man before me. “How is he? Papa, I mean. He hasn’t been home, and each time I call, he doesn’t pick up.”

Something crossed his face. “He’s been busy; we both have been. Do you want me to tell him to call you?”

“No.” I vehemently shook my head. “Uh, tell him to take care and that I miss him, though, will you?”

“I will.” He nodded, staring at me for a moment before catching himself. He shrugged as if dispelling a horrid thought. “You can go to the headquarters and see him yourself, you know.”

“I doubt he’d be pleased. I get how eccentric he can be when he’s on the verge of completion. I’ll let him be the great genius that he is.”

He glanced at his watch again before blowing out a slow breath, his patience evidently running thin.

“Where’s your date?”

Pressing his lips, he shrugged, clearly perturbed. “I have no idea.”

I could’ve stood there, staring at him until he left. But I’d done it so much over the years that ogling him like a morsel with people milling around clearly was out of the question. “Well, it’s good seeing you, Jared. Have a good evening.”

“You, too, Gisele.”

Walking away from him then shattered something inside me. He was waiting for Lexi, who would never show up again. The only reminder I’d have of tonight was the memories and the epic soreness in between my thighs. Apart from that, it was as if it had never happened; it had never existed.

Like an aberration. A momentary relapse that would eventually be forgotten.