Tempt Me Like This

Laughter bubbled out of her at the absurd thought. Of course she would be overshadowed by the models. They were all tall and glossy and perfect, whereas she was just…her.

But he seems to like “just you,” a voice inside her head reminded her. And I thought you were sick of hiding?

As she walked inside, she made herself hold her shoulders back rather than rounding them forward to hide her chest in the form-fitting dress. Insecurity didn’t become anyone, so even though she’d been hit with it big-time as soon as the beautiful women had joined Drew’s photo shoot, she wasn’t going to let it take over.

Not tonight.

Laughter and music were spilling out of the ballroom as two gorgeous women who looked to be her age walked out in sky-high heels and teeny-tiny shimmering dresses. They hadn’t been in the photo shoot, although they were certainly pretty enough to have made the cut. They didn’t even spare her a glance as they walked by, arm in arm, laughing.

The insecurity she was so bound and determined to push away tried to rear its ugly head again, but she’d made it through Smith and Valentina’s party in one piece, even with falling into the pool, hadn’t she? So what if there were dozens of gorgeous women here tonight? All that mattered was that she and Drew had formed a connection. Even James had commented on how well they seemed to fit together.

No, it didn’t make the least bit of sense that a star like Drew would fall for someone normal like her. And Ashley had always worked hard to make sure things added up, both in math class and in life. But maybe everything in life didn’t always have to make perfect sense.

Could some things just be pure, sweet joy and pleasure?

The room was packed, but thankfully James spotted her within seconds. She figured Drew had asked his bodyguard to keep a special eye out for her the way he usually did. “You look great, Ashley.” She smiled at him, really glad to see a friendly face. “I’ll get you a drink. What’s your poison?”

James was drinking a beer, but she’d never been much for alcohol. Besides, she didn’t want to feel at all fuzzy once she and Drew finally got a chance to talk. “Sparkling water would be great, thank you.”

“You’re a good girl,” he said approvingly, almost like a father would to his daughter. “I’ll be right back.”

Ashley knew she was a good girl and had never worried about that before. No one wanted the CEO of a company to be wild, after all. But she didn’t think she wanted to be that good girl anymore. At least, not tonight. Not when she was finally realizing just how much joy and pleasure there was to discover in Drew’s arms.

She tried to be casual as she leaned against the wall and waited for James to bring her drink, but it wasn’t easy when she felt so far out of her element. She’d rarely been to parties even in college, though she’d gone to plenty of clubs in San Francisco to watch up-and-coming bands of all styles.

So far on this tour, she’d done plenty of things outside her comfort zone...especially this afternoon on the bus. But where that had been more enjoyable than anything she’d ever imagined, maybe coming to this party had been a mistake. Then again, if she wanted to work in the music business, wouldn’t she have to get used to participating in events like this?

She groaned out loud at the way both sides of her brain were at war. Stay. Go. Stay. Go.

The crowd parted suddenly, and she looked right into Drew’s eyes. Even though he was on the other side of the ballroom, she swore she could see heat in his expression. The same heat that had been there when he’d seen her wearing this dress for the first time, and then again on the bus this afternoon when he’d walked in on her touching herself.

She smiled at him, suddenly feeling incredibly happy that she’d stayed. Especially when he held out a hand and she knew it was for her.

All these beautiful women in the room and she was the one he wanted. It felt like a fairy tale. Like a dream come true. Even though she’d spent more of her life with her nose in a book or with a calculator in her hand than dreaming about Prince Charming, Ashley suddenly understood all those fairy tales her mother had liked to read to her when she was a little girl. Because when a man looked at you the way Drew was looking at—

Ashley stopped short as a positively stunning woman took Drew’s hand, lifted it, and twirled around beneath it as if they’d choreographed the movement. And then, the next thing she knew, the woman was in Drew’s arms, and he was holding her tightly against him.

Feeling as though she were standing in the middle of the train tracks able to hear the conductor’s whistle, but not able to get her feet to move, she watched as the woman lifted her lips to Drew’s for a kiss. Just then, someone moved in front of Ashley, but she’d already seen enough. And when she got another clear look at Drew a moment later, he was still holding on to the gorgeous stranger, even more tightly now, his lips close to the woman’s ear as if he were whispering sweet nothings to her.