Scandal (Tainted #1) (16 page)

Licking her lips and swallowing against the lump in her throat, she wondered what she should tell him. But if they were going to move on and help him keep the rest of the sponsors, they had to be honest with each other.

‘Before, when I pitched to you, I thought I could do this and not care whether any of the stories were true. Some I believed, but others were a bit far-fetched. After spending time with you I doubted them even more. Today was me trying to deflect your, um, suggestion. I didn’t mean to hurt you.’

He ran a hand through his hair and blew out a breath. ‘That’s not what I asked.’

She shrugged. ‘You have to know all the whys to get the full picture, wasn’t it you who told me that?’

His smile returned. It was easier this time, and relaxed her. ‘I did.’

‘So that was deflection. I’d still like to know what happened the day you were filmed kissing that woman when you were engaged to Mai, and if there’s anything else about you that might come out now. It will help me catch things before they go public, or at least come up with a counter story. And tonight, Sarah called to say you’d lost a sponsor and that Sam saw you dressed for a night out. I was worried.’

His knuckles whitened as he squeezed the glass. ‘You’re worried I’ll embarrass you.’

It wasn’t a question, and he turned away from her. The flare of hope that he’d forgiven her was snuffed out.

‘That never crossed my mind.’ She waited until she was sure she had his attention. ‘I was worried about
you.
You’ve come so far, you’ve been working hard every day, and I didn’t want that to go to waste because you were looking for a way to deal with stress. Me? When I’m down or have too much on my plate, I reach for wine to help me forget. I’m not judging, I just want to help. It’s what you’re paying me to do. But more than that,
I want to
.’

His brows furrowed. ‘I don’t need your help, Alicia. Really, I’m fine. See,’ he lifted his glass and shoved it under her nose. ‘Water.’

But there was an edge to him, one that hadn’t been there when he’d walked into her office earlier. His eyes looked strained at the corners. ‘You’re not OK, though. Are you?’

Sebastian shrugged. ‘I knew this was coming, just didn’t expect it so fast, you know?’

She took his hand, entwined her fingers with his, and ignored the way he frowned down at the connection. She wanted to offer comfort, wanted to fix this and not just because it was her job, but because part of her knew he didn’t deserve
all
the bad hype – he’d made mistakes but that didn’t mean he had to lose everything.

And he wasn’t as bad as she’d originally labelled him. He helped her with Mr Maine when he could have walked, he’d cared enough to give her a lift home when she saw someone snooping outside the party. He’d tried to cheer her up that day she trained with him when he had no reason to. He could have just flirted with the aim of getting her into bed, but she got the feeling it went deeper than that.

Not many people would have done any of it, never mind a guy with his reputation.

‘I have a plan,’ she said.

His smile made her heart stutter. ‘I’m listening.’

Sebastian watched as Alicia dragged the photographer over and gave him a story to sell as well as the promise of pictures of the two of them together. He had to admit, hiring Blondie was the best decision he’d made for a while.

The guy got the lowdown on how Sebastian had taken his new girlfriend out for a few hours – while, of course, he stuck to mineral water – as a surprise after a week of intense training.

She also worked in an angle that he turned down several come-ons, telling those women he was spoken for and apologising before sending them on. Sam was almost positive he could get the story into one of the national papers by the end of the night, kicking off more good press about Sebastian. He just hoped the news of his sponsor pulling the plug didn’t hit the headlines first.

Or that the very public argument he’d had with Mai on the street outside Maine PR earlier wouldn’t get uncovered. He’d been so frazzled he hadn’t checked they were alone, and when she’d tried to touch him … Sebastian fisted his hand around the glass so hard he was surprised it didn’t crack.

Alicia glanced at him, a concerned line appearing between her eyebrows. The rage seemed to seep out of him just as quickly as it had bubbled. He squeezed her hand to let her know he was fine, and she went back to instructing Sam.

When they were alone again, he tugged her closer and lifted her wine. ‘I think you’ve earned this.’

The smile she rewarded him with hit him straight in the chest.

‘I don’t know, I like having a clear head.’

‘Of course.’

He shifted away, giving her more room. Maybe she wasn’t fighting her attraction because she believed the rumours, but she still didn’t want anything to really happen between them. It looked like he was going to have to relive the nightmare of the last few months and dissect the lies from the truth of every word before she’d trust him – considering she even believed him.

After a day like today, confession was a headache he could do without.

‘That’s not what I mean. Come on, it’s starting soon.’ She weaved her fingers through his and tugged. He raised a brow and she grinned. ‘Wait for it.’

He was confused for a second, until the music changed and a modern version of ‘The Way You Look Tonight’ started playing. He raised both his eyebrows.

‘Care to dance, Collins? I’m sure this is the kind of music where you should twirl the daughter of an earl around the dance floor.’

The teasing glint in her eyes worked to clear his head of everything except her. As the buzz faded, he reckoned Miss Prim and Proper turning fun was the best form of painkiller.

‘After you,’ he said and slid out of the booth behind her.

He took one of her hands and laid it over his heart, before sliding an arm around her waist and clasping her other hand. This close, with her light, citrus fragrance and honey-smeared lips within licking distance, keeping a respectable space between them was mandatory.

Alicia didn’t seem to agree. She pressed herself closer so her breasts skimmed his chest, and slid her free hand up to cup his nape. His body reacted in the most visceral way, and he closed his eyes on a curse.

‘You OK?’ she whispered, her breath brushing his neck and not at all helping with how his trousers were tightening.

‘Just thinking about football.’ Sweaty men in shorts would cool him off – if his mind didn’t keep registering her scent and how the dip in the neck of her dress showed a teasing hint of what lay beneath.

She laughed. ‘Football?’

He twirled her around, trying to focus on the more abhorrent image of sweaty men than the lush, sexy curves in his arms. ‘It helps when dealing with misbehaving libidos.’

‘Oh.’

That one word sounded breathy, and when he opened his eyes he saw why. Alicia trapped lower lip between her teeth and there was a flush scoring high across her cheekbones. He wasn’t the only one feeling the spark, but after the fallout today and his meeting with the media whore from his own personal hell, he was in no rush to act on it.

So he shrugged it away, like he wasn’t holding off the burning need to taste her with everything he had. ‘Like you said, just a blip. I’m sure it will pass.’

‘I lied. Well, not lied really. I just repeated what my father said to me once.’

His mouth opened and closed a couple of times, not sure whether he should be pissed on her behalf or horrified. Either way, it helped the issue with his libido. ‘What?’

Her skin grew a few shades darker. ‘I didn’t mean anything … seedy. When I was fifteen I had a boyfriend and …’

She focused on his shoulder as her spine stiffened. He heated up again all right, but had a feeling that the acrid flare in his throat was pure rage. Fifteen? She wasn’t even a consenting adult – he couldn’t dislike her father for looking out for his daughter.

‘Tell me what happened,’ he said, but he didn’t want the details. Didn’t really want to hear it. If some bastard had forced her into something she didn’t want to do …

Alicia snuggled closer like she needed the support. He placed her other hand on his shoulder and hugged both arms around her waist, which meant they could only sway a little from side to side, reminding him of school discos where he’d ask girls he barely knew to dance. This was different though, it meant so much more. He just wished she clung to him because she needed him, not just his support.

He shook off the thought. It was crazy, she shouldn’t need him. That would just make everything so much harder for her when he left. He didn’t want to hurt her. It seemed she’d been hurt enough for one lifetime.

Alicia pressed her cheek into his collarbone, so her breath whispered through the open collar of his shirt, sending a stab of desire through him. Sebastian couldn’t help it, he pulled her closer.

‘Can we not talk about him? I’m having fun.’

‘Whatever you want,’ he said, a little relieved even though he wanted to push. Whatever happened must have been bad if it meant she was so desperate to stifle who she was and be the woman her family probably wanted her to be.

She lifted her head to look at him and he could see the fire there, but not the angry kind. This was the girl she hid behind the frumpy suits and prissy tone. This was the Alicia he wanted to get to know better. What made her tick, what that passion was like when it was unleashed – preferably while she was all hot and sweaty and panting beneath him.

But he had to get his mind off that subject. She could have been hurt badly, maybe even abused. The thought brought the rage back and he wanted to hunt down her bastard of an ex and show him what pain really was.

Tilting her face up, she asked, ‘Anything?’

The question threw him until he remembered promising she could have anything. She didn’t look like a woman who’d been forced to do something she didn’t want to by a boy. She looked like a woman full of passion and fire.

His attention zeroed in on her lips and he forgot for a second that she was waiting for an answer. Of course he would give her anything she asked for – as long as she didn’t want anything more than he could offer. And especially if she demanded it in that Lady of the Manor voice. Sebastian nodded.

‘I want you to kiss me properly. No holds barred.’

He blinked, snapping his focus back to her eyes. They were clear, without a hint that she was joking.

‘You’re sure? Because if I kiss you like I want to, I don’t think I’ll be able to stop this time.’

Chapter Twelve

Alicia could see the dark promise in his eyes, and her oversensitive body became more aware of every inch pressed against him. She could feel his solid chest against her breasts, the hard length of him against her lower stomach, and his thick thighs pressed against hers.

She’d been about to tell him what had happened before and the consequences she’d faced for acting, as her father had put it, like a common trollop. But here, being with him, she could see exactly how wrong her father had been.

A woman should be able to sleep with a man because she found him attractive, especially one she trusted and who wanted the same thing as her – a way to enjoy a little of the chemistry buzz for the now. They were both adults, she was on the pill and he could use a condom so the risk of the same thing happening again was moot.

Plus there were no empty promises this time. She knew Sebastian would be focused on his career, which meant he’d be travelling all over the world. Mr Maine would surely take her more seriously and give her more big clients if she salvaged Sebastian’s reputation. She’d move up the corporate ladder in Maine PR, proving to her family she wasn’t a complete failure.

They only had now, and she wasn’t willing to let this opportunity pass her by. Sex with Sebastian would be anything but boring and considerate. She could feel it in the power of the body pressed against her. It would be wild, sweaty, and break the fear she had of her hormones once and for all.

‘I’ve never been surer of anything in my life.’ To prove her point, she fisted her hands in his hair, rose on her tiptoes, and closed the distance between their lips.

The contact was electric, thrumming through every inch of her until her nipples speared his chest. When she opened to him, he kissed her deeply, skilfully, with a raw edge of desperation. His taste was sinful, incomparable with anything she’d ever experienced.

The space between her thighs burned, and Alicia pushed up higher on her toes, rocking her hips into him to find some kind of friction, but he was too tall and it frustrated her so much she groaned.

Sebastian jerked back, his eyes dark, and she went in for more. She needed more.

‘Wait.’ His breaths came too fast, like her own.

‘Why?’ she asked. He was enjoying it too. His fingers dug into her hips, holding her so close there wasn’t so much as air between them.

Sebastian lowered his head and whispered in his ear. ‘I’ve no idea why you’ve changed your mind, but that’s irrelevant considering we’re dry humping in public when you’ve given that photographer free rein to snap us.’

‘You know, I’m a little insulted you can think at all at the moment, never mind worry.’ She pouted and he laughed.

‘Come on before I change my mind, drag you into the bathroom, and give the photographer something really juicy to snap.’

He took her hand and led her to the exit. All the while, her insides were melting at his dark promise. She’d never done anything naughty in a public place, even as a teenager when she let herself fall head over heels for Darrell.

And right now, Alicia didn’t care if they did get caught.

‘You’d really have dragged me into the bathroom?’ she asked, breathless.

The disbelieving look he threw her was almost funny. ‘That turns you on? Who are you and what have you done with Blondie?’

She did laugh then. ‘I just realised the new and improved Alicia was a bit of a bore, so I’m working on a better version. This one likes the idea of being dragged off and ravished. Maybe not in a public loo, though.’

He shook his head, any trace of amusement gone. ‘You don’t have to pretend to be anyone. You’re pretty amazing when you’re just being you.’