I couldn’t do this, but I wouldn’t leave her unsatisfied.

I stroked her clit with my tongue, dragging a throaty moan out of her that turned ragged when I thrust my fingers into her slick pussy. I worked her like that with my tongue and fingers until I felt her come.

When she’d come down from the high and started fumbling with my pants, I had to stop her.

“Let’s go to sleep,” I told her wearily.

“What? I haven’t gotten to take care of you yet.”

She reached for me, but I pinned her wrists with one hand, pulling her against my chest. She closed her eyes, parting her lips in invitation for a kiss.

I kissed her gently, then led her through to the bedroom. It had been a seriously long and emotionally charged night.

I lay awake long after she fell asleep curled into my side. She’d been vulnerable with me and I’d been able to give her what she needed, but the specter of a fictional character had been in the room with us. It hadn’t felt like real intimacy. I couldn’t make sense of where things stood between us anymore and it wasn’t going to be any easier for the next few days with the media gauntlet we were about to endure.

I needed to get her away from all of this, even if it was just for a night, to step away from all the bullshit and the constant reminders of the reasons this couldn’t work.

I needed her to see me. Alex.

Not Alex Chase. Not Lucas Steel.

I had an idea, but I was going to have to get her to trust me and leave her comfort zone for it to work. I had to find a way to convince her or I was going to lose her.

33

Elena

“Let’s get out of town,” Alex said suddenly, boyish grin in place. “We have time to get away for the night before we have to be back for the show. We can either sit in the madhouse or escape it and come back refreshed.”

We were sitting in my kitchen the next morning, pretending everything was normal despite the photographers camped out in front of my house.

Totally normal.

No big deal.

We’d gotten an email from Asha saying we would use our upcoming appearance on The Zuri Show to set the record straight about the paparazzi incident, but until then she’d advised staying offline since things were only going to escalate. She swore it was strategic, that letting the frenzy build would be good for us in the long run, but it was hard to stand by while people slandered me all over the internet. My clients would be seeing this. Every time someone looked me up in the future, these articles would appear.

My phone kept buzzing, so I gave in and looked at it against Alex’s advice.

A text from Ophelia said, wtf kind of PR newb does your boy scout have running things? Want me to get this under control for you?