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Chapter 1
Her
I paced the guest suite and gulped from the large bottle of Jameson I’d bought at the corner store down the street. Lily Lewis, my bestie, had made sure the Uber driver had stopped on the way to our bed-and-breakfast in Reno. Better stock up, she’d told me, though we’d figured most of our week would be spent on adventures with her co-workers. You’re going to need it.
I’d been dragged on this week-long retreat for her office—Lily had said the company was in a slump. I’d recommended ways to improve matters with team building activities, and the next thing I knew, Lily and her boss insisted I attend the retreat. I was even being compensated; however, I was regretting the decision. I wished I’d stayed home. Well, it wasn’t really my home. I was bunking on her couch searching for a job.
Lily swore this outing would be good for me. I’d be able to make some connections with the small team of marketing execs. Truthfully, I wasn’t sure I’d traveled with the purpose of finding a job. I’d had another reason in mind.
The knock on the door took me out of my haze and my heart fluttered faster as I froze. My main motivation for traveling to Nevada was at the door. Lily should’ve stayed for introductions. Instead, I’d urged her to leave, have fun with her co-workers, and check on me in the morning.
The alcohol in my stomach churned and I squeezed my eyes shut in order to gain my bearings and calm my frayed nerves. One more gulp of whiskey would help. I took three before the repeated knock jolted me. I gasped as the liquor stung the back of my throat. My bare feet padded gently on the cushy carpet of the fancy suite Lily had booked. The guilt swamped over me at the fact that she’d paid for my part in this getaway… Hell, she’d paid for what was on the other side of the door, and what I assumed would probably be one of the stupidest decisions I’d ever made, though she’s the one who’d suggested the idea in the first place.
It’s a means to an end. I glanced at myself in the hallway mirror and jutted my neck forward to get a closer look at the set of dark brown eyes staring back at me. My eyeliner was smeared, my hair was a frizzy disarray, and I didn’t touch up my lipstick. I inhaled and set the bottle down on the side table. It didn’t matter how I looked. He wouldn’t care.
My insecurities and inadequacies would be left behind tonight. This was my time to let loose, to forget the past unpleasant months that had crushed my soul. I took one last look at myself and nodded. “This is your chance. Take control. Change your destiny, Emerie. You’re not going to be that girl anymore.” Was I slurring? I couldn’t be drunk. I glanced at the bottle of booze. I should’ve eaten.
The knock had me turn away from the reflection I currently loathed. The room swayed as I exhaled and with one swift motion I flung the door open. My throat went dry and I gulped as the butterflies in my stomach went haywire. I’d expected him to be decent, good-looking even, but devastatingly handsome? Never.
A large set of azure eyes widened for a moment before squinting, taking me in. His tall frame straightened, as if his attention was laser focused, and his eyes trailed from my face to my bare, pink-painted toes. The alcohol I’d consumed hadn’t been enough to knock me out, and I wondered how long it would take to kick in. I’d need it.
“Hi,” his velvety voice croaked out from plush lips. Good God, he had a razor-sharp jawline covered in the perfect amount of dark scruff. His shoulders were wide, strong, and he was tall. So, so tall. All I could think of was how I’d fit with him. My petite body under his. Would he smoosh me? Would I have to be on top? “You’re Emerie.”
My breath shuddered between my lips at the way his voice dripped my name. It was like maple syrup drizzling on sugared pancakes. I stepped back, opening the door wide. “Come in.”
His mouth parted as if hesitating. “Lily—”
“I know, she set it all up,” I said as he made his way inside the suite.
“Is she—”
“No,” I interrupted as I locked the door. “She’s not here.” I shut my eyes and took a deep breath, then approached him as he turned toward me. Before he was able to say another word, I tiptoed, grabbed the lapels of his slick designer sports jacket, and yanked him down. “Let’s get started.” I gulped and planted my lips on his.
My movements were hurried as my hands shot up and dug into the dark brown wavy locks on his head. They were soft to the touch, and I instantly got lost in the imaginings of tugging on them while he was nestled between my legs. But that would come later…as would I—hopefully.
In my blurred state, I realized his lips weren’t necessarily pliable, and his hands were timid as they moved to my shoulders. I parted from him, both of us breathless. “Lily told me she paid a small fortune for you. I’m hoping this isn’t your consideration of a warm-up.”
“Uh—” His large eyes blinked as he studied me. God, it was as if he was staring deep inside my soul. My heart sped up like a hummingbird’s flapping wings. I swayed and his arms tightened as my body pressed against his. “Whoa. Easy there. Are you okay?”
“I’m sure she told you about my predicament. Don’t pity me.” My cheeks burned hotter than asphalt in the middle of the hottest summer day. Embarrassment engulfed me and I steeled my emotions, tucking them away. “I don’t need the soft whispers, the seduction, or the romance. I just need this to be over and done with.”
I tugged away from his arms and peeled off my shirt. The whiskey had given me the boldness needed after all. I hadn’t been this way with Dan—hence the reason he left me for Janine.
The handsome man’s lips parted as he stared at my black lace bra. “Emerie,” he growled under his breath.
“Yeah, maybe I should know your name. I mean, Lily set this all up, and I thought I’d want to know as little as possible, but I might want to give you some direction while we get this on and I don’t want to just say hey, you.” I tugged my jeans off and let them fall around my ankles. With each foot, I tossed them aside. Not the most graceful movements, but I wasn’t sexy, and I wasn’t going to pretend to be.
Drunk. I was drunk, because I’d typically never do anything like this. I was shy about my body, but I figured he was paid to stand there the way he was, gaping at me like a schoolboy drooling over his first Playboy. No man ever looked at me that way, desired me. However, it made me courageous. His gaze was starved, craving me as if I were the sundae he’d been waiting for after months of staving off sweets.
He was even getting a cherry—mine.
“Cat got your tongue? I thought you were an expert? It seems like I’m doing all the work here, bud.” I walked toward him again. My hands twisted behind my back and I unsnapped my bra. Though my heart urged me not to do this, my brain wasn’t properly functioning.
There are some things I’m just not willing to give up, Emmie. Dan’s words echoed in me, pinching my heart. I pushed aside the ugly confrontations roaring in my mind and focused on Lily’s gift—this stunning man who didn’t seem to have the words.
“Guess I’ll just call you Mr. Blue Eyes.” I wrapped my arms around his narrow waist and tipped up my chin, lips parted, expectant. His gaze assessed me with potency, those penetrating blue eyes turning steely like dark, swirling storm clouds. I was done waiting, done thinking, done following rules. I wanted to feel, to experience, to know. I jutted myself forward, only this time, his lips met mine. They were gentle at first, uncertain, but as my hands clenched into the material of his jacket, he pressed in. The kiss went deeper, his velvet tongue stroked, and a whimper released from my mouth uncontrollably. “God, you’re a great kisser,” I groaned. His hands decisively wrapped around my waist and trailed down to my lace panties, growing bolder with each movement. They continued to roam down, where he grabbed my ass and squeezed.
I released a moan as he tugged me closer. His erection pressed through his jeans on my belly
. A warmth bloomed between my legs as he released a small snarl. This was a different reaction than I was used to. It wasn’t like that with Dan—nor any guy I’d dated. They’d never kissed me with urgency. They’d never made me tingle with every fiber of my being. Maybe I was that drunk.
He’s getting paid. He’s supposed to make me feel this way.
“Don’t be gentle,” I whispered through his kisses. The stubble from his face scratched against my skin as he trailed toward my ear. I trembled with anticipation. I wanted to hear his moans, see his face as he came—that gorgeous face of a man who typically wouldn’t be with a woman like me.
His fingers trailed up my skin tenderly, each one like the tip of a feather. Goose bumps prickled my body as he trailed over the straps of my loose bra. I clasped him tighter, wanting to touch his bare skin, craving the warmth from his body against mine. “I can’t wait to feel you.” I pressed my nose to his neck, nuzzling him and breathing in his woodsy, intoxicating scent. I focused on his collar, my head spinning.
“Wait.” He groaned as my hands tugged at his button-down shirt in an attempt to untuck it. “Wait, stop,” he rumbled, agony reverberating from deep within his chest. “Slow down.” He pulled me away and the room spun. I stumbled, the backs of my legs hitting the edge of the couch, and I glared up at him in disbelief.
“Slow down? I thought this was supposed to go the way I wanted. I thought you were a professional,” I slurred in annoyance as my body fell back.
“What kind of professional is that? The type that takes advantage of a woman when she’s drunk?”
“The kind that knows how to do his job and take a woman’s virginity when it’s offered up.” I sighed and leaned back, my head resting against the softest pillow in the world.
His elegant long fingers stroked his upper lip and down his chin as he groaned. Head hung down, he placed both hands on his hips and chuckled. “I think I need a drink for this.”
“Just hurry it up,” I mumbled in exhaustion. I watched his sturdy, powerful body turn away and head toward my bottle of whiskey. His backside was something else. I couldn’t wait to see him naked. It would be my first time experiencing a gorgeous man in the nude…the first time I’d see any man in the nude, in real life. Instead, the world around me was turning, fading…into black.
Lily had burst in my room at the butt crack of dawn to wake me up for the first day of team-building exercises with her company. I’d rather skip, but I’d been the one who recommended the trainings to her, and her boss was adamant that I join in to oversee and experience it firsthand.
“I’m surprised you can walk this morning.” Lily winked, her large hazel eyes bright as we made our way toward the conference room. She grinned as I tugged my hair and twirled a strand around my finger. “So, how’d it go? What was he like? Did you have fun?” Why did she have to be so damn nosy?
“Uh. It was… He was a great kisser.” I was grateful for the small group of people that clustered around us and greeted her.
I gnawed on my lower lip as hazy memories flashed through my mind. How would I tell her how plastered I was? Or tell her how I’d woken up in my undergarments, in bed, with no recollection beyond that first kiss? Mr. Blue Eyes had cost Lily a small fortune, and even though she was well off, she’d already done too much for me.
Lily must’ve seen the worry over my face as she leaned in and whispered, “Was he at least good?”
“Uh…yeah.” We finally made our way inside the large room. More people entered, all chatting with each other politely. They were a blur to me as Lily introduced them. Networking wasn’t my strong suit, so I’d count on her to remind me who everyone was again later.
My eyes caught on a man across the room in an olive-colored leather jacket. Dark jeans tapered his long, strong legs, and my stomach bottomed out as he turned. Him. My gasp escaped louder than intended, and his gaze landed on mine. The recognizable large eyes assessed me from across the room.
“What’s wrong?” Lily asked as I grasped her forearm, nails digging in. “Emmie, are you okay?”
I croaked, my throat turning as dry as the Sahara. My words were a tangle in my brain, unable to align themselves to make a coherent thought. What the hell was my hired escort doing in the same room? Perhaps his payment hadn’t gone through. Had I told him to meet me here? Why was he here? And what the hell was his problem dressing like he belonged on the cover of a men’s fashion magazine?
Lily followed my gaze and smiled as the handsome man strolled toward us. “Oh, here we go,” she chirped.
“Wha—” I exhaled, confusion dripping from my tone. Lily had met my escort?
“Hey.” The gravel in the man’s voice matched the way he looked at me as he approached. His gaze lingered as if he’d seen me naked…as if he knew something he shouldn’t know about me. It was unfurling wicked thoughts of what we might’ve done last night, and honestly, I wish I remembered what had taken place.
“Sebastian, this is Emerie Sanders. Emmie, this is Sebastian Stephens, the CEO and owner of Image Brand Media.”
Well, shit. We stared at each other longer than necessary, neither of us making the first attempt to admit that we’d already met. The embarrassment that heated my cheeks turned to anger and burned my skin as I glared at him. If evil eye was real, he was getting all of it I could muster. Before I could spout that we’d already met, he put his hand out and grinned. “Nice seeing you, Emerie.”
My eyes trailed to his outstretched hand and I crossed my arms over my chest. “It’s Miss Sanders.” As I was about to burst out with the fact that we might have bumped nasties the night before, an interruption from the front of the room stopped my big mouth.
The team-building leader by the name of Andy instructed us to group into the closest three — how convenient — and sit in a circle. Sebastian grabbed a chair and sat across from me, those eyes fiendishly judging me. I knew this exercise, and I already dreaded it.
“Maybe I shouldn’t participate,” I dithered, looking at the empty chair. “After all, it’s not like I work for the company.”
Lily questioned my statement and shook her head in confusion as Sebastian leaned back in his chair with his legs splayed open, almost like an invitation to stare where I shouldn’t. His voice was as firm as his stare, a tease tacked on at the end. “Take a seat, Miss Sanders.”
I pressed my lips. “Following orders from complete strangers isn’t my style.”
“Emmie,” Lily scolded. My last wish was to embarrass my friend in front of her boss. Then again, perhaps this was all some type of sick joke. Had I been set up by the two of them?
I reluctantly sat, my posture perfect as the leader yapped on and then let everyone have free rein to begin. Both Lily and Sebastian looked to me and I cleared the lump in my throat. “You guys can go first,” I said. “I’ll mediate.”
“They said the ones who don’t know each other that well should go first.” Lily smiled.
“Since when do you follow rules?” I retorted.
Mr. Blue Eyes answered without hesitation. “You’re the one who came up with these team-building exercises, Miss Sanders. And that’s why you were invited.” The way he emphasized my name was like nails scraping on a chalkboard.
“I’ll mediate. You two start,” Lily stated.
Before I could get a word in, Sebastian started the ice-breaking exercise. “I see a woman in her mid-twenties.”
I shifted my feet as my mind raced for things to say about the man I had to purposely evaluate. “I see a man in his late twenties.”
“You can’t copy the same thought. Try again,” Lily commanded.
“I see a man with blue eyes,” I corrected.
The left corner of his lips tipped slightly up as if in enjoyment. “I see a short brunette with a brazen attitude.”
“That’s an assessment,” I pointed out.
“Is it, though?” He crossed his arms and leaned back, a damn gleam in his eyes as his lips stretched into a smirk.
Lily’s confusion broke through the tone in her voice. “Um, let’s just leave it to facts, Sebastian.”
He nodded, his eyes never leaving mine. “I see a short, attractive brunette…” he corrected. To hear him say I was attractive caused a flutter of pleasure and pain in the pit of my stomach. “Who doesn’t think she’s attractive,” he finished.
My stomach jumped to the base of my throat and I was at a loss for words. Now that was painful. Lily stared back and forth between the both of us as we focused on one another. She finally broke the intense stillness with her voice measured. “That’s another assessment, Sebastian. One that I agree with, but let’s just stick with short brunette. Emmie, your turn.”
“I see a man who tricks people. He makes them believe one thing, when in fact, he’s lying.” I crossed my arms over my chest.
A crinkle appeared between his eyes as he leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees. “I’m not a liar, Miss Sanders.”
“Could’ve fooled me,” I muttered. “Oh, wait, you did.”
“Am I missing something here?” Lily interjected.
I turned my focus onto Lily, who seemed innocent in the whole exchange. However, I was a walking wound, mortified by last night’s events. I leaned back in my chair. “Why are you so surprised, Lil? You set this whole thing up.”
“Set what up?” Lily asked.
“Forget it.” I exhaled, the chair flying back as I stood and swiftly exited the room.
My coffee cup and spoon were getting the brunt of my anger as I stirred the creamer into my pick-me-up drink with violence. I was seething. It was bad enough being made a fool with a cheating boyfriend, or at work by the entire staff. It was worse when your best friend tricked you with a fake escort. The dining hall was empty, save for some treats set on a table, as well as several beverage options. Being alone gave me time to cool off and to think way too much.
Alphas of Seduction Page 15