by Chase, Jenna
Don’t get me wrong. This guy is not husband – let alone boyfriend – material, but if I were bored and this was my choice to begin with, I might humor him for a night because he’s hot. Hot in that suave, total douchebag way. You ladies know what I’m talking about. That guy who would drive you crazy for more than one date and send you running for the hills, but you convince yourself that one night with him wouldn’t be too bad. I mean, that’s what I would think if I wasn’t always thinking about Logan and wishing he was sitting across from me instead of this fucker.
Daddy officially has dementia if he thinks I’m actually going to marry this guy. He’s such a sleaze in his coded words and mannerisms that I don’t doubt he’s seeing another girl right now. He would probably see quite a few during the course of our fake-ass marriage. Meanwhile, I would be an eternally pregnant, doting wife. Yay.
It’s okay, though. He understands the position I’m in. He also understands what those photos of Logan and me were about. Do you know what he says? “I’m not so old-fashioned, Daphne. I’d be shocked if my wife was a virgin in this day and age. Let bygones be bygones, right? I know your family is super traditional, though. So if your father ever asks, I’ll protect your honor and tell him that without a doubt you were a virgin on our wedding night.”
This guy’s a winner, folks.
Right in the middle of dessert, Cristiano’s phone rings. Instead of ignoring it or sending it to voicemail, he answers it. Could be important, you know!
“Sorry, I have to take this.” He winks at me. Why the hell is he winking? Ugh. “Could be a few minutes.” Take all the time you need, asshole.
Except.
Except.
When I take out my phone to check for messages in his absence, he bends down and kisses me – right on the lips!
I’m too shocked to shirk him off. Here I am, minding my own business in a restaurant, and the guy the whole world thinks I’m engaged to kisses me in front of Dio and all his laughing angels.
I sit here, mouth agape, as he wanders off full of himself. Cristiano disappears around a corner, and I hope to God I don’t see him again for the rest of the night.
In fact? This seems like a great time to leave. I’m gonna pack my bag and stiff the douche with the check. (Like he wasn’t going to pay all of it anyway.) I’ll tell Daddy that, hey, I tried, but I really don’t like this guy and he’s completely disrespectful to me. Do you think he’ll believe me? Or care? It’s all I’ve got to go on right now.
That and the fact some new guy is sitting down in Cristiano’s place across from me.
Holy shit.
It’s Logan!
Am I seeing things? Have I lost my damned mind? Is my need for this guy so great that I am manifesting him in front of me during one of the most torturous dates of my life?
Haha. Who am I kidding? This is Logan Dean we’re talking about. He is the one person in the world who would crash one of my dates to rub something in.
“Logan…” I put my phone down. Before I can say anything else, he raises his hand to silence me.
“Hi. I only stopped by to ask you one thing, Daph.” He’s too serious. Logan is never supposed to be this serious. “Is it true?”
“You mean the engagement?”
“No, Daph, I mean that hideous dress you wore on the Fourth of July.” So he’s checking for me in the magazines? “Of course I mean the engagement. What the hell else could I possibly mean?”
“If you ask anyone but me, yes, I am engaged to the stuffiest assface in Italy.”
“I’m asking you.”
“No,” I mutter. “It’s not like that at all.”
“That’s what I thought.” For that tone in his voice, he sure isn’t as animated to match it. “I told myself it was ludicrous for you to suddenly be engaged to some schmuck like that. He looked handpicked by your family. You know what? It was easy to convince myself that you weren’t actually involved with that guy. Then I saw that display of sweet affection between you two.”
“He kissed me without permission.” Something dawns on me. “What are you even doing here? Happen to be in the area?”
“Actually, yes.” Logan points to a far corner I can barely see. “I was already sitting there when you two walked in. Happy coincidence, huh?”
I wish I could agree. Having Logan sweep in and change my fate is exactly what I need, but I have a feeling that’s not what’s happening here. “So you were watching me on my date…”
“Sure. Let’s go with that. I was going to leave well enough alone. In fact, I kept telling myself that I should leave, but I didn’t want you seeing me. So I was waiting for you to leave. Then that fucker kissed you and left you high and dry.”
“Ah…”
“Tell me the truth.” He lowers his voice. “Were you fucking with me? Or did we actually have something special?”
I bow my head. In shame? I guess. “Logan… this whole thing is my father’s machination. There has never been anything, and there will never really be, anything between me and Cristiano. Please. What can I do to make you believe me?”
He smiles. Boy, am I glad to see that smile. “Run away with me, Daph.”
We can’t leave fast enough. Partly because Cristiano could come back at any time, partly because we’re that desperate to be together.
Chapter 3
LOGAN
Until a few moments ago, I was a man wallowing in self-pity unlike ever experienced before. I couldn’t even tell you why. Here was this girl – woman – I never even had sex with, unless you count mutual masturbation as sex. (When you’ve banged as many girls as I have, you stop counting anything but intercourse. Okay, maybe really awesome hummers.) All I had done was kiss and finger her. What should have been old hat for me turned into something that constantly drove me insane.
I’ve never been one to commit. Can’t say I ever thought I would. So why did it hurt so much when I thought she was cheating on me with some other guy… how could she be cheating on me when we weren’t in a relationship? Hey, wait, was she cheating on the other guy with me? Ouch.
The tabloids and gossip sites have been full of photos of her lately. After the initial scandal of us kissing, she went back to this Italian guy.
Cristiano. His name alone makes me want to break his teeth.
As much as I tried to convince myself that I didn’t care… I did. I do. I want Daphne for myself. I want to feel her warm lips on mine… and on other parts of my body. I want her attention, her touch, and her love.
I had been robbed of that by some dude named Cristiano, for fuck’s sake.
What hurt the most was the fact she never tried to explain.
After we went our separate ways in that alley, I thought she hadn’t tried to make contact with me once. Didn’t call. Didn’t e-mail. She still hasn’t accepted my fucking Facebook friend request! As it turns out, she did try. I don’t know why I didn’t get the messages.
I kept telling myself that I didn’t care. Not once did I believe that.
Daphne DeMarco has been on my mind 24/7. Torturing me. Consuming me.
But now? Now? Holy shit. She’s here. She’s with me. We’re running away together. Maybe only for the night, but I’m damn happy to have her!
“Run away with me, Daphne.”
I don’t know where to go. I suggest my place, but she aptly decides that it would be too risky. We definitely can’t go to her place. What a pair of lives we live when we can’t even run away to our own homes!
“A hotel?” I slyly ask as we sit in my car, far away from prying pap eyes.
Daphne sheepishly looks away. What? This young lady who has boned her own fair share of guys and was ready to rough ride my cock the second time we met? The one who was no stranger to stroking me in a packed movie theater? She’s suddenly got some sheepish morals? Ha!
“Okay,” she finally says. “If you can think of a nice one that won’t turn us out to the paps.”
I know what that means. Nice hotels c
ome in two flavors: those with scrupulous employees who can’t wait to say what celebrity has come to stay the night, and those that are so popular that paps are always camped out there.
“How about the Caesar? It’s on the outskirt of town, and I’ve never had a problem with them.”
She raises an eyebrow as I start the car. “You would know, huh?”
“Hey, when money isn’t a problem, you take all your dates to the same hotel.”
“Uh. Huh.”
“Wanna know a secret?” I whisper, leaning in close to her as the car revs up beneath me. “I haven’t even thought of another woman since the day I met you.”
I have no way to know if she believes me or not. It’s dark, she’s wearing sunglasses and a hat, and her face is away from me. Finally, Daphne turns her head, teeth nipping my chin. “I’m going to be the last girl you ever take to that hotel. You got it?”
Oh, I’ve got it.
For being on the outskirts of the city, the Caesar is a relatively short drive away. Don’t care. I’m just glad to have Daphne here with me. We could be going to the middle of the dessert, a landfill, or her grandmother’s house and I would be ecstatic by the prospect.
I look at her before shutting off the engine of the car. Last chance, Daph. Do you really want to keep going?
Please say yes.
Oh.
She said yes.
Chapter 4
DAPHNE
For the first time since my initial foray into the sexual world, I’m a little nervous about being alone with a guy.
This isn’t like when I went to his apartment, blazing in anger, and things happened. This is premeditated. I know now that I can’t be alone with Logan without something sexual happening. That’s both exciting and nerve-wracking!
I stay in his car while he goes into the lobby and gets us a room. This place looks nice, although I’ve never stayed here before. It’s a four-star hotel, and my family only stays in five-star hotels. Logan clearly doesn’t care about this. He had a point, after all. There will be paps staked at all the five-star hotels, and apparently the staff here has been good to him so far.
For a moment I fear that I’m just another girl in his life. Maybe he only likes me because I’ve been playing hard to get. As soon as I give it up? (Wow, remind me to never phrase it like that again.) He’ll be over me and move on to the next girl he manages to seduce into bed.
Panic settles in. Oh, God. This is a terrible mistake! This time tomorrow I’ll feel like the biggest fool in the universe. Normally I don’t care if a fling with a guy is a mere one-night stand. With Logan? It’s different. I want this to last beyond one night.
I want it to last many, many nights.
My worries abate when he emerges from the hotel and comes back to his car with a room key. Every time I see him, I feel… safe? Is that the word I’m looking for? I’ve gone from being enraged at this guy’s mere presence to wanting to jump his bones every time I see him. Maybe I really am falling in love with this guy.
Still, I don’t want to get too far ahead of myself. I’m not going to let Logan Dean embarrass me. I concoct a plan on our way to the back entrance of the hotel. This plan will satisfy me in many ways… and leave me frustrated in so many others!
We’ll see how long I truly last around Logan Dean.
Our room’s on the third floor of the hotel. Lots of privacy up here. I don’t doubt he’s asked for this specifically. Maybe we don’t even have neighbors. When you’re Logan Dean, you can ask for the exact room you want – even if that room is only given through description.
“Hope they have something good on HBO,” Logan quips as we enter the room. I still have my glasses and hat on. Here’s hoping the paps never catch wind of this. Logan may have never been bothered before, but this is the first time he’s here with me. I have a tendency to change everything.
The room is smaller than what I’m used to, but the bed is big and clean, and the TV sizable enough. I suppose there is some sparse, beige furniture to fill things out. I don’t care about the view from my hotel room for once in my life. I know there’s nothing interesting to look at out there. If I had my choice of hotels, it would’ve been a downtown affair that has epic views of the river, the commercial business district, and even the airport. There’s something soothing about watching planes taking off and coming in to land.
Just like there’s something soothing about the way Logan wraps his arms around me from behind and starts kissing my cheeks. He rips my hat and sunglasses off. I don’t know where they land.
He’s hungry. For me, of all people. I know I play myself up a lot… the mighty Daphne DeMarco. Yet even I’m shocked that I’ve enthralled a man like Logan Dean to the point he’s stalking me on my dates. To have him whisk me away to a hotel so he can start making out with me? It almost feels unreal.
“Logan…” I begin, wondering how I can keep this good feeling alive while also gently pushing him away. “I want to make one thing clear.”
His eyes are already glazing over in lust. “What is it? Do you want to use a condom? I’ve got condoms.”
That’s… I do not doubt that you have condoms, Logan. I’m sure you have many types to choose from in your pocket. “I want to do these things with you, but I don’t think we should go all the way tonight.”
I sound like I’m in high school. In truth, I want to know how he reacts, let alone if he intends to respect my wishes.
If I’m going to potentially throw away my image and good name for you, Logan, I want to make sure you’re a man worth doing that for.
“What do you mean by that?” He’s not angry. Confused, yeah. Blindsided, a little bit. Mostly he sounds like he wants a clarification. I don’t blame him.
“I don’t think I’m ready for intercourse with you yet.”
If he thinks I’m a prude, I can’t tell from his reaction alone. He does look way more confused, though. His erection is probably deflating too. Oops. “Well!” he suddenly exclaims, putting his hands on his hips as opposed to around me again. That playboy grin erupts on his face. Okay. Now I’m the confused one. “Good thing there are other things we can do!”
Is he playing off being mad? Or is he really okay with what I said?
There were so many ways that could’ve gone. Logan could’ve pointed out that he paid for a hotel room. He could’ve pointed out how far we’ve gone before tonight. He could’ve called me a number of things based on how “easy” I was with other guys I’ve been with. To my pleasant surprise, he doesn’t do any of those things. When I first met this man, I would’ve expected nothing less. Was he or was he not the man who announced to a tabloid that I have gangbangs every Saturday?
“You’re okay with that?” I tilt my head in disbelief. “I was afraid you would be angry.”
His hands touch my shoulders. “Why would I be angry?” he asks. “I just want to be with you, Daphne. I don’t care what we do. We could rent some video games to play in here for all I care. You want to have sex? I am so game. But if you’re not comfortable with that right now, we don’t have to… as long as…”
Uh oh. There’s that tone in his voice. The one I usually get angry at. “As long as what?”
He grabs me, pulling me firmly into his embrace. “As long as I get as many kisses as I want.”
One kiss quickly turns into frantic lovemaking. The kind of lovemaking you experience with someone who truly matters. It doesn’t even have to include taking off your clothes, although Logan’s hands paw me like he can’t wait to rip off my dress and have his way with me. As we kiss, I think of how I want him to do it. I want it hard. I want it fast. I want it rough. I want this terrible playboy to have me every which way to the next day. Every time I’ve fantasized about what Logan can do to me, I’ve gone from 0 to 60 thinking about the way he could throw me down on a bed and make me feel like the most owned woman in the world.
That’s one of many reasons I don’t think I’m ready tonight. I’m so emotionally vulnerable
after all that’s happened that I don’t think my heart could handle it, even if my body could. I want things to slow down a little. I want to see how this man makes love.
“Do you like kissing me?” he murmurs, hands pulling up my skirt and tugging on my silky underwear. “Because I’ve noticed that once you start, you have a hard time stopping.”
“Same thing could be said to you,” I retort. All this talking means less kissing. So not fair. “You’re a good kisser, but you knew that already, didn’t you?”
“Hey, it takes two to make a great kiss.” He pulls away, his last kiss still lingering on my lips. “I can’t pull all the weight around here. Your ability to put in your share has been noted.”
Logan pulls his shirt up over his head. Hello, abs. I haven’t seen you since the day I went to your apartment! Starting to rethink my no intercourse policy tonight…
“Now you’re trying to entice me.”
“You mean I have to try?”
I put my hands on his chest, letting them roam his hard muscles. “When do you get the time to work out this much?”
“I only take two days off a week to give them a rest.” Logan’s playing with my hair, although I think it’s an elaborate ploy to get to my zipper. “Otherwise I spend at least two hours a day in the gym. It’s one of my favorite things to do. Helps me clear my mind. And it scores me chicks.”
He’s looking at me with that knowing gaze that says Like you, Daph. Yeah. Like me. I feel like such a cliché when I say that a guy with rock hard muscles turns me the fuck on. I’ve been with both lean guys and those who are entering body-building competitions. Logan is a healthy balance between the two. Muscular enough to make me slobber, but not to the point I’m starting to get weirded out. Strong, but not going to crush me, you know?
“I need to work out more. I’m not going to have this metabolism forever. What if I wake up on my 25th birthday and I’ve gained thirty pounds?”