by Julia Wolf
Well, fuck that.
I didn’t have to be a good girl anymore. Men did whatever they wanted and enjoyed the hell out of it—it should be the same for me.
“He’s going to be sorry tomorrow,” Rodrigo said, rubbing my hand between his.
“Aren’t they always?” I tried to flip my hair behind my shoulders, but had a feeling the move more resembled swatting a fly.
“Oooh, burn with the truth napalm.” He looked me over with lazy, drunk eyes. “What’s your move?”
“I’m getting out of here. My buzz is too good to deal with Adam’s guilt when he’s done hooking up with that girl with the really nice boobs.”
He cupped my cheeks with both hands. “Are you good to get back to your room?”
“Yes.” I wasn’t going there, though. “I know the way.”
He gave my cheeks a pat, then spun me toward the door. “Go, fly high, pretty Claire. I’m gonna gloat so hard when I tell my boy you got to witness his fuck up. And I promise to tackle him if he bugs you.”
I waved over my shoulder and finally made it into the hall. A few people were still hanging out here, but it was a lot quieter than inside the suite. I took a deep breath, smoothed my palms over my black T-shirt dress, and walked with determination around the corner to another suite.
Dominic Cantrell’s suite.
I rapped my knuckles on his door and leaned against the jamb as I waited for him to open it. When he did, I almost stumbled forward—which wasn’t seductive at all.
“Claire?”
He wore nothing but a pair of gray sweatpants, and the smell of soap and spice drifted from him into the hallway. His tattooed hands gripped the frame of the door, and the frown pulling at his mouth only served to make me even more committed to my mission.
I leaned into him, taking one step inside his room. “Why are you angry with me?”
He tried to laugh me off, rubbing his mouth as the low sound escaped. “You had to come to my room at one in the morning to ask me that?”
“Yes. If I did something wrong, I want to know. And if you’re just an ill-tempered dick, I want to know that too.” I took another step, my chest brushing against his, my head tipping back to keep my eyes on his.
“Are you drunk?” he murmured.
“Don’t avoid the question.” I slid a finger up the center of his chest and tapped on his throat. “Speak, sir.”
“Claire,” he breathed. “We’ll do this in the morning.”
“No. This won’t keep. Let me in, Dominic.”
With a heavy exhale, he gripped me by the waist and tugged me into his room. The air around us snapped, and my control was on the brink of doing the same.
“What do you want tonight?” His palm slid down the curve of my back, splaying at the top of my ass.
My pulse ratcheted, and I reached behind me, moving his hand lower. “I want to know why you’re angry. And then I want to be bad.”
There. There was no going back now.
Chapter Fifteen
Dominic
Round, soft, perfect, Claire’s ass filled my hand, and I couldn’t stop myself from squeezing once before I pulled away. She was the apple, the snake, the entire damn garden, forbidden for a man like me.
And here she was, temptation in the flesh, offering herself up. If she weren’t drunk, I couldn’t say I’d be able to resist. But the fact that she was here, letting me touch her, pressing her body against mine when I knew I couldn’t have her, pissed me off, and I was already angry to begin with.
“You want to be bad, little girl?” I closed in on her until her back was against the door. “Thought you’d stop by, taste the dark side?”
“That’s exactly what I thought.” She raised her chin, not even a hint of backing down. “Why are you angry with me?”
“Doesn’t matter. Irrelevant.”
“Is it because you want to fuck me and think you can’t?” She blinked her big eyes, her lashes brushing her rosy, freckled cheeks. The innocent sexiness of her looks combined with her dirty mouth made my cock throb inside my pants. And since I was commando, there was no hiding my reaction to her.
“What are you doing here, Claire?” I practically growled at her.
“You can, you know.” Her hands gripped my shoulders to pull her body flush with mine. She felt so fucking good, like a place I could get lost for a long, long time. I rocked my hips, sliding my erection against her stomach. “Dominic.”
She nipped at my bottom lip with her teeth, and when I didn’t stop her, she sucked my lip between hers and wove her fingers into the back of my hair. The tip of her tongue flirted with the whiskers below my mouth, and then with a sigh, her lips were on mine.
She kissed me like a tornado, touching down and sweeping me up in her storm. I kept my hands braced on the door—my own show of resistance. It took everything in me not to touch her, feel her skin, take this a lot farther than a kiss. Claire didn’t make it easy, with her breathy sighs and eager tongue sweeping over mine.
The sweet taste of rum on her lips was enough to keep me contained, though. My dick pulsed angrily in my sweatpants, but it wouldn’t be getting any game tonight. Not from this girl—even if she begged for it.
Oh, how I wanted her to beg. Down on her knees, blinking at me the way she did, “sir” spilling from her pouty lips. I’d never desired that from anyone else, but Claire brought out a different side of me.
“Dominic.” Her hot breath woke me from the stupor of her lips.
“This isn’t happening.” I sounded strong, but my words were weakened as I cupped the back of her head and covered her mouth with mine. Her kiss had ended, and mine took over, pushing my tongue between her lips to taste every drop of her night.
She moaned and clawed at my neck, but I didn’t let up, showing her what being with me would be like. We wouldn’t take strolls in the park. I’d fuck her until she couldn’t walk straight. And then I’d do it all over again.
“Sit on the edge of the bed, Claire. Take off your dress.”
She moved immediately, tossing her dress behind her on the way into the bedroom. I followed slowly, balancing on a fine line between right and wrong. I had no intention of having sex with this girl, but I also couldn’t make her leave. Not now. Not until she understood what she’d started.
Perched on the corner of the bed, her hands stacked in her lap, legs crossed at the ankle, her pose said demure, but the sheer mesh bra barely containing her tits and her kiss-swollen lips told a different story.
I stopped a foot from her, looking down at her offering. “Are you wet?”
Her brown eyes peered up at me, flaming heat in their centers. She bit her lip and nodded. “So wet.”
“Is it for me or the boy you’re always flirting with when I’m onstage?”
Her breathing hitched, and color rose in her already-pink cheeks. “Only you. Are you hard for only me?”
I palmed my rock-hard erection, pushing the steel length against my belly. “I have been for a solid fucking week now. You drive me crazy. Everything about you. And you show up in my room drunk, coming from another man’s room, aching for it? You want trouble, don’t you?”
She reached out to touch me, to touch my cock, but I knocked her hand away. “Dominic. Let me.”
“Not gonna happen.” I wagged my finger at her. “Bad girls don’t get what they want.”
She slapped the mattress with a pout. “Then why did you tell me to get on the bed?”
“Because, Claire,” I nudged my sweatpants down so the head of my cock showed, “I’m not going to get any sleep until I take care of this. So, unless you tell me no, I’m going to jerk my dick while I look at your pretty tits until I come.”
She nodded, her tongue sweeping over her bottom lip. “I’d like to see that.”
“Then watch.” I pushed my pants down far enough for my cock to pop out and slap firm and hot against my belly. Precum beaded at the slit. Using my thumb, I spread it over, sliding my hand down my thick, p
ulsing length that would much rather be buried inside Claire. Drunk or not. Too young or not. My employee or not.
Claire’s eyes roamed from my hand curled around my cock to my face. The air between us crackled like a live wire had been let loose, sparking and sizzling. Her thighs pressed together, rubbing back and forth against each other. The fabric of her bra strained against her tight nipples. The sheets were bunched in her hands, like she had to hold on for dear life to stop herself from touching me.
If she tried again, I might’ve let her. Seeing her like this, wanting, needing, desperate, made me want to take care of her—to give her what she craved.
That was why she was the apple, the snake, the garden.
My perfect Eden.
“Claire.” I was barely restrained now. A trickle of sweat ran down my face and into my beard. I stepped closer, looming over her, and her hands broke free from the sheets to grip the sides of my legs. “Jesus,” I gritted out. “I’m going to come.”
Immediately, she reached behind her, and a second later, her bra was discarded. Heavy, round breasts capped with light brown nipples and spattered with freckles bared to me, I lost it. My fist jerked my raging cock, the other hand bracing the curve of her neck. My thumb pushed into the underside of her jaw, keeping her head tilted back and her eyes on mine.
“Make me filthy, Dominic. Cover me with it,” she mewled.
Every muscle in my body tightened as an orgasm ripped through me, tearing me apart at the seams. Ropy, white streams spurted onto Claire’s beautiful breasts and chest, and she sighed like it felt as good to her as it did me.
Panting and relieved, I curled my arm around the back of her head and pulled her face against my stomach for a moment. Without even touching me, she’d satisfied me in a way I hadn’t been in a long time. I dipped down to kiss her forehead.
“Such a good girl, Claire.” The smile she gave me was tremulous, and her eyelids were heavy. “Stay here. I’ll clean you up.”
I came back from the bathroom with a wet washcloth, taking care to wash every drop from her soft, pretty skin. She sighed and leaned her cheek against my arm, her eyes barely open.
“Lie down. You look ready for sleep.” I ran my palm over her hair and jaw.
“Here? Sleep here?” Her brows pinched, and she tried to stand, but I gently pushed her back down.
“We’ve gotta get up in a couple hours. Just go to sleep so I don’t have to worry about you.”
Relenting, she pulled the covers over her and gave me a sloppy, sleepy, drunk grin. “Oh no, don’t go catching feels. I’m not into that.”
Holding back a laugh, I patted her head. “Go to sleep, Claire.”
* * *
No surprise, Claire was gone in the morning. The sheets on her side of the bed were cool, so she must’ve been gone for a while.
That was fine with me. With any luck, we’d both forget last night happened and move back into being solely professional.
Only…the first image that entered my mind when I woke up was Claire covered in my cum, breathy and sweet. And damn if I didn’t have to jerk off in the shower to that image.
By the time I got down to the car taking me to the airport, I’d spent my morning thinking about Claire Fontana.
“Morning, sunshine.” Marta was already in the car, tapping on her phone. She was alone.
“Where’s Claire?” I barked, harsher than I’d intended. “We can’t wait for her.”
“Already on her way to the airport on the bus. She was too hungover to deal with your foul mood this morning.”
“Did she say that?”
Marta huffed and put her phone down on the seat beside her. “No, she didn’t say that. I connected the dots. You’re always grumpy and mean to her, and it's getting a little tiresome.”
“I’m an asshole, Mar. That’s nothing new.”
“Well, Claire’s not an asshole, and I want to keep her around.” She threw her head back on her seat. “Is it possible not to speak? I’m also hungover and not in the mood to deal.”
We stayed quiet for the rest of the drive, which wasn’t long. When I boarded the plane, I automatically searched Claire out. Oversized sunglasses covered half her face, and a blanket was wrapped around her body. I stopped in the aisle beside her, mouth quirking.
“Feel like shit?” I asked.
“Don’t gloat,” she rasped.
“I’m not. Get up and come to the back with me.”
She pulled her blanket higher beneath her chin. “I’m good here.”
“Come to the back, Claire. You can lie down on the couch back there.”
Marta grumbled behind me. “You never let me lie down back there.”
I glanced over my shoulder. “Weren’t you just telling me to be nicer?”
Claire groaned, but she relented pretty easily, following me to the rear of the plane and curling up on the leather couch across the aisle from my usual seat. She pulled the blanket so high, only the top of her head peeked out.
No awkward conversations would be happening on this plane ride. No need to potentially hurt her by telling her nothing would ever come of whatever this heat was between us. Besides, I had a feeling she already knew.
And I was relieved. Truly.
But I had no explanation for why I spent the entire flight to Dallas on tenterhooks, waiting for Claire to wake up so we could banter or bicker or piss each other off. No explanation at all.
Chapter Sixteen
Claire
As soon as we touched down in Dallas, we all went to work. We didn’t have the day to acclimate to the new city or take a breath. Dominic’s show was tonight, which meant doing press and fan meet-and-greets all afternoon.
I stayed by his side through it all, chugging coffee and Tylenol like it was part of my job description. I hadn’t been this hungover in forever, which was probably why I was this hungover. My body wasn’t used to this kind of abuse. It didn’t know how to recuperate.
If I could have crawled into bed for the day, I would have, but the show must go on. I’d survive on caffeine and dreams of cool sheets and black-out curtains.
“Does Marta have my food ready?” Dominic asked.
“Yes. She texted a few minutes ago. It’s in your dressing room at the venue,” I replied.
“All right.” He checked his phone for a second, then slipped it in his pocket and headed to the conference room door. “You can stay at the hotel. I won’t need you tonight.”
I hurried after him. “What do you mean? You don’t want me to go to the venue? To your show?”
“No. It’s not necessary.” He glanced at me under furrowed brows. “I can tell you’re not feeling great, even though you’ve been working hard to hide it. I’ll give you today to rest.”
“Why?” I found it hard to believe he would willingly take it easy on me. Dominic wasn’t nice—especially not to me.
“Because I don’t need you right now.” A low rumble vibrated his chest. “Do you want me to find work for you? Is that it?”
“No. You just surprised me and I’m reacting to that. I have things I can do.”
I tried to brush by him, but he caught me under the elbow. “Don’t work. Nurse your hangover.”
This man should have been a mob boss or a king of a small country instead of a rock star. He thought he ruled all he could see. Put a scepter in his hand instead of a guitar, and he’d be right at home.
I took my arm back with a tug. “You’re being very weird. More than usual.”
Obviously, I knew why things were strained between us and he wanted me out of his sight. I’d thrown myself at him, then he came all over my naked breasts. I hadn’t had an orgasm, and he hadn’t so much as touched me beyond kissing, but it had still been the hottest moment of my life.
“I thought I was being kind.” He shoved his hands in his pockets so hard, I was surprised his jeans didn’t rip apart.
I sighed, digging in my reserves for some bravery. “Nothing has to change because of
last night. You don’t have to treat me with kid gloves.”
His brows pinched together. “Are we talking about it?”
“No, we’re not.” I shook my head, a little grin on my lips. “Because if we do, you might say it can’t happen again, and I don’t want to hear that.”
His breath hitched, and he almost stumbled forward, barely catching himself from falling against me. “What do you mean?”
“It means I liked it a lot and I didn’t even get off.” I shrugged like I hadn’t a care in the world, when in reality, it had been nearly impossible for me to say the words. I only hoped I came off as relaxed as I was trying to portray.
The truth was, I would have never been able to do what I did last night while sober, and I had no intention of getting drunk anytime soon. But if I could have another taste of what happened last night with Dominic, I’d take it.
“Hmmm.” His features twisted in confusion. “Okay.”
“Okay.”
“Go back to your room. Rest.”
I nodded. “I will. If you’re sure...”
He paused, rubbing the center of his forehead as though he was physically jogging his memory. “I am. Enjoy your time off.”
I gave him a half-smile. “Good luck tonight, Dominic.”
We parted ways, and I retreated to my room, undressing and slipping into my pajamas even though it was only midday. I took a phone call from Isabela and typed up a press release at her direction, then I called Annaliese, leaving out Dominic jacking off on me for now. I didn’t have my head wrapped around the situation enough to talk about it, and she’d want to talk.
Finally done with work and catching up with my sister, I curled up in bed and turned on the TV, intent on watching something trashy and consuming. Of course, that was when Adam texted, asking to talk after his show tonight.
I’d been dreading this more than facing Dominic. I didn’t have a clue what I’d say, but I guess I could leave that up to him. I told him to come to my room when he got back to the hotel.