The combination was exquisite. My toes curled. I couldn’t lose control this quickly. I had to hold on. I had to keep it together.
But what he was doing felt so good. Too good.
My back arched and my nails bit into the skin on his forearms. Lukas dropped lower and I met him with a kiss. His breath was sharp and hot against my cheek when he nudged my face to the side to pinch my earlobe between his teeth. A fluttery sigh escaped me that made him growl in response.
The sound pushed me over the edge.
I stifled my cry in his shoulder when I came. He bucked harder and deeper until he too lost control. His thrust slowed as our orgasms ebbed away, and he pulled back to look down at me.
I swallowed and closed my eyes when he pulled out and went into the bathroom to clean up.
Lying alone on the bed, my afterglow didn’t last long before my mind went into overdrive.
We weren’t supposed to do this. He was my best friend’s brother. He was off limits. It didn’t matter how good the sex was or whether it was the best sex of my life. What mattered was the damage this affair could have on other people and our reputations.
Our careers.
I sat up and raked my fingers through my hair as I let my legs dangle off the end of the bed. My toes were cramped after being curled. I wiggled them, but that only made it worse, so I hopped off the bed and stood flat footed while I listened to the water run in the bathroom.
Feelings floated around in my belly that I knew I shouldn’t have. They were too strong. Too misplaced. It made no sense for me to feel the way about Lukas that I did. The risks were too high. What if he didn’t feel the same way? What if he was only using me to work with Lisa and improve the way the public perceived him? Was I just a means to an end?
I hurried to put my dress back on and fix my panties and hair.
I didn’t want another short-term hookup. What happened tonight could not happen again. If I was going to be smart about this, I needed to build a wall between us. Otherwise, one of us was going to be damaged when all was said and done, and I doubted it would be the billionaire who could have any girl he wanted.
I knocked on the bathroom door. “Lukas? I’m sorry, but I have to go back downstairs. I’ve been gone too long already. Don’t come find me. This… we shouldn’t have done this.”
The water turned off on the other side of the door but I didn’t stick around and wait for him to come out.
I ran.
Chapter 23
Lukas
“So, how do you think the gala went, Mr. Holt?”
Rebecca Mills sat across my desk from me with one leg crossed under the other. She was dressed boldly in a matching ruby-red pantsuit. Her shoes were shiny black heels with red soles, and I noticed the curl of a cursive tattoo peeking out along the side of her foot.
I wondered what it said, but my mind was then occupied with thoughts about the gala to respond to her question.
How did I think it went?
Well, for starters, I’d had the best sex of my entire life that night in the Presidential Suite. I’d argue it had been more than just sex. It had been transcendent.
But as soon as Kayla and I had finished making love, she’d gotten dressed and bailed, claiming she had to go back downstairs to work.
To say I had been disappointed would be a gross understatement. After sex like that, I figured this thing between us had been solidified. In reality, it felt like Kayla and I were somehow even further apart. She was somehow even more unreachable.
I’d wondered over the past few days since the gala if Kayla’s only priority was her work. It bothered me to think that it might be, and that was rich coming from me of all people, a type-A workaholic for over a decade. But seeing those same habits in someone else—someone I cared a great deal for—made me question everything. It made me realize how closed off I’d been.
“Mr. Holt?”
I glanced up at Rebecca and cleared my throat. “Sorry, got lost in thought for a minute there. I heard it went well and that we raised a lot of money. One hundred and fifty thousand was the last tally, I heard.”
Rebecca smiled. Today, she hadn’t brought a pen and paper but rather a recording device. She held it in one hand, her index finger poised over the red record button. “Actually last I heard, you were closing in on the two hundred and fifty thousand dollar mark. An impressive feat.”
I plastered a smile on my face. “I’m happy people were willing to contribute and I could play a part in a successful charitable evening.”
Rebecca eyed me suspiciously.
I frowned. “What?”
“I couldn’t help but notice that you left the gala early. Very early.”
My eyes widened. I hadn’t even realized Rebecca was at the gala, but of course, it made sense that she would be there.
Rebecca carried on and I couldn’t tell if she was playing games with me to get to the truth or if this was just how a reporter like herself conversed. “I’d been spending the evening with Lisa, who was introducing me to other CEOs and businessmen at the party. I wanted to get some background quotes about you, you see. Everybody likes an origin story. But by the time we went looking for you, you were nowhere to be found. Not one for late nights, or you just didn’t want to stick around for a dinner that cost you five thousand dollars?”
I considered making up an excuse as to why I left the gala early but the
