The Boyfriend Arrangement

“You’re probably wondering why I’m up here telling you this. It’s because someone found out about my lie—someone in this very room—and they’ve been using it to blackmail me. You see, if my grandfather found out I wasted all my money, I would lose the rest of my inheritance. So they’ve harassed me throughout this entire trip. They’ve taken thousands from me I couldn’t afford to give, ransacked my hotel suite and stolen family pieces that can never be replaced. They’ve demanded money that I can’t pay. And I won’t ever pay it because my inheritance is basically out the window at this point.

“So I’m up here tonight to tell all of you the truth and to apologize for misleading you. And also to tell my blackmailer, whomever he or she is, that they can kiss my ass. Thank you.”

She put the microphone back in the stand and made her way off of the stage as quickly as possible. She had done what she’d had to do, but she wasn’t sure if she was ready to face the backlash yet. The room was unnervingly quiet, but eventually the band started to play again.

“Harper!”

She heard someone shout her name, but she didn’t stop. She couldn’t stop. She just wanted to get out of the ballroom as quickly as she could.

Harper made it out of the party and down the hallway before she felt a warm hand clamp down on her wrist. She stopped, spinning on her heel to find Sebastian standing behind her.

“Let me go, please,” she said. “I just want to go back to our room.”

He looked at her with his big, dark eyes and nodded. “That’s fine. But you’re not going without me.”

Ten

Alone in their suite, they took their time getting undressed. There was no sense of urgency pressing them on. Tonight, she knew, they were going to savor the moment. It was their last night together and an emotionally heightened one after everything that had just happened downstairs.

“Unzip me please,” she asked, presenting her back to Sebastian and lifting her hair.

He had already slipped out of his jacket and tie. He approached her, gently taking the zipper and sliding it slowly down her back. Harper could feel his fingertips grazing along her spine as he traveled down to the curve of her lower back. His touch sent a shiver through her whole body. She closed her eyes to savor the sensation of his warm breath against her skin.

His large, firm hands cupped her shoulders, pushing the one floral strap down her arm. With little effort, her dress slipped to her waist and then pooled at her feet in a puddle of lavender chiffon.

She heard his sharp intake of breath and realized he had discovered her lavender lace boy shorts. She had strategically chosen them for several reasons. First, was how they would wear beneath the dress. Second was that the cut highlighted the curve of her butt nicely. And last, they were replaceable when Sebastian tore them.

She felt his fingers grip the clasp of her strapless bra and then it fell to the floor with the rest of her clothes.

“Looks like you dropped something,” he said.

Harper glanced down at the floor and realized that the note from the blackmailer she’d tucked into her bra had fallen out. She bent to pick it up and held it thoughtfully in her hand. “Another love note,” she said.

Without hesitation she walked across the room to the fireplace and tossed it inside. The flames immediately started to blacken and curl the corners, then the whole thing was engulfed in the orange blaze. Although she hadn’t intended it to be a symbolic gesture, it felt like one now. Consequences be damned, she was done with her blackmailer.

“Now, enough of that interrupting my trip.” Harper turned back to Sebastian and approached him. She started unbuttoning his dress shirt, feeling immediately calmer and content as her hands ran over the chest hair hidden beneath it. “I don’t want to think about anything but you and me right now.”

She pushed his shirt over his broad shoulders and then wrapped her arms around his neck. Her lips sought his out tentatively. When they met, she molded against him, pressing her breasts into the hard wall of his chest to get as close to him as she could. “Make love to me tonight,” she whispered against his mouth. “I want you. All of you.”

Sebastian kissed her tenderly and then pulled away. There was a hesitation in him she didn’t understand, but she shoved her doubts away when he said, “Whatever you want, darling.”

His words made her smile. She hooked her fingers into the loops of his pants and tugged him over to the bed. Harper sat on the edge, bringing his waist to her eye level. There, she unfastened his belt, unbuttoned and unzipped his tuxedo pants, and slipped them down with his briefs.

She reached out for him then. He was hard and ready for her without even touching. She wrapped her fingers around his soft skin and stroked gently until she heard him groan. She moved faster, leaning in to flick her tongue across the tip.

“Harper!” Sebastian nearly shouted, grasping her wrist to still the movement. “Wait a minute,” he said. “Before we... I don’t have anything.”

Harper leaned over to the nightstand and pulled a small box of condoms out of the drawer. “I picked these up when we were in town one day.”

After their last encounter, she’d wondered if not having protection had put the brakes on things and she hadn’t wanted to run into that problem again.

The breath rushed out of his lungs all at once. “Oh, thank you,” he groaned. With that worry off his mind, Sebastian seemed to become more engaged. He pressed Harper back against the pillows and covered her body with his.

She loved the feel of his weight holding her down, the scent of his cologne and skin teasing her nose, and the heat of him warming her chilled body. His lips and hands were all over her, leaving no inch of skin unloved as he moved lower and lower down her body.

His fingers brushed over the lace barrier between them. To her surprise, he eased them from her hips and tossed them to the side. “I like those,” he said when he caught her surprised expression. “If I ruin them, you can’t wear them again.”

Harper laughed, but the sound was trapped in her throat when his fingers dipped between her thighs and stroked her center. Instead it came out a strangled cry as he knowingly teased the right spot. When his finger slipped inside her, Harper’s inner muscles clamped down and both of them groaned aloud.