Worth the Scandal (Worth It 1)

“So you prefer I let you wander the streets all alone and without any sort of identification or money, not even a cell phone, while you walk in the wrong direction in search of the hotel? What sort of jerk do you think I am?”

Her shoulders sagged and she hung her head. She’d been walking in the wrong direction all this time? It was a wonder Alex even found her. “I thought the hotel was this way,” she admitted feebly.

“It’s not.” He paused and she glanced up, saw that he watched her, his eyes filled with exasperation. She was behaving like a complete idiot, and they both knew it. “Get in the car.”

She stiffened at his command, about to turn and go in the opposite direction. She could find the hotel. Eventually. She didn’t need him to get around this stupid city.

“Please, Tessa.” He opened the door and climbed out of the car, coming to stop before her with just a few strides. The man had the longest legs she’d ever seen. She still couldn’t believe he hadn’t caught up with her earlier. “Come with me. I’m worried about you.”

It was the please that did it. His usual bossy ways had fled, leaving before her a man asking for her agreement. With a short nod she complied, following him to the car where he held the door open for her so she could climb in.

He got in after her, slamming the door so hard she jumped. Wiggling her toes, she was thankful for the ability to rest but she knew she was in for it. He was about to chastise, to bluster, tell her how ridiculous her behavior was. Not that she needed to hear any of it. She already knew she was a complete twit. No wonder he turned her away earlier.

“Are you all right?” he asked quietly.

She nodded, dropped the dreaded yet beautiful shoes on the floor and clasped her hands together, resting them in her lap. “I’m fine.”

“Your feet?” When she glanced up at him, he shrugged. “You were limping.”

“It’s the shoes.” She pointed toward the floor where they lay. “They hurt.”

“Do you need someone to look at your feet? A doctor perhaps?”

Tessa scoffed and turned away from him. “No, thank you. Really, I’m fine.” She hated that he was acting so concerned. She’d rather he still be angry with her. When he was nice, she forgot her anger and frustration. Wished instead that she could throw herself into his arms and forget everything, damn the consequences and give in to what she really wanted.

Him.

“If you feel you should return to New York tomorrow, I understand,” he said softly. Had he become a mind reader? “I can arrange for the jet to fly you back first thing.”

She remained quiet, her mind awhirl with too many thoughts. It was best she leave, she knew this and so did Alex.

But did she really want to go?

“I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable over what happened tonight,” he continued, his voice so low she barely heard him. “It was wrong, expecting you to go along with such a far-fetched scheme. Hell, you could sue me for sexual harassment if you wanted and I couldn’t deny it. What I did was deplorable.”

He was beating himself up and it pained her to witness it. Misery was etched all over his handsome face and he wouldn’t look her in the eyes. “I’m not angry at you.”

Alex turned to face her. “You should be. You should be furious.”

“But I’m not. I played a part in this too.”

They stared at each other, the silence stretching between them, growing more distant from each other. She didn’t know what else to say, wished it could’ve somehow ended differently but what was done, was done.

“A willing part?” he finally asked, startling her.

“What?”

“Did you play a willing part in this?”

Her entire body went warm at the smoldering look in his eyes. “Yes,” she whispered, at the exact time he reached for her and hauled her into his arms.

He’d tugged her so close she landed in his lap, his hand resting on the outer curve of her thigh. Even through the layers of her skirt his hand burned, hot and big and branding her completely. She placed her hands on his chest, his heart like a thundering drum beneath her palm. Slowly she lifted her head, her gaze meeting his, just before he closed in and settled his mouth on hers.

She gave in easily, one hand sliding around the back of his neck, her fingers stroking his soft hair. Their lips clung, parted, clung again, longer and longer, his mouth urging her lips apart until she opened completely for him and he slid his tongue inside.

Tingles spread all over her body at his gentle invasion, shocked by the sensations his tongue tangling with hers brought forth. A little moan escaped her and she nudged closer, excitement coursing through her veins when he slid his hand beneath the fabric of her gown and touched her bare skin.

He caressed her thigh with the tips of his fingers, so gentle she could almost believe he hadn’t touched her at all. Their kisses grew hotter, more carnal and she broke away from him first, desperate to catch her breath.

“I told myself I shouldn’t do this and yet here I am. Mauling you in the back of a car,” he murmured against her neck, kissing her there.

Tessa tilted her head back, closing her eyes when she felt his damp tongue teasing her sensitive skin. “You think we should stop?” Oh, she didn’t want him to stop, not now, not after experiencing just a hint of the passion that lay beneath Alex’s cool, controlled exterior.

“Perhaps.” He kissed her again, stealing her breath, his tongue doing a slow, wicked search of her mouth before he pulled away from her. “Perhaps we can stop tomorrow.”

The sensual gleam in his eyes made her heart tumble over itself. No way could she resist him and he knew it. She wouldn’t be lying so willingly in his arms if she could. It was just so easy, giving in.

So she did.

Completely.

Tessa’s fingers tightened in Alex’s hair at the back of his head and she pulled him down, kissing him thoroughly. Her inexperienced showed—to him, at least. The tentative flicks of her tongue against his, the excruciating way she wiggled and squirmed her body in his arms that drove him mad made him wonder how many men she’d been with, if any.

Why did the idea of her being a virgin fill him with such excitement? He normally preferred his women experienced, knowledgeable in the ways of seduction. He wanted an equal in bed, not some meek and scared little mouse. And not some over the top, scary sexual man-eater either.

Yet the sweet way Tessa capitulated in his arms, her innocent kisses, the way she shivered and moved closer to him as if she couldn’t get enough, it did something to him he couldn’t begin to explain.

Nor did he necessarily want to examine it closely, either.

The car came to a stop, and he realized they were in front of the hotel. Pulling away from her, he smoothed a hand over her hair, smiling when she gazed up at him with hazy eyes and a dreamy expression. “We’re at the hotel.”

She frowned. “Are we finished?”

Slowly he shook his head, his other hand sliding along the silken length of her thigh. “No.” Silly girl, they were far from finished.

They exited the car quickly and within minutes they were in their suite, the door closing with a click of finality behind them. He followed behind her as she went to the window and stared out at the beautiful view of the city spread out before them like a blanket of twinkling lights. Her shoulders were completely straight, back stiff and her breathing accelerated. He could hear her, the nervous puffs of breath she expelled and he reached out, resting his hand upon her nape, wishing to calm her.

She quivered beneath his palm and he stroked his fingers down the length of her neck, mesmerized with this part of her. How smooth the skin was, how soft and pale, little tendrils of dark, carling hair lay against her flesh. The large earrings she wore swung to and fro and carefully he pulled first one, then the other from her earlobes before setting them down on a nearby table.

“Wh—what are you doing?”

Drawing his fingers down the length of her neck, he stepped closer and whispered in her ear, “Undressing you.”

Another shuddering breath left her and slowly he worked the satin buttons that ran down the back of her dress, his fingers shaking with anticipation as he undid each one. She held herself still as slowly he revealed more and more creamy flesh, the delicate lace of her bra appearing and fueling his imagination tenfold.

If the bra was this sheer in the back, he could only hope the front was the same.

He smoothed the dress from her shoulders, the sleeves falling to the crook of her elbows. Her unique sweet fragrance filled his senses and he breathed deep, trying to capture it. Sliding his fingers down her back, he played with the clasp of her bra, undoing it in seconds and the delicate fabric sprang apart.

She glanced at him over her shoulder, lips parted and damp, eyes wide. So damned tempting he swooped in and kissed her, earning a strangled moan from her for his efforts. He could kiss her for hours, drowning in her taste, her scent.

A ringing started in the distance but he didn’t pause in his ministrations. The sound seemed to fuel him and he turned her in his arms so she faced him, the dress falling lower, the bra loose about her breasts. His gaze caught on the vision before him, the tops of her full breasts tempting him, the lacy cups a tease, hiding her nipples. Carefully he wrapped his hands around her breasts, stroking his thumbs over her flesh with reverence.