Tempting the Crown (The Crown 1)

But as soon as I saw my bed, I collapsed in a heap. I felt the tug of my jeans, but I was too exhausted to fight her. Her cool hands worked the pants off and she slid me under the covers with some effort. She returned a few minutes later

with a tall glass of water and some ibuprofen.

“Take these and then I’ll let you sleep.”

I scowled at her, but tossed them on my tongue.

“Good night, Luke.” She turned off the light and closed the door.

***

The next morning the hangover wasn’t as brutal as I thought, but I was pretty sure I had dreamed Alexa had appeared on my doorstep. I walked to the bathroom to shower and brush my teeth.

When I walked into the kitchen, I realized it wasn’t a dream. There was a pot of coffee and a gorgeous blonde in my kitchen.

“Good morning.” She smiled. “How are you feeling?”

I rubbed the back of my head. “Like you aren’t supposed to be here.” I’d never tossed a woman out of my house before.

“I came to tell you my side of the story. Don’t I deserve that? I’ve given you that more than once.”

She walked toward the kitchen table with two mugs of coffee. She placed one in front of me.

“I don’t know. I’m fucking pissed right now. You lied to me.”

“I thought you would be mad.”

“I am mad.”

She closed her eyes and slid into the seat. She wasn’t going anywhere. She was as stubborn as I was. I sat across from her.

“You can be mad. But you can also listen.” She glared at me.

I felt ambushed. She had jumped me when I was down. When I was too drunk to protest. The agony of what I had been through the past two days was enough to never attempt it again. I thought I found a way to drown out the noise with bourbon and vodka. Enough to numb the pain. Enough to erase her.

But fuck. She was close enough I could smell her hair. I could reach out and touch her if I wanted. And then the jab of the knife twisted under my lowest rib and I remembered the betrayal. The fucking dishonesty that was sitting at this table too.

“I can’t.” I shook my head. “I won’t.”

“Just sit there. That’s all you have to do.” Before I knew it she started telling me the truth. The full truth. “When I moved to Nashville I told you I had nothing. Absolutely nothing.”

“Yeah, I remember the story.” I put the coffee to my mouth. The gulp cleared the last bit of haze in my head.

“So I took a job for a dating agency.” She eyed me. “A dating agency. All I did was go on dates. Two hours max with men who needed someone for a business dinner or a social setting. It was never more than that. Never.”

She pressed the last word into the air between us. “I was not a hooker. I was not an escort. I never slept with any of the men. Every date was in a public setting. I used a fake name and wore a wig because if I did make it one day I didn’t want anyone to know I had a job in a business that doesn’t necessarily have the best reputation.”

She lowered her eyes. “I swear that is what happened. That is the complete truth. I was never a prostitute or a call girl. It wasn’t the best decision I’ve made, but it wasn’t the worst either.”

“Then why haven’t you cleared your name? Told everyone the truth?”

“Because that agency is still in Nashville. And there are a lot of girls just like me. Guys too, who need the money. And it’s not a prostitution ring or a whore house, Luke. I’m not going to out them just to save myself. Jake did this because he’s an evil son of a bitch.”

“Jake?”

She nodded. “He was one of the guys I went out with. Many times actually. He always needed a date.”

“So you two were an item? Fucker. I knew it.” The idea of them together lit the rage fire again. I’d hated him from the instant we met at the gala.