Chapter 1

Donovan Reynor.

Behind me, I could hear the sound of rustle of clothing as she dressed up.

She stood behind me, staring. Hopeful.

The sex had been really good. Practiced, like the previous times before.

“So...can we do it again, next week?” Her voice held a thread of hope I'd heard too many times before.

Here we go.

I turned to face her, my expression carefully neutral. She was beautiful, objectively and undeniably beautiful. Dark hair, sharp cheekbones, the kind of body most men would kill for.

Yet, I felt nothing.

“No.” I said, my voice flat and final. “It’s over.”

Her hands still on her blouse. “Oh...Okay.”

“Yeah.”

“I just thought maybe...” She trailed off, then forced a smile. “Never mind.”

“You should go.”

“Right. Of course not.” She grabbed her purse, and I could see her blinking fast. Shit. “Well. Thanks for the uhhh, you know....”

She bolted and I heard her heels clicking fast down the hall.

****

The hotel lobby was mostly empty, just a few people scattered around, soft jazz music filling the air.

I was texting Elena when I saw her.

She was standing near the concierge desk, looking at a hotel brochure like it had the answers to all her problems. Her auburn hair fell elegantly over her shoulder, black lace dress that dipped below her shoulders enough to make my breath catch.

I stopped walking.

It wasn't just that she was pretty, pretty women were everywhere. This was something else. Something about the way she tucked her hair behind her ear. The little furrow between her eyebrows as she read. The way she bit her lip slightly as she was trying to understand.

I couldn't look away.

"Sir?”

I didn’t answer, I was still watching her.

“Sir?!” Elena called again with a finger snap that made me jump.

“That woman,” I heard myself say. “Go talk to her.”

Elena blinked. “I’m sorry, you want me to...” she started, clearly uncertain, like she didn’t hear correctly.

“Give her my card. Tell her I’d like to buy her a drink tonight.” There was this long pause where Elena just stared at me.

“You want me to approach her directly? Right now?”

“Yeah.”

“And... should I mention who you are?”

“No. Keep me anonymous. Just tell her what I do.”

Elena pulled herself together. “Of course. Right away.”

I watched Elena cross the lobby, approach her and speak quietly. She looked up, surprised. Then confused as Elena gestured back toward me.

Our eyes met.

Even from across the lobby, I felt it. That sudden awareness.

She looked down at the card, then back at me. I tried to keep my face normal, even though my heart was doing this weird hammering thing in my chest.

She could say no. She probably should say no.

But she nodded.

Elena came back, trying to hide her surprise. “She’ll meet you at the bar in thirty minutes.”

“Okay. Good.” I tried to sound normal. “Thanks.”

****

Aurélie Tess Blackwood.

The place looked expensive.

The kind of hotel that hurt your bank account just thinking of it alone. I walked through the lobby, holding my shoulders as high and confident as I could. Everything I was not.

God knows I could never afford a place like this, not in a million years. Stepping into the environment now, it really is as extraordinary as the ads had promised.

I walked up to the concierge desk, checking the brochure for what I could afford before I was approached by that woman. She’d handed me a business card from some mysterious man who I’d felt undoubtedly drawn to. Like a magnet.

I didn’t turn it down. I was curious, so I accepted. With one look from the woman, they handed me a key card to the VIP bar on the 50th floor. I didn’t question anything. I didn’t have to.

****

Thirty minutes later, I saw her hesitate at the entrance of the bar, eyes scanning until she found me in the corner.

I stood up as she approached.

“Hi,” she said, and even that one small word made something tighten in my chest.

“I wasn’t sure you would come.”

She slid into the seat across from me. “I almost didn’t. But I find you...intriguing?”

Of course she did. They always do.

She smiled a little. “So... you’re a Real Estate Billionaire huh?”

“Yeah.”

“If you were trying to impress me with that, then you won.”

I didn’t say anything, just smiled. Politely.

“So what’s your name?” She asked, genuinely curious.

“You’d have to earn that question.”

“Oh?” Her brow arched. “Is that a billionaire thing or...”

“You could say that.”

“Okay, Mr. Billionaire.” She whispered in sheer excitement. “You probably have a lot of women drooling for you.”

“I do.” I said, my voice direct. Indifferent.

“Okay...so what am I doing here then?”

“Let’s just say...I find you...in your words, intriguing?”

“Right.” She laughed.

The waiter brought her a glass of wine. She took a sip, and I tried not to stare at her mouth.

“What’s your name?” I asked.

“Aurélie. Aurélie Blackwood. But everyone calls me Tess.”

“Tess.” Saying it felt weirdly intimate.

We talked about the job she just landed, my company in vague terms, the city. But underneath it all was this spark I couldn’t name. Every time she smiled, I felt it. Every time our eyes met and she looked away, flushed, it pushed something inside me.

“Do you want to get out of here?” I finally asked.

She swallowed. “Yeah. Yes.”

****

The elevator ride up felt longer than usual. We stood on opposite sides. The tension was so thick I could barely breathe. Her perfume filled the small space...jasmine and something else I couldn’t name.

When the doors opened, I put my hand on her lower back to guide her down the hall.

Inside the room, she walked to the window. I could see her breathing fast.

"You nervous?" I asked.

She turned around. "Oh, I’m terrified. But I want this. I want you."

Something in my chest cracked wide open.

I crossed the room slowly. When I reached her, I lifted my hand to her face, barely touching.

She leaned into it, closing her eyes.

God.

I wanted to kiss her. Wanted to pull her against me and claim her completely.

My thumb brushed her lower lip. She made this small sound, and it almost destroyed me.

“You want this?” I asked again, slowly.

“So bad it hurt.”

I started slow, testing, trailing kisses along her neck. But the second her head tilted to give me access, the second she made that low desperate sound in her throat, I was done.

I didn’t kiss people, not on the neck or lips or anything that felt more intimate than it needed to be and especially not with random women I see in a hotel lobby. But somehow I was kissing this woman and I didn’t feel that gnawing irritation that made me want to puke.

I backed her against the wall, my body pressed to hers, savouring every gasp. My hands were everywhere...her waist, her hips, sliding up her ribs.

She was shaking.

I broke away to kiss down her chest. She arched into me, fingers in my hair, pulling.

“Pleaseee...just,” she breathed.

Hearing my name in her voice made me lose my mind afresh.

I picked her up. Her legs wrapped around me automatically as her hands found my shoulders. I carried her to the bed, laid her down as carefully as I could when everything in me was screaming to just rip apart!

I kissed her on the neck again, while my hands found her zipper. She helped me, urgent and clumsy. The dress came off.

And Jesus Christ. She was even more perfect almost naked. She had on black laced bra and panties that made my cock jerk.

I kissed down her between her breast and lower. She arched under me, nails digging into my shoulders.

“Please,” she whispered.

I reached behind her, unhooked her bra and tossed it across the room. Her breasts were round and perfect. I took one nipple in my mouth and she cried out. Her hands found my hair, digging into my scalp like she meant to scar me.

I took my time, sucking and teasing, until she was writhing on the bed and grabbing the sheets to keep her from losing her mind. My hand slid below her stomach to the waistband of her panties.

“Lift,” I said quietly.

She did. I pulled it down, slow, taking in every inch of skin.

I kissed down her stomach, lower, before settling between her thighs. Deliberately, I placed a wet, open-mouthed kiss on her clit and I couldn’t help but notice the way she reacted to me. Like she hadn’t felt anything better.

“Oh my God. Fuck.” she gasped.

I looked up at her, this beautiful woman spread open in front of me, so ready and desperate to be claimed by me. Her scent coated my brain, until all I could think of was pounding right through her wet spot. To make her feel every inch of me grazing her walls enough to leave her breathless and screaming.

She was perfect.

But, amidst that, my mind drifted. Something made me stop. A thought I had pushed away before because I didn’t want it to matter.

“Tess.” My voice came out rough. “Have you done this before?”

“Not really.” She bit her lip. “I had a boyfriend. We tried it but I just... He couldn’t...I wasn’t...” She swallowed. “God, No. I’m a virgin.”

The word hung between us.

A virgin.

Every part of me was screaming to keep going. To show her how good it could be. To make her first time unforgettable.

But I couldn’t.

Because she deserved more than this. More than a hotel room and a guy who couldn’t promise anything beyond one night of pleasure. She deserved commitment, a future, better than becoming another pun in my managed addiction.

I pulled back. Sat up.

“What’s wrong?” Her voice was small.

“I can’t do this.” I stood up, ran my hands through my hair, trying to think through the noise of wanting her.

“Why not?”

“This was a mistake, Tess.” I grabbed my jacket from the chair, I couldn’t look at her.

“But I want you...”

“You don’t know what you want, Aurélie!” It came out hasher than I wanted it to.

“Now it’s Aurélie? Are you serious right now?” Her voice cracked. “You brought me up here, touched me like you wanted me, just to leave because I’m not experienced enough for you?”

It hit me like a punch. She was right. I’d made her feel special because she was special.

And that was the damn problem.

I opened my mouth to speak, but nothing came out. I just stared at her, my face more cold and controlled than needed.

“Get out.” Her voice went cold. “Just leave me alone.”

I stormed out, slamming the door behind me.

Screw this.