Scandal (Tainted #1) Read online

  Or that the very public argument he’d had with Mai on the street outside Maine PR earlier wouldn’t get uncovered. He’d been so frazzled he hadn’t checked they were alone, and when she’d tried to touch him … Sebastian fisted his hand around the glass so hard he was surprised it didn’t crack.

  Alicia glanced at him, a concerned line appearing between her eyebrows. The rage seemed to seep out of him just as quickly as it had bubbled. He squeezed her hand to let her know he was fine, and she went back to instructing Sam.

  When they were alone again, he tugged her closer and lifted her wine. ‘I think you’ve earned this.’

  The smile she rewarded him with hit him straight in the chest.

  ‘I don’t know, I like having a clear head.’

  ‘Of course.’

  He shifted away, giving her more room. Maybe she wasn’t fighting her attraction because she believed the rumours, but she still didn’t want anything to really happen between them. It looked like he was going to have to relive the nightmare of the last few months and dissect the lies from the truth of every word before she’d trust him – considering she even believed him.

  After a day like today, confession was a headache he could do without.

  ‘That’s not what I mean. Come on, it’s starting soon.’ She weaved her fingers through his and tugged. He raised a brow and she grinned. ‘Wait for it.’

  He was confused for a second, until the music changed and a modern version of ‘The Way You Look Tonight’ started playing. He raised both his eyebrows.

  ‘Care to dance, Collins? I’m sure this is the kind of music where you should twirl the daughter of an earl around the dance floor.’

  The teasing glint in her eyes worked to clear his head of everything except her. As the buzz faded, he reckoned Miss Prim and Proper turning fun was the best form of painkiller.

  ‘After you,’ he said and slid out of the booth behind her.

  He took one of her hands and laid it over his heart, before sliding an arm around her waist and clasping her other hand. This close, with her light, citrus fragrance and honey-smeared lips within licking distance, keeping a respectable space between them was mandatory.

  Alicia didn’t seem to agree. She pressed herself closer so her breasts skimmed his chest, and slid her free hand up to cup his nape. His body reacted in the most visceral way, and he closed his eyes on a curse.

  ‘You OK?’ she whispered, her breath brushing his neck and not at all helping with how his trousers were tightening.

  ‘Just thinking about football.’ Sweaty men in shorts would cool him off – if his mind didn’t keep registering her scent and how the dip in the neck of her dress showed a teasing hint of what lay beneath.

  She laughed. ‘Football?’

  He twirled her around, trying to focus on the more abhorrent image of sweaty men than the lush, sexy curves in his arms. ‘It helps when dealing with misbehaving libidos.’

  ‘Oh.’

  That one word sounded breathy, and when he opened his eyes he saw why. Alicia trapped lower lip between her teeth and there was a flush scoring high across her cheekbones. He wasn’t the only one feeling the spark, but after the fallout today and his meeting with the media whore from his own personal hell, he was in no rush to act on it.

  So he shrugged it away, like he wasn’t holding off the burning need to taste her with everything he had. ‘Like you said, just a blip. I’m sure it will pass.’

  ‘I lied. Well, not lied really. I just repeated what my father said to me once.’

  His mouth opened and closed a couple of times, not sure whether he should be pissed on her behalf or horrified. Either way, it helped the issue with his libido. ‘What?’

  Her skin grew a few shades darker. ‘I didn’t mean anything … seedy. When I was fifteen I had a boyfriend and …’

  She focused on his shoulder as her spine stiffened. He heated up again all right, but had a feeling that the acrid flare in his throat was pure rage. Fifteen? She wasn’t even a consenting adult – he couldn’t dislike her father for looking out for his daughter.

  ‘Tell me what happened,’ he said, but he didn’t want the details. Didn’t really want to hear it. If some bastard had forced her into something she didn’t want to do …

  Alicia snuggled closer like she needed the support. He placed her other hand on his shoulder and hugged both arms around her waist, which meant they could only sway a little from side to side, reminding him of school discos where he’d ask girls he barely knew to dance. This was different though, it meant so much more. He just wished she clung to him because she needed him, not just his support.

  He shook off the thought. It was crazy, she shouldn’t need him. That would just make everything so much harder for her when he left. He didn’t want to hurt her. It seemed she’d been hurt enough for one lifetime.

  Alicia pressed her cheek into his collarbone, so her breath whispered through the open collar of his shirt, sending a stab of desire through him. Sebastian couldn’t help it, he pulled her closer.

  ‘Can we not talk about him? I’m having fun.’

  ‘Whatever you want,’ he said, a little relieved even though he wanted to push. Whatever happened must have been bad if it meant she was so desperate to stifle who she was and be the woman her family probably wanted her to be.

  She lifted her head to look at him and he could see the fire there, but not the angry kind. This was the girl she hid behind the frumpy suits and prissy tone. This was the Alicia he wanted to get to know better. What made her tick, what that passion was like when it was unleashed – preferably while she was all hot and sweaty and panting beneath him.

  But he had to get his mind off that subject. She could have been hurt badly, maybe even abused. The thought brought the rage back and he wanted to hunt down her bastard of an ex and show him what pain really was.

  Tilting her face up, she asked, ‘Anything?’

  The question threw him until he remembered promising she could have anything. She didn’t look like a woman who’d been forced to do something she didn’t want to by a boy. She looked like a woman full of passion and fire.

  His attention zeroed in on her lips and he forgot for a second that she was waiting for an answer. Of course he would give her anything she asked for – as long as she didn’t want anything more than he could offer. And especially if she demanded it in that Lady of the Manor voice. Sebastian nodded.

  ‘I want you to kiss me properly. No holds barred.’

  He blinked, snapping his focus back to her eyes. They were clear, without a hint that she was joking.

  ‘You’re sure? Because if I kiss you like I want to, I don’t think I’ll be able to stop this time.’

  Chapter Twelve

  Alicia could see the dark promise in his eyes, and her oversensitive body became more aware of every inch pressed against him. She could feel his solid chest against her breasts, the hard length of him against her lower stomach, and his thick thighs pressed against hers.

  She’d been about to tell him what had happened before and the consequences she’d faced for acting, as her father had put it, like a common trollop. But here, being with him, she could see exactly how wrong her father had been.

  A woman should be able to sleep with a man because she found him attractive, especially one she trusted and who wanted the same thing as her – a way to enjoy a little of the chemistry buzz for the now. They were both adults, she was on the pill and he could use a condom so the risk of the same thing happening again was moot.

  Plus there were no empty promises this time. She knew Sebastian would be focused on his career, which meant he’d be travelling all over the world. Mr Maine would surely take her more seriously and give her more big clients if she salvaged Sebastian’s reputation. She’d move up the corporate ladder in Maine PR, proving to her family she wasn’t a complete failure.

  They only had now, and she wasn’t willing to let this opportunity pass her by. Sex with Sebastian would be anythin
g but boring and considerate. She could feel it in the power of the body pressed against her. It would be wild, sweaty, and break the fear she had of her hormones once and for all.

  ‘I’ve never been surer of anything in my life.’ To prove her point, she fisted her hands in his hair, rose on her tiptoes, and closed the distance between their lips.

  The contact was electric, thrumming through every inch of her until her nipples speared his chest. When she opened to him, he kissed her deeply, skilfully, with a raw edge of desperation. His taste was sinful, incomparable with anything she’d ever experienced.

  The space between her thighs burned, and Alicia pushed up higher on her toes, rocking her hips into him to find some kind of friction, but he was too tall and it frustrated her so much she groaned.

  Sebastian jerked back, his eyes dark, and she went in for more. She needed more.

  ‘Wait.’ His breaths came too fast, like her own.

  ‘Why?’ she asked. He was enjoying it too. His fingers dug into her hips, holding her so close there wasn’t so much as air between them.

  Sebastian lowered his head and whispered in his ear. ‘I’ve no idea why you’ve changed your mind, but that’s irrelevant considering we’re dry humping in public when you’ve given that photographer free rein to snap us.’

  ‘You know, I’m a little insulted you can think at all at the moment, never mind worry.’ She pouted and he laughed.

  ‘Come on before I change my mind, drag you into the bathroom, and give the photographer something really juicy to snap.’

  He took her hand and led her to the exit. All the while, her insides were melting at his dark promise. She’d never done anything naughty in a public place, even as a teenager when she let herself fall head over heels for Darrell.

  And right now, Alicia didn’t care if they did get caught.

  ‘You’d really have dragged me into the bathroom?’ she asked, breathless.

  The disbelieving look he threw her was almost funny. ‘That turns you on? Who are you and what have you done with Blondie?’

  She did laugh then. ‘I just realised the new and improved Alicia was a bit of a bore, so I’m working on a better version. This one likes the idea of being dragged off and ravished. Maybe not in a public loo, though.’

  He shook his head, any trace of amusement gone. ‘You don’t have to pretend to be anyone. You’re pretty amazing when you’re just being you.’

  She was glad when he turned away and started walking down the street, because there was no way to hide the well of emotion lighting her up from the inside at what he’d said. No one had ever called her amazing, or said she didn’t have to change. It was ironic that the man who did think that was the one she’d been pushing away since she’d met him.

  Whatever this was between them couldn’t last, but that didn’t matter. For the first time in ages she looked sexy, she felt sexy, and around Sebastian that was OK because he thought she was sexy.

  There were no judgements on how her actions would lower her reputation, nothing but a mutual attraction with a man most women – she had to admit – would kill to have with him. And Alicia wasn’t going to throw that away again.

  Arthur Simpson didn’t believe drinking solved anything, or tempered anyone’s emotions. But when he ended the call to the private investigator he’d hired to follow Collins, he headed straight for the cabinet and poured himself a double brandy.

  He hoped the smooth liquid would quench the rage burning through him, but had little hope. When it came to his family he knew what was best for them. Daria had listened and she’d ended up with a man who was more than fit to marry a daughter of his. After the engagement party, Sylvia would be matched with a man whose father he respected and had an iron-clad business relationship with.

  Alicia, like before, was putting a black mark against his family’s name. If he’d cut her out when she was fifteen instead of listening to Juliette he wouldn’t have to face the public spectacle she was making of herself now.

  And a spectacle was exactly how it was going to turn out if what was discovered today continued.

  He swallowed the remainder of his brandy, but it didn’t take the edge off his rage. If anything, it made it that much worse. First Collins dared to get close to his whore of an ex in public before he led her away from the street to God only knew where, and now he was embarrassing Alicia – and by extension, Arthur himself – by feeling up his daughter in a club?

  His first instinct was to tell Juliette he was going to London to put an end to this, but it was late and she would have retired for the night. Plus, he didn’t have long to wait until Alicia brought Collins to the house. Then he would have his chance to rid them of the disrespectful nuisance once and for all.

  He would just have to be patient – and it would give him more time to gather enough evidence to convince Alicia to give him up. She may have done as he wished in the past, but he knew she’d grown more headstrong over the years. That she dared to argue with him when he told her to end the relationship was proof enough.

  And at this point, Arthur wasn’t above fabricating evidence if he had to. After all, he’d done worse to ensure his family name remained untainted.

  They didn’t talk much as Sebastian led her to his building, a few streets from the club. The tension between them wasn’t uncomfortable, but it was underscored with worry that he was pushing her too fast and too hard.

  The woman next to him was different from the one he’d met a few weeks ago, a far cry even from the woman kicking him to the kerb in her office today. As he reached the steps leading up to the door to his building, he dropped her hand and turned to face her.

  ‘You know what happens if we go up there, and I need to know you’re ready. Also, I want to be straight with you. This thing between us –’

  She pressed a finger against his mouth, a smile on her lips. ‘Is temporary. We’re focused on different careers that will draw us apart, but you were right. We can’t ignore what’s between us and I don’t want to anymore. I want tonight to happen.’

  His throat constricted and a sense of urgency made him speak without thinking. ‘We can have more than tonight.’

  ‘Let’s see if that ego of yours lives up to the hype before we make any more promises.’ She took the key from his hand and climbed the stairs, swinging her hips provocatively. If he didn’t know any better he’d swear this was Alicia’s twin, not the reserved woman he’d met in Maine’s boardroom.

  Sebastian caught up to her quickly. ‘Be prepared to eat your words, Blondie. My ego’s understated, if anything.’

  She rolled her eyes. He smirked, then bent to pick her up so his arms were beneath her knees and back. Alicia squeaked a protest, but he silenced her with a kiss. He didn’t think he’d get used to her taste, as sweet as honey and more. The way she let down the walls of who she thought she should be when their lips met was almost as good as winning at the Opens.

  ‘Care to do the honours?’ he asked, jerking his head toward the door.

  She put the key in the lock and twisted, then opened the door. He carried her through, kicking it closed behind him and taking the stairs two at a time with Alicia cradled to his chest.

  ‘You can put me down if you want. I’m not exactly svelte.’

  It was his turn to roll his eyes. ‘I have more endurance than your average guy, Blondie. We’re good for another few flights.’

  Her grin was wicked. ‘I don’t want to tire you out before we get started.’

  He rounded the corner and jogged up the next set of stairs, controlling his breathing to prove his point. ‘Where you’re concerned, I have unlimited reserves of energy. The question is, can you keep up with me?’

  ‘Um …’

  Her cheeks flushed and her lids dropped, reminding him that though she wanted him, whatever had been holding her back wasn’t easy for her to shake. When they reached his floor, he slowed as he carried her down the hall to his front door. Setting her on her feet, he took the keys then t
ilted her chin.

  ‘We go at your pace, OK? If I go too fast, tell me and I’ll slow down.’ It wasn’t just reassurance for her, he needed to believe he would because he had a feeling the second he got his hands on her behind closed doors, slow would be impossible.

  ‘I don’t want to overthink this,’ she said, and he could see the desperate plea in her eyes.

  He opened the door and let her in, barely giving her a minute to look around. Instead, he pulled her close, pressed his lips back against hers, and groaned when she gripped his hair. Remembering to go slow wasn’t easy, especially since Alicia ground her hips against him again and again, making the erection he’d been sporting for the best part of an hour swell back to full capacity.

  He slid his hands over her backside and squeezed her closer, but there were too many clothes in the way. Finding the hem, he tugged the dress up and she got the hint, letting go of his hair and helping him pull the material over her head and fall to the floor.

  The gym shorts and vest that drove him insane at training was nothing compared to Alicia in a skimpy bra and thong. He caught her hips, rubbing his thumb up and down the silky indentations above her underwear, but it wasn’t her body that snagged his attention, it was the hunger in her eyes, the flare of her nostrils, and the flush on her cheeks.

  Still, her arms were stiff by her sides, like she was fighting whatever that voice of virtue in her head was telling her, and he couldn’t have that. Moving them so she was pressed against the wall, he said, ‘Who needs alcohol? I know a better way to forget. Do you want me to show you?’

  He was giving her the choice, and although her hormones were screaming yes, standing in front of him almost naked was so unlike how she’d told herself she needed to be that she was torn.

  Leaning close to brush his lips against her collarbone was all it took for the fire to smoulder through her, blurring her thoughts until all she could see and feel and smell was Sebastian.