shook her head. “No. I was a real teacher in my previous life. First and second grade.”
“Previous life? That sounds—”
“Just an expression,” she said quickly. “I became a scuba instructor when I was nineteen and used it to put myself through college. I first went snorkeling when I was ten, after a teacher got me enrolled in a summer camp. I loved it right away. We lived fairly close to the beach, so I used to go off and escape to my underwater world every chance I got.” She smiled at the memory. “It’s still my go-to stress release. And then a few years later I discovered diving—a whole new world. My family couldn’t afford the equipment, but I found a program that allowed teenagers to borrow it free of charge.”
“Sounds like you were very self-motivated.”
“I had to be.” She took a quick sip of her drink as Ariana Grande started singing. The tone of Nicola’s response, sharper than she’d meant for it to come out, echoed regrettably in her head. She’d never been a big fan of talking about herself, but since the scandal it had become almost unbearable. “Will your brother be wondering where you are?” she asked to change the subject.
“I doubt it,” Alex replied. “He keeps himself pretty well occupied.”
Nicola nodded. “I gather you’re not that close.”
Alex placed his glass on the bedside table and leaned back against the mountain of pillows behind him. “You could say that. We were when we were younger, I guess, but…it got harder later. When his first album went platinum, it was kind of like I lost both him and my parents. He was away touring all the time, and suddenly my parents were completely wrapped up in his success. Nothing I did seemed to matter to them anymore. And now…” He shrugged. “I stopped trying to have a real relationship with him a long time ago. It’s like he just stopped trying. Like his fame made him into something so great that it validates every part of who he is, and that’s all he needs to define himself. He talks about wanting to live a normal life sometimes, but I don’t think he could actually handle it. Being adored by the world puts you in a position that’s terrifying to step away from. I get that.”
Nicola squirmed a little under Alex’s intense gaze. His words made her slightly uncomfortable, because though she’d never have admitted it, there was a tiny, ugly part of herself that hadn’t hated being in the spotlight for those six months. Having the power to attract such attention from the press and public, to have the world looking at her and wondering what it was that was so special about her, Nicola Metcalfe, to snag such a shining star—part of that had been intoxicating, even if she hated what it was doing to all of the lives involved and ultimately made the decision to escape it. “The ego is a powerful thing,” she said. “Can you imagine how different the world would be without it? No war, no corrupt politicians. No Kanye West.”
Alex laughed.
Hesitantly, Nicola reached out and placed a hand on Alex’s shin. “You’re here, though, right? That must mean something to him—that you made the trip to see him.”
Alex looked slightly sheepish. “I actually came here for business reasons. My brother living here—well, I couldn’t put off seeing him forever.” Placing his hand over Nicola’s, he slowly entangled his fingers with hers. “But I never imagined what else was lying in wait for me.”
Nicola’s breath caught in her throat. She wasn’t new to the language and subtle games of courtship—she knew better than to place any weight in casually uttered words this early on. But she’d never met a man she wanted to get to know so completely after such a short time. She thought about the many things she didn’t know about Alex—what he liked for breakfast, what he did for fun, even what he did for a living—and the history he carried with him that she knew nothing about. She wanted to immerse herself in him, to learn every nuance of what made him who he was. Maybe this would be something, or maybe it would just be tonight—but she wanted it, whatever it was. Very badly.
The song changed to Ellie Goulding’s latest hit.
“Are you hungry?” Alex asked her.
“Extremely,” Nicola said softly. She moved toward him slowly until she was between his legs, and then lying on his chest. She looked down at him, and he stared up at her with an expression that could only be described as amazement.
“You are so beautiful,” he said softly.
She brought her lips to his and kissed him passionately. He kissed her back, but she felt restraint behind it.
“It’s okay,” she whispered when they broke apart. His eyes fixed on her face as she licked her lower lip, watching her every move like he wanted to pounce on her. “I want you. I’m ready.”
“Are you—”
She cut him off with her lips, and this time he kissed her back with everything he had, a small groan escaping the back of his throat. Then he gripped her arms and rolled her onto her back, pressing the full length of his body against hers. She could already feel the heat building inside her, her heartbeat quickening—oh, God, she wanted him so badly. “Yes, I’m sure.” She reached for his phone and tapped the stop button on the music. “I want to see you, taste you, hear you. Undress me,” she commanded breathlessly. “And then you. I want to see all of you.”
Lying on top of Nicola, Alex felt intoxicated. It was the only way to describe it—as if someone had opened him up and filled him to the brim with pure desire. And someone had—she had. The vanilla scent of her, the softness of her lips and skin—he wanted to lose himself completely in her.
She sat forward and he pulled her dress over her head. Then he reached around her back and removed her bra, exposing her perfect, tan-lined breasts. “Gorgeous,” he whispered, spiraling around each nipple with a fingertip. She raised a breast toward his mouth, and he obliged her with a long, slow suck. She moaned. “Alex…”
Slowly. There’s no rush.
It was true. This moment only came once in a relationship, no matter how long or short. The first time, that wild collision of anticipation and reality—and he wanted to enjoy it to its fullest. But his cock, already rock-hard, was dictating something quite different.
Her panties were next. He hooked his fingers over the sides and slowly slid them down, revealing a perfect, trim triangle. “I finally get to really see you,” he breathed. “As beautiful as every other part of you.”
Lowering his tongue, he teased her clit with a few quick licks. Like he was the conductor and she the symphony, her hips curved upward to meet him. Slowly, he parted her lips and slid two fingers inside. “You’re ready for me.”
“So ready,” she gasped.
“And I’m more than ready for you.”
“Prove it,” she said, reaching for the button on his shorts, but he caught her wrists and gently pushed them over her head.
“Now, now, no touching.”
Straddling her waist, he pulled his T-shirt over his head and dropped it on the floor. Then he unbuttoned and unzipped his shorts and pulled them down so they rested across her tummy. His large cock, rock-hard and aching for her, sprang out above her
