Page 37 of I Knew You Were Trouble

‘Lexi wins!’ Ravi announces. ‘Looks like you get to stay!’

‘Really?’ I say out of disbelief, producing a wild grin. Duncan rolls his eyes but I catch his smile. My gamble has paid off.

‘Congrats, Lex,’ Cal says, getting to his feet and stretching his arms up to the ceiling. ‘You can interview me tomorrow if you like.’

‘Thank you, Cal,’ I respond, then turn towards Aidan to ensure he hears me. ‘I appreciate your support.’

Aidan hauls himself to his feet. It’s almost one a.m. ‘Now I’m definitely going to bed,’ he mumbles.

I watch him go. When he reaches the door to the suite, I get up and follow.

‘Aidan—’ I say, in all seriousness. He turns and I hold out my hand. ‘A truce?’

He looks down at me. His expression looks drained, yet I’m struck by his eyes. I would have expected them to look steely, except in his defeat, they have softened. A moment passes before he shakes my hand. His skin feels warm to the touch, but I sense there is likely zero warmth in his feelings towards me.

‘You win,’ he concedes and behind me, Ravi gives a little whoop. ‘Truce,’ he adds and I watch him walk away down the corridor.

I’m on my way back to my hotel when I bump into Ravi in the lift. Duncan and Meredith are waiting for me downstairs in the lobby of the Four Seasons. For a moment, Ravi and I simply smile at one another.

‘Okay, I have to know…’ I say. ‘Was that you helping me out back there?’

‘I got zero clue what you’re talking about,’ is his response. There’s a pause. ‘But you were gonna go with reverse cowgirl all along, right?’

‘Yes, of course,’ I say, looking to the carpet and trying not to laugh. ‘Of course I was, yes.’

Ravi smiles bashfully, his dimples fully on show. ‘For the record, I’m happy that you’re staying,’ he says. ‘It’s nice having someone like you around.’

We reach his floor.

‘Thank you, Ravi,’ I say.

Ravi reaches out his hand, stopping the doors once they’ve opened.

‘You know, he’s not as confident as people think he is,’ he says.

‘Who do you mean?’

‘I think you know,’ he replies. ‘Goodnight, Lexi.’

Back at our hotel, I collapse onto my bed.

Today did not go as planned. I did not expect to have to prove my worth to all five members of Rebel Heart. Yet I came out triumphant. Just.

I flip over onto my front. On my phone, I go back and search ‘Aidan McArthur girlfriends’. I select the images tab and there are pictures of Aidan with Samara Al-Noori. She’s tall and slender, with beautiful skin, glossy dark hair, a straight nose with a ring piercing one nostril and several other piercings in her ears. He looks happy, calm and relaxed with his arm around her.

I scroll down through the images. There’s a black-and-white one where he’s wearing nothing but a pair of underwear, and I’m treated to a filtered view of his near-naked body, all rippling abs and toned legs. The look on his face is the same scowl that I’ve had to deal with for more than the past week, only there’s something carnal about it. Lustful.

I let out a sigh then roll onto my back again. Lying there, for the first time, I allow myself to picture it: sex with Aidan McArthur. The image sets off a chain reaction inside me, and without warning, at the apex of my thighs, I’m throbbing with need.

I close my eyes, exploring him in the thoughts that I can’t seem to push from my mind: our bodies writhing and naked, having all of him move inside me, my legs wrapped around his waist whilst he edges me closer towards an explosive climax.

I can feel myself growing plump and wet at the idea of him, until the need becomes too great for me to ignore. I wriggle free of my clothes so that I’m naked on my bed. Slowly, I touch two fingers to my lips, sucking on them. Moving them down, I part my knees wider. I slide a single fingertip over my folds, finding the point that gives me the greatest pleasure and teasing it in concentric circles, an involuntary moan escaping my lips, picturing Aidan’s swollen erection easing inside of me, and wrapping my legs around his waist. Well-versed in the art of self-pleasure, I sigh, reducing the speed of my fingertip, grinding my hips down into the mattress, imagining that he’s inside me. I’m surprised at how wet I am, how quickly I’ve brought myself to the brink of orgasm. Knowing I’m about to come, I slow my fingertip further, holding myself back, prolonging the blissful sensations curling up my legs from my toes, threatening to explode in wave after wave of pleasure. I imagine the noises he would make. I gasp. When I come, his name escapes my lips, completing my fantasy, my climax so powerful it lifts my hips off the mattress, pulsating through me until I’m spent.

Then I lie there in the dim light, alone and out of breath, my chest rising and falling, and a smile crawls onto my lips.

It’s a shame it would never happen in real life.

Chapter Eleven

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