Page 44 of Dirty Big Sins

I threw back the covers and something clunked to the floor. What the heck? I peered over the edge and gasped.

Oh. My. God.

My vibrator. The one I’d left in Vincent’s bed was on the floor. In my suite, not his.

I searched the room and reached for my robe. The sound I’d heard had not been my imagination. “Vincent. I know you’re here,” I called out.

Silence met me, but that wasn’t all. One of the dining room chairs had been moved into the middle of the bedroom floor. “What the hell?”

“Have a seat.” The deep voice shot through me in the darkness, making goosebumps rise on my skin.

I whirled around to find him now standing in the doorway, his big frame, while shrouded in shadow, completely filling the space. My pulse spiked as he stood there, not moving, between me and the only route of escape.

Not sure why that was my first thought, but it was. Maybe it was the scowl deepening the serious expression aimed in my direction. I didn’t know how to take that or what to do next. There was also an element of fear in a moment like this.

He’d appeared in my suite in the middle of the night without warning or even so much as a knock.

I gasped, clutching at the edges of my robe. “How did you get in here?”

“While the security in the hotel is quite good, it’s not good enough,” he said, taking a small step into the room.

“Clearly.” I smirked, remembering that my producer had also managed to get in without a key. I was going to have to talk to Nina about this. Talk about unacceptable.

“Don’t worry. I’ll have my guys fix it. Although don’t take that as some sort of safeguard against me. I will always have access.”

“That’s an arrogant assumption on— ”

“You were supposed to be in my room, waiting for me. Instead you chose to defy me. Do you even realize how dangerous that was?”

There was something in his dark tone that gave me pause and had me swallowing the bitter retort I’d been about to fling back at him. I’d been around dangerous men my entire life and I had the built-in self-preservation to recognize serious trouble when I saw it.

Usually.

Fear wasn’t something that settled easily and I didn’t know how to feel about it right now. While this sense of unease wasn’t anything like the fear I’d felt around my ex, it still made me want to push back and take a breath.

I was so drawn to this man I could barely look away when he got near me. However, did that mean I was willing to risk everything I’ve been building in my career? Did I really want to surrender myself to another man who could be just as wicked as the rest? After such a short time?

I shook my head. No. I couldn’t risk another derailment. I had too much in play and to lose that now would be impossible to recover from. My belief in balance had been misguided.

But then I looked again at him and those dark intense eyes bearing down on me as he continued to advance in my direction and realized the internal fight was useless. I did want this. Us. And all that entailed.

Maybe it was all another dangerous trap. I might just have to learn the hard way though.

No.

I mentally shook my head again. Vincent wasn’t like the others. He couldn’t be. I needed him to be different. Real.

Technically I could choose to say no, but could I really? Would I?

I’d made an impulsive choice in Italy and then again when he showed up here at the hotel weeks ago. Now it seemed inevitable. A moot point. The idea of him no longer in my life caused a tight squeezing sensation in my chest.

By the time he crossed the room to stand in front of me, I’d somehow found my way to the chair and as he loomed over me, I slowly sank onto the seat and placed my hands on my lap. All while never taking my gaze from his.

But it was the memory of Vincent’s lips on mine and the sensation of his firm grip pinning me in place that held me mesmerized while he seemed to scrutinize every inch of me. I couldn’t stop the rush of blood flooding my cheeks, nor did I want to. I didn’t want to hide how he made me feel anymore. Not ever again.

Even if that meant only one more night.

If I was inviting trouble for going through this, then I’d find a way to weather it. I refused to live my life in fear of the internet and the chaos it could create if and when they found out about Vincent and me.

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