Page 18 of The Heiress

I get out of the car and hustle into an empty alleyway. Lorde meets me there not two minutes later, appearing out of thin air.

“Fuck, you scared me.” I clear my throat because her mere presence is embarrassing me. Like I need a crazy reminder of everything that’s happened in the past two or so weeks. Wait, how long has it been again?

“Sorry about that. I really need to talk to you.”

I’m afraid to look up and meet her gaze. Her closeness alone is making me lose my mind. I’m angry. Cheated. Annoyed. Sexually frustrated. Because there’s still that underlying attraction between us. If I look up and face it? I’ll lose any resolve I had when I came out of my building.

At least God blessed humanity with sunglasses!

“Daisy.” She says my name in a breath, and my heart does this wild thing in my chest. Hearing my name on her lips like that… she should say it more often. It sounds damn good.

“Yes?” I remain stern. Or at least my tone is, anyway. Inside, I’m wobbling.

She starts to speak several times but halts before the words spill out. Finally, she says, “I’ve been a jerk. Sometimes, it’s hard to get out of my own skin… I think you drive me crazy.”

I raise my eyebrows, not bothering to say a word. Yet I use my icy gaze to implore her to continue.

“Screw it. I don’t know.” Her frustration would be cute if it weren’t for the circumstances. “I… really like you. I can’t explain it. From the moment we met, I’ve had this compulsion to push you to your limits. I realize now I went about it entirely the wrong way.”

“I’d say.”

“I’m serious. The way I think about you is completely different from any other…”

“Woman.”

“…Woman I’ve ever been with before. See? That’s one of the things I like about you… but I digress. I’m afraid that one day you’ll realize what a loser I am and cut me loose. So maybe I’m trying to accelerate that so it’s at least on my terms. If I see it coming, if I make you hate me, then I never have to worry about losing you.”

For all her blubbering, her voice is sincere. It moves me to remove my sunglasses and look her straight in those deep, dark eyes of hers. “I don’t like being messed with.”

“So I’ve noticed.” Her youthful grin returns, and holy hell would I love to smack it off her again. All that gushing about how great I am and she tries to sabotage it… again? Even so, I’d be willing to smack her if it meant a long, slow kiss from one of the only people who can kiss me so well. “Actually, I’ve been meaning to tell you. That interview I did? Where they censored what I said about you?”

I narrow my eyes and say nothing. Why did she have to remind me?

“You’ve extrapolated a lot. Shit, so has the public. I didn’t even say anything. Not like that.” When I’m about to call her out on her bullshit, Lorde explains, “I specifically asked the interviewer to put some censorship there. She agreed to help me with my request to…”

Oh, I can’t wait to hear this. “To?”

“To get your attention.”There’sthat stupid troublemaking grin I can’t stop thinking about. “It worked, huh?”

No, Daisy, keep your head here on planet Earth. “Please,” I begin, keeping her at bay with my hand. “I need you to be respectful. Or at least when we’re not fooling around.” I smile, letting her know that I’m deathly serious, but not without my humor. “I’m fine with banter…” My fingers stroke her arm. “But I like to keep my image spotless. You haven’t been helping with that. Saying things like you did at the premier…”

A sheepish tone takes over her complexion. I move my hand up her biceps, already enthralled again.

Lorde leans toward me. “Like what you feel? There’s more where that came from.”

I back away, shrugging. “Could do better. There’s no shortage of cute hotties when you’re as popular as I am.”

“Oh, yeah? Bet I could take on anyone who comes sniffing around you. When I decide a girl – I mean woman – is mine, then by the skies above, she is mine.” She winks. Nice try, Lorde. I heard that edge in your voice. Damn.

She could give it to you really rough I bet. Lovingly rough. Is that a thing? Excuse me, conscience, but nobody invited you to this conversation.

“We’ll see.” I turn to leave. My driver is due back at any moment, and I want to get on with my day. Give me some time to think about this. She’s got my number, hasn’t she?

The moment I let my guard down, Lorde grabs me by the arm and wraps me into her tight embrace. Holy shit. One second I have no idea what it’s like to be this close to her, and the next? I’m inhaling her body wash and spreading my hands across her shoulders. My thighs quiver from the impact.

“Going somewhere?” she whispers in my ear. “We’re nowhere near done… I have things I desperately need to do to you.”

She kisses me. Oh, God, do I want her to keep kissing me! Her breath is so hot, her tongue so strong as it pushes into my mouth, consuming me. I’m not prepared for her teeth grazing my bottom lip when she finishes. My stomach drops; my heart quakes.

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