Page 24 of The Heiress

I look at her before shutting off the engine. Last chance, Daze. Do you really want to keep going?

Please say yes.

Oh.

She said yes.

Chapter 13

Daisy

For the first time since my initial foray into the carnal world, I’m nervous about being alone with someone I’m attracted to.

This isn’t like when I went to her apartment, blazing in anger, and things happened. This is premeditated. I know now that I can’t be alone with Lorde without something happening. That’s both exciting and nerve-wracking!

I stay in her car while she goes into the lobby and gets us a room. This place looks nice, although I’ve never stayed here before. It’s a four-star hotel, and my family only stays in five stars. Lorde doesn’t care about this. She had a point, after all. There will be paps staked at all the five-star hotels, and apparently, the staff here has been good to her so far.

For a moment, I fear that I’m just another girl in her life. Maybe she only likes me because I’ve been playing hard to get. As soon as I give it up? (Wow, remind me to never phrase it likethat again.) She’ll be over me and move on to the next girl she manages to seduce into bed.

Panic settles in. Oh, God. This is a terrible mistake! This time tomorrow, I’ll feel like the biggest fool in the universe. Normally, I don’t care if a fling is a mere one-night stand. With Lorde? It’s different. I want this to last beyond one night.

I want it to last many, many nights.

My worries abate when she emerges from the hotel and comes back to her car with a room key. Every time I see her, I feel… safe? Is that the word I’m looking for? I’ve gone from being enraged at this girl’s mere presence to wanting to jump her bones every time I see her. Maybe I am falling in love with her.

Still, I don’t want to get too far ahead of myself. I’m not going to let Lorde Sheen embarrass me. I concoct a plan on our way to the back entrance of the hotel. This plan will satisfy me in many ways… and leave me frustrated in so many others!

We’ll see how long I truly last around Lorde Sheen.

Our room’s on the third floor of the hotel. Lots of privacy up here. I don’t doubt she’s asked for this specifically. Maybe we don’t even have neighbors. When you’re Lorde Sheen, you can ask for the exact room you want – even if that room is only given through description.

“Hope they have something good on HBO,” Lorde quips as we enter the room. I still have my glasses and hat on. Here’s hoping the paps never catch wind of this. Lorde may have never been bothered before, but this is the first time she’s here with me. I tend to change everything.

The room is smaller than what I’m used to, but the bed is big and clean, and the TV is sizable enough. I suppose there is some sparse, beige furniture to fill things out. I don’t care about the view from my hotel room for once in my life. I know nothing is interesting to look at out there. If I had my choice of hotel, it would’ve been a downtown affair that has epic views of theriver, the commercial business district, and even the airport. Something is soothing about watching planes taking off and landing.

Like something is soothing about the way Lorde wraps her arms around me from behind and starts kissing my cheeks. She rips my hat and sunglasses off. I don’t know where they land.

She’s hungry. For me, of all people. I know I play myself up a lot… the mighty Daisy DeMonte. Yet even I’m shocked that I’ve enthralled a woman like Lorde Sheen to the point she’s stalking me on my dates. To have her whisk me away to a hotel so she can start making out with me? It almost feels unreal.

“Lorde…” I begin, wondering how I can keep this good feeling alive while also gently pushing her away. “I want to make one thing clear.”

Her eyes are already glazing over in lust. “What is it? You got hard limits? We all have hard limits. Lemme hear ‘em.”

That’s… I do not doubt that you have hard limits, Lorde. I’m sure you have many, some I’ve only heard of on the internet. “I want to do these things with you, but I don’t think we should go all the way tonight.”

I sound like I’m in high school. In truth, I want to know how she reacts, let alone if she intends to respect my wishes.

If I’m going to potentially throw away my image and good name for you, Lorde, I want to make sure you’re a woman worth doing that for.

“What do you mean by that?” She’s not angry. Confused, yeah. Blindsided, a bit. “You’re talking to another woman here, Daze. What a woman considers ‘all the way’ is going to wildly change from person to person.” She laughs. “Don’t tell me you’re the type to consider what we did in the theatre to be anythingbutsex.”

I furrow my brows, if only becauseshe’sthe type to not consider some fun fingering in the dark sex! “Consider this,Lorde,” I say with a Daisy DeMonte bite. “Whatever you consider ‘going all the way’ with another girl? Half that.”

“Oh, man.”

“Mmhmm. Whatever you’re imagining when you’re thinking of me…” I turn my whole body toward her, amping my wiles, my charms until her only focus is on my face – and what’s beneath, let’s be real. “Your wildest, hottest fantasies about what you’redoingto me…” I do not doubt that Lorde is the Top of Tops, and it’ll only be after I’ve filled out my punch card with her that I’m allowed to boss her around for a while. The freebie, if you will. She does thedoing.At least in her head, she’s the Queen of Deeds, and I’m the recipient of her royal decrees.

If she thinks I’m a prude, I can’t tell from her reaction alone. She does look way more confused, though. “Well!” she suddenly exclaims, putting her hands on her hips as opposed to around me again. That sweet grin erupts on her face. Okay. NowI’mthe confused one. “Good thing there are other things we can do!”

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