Page 66 of Seduced By You

“Mister Know-All-The-Useless-Facts is more like it.”

“I found it interesting.”

“Did you?”

“No.”

He laughed, reaching for my hand. “Our relationship might’ve shifted, but you’re still the same old Lee.”

“Less of the old.” I sniffed. “I’m in my prime.”

His eyes roved over me, lingering on my boobs. They might not be huge, but that didn’t seem to stop Kadon’s obsession.Guess he’s a tit man.Although, come to think of it, he’d felt my arse every time I’d gone to the bathroom on this flight, so who knew?

“You’re definitely in your prime.”

“Men. Such obvious creatures.”

“We are.” He nodded sagely. “It’s an affliction we’re born with. There’s little point in fighting it.”

“How women put up with men is a mystery.”

“It’s the D.” He flashed a grin.

I tried to keep a straight face, but it was impossible. I was too busy enjoying Kadon’s lighter side. After what he’d gone through, he deserved to have some fun, and I’d make sure he did. He might have to work on this trip, but we had the evenings and early mornings to enjoy.

Also… he wasn’t wrong. I mean, I loved him for more than his dick. I wasn’t that shallow. But the things he could do with it… my, oh, my.

The speed of our relationship morphing from best friends to lovers made my head spin. Who’d have thought two kisses would have the power to change everything? Not me.

During the flight, I’d studied him when he wasn’t looking, trying to figure out how I’d been so blinded to how he felt about me. There must have been some signs, surely? Even Oscar-winning actors weren’t that adept at hiding their feelings. Yet I’d blundered through my new, unexpected life, oblivious to my best friend’s yearning for more.

When I’d modeled, I’d often read articles in the press about “airheaded pretty girls,” and I’d strived hard to debunk that idiotic myth. “Pretty doesn’t mean stupid” was a line I’d trotted out to more than a few journalists over the years, but deep down, I’d always feared that my looks were the only thing I had to offer. Yet even they hadn’t been enough to stop Benedict from straying. Not that I was the least bit bothered aboutthat.Not any longer. I’d had the luckiest of escapes.

The plane touched down with a bump, and I shifted a few inches forward in my seat as the captain applied the brakes. Our taxi was short, and as we emerged into the heat of Dubai, I dropped my sunglasses in place and took Kadon’s hand to walk down the steps.

A limousine idled at the bottom of the steps to whisk us to the VIP terminal. I wasn’t unused to such luxurious treatment. When I’d modeled for the big magazines, they often used to fly the models to their shooting locations by private jet. It still impressed me, though. The sumptuous furnishings, the bright and spacious atrium, the speed of passport checks. No waiting in line with tired parents trying to pacify overwrought kids, or groups of young men and women celebrating upcoming nuptials and making a racket as they staggered off the plane already half-drunk.

We exited the VIP terminal and climbed into a second limousine.

“Do you mind if we go straight to the beach club?” Kadon asked. “I’ll have the driver take our luggage to the hotel, but I want to make sure everything is okay and that the staff aren’t having any issues without Julian there.”

“Of course not. This is a work trip. You do what you need to do.”

He side-eyed me, a small smile tugging at his lips. “It’s not all work.” He ran his hand up the inside of my thigh. “I’ll make sure of it.”

“I’ll bet you will.”

“Complaining?”

“Nope.”

His grin lit up his eyes. “Good.”

“Will you see Julian on this trip?”

“If he wants to see me, yes. I’ve left the ball in his court. Losing a parent…” He shook his head. “I can’t even let myself think about losing mine.”

A deep, dark well of sorrow opened up in my chest. It was Christmas in a few weeks, and this was the first holiday season that I wouldn’t be spending with my parents. Some days, I felt it was up to me to make the first move, but then at other times, I’d dig my heels in, determined that they were the ones in the wrong and therefore should be the ones to apologize.

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