Page 14 of Devoured By You

Raya was my graphic designer extraordinaire, without whom my book covers wouldn’t shine and my social media posts would look like a five-year-old had worked on them. Keeping Raya on after I’d signed with my publisher was one of the demands I’d had written into the contract.

“No need to fight over me. There’s plenty to go around.” I patted my distended stomach. “Especially after all that delicious food on the plane.”

“How was first class?” Addison nudged me. “Any celebrities on board?”

“Not that I saw.”

I’d only had eyes for one passenger. A beautiful man with vibrant green eyes, soft brown hair, and a magical cock. The memory of the orgasm he’d given me had me pressing my thighs together.

Heat raced to my cheeks. Kelsey’s keen brown gaze homed in on me.

“Why are you blushing?” She planted both hands on her hips. “Oh my God. Did you meet someone on the plane?”

My friends could read me far too well. It scared me sometimes. I took my coffee from Raya and sipped. “Let’s get to the hotel and I’ll tell you everything.”

The journey out of the Miami Airport reminded me why I never hired a car when I visited America. There were too many lanes and not enough rules. Kelsey had lived in the area her entire life, so for her, this was a breeze. If I’d been behind the wheel, I’d have had an accident by now. My fingers brushed the rough edges of the paperback as I dug around in my bag for my sunglasses. A ball of dread circled my stomach. What the hell was I going to do about this pile of crap? My editor wouldn’t contact me during this trip, but she’d be on the case the day after I landed, demanding to see something. Anything.

Maybe I should rip out the pages and send her the cover. That was the only thing about this book I loved. The rest of it made me want to stab myself in the eye with a needle. I never used to be like this. Writing was my happy place, yet now, every word felt forced, the weight of expectation killing my creativity.

Did every author who’d achieved sudden success feel like this, or was it just me? Maybe I should reach out to someone like Colleen Hoover and ask her advice?

As if. I didn’t have the guts to write to Queen Colleen. Besides, she probably received a gazillion emails a day. No one had the time to reply to even a fraction of those, even with help.

Ugh.

Check-in at the hotel went smoothly, and an hour after I’d landed at the airport, we entered our two-bedroom suite. I sank onto the couch.

“Jet lag sucks.” I closed my eyes.

“Oh, no, you don’t.” Kelsey dropped beside me, and Addison took up space on the other side. Raya perched on the edge of the coffee table. “Deets, missy. Then you can take a nap before dinner.”

I groaned. “Fine. But someone get me more coffee.”

Addison got up to make me a cup, pressing it into my hand. All three of them leaned in, agape. I blew on my nails. The second I spilled, this room would erupt. We’d probably get chucked out of the hotel for causing a disturbance.

“Are any of you members of the mile-high club?” I paused for effect as three jaws dropped simultaneously. “No? Just me, then.”

As predicted, all three of them screamed, questions firing at me from all angles. I waited for them to get it out of their systems.

“How did it happen?” Addison demanded when the excitement quieted. “Who came on to whom?”

“Um… a bit of both. Although, he was the one who made the ultimate move.”

“Which was?” Raya urged.

“I went to use the shower room. Did you know first class has, like, a proper bathroom with a shower and everything? I didn’t.”

“Focus,” Kelsey said.

I grinned. “Anyway, I got up from my seat, and he grabbed my wrist and told me to leave the door unlocked.”

Kelsey pretended to faint, covering her forehead with the back of her hand. “Oh my God. What a dreamboat.”

“What about the sex?” Addison asked. “I mean, sure, he might be great at the seduction part, but what about the delivery part?”

“His ‘delivery’?”—I air-quoted—“was exemplary.”

“Ugh. Why don’t these things ever happen to me?” Addison pouted. “If I treated myself to a first-class ticket, I’d end up sitting beside some old bald guy who’d regale me with boring stories of the war or something. You, lucky bitch that you are, ended up sitting next to Mr. Hotness.” She arched a perfectly shaped eyebrow. “He was hot, right?”

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