I turned Anh’s last questions over in my head as I raced home.Why does he even want to see me?And why right away?For the life of me, I didn’t know.Did he have some important piece of information about Connor that he needed to tell me, away from prying ears?Was there some new horrible fallout over the photos?Was… was Connor going to be there at my apartment?The thought of that made my panicked heart skip a couple of beats.Ultimately, I had no idea what I was walking into when I parked my car in the garage and hustled up to my apartment.I was several minutes early – which, if you know anything about getting from Santa Monica to Hollywood at 3PM on a Friday afternoon, you will recognize is a minor miracle.I paced back and forth in my apartment, flapping my hands, trying to stay calm and failing miserably.Then the intercom beeped.I clicked on the button. “Yes?”“We’re here,” Sebastian’s voice barked through the static.We’re here.As in, more than one person.OH MY GOD.“S-sec

Abby pep-talked me the entire time she worked her magic.“Your face is a wonderful canvas,” she said as she did about twenty-five more steps than I normally do before I walk out of my apartment in the mornings. “You have really good structure. Like Tyra Banks or Uma Thurman.”“Yeah, right,” I scoffed.“You only see them after they’ve had people like me working on them for an hour… or two… or three or four,” she said with a sly smile. Then she went back to being earnest. “I was really happy when Tyra started releasing pictures of herself without makeup. She did this book on beauty and makeup years and years ago, and that was the first time she ever allowed herself to be photographed without makeup – so women could see what she really looks like. And since then she’s been a lot more open about it. Don’t get me wrong, she’s still cute without it… but she could walk past you on the street and you’d never take a second look at her. And don’t get me started on Uma. Or anybody else you might

I stood there trying to psyche myself up.This was the reason I was here. This was the reason I’d gotten all dolled up. This was what I had told Sebastian I wanted more than anything else in the world.And I was terrified.A thousand terrible ‘what-ifs’ floated through my mind. What if he got angry? What if he cold-shouldered me? What if he was mean? What if he laughed at me?What if he didn’t even care?I told myself that was bullshit. Sebastian and Johnny had both told me he had been miserable for the last month; only an idiot would think it had nothing to do with me. He had cared enough to make Sebastian call Scott Shaw and get him to give me a shot.He just didn’t care enough to call YOU, the evil little voice in my head reminded me.But then the good angel whispered, So what?So what if he hadn’t called? Maybe he thought I should have called him. Seeing as I’d never bothered to call to thank him for the job advice and referral, maybe he thought I was the one being cold and aloof.

He swept me into the bedroom, my hands pulling at his tuxedo jacket buttons as I stumbled backwards, his hands supporting me so I wouldn’t fall. The entire time he kissed me fervently, relentlessly. I sighed and moaned as his hands edged beneath my dress, caressing my breasts, and then he smothered my moans with more kisses.He pulled the thin straps of my dress off my shoulders, and I felt the cloth slide down across my body and cascade at my feet. His arms reached around and unsnapped my strapless bra, and then he was kissing my bare breasts and licking my nipples. He knelt in front of me, kissing my stomach as he went, then hooked his fingers through my underwear and pulled them down to my ankles. I ran my fingers through his hair and closed my eyes in ecstasy as he kissed my thighs, then between them, his lips brushing lightly over the down of hair between my legs. His tongue gently touched my clit, circled it twice, stoking my fires, teasing me – and then he pressed his face aga

He worked on me in the elevator, too, alternating kisses (and well-placed caresses) with requests.“Come on.”“No,” I giggled as he nibbled my ear.“Are you coming back to the party?”I pushed him away at arm’s length and gave him an Are you serious?! look. “With my makeup like this? Hell no.”He grinned with self-satisfaction. “What? You just look like a beautiful woman who’s had the time of her life.”“Ohhhh, aren’t we self-congratulatory!” I said, and tapped the tip of his nose with my finger.“Well, I figured it was classier than saying ‘had her brains fucked out.’”“Yes, although the second part’s true, too,” I said, stood up on tiptoe, and bit his lower lip softly.He grunted… and then leaned over and hit the STOP button on the control panel.The elevator rapidly slowed and came to a halt.“Connor?” I asked, slightly alarmed.“We need to talk for a second,” he said.There wasn’t the annoying, clanging alarm that you normally hear in an elevator when someone stops it. I didn’t re