Chapter 23
ADRIAN
The moment the curtain closed behind us, shutting out the roar of the applauding crowd, I grabbed Elizabeth’s hand. “Come with me.”
“Adrian, what—”
“Now.” I didn’t wait for her to finish, just pulled her through the backstage chaos. I walked right past congratulating staff members, models, and everyone else.
I was a man on a mission. No one was going to stop me.
My dressing room was at the far end of the backstage area, private and blessedly empty. I pulled Elizabeth inside and locked the door behind us.
For a second, we just stared at each other. She was breathing hard, her cheeks flushed, still wearing that dress that had nearly stopped my heart when she’d walked out onto that runway.
“You—” I started, but words failed me. How could I explain what it had felt like seeing her out there?
The shock, the pride, the overwhelming want that had hit me like a physical blow?
I had been dangerously close to creating one hell of a scandal.
I was guessing Adrian Blackwell’s erection would have made front page news.
“I’m sorry,” she said quickly. “I know I should have asked first, but the model got sick, and Annika said you needed someone and I couldn’t let you down.”
I crossed the space between us and kissed her. She made a small sound of surprise that quickly turned into something else as she melted against me, her hands fisting in my jacket. The kiss was desperate, hungry, fueled by adrenaline and something deeper I didn’t want to examine too closely.
“You were incredible,” I said against her mouth. “Absolutely incredible.”
“I was terrified.”
“You were perfect.” I kissed her again, my hands finding the zipper of her dress. “Do you have any idea what you did to me out there?”
She gasped as I found the zipper and pulled. “Wait, Annika spent so long pinning this.”
“It’s my dress. I can do whatever I want with it.” The zipper gave way and I pushed the fabric off her shoulders, watching it pool at her feet. Pins scattered across the floor. “And it’s nothing compared to the treasure underneath.”
She shivered as my hands found her skin. She had on a flimsy black thong and no bra.
Fuck. Her breasts were amazing. I could stare at them all day.
“Elizabeth, you’ll be the death of me,” I murmured.
I had never felt such raw need. I was absolutely certain I would perish if I didn’t get her. I would walk through a brick wall for her. The woman had me under a spell and I had no desire to ever break it.
“Here?” Elizabeth asked, glancing at the door. “Anyone could come in.”
“It’s locked,” I assured her, already working on the buttons of my shirt. “And soundproofed. The benefits of being the boss.”
She laughed, breathless and wanting, as she reached out to help me with the buttons. “You planned this.”
“I planned nothing. I just needed you.” My jacket hit the floor, followed by my shirt. “After watching you own that runway and watching the men in that audience drool for you? God, Elizabeth, I need you right now.”
Her eyes darkened, pupils dilating with desire. “Then take me.”
I didn’t need to be told twice. I lifted her onto the vanity counter, her legs wrapping around my waist instinctively. The mirror behind her reflected our tangled forms.
My mouth found her neck, tasting the salt of her skin, the faint traces of makeup, and perfume. She arched into me with a soft moan that went straight to my cock.
“Adrian,” she breathed, her fingers threading through my hair. “Please.”
I kissed down her throat to her collarbone, my hands mapping the curves of her body. She was all softness and warmth, responding to every touch with gasps and shivers that made me feel powerful and completely undone at the same time.
My mouth found her breast, tongue circling her nipple before taking it between my teeth. She cried out, her grip tightening in my hair, hips rolling against me. I could feel the heat from her arousal.
“I need you,” I muttered against her skin. “I need to be inside you.”
“Yes,” she whispered. “God, yes.”
I pulled back just enough to unfasten my belt, my hands shaking slightly with urgency. Elizabeth helped, her fingers brushing against mine as we worked together to free me from my pants.
I remembered the condom in my briefcase. One. A single condom.
Something told me that was not going to be enough.
It would have to do. Just enough to take the edge off until I could get her back to my place.
“Don’t move,” I said.
“Hurry.”
I grabbed my briefcase and found the condom. It’d been in there a while, but it wasn’t too old. I ripped it open and rolled it on, squeezing the base of my cock once before returning to where she sat. She had taken off her panties. Her legs were open and her chest heaving.
When I finally pushed inside her, we both froze, overwhelmed by the sensation. She was tight and hot and perfect, taking me in with a gasp that turned into a low moan.
“Okay?” I asked, forcing myself to hold still despite every instinct screaming at me to move.
She moaned in response, her nails scratching down my back. I hissed as the pain only intensified the pleasure.
I started slowly, pulling almost all the way out before sliding back in, watching her face for every reaction. Her eyes fluttered closed and her head fell back against the mirror. I picked up the pace.
The counter was the perfect height, giving me leverage to thrust deeper. Elizabeth’s legs tightened around me, pulling me closer, demanding more. Her nails scraped down my back, probably leaving marks, but I didn’t care. I wanted her marks on me.
“Look at me,” I commanded.
Her eyes opened, meeting mine. The connection was electric, sending white-hot heat straight to my balls. It wasn’t just sex. It was more, something that terrified and exhilarated me in equal measure.
“That’s it,” I encouraged. “Let go for me.”
“Adrian!” She broke off with a cry as her orgasm hit, her whole body trembling with the force of it.
The feeling of her coming around me and the sweet sounds she made were too much. It pushed me over the edge. My thrusts became erratic as I chased my own release, finally finding it with a groan that I muffled against her shoulder.
I pulled back slowly, both of us wincing at the loss of contact. She looked thoroughly ravaged—hair messed up, lips swollen, skin flushed. She was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen.
“We should probably get back out there,” she said, though she made no move to leave the counter.
“Probably.” I didn’t move either, just stood there looking at her. “Elizabeth.”
A sharp knock on the door interrupted me.
“Adrian!” Annika’s voice was muffled but urgent. “We need you for the press interviews!”
Reality crashed back in. The show. The press. The fact that we’d just had sex in my dressing room when I should have been out there doing my job.
“Five minutes!” I called back, already reaching for my clothes.
Elizabeth slid off the counter, looking around for her dress. “Shit, the pins.”
“Leave it,” I said. “I’ll have someone bring you something else to wear.”
“But Annika spent so long on this.”
“Elizabeth.” I caught her face in my hands, making her look at me. “I don’t care about the dress.”
I pulled on my underwear and pants and walked to the door. I opened it just a few inches. Annika was walking away.
“Annika!”
She stopped and turned to look at me. “Yes?”
“I need, uh, whatever Elizabeth was wearing before she put the dress on. Can you have someone bring it here, please?”
She frowned and then her eyes dropped to my bare chest. Then she grinned. “Of course.”
I closed the door and turned back to Elizabeth. She was trying to smooth her hair, looking adorably disheveled and thoroughly kissed.
“I can’t believe we just did that,” she said, laughing nervously. “With thousands of people just on the other side of that wall.”
“Worth it.” I crossed back to her, unable to resist one more kiss. “Completely worth it.”
She melted into me for a moment before pulling back. “You need to go. The press is waiting.”
“I know.” But I still didn’t move.
Another knock, softer this time.
“Mr. Blackwell? I have Miss Laramie’s clothes.”
I opened the door to find one of the assistants holding Elizabeth’s jeans and sweater, carefully folded. I took them with a nod of thanks and closed the door again.
“Here.” I handed them to her. “Get dressed. Take your time. I’ll handle the press.”
I forced myself to finish dressing, checking my reflection in the mirror. My hair was a mess, my lips slightly swollen. Anyone with eyes would know exactly what I’d been doing. I tried to fix it, running my fingers through my hair and straightening my collar.
Elizabeth appeared beside me in the mirror, now dressed in her jeans and sweater, considerably more put together than I felt.
“You have lipstick,” she said, reaching up to wipe at the corner of my mouth with her thumb. “There.”
I caught her hand, pressing a kiss to her palm.
“Thank you,” I said. “For tonight. For stepping up when we needed you. For being incredible.”
“Anytime. Now go. Before Annika breaks down the door.”
“You should go home,” I said. “Get some rest. We’re leaving for London tomorrow. You’ll need your energy.”
“What about you?”
“I need to stay and handle the post-show craziness.” I pressed a kiss to her hair. “It’ll be a few more hours at least.”
“I could stay.”
“You’ve done more than enough tonight. You saved the show. You were magnificent.”
She blushed. “I was scared out of my mind.”
“Couldn’t tell. You looked like you were born to walk runways.”
“Now you’re just trying to get in my pants.”
I winked. “Already did. Go home. Sleep. I’ll pick you up tomorrow at five.”
“I will. Thank you. For everything. For letting me be part of this.”
“Thank you for being part of it.”
I walked her to the stage door where my car was waiting. One more kiss.
“Text me when you get home,” I said.
“I will.”
I watched her drive away and then turned back to face the celebration happening inside. The team was riding high on success. I was quickly whisked back into the makeup chair by Mary Jo, who said nothing as she fixed my hair and wiped away the lipstick that was on my neck.
“There. Go.”
“Thanks.”
I headed out to the waiting press, all while wishing I had climbed into the back of that car with Elizabeth. I’d just had her and I was already craving her body again. The more I had her, the more I wanted her.
And that could end up being a problem.