5. Kate
Chapter Five
KATE
Did he really just leave? After flicking off my bra strap? Breathing on my skin? What a tease! I grip the ends of the robe’s sash, tying it tightly around my waist. The studio door opens again, and my stomach tightens.
Is he back?
No, it’s just Francesca and some of the other crew members. I let out a heavy exhale, unsure if I’m relieved or disappointed.
“How’d it go?” Francesca asks.
“Great!” I flash her a quick smile and trot past her in my stilettos as fast as I can without toppling over.
Garret stands just outside the studio doors, looks up from his phone, and flicks his sharp eyebrows. “Alone with the hot photographer? Tell me everything.”
Ignoring his request, I peer over his shoulder. “Is he gone?”
Garret looks back down the hallway. “Yeah, that guy could not get out of here fast enough. Kind of like the way you left Nina’s party the other night.”
“Really?” I search Garret’s face for clues about what transpired between the moments that Drew left the studio and disappeared down the hallway.
A devilish grin spreads across his face. “Yeah. Did something happen in there? Something fun?” he asks, and I say nothing but my eyes go wide as if I’ve been caught. He lets out an excited gasp. “It did, didn’t it?”
I force an exhale through my nose, snatch his arm, and drag him to the dressing room with me.
Garret’s face lights up like the London Eye after dark. “Oh, my God! What happened in there?”
I say nothing until I’ve closed the door behind us. “Nothing happened. I thought he was going to make a move, but then he basically disappeared.”
“Hmm, I wonder where he got that idea from.” He purses his mouth, folding his arms with his phone still clutched in one hand.
“You think he was trying to get back at me?”
“Maybe.”
I bite my lip, thinking that if he’s being spiteful, it’s a dick move. “Can you turn around, please?”
Garret gives a slight eye roll and turns to face the door. “I got the scoop on him while we were waiting in the hall.”
“What’s the story?” Drew is mysterious, which I’ll admit is pretty hot. But it only makes me more curious about him.
I slip my thong down from under the robe. The crotch is sopping wet. Geez, I can’t remember the last guy who had that effect on me. Guess I’m keeping these. I tuck the undies in my purse, then slip on my jeans, and swap my lacy Kate Golden bra for a more practical Calvin Klein one.
“Apparently, he’s loaded. Old family money. Like, more than he would ever need,” Garret gushes, which I find hard to believe. Why does he work if he has piles of money? Plus, he doesn’t act at all pretentious or obnoxious like the super-rich trust-fund guys I’ve encountered. And I know that crowd. I grew up with those elitists, and Drew just doesn’t fit the bill. “But he’s a total player. A modelizer. No one’s ever seen him with the same woman for longer than a few weeks.”
Guess I was right about one thing. A modelizer might be worse than being a womanizer. “Do you think that’s why he left? Because I’m not a model?”
“Maybe. Or maybe he’s secretly gay.” Garret’s gaze draws up in a daydreamy look.
I shoot him a wry smile. “You wish.”
“I do! I would’ve been all over him. I can’t believe you left him hanging the other night. And his family’s worth billions !” Garret’s eyes bulge with the word billions .
“You know, now that I think about it, he knew I wasn’t a model when he propositioned me at the party. And just now. He had me right there. In lingerie. Next to a luxurious bed! Why didn’t he just take me?”
“Would you have let him?”
I chew at the dry lipstick on my mouth. Would I have let him please me in the studio with a bunch of people just waiting outside the door? The naughtiest place I’ve ever done it is in my pool. And that’s only because it’s so private it might as well be my locked bedroom. So ordinarily, I’d say probably not, but the idea of him laying me down on that bed, sliding my stringy thong down my legs, and putting his tongue on my . . . it makes my knees weak.
“I guess we’ll never know, huh?”
“Well, if he only dates women for a few weeks, then you should definitely get on that while you’re here. It would be great publicity. Kate Golden dates London billionaire photographer, Drew?—”
“Stop.” I hold up my hand. Sometimes, Garret only thinks in terms of good publicity and bad publicity. “I’ve done enough promoting my business today, don’t you think?”
He lets out a long sigh. “Honey, I’m just saying it wouldn’t hurt the business. Or you for that matter.”
When I return to my hotel room later that evening, I plop down on the bed and clutch the fine linens in my fingers, letting out a frustrated grunt. It’s been two hours since Drew walked out of the studio, and my body still hasn’t recovered. Maybe a cold shower will help.
It does a little. Plus, I’m too tired to think about it anymore. I crawl in between the sheets and close my eyes, letting my mind wander as usual. My thoughts make their way back to the studio. I can see him, standing tall over me, dark eyes penetrating my soul, a gorgeous smile, looking so delicious in the tight white T-shirt stretched around his tattooed bicep.
I shiver thinking about the way his finger barely touched my skin. The way his breath tickled my thigh, pushing me close to the edge. I imagine what his hands would feel like wrapped around my waist, his lips playing with mine, and the weight of his body on top of me as I run my nails down his sexy British back. I want him to do things to me, things I never dreamed of doing before. I moan at the fantasy.
If Drew makes me feel like I’m close when he’s barely touching me, I can’t even imagine what he’d do if I let him have all of me. Would it be amazing? Earthshaking? I’ve never had earthshaking sex before. Good sex, sure. Not incredible, but I could cross the finish line. What if Drew can get me to cross the finish line again and again and again? Not that I’ll ever find out. I suspect that was our last encounter.