Page 103 of Kneeling for Them

“No problem,” I say, taking the seat she gestures toward.

“Do you want a cookie, or some water?Both?”

“No, but thanks,” I say.“So, you have kids?”

“Yeah,” she says.“A five-year-old and a three-year-old.They’re napping, and my mother-in-law is inside with them.”

I start doing the math.

“Neither of them are Bastian’s,” she says quickly.“I figure that’s why you’re here—you have questions about my night with Bastian Crown.”

I nod.“I know it’s none of my business, but it’s important.”

And my relief that Sebastian doesn’t have a kid?Huge.That would be such a huge freaking complication, I don’t know how we’d handle it.

“You’re asking me if I fucked him?”Alyssa says.

I nod and give her a small smile.“Yeah.I wasn’t going to ask quite like that.”

“Relax,” she says.“I’m not ashamed of what happened.”

I wince, ready for the blow—the nail in the coffin of Sebastian’s and my relationship.I really can’t believe he’d hurt anyone, but if she says he did…I’ll probably believe her.

“We fucked,” she says simply.“We had a great time.I was sad that he disappeared afterward, because I’d thought we had a connection.But every girl who’s fucked a rockstar has probably thought that, ya know?”

Oh, I knew.

“You don’t seem like you’re upset about any of it,” I point out, half to myself.

“No, why would I be?I fucked a rockstar.And not just any rockstar, but, I mean, hello, Bastian Crown.Thehottestrockstar.”

She can stop talking about my boyfriend like that any second now.

“He didn’t…force you or anything?”I ask.

“What?”she squawks.“No, who’s saying that?Holy shit, are you here because he forcedyou?Are you trying to make a case?I’ll find him and cut off his nuts.”

“No, not at all,” I say.“Someone told me he forced you.”

She shakes her head so hard, her hair lifts with the force.“Yeah, it didn’t happen like that at all.But I signed something and took a lot of money to promise I wouldn’t tell anyone about that night.”

Yeah, none of this is adding up with what Trina said.

“Sorry, I just need to be completely clear,” I say slowly.“He didn’t hurt you?You’re not traumatized by any of it?”

Her eyebrows couldn’t possibly get any higher on her forehead.“Hell, no.I mean, he spanked me, choked me a little.It was rough.”She smirks, remembering.

I try to rein in my jealousy—she came before me.She is the past, I am the present.

She continues, “It was rough, but I liked it, and so did he.I was asking for it, if you know what I mean.”

Yeah, I know what she means.

“He didn’t even…like, finish, you know?”she says.“I came, and I thought there’d be more.But he fell asleep all of a sudden.”

“Was he drinking?”I ask.

“Well, yeah.We both were, a little.But we were just buzzed.It was awkward as hell.So I got dressed and started to leave, and his lawyer was right outside the hotel door.She had a contract and offered me five grand to never talk about that night.I figured it’s part of his routine or whatever, non-disclosure agreements for hook-ups, I guess.And I’m not giving the money back—you’re on the hook for it if the lawyer tries to take it back from me.I spent it a long time ago.”