Page 25 of Secret Revenge

Wow, that was intense.

But we couldn’t very well spend the night here, snuggled up in the back seat of my car.

I reached into the trunk and got a pair of jeans and a T-shirt. I always kept a casual change of clothes so I wouldn’t have to do everything in a black suit. Then I climbed into the passenger seat and took off my ruined clothes.

I tossed the dirty clothes in the back, then climbed into the driver’s seat. Emily stumbled out of the back seat, then clambered into the passenger seat beside me. I was glad she was comfortable enough with me to stay -- this time.

She wiped herself with the paper towels I kept in the glove compartment, then put her dress back on. Fortunately, it was clean, even if rumpled. I drove us out of the parking lot in silence, Emily stared out the window.

“Where would you like me to take you?” I asked, not knowing where she stayed. And not daring to hope she’d ask to come home with me.

She turned to look at me. “Oh, the subway’s fine.”

“You sure about that?” I asked, confused. “Don’t you want me to take you home?”

“Trust me, it’s fine,” she replied. “Truth is my house is a bit far from here, and I wouldn’t want to impose. Plus, the train runs really close to where I stay.”

“Right,” I said. It was obvious she didn’t trust me fully yet, and I couldn’t blame her for that. I hadn’t done enough to earn her trust.

“So, what do you think of the company so far,” I asked, flailing for a change of topic.

Emily snorted. “I haven’t really formed an opinion yet. I guess I will as time goes by.” She turned to look at me, a seriousexpression on her face. “If you think you can sway my opinion with the sex, you’ve got another thing coming.”

I burst out laughing. “Fine, you caught me,” I said, wiping my eyes. I looked at her and saw her smiling in her seat.

We drove on in silence and arrived at the subway station shortly after. I gazed out the window, thankful that it was evening already. Emily looked a mess, but hopefully no one on the subway would notice. I parked and she got out immediately, crossing the road after a hasty goodbye.

As I watched her go, I thought about why I was so attracted to her. While the sex was great, it was more than sex for me. She was witty, smart, and had a genuine sense of humor. And integrity. A rare thing in this world, I’d learned all too well. I enjoyed being around her like I hadn’t enjoyed anyone else outside my family.

It had been a long time since I had allowed myself to chase sexual desire. I considered romantic relationships a colossal waste of time and had only been that serious with one woman, Barbara. I ended up ruining that too. Thinking about it caused the light shining in my eyes from what I had just shared with Emily to die. I usually tried not to think about that relationship…and how tragically it failed.

Barbara had been perfect. A wonderful, beautiful woman who didn’t care about my money. She just loved me and cared about me. Sadly, I had been too afraid to give it a chance. I broke her heart when I ran off on her weeks before our wedding date. I didn’t even bother to take back the ring.

Asshole.

We hadn’t spoken in years, but it seemed she had gotten over my foolery. In fact, I had not thought of her until last month… when she mailed me an invitation to her wedding.

When I saw it, I had just closed it. I didn’t want to deal with the emotions. I didn’t even check the date. Now, I caught myself wondering if it had already passed.

With the new, strange feelings I had started developing for Emily, I wondered if it was not a good idea to attend the wedding… and stop running from that, at least.

12

EMILY

Isat quietly on the train, pointedly ignoring the man who kept trying to pull me into conversation. The last thing I wanted to do was talk. I kept my gaze on the window, watching the dark tunnel disappear past me as the train sped on its way.

The last few hours felt like a trance, like a dream. A million thoughts swirled through my mind. A million questions that I had no answer to. Why did I have sex with Travis Ross again? Why did I have sex with Travis Ross in theback of his car?

I was acting like a teenager. It had been so long since I’d done something that spontaneous. It was also the last thing I would have expected from billionaire Travis. For someone who said he cared so much about his reputation, he was extremely reckless with me.

I tucked a lock of hair behind my ear self-consciously, taking a cursory glance at my reflection in the train window as I did so. My dress looked like I had gotten it from the bottom of a pile. I reeked of intercourse and I struggled to focus, still feeling the effects of Travis’ beastly thrusts as a pleasant ache.

All in all, I looked like a New York bum.

Why did I do that?

I knew I hadn’t been able to keep thoughts of him out of my head since our first night together. But why? Was I that weak-minded, that I could turn my back on everything I knew to be true about him because he was a good lay? Or was this some kind of hate-makes-it-forbidden-and-therefore-sexy thing? I could almost live with the latter.