Page 49 of The Playboy

“Fuck! I love you, Samantha.” He thrusts a few more times and stills. He crashes his lips to mine, not allowing me the opportunity to speak.

We stay connected for another minute until he pulls away from me and rolls onto his back, resting his hand on his chest.

“We need to talk,” he murmurs.

“I know.” I turn to my side away from him. “Just not now, please. I don’t want to ruin this perfect moment.”

He pulls me back toward his chest and holds me close. “I love you, Sam. The day you left, that’s when I knew it was love for sure. You broke my heart, lass. Then I saw those pictures of you with Ben and I saw red.”

“We aren’t together. The pictures they put out there aren’t real. I was drunk and he helped me stand up.”

“Did you go home with him?”

I shake my head. “I haven’t slept with him.”

Someone knocks on the door, and I wiggle out of Tait’s hold. I throw his t-shirt over my head and answer the door.I think I might be sick.Ben is standing there. He places his hands on my shoulders, and I tense under his touch as he plants a delicate kiss on my cheek.

“I’ve been trying to get in touch with you since last night. You stopped returning my calls, and I got worried. Where were you?” He tries to slide past me into my apartment, but I stop him.

He can’t know about Tait.“Emily came home last night, and we were celebrating. I drank a little too much.”

He frowns. “Well, we have plans today, so Emily is going to have to spend the day without you.” He tries again, and once again, I block his path.

“I can’t. Emily and I have a few things to discuss. She doesn’t know about you, and I don’t want her to find out with you sitting here in the apartment. We can do something later, but today is not a good day.”

“Sam, do I have to remind you about what I have?” He crosses his arms over his chest.

“No. I know what you have.”I’m trying to find a way to make it all disappear before Tait finds out.

“Good. Then I’ll be back to get you in an hour.”

“Sam, is everything okay?” Tait asks from the bedroom.

Fuck.

Ben’s face morphs from shock to anger in a matter of seconds. I watch all the blood rush to his face as he turns on his heel to leave.

I try to stop him, but he jerks out of my grasp. “You have to allow me to explain. Don’t do anything, Ben. Please.”

He doesn’t respond, just takes off down the hallway and out of sight.

I can hear my heart beating in my ears, I’m so nervous.Please don’t let Ben do anything stupid.I close the front door and turn to see Tait is standing in the hallway with his jeans pulled up, but left unbuttoned showing his Adonis belt. Even the sight of his sexy muscles isn’t enough to ease my nerves.

He sees the worry on my face and rushes toward me. He places his hands on the side of my face and tilts my head to look into his eyes. “Sam, what’s wrong? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“N-nothing.” I take a deep breath, trying to steady my heartbeat and breathing. “What are your plans today?”

He smiles. “To spend the day with you trying to make up for whatever I did that made you leave. I love you, Sam. I need you in my life.” He takes a deep breath and continues. “You’re good for me, and you’ve made me see there is so much more I can have.” He dips his head and kisses me on the lips. I pull back and study him.He’s completely serious.

I need to smooth things over with Ben before he releases the information and ruins both our careers. My day with Tait is going to have to wait.

I try to smile at him, but I can’t help but feel sad. “I’d like that more than anything, but I have to resolve things with Ben. Now is not a good time for the two of us. I’d like it if you would just leave. Please.”

“What do you mean? What does that mean?Now’s not a good time for us?” I feel the anger rolling off him.

I think of the only words I can to get him to leave. “This morning was a mistake. What I told you was a mistake. I’m sorry, Tait. I’d like it if you would please leave.”

He pushes his breath through his nose. “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me. You know what? I only said I love you because you said it. I don’t. Not even in the slightest. I hope you and that arsehole Ben are miserable together.”