Addicted After All (Addicted #3)(124)

I nod repeatedly. “Daisy is right. You’re in a power position. You can tease him.” I touch my chest. “Trust me, I know. I’m a sexpert.” I never thought I’d be able to say that without blushing or feeling ashamed. I bite my gums to keep from smiling. I’m proud of myself, and it’s a weird thing to be. I revel in this triumph. I’m nearing the last stretch of a long bumpy road, bruised from falling, but still running. It feels good.

“I’ll never live it down if I wear these,” Rose tells us, folding them neatly. She pauses, hesitates. And then begins unfolding. “Fuck it.” She takes off her panties beneath her black robe.

Daisy and I hop together, cheering Rose on. “Put them on! Put them on!” we chant.

She hisses at us to be quiet, her eyes on the door like someone is going to walk in any minute. They aren’t going to. It’s locked—

The door swings open. I thought I locked it. Lo shuts it behind him, but thankfully Rose has already finished switching out her panties.

“Loren!” Rose shouts, about to claw his face to shreds.

He shields his eyes with his hand. “Jesus Christ. You’re not even dressed yet?” He checks his watch. “The event starts in an hour.” Daisy disappears into Rose’s closet for an outfit, and I slip the lilac dress over my head.

“We were having wardrobe malfunctions,” Rose lies.

Even with his eyes covered, he produces a signature half-smile that’s drop-dead-gorgeous. “That’s not what Twitter said.”

Rose glowers at me, one that should belong in the depths of hell.

I recoil and my phone slips out of my hand, clattering to the floor. Rose follows Daisy to the closet, and I bend down to retrieve my cell.

The minute I stand back up, I spin around and lock eyes with Lo. He wears a full-on smile, no longer bitter or sarcastic. This one dimples his cheeks. I scan him from head-to-toe. His black tailored suit, black button-down, and red pocket square fits his personality. His longer hair on top is pushed back, the sides short in this stylish, cool way. Loren Hale is edgy. Always has been. And even if he has to please a board of fourteen people, he hasn’t changed.

My whole body heats in a good-bad way. Especially as he slowly nears me, never breaking from my gaze. And then his hands fall to my waist. And then lower. To my ass. My heart thuds. Especially as his hands vanish beneath my dress.

Oh wait…he saw me bend down and…

He snaps the hem of my panties, and I almost crumble in his arms.

“Where’d you get these?” he asks, turning me around, so my ass faces him. And then he lifts up my dress. I’m caught already.

“They were supposed to be a surprise,” I tell him as he checks out my butt, and he even squeezes. I can’t—holy shit. “Lo…” My breath shallows.

He kisses my neck and then rotates me once more, my ass no longer his visual. My arousal has peaked a little bit. And he says, “Later tonight, I’m f*cking you hard.”

I nod with growing eyes. Yes. Yes, please.

He spanks me lightly. Oh my God. I fling my arms around his waist, holding on tight. This is nice.

“Do you need me to zip you?” he asks.

“Wha…?” I frown.

“Your dress, Lil.”

“Oh yeah. Sure.”

Without moving me, he raises the zipper up to my shoulder blades. My sisters’ chatter in the closet is muffled by the wall, and for the most part, a heavy silence falls in Rose’s room.

I look up at him and realize he’s no longer smiling from ear-to-ear. He seems far off in thought.

Under his breath, he says, “I came in here to talk to you about tonight.”

“Oh…” It’s one of the last Hale Co. events before the board picks a new CEO. During it, Moffy and Jane will be with the best babysitter in the world. Poppy even told me that was her official title, so I haven’t worried too much about him.

Now the meaning behind this event hits me like a tidal wave. Lo and I haven’t talked about the CEO position much. There’s been this quiet understanding between Ryke, Daisy, Lo and me that we’re all trying to win the spot for each other.

Lo holds my face, his fingers now combing through my hair. “Lil…” His eyes bore into mine, so powerful that it steals my breath. “I need you to believe in me.”

The bottom of my stomach drops. “I do…I always do.”

He licks his lips. “Then please, trust me to take this job. No one thinks I can handle it, but I at least need you to.”

I frown deeply. For me, it’s always been more than his addiction. “I don’t want you to work for Hale Co. if you don’t want to.”

“I’m telling you, I want to.”

I don’t know if I believe him. And that’s what he’s asking of me. That’s the scary part.

His chest falls heavily as he reads my reaction. “Please, Lil.”

He’s asking me to self-sabotage. I see it in his eyes. I open my mouth but nothing comes out at first. I want to believe him. More than anything.

He draws me closer to his body. “I would be more hurt watching you in Hale Co. than I ever would by being there. I don’t want to suffer through that. Please.” The conviction and sincerity in his voice pushes me to one side and solidifies my choice.