Page 20 of Wicked Love

He jumps out of bed, throwing the condom away, and hurriedly puts his pants on before rushing out of the room. I lay there, panting, still blissed out and in disbelief that it even happened.

After a few minutes, I wonder if I should make sure everything’s okay.

Do I stay here letting my breasts air out in the breeze or put my tank top and panties back on?

What to do, what to do…

I hear his low voice in the next room and think I hear Becca’s tearful voice and then it’s quiet. I slide my tank over my head. When an hour passes and Bowie doesn’t come back, I give in to sleep.

The click of the hotel door in the other room wakes me up hours later, and I sit up. I slept later than I’d intended and I hurriedly get ready, noticing that Bowie’s things aregone. He managed to get ready in here without me hearing a thing.

I look around before I wheel my small bag out, half expecting a note or something and then I chide myself. Bowie doesn’t seem like the note-leaving type. I’m unable to stop thinking about what happened in the night. The hungry way he kissed me, the way he felt inside me, the way his hands felt as he touched me…his mouth. The way his voice sounded when he said my name.

If I didn’t still feel the slight rawness on my chin…and the other parts of my body that he kissed…from Bowie’s stubble…the ache between my legs…I might not believe anything happened.

I shake myself and leave the room, heading downstairs to the restaurant in the lodge. There’s a separate smaller room that I’m led to and it’s full of the wedding party…and a few other guests I noticed last night, like Zac and Autumn Ledger and Summer and Liam Taylor—Marley willdiewhen I tell her.

My face heats when I see Bowie at the end of the table.

He glances up and I smile. His expression is unreadable before he looks away and my heart wilts.

“Good morning, Poppy,” Sadie calls. “I’m so happy you could make it.”

“Sorry, I’m late. I overslept.”

“It’s okay. We just got here ourselves,” she says.

I wave at Tru and Elle.

“Everyone, this is Poppy,” Sadie says. “Poppy Keane. Isn’t that a great name?”

A slew of hellos comes at me at once. Weston goes through the specific introductions, and I try not to stumble over my words when I meet the celebrities.

“Poppy!” Becca says. “Sit here!”

She pats the place next to her. It’s across from Bowie and it looks like it’s the only open seat available in the room. I make my way over there and sit down, hugging Becca when she reaches out for me.

“I sick last night,” she says. “Daddy says bad food.”

“I said your food probably made you feel bad when you did all that dancing, and it upset your stomach,” Bowie says quietly.

His eyes meet mine and I wish I could say there’s warmth there, but his face is wiped clean of expression. I also wish I could say it didn’t hurt, but it does.

It hurts likehell.

How embarrassing that I tore my shirt off in front of him, so eager to let him do whatever he wanted. Never mind the fact that he kissed me like a man starving. That he said I was perfect and drove into me like I was all he’d ever wanted. It clearly didn’t mean anything beyond a drunken fuck that he’d like to pretend never happened.

You hardly know the man, Poppy. Consider yourself lucky that you scratched that itch.

Now you can forget it ever happened.

Right.

I can still feel his mouth and hands on me. I can still feel everywhere he’s been.

I focus on Becca. “I’m so sorry you were sick. How’s your stomach feeling now?”

“I fine. I eat pancakes!”

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