Page 61 of One Last Shot

Petra:It is a REALLY long story and I can’t explain right now because I am about to host dinner for two people I hardly know. Can we catch up about this in a few days? I’m back in Park City this weekend. Let’s chat then.

Sierra:You’re seriously going to make me wait almost a whole week for answers?

Petra:Sorry babe, but yes. I am still in NY and can’t really talk about this while I’m here.

Sierra:Wait! Still WHERE in NY? Like, you’re not dating this guy, are you?

Petra:No, definitely not dating him. I’ll catch you up on all of this soon. Promise!

There is no way I can update Sierra on this without telling Jackson and Lauren, too, and I can only imagine that Jackson is going to be hurt I didn’t tell her when I talked to her last week. And now she’ll know that it wasn’t work that kept me from seeing her when she was in Park City, it was staying here with and for Aleksandr. Oh shit, how much can I even tell them?

There’s a knock on my bathroom door and it’s cracked open. I throw my phone down on the counter as if I have something to feel guilty about.

“Okay if I come in?” Sasha’s voice floods the room, and I swear I can feel it glide over my skin like a caress. I feel that familiar pull between my legs and have to remind myself that I spent most of the day thinking that sleeping with him was a mistake.It’s only going to make an already complicated situation that much more difficult.

“Sure,” I say.

He pushes the door open and reaches over to set a copper cup on the counter. “I made you a Moscow Mule. I hope you like those?”

“I like any drink that’s not too sweet,” I tell him.

His gaze flows over me, taking in my hair piled in a messy bun on top of my head, my makeup-free face, my bare shoulders, and the towel that’s wrapped around me and tucked in between my breasts. His eyes are hungry, and I glance down to where his pants now look like they’re too tight in the crotch. I look back up at him, smirking intentionally.

“I really want to take that towel off you and see how much fun we could have before Stella gets out of the shower,” he tells me.

“Too risky,” I say.

“It took her forever to pick out pajamas for tonight. She just got in the shower. We’ve got at least ten minutes.”

I feel my nipples hardening against my towel.

“We don’t have time,” I say. “Tom and Avery will be here soon.”

His look is both tender and possessive, like he wants to own me, but gently. “I bet we can manage it.”

I know we shouldn’t. It’ll make things feel rushed before our company comes and it’ll make things between us even more complicated than they already are. But my vagina isn’t having any of my logic, it’s literally seeping with desire and sending waves of longing through me.

“How quick can you be?” I ask.

He steps in and closes the door behind him, pushing the button to lock it. “I guess we’ll find out.”

When his lips land on my neck and my towel drops to the floor, the only thought running through my head is:this is how all bad days should end.

CHAPTER17

ALEKSANDR

“You fucking slept with her.” It’s not a question.

I glance up at Tom as he takes a sip of his whiskey, then toward the door to the den. It’s closed, as is Stella’s window, giving us some privacy on this terrace.

“What are you talking about?” I respond, my voice low.

“I can see it in the way you look at her with those stupid, gooey eyes. I recognize that look because I think I wore the same one every time I was around Avery after we first got together.” He tugs at his loosened tie, and I remember how he did the same thing sitting in a bar in Midtown when he first told me about him and Avery.

I just shrug, neither confirming nor denying his assessment.

“I should have realized this would happen,” he says. “It’s the inevitable wrinkle in the plan. How did I not see it coming?”

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