Page 19 of Enjoying the Ride

I nod along with the other women.

“Sarah, you’ll come with me,” Narax continues.

The curvy brunette nods enthusiastically.

“Kelly, you’ll go with Kixson.”

I glance at my friend, whose eyes are wide and bright as she turns her attention to the handsome man.

Huh, I wonder if they’re going to have sex again.

“And Posey, you’ll go with Trek.”

I quickly turn my focus back to Narax.“I’m sorry—me?”

Narax nods.Trek’s eyes are on me, but I don’t dare meet them.

“Yes, you’ll work with Trek.The rest of you, just hang out here in the meantime.We’ll come and get you when we’re ready.”

The room erupts into a burst of lighthearted chatter.Kelly doesn’t waste a second before she is at Kixson’s side.They exchange an easy smile and walk out of the room together, not holding hands exactly but their bodies less than an inch apart.

Narax follows them, escorting Sarah out of the room.The girl’s practically panting with excitement, and I can guess why.

I remain rooted to my chair, paralyzed as a mixture of emotions swirl through my chest.Should I …?Are we going to…?A large figure suddenly looms before me.

“Ready?”Trek asks, his voice a mix of honey and thunder.He extends one big hand in my direction.

I slip my own hand into his and let him help me to my feet.But once I’m up, I pull away.I want to touch him, but I’m scared of what holding onto him might do to me.

It’s not for lack of desire.In fact, holding Trek’s hand sent a bolt of lightning through my body.A sensation so powerful that I can barely breathe.

And that’s exactly what I’m afraid of.

Trek says nothing about my strange behavior.In fact, the only indication that he’s even noticed my odd reaction is a small twitch in his jaw.Then he smiles, and it’s devastating.My heart flip-flops as my knees go weak.

“Let’s go,” he growls.

Then, he starts walking without a second glance my way.My feet follow him, as if I have no choice.Goodness, this man has me on a leash already.Once we’re in the corridor, the huge alpha male turns to me.

“We are going to Suite 1512,” he says in a conversational tone.“We have these suites for the entire week, actually, so we can take as long or as short as we like,” Trek explains, filling the silence.

“That’s thoughtful,” I murmur.

When we reach a door in the hallway, Trek keys open the door and pushes it open so that I can enter.The space is beautiful—and bigger than my studio apartment.There’s a large sitting area with two deep blue couches, a cozy kitchenette, and a door leading to another room which must be the bedroom.The wallpaper is sky-blue and gold, the design made up of a mix of soft flowers and exotic birds.

I immediately cross over to the massive windows at the far side of the room, drawn by yet another stunning view of New York City.

I let out a low sigh.

“Is everything okay, Red?”Trek asks, coming up behind me.He’s wise enough not to touch me, but I can feel how close he is, his presence comforting and disorienting all at the same time.I wheel around to face him and am immediately caught off guard by the intensity of his blue gaze.

Part of me wants to reach up and pull his face toward mine, and kiss him, long and deep.Another part of me wants to slam my fists on his chest and curse him for making me feel so many different emotions.

Instead, I just nod slowly and debate if I should even bother trying to explain to this sexy, mysterious man the confusion of my overly active mind.

It’s probably better to be truthful, I remind myself.The worst that can happen is you stop participating in the pageant.

The idea of quitting—even though I’m not of the belief that I’m going to win—is going too far though.It would mean that my time with Trek would be over, and I’m just not ready for that yet.

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