Page 4 of Savage Temptation
Ashley gasps. “Please, oh, please tell me I can be one of those tester people!”
My eyes find Tessa again, and because I can’t help myself, I imagine her lying on my bed as she tests out the various scenarios programmed into the Playground, sensual moans escaping her lips as she writhes on the blankets.
Fuck—what the hell has gotten into me?
I down my glass of champagne, then grab another from a passing tray and ask the server to get me a whiskey from the bar.
Tessa folds her arms over her chest. “Way to avoid Ashley’s question.”
“I’m sorry, ladies. My brain is starting to go numb from all the times I’ve been asked that, and I just thought I’d help it along.” I hold up my glass.
Tessa’s eyes dart to Ashley. “Burn.”
“Not that I need those toys when I have a legion of men more than happy to make my dreams come true,” Ashley snarks.
It’s true. Ashley Benson is known for her appetites and indulgences.
And because I don’t like punishing myself, I keep my nose far away from Tessa’s dating life and preferences.
“Oh!” Ashley squeals. “It’s Kyle Whent. I’ll be just a sec.”
Ashley skips away, leaving me with Tessa and all the feelings that have been welling deep in my gut.
Feelings I thought would have ended by now.
I often wonder how she would react if I ever confessed my bottled secrets. She’s not easily impressed by money, and I think the whole concept of dating someone like me would be exhausting to her. She’d be a fish out of water,myfish out of water, and I’d enjoy every moment she allowed me to bask in her light.
“You’ve really outdone yourself this time,” Tessa says with a soft smile.
“It’s not like I built something from scratch. Like the internet. I jumped off of an existing platform.”
“I know, but it’s still a big leap up from fleshlights.”
“And what would you know about fleshlights?”
Her cheeks redden, and a dozen fantasies play out in my mind, but just as I’m about to reach out and tuck a stray strand of hair behind her ear so I can get closer, Lance’s voice breaks through to me.
“Atti,” he calls.
I turn to see him with a woman on each arm.
“You talkin’ up my sis?”
“Gosh, is this your sister?” I look over at Tessa with my brow lifted, mouth agape. “I thought she was the wait staff. I needed my drink refilled.”
Tessa rightfully slugs me in the shoulder for my smart remark.
“Ouch!”
Lance pulls me away from Tessa. “I came over to introduce you to Samantha.” He gestures to a curvy redhead hanging off of him. “She is studying for a degree in…what was that?”
“I have a certification in cosmetology.”
The girl on his opposite arm cranes her neck to look at the redhead. “You’re like…an astronaut?”
It suddenly becomes obvious just how badly the public school system has failed our society. I’d laugh, but there’s a nagging part of my brain that thinks I had to have misheard her. There’s just no way she could bethatstupid.
“Come on, Atti,” Lance nods his head to a small cluster of people. “That guy from Titan wants to chat you up. I brought you a little arm candy to make it more interesting.”
