I stopped at the next light.

We were out of the tourist section of Arlington, and I didn’t recognize any of the buildings around us. Actually, I was fairly certain we were heading out of Arlington and into Arlandria—a sketchy area between Arlington and Alexandria. A few minutes of tense silence later, I searched the shadows at a red light, watching as a shady man dressed in black watched me. When it changed to green, I stepped on the gas a little heavier than needed. “Why did you do it?”

“Turn right.” He shifted his weight and threw his arm over the back of my seat. “Why did I do what?”

This change in position made his fingers brush my bare shoulder, and it reminded me all too well that the best way to rebel against a loveless marriage was sitting right next to me…if I was bold enough to grab it. I could see the fire burning in his eyes. But he’d broken my heart all those years ago. So I ignored that fire and turned right. “Hit him.”

“He was asking for it. You seemed scared, and men should never treat women like property. It pisses me off, so I punched him.” He played with a strand of my hair, and even though it killed me, I didn’t look away from the road. “I was right. It’s as soft as I remember.”

My stomach erupted with a whole swarm of butterflies taking flight. “My hair?”

“Yes. I was watching you, before I knew who you were, and I was thinking that it looked soft.” He tugged a little harder. “Then when I realized who you were, I knew that it was. But even so, I wondered if my memory just made it out to seem that way.”

Tingles went straight from my scalp to the spot in between my thighs that ached for his attention so badly it was almost painful. “Why were you watching me?”

“Make the next right.”

I did, my heart speeding faster than ever before. We entered into an even shadier part of town. I wasn’t sure why he was staying here. Daddy could definitely afford better. But then again, he hadn’t exactly announced his arrival to him. Or me. “You didn’t answer my question.”

“You’re bossy now. I like it,” he said, his tone light as he rolled the strand over his finger. “And, yeah. I liked what I saw…until you turned around, that is.”

My fingers flexed. “I’ve been told once or twice that my front is just as pleasing as my back.”

“It is. I liked everything I saw…until I realized who you were. That kinda killed the mood.” He tugged on my hair one last time before letting go. “Pull into the parking lot. I’m in the building with an A on it.”

He’d chosen to stay at some no-name motel…with an m, not an h. It wasn’t even a chain. After I pulled into the lot and parked, I glanced out the window. The building he spoke of had seen better days. It was run-down, a bunch of the gutters were busted and hanging off the ratty roof, and the concrete was broken in some places. As if that wasn’t enough, bars covered the windows. Actual prison-type bars. It was like something straight out of a horror movie. “So…this is where you’re staying.”

“What’s the matter? Never been to this side of town before?”

I folded my hands in my lap primly. “What makes you think that?”

“You’re a sheltered Hastings girl,” he said, his voice dry. “The kind that doesn’t go to the shady parts of town, or do things that could be risky. Your family’s too good for that. You’re too good for that.”

I wasn’t too good to climb onto your lap and kiss you, was I? “That’s not true. You’re pegging me as the same kid I used to be. I’m not. Believe me, I’m not.”

He chuckled. “So you like doing bad things?”

I wanted to do one really bad thing right now…and it was him. “Yeah, if the situation warrants it.”

“Is that so?” He tapped his fingers on the windowsill of the car. “Tell me, were you going to go home with all those men tonight? At once?”

I barely held my gasp back. Yes, I’d been dancing and flirting and having fun. Maybe, just maybe, if one of them had played his cards right, I might have gone home with him. But all of them? At once? How did one even do such a thing?

There was only so much room on my body.

Certainly not enough for four men.

It suited me to let him think that I would, though, so I shrugged. “We’ll never know now, will we?”

He laughed. A full-out laugh. “Oh, I think I know the answer well enough. Hell, Daddy probably already has a black-tie husband all picked out for you, doesn’t he?”

I rubbed my thighs and didn’t answer. Daddy had a husband all picked out and contracted, sure. But I hadn’t said yes. And I didn’t have a ring on my finger.

And Derek obviously wasn’t pining away for me.

When I remained silent, he stilled. “Wait, is that a yes?”

“So what if it is?”

He leaned forward. “Did he actually—?”

“I don’t want to talk about it,” I said quickly. Stiffly. Plus, if I had it my way, I’d get out of it. It was just a matter of time. “And just because I know what I’m doing with my life doesn’t mean I never go places. Do things. See things.”

“Do you?” He shifted his weight in the seat, and he managed to make that look sexier than a man on a freaking GQ cover with all the right lighting and cameras. “Do things? With other people? With men, in particular?”

I bit my tongue. No. Not really. He was right. I was ridiculously sheltered. I’d barely done or seen anything. But I was trying to fix that…and if he wasn’t careful, I’d fix it with him. “Yes. All the time. I’ve done things. Lots of things, with lots of guys.”

“Oh, yeah?”

I swallowed hard. “Yeah. Totally.”

“Tell me a secret, before you go back to being that good little girl we all know you are, despite the little bit of rebellion I sense trying to peek through the cracks.” He leaned in again, overwhelming me with his closeness. “If I was anyone else, would you have gone home with me? Would you have let me touch you? Kiss you? Make you scream?” He moved even closer, until our noses touched. “Would you have let me fuck you, Lilly?”

I pressed my thighs together, trying to ease the strange ache he’d brought to life with his deep, raspy voice. Trying my best not to show just how badly I wanted him to do exactly that. He’d used me seven years ago, and all I could think about was ripping my clothes off, falling to my knees, and yelling, Take me, I’m ready!

But it was a bad idea. He was a bad idea.

“You’re not someone else. You’re you. And I’m me. There’s no escaping that.” I bit my lip and asked, “Would you have taken me home, if I was anyone else?”

Stiffening, he pulled back, nostrils flared. “No. Forget this ever happened, little girl. And forget where I’m staying, too.”

He opened the door and slammed it behind him. Shoving his hands into his pockets, he walked toward the building without looking back at me. I waited to shift into reverse until he walked into the lobby safely. My fingers twitched on the wheel, and every inch of me trembled with the urge to prove him wrong again.

To show him I wasn’t as good as he thought I was.

That I could be bad, too, like him.

Chapter 3

Jackson

Late the next morning, I woke up with a hell of a headache and a blurry memory of everything from the night before. One thing I knew for sure was that I’d seen Lilly, and I said some things I knew I would soon regret…if I remembered them, that was. Though I was ninety-nine percent certain I told her if she was someone else, I would have fucked her. What was I thinking?