Page 12 of The Don's Virgin Obsession

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“Guest bathroom down there,” I said. “Meet me in my room.”

I paused just long enough for it to land.

“Naked.”

I walked off.

In my bathroom, I let the water run until it was hot.

I emptied my pockets before I undressed. The rose had come back upstairs in my pocket, crushed. I set it on the counter and stared at it for a second.

I laughed once under my breath.

All these women around me.

All this access.

And the only one I could think about was the one who had left my card sitting on a table, like I was the one applying.

I brushed her off and stripped.

I hopped in the shower, washed, stepped out, dried off, and moved through the rest of it without rushing.

Lotion.

Teeth routine.

I pulled on a pair of gray sweat shorts. No draws. Shirtless. Clean.

Ready.

But not invested.

I walked toward my room, already knowing how the rest of the night was going to play out.

Sade

“I tried something safe… and felt nothing.”

Dinner didn’t fall apart after Vaughn walked away. It just never got back to where it started.

Marcus kept trying to carry the conversation, asking the right questions, keeping his tone even, but something had already shifted. Not because of him. Because of the interruption and how it sat with me after.

I picked the card up once more while he was talking, holding it between two fingers. I didn’t turn it over at first. Just looked at the front, reading his name silently, letting it sit for a second before I flipped it.

Vaughn St. Clair. Urban Real Estate Developer.

I set it back down beside the rose and picked up my glass.

Marcus followed my movement. “You sure you don’t know him?”

“I don’t,” I said, and left it there.

He nodded, but I could tell he didn’t fully believe it.

The rest of dinner moved forward.

When the bill came, Marcus reached for it anyway.

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