Ira regarded her for a long, uncomfortable moment. Luckily, Aster knew better than to fill the silence with needless chatter, though she was never quite sure exactly what Ira expected. Whatever it was, she hoped it wasn’t tied to the money he’d been giving her.
“Get some rest,” he finally said. “Have James walk you to your car.”
She nodded, pausing just shy of the door. “Ira—”
He glanced up from his phone.
“Thanks for the . . . recognition.” She waved the envelope before him. “I really do appreciate your recognizing my hard work.” She cringed at the redundancy, but she needed to make it clear that in her mind the money was a bonus for her efforts and nothing more was required of her.
He waved a hand in dismissal, and she made her way through the club, only to find Ryan waiting by the back door.
“I told you not to wait.” She frowned in annoyance. Yes, he was gorgeous and famous and his attention was flattering. And yeah, there was a good chance she was starting to like him, but that was never part of the plan. He was supposed to help her make the right connections, maybe even win the competition, but lately, she’d drifted wildly off course.
Aster wasn’t the kind of girl who went after another girl’s guy, and the idea of stealing Madison Brooks’s guy was completely unthinkable. Some girls might consider it a victory to score a famous guy away from an even more famous girl, but Aster didn’t see it that way. It made her feel guilty. And the way Madison had looked at her made her feel skanky.
“I wanted to see you to your car.” Ryan swiped a hand through his hair and flashed that irresistible grin.
“I have James for that.” She sounded prim and spoiled in a way that reminded her of Madison. “Besides, you were with me all night.” She stepped through the back door and pressed into the chilly night air, hugging her arms at her waist to keep from shivering.
“I wanted more.”
She leaned against her car door, letting it support her. “And Madison?” She looked right at him.
“I heard she left. I have no idea why.”
“You sure about that?” She wanted him to admit he’d gone too far, crossed a line. At the same time she hoped he’d convince her that all was well, that whatever she was worried about existed only in her own paranoid head.
He scratched at his jaw, watching a stream of cars driving up and down the boulevard. “I’m pretty sure Madison doesn’t give a shit what I do.”
Aster studied him closely. That was the last thing she’d expected. “So why are you still together?”
Ryan, frowned, glanced around the small, mostly vacant parking lot, then back at her. “It’s . . . complicated.”
“I don’t do complicated.” Her voice was drowsy, not just because of the late hour but also the confusing world she now occupied.
“I said Mad and I are complicated.” He moved closer, so close she could feel his breath on her cheek. “There’s nothing complicated about you and me.” The smile that followed was impossible to resist. And when he leaned in to kiss her, she did nothin
g to stop him.
He’d kissed her before, but never like this. She could feel the depth of his reverence in the way he held her, the way his tongue slid against hers, the way his hands tenderly cupped her cheeks.
“Aster . . .” He pressed his forehead to hers. “I’ll handle Madison. But you have to know you’re driving me crazy. I can’t stop thinking about you.”
It was all the right words said in all the right ways, and when he reclaimed the kiss, his hands gripped her hips and crushed them hard against his. A low, rumbly sound came from deep in his throat as his fingers crawled along the inward curve of her waist, inching toward her breasts, which seemed to swell in his hands. His thumbs tracing delirious circles, his breath warm in her ear, he whispered, “Aster, come home with me, please.”
“No.” It took all her will, but she somehow managed to push him away. Flustered and breathless, she tapped the door handle, eager to escape, only it didn’t unlock. Damn! She shoved a hand in her bag and fumbled for her key fob, all too aware of the way her breasts ached for his touch, the way her hips longed to melt against his. She hadn’t meant to let things progress so quickly. But Ryan was so sexy, and sometimes being a virgin was a burden. Still, there was no way she was sleeping with him. Or at least not tonight.
“No?” He moved until she could feel him pressing hard at her back.
She took a steadying breath, located the key fob, and opened the door. “No.” She pulled away, angled her body onto the seat, where she could finally catch her breath. “I know it’s not a word you’re used to hearing, especially when it comes to asking girls to have sex with you.” Her eyes met his, might as well put it out there. “But I’m not going home with you. It’s been a long night, and I just want to go to bed. My bed. Alone.”
He knelt beside her, that face, those lips just inches from hers. “You’re killing me, Aster!” He reached for her cheek, ran the tip of his finger around the curve of her ear.
“So you tell me.” She pushed him away, overcome with relief when he smiled good-naturedly and leaped out of her way.
She closed the door between them and pulled onto the street, glancing into her rearview mirror to see he was still standing right where she’d left him, watching her go.
How much longer would he be willing to wait?