She rested her hand on his chest. “I beg to differ. I’m wrecked. And thank you.”
“For what?” Gray asked, rolling them to the side so they faced each other.
“For this. Three orgasms? Or was it four? I think I lost count. And in all new positions? And during sex? Do you do this with all your women?”
“Uh . . . I don’t know how to answer that.”
“Don’t. I’m sorry. I just mean this was amazing for me. As you can imagine.”
“Well, I’m happy it was good for you. The male ego and all that. And I have to tell you, it’s possible you’ve taken screaming to a whole new level.”
She gave him a satisfied grin. “I’m not even going to be embarrassed about that.”
“You shouldn’t be. In fact, the louder you scream when you come, the harder it makes me.”
“Then I guess you were rock hard tonight.”
“Damn straight.”
He swept his hand over her hair, then kissed her, this time an easy, gentle kiss that made her feel all soft and squishy inside.
“I’m glad you’re here,” he said.
And that made her stomach tumble even more. Which made her guard go up, because the last thing she needed in her life right now was a man. Especially a man like Gray Preston. He made her feel way too good. It would be so easy to wrap herself around him and spend the night.
But there’d still be tomorrow to deal with, and she needed to remain emotionally detached. She wasn’t going to do that sleeping with him.
“I’m glad, too. But I should probably get out of here.”
He frowned. “You’re not going to stay tonight?”
She slid out of bed. “Not a good idea. The media will be here tomorrow, and all I have with me is my dress. I don’t need that walk of shame in front of the media. Too obvious. If they spot me, that would bring a lot of questions.”
He got up, too, following her into the kitchen where she grabbed her underwear.
Though he stayed naked, which was quite a distraction since she’d like nothing better than to spend all night touching him. And sleeping next to him. Or not sleeping. Yes, definitely not sleeping.
“I can get you out of here early enough. Before the media arrives.”
She hooked up her bra and slid into her panties. “I don’t think it’s a good idea to take a chance like that. Especially with me being tied to your father’s campaign.”
“Right.” Gray raked his fingers through his hair. “Because it’s all about what’s best for my dad’s reputation.”
She pulled her dress over her head. “Gray. Please. That’s not what I meant. I had such an incredible night with you. Let’s not end it on a sour note.”
He gave her a short nod. “You’re right. I need some sleep tonight anyway.
Tomorrow’s qualifying and media interviews. It’s a long day.”
Somehow she didn’t believe that he agreed with her, but she had to do what was best for her career, even if it wasn’t what she wanted tonight, either.
He went into the bedroom and pulled on a pair of shorts and slid into a pair of canvas tennis shoes. He grabbed his keys and drove her to her hotel.
He parked in front and got out.
She gave him a quizzical look. “I can make it upstairs just fine.”
“I’ll walk you up to your room.”
“It’s not that far.”
He gave her a look. “I’ll walk you up. No way in hell am I letting you go up in the elevator or down the hall to your room at this late an hour.”
She nodded. “Okay. Thank you.”
They took the elevator ride and the walk down the hall to her room, neither of them saying anything.
When she got to her room, he took her key card and opened the door for her. She suddenly wanted to fling herself into his arms and beg him to come in and spend the night with her.
But that wouldn’t be a wise career move, and she’d spent her entire adult life making the right career choices. This wouldn’t be the time to screw that up.
He flipped on the lights and gave her room the once-over, which she found very sweet.
“Okay, I guess I’ll head out.”
She nodded and he pulled her into his arms and kissed her so thoroughly it took everything in her not to drag him into her bed. She took a deep breath. “Good night, Gray.”
“Night, Evelyn.”
She waited until he disappeared around the corner of the hallway before she closed the door.
Despite having one of the absolute best nights of her life, she felt like shit as she undressed and climbed into bed.
And she knew why.
Because she was sleeping alone tonight. And that was her choice.
The wrong choice.
TWELVE
SO MUCH FOR EVELYN’S RESOLVE. SHE’D SPENT ALL this time warring against her attraction to Gray, only to succumb and have sex with him. She knew it had been a bad idea, that it would muddy the waters of their professional relationship.