“That sucks about your car,” Darius said, looking at them out of the rearview mirror.
“It’s just the alternator. I noticed that there is a tractor in the back forty. Can we use it to tow her car to the garage, so we can fix it?” The seat was cramped and his thigh rested against hers. She had put her jeans back on, the tight material molding to her legs. He stared at them, last night he’d explored them with his mouth and his hands, until he’d reached the juncture of her thighs. Shit, he couldn’t allow his mind to go there.
“Yes, as a matter of fact, I think it’ll make a good date,” Darius said.
Erik tore his gaze from the alluring sight.
“Excuse me?” Belle asked.
“Sure, your car broke down and Erik fixes it for you.”
“You’re assuming I’ll be on the show another week.”
“Let’s be realistic, Belle. With eight-eight percent likeability, you’re going to be around until the end.” Darius’s matter-of-fact answer was what Erik had been afraid of.
Belle fiddled with the string on the hoodie. From the way she pressed her lips together, she wasn’t happy about the news. This was his fault. He could have said no to her being on the show but it was more than apparent, she needed the prize money and the car. They had no choice but to ride the wave until the end.
He’d been where she was, strapped for money and unable to make ends meet. It was a horrible feeling. She didn’t like to ask for help, another thing he could relate to. Except he had a mad urge to give her everything he could. It was unreal and he wasn’t sure what to make of it.
“In the meantime, you can have one of our fleet cars.” Darius opened the garage door and drove the SUV inside. “The prize cars won’t be available until after the last show.”
“Are you sure it won’t be an imposition?” Belle asked, her face tense.
“No, not at all. We’ll film the car scene on Tuesday.”
“What about last night? The power went out and we never ended the date.” It had moved to his house and they’d picked up where it left off.
Darius stepped out of the SUV, his profile to Erik. “We have enough footage. The kiss was a perfect ending to the date.”
The date itself ended great. What followed was fucking fantastic. Where it ended was a puzzle, one he wasn’t sure was wise to solve.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
“Okay, out with it.” Kendra crossed her legs on the couch, a mug of coffee in her hand. Brows raised in expectation, she stared at Belle.
Curled up on the loveseat, Belle sipped at her own coffee. After Darius had given her a car to drive home, she’d showered and came into the living room to find Kendra making coffee. If she didn’t know better, she’d think the other woman was lying in wait for her.
Belle sipped at the hot brew and tried to gather her thoughts. Every muscle in her body was sore, her breasts tender from a pretty intense night spent in front of the fire. She and Erik started out on the couch, progressed to the floor, and once it was over, she had ended up in the guest room. Alone. “I assume you’re talking about my phone? One of the production assistants had it.”
“Um, huh.” Knowing eyes met Belle’s “And Erik texted Cash, who texted me.”
“I got my phone back. My car will be fixed—it was the alternator. I can’t wait to get the new one.” She was being deliberately vague. Processing didn’t begin to describe what was pinging through her tired mind. The sex part had been off the charts. The rest was still puzzling and she had no way of describing it, other than strained.
“Nice try. But you didn’t come home last night. You’re wearing Erik’s sweatshirt and your lips are swollen.” She nodded at her own observations; her eagle eye locked on Belle.
“Like I said, my car broke down.” Belle fought the blush rising to her cheeks, a dead giveaway. Had Darius and Tim noticed her swollen lips? She clutched the handle of the mug tighter at the thought. Of course, she was wearing a hoodie, but millions of people had Pioneer hoodies. “There wasn’t much to tell. We stopped shooting because the power went out. I got in my shitty car and it died. I didn’t have my phone and I asked Erik to contact Cash so you wouldn’t worry.” She couldn’t tell Kendra about what transpired at the show, or the kiss that had started the entire have sex with her client fiasco.
Determined eyes locked on Belle’s, Kendra’s head tilted while she waited for the explanation. “You stayed the night with him.”
She debated how much to volunteer but she knew from experience that her friend would simply harp on her until she spilled the beans. Huffing out a long breath, she closed her eyes and tried to regain her equilibrium. The woman in her needed to confide in her friend but she was ashamed of how weak-willed she’d been. It seemed like such a good idea in the dark of night. In the light of day, not so much. She opened her eyes once more and blurted out, “I had sex with Erik.”
Kendra’s eyes widened at her admission. “Sex? As in insert A into B? Or in your case, E into B?” Grinning, she made an obscene gesture with her hands.
“That’s typically how sex works.” God, could her face flame any hotter? Why she was embarrassed was a huge tell. She and Kendra had talked about this subject ad nauseam in the past. Belle hadn’t lost her virginity until she was twenty, old compared to the rest of her friends but she’d been cautious when it came to men. Her mother had gotten pregnant young and Belle didn’t want to make that same mistake.
“Please tell me it was good?” Kendra stretched her leg out, the pink flannel of her pajamas riding up to expose her shin. “I could use some good news.”
The heat that had flooded her body whenever she thought of sex with Erik returned. Her nipples—still ultra-sensitive—constricted beneath her sports bra. Inhaling through her nose, she rubbed her thumb over the rim of the mug. “It was excellent.”
