While we were waiting for the breakfast to arrive – the ordering of which I left entirely in Connor’s hands – I dialed Anh’s cell from the phone in the penthouse bedroom.She answered on the second ring, hesitancy in her voice. “…hello?”“Hey, it’s me.”“Are you okay?!”“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine.”“Good, because AAAAHHH!” she screamed, “I am going to KILL you!”“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry – ”“I thought you were DEAD, or in the HOSPITAL or something! I called you four times and texted you, too – GOD, Lily!”Anh is usually the most mild-mannered girl in the world. She must have really been worried to react this way. I immediately felt sick with guilt.“I know, I know, I’m sorry – ”“Why didn’t you answer your phone?!”“I left it at work.”“Why’d you leave it at work?!”“Um… it’s complicated…”“This had better be good.”I thought about saying, Well, is sleeping with a billionaire good enough? but I thought that sounded golddigging and skanky… so I toned it down a bit.“Well… I met this guy…”T

Okay, sorry, but short intrusion here. I’ve never been comfortable using certain words for body parts. I guess, like not using profanity, it was just drilled into me when I was little that ‘good girls’ don’t say certain words. I’d certainly been able to avoid it with past boyfriends, because, well, sex was nice and all, but I didn’t need to do much more besides point or touch and say ‘here’ or ‘that’ or ‘this.’But, I’ve got to be honest… as I was staring at him, about to pull off that towel……I didn’t want to be a good girl anymore.I wanted him so bad.And I wanted to be bad.I’m blushing as I’m telling you this… but it turns me on, too.Soooo… I know I’ve recounted a lot of stuff that is certainly far off the ‘straight and narrow path,’ but I’ve largely tried to be a ‘good girl’ up to this point.But I can’t keep on that way……because, at that moment, kneeling before him, wanting him so badly, something inside me changed. And I can’t pretend anymore that it didn’t.I kissed the th

After the tickling (which finally ended in a long, slow, lingering kiss), we lay in each other’s arms for awhile.Then he leaned up on one elbow and looked at me.“I need a shower. You want to join me?”I nodded. He rolled off the bed and got to his feet, then pulled me along with him and led the way to the bathroom.“Hmmm… I changed my mind. How about a bath instead?” he asked.“Fine by me.”He turned on the extra-large faucet for the jacuzzi bathtub, which was set into the floor. The faucet spewed water so fast that a fireman could hook up his hose to it.That’s a bit of an exaggeration, but not much.“Hold on, I’ll be back in a minute,” he said as he grabbed a robe and padded out into the main room of the penthouse.I walked down the steps into the jacuzzi and sat on one of the little ledges as the deliciously hot water began to fill up the tub. It was up to my waist when Connor finally returned, carrying a bowl of fruit and two glasses of orange juice from the breakfast table outs

“I am not happy about this,” Johnny glowered as he held the rear door to the Bentley open.“So you’ve said a dozen times already,” Connor said as he helped me inside. “But I’m not going to turn into a hermit just because some thug from Central Casting lobbed a nondescript threat my way.”“I still think – ”“Yes, yes,” Connor said as he got in and closed the door in Johnny’s face.“That was rude,” I frowned. “He’s just looking out for you.”Connor groaned. “Not you, too.”“You said earlier that you should remember why you hired him.”“So what, you want to stay in the hotel room all night?”“I can think of worse things.”Connor grinned and put a hand on my leg. I pointedly took it off and put it back on his knee. “But we’re not going to do any of them if you’re not nicer to the people trying to keep you safe.”“Who died and made you Miss Manners?”“I just remember a charming, wonderful man who made my boss apologize to me Friday night. I’d hate to think he’s not around anymore.”“Yeah,

I was buzzed from two glasses of wine as the limo headed into the Hollywood Hills. The lights of Los Angeles spread out below us as we twisted and curved up into the darkness, and I could see the Dubai standing taller than all the other buildings around it, outlined against the night sky.The houses started off very expensive at the base of the hills, then moved into ‘extremely expensive’ range, and from there blasted off into the stratosphere. It was easy to tell when we were getting closer to the party: a long string of BMW’s, Mercedes, Aston Martins, Ferraris, and Porsches lined the narrow street as white-jacketed valets parked new cars at the base of the hill and then hustled back up to the main house.It was an enormous mansion, very Mediterranean, like it had been airlifted in by a multi-millionaire from the coast of Greece. Johnny drove us up to the front, a valet opened the door and helped me out, and then Johnny grudgingly surrendered the car and followed us inside.I stayed