I never wanted him to stop kissing me.
When a soft moan escaped my mouth, he pecked my lips one last time before gradually pulling away from me. Leaving me breathless and wanting more.
Wanting him.
Incoherent thoughts ran rapidly in my mind while my eyes fluttered open. Leaning his forehead against mine, he gazed profoundly into my eyes.
“This was your first kiss, wasn’t it?”
I swallowed hard.
Eyes wide.
Heart open.
Love pouring out of me.
“Yes.”
“Fuck me.” I could hear the regret in his tone.
“Please … please don’t ruin this for me. Not now. Not after that.”
“Let’s go,” he growled, stepping away from me. “I need to get you home. Now!”
He was mad.
Pissed.
Fuming.
Except for this time, I didn’t care…
He loved me.
And with that first kiss, he declared war.
Chapter ELEVEN
—Autumn—
Day Two of Press Tour
I woke up to my cell phone ringing bright and early after tossing and turning most of the night. I ended up leaving Julian at the bar with his confessions unsure of how to proceed with it. My mind was spinning, and it didn’t stop for the rest of the evening.
For the first time in I don’t know how long, I dreamt about the first time he kissed me. The dream played endlessly throughout the night, annoying the hell out of me.
I didn’t open my eyes to see who was calling, groaning, “Hello,” into the phone.
“Autumn! How could you not tell me you leaked your own story?” Laurel questioned, and I yawned.
“What are you talking about? What story?”
“You didn’t tell me you had plans to do this. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I think it’s brilliant, but why didn’t you tell me?”
“Laurel, you’re speaking in circles. I don’t understand what you’re talking about. What story?”
“Your history with Julian. The world loves a second chance romance—they’re going to eat this shit right up.”
I shot up, sitting in bed. “Second chance romance, what the hell are you talking about?”
She knew Julian’s and my history. Of course, I told her. It was why she knew I could handle him, topping it off with the promotion to make partner once I had.
“Autumn, it’s all over the internet. Charles’ interview set the stage on fire.”
“Charles’ interview?” My heart dropped. “Oh my god.” Quickly, I grabbed my laptop off the nightstand, hitting the Safari button.
In less than a second, my whole world and life as I knew it was the headline of every news media outlet. Reading…
High Society Publicist, Autumn Troy, has not only taken Alpha CEO, Julian Locke, on as a client, but she has also claimed his cold, brutal heart. The two go way back—he was her first love. She was his. Can we say second chance romance?
All the blood drained from my face.
“That motherfucker! No, he did not tell Charles we have history! I’m going to fucking murder him! Do you hear me, Laurel? I’m going to jail because I’m going to fucking kill him!”
“Autumn, calm down. Is this not true? Have you guys not rekindled?”
“No! We haven’t rekindled shit. The only thing I feel like rekindling is my knee in his balls.”
“Oh, honey, this can work to our advantage, though. You need to calm down.”
“Laurel, I can’t—”
Beep.
I looked at my screen, Mom calling.
Deny.
Dad calling.
Deny.
Christian calling.
“Fuck!”
Definitely deny.
“I gotta go.” I hung up, searching Yahoo News and getting smacked in the face with a picture of Julian and me kissing on his bed. It was one of the last pictures he took of us.
“Oh. My. God. He even leaked a personal fucking photo!” Grabbing my phone again, I called Charles.
“Hey, Cherry. You’re welcome.”
“How could you do this to me? How could you publish an article without my approval? We had an agreement!”
“What are you talking about? I just made your client the most adored man in the world. Did you read the article? Did you see how he spoke about you and your relationship?”
“No! I didn’t read the article! I didn’t get past the fucking title, Charles! You blindsided me! And we’re not in a relationship—other than I’m his publicist, and he’s my client!”
“Umm… That’s not what he said.”
“He was lying! How you, of all people, couldn’t tell he was full of shit is beyond me.”
“So you guys don’t have a history? He wasn’t your first love?”
“It’s not as black and white as you’re laying it out to be.”
“Did you or did you not have a relationship?”
I wasn’t expecting his interrogation, feeling like I was suddenly on the stand at my own trial.
“If you could call it that.”
“So he wasn’t your first kiss? Your first sexual experience?”
My eyes bulged out of my head. “He told you that?!”
“I think you need to read the article.”
“I think you need to pray that I don’t find you and kick your ass!”
“Cherry—”
“Don’t you Cherry me! I’m so pissed at you I can barely see straight!”
“I didn’t mean to upset you, but he said you guys were back together.”
I rubbed my face. “I can’t believe you printed a bullshit article. If you would have sent it to me, I would have—”
“He said he wanted to surprise you.”
“Oh.” I paused, nodding. “He surprised me alright.”
“The good news is you’re trending across all social media platforms.”
“I’m done talking to you now.”
“Aut—”
I hung up on him, throwing the sheets off my body. I jumped in the shower and then got dressed, before I ran out of the hotel to meet Julian at his photoshoot with Vanity Fair, but the maid stopped me in the hall.
“Miss Troy.”
“Yes.”
“I’m so sorry to bother you.”
“I’m kind of in a hurry. Could we talk later?”
“This will only take a second. Mr. Locke insisted that I check your bed sheets yesterday morning. He said something about them being wet, and I told him they weren’t. They were perfectly dry. Was there a problem I need to know about?”
I scowled, the fury coursing through my veins making my face hot. The son of a bitch had the balls to confirm if I did or didn’t have sex.
The nerve of that man!
I bit my tongue. “There’s no problem. Thank you.” I rushed into the elevator, fuming on my way down.
My blood was boiling, and it didn’t simmer down the entire drive to the shoot. I walked into the building ready to spit fire, finding Julian in his dressing room.
Looking up from his phone, he smiled. “Good morning, Miss Troy.”