Sexcapades by Christine d'Abo

the world.
    He took a step closer. When she didn’t immediately flee, he closed the distance between them and wrapped her in a hug.
    “I worked so hard,” she muttered in between sniffles and sobs.
    “I know you did. You deserve that award.”
    “But the other nominees think we cheated!” Petra looked up, her red-rimmed eyes still swimming in tears. “I’ve never cheated on anything in my life.”
    Yup , I’m a big , giant asshole ... “I promise we’ll make this right. And come on. This is beyond stupid. We run advice blogs in the same city. We’re not trying to keep government secrets or something. Having a personal relationship can’t be against the rules. That’s insane.”
    Petra didn’t look the least bit convinced. Pushing her hair back from her face and slipping his arm around her waist, Darcy turned and led her down the street. “I know you probably don’t want to believe me, but this really won’t be a big deal. Every event loves to have a little bit of scandal associated with it. It draws attention to the awards and the people. That brings in interested viewers.”
    “You really think this will blow over?” She wiped her eyes with the heel of her hand.
    “I’d bet my site on it. We’ll give Robins a few hours to deal with the reporters, calm Evan down, and then we’ll show up again. A few apologies and we’ll be right as rain. They’re just jealous they’re not as awesome as you.”
    They continued in silence for several more minutes. It became easier to forget that he’d only really known this woman for a few hours, and that this sense of comfort and rightness shouldn’t come so naturally. It shouldn’t feel so perfect to have his hand around her waist, his fingers holding her hip as they moved side-by-side.
    He shouldn’t want to lean in and press his nose into her hair. Run his fingers down her bare arms. Bite the side of her neck so he could feel the sharp intake of her breath. No, they were already in enough trouble because of their amazing one-night stand. He couldn’t make things worse for her by acting on his impulses.
    And yet, after another minute of walking, Darcy knew things weren’t going to be as easy for him as he might like. Clearing his throat, he gave her hip a light squeeze. “Where are we going?”
    Petra stopped, a frown marring her face. “I’m not sure.”
    “Did you want me to get you someplace? Call you a cab?”
    “Actually, my place isn’t that far from here.” The way she said it, she sounded surprised. “Did you want...?”
    Darcy realized what she was about to offer, even if she’d stopped herself. He had two choices—let the statement go and see her on her way, or jump on the chance to get to know the woman behind PC in a private environment.
    “I would love to.”
    Petra jerked in his hold, but didn’t pull away. “I’m sure it’s a terrible idea.”
    “Maybe. But it’s also a chance for me to spend some time with the real PC. I don’t know about you, but I’m curious as hell.”
    It wasn’t entirely fair, holding her so close to him while she tried to make a decision like this. But Darcy was honest enough with himself to know he didn’t always play fair when it came to women who’d captured his attention.
    “I’m not sure I should have you over.”
    “You can call your friend again. Let her know that I’m there, if it will make you feel better.”
    Petra did step away then. “I was thinking about the competition. It wouldn’t look good if they found out we were together after the accusations tonight. I mean, most of my advertisers are pretty awesome, but I have a few who wouldn’t want to be associated with any type of scandal.”
    Darcy cupped the back of his neck, squeezing the muscles that had tightened. “Look, there’s no way we broke any rules here and we wouldn’t have even if we were dating. My brother entered me in this competition and I’ll be honest, it doesn’t mean much to me. If the committee caves to