“Is he alright?” Sutton walks out from the adjoining bathroom with nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist. The vision of him never gets old, and I smile as I think about the first time I saw his naked torso, wet at my cottage after we got stuck in the rain. That feels like a lifetime ago.
“My eyes are up here, Tinker Bell,” he murmurs as his fingers touch my chin and he lifts my gaze to his.
“I just like looking at all of you.” I grin as he leans down and kisses me.
“I want to do wicked, wicked things to you when you look at me like that.” His voice sounds like he’s parched, husky as he speaks against my lips.
“Like what?” I tease as I place my hand on his naked chest, running it down his body slowly, until I reach the roll of towel at his waist.
“Things that I can’t say or do because the room is probably bugged.” My smile disappears, and my hands still. “What?” I clearly don’t live in the real world. That thought didn’t even enter my mind.
“We’re at one of the Dragonfly compounds. They aren't going to just let a global movie star stay here without ensuring they have some type of collateral on me that they can use if I see or hear something I shouldn’t.”
I gulp, my heart now racing. It all sounds like one of his movies, but this is actually my life right now.
Stepping out of his hold, I start looking around, my eyes taking in every inch of the room.
“What are you doing?”
“Nothing.” I wave him off.
He laughs, clearly aware of exactly what I’m up to, but indulging me.
I spot a piece of artwork on one side of the room. Looking at it, the frame is a little thicker than what I would ordinarily see at any of the museums or art galleries I’ve visited, and I know I’ve found a camera. I spot Sutton’s jacket on the nearby chair and grab it.
“I’m just going to hang your jacket so it doesn’t crumple,” I say loudly, lifting the jacket and placing it over the frame. As I get close, spotting the camera lens, my assumption is proven correct. It’s barely visible, but on the angle, it’s obvious.
“You’re a freak of nature…” Sutton murmurs through a chuckle, grinning brightly at me.
Giving him a wink, my eyes go to the lamp near the bed next, and I walk over to it. I look inside, and sure enough, I find a small mic, the size of my pinky nail. Grabbing it out, I look at him and place my finger against my lips, asking him to be quiet before I take it to the bathroom and flush it down the toilet.
He raises his eyebrow at me. “They probably aren’t going to be happy about any of that.”
“Probably not. I assume Brigitte will replace it all tomorrow anyway, but at least we have tonight?” I move back toward him, resuming my adoration of his body.
“Really, where the hell did you come from?” He looks at me in awe, head shaking.
I shrug innocently. “I told you. Manhattan.”
He barks a laugh before he grabs my waist, pulling me to him. Trailing his fingers down my torso, he teases at the hem of my shirt. Slow, deliberate, like he’s savoring every second.
“I’m going to take my time with you tonight.” His voice is low, rich with promise, and my breath hitches as he lifts my shirt, slipping it up and over my head. My hair tumbles around my bare shoulders, and I feel the warmth of his gaze fixed on me.
With my stomach fluttering, his fingers brush over the satin of my bra, just barely, and the sensation sends a shiver racing down my spine. I watch his throat work on a swallow, his mouth parting slightly, like he’s trying to resist the urge to taste every inch of me.
“That’s the one thing we both don’t have…” My voice is quieter now. We both know this stolen time won’t last.
The moment that whiskey commercial goes live, Whispers will be swarmed with media. He’ll have to step into the light, and I’ll have to disappear into the shadows. He’s the man the world needs to see, and I’m the woman who wants to hide from it all. Like Romeo and Juliet, we’re destined to fall, yet unable to stay away from each other.
“But we do have tonight,” he says tenderly.
As he unbuttons my jeans, I grip his shoulders, steadying myself, and he slides them down, his knuckles grazing my skin, leaving fire in their wake. I step out of them, standing before him in my matching set, relishing how his gaze darkens, devouring me. I swear it feels like every inch of my body is burning under the weight of it.
He exhales sharply. “We better make it count.”
I rise onto my tiptoes, cupping his face, pulling him to me, no hesitation, no doubt. I feel the second his restraint shatters. His mouth crashes onto mine, and his hands grip under my thighs, lifting me effortlessly. I gasp against his lips as my arms wrap around his neck as he steps us over to the bed.
“Sutton!” I squeal as he throws me onto the mattress, quickly chasing me.
