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“Very skimpy lingerie.” She slammed her hand against her mouth. What possessed her to say that?
“For Taylor?”
Shaking her head, she kept her palm pressed firmly against her lips. There was no telling what she might blurt out next.
“Can’t be for me either.”
It was for herself. She loved lingerie. Sexy, trashy or classy—it didn’t matter. “I don’t have any scissors,” she said, her words muffled by her fingers.
“Let’s get this shirt off of you, shall we?” The shirt slipped over her shoulder and head, much easier this time. “Don’t move.”
Puzzled, she stayed where she was. The tips of his fingers traced the edge of the towel at her waist. “What are you doing?”
“Contemplating whether or not it would be worth it to pull this away. Would one glimpse of your body be worth getting kicked out of your room?” The material of the towel grew tight. His breath stirred her hair. “I think it would be.”
She closed her eyes, waiting for the inevitable.
There was a knock on the door. She jumped, her eyes opening.
“I ordered room service.” He threw the halter-top on the bed. “Do you have a loose t-shirt to wear?”
Nodding, she moved to the dressing area and grabbed the first one she found in the top dresser drawer, then pushed her head through the opening. While Christian opened the door and talked to The Oasis employee, she changed out of her lingerie and into a pair of blue and green striped pajama bottoms.
The cotton shirt didn’t hurt too badly.
She applied mascara and clear lip gloss. Yeah, she wasn’t going out, but she liked the way makeup made her feel. She heard the door close.
Walking into the bedroom, she blinked at the two carts of food. “How many people were you planning to feed?”
“Wasn’t sure what you liked.” Christian gestured at the bed. “Make yourself comfortable. I’ll be at your service.”
“My every beck and call?” she asked, crawling on the bed and settling herself against the fabric headboard.
“Of course.” His eyes roamed her body, making her entirely conscious of the fact that she was in bed, and waiting for him to join. She was also aware of the fact that she wasn’t the first woman to do so, nor would she be the last.
“How will staying in my hotel room, where no one can see us, help your image problem?”
He opened lids and unwrapped platters of food. The aroma made her mouth water. “It won’t.”
“Then why are you here?”
“All part of my evil plan to get you into bed.” Glancing up at her, the corner of his mouth quirked. “Mission accomplished.”
Grabbing one of the remaining pillows on the bed, she shook it at him. “That’s all you’ll be accomplishing tonight.” Their fingers touched as she traded the pillow for a glass of water. “So what are we doing?”
The mattress dipped under his weight. He set two plates of assorted chocolate covered fruit beside him. “Labels are important to you?”
She hesitated, then said, “When it comes to what I’m doing or who I’m spending time with? Yes.”
“Chocolate covered strawberry?” At her nod, he held it up to her mouth. “Bite.”
Mouthful of chocolatey goodness, she moaned. “So good.”
“Did you ever see the film, Two Weeks in Bollywood?”
“No.”
He ate the rest of her strawberry, his lips in the exact spot hers had been. Then he picked up another piece of fruit. Except he didn’t eat his food like a normal person, he savored and shared it with her. Offering her the first bite, taking a bite for himself and then feeding her the rest. His fingers dusting her lips, her chin and jaw each time. Desire sparked, sending heat to very specific places that remembered him, his touch.
“Small budget, even smaller release in the European market. Anyway, the main couple accidentally met at this out of the way restaurant that usually only the locals frequented, because of an order mix-up. Talking ensues. Then Ajay and Penelope end up having dinner together that night and every night for a week, getting to know one another without the constraints of their families or careers. A love affair is the direct result of said dinners. Unfortunately, he ends up dying at the end in a freak car accident while on the way to the airport to stop her from going back to London. Never gets to confess his undying love to her and she mourns him forever.” He raised his brows at her frown. “Sorry, not a happily ever after type of movie.”
Was this a warning directly from the horse’s mouth? She scrunched her forehead. “I’m not following.”
“Damn, this is a first.” Grimacing, he wiped his hands with a cloth napkin. “What I’m saying is that I’d like to get to know you without cameras around. I want to be able to be me.”
“So everything, the dinner, in the elevator and by the pool today was an act?”
“Not precisely. In public I always have to be on—good day or bad. Sick or well. Death in the family or baby born. Doesn’t matter.” He threw the napkin on the bedside table and cleared away the empty plates. “I’d like to be a normal bloke for once, spending time with a woman, who despite knowing who I am, isn’t with me because of it.”
“But we are together because of it. You asked me to be seen with you.” No matter how tempting his words, she would stay sensible.
Undeterred, he said, “Think of it as the inciting incident to throw us together.”
“Okay.”
He clapped his hands, then rubbed them together and sat down beside her on the bed. “Brilliant. And go.”
“As in action?” At his nod, she looked around the room. She hadn’t been on a date in years. Not the get to know you kind, anyway. “Tell me why you got into acting. What motivated you?”
“Money and women aren’t enough?”
Rolling her eyes, she said, “Then tell me how you get into character instead.”
“When I take on a character I talk to myself in the mirror and make the facial expressions that they would. I become that person. I assume their habits, attitude, swagger, what have you, but lately, it’s been getting kind of…”
“Easy?”
“Exactly, easy and boring. Not that it’s not challenging, but now it’s more physical than mental. You know: run here, look intense. Jump on top of that and look really concerned.” The bed dipped as he moved closer. “At first I only took parts for what they inspired in me and what they could inspire in others, but now it’s just for the payout.”
