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Halli sat up and criss-crossed her arms over her stomach to grab the hem. His hands caught hers, stilling her action before dropping to rest on her thighs. He lay beneath her, completely still.
“There’s something I need to ask, and I want the truth.”
Her stomach protested his serious tone, but she waited for his question.
“Does this have anything to do with the money?”
Relief released her tension. She wasn’t sure what she’d expected, but this was easy. Her hands splayed on his flat stomach as she leaned forward with a soft laugh. “As if. Even Julia Roberts only got three thousand in Pretty Woman.”
Abdominal muscles tightened beneath her touch just before his hands snatched hers and he moved to sit up. “Damn it, Halli—”
In a quick movement, she linked her fingers with his and used her weight to keep him horizontal.
“I’m kidding—geez. No, it’s not about the money.”
He had the strength to overpower her easily, wanted to by the look in his eyes and rigid arms, and the way he held them both mid-way off the bed. She got right up in his face. “Frankly, the suggestion is insulting.”
His gaze held hers without apology. “I don’t want you to feel obligated, or that it’s the least you can do. Then I would be insulted.”
The words she’d said about desert earlier caught her off guard. For a million cash, it’s the least I can do.
Halli quit pushing and abruptly sat back on his thighs. He rose up and braced his hands behind him. As they faced each other in the intimate position, she took a moment to honestly analyze the motivation behind her out-of-character decisions tonight. The result kept her from climbing off his lap.
“Am I thankful? Yes. Amazed at your generosity? Yes. Do I feel like I have to have sex with you to show my appreciation?”
He seemed to hold his breath.
“No.”
His expression told her he wasn’t sure she told the truth and she huffed in annoyance. “You’re the one who keeps saying how boring I am, so—”
“I didn’t say you were boring.”
“You’ve said it more than once.”
“I said Wisconsin Halli sounds boring,” he corrected. “Italy Halli is anything but.”
“Then chalk this up to Italy Halli’s decision to enjoy what life has to offer before the moment passes her by.”
She took a deep breath, suddenly nervous again. Somewhere along the way, he’d stopped being Trent Tomlin, International Movie Star. The man in front of her was so much more than the selfish playboy the public read about in the tabloids, and she wanted to be as close to this man as a woman could be.
“Tomorrow’s going to come soon enough,” she said. “Give me something else to think about. Something else to feel other than scared to death.”
The plea nearly stopped Trent’s heart in his chest. “You’re sure?”
“Obligated is the last thing I’m feeling right now, so, unless you’re looking for an excuse to stop…?”
He flipped her onto her back so fast she barely had a chance to gasp in surprise. Looming over her, he nudged her legs apart with one knee and covered her body with his. Need pulsed through him, centered where her hips cradled his.
“Does it feel like I’m looking for excuses?”
She shook her head. A small smile curved her kiss-swollen lips and he couldn’t help but claim them again, thinking he could drink her in for hours and not get bored. Moments later, she dragged his shirt off his shoulders and down his arms. As he wrestled his bandaged arm free of the sleeve, she did the criss-cross move again and arched her back to drag her shirt over her head.
Yeah. Getting naked was good, too. He stared at the lace-edged, white satin bra he’d left on the bed for her back at his villa. “Damn, I was hoping for the black.”
“Excuse me?”
“The underwear you picked. I was hoping for black.”
