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‘They can’t do that,’ she interrupted him, shocked. ‘I’ll get a restraining order.’
‘It takes days to get a restraining order, by which time they’ll have made your life a misery. Believe me, I know. I’ve been in this circus for five years.’ He stepped towards her, cradled her cheek. ‘Come to LA. I’ve an estate in Laguna Beach with proper security where they can’t touch you. They’ll have moved on to their next kill in a few weeks and then you can come home.’
As his knuckle stroked her cheek she stared into his eyes—but the impossibly blue depths were filled with so much sincerity, she immediately smelled a rat. Something wasn’t right. He hadn’t come all this way to save her from the paparazzi. Surely.
She took a step back. ‘Why would you do that? Why would you go to all that trouble? We hardly know each other.’
His lips quirked, one black brow lifting. ‘Something we can certainly remedy while you’re in LA.’
She swallowed, her mouth bone-dry. ‘So you’re not really here to rescue me from the press?’
‘I am,’ he said, the grave statement contradicted somewhat by his sinfully sexy smile. ‘But there’s no law that says we can’t enjoy ourselves while you’re there. As it happens I’ve a few weeks before my next project starts. So I’m in need of a distraction and, it seems, so are you.’
He drew his thumb down the line of her neck; the thrill shot through her like quicksilver and the yearning got worse.
She wanted to go to LA with him, however much she might want to deny it. He made her feel alive and excited in a way she never had before.
She should never have run out on him this morning; it had been cowardly and pathetic. But she had, because there was still some of the frightened, insecure little girl inside her she thought she’d destroyed years ago. Could this be her chance to bury that unhappy child for good? To prove that if she was smart and sensible, kept a clear head and made the right choices not every relationship had to end with a broken heart?
‘Define distraction?’ she asked, her voice surprisingly steady considering every one of her pulse points was now throbbing in unison.
‘Allow me to demonstrate.’
He folded her into his embrace and claimed her mouth with a short, sharp and shockingly erotic kiss. The blissful ache from last night pounded back to life with staggering speed.
When he released her, they were both breathing heavily.
‘Does that answer your question?’
She touched her lips, stunned by the force of his hunger and the heat of her own response. She had the answer she needed. This was all about sexual chemistry. Nothing more. They weren’t talking about happy ever after here, they were talking about fulfilling a basic human need. A need that, she had discovered last night, Mac was the perfect man to fulfil. But could she keep sight of that and make sure her emotions didn’t get involved?
‘Last night was only a taster,’ he said, his voice husky, his eyes smouldering with erotic promise. ‘We’ve some more memorable nights in our future. Fourteen, to be exact.’
She sucked in a breath. But it wasn’t his arrogance that startled her. She’d detected the slightest edge to his voice at the reference to ‘memorable nights’. All of a sudden she understood why he’d come after her, instead of the millions of other women he could have chosen as his distraction. The realisation gave her confidence an important boost.
So far Mac had had everything his own way. He’d called all the shots and she’d let him, because she’d been completely blindsided by the passion between them. And that had left her entirely at his mercy.
She needed to have some control over this relationship if she was going to be sure to keep her heart out of the equation. Which meant showing Mac she wasn’t a complete pushover.
‘This is about the note,’ she said as clearly as she could manage while still hyperventilating. ‘That’s why you’re here. It annoyed you.’
How the hell had she figured that out?
While it was far from the only reason, Mac didn’t appreciate being read so easily, especially as he’d rehearsed how he would play things all the way from the airport.
Relaxed and charming had been the game plan. He wanted her to know how good the sex would be. He wanted her to know he was doing her a favour. He didn’t want her to know how eager he was for her to come to LA—or ho
w much her damn note had rattled him. It would make him look like an idiot.
And the plan had been working well enough, till a moment ago.
Mac forced an indulgent chuckle and lifted a mocking eyebrow. ‘Not a bit of it,’ he replied, his tone deliberately light. ‘It was a nice enough note. Just a bit previous as it turns out.’
Her eyes narrowed and she shook her head. ‘I don’t believe you. It ticked you off. I can tell.’
How the hell could she tell?
He knew how good an actor he was and he’d given that last statement just the right measure of nonchalance to make it convincing.
