AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She tried gamely for her typical maneuver. She did outrage really well. “This isn’t a movie and we’re not—”
“Actors,” he finished for her. “I know.”
He took her hand and drew her near. Another smile teased his lips. “That’s what’s going to make this so great. No pretending.”
She swallowed. “I don’t know how not to pretend.”
The brutal honesty escaped her before she could help herself.
“Just feel. Go with your instincts.”
“Like method acting?”
“Like real life.” He settled his hands and massaged her shoulders. “Relax. We stuntmen are not so bad.”
“Are you the baddest of the bunch?” she asked, her voice husky.
His smile widened. “Want to find out if I’m the Big Bad Wolf?”
“Sorry, wrong fairy tale again.”
She could feel the heat and energy coming off him even though only his hands touched her. She was attuned to everything about him. As an actress, she was trained to observe the slightest facial sign, the subtlest inflection of voice, the intention behind a touch. But with Rick, she quivered with sensation approaching a sixth sense.
Slowly he raised her chin, and her gaze met his.
They’d been working up to this moment ever since the exercise room, and she saw in his eyes that he knew it, too.
He searched her face and then, focusing on her mouth, he brushed her lips with his.
She parted for him on an indrawn sigh, touched her tongue to his and twined her arms around his neck. She needed this, too, she admitted, and for tonight at least she couldn’t think of a reason to deny herself.
He settled his hands on her waist, and she felt the press of his arousal. He deepened the kiss, and she met him, not holding back. Her evening clutch slipped from her limp hand and hit the ground with a small thump.
He broke the kiss, only to trail his mouth, whisper-soft, across her jaw and to her temple.
“Rick...”
“Chiara.”
“I...”
“This isn’t the time to start one of your arguments.”
“About what?”
“About anything.”
He nuzzled the side of her neck, and she angled her head to afford him better access. She fastened her hands on his biceps in order to anchor herself, and the hard muscle under her fingers reminded her that he was built...and right now primed to mate with her.
Chiara felt that last realization to her core, even as Rick’s lips sent delicious shivers down her spine.
One of his hands shifted lower and settled on her exposed thigh. She felt the caress of his slightly callused fingers.
He kissed the shell of her ear, and then whispered, “Your dress has been giving me a thrill all evening.”
“Oh?” she managed.
“The slit is so high...playing peekaboo all the way up...making me wonder whether this time I’ll get a glimpse...”
