Unexpected Chances

“And taking a commercial role, now, could damage the new reputation you’re seeking to establish.”

He leaned forward, his forehead close to hers. “You’re suggesting I turn it down?”

She drew a deep breath, finding it hard to believe he’d need her opinion on something so important. “I’m saying you should think long and hard before agreeing. And—”

“And?” he asked, grinning.

“And the possibility of Melanie Masterson playing opposite you has nothing to do with that suggestion,” she said, forcing the words out on a rush of air.

He tipped his head backward and let loose with a genuine laugh. “Nothing to do with it?”

She shoved his shoulder with one hand, hating that he’d caught her feeling any jealousy at all. “Almost nothing,” she said.

“You need to know she was a fling,” he told her.

“A long-lasting one though.” She couldn’t help but state facts and hope he’d fill her in on some more.

He tipped his head to one side, studying her. “I was searching for something, trying to pretend she could fill a void…” His voice trailed off.

His words reminded her of her own feelings about John and a distinct wave of guilt arose. She tamped it down. John had given her this time to figure things out, and from the look on his face, he already knew where her heart lay. She sighed and pushed thoughts of John out of her head, at least for a few more days. She’d promised herself this time and she needed to take it.

Meanwhile, Dylan sat waiting for her reply. “I get it more than you know,” she murmured. “As for the movie, you have to know my opinion doesn’t mean a thing. I don’t know the business or the players. I don’t even know how important commercial success is to you.”

In short, Holly thought, she was on the outside of his life looking in. She felt like a complete fraud offering her opinion at all.

He stepped between her legs, his face inches from hers. “I beg to differ, babe.”

His words caught her up short. “Why?”

“Because of all the people in this world, you know me. You get me. My agent was clicking his teeth at the money involved, and my publicist would kill to work on a project like this.” He frowned, a testament to how few people in his inner circle had his own interests completely at heart.

“And it goes without saying that Melanie would like to lasso me and drag me kicking and screaming to the studio lot since it suits her needs. So I have no one to turn to except myself. And you. If I didn’t want or trust your judgment, I wouldn’t have asked.”

“Oh.” Her mouth had grown dry at his admission.

Her heart squeezed tight at the possibility that just maybe he was placing her in a position of importance in his life. She was too afraid to ask.

She’d rather reach out and enjoy now as she’d promised herself she’d do. And with him settled between her thighs, his lips inches from hers, he was in a prime position for her to do exactly that.

FIVE

Dylan had noticed the uncertainty in Holly’s eyes from the moment she joined him in the kitchen. It wasn’t him she mistrusted but the lure of his career. That’s what had taken him away from her before. Damned if he knew how to convince her that she was exactly what he needed, not just in his life as a friend, but an integral part of it.

He didn’t have time to think, let alone talk, any more, not when she was linking her ankles behind his back and pulling him deeper into the vee of her legs. Though the rational part of him knew she was using sex to escape serious discussion, desire flooded him, the need to be inside her again all-consuming.

“Holly,” he said, trying to refocus her thoughts as well as his.

“Dylan,” she mimicked, her hands sliding into the waistband of his jeans.

She pushed herself forward on the counter until she sat at the very edge and he was nestled between her thighs. He couldn’t mistake her intent or her need. The warmth and heat emanating from her body called to him in a primitive way he couldn’t mistake. His body throbbed, his erection thrusting against his jeans, and suddenly their d

iscussion could definitely wait.

Eyes glittering, she met his gaze. “You were saying?”

He shook his head. “It’ll keep.” His surprise would make a better gift given at the right time.

“I thought so. Now, how about letting me have my wicked way with you?” Her lips turned upward in a seductive grin.