Sinful Desires

“Yeah, you were a bit savage,” he teased, though he’d thoroughly enjoyed watching her decimate her meal.

“I was a savage,” she agreed unapologetically, flashing him a beaming grin. “When I have a meal out in a public place, I usually have to be so careful about what I order and how I eat it. I don’t think you understand just how wonderful and relaxing it was not to have to watch my etiquette for fear of someone taking an unflattering photo of me and posting it online for everyone else in the world to pick apart and critique.”

He winced at the unpleasant picture she painted. “That’s really happened?”

“Oh, my God, yes,” she said, her lips pursing in frustration. “If I have a bad day, it’s documented everywhere and speculated upon. If I have a piece of salad between my teeth, the paparazzi are going to zoom in on it and make sure the world sees, too. If my clothing is too loose, I’m anorexic. If my pants are too tight, I’m getting fat or I’m secretly pregnant. It’s brutal.”

He shook his head in disbelief because it was so foreign to him that she had to constantly worry about those things. He couldn’t imagine how difficult it had to be living her life under a microscope, always being judged and scrutinized.

“But I don’t want to think about that today,” she said, the annoyance in her voice shifting to a more cheerful tone, which he preferred, too. “Before we head back to the house, there’s one more thing I want to do.”

He smiled down at her upturned face, knowing he’d try his damndest to give her the moon and stars if she asked for them. “And what’s that?”

She pointed ahead of them on the boardwalk to Playland’s Castaway Cove and one of the amusement park rides that was lit up like a giant kaleidoscope of neon colors. “Now that it’s dark, I want to ride the Ferris wheel with you.” Her finger lifted to the very top of the apparatus. “I want to see what the city looks like from up there.”

“Okay.” That request he could easily fulfill.

They strolled in that direction, and after purchasing two tickets, they got onto the ride, sitting side by side. As the wheel slowly rotated upward, Raevynn cuddled up to him, and he put his arm around her, everything about the moment intimate and romantic. At the very top, she gazed out at all the twinkling lights of the city, her expression reflecting awe before she turned and met his gaze with a wealth of gratitude shimmering in the blue depths.

“Thank you for the most perfect day ever,” she whispered softly, appreciatively. “It was easily one of the best days of my life.”

He tipped his head in amusement. “I would think winning one of your many Grammys would top that list.”

“All those awards are a nice validation . . . but you gave me something I haven’t had in a very long time. The ability to be and feel normal. Today meant so much to me, and I loved spending this time alone with you, without a bodyguard hovering nearby,” she added with a bit of humor.

Collin felt the same exact way, and he was glad that he’d been the one to provide all these memories, and not some other guy. “It was my pleasure, sweet girl.”

With her looking at him with such adoration, he lifted a hand and cupped her cheek, turning her chin a bit more so he could lower his head and kiss her. Their lips met, soft and reverent. So achingly sensual, yet there was no denying the slow burn of desire that quickly rose between them.

“I lied,” she murmured against his mouth a few moments later. “There’s one more thing I want.”

He pulled back a few inches to see her beautiful face. “Anything,” he said, meaning it.

She bit her lower lip for a moment. “I want to spend the night with you in your bed, and not just to sleep.”

Heat sluiced through Collin’s body at her brazen request. There wasn’t a single reason he could come up with to say no, and the truth was, he didn’t want to. They were both adults, and as much as he didn’t relish having just a short fling with Raevynn, he’d take whatever he could get with her, for as long as it lasted. A few more days and she’d return to her high-profile life, and he’d return to his quiet, solo one.

But until that time came, she’d be all h

is, and he’d make damn sure she knew it.

CHAPTER NINE

Raevynn took a quick shower when they returned to the house to rinse the sea salt from her skin, and Collin did the same in his bathroom. The separation gave her a few minutes to switch her brain into a more seductive mindset, which was something she wasn’t used to.

Up on stage, performing in front of thousands of people, she was confident and fearless, her provocative dance moves all choregraphed and second nature because she did them hundreds of times. There was nothing to think about because all those routines were memorized, her sultry onstage persona all an act that she shed the moment she ended a concert.

In her own private little world, she was actually quite modest, and it had been seven years since she’d been intimate with a guy. Despite her three years with Zane and how they’d been linked romantically, their relationship had been purely platonic. They’d never slept together. Hell, they hadn’t ever kissed with tongues involved. It had all been a publicity stunt, mostly to benefit Zane’s image.

Collin was her one and only when it came to sex, and despite her overwhelming desire for him, Raevynn couldn’t help but be a bit nervous about pleasing him. The explicit way he’d spoken to her last night led her to believe he hadn’t spent the last seven years being celibate, not that she’d expected him to be a monk. But he was probably now used to being with more experienced women, and despite the perception surrounding her as a singer, Raevynn wasn’t a vixen or a temptress.

However, she wasn’t giving up this night with Collin, or anything else that happened between them over the next few days. So, she put her camisole and shorts on, sans any underwear, and released her hair from its braid, letting the wavy strands fall all the way down her back. If anything was going to be tangling her hair, she wanted it to be Collin’s fingers.

Exhaling a deep breath, she crossed the hallway and walked into the bedroom he’d stayed in last night and found him sitting on the mattress, wearing nothing but a towel tucked around his lean waist. The nightstand lamps were off, but the light from the bathroom was more than enough to illuminate the room in a soft glow, which she was grateful for.

He smiled at her, his head tipped slightly. “I was beginning to wonder if you’d changed your mind.”

“No,” she said, and for all her sudden personal insecurities, at least her voice didn’t waver.