The Favor

I take it, gulping it down in one swallow. “Sure thing, sweetheart. What are you drinking?”

She glances back at her glass along the bar. “I’m just having a diet cola.”

Of course she is. Always the actress. And then I realize this is a role for her.

I set my glass down, no longer wanting to make small talk with this Hollywood bombshell I’ve wanted for entirely too long.

“Come here,” I say to her, crooking my finger.

She hesitates before moving closer.

My hand is still in the air, and I touch her face, tracing down the soft line of her jaw. I fucking knew it. I knew her skin would be super soft, and silky and all the things that turn me on. Because that’s what I am right now...turned the fuck on.

“You’re beautiful.”

She smiles and turns into my hand. “You can’t even see me.”

My chest tightens and I have to remember to breathe or I might not make it through the night. “I can see enough.” I bring her lips to mine, wanting to finally get a taste of this sexy woman.

And it finally happens. Our lips meet and I swear there’s fireworks. I trace my tongue over her bottom lip before stepping an inch closer to deepen the kiss. I’ve got this woman in my arms and my heart’s racing like a jackrabbit. And there’s nothing I can think about but getting closer.

Closer. Closer.

I need to be closer to her.

My hand sweeps up her body and into her long, silky hair.

I can’t believe this is happening.

She breaks the kiss. “Maybe this was a bad idea.”

No. No. No, I can’t let her leave me tonight. She knows who I am. I know who she is, but I’d never tell her that.

“Please don’t go. I’m here to make your dreams come true.” My hand’s still in her hair, hoping more than anything she doesn’t walk out the door.

It would devastate me.

“I just…” she doesn’t finish her thought. She doesn’t do anything, and I know now I need to take this moment and convince her to stay with me.

My mind can’t come up with words quick enough so instead I kiss her, remembering what it’s like to have her in my arms so I can remember this for the rest of my life. “Please don’t leave me,” I say when I break the kiss.

She shakes her head. “I won’t leave. But, I’ve never done this before.”

“I’ll take care of you.” I almost say Abby, but keep her name to myself. “I’ve got you.” I lift her in my arms, making my way to the four-post bed in the middle of the room.

I lay her down, stepping up so I can catch a slight glimpse of her. I wish I could turn a light on, but it doesn’t matter, I’ll let my hands guide me tonight.

“Emmett, please touch me,” she whispers, and I swear the accent is gone from her voice. It sounds like Abby. And it does something to me.

Something primal.

I step closer to the edge of the bed, loosening my tie all the way and slipping it over my head. My shirt is next to go, and as I slip it off, Abby squirms along the bed. My heart pounds throughout my body, deafening me with it’s rhythm.

“I can’t take it anymore,” she whines.

Oh damn, neither can I.

7

Abby

I can’t believe I’m really here. I can’t believe the way Emmett kissed me. It shook me all the way to my core. How a man can kiss like that and not spontaneously combust from having that much power is beyond me.

And I can’t believe I haven’t combusted into a million tiny pieces the moment he touched me for the first time.

I want him so much it hurts.

Right now, he’s undressing just for me. And I can’t peel my eyes away from him, even though the room is almost pitch black. There’s a sliver of light creeping in from the hall and from the window.

There’s a small part of me that wishes Emmett knew it was me behind the character I’m trying to play. I wish he knew it was Abby.

But, I can’t ever let him know, so I get back into character, and remind myself that this is what I’ve wanted for so long.

And it’s funny, how fantasies go, I’m about to fly off the edge just having him here in the same room. His eyes burn holes in my facade, and I swear sometimes when he stares at me, it makes me think he really wants all of me.

Like this isn’t just about sex for him.

“I want to make all your fantasies come true tonight,” he says in a deep, gravelly voice. It’s his bedroom voice, and I’ve only ever heard it in my dreams.

But the reality is so much better than any dream version I could have ever had.