Lovescenes

His lips teased at hers, urging her to open her mouth to him, urging her to taste and be tasted, and she made soft, inarticulate sounds as she did as he demanded.

He tasted just as he had the first time he’d kissed her, she thought, only now there was the added tang of the wine on his tongue, blending with the taste she re­membered as his and his alone. She freed her hand from his and spread it on his chest; the other moved to the nape of his neck. She wanted to feel the heat from his body burning through her palm, through her fingers...

A horn blasted in the street below, shattering the stillness that had settled around them. Cade growled at the interruption, but Shannon grasped it as she would a lifeline, pulling free of his. embrace and backing away from him. Only his eyes followed her, dark indigo stones set in his face. She could feel the heat of his probing stare spreading over her skin. She tried to speak, but her throat was constricted.

What in God’s name was hap­pening to her? She, who was always in control, she who was so disciplined...

‘Why did you do that?’ she whispered.

He had a thousand answers; he had no answers. In the end, all he could do was make a half-hearted attempt at lightening the tension that had suddenly filled the room.

‘Nobody’s going to be disappointed,’ he said huskily, reaching out and running his finger across her lips. ‘Now you can relax.’ .

His voice was as warm as his breath. For a fragment of eternity, her eyes closed and she swayed towards him— and then his throaty whisper sorted itself into words she could understand.

Of course, she thought, the love scene! The scene won’t be good enough, she’d said, and he’d taken her in his arms to prove her wrong.

But he’d proved more than that, she thought in sudden panic. He’d proved that he could turn her world upside down each time he touched her. And he knew it—he knew it...

The realization set her pulse pounding.

‘I almost forgot the knack you have for getting into your character,’ she said in an artificially bright voice. ‘I’m glad of that; I work better that way, myself. I guess Eli’s really been working you hard to refine that tech­nique, hmm?’

Cade shook his head. ‘Listen, Shannon, Eli’s got nothing to do with this. I...’

‘Oh, I know you did a lot of this on your own. I mean, I remember the day you auditioned. Well, I know you said you weren’t, not consciously, but on a subconscious level, you wanted to impress Jerry... Look, I’m not angry about it, Cade. I understand. I’m an actress, after all. I believe in illusion. It’s the way I make my living...’

Stop babbling, you fool, she thought fiercely. There’s no point in wondering why he affects you this way. What matters is that the two of you are going to be the next Brad and Angelina. On the screen, not in real life.

Their love scene was going to sizzle. She was Cade’s ticket to success, and he was hers..

As for anything more than that.. it was the wine. She’d had far too much to drink, and on an empty stomach.

As if on cue, the doorbell rang.

‘My groceries, at last,’ she said, snatching her shoulder-bag from the table. ‘I’ll just be a minute.’ She opened the door and smiled at Mario. ‘I’m so glad to see you,’ she whispered, taking the groceries from him. His teen-aged face puckered in surprise as she pushed a five dollar bill at him. ‘For you,’ she said. ‘And here’s the money for the groceries.’ The boy was still staring at her as she closed the door and turned back to Cade. ‘How does this sound?’ she asked, smiling over the top of the bag. ‘One frozen chicken dinner, one frozen Salisbury steak, frozen yoghurt sundaes and coffee.’

His eyes moved over her face, pausing when they met hers.

‘Instant coffee, I hope,’ he said, deadpan.

‘What else?’

‘Sounds perfect,’ he said, returning her smile.

‘I forgot that I was talking to the king of the road,’ she laughed, heading towards the kitchen. ‘A man who knows his way around every greasy spoon in the United States probably thinks frozen foods are home cooking. Well, come on back here and open some boxes. You don’t think this is going to be a free ride, do you?’

Cade tossed down the last of his wine .

‘No,’ he said, following after her, ‘a free ride’s the last thing I’d expect.’

CHAPTER SEVEN

The bed squeaked ominously as Shannon eased herself down on it. ‘It’s still making funny noises,’ she called into the shadowy darkness surrounding the lighted set.

Someone chuckled in reply.

Shannon could feel her cheeks reddening, but she kept her chin up and her eyes never wavered from the spot where she knew Jerry Crawford was standing.