I glanced at Toby, who had taken two steps back. He clearly wanted no part of this.
Nodding, I flipped through the colors again, then pointed to a deep burgundy wine. “What about this? Understated, but not the color of the road. And it’s really pretty.”
“You’re really pretty,” Taylor murmured, leaning in to nuzzle my ear. That tiny touch sent shock waves of heat through me. “You don’t have to decide today, baby, but why don’t you get in and see what you think?”
He released me reluctantly and I got into the car, moving the seat forward and adjusting everything. “Oh my God,” I said, checking the mirrors and skimming my hands over every high tech button. “This is amazing.”
I looked over to see Taylor talking quickly to Toby about airbags and the solid steel construction of the car. Then Taylor turned to me. “This is definitely the safest one they have here,” he said. “Do you like it?”
Nodding, I grinned up at him. “I really do.”
Taylor looked out the gigantic windows that were darkening with some fast-moving clouds. “I don’t want your first time driving an unfamiliar car to be in the rain, sugar. How about we come back in a few days for a test drive? If you love it, we’ll buy it on the spot.”
Climbing out of the car, I threw my arms around him in a giant hug. “You are the absolute best.”
His large hands skimmed down my back, settling just above my ass. He was so warm, every inch of his hard body feeling like it was solid muscle. “Anything for my baby,” he murmured against the top of my hair.
We walked by Toby’s desk to pick up more brochures, and he handed Taylor one with the pricing. “We have some excellent financial plans,” he said. “Best deal you’ll get in the city, guaranteed.”
Taylor shook his head. “Don’t need financing. When I buy cars, I buy them outright.”
Toby blinked in surprise, and as I noticed the price of the vehicle, so did I. Placing my hand on Taylor’s arm, I said, “Thank you. This is incredibly sweet of you.”
“Don’t worry, I know just how you can pay me back,” he smirked.
The way he looked at me, the way he touched me, I could feel lust tingling through me in waves. He couldn’t possibly be that good of an actor. He wanted me. And there was no way I could resist craving such a gorgeous, powerful man.
After Taylor thanked Toby, we walked toward the exit, then I stopped to glance back at my supposed new vehicle. “I’m so excited,” I said brightly. “I can’t wait to finally have my very own car.”
“Anything for my little sugar,” he said, pulling me tightly against him. He stared into my eyes, then shifted so his lips grazed my ear. “Do you really want it?”
I paused, not sure whether he meant the car or this crazy contest. I didn’t care. I was going to agree with everything he said in order to win. “Yes.”
Taylor leaned down slowly, as I realized he was giving me every opportunity to stop him. Instead, I tilted my lips up to his.
His mouth brushed mine in a light kiss that was softly tender. Full of promise. A tremor ran through me as my arms stretched up and my fingers interlaced behind his neck.
The kiss deepened and my lips parted, breathing him in. One of his hands lowered and softly stroked my hip, then my ass, making me moan.
The cameras wouldn’t pick up his tongue slipping into my mouth, but it made me melt as he tasted me. Taylor held me tightly against that hard body as my knees began to shake.
“You’re cold again, sugar,” he murmured, finally pulling back. “You should’ve left your coat on. I’m glad your new car is going to have heated seats.”
He slipped his fingers through mine, walking me out of the dealership and tucking me into his car. “Where to now?” I asked.
“Back to the studio to get rid of this gear,” he said, rolling his eyes slightly. “And then we’re going to have to focus so that we win tomorrow’s challenge as well.”
“Do you really think we won today?”
Taylor’s dark chuckle was unusually sexy. “Alice, you were perfect. I guarantee we won that round.” He reached over to squeeze my hand. “As soon as that show goes online, the whole world is going to fall in love with you.”
Something in the way he said that made my stomach flip. It was wonderful to think of Taylor and the word love in the same sentence.
4
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Taylor