He deepened the kiss, his hand caressing her heart-shaped backside, which he’d admired more than a few times during this trip. A delicate, erotic little sound of her pleasure unraveled him, ripping through him like rocket fuel. Fuel for a simmering desire he’d been holding back, since the moment she’d fallen off her broken shoe and into his arms. Hell, he’d not touched another woman since, and now he knew why. He was tired of settling for sating a male urge, rather than truly feeling something beyond simple, short-lived lust. Finally, someone had made him feel something real, something worth staying for, something worth experiencing.
He turned her so that she was against the wall, his legs framing hers, his hands gliding over her waist to her breasts. His teeth scraped her bottom lip. “What are you thinking about?”
“You,” she added in a teasing voice, “and tomorrow morning when I begin the biggest career move of my life. So I’d say you still have some work to do to uphold your end of our ‘deal.’”
“Now you’re just being bad.” But dang, he liked it. His gaze held hers, his thumbs brushing over her nipples pebbled against her thin T-shirt. She bit her lip, her face etched with pleasure. “And I’m clearly not doing this bet service if you can mock me so easily.”
“I thought it was a deal,” she said, “not a bet.”
“Deal,” he conceded, shoving her shirt upward, then pulling it over her head and tossing it behind him. His gaze fell to her breasts, to the bra that, somehow, so fit her. “I knew it would be pink.”
She crinkled her nose at him. “You did not. And if you did, you shouldn’t have been thinking of my bra in the first place.”
“No?” he asked, pulling it down to tease her pretty rose-colored nipples. “I’ll be better next time.”
“There won’t be a next time,” she said breathlessly, her teeth scraping over her bottom lip. “We’re competitors. We don’t belong in bed together and this is against my better judgment.”
He glanced at her. “Yet I’m here.”
“We have one night and then we’re worlds apart,” she agreed. She leaned into him, her hand sliding down his crotch, caressing the hard ridge of his erection. “I wasn’t going to let that pass me by, but we better make this count. There’s no do-over.”
They weren’t competitors. Her career was going places he’d long ago decided he didn’t want to go, but to tell her that would only remind her of the pressure she was under, and that would defeat the entire purpose of their “deal.” “I plan on making it count,” he said and placed his hand over hers, over his pulsing erection. “Just as I plan on making you forget anything but how bad I can be.” He turned her around to face the wall.
“Blake—” The objection died on her tongue as she tried to turn and he stopped her.
“Stay where you’re at,” he ordered. His hands settled on her waist, his cock against her backside.
“I want—”
“To be in control,” he finished for her, leaning into her. He pressed his lips to her ear, even as one hand popped her bra clasp. “And sweetheart, if that’s what you want, I’m all yours. But you know what I think?” He slid the bra straps forward until she shrugged out of them, then filled his palms with her breasts, his teeth nibbling her lobe. “You’ll overthink what that means. You’ll worry that you aren’t doing it right. You’ll worry that I’m like the studio and wonder if I think you’re too young or too old, or too something, when all I’m thinking—” he turned her back around, wanting her to see the truth in his eyes “—is how damn perfect you are and how damn lucky I am to be with you tonight.” And he meant that. This wasn’t just about their obvious physical attraction. Somehow he had to show her that.
“Blake.” This time his name was a whisper rather than a command, her voice and her lovely features etched with vulnerability.
“Believe me,” he said, brushing a silky strand of hair behind her ear, knowing he had to earn her trust. “And, Darla. What happens here stays here. I just want to make sure you know that. This is our time, our experience and our secret.” He dipped his head, brushed his mouth over hers. “You have my word.” His fingers trailed over her jaw, her neck, over one of her nipples. His gaze swept over her body, then lifted. Their eyes collided, the air sexually charged. One minute they were staring at one another, the next, they were kissing, touching, her soft hands sliding under his shirt, pushing it upward.
Blake tugged it over his head and before he even tossed it away, her mouth was on his chest, her teeth grazing his nipple, her fingers working the button on his jeans. Had any woman ever felt this good? Every inch of his body was aware of her. He wondered what she was thinking, what she was feeling beyond desire.