Hidden Hollywood

“Okay?” She pulled away. “Neither of us is who we were then, and I don’t exactly trust you.”

“Why not?”

“Because you lied about who you were.”

“So did you. What else you got? Let’s knock down all these barriers.” He chopped at the air.

She shook her head, a reluctant smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. Yeah, she wanted him. “Because men always want to sleep with Claire Jordan, and they get a lot more mileage out of that than I do.”

He bit back an inappropriate suggestion of how he’d get mileage out of riding her like a beast and went for a last-ditch attempt at the gentleman thing that had worked so well when he charmed the pants off her.

Nothing came to him.

“Why did you want a gentleman so much anyway?” he asked.

“Because I never get it.”

He wasn’t convinced that was really what she wanted. Someone as fiery as she was would lose interest in that kind of restrained chivalry fast. The urge to pull her into his arms, slide a hand into her hair, her real hair, and claim that luscious mouth made him take a step back. If he read between the lines, she was explaining very well why she’d sought out a date with gentleman Josh—every guy came on strong with her. He had to tame his natural impulse to do the same.

She leaned against the bar. “Now that I think about it, anyone who was on set when Ty passed along your message would know I was on a date with Josh.” She shot him a dark look. “Thanks for that. You couldn’t have gone through Hailey?”

He’d been in shock. Mooning over someone who didn’t exist. And wanting her back.

He went on the offense. “How else was I going to talk to you? You wouldn’t give me your number. I couldn’t exactly stroll past your he-man bodyguard onto a movie set.” He splayed his fingers, framing her name in the air and said with a voice dripping with sarcastic reverence, “You’re Claire Jordan.”

“Why couldn’t I have gotten the real Josh?” she shouted, hands on her hips. “He was book-club approved, not you.”

Oh, it is on. He stepped closer, all up in her personal space, the hell with the gentleman crap. “Why couldn’t I have gotten the real Jenny?”

Her eyes flashed. “Because she was a lie!”

He got in her face. “She was everything I wanted.” Until I found you.

Her breath was coming faster now. She licked her lips.

And that was a go. Millimeters apart, he stared at her mouth.

Her voice came out soft. “You are everything I despise.”

They slammed together, mouths fused, bodies in full contact from chest to aching groin. He gripped her hair and took over the kiss, sweeping his tongue inside, her taste the spicy sweetness he remembered. He slid his other hand to cup her ass, pressing her where he needed her. But he needed so much more than that.

She pushed on his chest. He lifted his head and met her eyes, dilated and full of desire just like that first night they were together. This had always been real.

“Stop,” she said in a breathy voice. “We need to stop.”

He stared at her mouth. Impossible. He needed her like his next breath. His brain wasn’t working well enough to coax her, but then he didn’t have to.

She grabbed his head and kissed him again. That worked. He lifted her, still kissing her, and carried her to the table. He set her on the edge, pushed her legs apart, and stood between them, kissing his way down her throat while his hands slid under her shirt.

“Wait,” she said, pushing his hands away. “I can’t—”

He nipped her earlobe. “You can.”

“Not here.”

He kissed her neck and then sucked. She smacked his shoulder frantically.

He lifted his head, dizzy with lust. “What’s wrong?”

“You can’t leave a mark on me. It won’t work for the movie.”

He stroked the rapidly beating pulse of her throat. “Okay, I remember now. No marks. Where can we go?”

“Jake,” she said. He loved hearing his real name. Loved it so much he didn’t notice at first she was shifting away from him.

He grabbed her by the hips and slid her back up against him. She groaned when they made contact.

“I can’t do this with you,” she said, leaning back on her hands like she was trying to keep them to herself.

He let go of her hips. “I never betrayed you. I wouldn’t. Who else knows you went out as Jenny? Find that person and then you’ll see.”

She bit her lower lip. “The book club knows. But they’re the best friends I have. It couldn’t be them, could it? Dammit. This is why I can’t have real relationships. I can’t trust anyone.”