A gust of wind made the woods seem to sigh around them. His silence in the face of her outburst made her uncomfortably aware of how stupid she sounded.
“What do you want me to say, Gia? That I’m happy you’re an actress? Because that’s not true. Things would be a lot simpler if you were an accountant or a lawyer or just about any goddamn thing but a movie star living in the spotlight. Thriving in it,” he added darkly under his breath.
“For a decent guy, you can be a real ass sometimes.”
“Were you acting in there?” he asked, seemingly unaffected by her accusation. He pointed to the living room.
“What?” she asked, furious and confused.
“With Daisy. You look like a complete natural with kids,” he seethed, stepping closer toward her.
“It wasn’t an act,” she spat. “I love children.”
He reached up and palmed her jaw, his fingertips digging slightly into the muscles of her neck. She flinched back, but he tugged her closer, so that their mouths were only inches apart. Her heartbeat started to pound in her ears.
“Do you plan to have kids someday?” he breathed out, his face lowering over hers.
“Yes.”
“What are you going to do? Disguise the whole family every time you go out in public?”
“Plenty of celebrities have kids, Seth. Your niece and Everett Hughes probably will someday. Or are you going to try to talk Everett into changing jobs as soon as Joy’s pregnant?”
“I probably will suggest it if the occasion arises,” he replied sardonically. “He won’t listen to a word of it.”
“I’m not surprised. He’d be c
razy to listen to you. I know I’d never sacrifice what’s important to me just because of your stupid, smug opinions.”
“If you think I’m asking you to sacrifice a fucking thing, you’re completely misunderstanding me,” he said before his mouth seized hers.
* * *
His mind had gone blank with a cyclone of fury and want. He knew that as he kissed Gia brutally, but it didn’t quiet his sudden flash fire of lust. He wanted her like hell. Not just here in these peaceful woods.
Everywhere.
But it would never work. He’d suspected that as he sat in that theater today, and maybe that was what was making his hunger for her cut at him. He wasn’t surprised Gia had told him just now she would never sacrifice her career for him. He didn’t want her to. How could he? She was like a pure flame up there on that screen, her honesty and beauty and warmth enthralling every watcher.
Did she really think he was so stupid as to ask her to stop acting? Not in a million years. She would just resent him for it. Acting made her happy.
And despite all his misgivings and his biting sarcasm just now, he knew one thing for certain.
He wanted Gia to be happy.
He sensed the moment when their conflicting energies fused into one fire. She began kissing him back furiously, gripping his hair and pressing close to him. He dipped his knees to align them better and palmed her hips and ass. Gia moaned raggedly when he consumed her even more greedily, her back arching to accommodate him. She gripped his ass and squeezed. Hard. Her nails dug into him. Everything faded away for a crazy, lust-numbing moment.
Everything.
“Oh my God,” someone said at the far reaches of his brain. “OH MY GOD, stop it, Seth!”
Shit. Katie.
Even as the realization hit him about what was happening, he only reluctantly broke his kiss with Gia and looked around. Sure enough, Katie stood on the porch a few feet away from them looking totally floored. If the situation weren’t so serious, Seth would have found her expression hilarious. Rill had frozen in the action of holding open the storm door as he came onto the porch. Seth slowly moved his hands off Gia’s ass to her waist, but kept her pressed tight against him.
“I can explain, Katie—”
“What the hell are you doing? That’s your nephew,” Katie accused in a high-pitched voice, shock ringing in her tone.