“Your boss is that bad, huh?” he asked.
She didn’t answer right away, and when Keaton looked down at her, she had her face twisted up in a way that made him laugh.
“Shut up.” She laughed. “I’m trying to think of something good to say.”
“Stop trying and just say the first thing that comes to your mind.”
Brooke groaned and said, “She’s a crazy fucking bitch.”
Humor exploded at the center of his chest, and Keaton burst out laughing. He laughed so hard, he stopped walking and pressed his free hand to his thigh to stay upright. He had the perfect image of the woman Brooke worked for in his mind. And he knew exactly why Brooke was so miserable. It wasn’t funny. It was just so damned ironic.
“What did I say?” she wanted to know, half laughing at him as he caught his breath.
He shook his head and straightened. “Oh, this industry. I think it exposes us to more than our fair share of the crazies.”
“Amen.”
They’d reached the end of the street, where the pavement gave way to a trail leading along the river. One that also connected their hotels. He took her hand and started down the stairs.
“Hmmm, the river trail at night.” Her hand tightened in his. “I wouldn’t do this with anyone but you.”
That made a few of his male feathers fluff. “Our hotels are only a quarter mile apart. With all the exterior lights between the two, the path is lit up pretty well.”
“Where are you staying?”
“Radisson.” He pointed down the trail on the right. “Can’t really see it, but it’s just right there. I’ve been running the trail in the morning.”
They reached the bottom of the stairs, and even though the path was well lit, she released his hand and slid both arms around his waist, cuddling into his side. “I’d still feel better closer to you.”
Damn, she felt so good. All soft and warm and curvy. She smelled like flowers and vanilla and honey. And then she tilted her chin up and the smile she gave him was so beautiful, it made Keaton think about things he’d never thought about—like more of these quiet walks along the river. Made him want things he’d never wanted—like the same woman to take those walks with every day.
“Baby,” he said, “you definitely feel better closer to me.”
She laughed and stroked one hand over his belly and up his chest. The move was innocuous in his world of casual sex with highly sexed women. But right now, with Brooke, the touch opened a floodgate of fire through his body. And even though he kept telling himself he wanted something different, even when his soul ached for more connection and more meaning, his body pushed lusty thoughts into his head.
After years of sex with uninhibited, wild, inventive, kinky, risqué women, Keaton’s mind twisted toward adventurous sexcapades with Brooke, right here, right now—out in the open, up against a tree, at the risk of having anyone walk by. Sitting her on the dock railing, lifting that pretty skirt and burying his face in her pussy until her screams broke the night’s silence. Letting her ride him on a bench along the path—
“Keaton?”
“Hmm?” He jerked himself out of the fantasies. “Sorry, what?”
She was standing in front of him, her body pressed against his in the sultry night. It was no wonder his mind had drifted that direction. She felt delicious against him. Like he-wanted-his-mouth-all-over-her delicious.
“Where were you?” she asked, her voice soft, laced with desire.
Or was that his imagination? He couldn’t tell anymore. “Oh, you know. The end of filming, I’m a little brain dead at this point…”
“Are you? Because tonight sort of reminds me of our last night together in California.” She grinned. “If, you know, you take away the humidity and the bugs…”
Keaton laughed.
Her hands trailed up his arms as she stretched up his body and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. Keaton’s arms automatically circled her, pulling her close,
and he groaned at the feel of her curves pressing against him.
“Mmm, baby.” Fire spread between his legs, lit up his spine. He dropped his face to her shoulder. “You’re going to blow my circuits.”
Her fingers combed into his hair. The scrape of her nails on his scalp made his eyes roll back in his head.