Oh. My lips frown for a moment, but I hope he doesn’t notice.
“Well, not yet at least. Close your eyes.”
“Kayden, I understand you really want this job but let’s forget about it. It’s a stupid idea and it’s hardly a real acting job. How about an ‘IOU’? I promise you another audition for a great role and…” I argue all of the reasons why this actor shouldn’t be hovering over me, and I’m pretending to try to pull away. Truth is, I really want to pull him closer and have him press against my body, allowing him to slowly introduce his tongue to mine. He raises an eyebrow toward me; I arch one back and sigh, closing my eyes.
His face presses against mine. The scratchiness of his beard brushes against me as my hands fall to my sides. “Stop comparing yourself to your sister.” His hands slide to my lower back, and before I have the power to go weak, he tightens his hold, pulling me closer to him. When I hear him mention my sister, I go to open my eyes but he stops me. “Keep them shut. You’re nothing like her. And she’s nothing like you. Forgot about all of the losers who didn’t know what type of treasure they let get away. They don’t exist anymore. No one on this planet does. It’s just you and me for these five days. There’s nothing to worry about. No commitment. No planning. Just us and our holiday.”
I can feel his lips mere millimeters away from mine as the words roll off of his tongue with such ease. For a minute, I forget we are standing in my office—er, my boss’s office—and that my mascara is still running down my cheeks. I forget we met five minutes ago when I offered to pay someone an obscene amount of money to be my made-up boyfriend. I forget who Richard, Danny, and Lisa are. All I want to do is find the taste of the man with his hands around my waist.
“I’m going to kiss you now,” he warns, edging his face closer to mine. “Unless you stop me.”
I don’t speak a word; I have no reason whatsoever to want to stop him.
When his lips find mine, I feel as if I’ve won the sexdorable lottery. His lips are soft, addicting, and gentle at first before the kiss grows deeper. I place my hands on his chest, stilling myself from tumbling over as his tongue slowly brushes against my lips. The way his rock-hard abs feel against my touch, makes me moan for more. My hips involuntarily rock in his direction, and he lifts me up against the door, kissing me harder, deeper, in a way that makes me feel as if we have been sharing these types of kisses for a lifetime. He allows my legs to wrap around his waist, and he holds me, making me feel so safe at his touch. His fingers stroke through my curly locks of hair, and when he pulls his mouth away from mine, I cannot help but miss his taste, his heat, his made-up passion. His eyes open to find my blues staring back at him, and he tilts my head, giving me one last kiss before I feel him smiling against my mouth. When my feet find the ground, my knees almost forget how to keep me standing, but Kayden’s hand is around my back, holding me, protecting me from falling.
“Well then…” I clear my throat once, “You are a fantastic actor,” I say, breathless, and emotionally drugged up on Mr. Sexdorable.
He doesn’t step back, and I hold his stare, my eyes flooded with his greens. He smirks a small amount and shrugs, “I figure if we’re going to do this then we should have our first kiss now instead of in front of your family. That would take away from the awkwardness of it all.”
“You didn’t even audition for the part yet.”
His tongue runs across his lips and he moves his hand through his dark hair. “I guess I jumped the gun.”
“The gun has been jumped.”
We’re still for quite a bit of time before I blink and realize that if this is happening then we have to hit the road before I come to my senses, wake up from this dream, or have a heart attack from how beautiful he is. I know guys don’t like being called beautiful, but he is.
So. Freaking. Beautiful.
After he pulls up to my apartment, I watch him climb out of his car, suitcase in hand, wearing that same engaging smile. He’s driving a deep blue BMW—something I can’t imagine most struggling actors would be driving. Who is this guy? Why isn’t he more weirded out by this situation? How do I know he’s not a psycho killer?
Dragging my luggage down the stoned apartment steps, I pause as Kayden strides forward to help me. “I got it…” I mutter, almost breathless. Narrowing my eyes on him, I watch as he walks with me to load my car up and I swing myself around to face him. “Hey, quick question.”
“Shoot.”
“You’re not a murderer, psychopath, or anywhere close to being a crazy person, are you?”
“Well,” he sighs, “I haven’t killed since last Thursday, which is a record for me. I didn’t pass the psych test, but really, does anyone pass those? And crazy? Well, yes. I am. But honestly, the people you should really worry about are the ones who claim to be sane.”
He’s so sarcastic and snarky that all I want to do is lick his face.
I wish I weren’t so weird sometimes.
“Okay, well just so you know, I have a black belt in karate, a certificate from a woman’s self-defense class, and pepper spray. So that pretty much means I will kill you if you need to be killed.”
“Duly noted.”
“Good.” I grab my keys and toss them toward, Kayden, “By the way…you’re driving because my mom thinks you are. Your name is Richard, we’ve been dating for seven months, and you are in accounting, but you’re looking to transfer over to business and marketing.”
The confused look on his face is almost classic comedy, and it makes me smile.
“Don’t worry; I’ll fill you in on the ride up there.”
I pause and look at him, not moving. I can’t get in a car with this stranger, and I think he knows. He smiles again and hands me my keys. “I’ll follow behind you.”
“Thank you.”
“Of course. But mainly it’s for my own safety. I haven’t been pepper sprayed in awhile, and I would rather hold on to that fact.” He extends his cell phone toward me and asks me to program my phone number into it so we can talk and learn more about our ‘acting adventures’ on the ride up north.