“You liiiiike him,” Beatrix sang.
Reno stared down into her foamy beer. Yeah, she did like him. Too much. She could easily fall for him and start dreaming of a happy ever after. But she was a farm-raised, small-town girl. A man like Chase would use her up and stomp on her self-esteem like two thousand pounds of Brahma bull.
Right then she resolved to ignore him, pretend she wasn’t horny for him. She’d convince herself she didn’t want to run after him, pin him to the bed in his trailer, and ride reverse cowgirl on him all night… Damn it, these two matchmakers weren’t going to help her get her mind off him.
She smiled. “I should say hello to James. I’ll see you later.” She stepped away to join another group of partiers who waved her over.
Standing in the circle of directors, producers, and studio executives, she gritted her teeth and set her backbone. She could do this. She could easily disregard her body’s cry to answer Chase’s summons. At five minutes she’d already checked her watch eight times. At ten minutes her hands began to sweat and people asked if she was okay. At twenty minutes she started shaking and someone brought her a bottle of water. When thirty minutes hit, her stomach felt hollow and her heart…broken?
Reno imagined Chase sitting in his trailer waiting for her. He would have taken those first ten minutes and cleaned himself up a little, straightened his place, maybe lit a candle or opened a bottle of wine. He’d check the door every few minutes hoping to see her.
She sensed something good in him. All those long talks, sharing their life stories, discussing their plans for the future. She’d grown to appreciate him as a friend. Her lip quivered when she thought of him in his trailer alone, waiting for a woman who would never show up.
She didn’t want to hurt him. “Crap!” Her cuss interrupted the director’s story. Everyone looked at her. “Sorry, um, my phone startled me. Excuse me.” She pulled her phone from her pocket and used it as an excuse to get away.
Reno did that often, maybe too often, but underneath it all, she was still just a quiet, country girl. When things overwhelmed her—like a country music superstar getting too serious—she’d pull out her phone and excuse herself.
Maybe she should call Mitzi and get some moral support for her weakening resolve. What time was it in South Dakota? Late, but she dialed anyway. Mitzi didn’t mind late-night calls if it involved Reno telling her stories about LA so Mitzi could ooh and aah over them.
The phone rang once and her friend picked up. “Hi! What glamorous thing are you doing right now?”
Reno sighed and put a finger in her other ear. “Trying to keep myself from doing something really stupid.”
“Hon, you’re only there for another couple days. Do something stupid. Do it twice!”
She laughed but had a hard time hearing her friend over the noise. She wound her way to the door and pushed it open. A storm had moved it and rain poured down as lightning zip-lined across the sky. She closed it and slid through a door into the next studio. Where his trailer sat among a dozen others at the far end, only about a football field away but a whole lot further than she was willing to go.
“You know me and my moral compass.” The truth was, she already felt too attached to the cowboy. One night with him might tip her over the edge into an emotional whirlpool that would spin her heart out of control. Better to push away now than risk being hurt. Again.
“Forget that damn compass. You’ll only get one—”
“I know, Mitz, but this is something I have to work out for myself.” She hated to sound rude, but she and her friend had very different viewpoints on casual sex.
“Is it because of Drake?”
Reno stopped as surprise chilled her. She hadn’t really thought of her ex-boyfriend since filming started. Was she avoiding Chase because of Drake? “No. This guy’s nothing like that ass.” Chase wasn’t controlling, manipulative, or self-serving. Drake had been all three, and she was lucky to have gotten out of her relationship with the self-proclaimed “literary Phoenix” before he’d steered her career the wrong way down a one-way tunnel.
“Good. You need to find a man who’ll love you for the wonderful, sweet woman you are.”
Reno smiled sadly. “You are too good for my ego.” She took a breath and searched for a new topic. “How’s everything back there?”
Reno heard a catch in her friend’s breath. “I didn’t want to tell you this until you got home, but I guess you should know—Jane lost the baby.”
“Oh no. What happened?” Reno strolled along the wall.
Mitzi went into detail about the miscarriage.
“I’m glad you told me, Mitz. I was going to call her tomorrow.” Reno stopped. She was too damn close to the trailers. She should turn around…
Was that smoke?
Chase’s trailer, fronted by lawn furniture set on a piece of artificial grass, glowed with a long string of tiki lights running along the top. The trailer door stood open and small puffs of smoke curled up out of the trailer.
“Oh God!”
Chapter Two
‡
RENO JOGGED TOWARD Chase’s trailer. Had the candle she’d visualized him lighting caught the drapes on fire? “Mitzi, I’ve got to call you back—”
“Is everything all right?”
Reno skidded to a halt at the trailer door, her cell phone at her ear.
Chase sat in an upholstered chair, smoking a thick cigar, one booted foot resting on the opposite knee. His hat sat in the middle of the end table next to the still-lit candle.
Taking deep breaths, she calmed her racing heart. She stared at the rare sight of his wavy auburn hair. God, how she wanted to touch it, touch him—all over, all night. A shiver of desire trickled through her.
His gaze pierced her. “Doll, you’re a bit late.” His voice rumbled.
“Reno! What’s going on?” Her friend’s words bellowed from her phone.
“I’m fine, Mitzi. False alarm. I’ll call you tomorrow.” She hung up, stuck her phone in her pocket, and backed up a step. How was she going to get out of this?
“Whoa there, Miss Reno. You’re going the wrong way.” He set his cigar in the crystal ashtray, planted his feet flat on the floor, and leaned his elbows on his thighs. “Come on in.” Those beautiful blue eyes of his seemed so welcoming.
“I…I don’t mean to be here. I mean, I saw the smoke.”
He grinned. “You came to save me?”
“Yeah. No. I’m…” Scared? Horny? Jumpy? Tempted?
“Confused?”
“Yes!” What a relief. He understood her. Evidently, during all the talks they’d shared, he’d been listening.
“I’ll admit, I’m puzzled, too.” His eyes narrowed. “There’s this crazy-strong pull between us, and I want to see where it goes.”
He was right, there was something burning between them…besides the smelly cigar. Was it a flame that would smolder out after one night? She dropped her head and scuffed the turf with her sandal. It might burn out for him, but probably not for her.
“Reno.” He waited until she met his gaze. “I didn’t think you were coming.” His voice quieted and his eyes showed concern. “And you wouldn’t be here right now if you didn’t think I was trapped in a burning trailer, right?”
Had she been subconsciously working her way over here while she was on the phone? “I don’t know.” She looked at his handsome face. Would it be so terrible to spend a little private time with him? She could guard her heart, keep herself from falling soul-deep for this cowboy. “Maybe I just move a lot slower than you do.”
His eyebrows lifted and a smile curled his lips. “Listen, it’s been a real ball buster for me, too. There’s something goin’ on with us. Every time I see you, and damn it, when I touch you, it’s—”
“Chase, wait. I think you’re reading more into this than you should.” Her voice quavered slightly and she firmed her resolve. “You know the type of person I am. I’m not interested in one night, and you’re not the typ
e to offer more.” So there they were, staring at each other, waiting for the other to make a concession.
He jerked his head. “You still think I…” He ran a hand through his hair. “Aw hell, you aren’t coming in, are you.”
“I don’t think I should.” What she should do was back up a step, then another, then turn and run as if prairie fire licked at her heels. What she wanted, though, was just a few more minutes with him. To soak him in and let his desire fill every inch of her.
“Just…come and sit with me. Have a beer. Let’s talk.”
No. If she stepped foot in that trailer, she’d become a victim of her own lust and neither of them would be coming out until they did everything she’d been dreaming of. Her voice wouldn’t work, so she shook her head.
He must have recognized the wistfulness in her eyes because he stood and walked to the edge of the two steps leading into his RV. “Reno, I can be a gentleman.” He put one booted foot on the step and reached out his hand.
Mitzi’s voice echoed in her head—Do it. Do it twice. She wasn’t that brave. She glanced up at him, and in an instant…
Everything changed.
His brow furrowed, his jaw clenched, and he stood frozen, waiting for her decision. The look in his eyes startled her; pleading, unsure, and it darn near charmed the shorts off her. It drew her in completely, made her breath catch in her throat and her blood run hot. He didn’t just want her, he needed her.
Maybe she’d misjudged him. She just assumed from the movie set gossip that he was wild, but she hadn’t seen him with any women on the studio lot, or at their hotel, or at any of the parties. He’d been attentive only to her. Oh God, was he falling for her, just as she’d already fallen for him?
She stepped forward and put her hand in his. Lightning shot up her arm and all the way down into her pussy as she let him tug her up the steps and into his life.
He stood close to her, holding her hand, tipping his head down to look into her eyes. “That first step is always the hardest.”
She broke eye contact before she gave in to the temptation to run straight into his arms and kiss him senseless. Looking around at the cozy trailer, she smiled. He had neatened up. A messy stack of papers hidden behind a chair, his boots lined up against the wall like soldiers at attention.
“Beer?” He gestured toward the tiny kitchen.
She’d ingested enough alcohol tonight. “No, thank you.” Glancing at the seating options, she turned to the chair opposite his. When she tried to pull her hand from his, he held on and picked up a crystal glass of clear liquid.
“Here.” He offered it to her. “Tequila. Just to take the edge off.”
“No, no.” Her lip curled. “I haven’t done that bad stuff since I was a kid.”
“Well, Miss Reno, I got some news for you.” He winked. “I’m still a kid.”
She looked away. Yes, he was a kid. He was also rich, famous, and spoiled. A hazardous combination.
Chase held out the glass. “One sip, just to make me think I’m not the only immature thirty-year-old in LA.”
She smiled even though he reminded her of the bad boy who’d talked her into doing her first tequila shots in high school. “I’m only twenty-eight.”
He laughed, his deep voice rumbling out of his big chest.
She scanned his face. “You’re thirty?”
He nodded. “I’m older than I look…” His Southern accent flowed thick again. “’Cause when I was a kid, every time I did somethin’ wrong, momma would knock me into next week.”
She grinned, unable to resist his charm. “Cute.”
Chase shook the glass. “Let’s get you loosened up a bit.”
She stared at the clear liquid, bit her lower lip, and shrugged. Oh why not. She wasn’t driving tonight, and one taste wouldn’t affect her much.
Reno sipped cautiously. It wasn’t as rough on her throat as it had been in high school, and she took a few more swallows. Good God, what the heck was she doing? Standing in Chase’s trailer drinking tequila. The unreality of the situation made her dizzy. He was such a bad influence on her.
He took the glass, finished the tequila in one gulp, and set the empty on the table. “That wasn’t too terrible, was it?”
The last swallow went down wrong and she croaked, “No.” Her eyes watered and squinted as she cleared her throat.
Chase laughed then sobered. His fingers slid under her hair, caressing her neck softly. “You are a beautiful woman.”
She’d often been called “beautiful-but-healthy,” which referred to those extra forty pounds that made the difference between being a model, and being just plain Reno Linden. But she was comfortable with that. Mostly.
He ran his fingers up the back of her head. “Your hair is like satin. And I’ve never seen eyes that color. Amber.”
She tried to keep from grinning. “Reno.”
He laughed. “No, your eyes are amber.” Seconds slipped by before he tipped his head and brushed his lips over hers.
She closed her eyes and parted her lips to breathe in his essence. Tingles raced through her and her insides heated.
With a groan, his arm came around her waist, and he pulled her closer. His tongue danced with hers, the unexpectedly sweet taste of tequila and tobacco making her hungry for more of him. This was so much more overpowering than she’d ever expected, ever known.
Chase ended the kiss then pressed his lips to her temple and began swaying them in a slow dance. “You’re the one I’ve been looking for.” He sang quietly. “You’re the light behind that hidden door. Can’t figure out where you’ve been all my life, but I don’t wanna be without you anymore.”
Something melted inside her as he sang the song he’d dedicated to her from the stage. This was where she belonged, in his arms, where she fit perfectly. A lost puzzle piece at last finding its place.
“Look at me.” He nearly whispered it.
She tipped her head. The tequila spread warmth from her belly, sending a dizzy, loosening-up effect to her brain. The strange sensation of being in someone else’s body grew stronger and she breathed deeply to clear her head.
He stared at her, searched her face, then focused on her eyes, taking in her response to the tequila.
Her response was…too honest. “I like looking at you.”
His lips curved into a slight smile. “Yeah?”
His face was so close, she couldn’t resist. She lifted her arm, which felt like a hundred pounds, and touched her fingers to his cheek. “Chase, you’re so handsome.”
“I know.” His chuckle shook his chest. “Everyone knows. I was one of last year’s top ten sexiest men in the world, remember?”
Remember? How could she forget? She’d seen his face in the magazine as they were casting the movie and suggested Chase to the director. He’d dismissed her idea at first, but after she did research and sent him videos of Chase being interviewed by late night talk show hosts and his guest appearance on a live comedy show, he’d agreed to give him a screen test. They’d offered him the role on the spot. “But your nose is crooked.” She ran a finger up onto the bridge of it.
“Really?” He looked down at his nose, cross-eyed. “Should I get it fixed while I’m here in LA?”
“No. Don’t you dare. I love it just the way it is.” Love? Crap, that liquor put her over her limit, but what a sweet intoxication.
She pressed against him, her breasts to his hard chest, her stomach to his stiff cock. Every inch of her slit quivered for him, wanting his big shaft sliding in, stretching and filling her. Her finger trailed slowly down his nose to his upper lip, which bristled with a day’s growth of mustache.
He opened his mouth and took her finger in, his teeth gently biting the first knuckle as his tongue tickled up and down on the pad. Wrapping his lips around her finger, he sucked, keeping up the tongue action.
Reno closed her eyes and vibrated with the desire exploding inside her. She wanted that mouth on her breasts, on her clit.
As if he read her mind, he released her finger and bent his head to her breast, nibbling at her hard nipple. Even through layers of clothes, it sent wicked flashes of lust straight to her cunt.
“Mmm.” She licked her lips, tasting him on her. “Chase, what are we doing?”
“You can tell me to stop,” he growled. “But it’ll kill me.” He grabbed her hand and pressed it to the zipper of his jeans. “I want you so goddamn bad.”
Boldly squeezing his hard erection, she let a whimper escape her throat. Big and long, the heat of his cock warmed her palm through the soft denim.
He groaned. “It’s gonna happen. Right now, baby.”
She looked at him for a minute, losing herself in the dark passion in his eyes. Fisting her hand in his silky hair, she pulled him down to her and kissed him. Her tongue plunged in, twisting with his.
He took over, his lips slanting on hers, his breath hot and sweet as he explored every crevice of her mouth, teasing and caressing. His arms wrapped tightly, and he spread his feet apart so his hips could grind back and forth across her mound.
Her mind numbed to everything but the throbbing of her slit, the trickle of cream dripping from her opening onto her swollen lips, wetting her panties. She pulled his head back, still gripping his hair, and took huge breaths. “I’m drowning, Chase. Don’t let me go.”
“Reno.” His voice caught. “Never.” He walked her backward three steps and flattened her against the hard wall. His eyes bore into hers, his pupils dilated, making them look black, sensual, intense. He ran a hand up under her shirt, up to her breast. Her nipple grew rock hard as he teased it with his thumb, circling then squeezing it.
The pleasure ached, shivered down her belly, down low between her legs, making her cry out with the urgency of her need. He had to take her. Now. She couldn’t wait.
Chase tugged up her bra and fit her breast into his hand. “Oh baby, this is so fucking much better than I imagined.”
She stared at him, his face so close it seemed like a dream. Her voice seemed to come from far away. “Did you, Chase? Did you think about this? About making love to me?” She wanted to cry, for some insane reason—cry and hold on to him forever.
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