Straightening to his full height, Kole peered down the bridge of his nose at me. “You don’t get to be glib, that’s my move. I hold the patent on it. Now, I want a real answer. For months we’ve been dancing around each other, avoiding any topics of the non-work related nature. Right here, right now, I want you to get out of your head just for a second. If there’s something you want to say to me … say it!”
I did my best to fix on an indignant air, while my heart hammered in my chest hard enough to rattle my ribs. “What is it you want me to say, Kole? That I didn’t like seeing you with her? Well, you win. I didn’t.”
“Why?” His voice dropped to a rough rasp.
“Because …” The truth twirled in a taunting dance on the tip of my tongue, a mischievous little imp that I dare not name.
“Because what?” Kole demanded, his eyes becoming cauldrons of brewing intensity.
“I …” couldn’t seem to finish a sentence for the life of me. A hot flush filled my cheeks and rushed down my neck. He had a lot of gall putting me on the spot like that. It wasn’t like he had been forth coming with his thoughts and feelings either. “You know, I wasn’t the only one remaining pointedly stoic. What about you, Kole Camden, the eternal bachelor, what is it you want?”
Kole pulled back for a beat. Then, raw determination set his jaw and ignited his eyes to a glowing blue topaz. “What do I want?”
The ice bucket crashed to the ground, sloshing its contents across the sage green carpeting. Splattered water droplets clung to the palm floral wallpaper, gifting it with a three dimensional effect. Even so, the calamity only held my attention for a fraction of a second. Kole moved from his position, squaring off opposite me, and came at me in two wide strides. His hand slid around my waist, the other cradling my cheek to tip my face to his.
“This,” he murmured, his lips folding into mine with an urgency that stole the breath from my lungs.
The awkwardness I felt with Greyson was nonexistent with Kole. It felt … right. A white-capped tidal wave of primal hunger coursed through me. Giving in to its intoxicating rush, I weaved my fingers into his raven hair and crushed my body to his. A low growl of appreciation rumbled from Kole’s throat. Drawing my arms up over my head, he guided my back against the wall. His mouth traveled across my jawline, kissing and nipping his way down my neck and over my exposed shoulder. Kicking off my lone shoe, I hooked my leg around his waist, enjoying the feel of him swelling against my thigh.
To my great regret, he pulled back. His forehead brushing mine, he teased me with the salty-sweet bliss of his mouth. “Tell me what you want,” he demanded in between ragged breaths.
I tipped my chin, reaching out for him, only to have him pull further away. Sapphire eyes bore into mine, drawing the words from me with irresistible insistence. “You,” I panted, barely recognizing the breathlessly purr as my own voice, “I want you.”
His mouth returned to mine with a fevered desire. Clawed hands raked down my back, over the rise of my ass, and grasped the back of my thighs. Sweeping my legs out from under me, he guided them around his narrow core. My hands twined around his neck, reveling in the strong, taut muscles of his shoulders flexing under my weight.
“The room key is in my front pocket,” he breathed against my lips, sending chills skittering down my spine.
“Allow me.” Rounding my back, I pulled away just enough to plunge one hand into the pocket of his slacks. I took my time, tracing the length of his rising enthusiasm before finally clasping the room key between two fingers.
As I brandished the card like the fabled Excalibur, Kole steered us to the door. One quick swipe and we earned the green light of entry. No sooner had the door slammed shut behind us, then he eased my feet to the ground. His lips left mine long enough to shrug the pesky straps of my dress aside. The material whispered over my curves, pooling on the floor at my feet.
Desire dilated his eyes to a lustful onyx abyss.
“You’re fucking gorgeous,” he murmured and stepped in close.
I halted him with one finger against his chest.
“My turn.” Thumbing the buttons of his shirt free, my fingers betrayed me by trembling. Finally, the fabric spread wide to reveal the skin-kissed abs beneath.
Keeping my eyes locked with his, I dragged my tongue over the rise of his pec, teasing over the tip of his alert nipple. Gently grasping a handful of hair at the base of my neck, he craned my head back to taste me once more. He led me backward, until the bed brushed the back of my legs. Hooking my fingers through his belt loops, I took him with me as I fell on to the mattress with a naughty giggle.
Kole’s hand traveled up my thigh, toward the moist, welcoming heat he had created. An eager gasp escaped my parted lips. Heaven was moments away, every pore of my body singing out for it. My self-imposed passion drought was over, and it couldn’t have felt more right.
Chapter 22
If this was one of my novels, the female lead would be content in her afterglow. In the arms of her spent and sweat drenched lover, she would find bliss in his rhythmic breaths steaming against the back of her neck as they spooned. She would doze off and dream of their life together.
Unfortunately, this was not a book, and I was freaking out.
The second the hormonal fog receded, my loss of control stabbed into me like a dull, rusty blade. Grimy and painful.
The trigger of my frantically back-pedaling emotions? Perfection. My interlude with Kole had been ideal in every possible way. We’d found our synced rhythm too easily and rode it to the crest of utopia, as if we’d done it a thousand times before and knew the route by heart. A fact that terrified me to my core, because I had that level of synchronicity once before. It was followed by my ex shattering my soul by revealing that what we’d had was as fictional as any stories I had ever published.
Rolling on my side, my arm curled under my head, I studied Kole’s sleeping frame. Moonlight spilled in from a crack in the curtains, bathing him in a silver luminescence. One arm was thrown over his head, his broad chest on full display. The bed sheet lay low across his hips, showcasing the deep V of his hip bones, while selfishly hiding his other attributes beneath its fabric confines.
My fingers itched to trace the rise of his pecs to the valley between them, and follow that path straight down to glory. The warmth throbbing between my thighs urged me to do just that.
But to what end?
If the last time I felt a connection like this proved anything, it was that I could count on an impending, crushing finality. The farther I let myself delve and the more invested I became, the more agonizing the fall would be when the bottom dropped out.
Watching the soft rise and fall of his chest, I let myself admit that I didn’t want just one night with Kole. I wanted forsaking all others, inside jokes, future plans, secret fantasies, and this time I wanted it to be real. This time I wanted to be enough.
Flopping flat on my back, I stared up at the ceiling and draped one arm across my forehead. Dear God, I was wishing for the same drivel I wrote about in my books! The romantic notions I had convinced myself didn’t exist. Emotional longing aside, I couldn’t live through the fated end again. It nearly broke me the first time. I wasn’t strong enough to survive it again.
Self-preservation made the decision for me, before my sentimental side could weigh in. Flipping back the sheet, I edged off the bed, cringing as it betrayed me with a squeak. I plucked my dress off the floor, shimmied into it, and coaxed the zipper up as far as I could. Grabbing my clutch off the night stand, I paused to cast one final look at Kole.
A vise grip of impending regret squeezed my bruised heart. Simultaneously hoping he would wake up and stop me, while dreading he actually might, I crept from the room and clicked the door shut behind me.
My bare feet padding against the thick nap carpet, I dug my phone from my purse and keyed in the number with trembling hands.
“’Ello?” Art answered on the third ring, his voice gruff with sleep.
For a moment the words didn’t come. I considered hanging up and running back down the hall. I could grab a soda from the vending machine and pretend hydration was the only reason I left the room.
“Hello?” Art snapped a second time. “Dammit, Aubrey, I have caller ID. I know it’s you.”
My eyes squeezed shut at the sudden pounding in my temples. “I’ll do it,” I said in a barely audible mumble. Clearing my throat, I tried to add an element of conviction I was sorely lacking. “The engagement to Greyson, if he’s still open to it, I’m in.”
Chapter 23
RB dabbed at the corners of her eyes with the back of her hand. “You were so scared of getting hurt again, you did the one thing you knew would push Kole away.”
Even in retrospect, knowing how everything worked out, the memory was still fresh enough to sting. “It wasn’t my finest hour, but I panicked.”
“Did he chase after you?” she asked, her eyebrows raised in hopeful expectation. “Convince you not to go?”
Lost in the reverie of the moment, I traced my thumb nail over the fabric weave of the chair arm. “At the hotel? No. I stormed back to Tandy’s room and demanded she give me a ride to the condo.”
“She didn’t ask where you had been?”
A half-smile tugged back one corner of my mouth. “She tried to. Any attempts to question me were thwarted by me scooping Mateo up in a one-armed football hold and using him as leverage against her until she drove me home.”
Chuckling, she leaned back in her chair. Her professional façade from earlier had vanished. The air between us now was one of comfortable understanding, as if we were girlfriends grabbing a coffee. “That’s a fantastic visual.”
“It really was.” My almost smile vanished, erased by the next chapter of the story that we’d reached. “I went full hermit mode after that. The only time I would leave my bedroom was during the six hours a day that Greyson was at the gym. I talked to no one, except Art. I don’t doubt that my friends probably thought he was holding me captive in a hole in his basement. Tandy and Sebastian both stopped by the condo, but I couldn’t coax myself out of isolation to see them. Kole called countless times for about a week, his insistence tapering off after that.”
“Did you go full out Bridget Jones? Eating ice cream and chips in your sweatshirt and granny panties?”
“For the first day or two,” I admitted. “Then came the epiphany that between the studio using me as a puppet and falling into bed with Kole, any control I may have had over my life had spiraled into a tailspin. I decided to pull back the throttle and reassert myself as the lone pilot. Greyson had agreed to the engagement, and I started planning. For the sake of my readers, I worked tirelessly to choreograph a proposal that would show them happily ever afters really did exist. Even though my own opinion on the matter was quite the contrary.”
“I decided on Geoffrey’s for dinner,” I stated matter-of-factly in the back of the limo as Sebastian adjusted one of the daisies in my hair. He had piled loose curls on top of my head, pinning white and yellow wildflowers throughout. “The food is al fresco, and it’s right on the beach. I secured us a choice table in the middle of the patio with a prime view. Most importantly, it’s a major hot spot right now. Translation: there will be an audience there to catch the show and spread the word.”
“I’ve taught you well, my young padawan.” Sebastian’s lips twisted to the side, critiquing my over-all look with a sweeping glance. “And you’re sure you want to do this?”
Staring out the window, I focused on the line of towering palms waving past in a blur. “Something you need to say, Sebastian?”
Flipping his hair from his eyes, he fixed on a disapproving frown that bordered on paternal. “I didn’t like having to go through Art to orchestrate all of the plans with you. When you go into hiding, you should try to remember you have people that care about you.”
Catching one of his hands, I held it in both of mine. “I’m sorry. I was just thinking—”
“Avoiding,” he interjected.
“—about things,” I finished with a scowl.
“Kole.”
My cheeks burning bright pink, I dropped his hand and turned back to the window to hide them. I had taken the coward’s way out, letting my own fear of vulnerability rule me. Now I got to endure a lifetime of wondering what-if. That was my cross to bear and talking it out would change nothing.
Sensing my internal retreat, Sebastian laid a gentle hand on my knee. Blinking back the tears that threatened, I reluctantly met his gaze. To my surprise, empathy had drowned out his normal snark and sass. “You don’t have to do this. True Love is blowing it up at the box office. Trust yourself and your abilities, and become the diva. Tell them they can have your work, but they can’t have you. Hop that cute little ass on a plane back to New York and make Hollywood chase you. Because, they will.”
Resting my other hand on top of his, I gave him a comforting squeeze that contradicted the hemorrhaging hole in my heart. I didn’t know when we had made the switch from tolerating each other to genuine affection, the transition was subtle. That said, I considered his friendship one of the best things that had come of my time on the West Coast.
Instead of playing into his delusion, I softly replied, “Let’s go over the details of the proposal one more time.”
The gold flecks that rimmed his emerald eyes dimmed with sadness. Ever the professional, he wet his lips and pressed on. “After dinner, just as the sun is beginning to set, he will take your hand and suggest a walk down the beach. A short stroll away, but still faintly visible to all those on the patio that will be watching, ‘marry me’ will be written in rose petals in the sand. There will be candles everywhere, and the ocean softly serenading you. It’s the proposal from book two fleshed out with my own flare.”
“It’ll be perfect,” I reassured him, meaningful glances conveying all of the elements we were leaving unsaid.
“Yes, it will,” his hand grazed my shoulder to brush a dangling strand of hair aside, “for whatever that’s worth.”
The limo eased to a stop at the curb, a quick glance out the window confirming we had arrived.
Gulping down a deep, quaking breath, I forced a tight smile for Sebastian’s benefit.
“The limo will be here when you’re ready to go,” he assured me, as the chauffer came around to open the door for me.
“Thank you,” I muttered with heartfelt sincerity, then stepped out into the late day sun to meet my fate head on.
“I guess we should talk about the other night.” I studied Greyson’s face in between bites of my Moroccan Shrimp, searching for insight as to how he was feeling about our looming engagement. “I’m sorry I freaked and ran. I guess you can see now why a career in crisis management was never an option I pursued.”
Greyson dabbed his mouth with his napkin, allowing himself a moment to swallow his giant bite of Filet Mignon. “Are you kidding? I felt horrible! Until later that night when I got the call that you wanted to marry me. Gotta say, I did not see that coming. You definitely kept me on my toes there. I loved it!”
I paused, waiting for a punchline that didn’t come. “Is that what made you agree to this?”
He hesitated, a forkful of food on its way to his mouth, and glanced my way with a knowing smile. “Something like that.”
“How maddeningly vague,” I grumbled to my plate.
“I’m an enigma wrapped in a mystery.” He winked, treating himself to another medium-raw morsel.
Scooting the shrimp around my plate with my fork, I found my appetite sorely lacking. “I admit I confused things that night, but before that we had developed what I thought was a pretty great friendship. I’m really hoping we can ease back into that. It’ll make this … arrangement a lot easier on both of us.”
“A purely platonic engagement in Hollywood?” Greyson pantomimed a shocked gasp. “Actually, I think the Screen Actors Guild offers a step-by-step tutorial on that. That doesn’t mean I can’t stil
l ask what color panties you’re wearing or request you sit on my face though, right?”
Leave it to Grey to find my first genuine smile of the night. “Awww,” I chuckled. Cocking my head, I pinched my thumb and forefinger together with about an inch of distance between them. “We missed effective communication by that much.”
“No failure to communicate.” Greyson grinned, one shoulder lifting in a nonchalant shrug. “Just establishing boundaries to make our time together enjoyable.”
“Speaking of,” dropping my fork, I grabbed my napkin and dabbed at my lips, “it’s almost time. Are you about ready to take a knee, sir?”
“Absolutely.” Greyson’s head swiveled, taking in the growing crowd of patrons around us. “We’ve attracted quite an audience. I predict a round of applause when I ... Camden?”
I paused in resituating my napkin across my lap, staring up at him from under my creased brow. “When you Camden? Did you talk to him? Did he tell you about the move? Because that was a one-time thing. I’m not even sure I could get my legs back that far again, and asking crosses that line we were—”
Greyson held up one hand to halt my rant. “No. As much as I’d love to hear more about that, Camden is here.” He motioned toward the patio stairs behind me with a lift of his chin.
Prickles of icy awareness gushed through my veins. Filling my lungs, I slowly pivoted in my seat. One glimpse of him and I forgot how to exhale. Gone was the careless style and finger combed hair. A part of me missed it, the other part was preoccupied swooning over the man before me that may as well have stepped right off the cover of a Harlequin romance novel. My gaze traveled the length of him, enjoying the tailored fit of his tux with lip-biting appreciation.
Our eyes met with a pull so powerful I had to clamp a hand on the edge of the table to keep myself rooted in my seat. Whether he noticed or not, Kole’s chest swelled with a deep inhale. Exhaling through pursed lips, he weaved between the patio tables, heading my way.
Adapted for Film Page 15