by Aimee Duffy
He shifted in the chair to a more comfortable position, knowing it would bring his bare leg into closer contact with her silky skin. As more of him brushed against her, his blood boiled, raising the temperature in the room almost unbearably. The minute she had walked into the little shack, her hair pulled back with stray curls flying loose and sleep-filled eyes, he’d imagined it would be what she looked like after a night between the sheets with him. The thought had made his shorts tighten uncomfortably.
“Okay, but I will find out. I’m persistent when I want something,” Jake informed her and was pleased to note her fingers curled into tiny fists on her lap. Amazing how hard she was trying to hide her irritation with him. He wondered how much teasing she could take before she would erupt into the fiery siren he’d glimpsed last night. Wherever she had to be after filming, it must mean a lot to her.
“I don’t think so,” Caitlyn insisted. “I’m very good at keeping secrets.”
His brows pulled together as he considered that. It was true, she did keep secrets. The whole of America knew her name, yet when he’d googled her last night, he couldn’t find anything other than basic facts. Age, twenty-six. Name, Caitlyn Hart. Lives in LA. As well as the fact she’d worked on the show. No mention of any boyfriends, family, hell, even friends. She was an enigma.
All of the actors and actresses he’d worked with were easy to read, almost transparent. He could figure most out straight away, then he was able to converse with them accordingly once he knew what was expected. He wondered if that’s why he was here, harassing her, when he should be going over his lines for tomorrow.
“And I’m good at ferreting them out,” Jake threw back.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Campbell,” Julie started before Caitlyn had a chance to reply. He’d almost forgotten that she was there. “I’m going to have to ask you to switch places with Caitlyn. I need to do her hair and the only socket is beside you.”
Jake rose at the same time Caitlyn did, seeing a perfect opportunity to wind her up. As he squeezed his way past, he gave her as little room as possible, chuckling at her irritated frown. “Allow me.” Jake held the chair out for her and, once she slid into it, spun it around so it was facing the mirror.
“Thanks,” she mumbled grudgingly.
Jake couldn’t help from letting out a short burst of laughter. He wondered if her irritation flared because she was as reluctantly attracted to him as he was to her. Arousal darted through him at the prospect and settled in his groin. Jake sat down quickly, disguising his body’s reaction. With makeup covering her porcelain skin, widening her emerald eyes, and making her lips look edible, she was even sexier than she had been last night.
Julie unclipped the extravagant fire-red curls and they sprang free, forming a riot of color around Caitlyn’s heart-shaped face, contrasting beautifully with her pale skin. For a moment, he just stared at her reflection in the mirror, not sure what kind of expression he wore.
Her gaze sought his in their reflection and he forgot everything as he focused solely on her. “Come to dinner with me tonight.” His mind was so hazy the invite sounded more like a demand.
Caitlyn’s eyes grew huge and a pale pink flush grazed her high cheekbones. “I don’t think that would be a good idea.”
Her protest sounded weak so Jake pressed home the advantage. “And what if it is? It would be a good chance to get to know each other…” He let the sentence trail off suggestively, cocking an eyebrow.
Caitlyn frowned at his reflection. “I’m busy tonight.”
Jake shook his head, feeling his lips tilt at the corners. Caitlyn had pulled out her mobile and was sliding her fingers across the touch screen. No doubt finding an excuse to ignore him.
Julie came back into focus as time passed by in silence. Caitlyn’s wild, haystack hair was now styled into elegant curls. If it wasn’t for the wrinkled pink shorts and faded t-shirt she could be mistaken for an A-lister. He’d never watched an actress have her hair and makeup done, especially one who tried so hard to pretend he didn’t exist.
Jake found that particularly refreshing.
Although he had lines to learn for his scene tomorrow, he couldn’t think of a better way to spend his day than to wheedle information from the secret siren that was Caitlyn Hart. After all, why waste time on what he could be doing later when he could be watching Miss Hart in action for the rest of the day.
“That’s it, you’re ready, Miss Hart.” Julie broke through his reverie as Caitlyn rose.
“Thank you, Julie. I have to get dressed. The chair’s all yours, Jake,” Caitlyn said without even looking at him.
He grinned. “I’m coming with you.”
She did meet his eyes then, her mouth gaping in undisguised horror. “Excuse me?”
“You’re stuck with me for the whole day, Caitlyn.”
* * * *
Caitlyn didn’t know which was worse—having Jake’s almost-edible chocolate eyes on her all day or being squeezed into a specially made, white, tighter-than-tight wetsuit for the scene.
Julie had been on set all day—touching up makeup and fixing her wayward curls—but the thought of Jake being there, ever watchful, with that devil-may-care grin on his handsome face was enough to melt her right down to her core.
Why was he even there?
She had no idea what he was doing. Filming had gone on later than they anticipated—problems with the speedboat and then the waterproof camera. He should be away at home, or even off to Rio, seducing an array of Brazilian women. Both would be more interesting than watching her work.
Having to take care of her sister, and then her nephew, for most of her life, she’d never had much time for fun. In fact, she was probably the least interesting person on this tiny island.
Still, Jake Campbell was there, his big brown eyes watching her every move. It was unsettling, it was unnerving, and she’d already buggered up two of her lines. His booming laugh each time was drowned out by the blood pounding in her ears, in a race to fill her face in the reddest blush of all time.
“Right, Caitlyn. Now I want you to unzip the wetsuit on the boat, shimmy it off, and slide down the side onto the sand. Think sexy!” The heated blood rose to her cheeks again as Sean boomed his instructions over the loud speaker. “Action!”
Caitlyn’s tummy swarmed with butterflies. The tiny emerald green scrap she’d donned for the scene barely covered her breasts or bottom. After a deep breath, she did as she was told and unzipped the suit. Now all she had to do was peel off the clingy, soaked wetsuit and try to make it look like she wasn’t unwrapping a raw turkey.
Slowly, she pulled her arms free, one by one. The absence of Jake’s booming laughter drew her attention and Caitlyn darted a peek over to where he sat on a fold-out chair a few feet back. He wasn’t laughing. In fact, his cheeky grin was gone. Instead, those dark eyes bored into her and she swore she could feel the heat of his gaze on her body.
Maybe she could do sexy after all.
With a bout of newfound confidence, Caitlyn bent over at the waist to peel the white fabric from her hips, all the while dying to peek at the look on his face. Once her feet were free, she swung one leg over the side of the speedboat, followed by the other, then proceeded to slide down to the sand. The movement made the fabric of the bikini bottoms slide up, but there was no way she was going to pick the garment out from the place it disappeared and go through all that again. Once was enough.
So, without another thought, she pulled the prop handgun out of the boat and ran off to the side, aware that soon Jake would get a more revealing glimpse of her body than the tiny bikini was supposed to show off.
“And…cut! Good work, guys. Well done, Caitlyn, that scene was steamy,” Sean said, pushing his sunglasses onto his forehead. Little clumps of dark hair tufted out at the sides of his head. “That’s a wrap for today. Tomorrow morning we start at seven. Don’t be late.” Sean looked directly at Caitlyn when he said the last part, and her cheeks warmed. She nodded back ruefully.
Ever
yone started packing up their equipment and she darted a look around the beach. Jake wasn’t anywhere in sight. Caitlyn tried to ignore the disappointment surging through her. Seriously, why did she care? He was rude, self-centered, and did what he liked whenever he pleased, regardless of the effect it had on anyone else.
He’s also hot and charming. Did she mention hot?
Although her initial anger had faded, she was still miffed and was really trying her best to ignore his model-good looks. After all, he knew he was hotter than hot. Women probably told him all the time, and from what she’d read about him in magazines, there were a lot of women to boost his ego.
She would not be one of them.
Still, as she picked up her robe from the fold-out chair where she’d left it, the disappointment only increased. Why ask her out, spend the day watching her closely, and then just bugger off? Caitlyn knew she was a bit on the short and skinny side, with hair a matador would have trouble taming, but the fact he gave up so easily stung.
Did he expect to get what he wanted all the time, or had he found another woman to take out to dinner? She tried to ignore the pang of jealousy accompanying the thought. Who Jake dated didn’t matter to her, it wasn’t like she would date him. He was selfish, inconsiderate, and infuriating.
Caitlyn’s stomach rumbled as she made her way across the sand toward the road. With Jake’s gaze on her all day and her body’s jittery response, she’d forgotten to eat. She was absolutely starving. Returning the bikini would have to wait until later, after she’d had dinner.
Before she could even wonder what was in the fridge, a motorcycle carrying the man who’d been annoying her all day pulled up in front of her.
“Hungry?” Jake’s eyes glowed with laughter as he looked down at her. Caitlyn quickly snapped her mouth shut.
The motorcycle looked huge and dangerous and there was absolutely no flipping way she was getting on it with him. “No.” Her stomach rumbled.
Jake cocked a brow. “Jump on, Caity. I won’t bite.”
Folding her arms across her chest, she glared at him, though her heart wasn’t in it. The roasting hot sunshine shone done on his brown, squared face and turned the waves of his hair gold. Her empty stomach flipped and her pulse quickened, making heated blood race through her body.
“Come on, don’t be a wuss.” Jake kicked the stand down and swung his leg over the monstrous machine.
“I’m not a wuss. I just don’t have a death wish. Where did you find a motorbike on this tiny island anyway?”
“If you come with me, I’ll show you what else I managed to get my hands on. A whole array of British grub, stuff you can’t get your hands on in the states.”
God, it was tempting. Living in America for so long, she’d forgot what simple things like pan bread tasted like. Not to mention the temptation of Jake himself. He stepped forward, his white shirt pressed against his abs in the slight breeze, and she became distracted with the memory of his shirtless state last night.
“Say you’ll come.”
He was so close she had to tilt her head up to look him in the eye, but was distracted mid-way by the ‘v’ of skin exposed below the thick column of his throat. Caitlyn’s heart raced as the smell of saltwater mixed with his sandalwood aftershave and muddied her thoughts.
“Caitlyn?”
She did look up then, right into eyes darker than a starless night. They were open, and focused, and hid a hunger in their deep depths that warmed her to the core. “Mmm,” she mumbled incoherently, feeling a similar hunger well up inside herself.
He smiled, distracting her further. “Come on. You won’t be disappointed.”
Jake snared her hand in his and tugged her gently toward the motorbike. Caitlyn tried to snap back to her senses. Really, she should be wary he was taking her off somewhere, but the warm jittery feelings were back, swirling around inside and turning her brain to mush. If he was going to hurt her, he had the perfect chance last night and he didn’t.
Maybe she should go to dinner with him and start paying him back for the discomfort he caused her today. And, of course, for being late. Now that she was thinking relatively clearly, Caitlyn thought of all the ways he had tortured her and knew by the look in his eyes that he felt some kind of attraction toward her. Perhaps if she kicked the sexy up a notch, he’d be just as uncomfortable as she’d been.
A vindictive thrill ran through her and she found she liked it.
Chapter 3
The way Caitlyn stared at Jake’s bike with wide eyes and skin pale made him rack his brain for another way to convince her to spend some time with him. With all the problems during filming today, he’d been waiting for her to throw a hissy fit. She hadn’t.
By the time he’d finally realized Caitlyn wasn’t like any of the other actresses he’d worked with, she was dressed in a white wetsuit and his mind had gone blank. It had been hell watching her shimmy out of the soaked material, revealing a barely-there bikini and a whole lot of pearly flesh. His shorts become so uncomfortable he had to leave the beach to cool down.
Jake came to the conclusion it was going to be a nightmare working with her for the next three months. The sexual tension he felt only seemed to increase, and when she’d watched him as she slid out of the speed boat, he’d seen the hunger in her eyes too.
The only way he could think of to relieve the tension would be for himself and Caitlyn to get it out of their systems together. That was the theory anyway. Three months was a long time for a relationship, Jake didn’t usually stay with a woman that long; not since Sarah tried to trap him all those years ago. But he honestly couldn’t see how it could be helped. He knew his heart was safe, the scars his first love had left only grew thicker with time. Plus, he’d be up front with Caitlyn before he suggested the affair so she knew it would just be about the burning chemistry. Not love. He didn’t do love anymore. His heart simply couldn’t feel the emotion.
First though, he had to figure out how to get her to accompany him to dinner when she was looking at the motorbike like it might explode.
“You’ll be safe, Caitlyn. Just hold onto me.” He swung a leg over the seat and shifted forward to make room for her. “Come on, you don’t seem like the kind of girl to chicken out.”
Her eyes flashed green fire and her frown was full of so much irritation he almost laughed. Was it sick that her anger turned him on?
“I am not a chicken.” Caitlyn stomped closer, pausing when she reached the bike.
“Here.” Jake kicked up the stand and tilted the bike closer to the ground to help her jump on. “Swing your leg over.”
Caitlyn did as she was asked and, once she was in position, he straightened the bike and revved the engine. Caitlyn squealed and clamped her arms around his waist. He tried to laugh, but having her thighs bracketing his backside sent a fresh jolt of arousal burning through him.
“Hold on,” he instructed, and Caitlyn’s grip tightened.
“Jake, wait.” The last of the words were cut off by the sound of the engine as he started it.
Jake kept the speed slow as he made his way around the twists and turns of the winding road. He tried not to think of Caitlyn’s naked thighs curving against his. Nor the fact that her breasts were pressed up against his back and she was plastered to him as firmly as if she’d been superglued there.
Instead, he concentrated on the scenery. The island was covered in palm trees and the place he was taking Caitlyn had a tropical forest. Just at the edge of the palms and flowers there was a small, private area of beach which seemed undisturbed.
They darted by guest villas, all different sizes and styles. The owner of the island clearly liked to look after his guests. As the bike brought them closer to the coast, Jake saw the grandest villa of all. A white, two-story building with sea facing glass walls situated on a strip of golden sand.
He heard Caitlyn gasp and noted her hands loosened their death grip on his torso as they drove by the magnificent villa. Jake had been in awe when he’d
first noticed the property this morning on his jog along the beach. The house wasn’t huge, but the architecture was unique and the location perfect. The women he usually dated would turn their noses up at the size of the building. The fact Caitlyn seemed to appreciate the beauty of it made him warm to her more.
Once they’d reached the small cove he’d set up earlier with a picnic blanket and cooler, Jake stopped the bike. “We’re here.”
Caitlyn didn’t answer him, nor release her grip on his stomach. He turned to look over his shoulder and saw she was staring out at the ocean, her lips slightly parted in wonder. He meant to follow her gaze, but couldn’t drag his eyes away from her face. She still wore the subtle makeup but even without it, she was beautiful. High cheekbones complimented her heart-shaped face and the fiery curls contrasted perfectly with her emerald eyes.
Jake kicked down the stand on the bike and tilted it toward the ground. Sean had arranged for the bike to be transported from Rio, knowing Jake liked to ride. It was possible to walk around the island, but riding always helped him clear his head.
Caitlyn slid off the bike, stepped away from him, and then turned toward the cove. The sun was shining from across the sea, still hours away from setting, illuminating the white-gold sand. To the left, the small forest was alive with green, and every color of flower imaginable. Some even grew on the beach and he’d placed the blankets next to a small cluster of pink and blue flowers, the food cooler at the opposite side.
“How did you manage to find this place?” Caitlyn asked as she made her way down the small hill toward the blankets.
Jake dismounted the bike and followed her, his gaze molded to the backs of her slender legs. He cleared his throat. “I found it this morning when I went for a jog along the beach.”
She turned to face him as she reached the blankets. He noted the sardonic smile quirking her lips and anticipation snaked through him. What was she up to?
Thankfully, he didn’t have to wait long to find out. Caitlyn slid the white cardigan off her shoulders, revealing the tiny bikini that set his body on fire with lust earlier that day. Unsurprisingly, it had the same affect this time around.