by Aimee Duffy
Sean stood next to Jake and his words froze Caitlyn’s hormones like an ice bath. She turned to Jake with pleading eyes and noted his breathing was still harsh, like he’d been as affected by their kiss as she had. The thought distracted her for a moment, but it was hard to keep the horror from her expression.
* * * *
Jake’s heart raced. He had to be grateful for the baggy shorts which hid his arousal. He’d kissed women before, both on and off screen, but never had a kiss with a woman made him forget everything but her.
Still, seeing the look of horror in Caitlyn’s expression, he tried to pull his brain back from his groin. He couldn’t understand why she’d be so terrified to film a love scene. It wasn’t like they didn’t have enough chemistry to pull it off. That, at least, would not need to be faked.
Dammit, he was going to find out if it killed him. He wasn’t going to go out of his way to ask a friend to re-write a script just for the hell of it. If she had a good excuse for her fear, then he’d try to help her.
“Thanks, man.” Jake addressed Sean, and the director walked away, firing instructions at the crew to pack up for the day.
He turned back to Caitlyn and held out his hand. “Come on.”
She looked down at it with furrowed brows. “Where are we going?”
“It’s a surprise. Come on, you’ll love it.” He thought at first she’d tell him no, but after worrying her kiss-swollen bottom lip for a moment, she shrugged and took his hand.
“Okay.”
The smile she gave him was so sweet and trusting it jolted his heart. He frowned and turned away. Caitlyn kept hold of his hand as he pulled them past the crew members, extras, and toward the main road. What the hell had just happened? He didn’t feel emotions anymore, other than lust. That he could cope with.
But little jolts in a heart he thought too numb with scar tissue from being ripped to shreds all those years ago? No, he certainly didn’t feel those anymore. He must be imagining it. After all, only a fool would allow himself to be so vulnerable twice in one lifetime, and Jake was no fool.
As they reached the busy road, filled with tourists and an array of locals rushing past, sightseeing or commuting from work, Jake waved down a taxi. The car’s tires screeched to a halt on the pavement before them. He held the door open while Caitlyn climbed in. He was distracted for a moment by her small, rounded bottom encased in denim, before climbing in after her. He closed his eyes and tried to will away the burning in his groin. This was about ferreting information from the woman who’d given him hell, apologized so sincerely, and lit his libido on fire, all in the space of mere days. Not being stuck with an erection for the rest of the evening no amount of cold showers would ever dissolve.
* * * *
The walk from Ipanema beach along to Leblon beach would have been painful during the scorching mid-day sun, but the temperature was cooling and Caitlyn knew it was from the dark clouds lingering on the horizon, threatening to bring the rain closer. From what she knew of Brazil, it didn’t rain very often. Trust her luck for the heavens to open up and move forward a scene which would surely cause more humiliation than she’d ever experienced. How could Sean think that rolling around in sludgy sand with rain transforming her hair into rat tails would be sexy?
Other than a few tourists packing up and leaving after a day in the sun, the beach was practically deserted. Though her mind was spinning, she couldn’t keep her eyes off the beauty here. It was like a different planet. The sea was calm and so blue, yet she knew that even if she was in waist deep, she’d be able to see her feet. The clear sky above was a different shade from LA, not to mention the sky she remembered from England, which always held clouds of some sort.
“Fancy a cone?”
Jake’s question snapped her attention to him and she noticed a small ice cream vendor just ahead. She nodded and, after giving Jake her preference, he purchased two chocolate and raspberry ice cream cones in fluent Spanish. Her brows rose in question.
“I learned Spanish in school,” he explained.
“How old are you?” Caitlyn asked. He had an ageless air about him. Young, free, and kindred, yet subtle lines formed at the corners of his eyes and the corner of his mouth, no doubt from his habit of smiling excessively.
“Thirty-three.” He sent her a bemused smile and shook his head.
Somehow, the fact he was in his thirties shocked her. She’d assumed he was nearer her age. Although, admittedly, it felt like sometimes she was in her mid-thirties or older. The pressure of being depended on by Amanda sometimes made her feel older than she was. Not that she would ever have done anything differently.
Their mother died when Caitlyn was eight, and her father had started drinking. As time went on, he’d been incapable of even getting out of bed some mornings, and the role of parent had fallen to her.
“Is my age important?” Jake asked. His eyes held a teasing glint, and a wry grin hitched the corner of his lips.
For a moment, her mind skipped back to earlier when she’d had her mouth infused with his. Her lips tingled at the memory. She remembered, even through her ringing hormones, how addictive his kiss could be.
“No.” Her voice sounded husky. She cleared her throat. “I was just curious.”
Stop thinking about kissing him, you ninny!
Even though she’d been wrong about his late arrival to the island, there were still plenty of warning signals screaming at her not to get involved. The fact that he’d never committed himself to any of the beautiful women he dated being only one of them. Jake Campbell was not the man she was supposed to be with. She had no idea who that man might be, but, from her experience with Archie, an actor was probably not for her.
“As am I.” Jake walked over to an area of grass. Caitlyn followed, frowning at his broad back. What was he curious about?
He sat down and patted the ground next to him with his free hand. Knowing that sitting close to him would be a terrible idea, she lowered herself to the ground about a foot away. The distance didn’t help. The light breeze from the sea carried his spicy scent toward her and ignited a fierce longing at her core. She quickly turned her attention to the water, hoping he would mistake the blood burning in her cheeks as heat from the sun and not his close proximity.
“What are you curious about?” she asked, trying to distract herself from the tension thrumming through her veins. She licked at the ice cream, hoping the cool treat would dim some of the fire inside her. No such luck.
“You.”
She snapped her head back to him and saw he was studying her with a line between his brows.
Me? What on earth is so interesting about me?
Then she remembered yesterday in the hut when he’d promised he was good at ferreting out secrets.
No, she wouldn’t allow that. She’d kept her life private and away from the papers since she started acting and wasn’t about to let her skeletons out of the closet now. Not to him. Even though she knew her father was probably too far gone in the bottom of a bottle of cheap plonk to remember she even existed, there was still the chance that, if the media ever found about how she’d kidnapped Amanda, he would no doubt cause her trouble.
Even Amanda didn’t know the full extent of what happened under their roof. Caitlyn had kept everything to herself, not wanting to add to her sister’s burden. By the time their father started beating her, she was sixteen and on the verge of leaving. If it wasn’t for Amanda and the inheritance from their mother which they were to receive when Caitlyn was eighteen, she would have left then. Instead, she’d lived through two years of hell, faced countless beatings, and sheltered her sister from it all, knowing the minute she had enough money to secure another home, she would run and take Amanda with her.
Trying to quell the rising panic, she took a bite out of the chocolate and raspberry goodness. “What about me?”
“Why don’t you want the love scene to go ahead? Surely you noticed it when your agent gave you the script to audition. Why th
e change of heart now?”
Caitlyn trapped her lower lip between her teeth. Telling him why wouldn’t be as hard as telling him about her past, but it would still be embarrassing. Plus, she hadn’t even read the whole script, since her agent hadn’t delivered the whole thing to her until the day before she boarded the plane for Rio.
Caitlyn turned back to Jake and noticed his unflinching gaze was full of determination. He wasn’t going to give up until he had an answer. She swallowed.
* * * *
Jake watched as a million emotions seemed to swirl in Caitlyn’s eyes. What was so hard about answering the question? Honestly, if they hadn’t shared an earth-shattering kiss earlier he would have guessed it was because she was repelled by him. Her obvious passion had been evident. Not even the best of actresses could fake something as pure as that.
The pink in her cheeks morphed into a dull red and she turned away. The sea blew her curls across her face. His fingers itched to tuck the strands behind her ear. Instead, he polished off the last of his cone and dug his fingers into his pockets.
When had he had this much trouble trying to figure out a woman before? The actresses he’d worked with—or dated—never shut up about themselves. He usually had to tune them out. Not Caitlyn.
No, she was an enigma. He couldn’t figure out a damn thing about her other than she had a fiery temper and a passion she tried her hardest to quash. Last night, he’d wondered whether his curiosity about her was bordering obsession. He’d finally come to the conclusion it was just the type of person he was. Running his father’s company had changed him. He’d learned to read clients and business associates in order to negotiate better deals. He thrived on it. The fact he couldn’t work out what kind of a person Caitlyn was irked him and he responded to the challenge of finding out.
“Well?” he pressed.
“It’s embarrassing.” Her voice was small and he had to strain to hear it.
“And it will be embarrassing for me to ask my friend to cut a perfectly good scene. I’ll look unprofessional.”
She turned apologetic eyes on him. “I know. I just think it will be…” Her head turned away from him again and his usually everlasting patience expired.
“Caitlyn, I’m not going to ask Sean to drop the scene unless you have a good reason for it. Spill, or we’re just going to have to do it.”
“I don’t know how.” Still, she refused to meet his gaze and, growing more frustrated by the second, he pulled her around by the chin so she would face him.
“Just tell me.” Her face was so close he had to force himself to stop from closing the distance and tasting those luscious lips.
“I did.”
Jake frowned. “I don’t understand.”
“I’m a virgin. I have no idea how I’m supposed to act,” she yelled. Her cheeks flamed scarlet.
Jake let his hand fall from her chin as a jolt of shock rendered him speechless. He’d heard the words, but he couldn’t comprehend them.
He couldn’t take his eyes off her. Wild, fiery ringlets, perfectly sculpted face, and huge emerald eyes. A petite, yet curvy body covered in milky flesh which he longed to taste every inch of.
No way in hell.
Caitlyn Hart was one of the sexiest women he had ever met. She fired his blood and made his hormones less predictable than that of a teenager. Plus she was from LA and an actress to boot. He doubted her life had been that sheltered.
And yet…
He remembered back to the first night they’d met. He’d had her pressed against the door and tried to kiss her. She’d practically run away from him and looked terrified. And again, last night when they’d eaten dinner by the woods, she’d seemed afraid.
Well, that changed everything. He could understand her terror about filming and another pang pierced his heart. He’d try to persuade Sean to drop it, or perhaps cut it short. Still, he wasn’t hopeful. The romance was the only thing the poorly written script had going for it.
Sadly, he could no longer pursue his idea of a brief fling with her, regardless of how much his body protested. Caitlyn had held onto her virginity for a reason. One which he had no interest in finding out. In his experience, women who put so much value on sex were the kind of women who wanted commitment and promises. He couldn’t give either. For the next few months he was just going to have to ignore his heightened sex drive and get on with what he’d come here to do. Work.
Chapter 5
Nerves. That’s what the skittery feeling in Caitlyn’s stomach was. Not anticipation. Jake had barely spoken to her at work since she’d admitted why she wasn’t comfortable with the scene. He hadn’t flirted. There were no more cheeky grins. No more invitations to dinner. Only a cold professionalism which made her feel strangely bereft.
And the love scene had not been cut.
Jake had kept his promise. He had tried to convince Sean to cut it, using the excuse that what sounded like a steamy scene on the beach would in actual fact appear tacky. But Sean had refused.
She paced across the tiled floor of the fancy villa she’d been allocated. A hard knock at the door froze her to the spot and she stared in the direction of the exit. Who would be calling on her at this time? She’d yet to make any connections with the other actors and she was due on set in half an hour.
She hurried to the front door, wishing there was a peep hole there. Her nerves were making her skittish. Caitlyn opened the door, placing one foot firmly in its way, halting the intruder from entering. She was shocked speechless when her gaze locked onto the hunky Adonis leaning against the door frame. Jake looked every bit as sexy and nonchalant as she’d remembered.
She swung the door open all the way and drank him in with her eyes. He lounged there like his appearance at her temporary home was something he did all the time. His face gave way to that special grin which never failed to weaken her knees.
“Can I come in?” His deep voice rumbled through her.
Caitlyn stepped to the side with her head down. Maybe if he couldn’t see her face he wouldn’t be able to guess how his presence made her lose control of herself. Or more specifically, her body.
He strolled past her, swinging a glass bottle by his side. Her attention focused on it and she saw it was black labeled vodka. What on earth was he doing with that?
“Where’s your kitchen?” he asked.
“Why?” Caitlyn couldn’t mask her suspicious tone. In fact, hiding any of her emotions in front of this man was proving to be a challenge. It was embarrassing to think her eight years of experience of pretending she was someone else couldn’t help her around him. She felt irritation bubble in her stomach.
Jake didn’t answer. Instead, he opened several doors in the hall until he discovered the room he was looking for. He marched through without a backward glance. She followed.
“What are you doing?” she demanded as he placed the vodka on the table and began rummaging through the cupboards.
“Where are your glasses?” Before she answered, he found them. “Never mind.” Jake pulled out two tumblers and brought them over to the table. He poured two heavy shots of the spirit into each glass. He offered her one. Caitlyn frowned at the glass of liquid in his outstretched hand.
“I don’t drink,” she insisted and folded her arms across her chest.
Jake sighed. “I thought as much when I saw your face after you drank the wine on the beach.” He picked up his glass and downed it in one gulp. “But, in my experience, it helps with these kind of scenes. As much as a score of champagne usually helps the tension afterward.”
Caitlyn eyed the glass he’d poured for her. Could one little glass of fluid really turn her into her father? She doubted it. He had drank bottles at a time before going to the pub. It was only when he returned that he had lashed out. A part of her, even during the beatings, had gone out to her father. He had never gotten over her mother’s death, but she could never justify the way he’d dealt with it.
Still, Caitlyn wasn’t going to let a glas
s of translucent liquid get the better of her. And Jake did have a point. She’d heard alcohol calmed nerves and loosened inhibitions, and she could really use the Dutch courage right now. Perhaps that was what she needed. Before she chickened out, Caitlyn swiped the glass from his hand and swallowed it in one burning, eye-watering gulp. Good God, it hurt. She gasped and, to her ever present irritation, Jake laughed.
“The burn will fade and the glow will help. I’m going to leave the bottle here. Help yourself.” He walked to the kitchen door, paused, and then turned back to her. “Don’t drink too much though.”
She frowned at him. “Of course I won’t!”
After throwing her another of his bone-melting grins, he was gone and Caitlyn was left staring at the empty glass in her hand. Jake was right, the burning taste had disappeared and she felt a tingle of warmth in her tummy, almost masking the nerves. Surely one more would banish them completely?
Pouring herself a slightly larger helping of the fire water than Jake had, she put the glass to her lips and noted it smelled worse than turpentine. Ugh. Caitlyn’s nose wrinkled as she inhaled again. After a moment, she had the idea that if she didn’t smell it, surely the taste wouldn’t be so bad. Plugging her nose between a thumb and forefinger, she gulped the heavy-handed shot and scrunched her features together as the burning liquid trickled down her throat.
Soon, her nerves vanished and a warm glow crept through her body. Caitlyn was ready to face the scene. God, she was ready to face anything. A grin spread across her face as she picked up her bag and made her way toward the door. Maybe she didn’t know how to act in a love scene, but, for the life of her, she couldn’t care…
* * * *
The fancy villa with the glass wall facing the sea which she’d driven by with Jake all those nights ago was where Sean eventually agreed to film the dreaded scene. Caitlyn noted, with a smile, that the dread was long gone. Her head felt fuzzy and her body warm from the two shots of alcohol she’d drank. It was lovely.