Again Pete fell silent, and aside from a few general comments, he remained that way until they pulled into the lengthy drive leading to the plantation.
Renee found a parking place in the gravel lot near the walk that led to the English-style mansion. She followed Pete to the front door, where they were immediately greeted by the thirtysomething proprietors. The couple seemed overwhelmed by Pete’s presence, as if they couldn’t quite believe that a man of his stature would grace their home. She’d felt the same way when he’d agreed to direct her movie—indisputably awed—until she’d gotten to know the man behind the legend.
Renee hung back while they took the tour, and did the same when the man and woman left her and Pete alone on the grounds. She was satisfied to simply study him as he surveyed different angles, mentally cataloguing all the possibilities while he visualized turning scripted scenes into a visceral feast. Seeing him assume the role of director fascinated Renee, and admittedly affected her on a very carnal level. No doubt about it, watching Pete in action really turned her on.
That was ridiculous. He was only a flawed, flesh-and-blood man, albeit a talented one…in every sense of the word.
“Come here for a minute,” he told her as he stood several yards from the house.
When she complied, he moved behind her, circled his arms around her waist and pulled her closer. “See that building not far from the corner of the main house?”
Renee was having trouble concentrating with him so close. “That’s the former cook’s cottage, according to the owners.”
“What do you think about shooting a love scene there near the door?”
“Out in the open?”
“Yeah. Where the suitor yanks up those hoop skirts, lowers his fly and takes her right there against the brick wall. We could do a reenactment, see if it works.”
Renee recalled another time, another place, another wall—and Pete. “I’m not wearing a hoop skirt.”
“We’ll improvise.”
She looked back at him. “What kind of film is this, anyway?”
He grinned. “I’m kidding about the love scene. It’s only going to be a kiss. A forbidden one because of the lack of a chaperone. But I wasn’t necessarily kidding about the reenactment.”
“I doubt seriously the owners would appreciate us getting it on in their yard.”
He brushed a kiss across her cheek and gave her a little squeeze. “You’re no fun, Renee.”
She was overcome with a sudden sense of abandon. “Oh, but I can be lots of fun. You told me that three years ago.”
He pressed closer to her back before dropping his arms from around her. “I think we better go to the car right now before I say to hell with it and take you down on the ground right where we’re standing.”
Renee turned to face Pete, and for a long moment, they stared at each other as if passing silent secrets. He smiled at her, she smiled back, and he took her hand. They walked in silence to the parking lot, but the tension remained. Renee felt it with every sultry look he gave her, with every step they took back to the car.
After they’d settled into the sedan, Renee checked her watch to keep from jumping him. “It’s almost five now, which means we still have about two hours of solid daylight left and about two hours after that before we’re scheduled to pick up Adam.”
“I was counting on that daylight.” The tenor of his voice had deepened noticeably.
“So where to now?” Her voice sounded slightly shaky.
He leaned over and draped his left arm around her shoulder then clasped her waist with his right hand, shifting her toward him. “I was going to suggest my suite, but then I realized we might be facing another media throng at the hotel. So I guess that means your apartment is the next stop.”
“What do you propose we do there?”
As if she didn’t know. And even if she hadn’t a clue, he told her when he grazed his thumb over her breast ever-so-slightly. “That’s up to you. If you want to watch a movie, order pizza, that sort of thing, I’m game. But if you want to engage in something less ordinary, then you can leave it up to me.”
Tempting. Very tempting. But… “What if I told you I still have a few misgivings about taking up where we left off?”
He ran a fingertip along her jaw. “Give me the chance, and I’ll dispel all of them.”
Renee realized he was just the man to do it. She also realized he was about to kiss her, until a high-pitched shrill filled the car. Definitely one of those saved-by-the-bell situations, or else one of the most untimely interruptions she’d ever experienced.
She leaned over, rummaged through her purse, which rested at Pete’s feet, and retrieved her cell phone, immediately recognizing the number. “What’s up, Mother?”
“I need to talk to Pete, bébé.”
Although Anne didn’t sound panicked, Renee couldn’t crush her concern. “Is something wrong?”
“No. I just want to ask him a couple of things. I’ll make it quick so you can get back to whatever it is you’re doing.”
If Anne only knew what her second-oldest daughter was considering doing with Pete, she might not be too pleased. Then again, she might. “My mother would like to speak with you.” She offered the phone to Pete, who apparently was becoming the son her mother had never had.
“Hey, Anne. What’s up?”
Renee leaned back against the door and listened to Pete’s side of the conversation, curious over the content when he said, “Okay, as long as he’s okay with it. Put him on.”
A few moments passed before he continued. “Hey, kiddo. Are you okay with the plan?” Another brief pause. “All right, but if you need me to pick you up, have Melanie call my cell phone or Renee’s, even if it’s in the middle of the night. And mind your manners.” He flipped the phone closed and handed it back to Renee.
“What was that all about?” she asked.
“Melanie has invited Adam and Daisy Rose to have dinner with them at the hotel, something about her famous popcorn shrimp. After that, she’s invited Adam to a sleepover at her apartment.”
And Renee knew exactly what that could mean for her and Pete. “And you said yes?”
“Yeah. Why?”
“I don’t know. It’s just so progressive, a coed sleepover.”
“They’re preschoolers, Renee, not teenagers. Do you have something against coed sleepovers?”
“That depends on the circumstance.” Something suddenly dawned on Renee. “Do you realize what you told Adam?”
“Yeah. I said yes, which frees us up all night.”
“I meant the part about if he needs you, he’s to have my sister call either your cell phone or mine, even if it’s in the middle of the night. If he tells my mother that—”
“She could assume we’ll be together all night. Or she might just think that we’ll be out late.”
Renee shook her head. “My mother isn’t stupid. She’s going to know the truth.”
“Is that a problem? You are above the age of consent, and your mother seems to like me.”
If Pete only knew how much her mother liked him, how Anne might be cooking up permanent plans for his future with Renee, he might demand to be taken back to the hotel, photographers or no photographers. “I’m not worried about my mother as much as I am about my grandmother.”
“Yeah, well, something tells me she wouldn’t like anyone you’re involved with. And does her opinion really hold that much weight with you?”
It shouldn’t, but in many ways it did. “Guess you could say that she’s always been hypercritical where I’m concerned. She swore I wouldn’t make it in Hollywood, and in a way, she was right.”
He reached over the console and took her hand. “Look, Renee, you had a good reputation and you could return right now and have a number of studios vying for you.”
Renee wanted to believe that was true, but she honestly didn’t think so. “It doesn’t matter now. As I’ve said, I don’t plan to go back.”
He raise
d her hand to his lips for a soft kiss. “Tell you what. Let’s forget about meddling relatives and the past and the rest of the world. Let’s just devote the remainder of the day and night to us.”
When he sat there, awaiting her answer, his dark hair disheveled from the winter breeze, the first signs of an evening shadow covering his jaw, his piercing dark gaze searching her face before coming to rest on her mouth, she decided he was right. The rest of the world could go to the devil. She’d been too lonely for far too long. She knew Pete would treat her well, take her on a sensual journey that would be unforgettable, even if she were forced once more to forget him.
She fastened her seatbelt and started the car. “Okay. I’m yours for the rest of the night.” Even if not forever.
BY THE TIME THEY REACHED Renee’s apartment, the sun had all but disappeared behind a bank of ominous-looking clouds. Renee’s mood seemed equally gray, and that didn’t sit well with Pete. He sensed her ongoing struggle over what was about to happen, particularly in the elevator a few minutes before, when she’d leaned one shoulder against the wall and faced the door, not bothering to look at him.
Maybe he’d come on too strong, had been too insistent. Maybe he should just leave and go back to the hotel. But he knew he wasn’t going to leave until she booted him out on his ass, figuratively speaking.
He’d have to take it easy, take it slowly, which was fine by him. The last time they’d been in this situation, everything had been too fast and too furious. Not that he had any real complaints. But this time, he wanted to take his time. He wanted to savor every moment, remember every detail. Provided they even arrived at that point.
“It’s starting to rain,” Renee said from the window where she’d been standing since they’d arrived at her apartment. “I’ll check the weather reports.”
She turned and removed her cap, then slipped the band away before shaking out her hair. If she kept that up, Pete was in danger of losing any semblance of control.
He removed his jacket and draped it on the back of the sofa, then swiped his cap off his head and tossed it on the table. Renee snatched up the remote control, powered on the TV and rapidly flipped through the channels before pausing at the local weather station. “Twenty percent chance? Ha! They missed that one. Perhaps I should call the station and tell them to look outside.”
As she continued a running commentary about the weatherman’s incompetence, Pete rounded the table, moved behind her and slid his arms around her waist.
“Are you always this enthralled by the weather, or are you nervous about something?”
“Of course I’m not nervous. Why would I be?” She sent him an acerbic look over one shoulder before channel-surfing again.
“Give me that before you kill it.” He reached around her, tugged the remote from her grasp and laid it on the table behind him. Taking her by the shoulders, he turned her around to face him. “It’s just me, and we’ve been here before.”
For Renee, that was the problem. Her anxiety stemmed from knowing that once she crossed the portal from fantasizing about this moment into the realm of reality, she couldn’t turn back. “Okay. Maybe I am a little anxious.”
He rubbed his hands up and down her arms, and even the thick sweater couldn’t block out the sensations. “I’m not going to make you do anything you don’t want to do.”
That sent her chin up a notch, relaying the message that she wasn’t totally powerless. “You should know by now that I don’t do anything I’m not one-hundred-percent sure about.”
“Come here.” Taking her by the hand, he led her to the sofa and pulled her down beside him. “Now relax and tell me what’s bothering you.”
She leaned forward, untied her shoes and toed out of them before tugging off her socks. “If I must.”
“And since we’re getting comfortable…” He made quick work of removing his own shoes and set them aside before leaning back on the sofa.
She pointed at the boots that had been an integral part of her memories of their last lovemaking. “How long have you had those things?”
“About ten years. I consider them my lucky boots.”
“Are you hoping to get lucky tonight?”
He draped one arm over the back of the sofa and took her hand into his. “I consider spending time with you damn lucky.”
He was determined to wear her down with sweet words. And it was working, which was evident when she relaxed against him and sighed. He made no move to kiss her or to touch her aside from rubbing his thumb along her wrist, calling up memories of his touch that morning.
“It’s different, isn’t it?” he said after a time.
“I’m not sure what you mean.” She knew exactly what he meant.
“Different from the last time we were together. We barely got into the door before the clothes started flying.”
An image flashed in her mind of uncontrollable heat, reckless abandon. “You pinned me against the wall.”
He released her hand and twirled a lock of her hair around his finger. “I don’t remember you putting up much of a fight.”
She’d had no fight in her that long-ago night. She had little left right now. “That’s true. But I do remember coming away with a few bruises.”
“And I had a few souvenir scratches, too.”
She tipped her head back and released a shaky laugh. “We knocked that picture off the wall. I didn’t even notice it until the next morning.”
“I didn’t notice anything but you. The way you looked when we totally lost it. God, you were beautiful. You still are.”
Renee was on the verge of losing it now as he brought her mouth to his. This she could never forget, the masterful kiss that would quickly set her on a course of ruination. Not in the traditional sense of destroying her reputation; she was well beyond worrying about that. But ruining her for other men, exactly what he’d done three years before. Why else would a healthy woman approaching her sexual prime remain celibate for so long?
In a matter of moments, they were past the point of talking, parting only to take a momentary breath. They were well beyond all the arguments of why this might be a mistake, at least that’s how it was with Renee. But she couldn’t mistake the way Pete made her feel, the way he could so easily unearth all that made her a sexual being. Particularly when he worked his palm between her jean-covered thighs. When he applied gentle pressure, he effectively tripped the switch that lowered what was left of her resistance. Elicited a burning heat and dampness, as well as a soft, guttural sound from deep within her throat.
Renee mustered enough strength to pull away. To tell him what he needed to know to take this to the next step, where nothing stood between them. No clothes. No debate. No regrets. “I’m not nervous anymore.”
He managed a half smile. “I’d already figured that out.”
When he tried to take his hand away, she released an all-out groan. “Do you want it here?” he asked.
A ragged breath left her mouth in a rush. “I don’t care where. I just want it.”
He went to his feet and stared down at her. “This time, we’re going to the bedroom first.” He hooked a thumb over his shoulder. “The way I’m feeling, the coffee table’s in danger of getting initiated if we don’t go right now.”
Who was she to argue? Taking his extended hand, Renee led him through the kitchen and into her bedroom. The parted curtains revealed the deluge that had arrived, the raindrops pounding the paned glass, seeming to keep time with her runaway heart.
Pete pulled her to a stop at the end of the bed, dragged her sweater up and over her head, leaving her clad only in corduroys and the blue satin bra that matched the panties she wore. The underwear she had selected for him, although she hadn’t wanted to admit that. But she admitted it now—she’d known all along it would come to this.
She worked the buttons on his flannel shirt with surprising dexterity for a woman who was on the brink of buckling where she stood. After she slid it off his shoulders, he jerked his T-s
hirt off, balled it up and hurled it across the room.
Grabbing the brief window of time when she could be in control, Renee guided her hands down his chest. She loved the feel of the hard planes beneath her palms, the dusting of hair, the way his abdomen tightened when she raked her nails across it. She loved his slight tremor when she opened his fly, loved that “so happy to see you” state, his inability to hide his own need. Perhaps hers wasn’t exactly obvious, but he would know how much she needed him the moment he touched her again, without any barriers.
For now, the power had shifted to her, and she was intent on taking advantage—until he clasped her wrist before she had the chance to do a more intimate investigation. “You still on the pill?” he asked.
She risked a glance at his dark eyes. “Yes. Are you still healthy?”
“Yeah.” He dropped his arms to his sides. “You’re welcome to find out exactly how healthy I am.”
And she did as she touched him beneath his boxers, explored him thoroughly, the way she’d wanted—and hadn’t—this morning. She watched his reaction, saw his struggle, sensed that at any moment, he would stop her.
Her instincts didn’t fail her. Without any warning, he scooped her into his arms, deposited her on the bed then quickly relieved her of the pants, leaving her dressed in only her panties and bra.
When Pete continued to stand by the side of the bed, sizing her up, Renee frowned. “Are you going to come here, or do I have to drag you by that gorgeous hair of yours?” She had just enough adrenaline on board to manage that.
He rubbed his chin, as he often did while concentrating. “I’m trying to decide what I’m going to do to you.”
“Do I get to vote?”
“You can tell me if you don’t like it, but believe me, you’re not going to have to do that.”
Still he remained in place, raking his gaze down her body and back up again until she squirmed slightly. “You’re teasing me, Pete.”
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