“And action!”
Nate’s hand cupped Victoria’s jaw, his thumb skimming her cheek. Her heart pounded with the rhythm of his strokes. The look in his eyes—the heat that entered them—had her…
Totally flubbing her lines.
“Cut!”
Victoria took a step back, losing the heat of Nate’s palm. She turned to Simon. “I’m so sorry. Can we try that again?” Only she wasn’t sure trying again would help.
They were shooting the first kissing scene of the film, and to say she was nervous would be an understatement. For the past few days she’d been all but glued to Nate’s hip—not that she was complaining—and in that time, she’d learned Nate was more than just a pretty face and that behind his gruff and standoffish behavior, lay a really nice guy.
Okay, so maybe really nice was a bit of an exaggeration as she did notice he was lacking in the patience department and tended to be short with people. And while he never yelled, it was easy to tell when he wasn’t pleased with something. But she also noticed he was always nice to her. Not once had he complained about being stuck with the new girl who didn’t know her way around. In fact, he’d gone out of his way to make her feel comfortable and at ease.
So really, could she be faulted for having a wee bit of a crush on her leading man? Could she be blamed for being anxious at the thought of kissing aforementioned crush? Not really, but it was her responsibility to make sure she didn’t miss her cue and botch her lines.
“Let’s take five.” Simon’s voice pulled her from her thoughts.
She felt a hand engulf hers and looked up to find Nate’s gaze still on her. “Come with me a minute.”
The grip on her hand tightened as he pulled her across the studio and into an unoccupied room that had racks of clothing taking up most of the available space. He hit the light switch before shutting the door and pressing her back against it.
His hands bracketed her head as he leaned in close. “I know what your problem is.”
Victoria tried to make herself one with the door, laying her sweaty palms flat to the cool metal to keep her hands from straying to the tempting sight before them—Nate’s hips. She licked her lips before whispering, “You do?”
“Mm-hmm.” He leaned in closer, and she could feel the warmth of his breath on her lips. “Would you like me to help you with your problem?”
“Um.” Her brain couldn’t form a coherent sentence overwhelmed as it was by sensory overload.
His scent engulfed her—something musky and clean and man—making her more and more light-headed with every inhale she took. The raspy sound of his voice—part purr and part growl—caressed her ears and made things below her belt tingle. His heat surrounded her, coated her skin, warming her to her core, and left her feeling flushed.
He was so close, he was all she could see. His arms in her peripheries, their muscles straining the fabric of his shirt sleeves. His chest right in front of her, peeking through the open buttons at his collar, revealing smooth, tanned skin. The light stubble on his jaw when she tipped her head back, the hairs slightly darker than those on his head. His lips, tempting her imagination and having her conjure up all the interesting things they could do to her. And his eyes, a rich, warm brown surrounded by dark, thick lashes.
He was the whole package that flipped every one of her switches.
“Just say, yes.”
What was she agreeing to, again? Did it even matter? The answer would always be yes. She’d barely gotten the word out when his lips were on hers.
Nathan Reed was kissing her!
And, oh man, could he kiss. The lips she’d just been fantasizing about, her imagination didn’t hold a candle to the reality. Just a mere brushing of them on hers sent electric tingles through her. Never had she been so effected by such a light touch, and she couldn’t imagine what would happen if he deepened the kiss.
He didn’t leave her wondering long.
Sweeping along the seam of her lips, his tongue demanded entrance, and she had no control over how quickly she complied with its enticing request. Her whole body felt the impact of his kiss. Her blood warmed, her nipples hardened, and she grew wet between her legs. And it was only a damn kiss. No other part of his body other than his lips even touched her.
She heard a moan, and she was vaguely aware it was her that made such a needy sound because it was answered with a growl.
The kiss grew more demanding and felt almost desperate, as though he’d been waiting forever to kiss her when she knew that was impossible as they’d only known each other a week. But she still recognized the feeling because strangely, she felt the same. She opened her mouth wider, becoming braver, her tongue dueling with his. Her hands found his hips she’d been so desperate to reach for before, latching on, her grip tight with her fingers digging in. It was the best friggin’ kiss of her life. The kind one could only imagine in their dreams.
The kiss turned gentle, a soft grazing of his lips, and when they finally parted from hers, she whimpered. She was discovering, when it came to Nathan Reed, she was a greedy, greedy girl.
He backed up a step, letting his hands fall from the door. But before she could issue a protest, he raised the right one, cradling the side of her face.
“Now, say your line.” His thumb stroked her cheek.
She blinked a few times. “Wh… what?”
“Say your line.”
Then it all clicked into place. God, how could she have been so stupid? She closed her eyes, dreading to ask the question she feared she wouldn’t like the answer to. “You kissed me, so I wouldn’t be nervous to kiss you?”
“Yeah. I took away the fear of the unknown.”
Already knowing the truth didn’t make hearing it sting any less. She took a sidestep out of his hold.
“But Tori?”
She stilled, liking the sound of the unfamiliar nickname falling from his lips. Her hurt and ire took a back seat at the desire she saw simmering in his eyes.
“That doesn’t mean I haven’t been fantasizing about doing it, too.”
A slow smile curved her lips. “Yeah?”
He returned her smile. “Oh, yeah.”
Okay, she could live with that.
≈≈≈
They’d wrapped up another day of filming, again ahead of schedule, and Nate was leaving his trailer when he spied Victoria leaving hers as well. He took the steps two at a time and headed her direction.
It was stupid to go after her, just as it had been stupid to kiss her earlier without the excuse of performing for the camera, but he found he didn’t give a fuck. For the first time since he started in the business, he was tempted enough to break his number one rule.
No on-set romances.
That had been a line he’d never dare cross—too much drama. And from what he’d seen from fellow colleagues, they never ended well. But for Victoria, he didn’t just want to step over that line, he wanted to obliterate it altogether.
Victoria stopped when she saw him and gave him a wave.
“Going home?” he asked, noticing the purse slung over her shoulder and the keys in her hand.
“Yep. You?”
“Yeah, I thought I’d go home and relax. These short days are nice. That rarely happens.” Then he surprised himself by saying, “Would you like to come over? We can have a drink. Go over our lines.” Reenact their kissing scene a few dozen times until they got it just right.
She smiled but shook her head. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
Without thinking, only knowing he needed to close the distance between them, he quickly took the couple of steps that still separated them.
Her smile vanished as her lips parted in surprise when he captured her face in his hands. Her eyes widened a fraction before he lost sight of them as his mouth descended to hers, taking her mouth and claiming it as his own. He swallowed her gasp as he invaded her heat, his tongue sliding along hers to tangle in the familiar dance of lovers that somehow felt completely foreign with Victoria.
Better.
No, fucking fantastic.
He slid his hand to the back of her head, his fingers sliding through the silky strands of her hair before fisting a handful and tilting her head back to give him better access.
He heard her moan and felt the sharp bite of her nails when she gripped his upper arms as he deepened the kiss.
Her taste on his tongue, the sweet scent of her as he drew in a breath, and her sexy whimpers tantalizing his ears were enough to have him almost coming in his pants like a fucking teenager.
What was she doing to him?
With a groan, he pulled himself away. She was too fucking tempting. Spending more time with her than necessary was probably a really bad idea. But fuck if he had the willpower to walk away.
He rubbed his thumb across the apple of her cheek—the skin so soft it felt like the smoothest silk—and took in her beauty. Her eyes, a mixture of green and blue, fascinated him most, and he swore he could see her soul in their hidden depths. Chunky layers of sable-brown hair framed her face, emphasizing rather than hiding its shape, and as he now knew, so thick and soft he wanted to spend hours running his fingers through it. And her lips, soft and full and perfect for kissing. She was any man’s wet dream, but he wanted her to be only his. And as crazy as that thought was, it strangely didn’t scare him, it just made him feel content.
“What was that for?” Her voice—a sexy rasp that tightened his balls and sent all available blood to his dick, making him so hard he ached—pulled him from his musings.
“Because I can’t seem to control myself around you.” He clamped his mouth shut then shook his head before chuckling. “Which I can’t believe I just admitted to you.”
Her lips tipped up, and he reluctantly pulled his gaze away from her sassy smirk when she poked him in the chest with her finger. “Soooo, are you trying to say I’m irresistible?”
His lips quirked as he fought back a smile. “Maybe.”
Then she did something he wasn’t expecting. Leaning in, pressing the length of her body to his, she got up on her toes and whispered with a sultry purr in his ear, “Well then, that makes two of us. I find you quite enticing, too, Mr. Reed.”
And fuck him if those words weren’t the hottest thing he’d ever heard.