Drew felt ridiculous, but if Kate liked this look, he'd try to channel his inner bad boy. The bad boy that was locked away under so many layers, he didn't know if he'd be able to pull him out without seeming pathetic.

But he had noticed that Kate's eyes seemed to linger on his arms more than they had in the past…so maybe this getup would help him in the long run.

Feeling encouraged, he drew in a deep breath and stood with as much confidence as he could muster. Bad guys were usually über confident.

He ran through the scene in his mind, trying to embrace Treven's character. He really wanted this to be helpful to Kate, so he would do his best.

"He's gone." Drew pretended to open a door and walked through it before walking up to Kate and pretending to unlock imaginary chains from her wrists. "I'm sorry we have to keep you locked up like that."

Kate's face turned to stone. Wow, she was really good at this.

"Are you really?" Her voice was full of hatred. "If you were sorry you wouldn't keep locking me up."

Drew slumped his shoulders, hoping he was putting off a defeated vibe. "I’m sorry." He reached for one of her wrists and pretended like he was feeling along her chains. And when he looked into her eyes, something took over him. He felt light and confident, like for the first time in his life he could actually move through a scene without overthinking it.

Kate was a girl he'd kidnapped. She was scared. She'd been ripped away from her family and friends, held hostage by him. He had no right to think she could forgive him for this. But when he was with her, he wanted nothing more than to take her in his arms and make her feel safe again.

"I'm trying to keep you safe. You need to just trust me," Drew said.

Kate ripped her hands away and clenched them in fists at her side. "How can I trust you when you're the reason I'm here in the first place?"

Drew scrubbed his hands over his face the way he thought Treven would. "I know it started out wrong, but you don't know what he's holding over me. Maybe if you did, you'd understand that I want what's best for you. I just don't know how to stop."

"What are you talking about?" Kate asked. "If you wanted to get away from him, you could just leave."

Drew took her hands in his again and ran his thumb along her knuckles—such soft, delicate fingers. "It's not that simple. Give me time and I'll get you out of here. I promise."

Kate's eyes shifted their focus from side to side, reading his eyes. He pushed as much warmth into them as he could.

"So what made you change your mind?" she finally said.

Drew slid his hands up her arms to rest on her shoulders. "You changed me. You changed everything." His gaze dipped down to her lips then back to her eyes.

This would probably be the time for Treven and Misty to kiss.

Drew slid a hand from her shoulders to rest behind her neck while the other traced the line of her cheekbone.

He swallowed. Just follow through. Just go for it, he told himself.

"Do you want me to finish the scene?" Drew asked, his heart pounding so hard in his chest.

Her lips parted, and she nodded before whispering, "You probably should…for research."

His stomach tightened. But he nodded too, and said, "For research." Then he closed the distance between them and kissed her slowly and tentatively. At least, he tried to go slow, but the moment their lips touched, Drew was breathless and hungry for more. He'd feared she'd shy away from his kiss, but she didn't. Her lips parted, and she deepened the kiss.

Every inch of his skin tingled as he pulled her closer to him. He smoothed his hands across her back, resisting the urge to press her firmly against him.

How many times had he dreamed of that stolen moment on the couch in her parents’ basement? So many times. But even though he'd relived it over and over again, trying to forget while trying to remember at the same time, he was surprised at how much he had forgotten. The sensation he remembered was just a ghost of what it was like to kiss Kate now.

She slipped her hands slowly up the contours of his chest, before resting them behind his neck and pulling herself closer. He didn't know if she was still just doing research for the scene, but he didn't care. Even if this wasn't coming from a real place with real feelings, he'd take it. He'd kiss her as long as she'd let him.

"What would Treven and Misty do next?" Drew asked, breaking the kiss for a moment, his chest heaving as he tried to catch his breath.

She looked up into his eyes, and the blue reflected a desire he'd hadn't seen in them since he was in college. Could he dare hope that she wanted this to be real as much as he did?

"You did say Treven would probably trap Misty in a corner and make-out with her, right?" Her breathing was as shallow as his. "It might be a good idea to test that theory and see how it goes."

Drew's insides surged at her suggestion. Before he could talk himself out of it, or break character, he walked Kate backwards until her back was against the wall and they were kissing again.