CHAPTER 6
Her dress was too damn short!
Kristin frowned at her reflection in the mirror as she twirled left and then right. The slinky black dress was like nothing she’d ever worn before, and she felt half-naked.
It was her size; it wasn’t her style.
Obviously, she had Mara to thank for some additions to her wardrobe. Honestly, she didn’t own a decent dress. She had no reason to have one. But what her best friend had chosen wasn’t the dress for a chubby redhead. The hem flirted with her knees, but the material didn’t cover them. Instead, it clung to her thighs, making Kristin want to keep pulling it down, which only made the bodice lower.
“Damn!” She turned away from the mirror as she cursed. It wasn’t like she had another dress, so she was going to have to deal with it.
Really, her legs weren’t that bad. It was her big butt that she had to keep covered with far less material than she really needed.
I’ll just have to be careful not to bend over much or my ass will be hanging out of my flimsy undies.
Her buddy had gone the sexy route, complete with stockings, garters, and barely-there fancy black silk underwear. There was no way she could wear a bra, so her breasts were standing proudly right beneath the skimpy fabric.
Telling herself it didn’t matter, Kristin scooped up the little black bag that had been included and managed to get to the living room without tripping on her too-high heels.
“Jesus Christ! I didn’t realize that dress would look like that!”
She turned to see Julian standing at his bedroom door, breathtakingly handsome in his black tuxedo.
Her heart fell to her feet. “I know. It doesn’t look good. But Mara didn’t pack anything else.”
He strode into the room, his eyes never leaving her. “You look like a fucking goddess, but it will be impossible not to be fighting the men off you all afternoon and evening.”
She put her hands on her ample hips. “Chubby redheads shouldn’t wear little black dresses. And I do mean little.”
Kristin had done what she could with her hair, leaving it down with a natural curl. Her makeup had been applied carefully, something she rarely wore.
Julian stepped up to her and kissed her on the forehead. “You look beautiful, Scarlet. I’m just not sure I want other men looking at you and thinking the same thoughts I am right now.”
“I feel naked,” she confessed as she looked up at him.
“I wish you were naked,” he answered hoarsely as he reached into his pocket. “I already knew you were wearing a black dress. I just didn’t realize it would be quite so sexy.”
Her heart jumped as she saw the sincerity in his gaze. For some unknown reason, Julian really did find her attractive. His heated gaze made her feel a little more confident.
Kristin automatically reached out as Julian shoved a box into her hands. “What’s this?”
“A friendship gift from Vegas,” he answered with humor in his voice.
She got nervous when she saw the label of an exclusive jeweler on the lid. She fumbled with the top, finally letting it fall to the floor as it came free from the bottom.
“Oh, my God. Julian. No.” The delicate black pearls were stunning, each one of them just a little different from the others, making the set unique. There was an equally elegant bracelet, and earrings to match.
Wordlessly, he took the box from her hands and dumped the jewelry into his hand. He carefully put the necklace on her and fastened the catch, then the bracelet. He took her hand and dropped the earrings into her palm.
“You’ll have to do those. I don’t want to hurt you, since your ears are pierced.”
Stunned, Kristin fingered the beautiful necklace. “I can’t take these. They probably cost a fortune.”
“I’m rich,” he reminded her with a Hollywood smile.
“I’m not,” she retorted, reaching for the catch on the necklace.
“Don’t.” Julian caught her wrist to stop her from taking off the pearls. “It’s perfect with your dress, and I like seeing you wear them. It gives me pleasure.”
“Why?”
“Because when you’re wearing something I gave you, I feel like you’re mine,” he answered candidly. He paused before adding, “Don’t be stubborn, Scarlet. For me, it’s a small thing.”
For some reason, Kristin was reluctant to throw the lovely, thoughtful gift back in his face. Pulling her wrist from his grip, she turned and walked to the mirror near the couch and put the earrings in.
There was nothing gaudy or ostentatious about the set. They suited her dress perfectly, and they were small but classy.
She turned and faced him. “I don’t know what to say.”
“Nothing. Or thank you would be good. It’s generally the appropriate thing to say when someone gives you a gift.”
She hesitated, but couldn’t quite bring herself to refuse his gift. It obviously made him happy, and for some odd reason, she didn’t want to hurt his feelings right now. Maybe it was the flash of vulnerability she could hear beneath his casual sarcasm. Or perhaps it was because he told her she looked beautiful in a way that almost made her believe him. “Thank you. It’s the nicest thing anyone has ever given me.”
It was also thoughtful because he’d gone to the trouble of finding out what color she was wearing in order to choose a gift. Why would a guy as busy as Julian do that?
“You deserve the world,” Julian answered. “But I’m still not happy about that dress. My dick will be hard as long as you’re with me. And for Christ’s sake, don’t bend over.”
“Should I run away so you don’t have to protect me?” she asked lightly.
He caught her up in his arms and growled. “Try it and I’ll find you wherever you go.”
His fierceness took her breath away. She took his head between her hands and gave him a tender kiss on the mouth, lingering before pulling away again. “I’ll have the hottest date a woman could ever want. You look gorgeous in a tux.”
Actually, she was pretty sure he looked good naked, but she wasn’t going to go there. But with his blond hair partially tamed, and in formal wear, Julian was the hottest guy she’d ever seen. If she’d thought casual was his style, maybe she was wrong.
“I never get the bow right,” he said unhappily.
She took a step back and played with the bow, adjusting it until it was completely straight. “There. Now it’s perfect.”
“I just noticed you’re not wearing a bra,” he mentioned gruffly.
Looking down, Kristin was mortified when she realized being close to Julian, inhaling his masculine scent, had made her nipples hard. They were sensitive as they abraded against the silken material every time she moved.
“Then try to tone down the testosterone,” she admonished him, still embarrassed that her breasts were giving him an aroused salute. “I already feel naked enough in this dress.”
Julian stepped forward and ran a gentle finger down her cheek. “I like it,” he argued as the tracing finger went down her neck. “I just wish you weren’t going to send every man around into a lust-filled frenzy.”
Jesus! She wished he’d stop saying those things to her. Maybe he was attracted to her, but she still found that fact pretty surreal. “I think you’ll be the only one looking.”
“I hope so, sweetheart, but I doubt it. But if I catch some guy staring at you, it will piss me off.”
The covetous note in his tone made her shudder as his finger reached her breast. She couldn’t move as he tracked her hard nipple with his index finger. One touch and she was destroyed.
He pulled her into his arms, his hands running over every curve of her body. “I love the way you feel. Don’t ever say you’re dumpy or overweight. Your body is perfect.”
“My butt is too big. And my hips are ridiculous. I’ve never been thin and I never will be,” she answered sadly.
“Thank fuck!” he rasped. “I’d have nothing to grope, and that would be a shame.”
“I’ve never seen you with a woman shaped like me in photos,” she replied accusingly.
“Because you’ve never seen me with a woman I wanted to fuck,” he said huskily.
“The models and actresses that you’re pictured with—”
“Friends only. I hate going to publicity events alone.”
The way he was feeling her up almost made her believe he liked his women rounded.
Julian’s hands roamed down her back, then to her hips, and finally, he grabbed her ass.
He pulled her against him so she could feel just how much she affected him.
“Julian. We can’t. Not now. The wedding starts soon.”
He growled as he let her go. “Tonight. Come with me after the wedding. Let’s get crazy together.”
Kristin knew he wanted to go out on the town after the wedding, and she was tired of being afraid. Julian Sinclair wanted to be with her, and she wanted some stolen time herself.
Take it. When will I get another chance?
“Okay. I’m yours after the wedding and dinner.”
“Be careful what you promise,” he cautioned, but Kristin recognized the pleased look on his face.
“I’m not afraid, Hotshot,” she shot back at him. He had to be on location Monday morning, and she had to be back to work.
This night was going to be hers, and she no longer wanted to waste a single minute of that time.
Julian pocketed his wallet and the keys, then politely opened the door for her.
They made their way to the wedding, Julian continuing to make her feel like the most beautiful woman he’d ever laid eyes on.
Kristin relaxed and relished the illusion, letting herself live out her Cinderella fantasy for as long as it lasted.
Julian couldn’t help the fact that every time some asshole turned his eyes on Kristin, he wanted to smash the guy’s face in.
He’d gotten through the wedding and the reception by hammering a few hard-liquor drinks, minus anything to dilute the effects. Then he’d stopped drinking alcohol the moment he’d gotten her into a show without being recognized, a theater where he’d spent more time concentrating on the beautifully entranced expression on her face in the dim light than he had on the production he’d been wanting to see for quite some time.
Thankfully, at least during the performance, he hadn’t needed to put up with men staring at her, because it was too dark to see very far.
How she’d ever gotten the idea that she was anything but stunningly beautiful was beyond Julian’s comprehension. Her flame-red hair drew a man’s eyes first, then her shapely body kept those eyes all over her. Every bastard who looked at her was probably wondering what it would be like to see her come, just like he did. Julian couldn’t imagine how they couldn’t be, since he was so obsessed with that fantasy himself.
Maybe she downplayed her looks in Amesport, but with her curly locks unbound and flowing down her back, there was no way a guy wasn’t going to look and then check her out a second time. And a third. Julian knew he couldn’t resist her, and fuck knew he’d tried.
Granted, it hadn’t been her physical appearance that had first grabbed his attention. It had been the unimpressed, funny, and teasing disregard she’d shown him from the very start. She hadn’t been the least bit interested in the fact that he was a superstar, or that he was a billionaire Sinclair.
She’d immediately pegged him as a conceited, self-centered prick. And she may have been partially right. After that, he hadn’t been able to resist poking at her temper simply because she actually got irritated with him. It had been a novel experience.
Now, he was well and truly screwed. He actually admired her, liked her, and that was a pretty uncommon experience for him. That had started his obsession with Kristin, and the more he got to know her, the more he wanted her.
“Where are we going?” Kristin asked from beside him in his hired vehicle. They were both sitting up front, and he’d already taken precautions so she wouldn’t get nauseated.
“Since you didn’t decide what you wanted to do, I made some executive decisions for you. Hope you’re not afraid of heights.” Her motion sickness had precluded a few of the thrill rides, and his lack of desire to see her in any really dangerous situations by herself had crossed out a few more possibilities.
Zip-lining? Too dangerous, and her possibility of getting sick was still too high.
Jumping off a building suspended by only a cable? Oh, hell no. Just fucking . . . no!
Maybe he could have asked her, but he didn’t want to take the chance that she’d be daring enough to jump off a building over eight hundred feet up in the air. His heart couldn’t take it.
Anything that spun around was taken out of his plans. Since most of those rides were also at a ridiculous height, he was more relieved than disappointed that they’d miss them. He’d done them all before—never having stopped to consider the risk to his own person because the rides were as safe as they could be. It hadn’t been a big deal when he’d done it himself on previous trips. Having Kristin dangling off the side of a drop that would definitely kill her if something happened was another matter altogether.
So he’d opted for a more sedate schedule, something his heart could handle. “We’re going for a ride. That’s why I gave you some pills.”
He’d given her the motion-sickness pills at the end of the show.
For once, she didn’t argue. “The show was amazing. I’ve never seen anything like that before.” Her voice was elated and happy.
Her blissful tone slammed Julian right in the gut. It was an emotion he’d never heard before, and he wished to hell he could keep her exactly like that for the rest of her life. How often had Kristin really been pleased or relaxed? Her life had pretty much been about work, and although she seemed to take everything in stride, he wanted so much more for her.
“I’ve been wanting to see it for a while. It’s been a few years since I’ve been here, and I’d heard it was fantastic,” he answered hoarsely, the cheerful tone of her voice still affecting his response.
“Did it live up to your expectations?” she asked, still sounding breathless with excitement.
“Oh, yeah,” he replied. Anything that made Kristin that enthusiastic was fucking amazing in his opinion.
“This has been a magical night for me, Julian,” she said in little more than a dazzled whisper. “Thank you.”
The sincerity in her voice touched a place inside him that he wasn’t certain had been reached before. “You’re welcome. But the night isn’t over yet.”
He pulled onto a road near the airport and parked next to one of the white buildings as he announced, “We’re here. How are you feeling?”
After unbuckling his seat belt, he reached over and undid hers since she wasn’t moving.
“Are we flying again?” she asked as she stared at the helicopter that sat ready to take off on the heliport behind them.
“If you get the slightest bit queasy, you tell me,” he said insistently before he got out of the driver’s seat and walked around to open her door.
When he pulled her out of the passenger seat, he tried not to look at the shapely amount of leg she was showing as she swung both feet out of the car. She hadn’t changed out of that damn sexy dress, high heels, or black stockings. They’d been too busy to change, but he’d yanked off the bow tie of his tuxedo the moment they’d gotten into the theater, tired of feeling like he had a noose around his neck.
Her face lit up like a damn tree at Christmas. “Okay,” she agreed as she beamed up at him.
One smile and Julian was toast. He wanted to see that happy expression on her face for the rest of her fucking life.
It didn’t take long for them to get settled into the helicopter, since the pilot was a friend who’d flown Julian previously, and he’d made damn sure she could see out the front window in addition to the side views. The aircraft was spacious and state-of-the-art. He also trusted the man at the controls, who had plenty of hours and experience logged in his twenty-year history as a helicopter pilot.
He noticed Kristin putting a hand to her belly as they lifted off, then started to head for the Vegas Strip.
Unconsciously, she grabbed for his hand and squeezed, an action of trust that made Julian’s heart soar.
“Okay?” he asked her huskily.
“Yeah. Fine. It just feels weird going straight up,” she answered excitedly.
Julian had ridden in so many helicopters in his lifetime that he couldn’t really remember his first time. Probably with his dad when he was a kid, since his father had preferred that mode of travel whenever possible. “You’re going to tell me if we need to land,” he grumbled, watching her for any sign of sickness.
There was none.
“Oh, my God. Look. That’s our hotel!” she exclaimed, squeezing his hand harder as she pointed out the landmark. “The lights up here are amazing. I’ll never be able to explain how it looks from the air to somebody else. There are no real words for how beautiful it looks right now.”
It was a nice night for flying over Vegas. It was clear and the lights were spectacular. But what made it special was sharing it with the woman next to him, even if she was cutting off all the circulation of blood to his fingers right now.
He grinned at her, knowing that even if he lost a few digits, her reaction would always be worth it.