‘These need to come off.’
She felt his hand dip into the waistband of her leggings and bugger it, that small distraction, that loss of his mouth on hers, was all it took for the nerves to jangle again.
‘It’s been years,’ she blurted, holding onto his wrist, stopping him from peeling her leggings any further. ‘Lots of years. Too many years. I might have seized up down there.’ She made the mistake of looking into his eyes, and oh my God there was so much going on in those brilliant green orbs. Desire, concern, affection. Hints of something deeper. I’m falling for you. His husky whisper from earlier floated through her mind and she slammed her eyes closed. It was all too much. ‘I’ve probably forgotten what to do.’ She was going to start babbling, she could feel it. ‘Is there an instruction manual I should look at, you know, just to remind me again? I don’t want this to be a rubbish experience. I mean obviously you won’t be rubbish, it’s just—’
‘Kat.’ Her eyes fluttered open, and immediately she felt herself drowning in swirls of green and burnt orange. His lips found hers again and it was as if that was all the connection she needed to turn her brain off.
This time he kept his mouth on hers as he drew the rest of her clothes off. By the time he finally slipped on a condom and eased his way inside her, she was too far gone to worry.
He let out a deep, guttural groan as he began to slowly pump his hips. ‘You feel incredible.’ The smile he gave her was both wicked and sensual. ‘And I can confirm nothing has seized up. Everything,’ he thrust again, making her shudder, ‘everything is in perfect working order.’ Another thrust, followed by a groan of pure male satisfaction. ‘Absolutely perfect.’
Gradually his hips began to increase their pace, and desire, hot and frantic, began to claw at her, building until she wasn’t sure who was groaning now, him or her. ‘I …’ His scorching mouth captured her words, her breath. ‘Oh God, I …’ Another wave hit her, and she dug her fingers into his hips, feeling herself coming undone.
And then she fell over the cliff, dimly aware of him following her.
***
‘Hey there.’ Kat blinked, and when she turned onto her side, she found herself staring into a pair of amused green eyes. ‘Looks like I’ve finally found a way to shut you up.’
It was hard to focus on talking when her limbs felt like overcooked tagliatelle, and the man she was staring at, with his mussed hair and crooked smile, was so flaming sexy. ‘You think?’
‘Of course, I can’t be absolutely certain, until I give it another go.’
She experienced a bump of delight at the thought of doing it again. ‘The instruction manual wasn’t needed then.’
His fingers reached across to caress her face and she almost purred. ‘Why has it been so long?’ he asked softly.
‘Ah.’ Time to regret the earlier meltdown. Now she’d left herself wide open to a series of questions she really didn’t want to answer. ‘If I tell you that, will you tell me whatever it is you’re keeping from me, because I know there’s something.’
Slowly his hand dropped to his side. ‘What do you mean?’
‘I was there at your parents’ house, Zac. I met your brother and sister. I know you have secrets, and that’s fine, of course you do. It’s not like we’re in a relationship, I don’t need to know your personal stuff.’ She looked him straight in the eye. ‘But that goes both ways.’
He let out a deep sigh and flopped onto his back. ‘I’m not asking about your family life, Kat. I’m asking about your romantic history. You know mine.’
‘The job makes it hard to have any sort of private life.’
Still on his back, he angled his head towards her, his expression clearly telling her the answer was a cop out. Well, tough. The more she shared, the more vulnerable she became, and she wasn’t risking that for a man still clutching hard to his own secrets.
‘According to Hollywood, bodyguards are always jumping into bed with their clients.’
‘According to Hollywood, the world is protected by men either dressed as a spider, wearing an iron suit or wielding a big hammer.’ She could see he was annoyed, and she didn’t want him to be. This man had just magically, and patiently, made love to her. ‘I’ve already told you, I’ve never kissed a client. Until you.’
He shifted so he was facing her once more. ‘What about an ex-client?’
‘Jeez, Zac, same answer. Only you.’
She marvelled that he was so bothered by the thought of her with other men. Was he really starting to fall for her, like he’d said? If so, this was more dangerous than she’d thought. She didn’t want to lead him on, to give him any reason to think there was more between them than simmering sexual chemistry and mutual like and respect. There couldn’t be anything more, because she couldn’t go through all that again.
You hated seeing him kiss on set.
You kissed him even when he was your client.
A shudder ran through her. God, was she falling for him, too?
***
Zac watched Kat’s lithe, toned body tremble. ‘Hey, what’s wrong?’ Concerned, he wrapped his arms around her, changing their positions so she lay against his side, her head on his chest, her soft hair brushing against his chin.
‘I just felt a chill.’
She was evading, just as he’d done when she’d asked, yet again, if he knew of anyone who wanted to kill him. He didn’t though, not really. He had a fear, yes, but no evidence to back it up. Nothing to suggest it wasn’t simply wild paranoia.
She was right about him hiding things from her though, and by not opening up, he wasn’t helping convince her that what they had was more than sex. More than the fling he knew was all she planned. For the first time in his life, Zac wanted that more. He needed time with her before he could dump his life history on her though. Time for her to see him for who he was, without the gloss of fame. Or the tarnish of the past.
Drawing in a breath, he kissed the top of her head, catching a faint smell of her coconut shampoo. ‘I can recommend something to warm you up.’
He felt her smile against his skin. ‘I thought you might, but am I going to like it? Because right now I’m thinking food, preferably something with a bit of heat, like a curry.’ Her stomach gave a little rumble, making her laugh. ‘Oh God, that is so not sexy. I’m lying in bed with a naked Zac Edwards and my stomach is making “feed me” noises.’
‘I was thinking more along the lines of you taking a hot shower. With me. But we can go with the curry if you prefer.’ If she chose the latter, he wasn’t sure his ego would ever recover.
She propped herself up on her elbow. ‘So let me get this straight. You’re asking me to choose between taking a shower with you, or a chicken jalfrezi.’
‘It doesn’t have to be a jalfrezi. We could opt for something milder. Like a korma.’
She screwed up her face. ‘A korma isn’t a curry. It’s got no spice, no flavour. It’s bland, boring, tasteless goo.’
‘You’ll find I’m less bothered about the attack on my favourite curry, than I am about the fact we’re discussing curry at all.’