“And those are?”
“Health. Happiness. And hope.”
She gave him a quick smile. “Yes. I agree.” Then she traced her fingertip from his chest down to his waist as if she were painting his skin. Her touch was as soft as a butterfly, but it was full of fire, and he liked it. He needed to make sure she liked being touched too, so their relationship was believable.
“You’re doing better now. More natural.”
She tilted her head as if to ask what he meant.
“You were all weird and awkward when I kissed you at your office,” he added.
“I’m sorry. I was just surprised.”
“I know. But we need to make sure you don’t jump the next time I kiss you.”
“We do?”
“Well that would give it away, wouldn’t it? You need to get used to being kissed by me.”
“Okay,” she said with a business-like nod.
“That means we need to practice.”
“Practice kiss,” she said slowly, then nodded quickly. “Right. Of course. Like actors. Like a stage kiss.”
She sounded chipper and cheery, as if she were trying to convince herself. She seemed to need the convincing, so he went along with it. “Think of this as a dress rehearsal. We’re prepping for the big kiss scene that makes the audience swoon and totally believe we’re in love. Got it?”
She nodded.
“Ready?”
“Right here in the dressing room?”
“What better place to rehearse a kiss than a dressing room?”
“Totally. Absolutely. Definitely.”
Reeve wondered how many more adverbs she’d need to utter before he kissed her. Perhaps they were a sort of liquid courage. Either way, he knew he had to lead. He suspected he had more experience with stage kisses.
So he looked at her, as if she were the woman he’d been dying to kiss for years. She was his leading lady, she was the only woman he wanted. She returned his gaze, and then it was as if a flame burst. Reeve pictured her ravenous and greedy, wanting to be consumed with kisses. Her lips were parted slightly, and her breathing had become…lustful. Maybe she was acting too. In that moment, he didn’t care. He wanted to taste her lips, he wanted to feel more of her beautiful body. There was something about her, maybe it was the age difference, her twenty-eight to his twenty-four, maybe it was the power play. But there was no time for analysis because his head was turning cloudy with a need he hadn’t had before. He wanted to do things to this woman. He wanted to make her feel the way a good boyfriend would—desired, wanted, craved. She deserved all that. He could give it to her now. He could give it to her for a week.
“You look like you want something,” he whispered.
She didn’t answer. She just licked her lips once. That was enough of an answer. That was all he needed. He moved behind her, brushed a strand of hair away from her neck, and pressed his naked chest against her back. He watched her in the mirror as she closed her eyes and sighed into him.
He started with her neck, pressing his lips gently against her skin. She smelled like some kind of shampoo, jasmine maybe, and she moaned the moment he touched her. It was like a chemical reaction, the two of them. They had that kind of physical attraction that smacks you hard, and turns you inside out in a second. Instant and electric, and you feel like you can set the world on fire. They could have known each other for years or been two strangers who met on a train—- their bodies were magnets for each other. With the softest of flutters, he kissed her neck, barely touching her, but touching her enough to make her move, to make her shift her hips against him. He ran his hands down her back, resting his strong palms on her waist, and she gasped. He worked his way to her ear, nibbling the earlobe, then kissing her jawline as she said his name in a low voice that gave all her desires away. “Reeve.”
Her voice was needy, full of want, and he grabbed hold of those hips and pulled them against him, so she could feel how hard he was through his jeans. She slid around, taking hold of his waist and bringing him close. He zeroed in on her red lips, first tasting the waxy flavor of red lipstick, then her mouth, tangling his tongue with hers, crushing her lips in a way he was sure the audience would love, even though this kiss was only for her. She was amped up. He could tell by how she wriggled against him and pulled him closer. He was all about obliging this woman, so he responded, with a deeper and harder kiss. She was such an alpha woman in the workplace—all take-charge and full-speed-ahead. But here, in his arms, she was different. She seemed vulnerable, but maybe that was just because she was damn near quivering under his touch. As if she were letting down her guard. She was the sexy librarian unpinning her hair and taking off her glasses for him.
He longed to slide a hand between her legs, feel her panties, and see if she was as wet for him as he hoped she would be. But somehow that would be going too far. So he let himself exist in the heat of the kiss in the dressing room.
“Reeve,” she said, her voice thick with lust, and topped with a dollop of nerves.
“What is it, Sutton?”
“I—”
But she was cut off by a voice outside the dressing room. “How is it going in there? Are you finding anything to your liking?”
Reeve cleared his throat. “Yes. Everything is to my liking.”
The attendant walked away, and Reeve and Sutton stood, stupid and awkward, as if they’d been caught red-handed.
“So,” he said, drawing the word out as she brushed her hands against her skirt, looking everywhere but at him. “I guess that might seem a bit more believable now in case we have to kiss in front of anyone.”
“Yes. I think that might fit the bill.”
He reached for her chin, softly raising her face so she had to meet his eyes. “See. Rehearsals are fun.”
“Indeed,” she said, and shot him a smile that he recognized as the one she gave every actor after every audition. Fine, they needed to get back to business.
“I suppose I should figure out what I’m going to wear tomorrow,” Reeve said. Maybe the attendant’s visit was the reminder he needed too—this was a job, and he shouldn’t f**k it up by feeling too much.
Sutton shifted gears, back to that sassy, in-control businesswoman. She swatted Reeve on the butt. “Okay, darling. Let’s get you in some clothes. Any pretend boyfriend of mine better look totally fetching for the theater.”
Reeve nodded, and slid his strong arms into a crisp button-down, modeling the shirt for Sutton. She curled up her lips, narrowed her eyes and nodded approvingly. He tried on a few more and she ticked each one off as a yes too.