“Did you really turn Portia Philips down?”
Another rueful smile flickered across his face. “From the tips of her extensions all the way down to her thousand-dollar pedicure.”
He gave a small shudder as if he’d just thrown back the sheet on a corpse. “I’m surprise she told anyone.”
I returned to chewing at my lip. Portia was two years older than me. She’d been cast in Most Eligible Dallas, but the rumor was her daddy threatened to disinherit her if she went on the show. Before today, I hadn’t encountered a single male that wasn’t related to me who would turn Portia down. But Sam had and, even harder to figure out, acted like he was attracted to me.
He studied me, his brows pinching as he saw me shredding my lower lip. “You don’t believe me?”
“I want to, but I’ve been accused of being a little naive.”
He gave a little nod, either accepting my reply or agreeing that I was foolishly trusting. He brushed a curl from my cheek, his fingers lingering to stroke my skin. “For the rest of the night, listen to that little voice telling you to trust me.”
“Oh, no.” I shook my head. “It’s the little voice saying not to…everything else…”
Feeling my cheeks start to glow, I snapped my mouth shut and cast my gaze to the side. In over my head already, I didn’t need to wear my heart on my sleeve.
Sam leaned in and nuzzled my ear. “Even better.”
Thirty seconds later, he snagged the waiter for the check. Two minutes after that, we were in the sedan and heading for my house.
The drive home offered a brief respite. The streets were bright and half the vehicles sharing the road were SUVs or full-sized trucks, their drivers and passengers able to peek down at us at will. His hand only rested on my covered thigh, chaste but for the occasional squeeze.
His display of propriety ended the second he parked beneath my carport and killed the engine. A quick flick of his hand and his seat belt was off. I had the feeling he didn’t intend to just walk me to my door.
His palm against my cheek, Sam kissed me. He took his time, teasing the corner of my mouth. He coaxed my lips into parting with a slow slide of his tongue across their seam. His hand moved down my throat, the fingers dipping into the bodice of my dress and tracing the edge of my bustier.
“Invite me in, Amber.”
I answered with a whimper.
His lips found my throat. He sucked at the hollow harboring my pulse then licked a short line up to the lobe of my ear. “You can be more decisive than that, baby.”
Decisive was other people’s forte, not mine. My parents, Beau, Melinda…
His hand delved deeper into my bodice, parting the fabric of my bustier from my skin. Finding the nipple, he gave it a soft pinch as he bit lightly at my jaw. “Invite me in.”
“Would you like some tea?” My lips kept quivering even after I finished the query. My hips had started to move, my round bottom shifting against the seat cushion. Muscles pulled tighter, squeezing my labia together as his mouth moved back down my neck.
“Tea?” Amusement rippled through his voice.
“I don’t have any coffee…we could go get-”
“No,” he laughed and released my seat belt. “I can work with tea.”
Sam came around and opened my door for me, holding my hand for balance as I stepped from the car. He helped me open my front door, too, when my hands proved too shaky to thread the key into the lock.
I have a simple little house, mostly paid for. No garage, just a carport. A single bathroom and two bedrooms, one of which serves as my home office. The kitchen and living room are divided by a breakfast bar and overhead cabinet instead of a wall. No one walking inside would think I come from money. Same goes for Beau’s house. Our father doesn’t tolerate any slackers. We draw regular salaries, same as anyone else doing our job at the company, and most of our shares are held in trust until the day we take more senior positions.
Since there was no grand tour to give, I headed into the kitchen and started filling the kettle. I couldn’t stop my hands from trembling and the water splashed against the side of the sink. Sam came up behind me, put one arm around my waist and took the kettle away.
“Baby, I don’t think you’re safe in the kitchen right now.” He nuzzled my neck and then twirled me until I was pointed in the direction of the breakfast counter. “You park that sweet bottom on one of those stools and let me do this.”
Blushing madly, I obeyed. I directed him to the cupboard where the tea was at, then the one that held my grandmother’s serving set. In between his preparations, he watched me. Not quite a leer, his gaze was suggestive. Sexually Machiavellian if there is such a thing. He had me squirming in under a minute the way he used his eyes to caress my breasts, hips and legs.
“I’m starting to think you’re incorrigible, Samuel Pepin.”
“I can’t help it if I love looking at you, Hollywood.” His cheeks actually turned pink beneath his tan at the admission. “Makes me hungry watching your nipples pucker and that sweet, round ass wiggle as you wonder just what I’m going to do to you.”
I looked away, a shiver running through my body. I had been wondering if his hands would soon follow the path his eyes were taking, just how far he wanted to take things tonight and how far I would let him go.
Was it wrong to let him go all the way? Too soon? Would I ever see him again if I let him take my virginity tonight? Would I see him if I did?
Feeling his hand on my hip, I gave a little jump. I hadn’t sensed him crossing the room.
He turned my face so I was looking at him. “I’m not sure I like what you’re thinking, Hollywood.”
I stared down at the sliver of space between us. “What am I thinking?”
“Big questions is my guess.” He wrapped one of my naturally tight curls around the tip of his index finger. “Serious questions. You want to ask them out loud?”
I immediately shook my head. He didn’t need a front row view of my insecurities.
“Mmmm…Let’s start with the simple questions, then.” He arranged the curl he had toyed with behind my ear. His lips touched my cheek. “Do you want me to touch you?”
That was an easy yes, my reaction so prompt I felt his mouth spread in a smile against my skin. “Good, because-”
The kettle started whistling, drawing him away from me. I started to rise and follow him, but he gestured for me to go into the front room. I sat down on the couch, my legs tucked to the side. The skirt of my dress fell above my knee from the position. I went to adjust it and stopped.
Sam had already seen a lot more than my knee and it was just the two of us. I brought my knees a little higher up on the cushion and let the fabric of the skirt drape behind the back of my lower thigh. I studied the effect for a second and then looked toward the kitchen area to see Sam lift the serving tray.
With his long, muscled legs, it didn’t take him very long to reach me. He placed the tray on the table. Lifting the lid from the sugar server, he raised a questioning eyebrow.
“Three cubes,” I answered.
He lowered three cubes into the cup and slowly stirred the tea, his gaze once again freely roaming my body. He landed, at last, on my exposed knee and a smile crept up the right side of his face. I immediately moved to lower the hem.
“No you don’t, Hollywood.” Placing the spoon on the tray, he brushed the hem of my dress a little higher up my thigh. Returning to my tea, he lifted the small cream jug.
“Just a tip,” I whispered, my throat suddenly dry.
He poured the cream in, gave the tea another stir and then started to hand the cup to me. I reached for it, but he pulled back.
Sam looked at the shake still infecting my hands. “Can you promise me you’re not going to burn yourself?”
Closing my eyes, I tried to calm my nerves. It was ridiculous the way I was shaking. A trembling virgin — so very cliche, but absolutely true. I opened my eyes again, touched by the genuine concern that shaped his face.
“I can’t promise.”
Putting the cup back on the tray, he nodded. “We’ll have tea later. Right now, it’s time for cream and
