How had she lived without him all these years?
Squeezing him, she rubbed in an urgent, methodic way until he groaned and gathered her close. She heard the sound of a foil wrapper again. Then he slid the condom on and, much to her delight, positioned the head of his shaft against her damp entrance.
Murmuring her name, he hovered there, kissing her hair, her brow. Only when she arched her hips upward in sensual invitation did he slide all the way inside. For a moment, he stopped and simply held her so they could savor the sensation of their joined bodies.
“Zach,” she pleaded.
His hips surged. She cried out as he drove himself home.
Their eyes met and held. With her hands, she cupped his face and kissed each of his cheeks and then his nose.
He sighed, as if relieved of some immense weight. Then, all too soon, some primal force took over.
How she loved lying underneath him, staring up at the breadth of his bronzed shoulders, at his black hair that dripped perspiration onto his gorgeous face as he pumped. She felt on fire. With every thrust he claimed her, and she surrendered to him as she had as a girl, completely, irrevocably, giving him every shattered piece of her heart.
Thus did he sweep her away to emotional and sensual peaks she’d never known before. Crying out in the end, she held on to him, feeling lost and yet found again as he exploded inside her. In a blinding flash, she saw that he had always remained at the center of her heart.
For a long time she lay trembling quietly beneath him. Then she kissed his damp eyelashes and eyebrows. I love you, she thought. I always have. This is what has been missing.
If I have everything else and lack this, I can never be complete.
Only gradually did she grow aware of how wonderfully heavy he was on top of her. When she opened her eyes and looked up at the hard angles of his handsome face, she saw that he was staring down at her with a brooding intensity that frightened her.
“You’ve got to go soon, so you can cram for those damn scenes with Jones.” Frowning, he kissed the tip of her nose.
“Yes,” she replied drowsily without the least bit of enthusiasm. “I think you just sapped all my ambition to be a movie star. I just want to stay here with you.”
He nipped her upper lip a little firmly…as if to snap her out of her languid mood. “But that’s not who you are, is it? You said your career is what completes you, not relationships. And with my uncle not there to help me anymore, I’ve got a helluva lot to do in Houston. So…”
No sweet words. Nothing. Just those two parting kisses.
A chill swept her. Had she been wrong about their sex being spiritual as well as physical? Had it just been revenge for him after all? Now that he’d had her again, was he done?
“And next weekend?” she murmured, deliberately keeping her voice light. “Do we meet again?”
“I’ll call you,” he said slowly, but there was no conviction in his voice. Her heart sank as he stroked her neck absently. “Like I said, we both have a lot on our plates.”
“Sounds to me like maybe I’m off the hook. For good behavior?”
“Maybe,” he admitted.
“Okay, then. I get it.”
He stared at her, sucked in a breath, but didn’t reply.
She rose, reached for her clothes and began to dress hurriedly.
So what if he wasn’t going to call? She’d served her time, so to speak. Now he wouldn’t press charges against Tuck.
Logically, she knew that it was probably best if this thing between them ended here. For her, sex with him had been too intense, too all-consuming for her to have a light affair. He would break her heart all over again if she wasn’t careful. No smart adult should let herself become involved with a man she’d loved and obsessed over for years.
But she wasn’t feeling logical. She was feeling sensually and emotionally aflame after his lovemaking. The whole world seemed aglow. He seemed a part of her, her other half.
Naturally, she wanted to see him again, to lie in his arms like this again. She felt she’d lose a vital part of herself forever if she couldn’t. Which meant he’d completed his mission, by using sex as a weapon to punish her.
He’d won.
Seven
On her flight to L.A., try as she might, Summer found it impossible to concentrate on her script. Hurt simmered inside her because of Zach’s coolness at their parting. Thus, the minute the jet’s wheels slammed against tarmac, she turned on her phone, desperate to check her messages.
She swallowed when she found only a single text from Hugh.
can’t meet u. nominated sexiest man n known universe 2day. jerk leaked information about hot scenes n dangerous man. horde of paparazzi @ my bldg.
No sooner had her plane rolled to a stop in front of a private hangar than a herd of photographers stampeded her jet.
Great. I’m on my own. This is what I deserve for letting the world think even for one minute I was ever serious about Hugh.
Bob stuck his shaggy head out of the cockpit and said, “Not to worry. I’ve already notified security.”
When she finally left the jet, with a security detail, paparazzi on motorcycles chased her limo all the way to her hotel. Apparently, Hugh’s premiere had been well-received by critics and the public, so for now he was the hottest talent in La-La Land.
Welcome to Hollywood, she thought as she bolted herself into her hotel room.
When room service arrived with her breakfast the next morning, Summer found a weekly tabloid tucked under her door along with a note from her agent. The tabloid’s banner headline read: Sexiest Man In The Universe Teams With Reputed Lover, Broadway Actress Summer Wallace, To Shoot Super Sexy Love Scenes. The article beneath the headline made her feel cheap and tawdry, especially after her weekend with Zach.
Summer Wallace upset legions of fans this weekend when she failed to attend the premiere of Kill-Hard on the arm of rumored lover, Hugh Jones, star of the film. Instead, the actress tiptoed into the city late last night. It’s no secret their fans can’t wait for a sneak peek of their favorite couple out on the town together this week. Or better yet, a sneak peak of those love scenes in Dangerous Man. We hear they’re going to be sizzling.
Her week got crazier, but what made her feel crazier was that Zach never called or texted.
When she was on the set, Summer didn’t know if it was the soul-stirring sex she’d shared with Zach or Hugh’s sulky attitude toward her after she’d told him she’d reconnected with Zach over the weekend, but filming intimate moments with Hugh was awkward. She was tense, Hugh impatient and their director, Sam, who called for endless takes, apoplectic.
It didn’t help her mood that every male employee in production made up some pretext to show up on the set to leer. During the most intimate scenes, she felt as if she was betraying Zach. Even though he’d dismissed her and had shown no inclination to see her again, she worried about what he’d think of the finished film. Not that she or Hugh had to strip for the camera-in fact, she had a clause in her contract that protected her against nudity.
