Page 70

She gave a face, then jumped as a piece of softball sized hail crashed against the window. She stepped back, pressing flush against a wall of muscle. Before she could escape, Julian captured her, pulling her close. “Don’t worry, that’s hurricane rated impact glass. And even if there was a hurricane, I’d keep you safe.”
She was anything but safe with him. “I wasn’t worried.” Except suddenly she was. Not of the rain, not of hail, lightning or thunder, not of any sort of weather. No, the tempest she was afraid of was right before her, studying her with darkening eyes. In their private, cozy chamber, safe and warm from the storm outside, she was anything but safe.
It was dangerous.
It was exciting.
Attraction flared like lightning in the pitch-black sky. She must resist it, must resist him. Yet under his smoldering gaze, her resistance blew away like sand in the storm. When he leaned down and pressed his lips to hers, she was lost.
His mouth was warm and supple, his body hard and muscular, and he tasteddelicious. She pushed into him, but it wasn’t enough. Then her feet were no longer on the ground as he lifted her, striding toward the bed like a warrior with his prize.She sank into the plush mattress, its softness enveloping her as he came down next to her. She tugged on his shirt, telling him without words what she wanted, what she needed, no matter how unwise.
But this time he didn’t let her undress him. Instead, he pulled back, pushing himself above her. “I’m sorry.” An unwavering gaze betrayed nothing, yet an edge turned his tone to a quiet rumble. “This can’t progress any further, at least not yet.”
“What?” Fervent need surged, urging her to resolve anything and everything to return to the delicious intimacies. “You don’t want this?”
“I want this more than words can define, but I can’t. You see…”
“I’m blackmailing you.”
CHAPTER 15
Julian forced his expression to remain stoic as Destiny’s lit in undisguised confusion. “Blackmailing me?” She looked down at herself, spread out beautiful and oh so tempting on his bed. “If you didn’t notice, that’s not necessary.”
No, it wasn’t, and there was nothing he wanted more than to make love to her. Only it couldn’t happen, not if he wanted more than a simple affair. She was going to be astonished – hell, he was and he’d planned it – but it was his best chance. “Actually it’s the other way around. I don’t think we should make love.”
How he managed to keep a straight face, he had no idea.
She scooted back. “You don’t? Are you serious? We must have some serious signal crossing becaus–”
“No, I want to do this. Believe me, I really, really, really, re… um, I want to do this.”
She relaxed, a smile of feminine satisfaction playing on her lips. “Then what’s the problem? I’m supposed to be the voice of reason, but even I don’t have to ability to stop right now. What are you blackmailing me for? And with what?”
“Perhaps blackmailing is the wrong word, but I don’t think we should be intimate. That is, not unless you admit the truth.”
Her gaze immediately turned wary. “The truth?”
“The truth about how you feel. The truth that this is more than simple lust. The truth that it’s not impossible for it to continue.”
Her expression shuttered. She moved back, away from him, away from the attraction she couldn’t deny. “You’re wrong.”
Something was holding her back, and it had nothing to do with feelings. The emotion burning in her eyes betrayed her. “Then what is it?” he asked quietly. “Why can’t we explore it? What’s stopping you from admitting the truth?”
“Everything!” she suddenly shouted, her stalwart control slipping. “I can’t because of who you are, but more importantly, because of who I am!” She clamped her mouth shut, her eyes opened wide. She’d said too much.
He immediately assumed offense. “What do you mean who you are?”
She hesitated, no doubt trying to prevent another impulsive outburst. When she spoke, her voice was almost robotic. “You know who I am: Destiny Dane, Miss Excavator Falls, aspiring actress and personal assistant. And soon I’ll take another project, and you’ll move on to your next blockbuster and starlet.”
He tightened. “You have this preconceived notion of how I should be. Did something happen, some experience that led you to believe all actors were shallow and insincere?”
She said nothing.
He stayed still for a moment, then wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. She gasped. “What are you doing?”
“Going to sleep.”
“After all this, you think I’m going to let you hold me?”