Page 17 of Vain

She gets a chorus of yeses, and everyone does as she asks.

She turns back to me and blows out a frustrated breath. “I’m so sorry.”

I take a step closer so we’re standing toe to toe. “Fiancé?”

She closes her eyes and groans. “This is going to sound conceited as fuck, but being my fiancé gives you a lot more power to?—”

“Do this,” I finish for her. And before she realizes what I’m going to do, I slide my hands into her hair and kiss her. Having her come to my defense like that made me rock fucking hard and shot to shit all the reasons I should stay away from her.

I expected her to freeze in shock, but the second my lips touch hers, she melts into me. Fisting her hands in my T-shirt, she holds me close as she opens her mouth. Taking the invitation as it was intended, I dive in, groaning when the taste of her explodes on my tongue.

I forget about where we are, the set, the people, even the cameras capturing the moment. All I care about is making thiswoman mine, and Christ, there’s no denying that’s what she is. Not now. Not after I’ve tasted her. I don’t give a single fuck that I’ve only known her for a second. When you know, you know.

Reluctantly, I pull away before I end up bending her over and giving everyone a free show.

“Fuck, Tilly.” My voice comes out hoarse. I don’t release her. I can’t. Not yet. I’m scared if I do, she’ll disappear.

“Miss Carson?”

With a silent curse, I let her go as the redhead steps up behind Tilly.

“Sorry, Jade. I’ll be right with you.”

Once Jade steps away, Tilly turns back to me. “Look, that shouldn’t have?—”

I place my fingers over her lips. “We’ll talk later. Right now, we both have a job to do.”

She opens her mouth to say something else but, with a glance, knows I’m right. With a quiet huff, she heads back to the others who have started gathering around the chairs once more. I spend the rest of the day watching her like I’m supposed to. Okay, so technically, I watch her ass, but that still counts, right?

Chapter Eight

MATILDA

The drive home is done in silence. I have no idea what to say, and Aiden is being uncharacteristically quiet. I veer from wanting him to tell me he agrees we should pretend the kiss never happened to wanting him to refuse to back down.

As we pull up to the gates, I see the headlights of the car following us in the rearview mirror. Davey is on duty, so I introduce him to Aiden before he waves us through.

By the time Aiden parks the car, I’m ready to crawl out of my skin. “Aiden I?—”

“Hang on a little longer for me, okay?” He’s out of the car and rounding it to open my door before I can form a response.

I take his hand. This time, I’m not surprised when he doesn’t let go of it. I can’t say the same for Daniel, though, as he comes out to meet us and his guys.

His eyes zero in on our joined hands as he addresses his men. “Any issues?”

“No, sir. No one noticed her at all, and there was nothing unusual to report from outside the studio gates.” The last sentence has a slight tone, enough for me to look at him sharply.

Aiden must hear it because he tenses. “So you missed the actress being escorted out by security, then? How far away did you park exactly?”

“We were told not to make it obvious,” the guy answers tightly.

I speak up before Aiden can say anything else. “There was an issue. It was dealt with. Your man is correct. They were asked to keep their distance. Let’s face it, none of you are exactly low profile. In those outfits, you scream bodyguards.”

“We are bodyguards, Miss Carson. That’s what you employ us to do. Guard your body.”

“Actually, I employ you to guard my property, but let’s not split hairs. I need you to blend in. Aiden blends in.”

“Doesn’t he just?” Daniel drawls, his eyes dropping to our joined hands. His expression is pinched, but I refuse to let him make me feel bad. “So the no-touch rule has been lifted?”