Take Me Away

Tina Donahue

She’s everything he escaped, and all that he desires.

Three years ago, Kyle turned his back on a pro-football career and being the target of tabloids or gold-digging groupies. Craving privacy, he gets it at his roadhouse in Northern California—until Lexi invades his life. Indulged and surely phony, she’s exactly what Kyle fled.

An actress since childhood, Lexi’s fresh out of an anger-management program. Weary of the press’s harsh scrutiny, she sees Kyle’s secluded cabin as the ideal place to hide out, and him as a damn-near perfect alpha male. Deliciously virile. Protective. Principled. She offers him serious cash to let her stay for two weeks, assuring there will be no complications or touching.

Yeah, right! Passion flares and lust explodes, along with tenderness. Kyle recognizes how lonely Lexi really is, while she’s falling hard. Through intimate days and impassioned nights, they explore their most shameless needs, until a cruel betrayal exposes their growing love, forcing a choice neither anticipated.

Ellora’s Cave Publishing

www.ellorascave.com

Take Me Away

ISBN 9781419934407

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Take Me Away Copyright 2011 Tina Donahue

Edited by Briana St. James

Cover art by Syneca

Electronic book publication May 2011

The terms Romantica® and Quickies® are registered trademarks of Ellora’s Cave Publishing.

With the exception of quotes used in reviews, this book may not be reproduced or used in whole or in part by any means existing without written permission from the publisher, Ellora’s Cave Publishing, Inc.® 1056 Home Avenue, Akron OH 44310-3502.

Warning: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this book may be scanned, uploaded or distributed via the Internet or any other means, electronic or print, without the publisher’s permission. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.  (http://www.fbi.gov/ipr/). Please purchase only authorized electronic or print editions and do not participate in or encourage the electronic piracy of copyrighted material. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.

This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales is purely coincidental. The characters are productions of the author’s imagination and used fictitiously.

Take Me Away

Tina Donahue

Dedication

To my friends and colleagues at the Sweet ‘n Sexy Divas romance blog.

Trademarks Acknowledgement

The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of the following wordmarks mentioned in this work of fiction:

Atlanta Braves: Atlanta National League Baseball Club, Inc.

Budweiser: Anheuser-Busch, Incorporated

Bullwinkle: Ward Productions, Inc.

Cap’n Crunch: Quaker Oats Company, The Corporation

Clearasil: Reckitt Benckiser, Inc.

Coors: Coors Brewing Company Corporation

Corona: Cerveceria Modelo, S.A. De C.V. Corporation

Disney Channel: Walt Disney Productions Corporation

E!: E! Entertainment Television, Inc. Corporation

eBay: Ebay Inc. Corporation

Enquirer: Best Medium Publishing Co., Inc.

Frederick’s Of Hollywood: Frederick’s Of Hollywood, Inc.

Google: Google Inc.

Hannah Montana: Disney Enterprises, Inc.

Heineken: Heineken Brouwerijen B.V.

iPhone: Apple Inc.

LASIK: LCA-Vision, Inc.

M&M’s: Mars, Incorporated

Miller: Miller Brewing Company Corporation

Nike: Nike, Inc.

Oakland Raiders: The Oakland Raiders AD, Football, Inc.

Pepsi: Pepsico, Inc.

Philadelphia Phillies: Phillies, The Limited Partnership

Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups: Hershey Chocolate & Confectionery Corporation

Superman: DC Comics Inc.

Teen Choice Awards: Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Tiffany’s: Tiffany & Company Corporation

Trojan: Church & Dwight Co., Inc.

USA Network: Universal Television Networks USA Networks Partner LLC

Walmart: Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.

YouTube: Google Inc.

Chapter One

“Let me get this straight,” Kyle Griffin said. His attention remained on the flat-screen TV suspended above the bar, the Braves-Phillies game. “You’re asking me to shack up with Vampira.”

Pete Wolnecki made a strangled noise.

Kyle had no idea if Pete was stifling laughter or choking on his five-alarm chili. Its spicy aroma mingled with an abundance of fragrances—the sweet scent of corn, tomatoes and cheese from the other Mexican fare, the tang of foreign and domestic beer, smoke that clung to the patrons’ clothing, faint perfume from the ladies and a hint of pine from the Douglas firs surrounding this place.

Clearing his throat, Pete spoke in a raspy voice just loud enough for Kyle to hear. “Her name’s Lexi.”

Several men groaned before Kyle could.

The guy closest to him whined, “Did you see that? The receptionist in my office plays better ball.”

“With any guy she can find,” his buddy said.

They both laughed.

The game broke for a commercial. Good thing. The Braves were having a shitty night, no different than the kind Kyle had experienced during the worst days of his pro-football career. With his back to the TV, he planted his elbows on the lip of the polished oak bar and regarded two young women who stood yards away at the pool table.

Dressed in stretchy halter-tops, denim short-shorts and black flip-flops, the ladies giggled in unison, like a well-practiced duet. The guys with them winced when the shorter of the girls overshot the ball, the tip of her cue just missing the table’s green felt.

With a look that was all innocence, she asked her date, “It’s still my turn until I hit it, right?”

Kyle couldn’t watch. He swung his gaze to the left of them, the small stage for local bands that played on the weekends. Beyond it, snuggled against the wall, were a series of booths that offered subdued lighting and privacy. In the last one, away from everyone else, sat Vampira.

Her name’s Lexi.

Whatever. For the second time tonight, Kyle regarded her black shoulder-length hair and bangs, black clothing, black lipstick and nail polish. The Goth/vampire look with a touch of Frederick’s of Hollywood thrown in given her denim mini skirt and short-sleeved top. His eyes flicked lower. The ends of her top tied beneath her ample breasts to bare her midriff, a smooth expanse of taut, creamy flesh.

He cleared his throat at its sudden tightness and inched his gaze higher. Anywhere else, her getup would have gotten her noticed. Here in Marin County, California, staring was politically incorrect. The weirder one appeared the less attention one got. There were simply too many locals who looked as she did…slightly strange.

Of course, they weren’t also oddly seductive.

Against his better judgment, Kyle dragged his gaze over her again, taking his time since she didn’t seem to notice him or anyone else. Her full attention remained on the TV commercial, as though she was really into the product. Pepsi by the sound of the jingle.

Its music grew thunderous, frenzied with fake joy. Around him, beer bottles clinked against each other or on top of the tables and bar. The guys at the pool table laughed.

Warmth radiated from Kyle’s chest to his neck. Her irises sparkled, reflecting the light from garish neon signs for Coors, Bud, Miller, Corona. From this distance, her eyes appeared to be light blue, framed by sooty lashes. She was young, no more than mid-twenties, her features not beautiful but decidedly pretty, her figure definitely worth a third or fourth stare.

The game resumed. Men readjusted their bulk on their chairs or stools.

Without pause, she lowered her gaze to the drink between her hands, its dark amber color making it soda or ice tea.

Kyle glanced at her glass, sweaty with moisture, then edged his scrutiny back to her breasts. The lush globes wiggled slightly with each of her deep sighs. She did that a lot. He wasn’t about to consider why. Riveted by her clingy top, he imagined her sweet little nipples hard and puckered, prepared for a man’s mouth. So, what color were her nipples anyway? A dusky rose to match her black hair or were they pink to complement her milky skin? Unless she’d painted the areolas and tips black too.

Rather than surprising Kyle, the thought intrigued. Would they taste of licorice or chocolate or something even better, the succulent flavor of soft female flesh?

She shifted slightly and brought her hand to her top, pulling the deep V of the neck closer together, covering herself, keeping the view from him.

Busted, Kyle wasn’t about to look her in the eye or encourage her in the least. Ignoring the dull, needy ache in his groin, he gave a parting glance to her fringed cowgirl boots, and turned to see the girl who’d nearly desecrated the pool table. Or rather, his pool table. For three years now, everything in Kickoff’s Roadhouse belonged to him, Pete and the bank.

Bent at the waist, the girl wiggled her ass while preparing to take her next shot. The backs of her legs were seamless. Her black thong peeked from the top of her short-shorts, which bared the bottom of her ass nicely.

At any other time, Kyle might have enjoyed the view. Knowing the damage she might inflict on his table, he clenched his teeth and waited for the worst.

“Sands,” Pete said, dropping his spoon into the bowl.

It clattered loudly. The girl’s cue clacked against the side of the table, no doubt denting the wood with her missed shot.

“Oh shit,” she moaned.

Blindly, Kyle reached behind himself for his Heineken.

Pete leaned so close Kyle could smell chili pepper and a hint of Coors on the man’s breath.

“Lexi Sands,” Pete said, his voice at a pitch those around them couldn’t possibly overhear. “And I’m not suggesting you shack up with her. Like I said, she needs a place to stay for a couple of days, away from the publicity, the crowds, you know? No more than a week. You have an extra room in your cabin. She’s willing to pay. Three grand. I did mention that, right?” He eased away and plowed ahead, not waiting for an answer. “We could use the dough for this joint.”

Finished with his sip, Kyle rested the beer bottle on his hard belly, liking the cold chill that bit through his black tee to skin, cooling it. He looked over at Pete, his best friend since grade school.

They were both thirty and at six-one, Pete was nearly as tall as Kyle. That’s where the similarities ended. Kyle had the build of a former quarterback, while Pete was downright scrawny despite all the greasy, calorie-rich food he cooked and tasted in The Kickoff’s kitchen. With dark red hair and a face stuffed with freckles, he was scarier looking than Danny Bonaduce from that old TV show The Partridge Family.

He was also one of the few people who’d stood by Kyle during his fall from fame. On any day, at any time, Kyle would have gladly taken a bullet for Pete, but he wouldn’t do this. He stated the obvious. “Your cousin could also use the money. So why can’t Lexi stay with her?”

Swiping a napkin over his lips, Pete curbed his belch, his nostrils broadening with a brief expel of air. “Fiona could lose her job. She signed a pre-employment thing, promising not to talk to the tabloids about or to fraternize with the clients from Sanctuary by the Bay.”

“Clients?” Kyle cocked a brow.

“It’s rehab, not prison.”

Easy to say for someone who’d never been there. Prescription painkillers had nearly done Kyle in during his days with the Oakland Raiders. For three years he’d been free of his addiction, that life, his ex-fiancée Denise and the complications of fame. What the clients at Sanctuary by the Bay all had in common. “If she’s so famous, how come I’ve never heard of her?”

“You don’t go to the movies and you rarely watch TV, except for sports. My guess is you’ve never caught her earlier films or her current show. It’s called Stitch in Time by the way. It’s on USA. She’s won an Emmy.”

Pete was positively breathless, making it sound as though Lexi had found an alternative fuel that would save their economy from the oil cartels. “And she hocked the statue to buy drugs? That’s what landed her in celebrity rehab?”

“Nope.” Pete balled up his napkin, dropping it in his empty bowl. Sweat dotted his splotched cheeks and forehead from the chili’s heat. “She’s never had a drug or alcohol problem.”

This was news. Kyle recalled her drink. She’d chosen it because she didn’t like liquor? She’d never gravitated toward street drugs? That was practically unheard of in Hollywood. So why rehab?

The truth hit Kyle with the force of a body slam. “You’re saying she was depressed?” And being detoxed from that medication? He thought back to the way she’d kept sighing, like the world was ending. Oh shit. Pete wanted him to host a despondent and probably unstable film and TV star at his cabin? A freaking actress who was most likely loopy and certainly phony on her good days?

“Depressed? No…well, maybe,” Pete said. “I mean, if the court had ordered me to re—”

Kyle interrupted. “Whoa. The court ordered her to rehab?” That didn’t happen every day, especially in live-and-let-live California. “Why? What the hell did she do to herself?”

“Huh? Nothing.”

“What did she threaten to do?”

“Shhh.” Pete’s hazel eyes darted around the crowded, snug space.

From what Kyle could see, everyone was too busy watching the game, playing pool, drinking or eating to notice them or their conversation. He spoke through his teeth. “Why was she locked up?”

“She wasn’t. Well, she would have been,” he admitted, “if she hadn’t agreed to rehab. It was either six months in the county jail or thirty days of anger management.”

Kyle started to look at her, then stopped, focusing instead on Pete. “You’re serious? What happened? She sink her fangs into an ex-boyfriend?”

“The clothes and makeup she’s wearing tonight are from one of Fiona’s friends. Lexi only looks that way, she only dyed her hair black so no one would know it’s her. The paparazzi are a real pain, remember?”

Kyle did. More than a few times he’d lashed out at them when they’d hounded him after a particularly bad game or when Denise had decided she wanted fame and fortune more than him. “She slugged one of them with his own camera?”

Pete grinned, smashing a dozen freckles into each other. “Better than that. I’ll let her tell you.”

“Hold on. I didn’t agree.”

“Just come over and meet her.” Pete gestured with his right hand for Kyle to follow. “She needs our help.” He mouthed, We could use the dough for this joint.

Reluctantly, Kyle moved away from the bar, glancing at his pool table as he passed. The girls were sitting on the lip, swinging their legs, drinking their beers, flirting with their guys. Unless and until they decided to use the table as a bed, Kyle wasn’t about to interfere with their good time.

Walking far more slowly than he usually did, Kyle finally made it past most of the booths, stopping at the empty one prior to Lexi’s. After a moment’s struggle, he glanced her way.

She had her head raised to the TV, something in the game that made the other patrons shout. Although she must have sensed Pete’s and his presence, she didn’t look at them.

Like a voyeur, Kyle’s gaze swept down her, then right back up. This close, he noticed the rosy tint to her pale skin and confirmed the color of her eyes. Blue-gray. Wary and oh-so vulnerable. Something shifted within him. Another spark of interest travelled from his chest to his groin, settling there, stiffening his cock.

Ignoring his arousal, Kyle glanced at her black nail polish and then her black lipstick, thinking it was a shame to cover her beautifully plush mouth with such a weird color even if she was trying to hide in plain sight.

Pete leaned close and whispered, “By the way, don’t mention her name in public. Hey there,” he said, edging closer to her and inclining his head. “This is Kyle Griffin. He co-owns this place with me.”

Kyle figured he should offer her his hand, but didn’t. The moment her eyes slid to him, they stalled whatever move he’d intended to make.

Never had he seen such an expressive, direct, questioning gaze. He didn’t know how to answer it, except to stare. The back of his neck tingled. He forced down a swallow, then reminded himself that she was an actress. She knew how to behave with strangers, fans she’d never see again. She was putting on a show even now.

In no hurry to offer her own hand and touch him, she kept her slender fingers wrapped around her tall glass as she took in his full length. Her gaze settled briefly on his shoulders, his groin—the erection Kyle wished he didn’t have—his thighs, then back to his face.

Female interest flared in her eyes, the kind of approval men have always craved.

Whether her attention was bogus or not, Kyle was no different from any other guy. His body temperature shot up several degrees, while his heart sprinted in his chest. In spite of his physical reaction, he kept his expression neutral…or so he hoped.

“Mr. Griffin,” she said at last, her voice younger and sweeter than he would have imagined. More for a woman called Lexi than Vampira. “Nice to meet you,” she continued. “I’ll only need a week. Two at the most.”

Two? His gaze slipped down her again, stopping at the ends of her hair. Pete said she’d dyed it. So what was her natural color given her fair complexion and blue-gray eyes? Strawberry blonde? Light brown? Were the delicate curls between her legs the same shade?

“Just so you know,” she added, a hard edge slicing through the sweetness in her voice, “I only want a secluded place to stay. I’m not at all interested in sex.”

Kyle’s gaze jumped back to hers. Whatever she was thinking, he couldn’t read it on her face or in her eyes. “Ever?” he asked.

Her serenity cracked. Color rose to her throat and cheeks. “Allow me to clarify. I’m not interested in sex with you.”

“Ever?” Pete asked.

Kyle shot him a look.

Pete turned away. Face to his shoulder, he tried to stop his laughter.

Arching one brow, Kyle faced Lexi.

Her gaze drifted down him again, settling beneath his belt on the thick ridge of his erection. “Is there a private place where we can discuss the arrangements?”

“The office in back,” Pete offered, his voice strained from trying not to laugh.

Swinging her legs to the side, she left the booth, then leaned over to grab her backpack.

Her skirt hiked up showing the top of her thigh, just beneath the curve of her ass. Abruptly, Pete’s laughter stopped. Kyle couldn’t blame him. Her cheeks were nicely rounded, meaty, the sort of build male fashion designers abhor but normal guys covet, along with a female’s full breasts. Something to hold onto during wild monkey sex.

Given Lexi’s initial and rather long appraisal of him, Kyle sensed she wasn’t a stranger to passion. The genuine kind, not faked. Unless she was a really good actress, the kind that won Emmys and convinced guys she cared when she didn’t.

With the backpack hanging from her right hand, she straightened, surprising Kyle with her height. Probably five-eight in her stocking feet, she’d added another inch or so with her cowgirl boots.

“That way?” she asked, lifting her hand, gesturing toward the area behind the bar.

A wave of her fragrance drifted toward Kyle, the bouquet delicate and flowery, reminding him of roses. And not the kind his mom grew in her backyard. Lexi’s scent had a hint of musk—earthy, promising, inviting.

His legs went watery, wavering for a moment. Did the fragrance belong to a friend of Fiona’s—like the clothes—or was the perfume Lexi’s usual choice?

“Yep,” Pete answered when Kyle forgot to, then gestured for her to follow.

She didn’t move. Nor did Kyle. At last, Pete stopped and looked back at them.

Her attention remained on Kyle as though waiting for him to speak.

He knew what he wanted to say, what he should say, but no words made it past his lips. The veil over her eyes had parted for a moment. Again, he saw wariness and vulnerability, what he’d experienced during his pro football career when he hadn’t known whom to trust.

A current of tenderness coupled with startling lust hit him, even as her voice played in his mind.

I’m not interested in sex with you.

Right. Good thing he remembered that. It reminded him not to act on a moment’s spike in his testosterone, but to recall what he’d fled—an artificial existence that promised contentment and had instead delivered 24/7 scrutiny and misery.

Lexi Sands represented everything he’d escaped. The stupid fame, the insane wealth, the users, the hangers-on, strangers he didn’t know and should never have trusted. No way did he want to be reminded of that or possibly exposed to it again by having her stay at his cabin.

He’d tell her that too the moment they got into the privacy of his office.

Chapter Two

With Pete leading the way, Lexi was side by side with Kyle as they approached the pool table.

On the edge of it sat a twenty-something girl, exchanging tongues with her boyfriend, her legs wrapped around his narrow hips, her fingers laced behind his neck. A half-empty bottle of Bud hung between the middle fingers of his limp hand.

Pete’s pace decreased as he regarded the couple’s lusty display. Halting, he leaned over and whispered something to Kyle who grinned broadly.

Lexi glanced away, concentrating on the couple’s noisy kiss, not Kyle’s dimples. Staggering dimples. So sexy she’d been mesmerized by them when he’d been at the bar, smiling at the patrons who greeted him, many of whom were female. He’d looked more male than a guy had a right to. He’d also appeared reluctant to come over and meet her. She’d seen the trouble Pete had in coaxing him to her booth.

No such difficulty existed now as they again headed toward the privacy of his office, presumably to discuss the arrangements, unless he had something else in mind. Like telling her to get lost.

“Hey man.” A biker stepped in Kyle’s path, stopping him. Dressed in black leather and denim, he was a few inches short of Kyle’s six-three but about fifty pounds heavier, with a good portion of that in his gut.

Lexi’s gaze swung from one man to the other, their serious expressions, then to the biker’s stubby hand clamped on Kyle’s shoulder.

She hoped they weren’t going to fight. Her mind considered the possibility of someone catching the brawl on a cell phone and the video capturing a shot of her. If her cover was broken, speculation would surely follow. That the men were getting physical because she’d flirted with them both. Or that she was still out of control and had thrown the first punch. And that when the biker had tried to protect himself, Kyle had gotten into the fray.

If the cops showed up and started asking questions, she might be facing another court date. A new judge who wouldn’t believe or consider her side of the story. More demeaning press. Another forced stay at the treatment center. Crap.

Her gaze darted to the exit.

“Great flat-screen,” the biker said, his voice suddenly breezy. “’Bout time you got one.”

Lexi sneaked a peek, catching the man’s smile and Kyle’s.

A line of patrons at the bar groaned loud and long.

The biker glanced at the TV, then turned back to Kyle, his gaze shooting past him to Lexi.

Instinctively, she dipped her head, hiding her face as she pretended to fool with her backpack. A reaction that seemed foolish given how unlikely it was that he’d recognize her in this getup. Even if he could, he didn’t appear to be the type who read the Enquirer and Star at grocery checkouts or watched cable TV shows that had female leads in them.

Kyle certainly didn’t. Even with what Pete had probably told him about her, Lexi hadn’t seen a trace of recognition in Kyle’s eyes as they’d met. At the time, relief had washed over Lexi, followed by a twinge of unexpected disappointment. Since she’d hit it big at ten, fame had been her only currency. Who she was, or the public thought she was, made normal social rules unnecessary. Strangers were immediate friends or antagonists. When they were nice, nothing was too much to make her feel welcomed and comfortable.

When they weren’t? That’s why she was here, willing to plead with a man she didn’t know about staying at a place she’d never seen to escape a world many people hungered for. Lexi knew they didn’t understand that she had little of what mattered most. Privacy. Freedom. Respect. Someone who honestly cared.

The biker lumbered to the bar. Others streamed after him, still blocking Kyle from moving forward.

Lexi lifted her eyes. Piteously, they were drawn to Kyle, her gaze trailing over his full length. Warmth rolled through her. Built like an athlete, he had broad shoulders, muscular biceps, narrow hips and powerful thighs hugged by his jeans. Remembering to breathe, she glanced at the tan suede mocs on his large feet, approving of them and his hair, a dark blond, longish, finger-combed, giving him a look male actors paid hundreds for from celebrity hair stylists. That careless, casual appearance.

There hadn’t been anything casual in his eyes when he’d regarded her while still at the bar. As he’d studied her breasts, his handsome features had intensified with lust. Not yearning. For that to happen, a man had to care. No. He didn’t care about her any more than her fans supposedly did. His reaction had been purely physical, a male’s knee-jerk response to a woman dressed like a slut. Fiona’s idea, along with the Goth makeup. So different from Lexi’s usual preference for no cosmetics, along with the baggy jeans and oversized tees she generally wore.

Lexi suspected Kyle wouldn’t have noticed her at all if she’d been dressed like that. And it had pissed her off, causing her to tug the edges of her top closer together and to claim she wasn’t interested in sex with him, which simply made him ignore her. Like now. Even as she remained at his side, waiting as he did for the knot of patrons to pass, Kyle didn’t turn his head to look at her.

“’Cuse me, ’cuse me,” a cheery female voice called out.

Clad in jeans and a snug black tee, the shapely young woman held a tray of drinks and baskets of nachos above her shoulder.

Stepping aside to let the waitress pass, Lexi moved into Kyle, her knuckles brushing his.

A tingle shot up her arm. The outrageously pleasant sensation tightened her nipples and the back of her throat. She caught his soapy clean scent amid all the others and glanced down at their hands. Kyle didn’t pull his back. Lexi should have done so with hers, but didn’t. Couldn’t. On a quiet sigh, she glanced up, surprised to meet his gaze. His coffee-colored eyes glittered in the muted light. In them she saw renewed interest as unguarded as before.

Gone was her previous indignation. This time, her belly fluttered. She stared at him. He did the same with her as the other patrons booed at the game or laughed and talked.

For Lexi, it was no more than background noise, unable to draw her attention. Even in Hollywood where there was an abundance of great-looking guys, she’d rarely met a man as deliciously virile as Kyle. His firm jaw and cheeks were shadowed with beard, the color matching his dark brows not his much lighter hair. He had a sensuous mouth, the kind that surely demanded everything from a woman.

Lexi liked the thought of that, along with his deep, soft-spoken voice, seemingly easy manner and calm strength. Commanding, but protective. Tender. She suddenly saw a wealth of that in his eyes.

Or at least she thought she did, recalling what her counselor at the treatment center had said.

“You have a habit of projecting your desires, your dreams onto others,” the older woman had continually warned. “Especially men.”

According to her counselor, Lexi wanted the guys she met to be everything her father was not and would never be. Out for her best interests, loving her for who she was, not for what she could earn, having her back, standing beside her against the rest of the world.

You’re doing it again, she warned herself, longing for Kyle to be what no man in her life had ever been, when he was simply a means to an end. A way for her to stay out of the public eye for another week, maybe two, before she forced herself to return to what she’d left. Cameras shoved in her face no matter where she went or how awful she felt. Fans shouting that they loved her one minute and in the next cursing or criticizing her for some perceived slight.

Kyle wouldn’t be there for her then. No man would.

She eased her hand away.

Her retreat registered in his eyes, along with what appeared to be relief.

New disappointment pricked Lexi. She forced it away.

A female voice purred from behind. “Kyle…there you are.”

In spite of the woman’s satiny tone, a long moment passed before Kyle pulled his gaze from Lexi and looked at the lovely brunette, dressed the same as the other waitress. This one also had a killer bod and a classically beautiful face with a smile that would have made Julia Roberts envious.

She gave Lexi a dismissive glance and sidled up to Kyle. Planting her palm on his flat belly, with her little finger settled perilously close to his fly, she pushed to her toes and whispered something in his ear.

Lexi sensed it had everything to do with her, and not because of her celebrity. Unwilling to watch any intimacy between the two, she edged toward Pete. He swung his head from the game and gave her a wide, non-threatening grin.

In a lowered voice, Lexi said, “You didn’t tell me he has a girlfriend.”

There was absolutely no way she’d stay at Kyle’s cabin if he and the babe were going to be going at it throughout the night. The thought of all that moaning and groaning turned Lexi’s stomach with an emotion she sensed might be envy.

“Girlfriend?” Pete asked, his voice equally low. “Who’re you talking about?”

Lexi’s brows drew together. “Him. Kyle.”

“Oh.” Pete flicked his gaze at Kyle and the girl, then lifted his thin shoulders in a shrug. “They used to date.”

The young woman’s thumb skimmed Kyle’s belly while her other fingers hovered above his fly.

Given that they were no longer an item, he was being remarkably compliant at her pawing him. Lexi arched one brow. “Looks like it may be back on.”

“Nope. It’s over. Jacqueline and Kyle are just good friends now.”

In Hollywood, that would have made them lovers for life despite their other relationships or numerous marriages.

Still whispering to Kyle, Jacqueline sneaked a look at Lexi.

She turned her face away, regarding the bikers who were now playing pool with the young women and their not-so-happy dates. Worried about what Jacqueline might be thinking or guessing, Lexi leaned toward Pete and murmured, “Kyle won’t tell her who I am, will he?”

“Who? Jacqueline?” Pete answered himself, his attention straying from Lexi to the game. “No way. You can trust Kyle.”

That remained to be seen.

Following Pete’s lead, Lexi glanced at the game, grateful it was still on. During the last commercial break, she’d held her breath, expecting to see a news update from E! or TMZ about her graduating from anger management and the flow of unflattering commentary and photos that would accompany the story.

Before the inevitable bad press happened, she hoped to be in Kyle’s office. That is, if Jacqueline ever let him go.

Suppressing a sigh, Lexi glanced back at the pair.

Kyle was speaking now, his voice so low Lexi couldn’t hear.

Whatever he said didn’t put a smile or frown on Jacqueline’s exquisite face. She patted his belly—further marking her territory—then turned on her heel and headed toward the bar. Behind it was another young woman, just as pretty and built.

Lexi spoke without thinking, “Don’t you ever hire men to work for you?”

Kyle’s gaze jerked to her. Surprise shone in his eyes, then curiosity, as though he was trying to figure out whether she was jealous or not.

Great actor that she was, Lexi kept her expression neutral.

Customers flowed past, bumping her backpack, knocking his arm.

“Hey, order two more burgers,” a guy behind Lexi bellowed.

A girl to the side of Kyle shouted, “With chili?”

“Yeah,” her date said.

Calliope music from the game poured through the snug bar. Voices rose and fell. Laughter rang out, joining a score of excited voices.

As though nothing else existed, Kyle regarded her thoughtfully.

Lexi’s pulse jumped. Heat surged to her chest and throat. Perspiration prickled the back of her neck.

“Men aren’t as interesting to me,” he said at last.

Unable to help herself, Lexi matched his playful tone. “I noticed that.”

His brows lifted slightly. He parted his lips as though to respond. In the end, he did not. Turning, he negotiated the crowd and strode toward the back, his office.

It took Lexi a moment before she could get her legs to work. They felt incredibly weak, her heart beating too fiercely as she and then Pete joined Kyle in the narrow wood-paneled hall.

On the walls were numerous sports pictures, most of the shots from football games. Glancing at the one near her shoulder, Lexi leaned closer to read the caption.

“That was taken at the Super Bowl,” Pete boasted.

“In here,” Kyle said, his smooth voice holding a bit of an edge.

Lexi’s eyes darted from the photo to Pete and then to Kyle. With a look of annoyance, he dragged his gaze from the pictures to her and inclined his head.

She joined him at the doorway. His office was cramped, smaller than the closet in her mansion’s master bedroom. A narrow sofa in brown vinyl took up the better part of the back wall. Next to it was a desk cluttered with a laptop, several coffee mugs, stacks of spreadsheets and what she thought might be invoices.

The space smelled of pine, like the surrounding forest outside. It also held a trace of Kyle’s soapy scent. And felt like home. At least, the home Lexi recalled when she’d been a little kid before Hollywood happened. A messy, cozy place where she didn’t have to be perfect.

She turned her head to his.

Given his height, her nose came to his firm jaw, wonderfully stubbled with his coming beard. It was so damn masculine, Lexi fought a shiver. Managing a swallow, she eased her head back, meeting his eyes.

Kyle regarded her mouth. “Go on,” he said, the previous tightness in his voice replaced with a bit of huskiness.

She wondered if he sounded like that when he had a woman beneath him in bed. Maybe he didn’t talk at all. Could be he got right down to business, imprisoning the lady with his big body, using his strength to confine and arouse. Only his lips would be soft. The rest of him, especially his rigid cock, would betray his raw male appetite.

At the thought, Lexi’s breath whooshed out. Before her fantasy got too unruly, she nodded and stepped inside.

In the corner of her vision, something moved. Startled, she withdrew a step, the side of her arm hitting Kyle’s solid abs. Lexi swung her head to him, then back at the small yelp.

Instant love flooded her. She grinned at the mixed-breed puppy, chocolate in color, bounding across the hardwood floor. It yelped again and reared on its hind legs, placing its paws on her boots.

Dropping her backpack, Lexi sank to her knees and gathered the wiggling puppy into her arms. She laughed at it licking her chin.

“Hey, baby,” she cooed.

Apparently liking the name, the puppy panted, then licked her collarbone.

“Buddy, stop,” Kyle ordered with more affection than discipline in his voice.

“No, it’s okay,” Lexi said, repositioning the dog in her arms so he’d concentrate on her face rather than her chest. She giggled as he licked her ear. “He’s adorable. I’d like to pet him…please.”

Unease filled Kyle’s expression. Lexi’s heart fell even though she’d known all along what was coming. He didn’t want her to stay at his cabin, no matter how much money she offered. He’d brought her in here to tell her that and maybe to chew Pete out for even suggesting the matter.

As though Pete sensed the same, he backed into the hall and pointed over his shoulder. “Have to get back to the kitchen.” Not giving Kyle a chance to comment, he added quickly, “I’ll make certain no one disturbs you two while you iron out the details.” Hand on the knob, he swung the door, shutting it with a click.

Lexi’s lids sank at the puppy licking her cheek and temple. The animal’s unconditional love brought back a memory of her at seven years old, months after she got her first series of Cap’n Crunch commercials. With the money she’d made, she’d begged her parents for a dog, promising to take care of it, to pay for everything it needed. The pet would be hers, no problem to them at all.

They’d refused, telling her she was too busy with auditions, rehearsals, shooting schedules to bother with an animal.

She’d promised herself that when she turned eighteen, she’d adopt a houseful of dogs and then add some cats. This December, she’d be twenty-seven and she still hadn’t followed through with her childhood dream.

“When did you get him?” she asked.

The puppy’s excited panting was her only answer, along with the floorboards creaking beneath Kyle’s weight, marking his movement across the room to his desk.

Lexi caught his scent, more pronounced this time, delivering a hint of musk. Something needed and desired coiled within her, despite the fact that they’d just met.

A moment passed. Papers rustled as though he was moving or reading them, keeping himself busy, avoiding the inevitable, turning her down.

Lexi’s longing remained even as reality kicked in. Fiona’s plan to help her hide out had been kind, but unreasonable. At least for Kyle. He had a life he enjoyed. He didn’t want her presence and celebrity to screw it up.

Steeling herself for the worst, she opened her eyes.

He was leaning against the edge of his desk, arms folded over his broad chest, feet crossed at the ankles, his gaze on her.

A pulse beat crazily in Lexi’s throat. The sound of her thrumming heart drowned out the puppy’s thin whines and the muffled noise coming from the bar. She expected Kyle to look away as he had in there. He did not. Once more, interest flashed in his eyes—or at least she thought it did.

Remember, her counselor had said, what you want isn’t always what a person is willing to give.

Tell her something she didn’t know. For as long as Lexi could remember, she’d wanted a home life like other kids had. Parents who adored her because she was their child, not for the income she could bring in.

Even after all these years, the truth still wounded. Refusing to let it defeat her, she made her voice light. “So when did you?”

Kyle’s expression went from intent to confused. “When did I what?”

She smiled at the puppy licking her fingers. “Get Baby here.”

His gaze dropped to the dog, then returned to her. “Buddy.”

“Right. Buddy Baby,” she amended.

Kyle laughed.

Pride and contentment rippled through Lexi for having caused it. For having brought back those killer dimples. God, how she enjoyed seeing them and listening to his laughter. So easy and free. So intimate.

A kiss, a fuck, couldn’t compete with a man and a woman sharing a laugh. That’s what bonded two souls. Joy. Happiness. Friendship. Not mere lust.

A second ago, she’d been willing to leave without a goodbye. Now she wanted to stay, even though she knew Kyle would never like her as deeply as she required. Lexi saw it on his face, in the way his laughter wound down and his dimples disappeared.

Didn’t matter. For a few days, no more than two weeks, she longed to be around a man who couldn’t care less about her fame, who didn’t want to use it to further his own interests. She ached to get away from the craziness, the pain, the loneliness of her world. “Before you say no, I’m willing to offer five thousand dollars.”

His brows shot up. “Pete said three.”

She was being too needy. Something else her counselor had warned her about. “Okay then, three.” She smiled. “Are you always this easy to negotiate with?”

Kyle’s gaze settled on her smile. His expression became heated, all male.

This time, Lexi knew she wasn’t imagining it. He did find her interesting. The real Lexi, not the tramp she looked like tonight or the Hollywood invention. She saw that truth in his eyes. Excitement raced through her, but she kept it from her voice. “I won’t be in your way at all. I’ll stay in my own room. I’ll only leave it when you’re here or wherever else you may go. I’ll amuse myself outside.”

His gaze turned inward as though he were trying to imagine such a thing. Whatever his thoughts conjured up, pleasure relaxed his features.

Now she had him. “I’ll even take care of Baby for you. I’ll act as his sitter.”

A smile tugged at the corner of Kyle’s mouth. Not enough to make dimples, but surely enough to arouse. “Buddy,” he corrected.

“Sorry. I forgot. Buddy Baby.” Giving the puppy a kiss on his snout, she lowered him to the floor, pushed to her feet and advanced.

Smile fading, Kyle watched.

At his office chair, Lexi stopped. With her right foot on the seat, she slipped her hand into her boot.

Kyle stared at her naked thigh. Her skirt was so short the damn thing practically exposed her ass. From his vantage point, he could see she wasn’t wearing regular panties. Whether she had on a thong was debatable.

His mouth went dry. He pulled in a deep breath, which rewarded him with her alluring rose scent.

I won’t be in your way at all, she’d said. I’ll amuse myself outside.

With those words, he’d pictured the creek behind his cabin. Lexi shedding her clothes and boots on the bank. Sunlight caressing her nudity. The water swirling around her sleek thighs, dampening her bush, licking her cunt. Beads of moisture clinging to the soft swells of her breasts, dripping off the tips of her nipples.

A groan of pleasure and frustration bubbled up. Kyle fought it, remaining silent, not daring to ask what in the fuck she was doing. Adjusting her sock? Removing a rock that had somehow gotten into her boot and was hurting her foot?

His guesses weren’t close to correct.

She pulled out a wad of hundred dollar bills. The kind Kyle used to carry around during his pro football days. Paying in cash left no identifying receipts that paparazzi or the tabloids would later use to concoct an outrageous story about him.

Like the one in which they speculated on how large his cock was. The article began with a photo of his credit card receipt from a local drugstore, showing his purchase of Trojan Magnums, condoms for well-endowed guys. Just in case anyone failed to catch the Magnum name or his, the tabloid had circled both in red. They’d also interviewed several of his ex-girlfriends who gushed about his size then went on to complain that he wasn’t all that satisfying in bed.

To this day, Kyle still winced whenever he thought about it.

Lexi peeled thirty bills from her stash, then put the remainder back inside her boot. Lowering her foot, she offered him the cash.

The muscles in his arms tensed. He ordered himself to tell her no. He didn’t need the complication of a woman living at his place, even if it was only for a week or two. He definitely didn’t want a reminder of the kind of life he’d used to lead. The photos of him in the hall were bad enough, put there by Pete who was prouder of those days than Kyle had ever been.

Pete had wanted those pictures to grace the bar area. Repeatedly, Kyle told him to forget about it. Kickoff’s would make it on its own, not on his previous celebrity.

Lexi’s hand remained outstretched. In an even voice, she asked, “Have you changed your mind? Do you want five thousand now?”

Gaze jumping to hers, Kyle saw the vulnerability in her eyes that she couldn’t quite mask. He heard the caution behind her words. No different from his when he hadn’t been certain if a stranger really liked the way he played or was flattering him because there was an ulterior motive.

He cleared his throat and used his gentlest tone. “There are lots of places around here where you count rent a room for a few weeks.”

Her fingers tightened around the bills. She brought back her hand. “You mean motels just a few miles from this place and the treatment center where the paparazzi have already set up camp, waiting for me to emerge. You think they won’t swarm over those motels, asking about their guest lists? Bribing the staff to give them the details? So far, they’ve believed my tweets about staying at the center to get my head shrunk a little more. How long that will last I have no idea. Could be one of them has already guessed I was on the backseat of Fiona’s car covered with a blanket when she drove off the grounds.”

Kyle felt for Lexi, but it didn’t change matters. “There are other places, ones that are really out of the way where you could go.”

“There’s no such thing as really out of the way when you’re like we are. But you already know that, don’t you, Kyle?”

Uneasy, he wondered how much Fiona or Pete had told her about his run-ins with the press.

When he said nothing, Lexi turned away from the chair and faced him. “The paparazzi had you in their sights too, right? They couldn’t wait to get you in the most unflattering or compromising position—yelling at someone, groping a girlfriend, picking your nose.”

He resisted the urge to roll his eyes. “I’ve done a lot of things, but I’ve never picked my nose in public.”

She struggled for a moment, then flashed a smile.

At its openness and sincerity, Kyle’s heart made a funny leap. It was the kind of grin a woman gives a man after really great sex where she didn’t once fake any of her orgasms.

“You’re sure?” She leaned closer, delivering another whiff of her fragrance. Head tilted, she looked at him from beneath her lashes, her tone teasing. “I’m certain Fiona and Pete said—”

Kyle interrupted, “Pete told me you were ordered by a judge into rehab for an anger problem.”

Her smile froze, then faded away. Pulling back, she shrugged.

“It’s not true?” Kyle asked.

She glanced at Buddy who was chewing her boot’s fringe. “Oh it’s true.” Pursing her lips, she blew the puppy a kiss, then looked up. “And well worth it.”

“Really.”

“Yeah, really.” With her free hand, she pointed her finger at Kyle, her black-polished nail poking his chest. “I wouldn’t change what I did no matter how much my therapist, the judge or anyone else lectured me on its inappropriateness.”

Kyle wasn’t about to argue the point. Her nail no longer jabbed. The pad of her finger rested on his chest, stroking lightly. Given the lack of guile in her eyes, the movement was plainly unconscious on her part.

Rarely had Kyle been more aware of a woman. Her touch sent a wave of heat through his body, sapping his strength, scrambling his thoughts. With his mind on autopilot, he asked the obvious, “What exactly did you do?”

Lexi seemed to remember her finger and noticed how it fondled his pec. After a few more seconds, she brought her hand back. Kyle stopped his frown before she misinterpreted his response or he had to consider it.

“You didn’t read about it in the Enquirer or the Star?” she asked.

“Never bought either of them, not even when I starred on their covers.”

Her expression said she found that hard to believe. “You don’t scan the headlines when you’re at the grocery store?”

“Pete does all the shopping.”

Lexi narrowed her eyes. Kyle fought a smile. She asked, “You don’t watch TV?”

“Not unless its sports or world news…something important.”

Her face clouded.

Before her baby blues filled with hurt and Kyle felt bad for not following her career, he asked, “So what did you do to bring the wrath of California down on you?”

She stepped back, her hip hitting the side of his chair. The thing rolled away from her. Buddy stopped mid-pant and let out a particularly mournful whimper to get Lexi’s attention.

It seemed the puppy’s heart was already lost to her.

And hers to him. Her smile was luminous. Putting her money on Kyle’s desk, she hunkered down, lifting the puppy into her arms. With him snuggled against her chest, she sat on the sofa, it s vinyl crackling beneath her weight.

“That bad?” Kyle prodded.

Her gaze slid to him. “It wasn’t what I did. It was what that scumball paparazzo did first.”

“Get in your face? Make his living off making you look bad?”

Her attention returned to Buddy who’d settled on her lap. As he licked her right hand, she petted him with her left. Gone was the inner fire she’d shown only a moment ago. Her narrow shoulders slumped. She looked and sounded weary. “It was one of the worst times of my life.”

Why? Had she just broken up with a guy? Had he cheated on her? Not knowing what to say, how to comfort, Kyle waited for her to provide details he shouldn’t have or particularly care about. But there was something about her that made him want to know.

Lexi’s shoulders lifted with her heavy intake of breath. “At first, I was nice, asking him to leave me alone.”

Her ex-lover? Had he abused her? “Who?”

Her slender brows drew together. “The scumbag paparazzo, who else?”

“Easy. I didn’t read about it, remember?”

“Yeah, I know, it wasn’t important sports or news.” Not giving him a chance to comment or apologize, she continued, “I begged him—the scumbag—to back off. He wouldn’t. No matter where I was or what I did, there he was, snapping away. He thought it was funny. He thought he had a right to do whatever he wanted to me, no matter how humiliating it was, how much it hurt.” Her lower lip trembled.

Kyle wanted to look away. Hell, he wanted to leave. He didn’t like watching women cry, hadn’t a clue how to alleviate their misery. Especially this woman. She was like the other side of himself, experiencing the same crap he had during pro football. Being badgered by strangers who said or did outrageous things, knowing they could get away with it as long as their target was a public figure.

Lexi lowered her face.

Unable to bear the silence or her hurt, Kyle asked, “You all right?”

She nodded, then shook her head, then nodded again. “Sure. I guess.” Using the back of her hand to swipe her eyes, she said, “I’m not going to lose it if that’s what you’re worried about.”

“Never crossed my mind,” he said quickly. “You got angry at the prick. He’d pushed you too far…correct?”

“I thought so. Apparently, I was the only one on Planet Earth who felt the same.” On a weary sigh, she sagged into the sofa, the back of her head against the top cushion, eyes closed, chin tilted to the ceiling.

Kyle’s gaze swept over her pale throat, creamy chest, the lavish globes of her breasts. They strained against the stretchy confines of her top, her nipples hardened within all that softness.

Predictably, his cock got even thicker, congesting with blood, wanting out of his boxers and jeans.

“Anyway,” she said, breaking the lengthening silence, “I got tired of him bugging me, so I decided to fight back.”

Given the sweet vulnerability of her voice and what he and Pete had discussed earlier, Kyle wondered about her weapon of choice. “You blasted him with pepper spray?”

“Oh god no.” Astonishment rang in her words. “I bought a camera with this really awesome lens. The damn thing was twelve inches long.” Lifting her head, she opened her eyes and looked at him.

Kyle nodded. Lexi flicked her gaze at his groin, an erection he couldn’t stop or hide. Blood rushed to his face.

Her head sank back to the cushion. Blindly, she stroked Buddy, her voice vaguely distracted, a bit breathy as she continued with her account. “I took that camera and began to follow him everywhere. At the supermarket, I waited for him in the lot. While he put his groceries in the back of his SUV, I went to the side of it, making certain the fender hid me. When he got inside the vehicle and started it, I hopped on his hood with the camera in my hands, pointing it at his ugly face, snapping away.”

Clearly relishing the memory, she grinned.

Uncrossing his arms, Kyle ran his thumb over his bottom lip, fighting his own smile.

“He shouted at me to leave,” she said. “I shook my head, refusing him as he’d always done when I’d asked the same. That day, I got pictures of him banging the inside of the windshield with his fists, giving me the finger, cursing me out. The following day, he went to the beach. There, I got these really great shots of his hairy belly spilling over his board shorts. During his lunch at a Korean barbecue place, I snapped sauce dribbling from his chin to his shirt. I even managed to get a picture of him outside his girlfriend’s front door, waiting for her to answer the bell.”

Again, Lexi lifted her head and opened her eyes, looking at Kyle. “Unlike you, he did pick his nose in public.”

Kyle laughed.

Smiling, Lexi closed her eyes and got comfortable again. “I took shots of every embarrassing moment in his day and believe me, there were many. I put the photos on a website for the world to see. I asked my fans to create captions for the pictures. They weren’t any kinder to him than the tabloids had been to me. I had one of my assistants take the shots and create a YouTube video of them.” She paused finally. Her face remained flushed with color, but when she resumed speaking, her voice quieted to no more than a murmur. “I did to him what he’d done to me.”

Kyle’s smile faded. “And he sued?”

A faint groan escaped her throat. “He did more than that. He filed a complaint against me for stalking. He got a restraining order. I got arrested. And all because I did to him what he’d done to me.”

Kyle didn’t know what to say.

“You think I was wrong, don’t you?” she asked.

“I know you were less violent than I would have been.”

A smile of satisfaction curled her lips. “Thanks.”

Her simple, straightforward gratitude touched Kyle, strengthening the connection between them. They’d shared experiences only people in their unique situations would know. However, that didn’t mean he wanted her to stay with him. He liked his uncomplicated life. He enjoyed dating casually, not having any ties. He didn’t want to fuck that up by becoming even remotely involved with a woman with so much trouble following her, reminding him of what he’d fled, what he never wanted to be involved with again.

“Please say yes,” she asked, her voice whispery. “It’s only for a week. Two at most. I’d like to have some real peace for a change, before I’m forced to go back.”

Forced? “Why not just quit and walk away?” He had, from a multi-million-dollar contract.

She spoke on a sigh. “I have too many obligations, too many people depending upon me. The show’s crew. My parents. Autumn.”

Kyle forced his gaze from her velvety thighs. Autumn? Who in the hell was she? Lexi’s kid? Pete hadn’t said anything about her having a child. Kyle’s eyes darted to her smooth, flat belly that didn’t look as if she’d ever been pregnant.

So, maybe Autumn was a really good friend. She surely couldn’t be Lexi’s lover. It didn’t make sense, not with the way Lexi had looked at him. Kyle knew arousal when he saw it.

Then again, maybe not.

I’m not interested in sex with you, she’d said.

Because she was a lesbian? “Autumn?” he asked.

“My kid sister,” she explained, undisguised affection in her voice. “She’s only fifteen…a baby. She needs me. She depends upon me.” Lexi paused to swallow. Continuing, her voice held increasing sorrow. “So do my parents. I have to go back, but not for a couple of weeks. I’ll pay you whatever you want. Please.”

Seldom had Kyle been as torn. He knew what he should say, what he wanted to say, but couldn’t quite bring himself to do so.

With his silence, Lexi pushed up on the sofa and met his gaze. In her eyes he saw a world of pain, of loneliness, of wanting to trust but being afraid to because of what people had done. How they’d used her.

“Please,” she said again.

He shook his head. “No.”

Her eyes widened. She bit her lower lip as though trying not to cry.

Kyle wanted to continue but didn’t get the chance. As though she’d flipped some internal switch, Lexi composed herself quickly, containing her feelings, wearing the same mask she had when he’d first seen her in the booth.

She looked past him to the door of his office.

Suspecting she was about to leave, he added finally, “I don’t want you to pay me.”

Her eyes slid back to him. Reaching over, he took the money she’d left on his desk and brought it to her. “I won’t accept this. You can stay in exchange for sitting Buddy.”

Joy flooded her features, followed by a hint of mischief in her eyes. “Buddy Baby,” she corrected.

Something inside Kyle came alive with her teasing. But no way was he going to comment on it or return her smile. Already he’d allowed her to stir him, the real him, in a way few women had. Foolishly, he’d agreed to let her stay one week—or was it going to be two?

Concentrating on the puppy, pampering him with kisses, she kept calling him Buddy Baby, ignoring his real name and changing things.

You’re going to regret this, Kyle thought. She was everything he thought he’d escaped and was going to be nothing but trouble.

Chapter Three

Lexi’s smile died with Kyle’s lengthening silence, the concern she sensed building in him. Not unlike that of directors or ad agency reps who’d wanted another actor but let Lexi’s mother Melissa, who was also her agent, talk them into using her daughter. During those times, Melissa Sands had become increasingly pushy or seductive, whatever worked best.

Unable to be so blatant, Lexi pretended Kyle’s disquiet didn’t exist. With the puppy snuggled against her chest, she pushed to her feet and reached for her backpack at the same moment Kyle did. Their fingers touched. He turned his head to her.

Lexi couldn’t quite catch her breath. He was such an appealing man. So freaking beautiful. They were close enough for her to see gold flecks and even a bit of green in his dark, lushly lashed eyes. Laugh lines at the corners. A small half-moon scar on his right cheekbone that added to his masculine allure.

“I have it,” he said, his tone commanding and dismissive. Lifting the backpack from the floor, he took his hand from hers.

Saddened at the loss, Lexi told herself she was foolish for even feeling that way. “Thanks.”

He pulled the strap over his left shoulder, then swung his other hand to her, determined to return her cash.

Her heart beat out of time at his kind gesture and clean scent. “Keep it,” she said, her words a shade too breathless. “Please.”

“No.”

Lexi heard the rough edge in his voice. Although he seemed committed to letting her hide out here, although he’d shown interest in the woman she really was, it wasn’t because he genuinely liked her. He was just being sympathetic. A measure of kindness she’d rarely received from a man. She should have been pleased. Instead, his refusal to take her money, to want even that part of her, hurt more than his initial cluelessness as to who she really was.

You don’t watch TV?

Not unless its sports or world news…something important.

She obviously wasn’t. With him, her fame would always mean nothing, and there wasn’t anything else she could offer, except her distance. At his cabin, she’d have to avoid him, just as she’d promised earlier, until she had to return to LA and her cruddy life.

Holding back a sigh, she planted her foot on the seat of his chair and looked over. “Just stick the bills in my boot.”

His gaze jumped from the top of her thigh to her face.

She explained. “My hands are kind of full.” She had her fingers wrapped around Buddy Baby, keeping him from crawling over her shoulder or down her top. His tail beat steadily against her left breast.

Kyle watched. “I’ll take him.”

Unlike her reaction in the bar, Lexi now enjoyed the sudden huskiness of his voice, the distraction behind his words, even though it was merely a physical response, not something deeper and special. “No, please, I can manage. Besides, your hands are full.”

Faulty logic, she knew, but she didn’t care that he could always release the backpack. She wasn’t about to let go of the puppy, and she sure as hell didn’t mind the thought of Kyle touching her leg.

He’d already proven he had integrity. He was a kind man. He wouldn’t hurt or use her.

The look he wore said he wanted to argue about what she’d said, but did not. Folding the cash over, he slipped it inside her boot, his thumb stroking her calf.

A shock of pleasure shot through her. Even her teeth tingled.

“Let’s go,” Kyle said, stepping back, heading for the door. “I’ll get you settled in.”

Lexi needed a moment before she could move. Kyle didn’t stick around to watch.

Meeting him outside the door, noticing how he avoided her gaze, she looked where he did. At the end of the hall stood Jacqueline and a man. Jacqueline nodded as the guy spoke to her, but Kyle consumed her attention. Her gaze was jealous and worried.

No matter what Pete had claimed earlier, Lexi figured the babe and Kyle still had something unfinished between them. Her heart twisted a bit at the thought, even as her mind warned that in two weeks she’d never see Kyle again. They had no future. They didn’t even have a present.

Already he was walking away, heading toward a back door, opening it.

Lexi followed him outside, halting at the gorgeous night. Even at this late hour, the air held onto its gentle, caressing warmth, the breeze so mild it pulled a pleased sigh from her. It smelled like Christmas and summer, the fragrance of pine mingling with the heady aroma of earth and an abundance of vegetation, something sweet, probably wildflowers. The scent reminded her of carnations.

Unbidden, memories returned of her at fourteen, the only year she’d gone to a regular high school like other kids, rather than being tutored at a studio. She’d hit an awkward age then. With a face full of zits, too skinny and tall to be employable in the business, she’d engaged in normal teenage activities. Volleyball. Glee club. Preparations for the spring dance. To Lexi’s astonishment, one of the guys in her geometry class asked her to go. Thrilled, she’d bought a sparkly blue dress at one of the local teen shops, matching it with a silver purse and high heels.

For a week, she’d put on the outfit, modeling it each night after dinner for Autumn. Gravely, her kid sister had told Lexi how awesome she looked. Wanting to believe it, Lexi wondered aloud if Steve, her date, would actually kiss her. She’d been kissed, of course, chastely and under a director’s guidance during the shows she did for the Disney Channel. She’d hoped the experience would be less embarrassing and more exciting in real life.

On the morning of the dance, a florist delivered the corsage Steve had bought for her, a spray of baby’s breath and white carnations, the ends tinted blue to match her dress. As she’d pressed her nose to the flowers, inhaling their wondrous scent, the phone rang. Lexi thought it was Steve, wanting to know if she got the corsage.

It was an advertising agency rep asking to speak to her mother. The actor they’d booked for the ‘before’ part of a Clearasil commercial had the flu and wouldn’t be able to film. They needed Lexi to take the girl’s place, assuring her the shoot would take no more than a few hours. She’d be free in plenty of time to make the dance.

Nothing had gone well. There were technical difficulties. The director said she had too many pimples, then he seemed to think she didn’t have enough. The company rep wanted her lines changed again and again. The copywriters took forever to brainstorm and come up with something snappier, more youthful. Everyone worked until nine that night to get it right.

She’d never made the dance. By the following year, puberty had been kinder. She’d developed her current figure, her skin had cleared up, doctors had taken care of the rest of her flaws. She was marketable again and had never stopped working.

Heart aching at the memory, Lexi tilted her head, gazing at the star-splashed sky, the heavy moon. It sent fingers of gauzy light into the massive trees, illuminating the needles, creating silvery pools on the forest floor and shadows beneath branches, the ideal spot for lovers.

Behind her, in the roadhouse, muted laughter and voices droned on past the partially opened door. Out here, she heard a cycle roaring down the road and another bike being started by a departing customer. When those noises faded away, the surrounding area grew so quiet she could hear the wild beating of her heart.

Within the last few seconds, Kyle had noticed she hadn’t followed and now returned, facing her. Acutely aware of his presence, catching his scent within all the others, she lowered her face from the sky.

His eyes glimmered in the moonlight. Hunger flared in his gaze. Not the casual lust he’d shown inside when first regarding her in the booth. Somehow, this seemed more sincere with a hint of affection. Unless she was still projecting what she wanted onto him.

Troubled at the thought, Lexi gripped the dog too tightly. Buddy Baby protested with a thin yelp.

Kyle didn’t seem to notice. He stepped closer, needles and forest debris crunching beneath his mocs. Longing tore through Lexi, arousal she hadn’t felt in too long, not even when she’d dated Hank, a wannabe rock star, the ultimate bad boy.

He’d made her feel vulnerable, never protected.

A dull, needy ache settled in her pussy. A pulse ticked in it, followed by a hint of moisture, dampening her channel in preparation for a man’s stiffened cock. Kyle’s. She had no doubt of his interest in her physically, but what about emotionally? Other than empathy, of course, because he knew what she was going through, having experienced it himself.

For a long moment he regarded her, then murmured, “You okay?”

Not entirely, though she did appreciate his gentle tone, the honest concern she saw in his eyes. Her throat tightened with gratitude, not allowing Lexi to speak.

Kyle lifted his hand, his fingers resting on her upper arm. Her lids fluttered and her body softened at his touch, yielding to his restrained strength. Images rolled through Lexi’s mind of him folding her within his embrace, soothing whatever hurt, making it better with soul-deep passion, cupping her breasts, fondling them, sweeping his thumbs over her nipples. Her limbs grew even heavier, the air softer, the velvety night embracing them.

Not caring how unwise her actions might be, she leaned toward Kyle, encouraging a kiss. For too long, she’d been deprived of a man like him, one of substance and principle.

His eyes remained on her, his gaze searching, his thumb stroking her arm. She shivered in delight. He tilted his head and glanced at her mouth. Her lips parted, welcoming him.

The puppy yelped again, then wailed.

They both flinched at the noise. Kyle straightened, his gaze sinking to his pet and then his hand on her arm. Confusion flooded his handsome face as though he hadn’t realized he’d been touching her.

He didn’t any longer. Dropping his hand to Buddy Baby, he scratched the puppy behind its ears and resumed his commanding “we’re strangers” tone. “I can carry him.”

“No.” Lexi heard the frustration in her voice, unable to stop it. Emmy-award winning actor or not, she still had feelings. Too many times in her life, she’d been promised something only to have it taken away. As far as she was concerned, keeping Buddy Baby close for a few minutes wasn’t that much to ask. “Let me. I won’t hurt him.”

Kyle brought back his hand. The misgiving on his face colored his voice. “I never said you would.”

She scratched the back of Buddy Baby’s ear. He made a whimpering noise that was curiously human. Lexi loved him even more for it and spoke without thinking. “Is he Jacqueline’s dog too? Did you guys get him together?”

“What?”

“Do you still have a thing going with her?” Lexi recalled Kyle’s whisperfest with the young woman and spoke on a sigh, “Is she going to be moving back in with you at the cabin?”

Would she have to listen to them crawling all over each other at night?

Eyes rounded in surprise, Kyle stepped back. “No and no.” He frowned. “We never did live together.”

Tension drained from Lexi’s body, though she was wise enough not to smile.

“Did Pete tell you that?” Kyle asked.

“Not exactly.”

“Then what exactly?

She shrugged. “He said you and she weren’t dating any longer. That you’re just friends.”

“We are.” His eyes narrowed a bit more. “Out of the blue he just offered that information?”

Heat stung Lexi’s cheeks. “I asked.”

Kyle cocked one brow. “Why?”

She inclined her head toward the roadhouse. “I saw the way she whispered to you in there. She didn’t seem to be discussing her schedule or tips.”

He didn’t comment.

Lexi broke the silence. “I think she wants more.”

“More?”

“Of you,” she clarified, then asked, “Will Jacqueline be dropping by your cabin tonight to see you?”

Kyle regarded her thoughtfully, as though he was trying to figure out where this was headed. At last, he said, “She’s dating another guy. Has been for several months. We’re through, just like Pete said. She won’t be coming by the cabin.”

“You’re sure? She kept staring at me.”

He smiled, gifting her with his incredible dimples. “I think I know her well enough to say she’s not interested in sex, ever, with you.”

Lexi chose to ignore the way he’d turned her earlier comment back on her. “I’m not worried about her being a closet lesbian or even bisexual. I’m concerned she might have recognized me.”

He held her gaze for a moment, then regarded her casually, his eyes lingering on the swell of her breasts, her bared midriff and thighs.

If she’d been naked, the moment couldn’t have been more intense. He studied her with a right Lexi found daunting and strangely welcomed, enjoying the unexpected intimacy of his gaze. In his expression, there wasn’t a hint of disapproval as there might have been on a casting director’s or paparazzo’s face. She didn’t have to fear his coming criticism that she was too tall or not tall enough, her features okay but not really pretty, her boobs almost the right size but not quite.

Pleasure shone in his eyes. More importantly, Lexi saw acceptance.

“Do you usually look like you do tonight?” he asked.

His voice was slightly thick, renewed arousal tingeing it.

Desire curled in her belly, sending waves of warmth to her arms and legs. As he had, she spoke in a subdued voice, and decided to tease. “Not at all, but I guess you wouldn’t know that. You’ve never seen me before tonight. You don’t go grocery shopping or watch TV unless it’s the important stuff.”

Pulling his gaze from the puppy’s tail sweeping over her navel, Kyle met her eyes. Guilt clouded his. “I’m sure your show is great, popular, very entertaining to—”

“Relax,” she interrupted, wanting to put him at ease, liking him for feeling bad about what he’d said. “It’s not as if I perform brain surgery or I’ve found a cure for cancer or anything. I’m an actor. What I do is unimportant. Forgettable. It just pays well. You were in the NHL. You know what I’m talking about. Getting multi-million-dollar contracts when other people deserve it more. Firefighters and cops for example. They risk their lives to save people. Teachers have a tough job too. And what about Emeril Lagasse? No matter how great he is, he’s not hauling in that much cash.”

Kyle looked as though she’d just spoken Spanish with a French accent. “Emeril who?

The greatest cook on earth as far as Lexi was concerned. “Doesn’t matter,” she said. “What I said is true.”

“Never said it wasn’t. Except for the NHL part. It’s the NFL.”

“What is?”

“The league I was in. It’s the NFL, not the NHL. That’s hockey.”

Lexi knew zip about sports, hating them all, and had said the first thing that slipped out of her mouth. Not willing to confess it as easily as he’d dismissed her career, she moved Buddy Baby from her right shoulder to her left and changed the subject. “Fiona thought up my disguise.”

Kyle studied the black lipstick she wore, then her hair. “You’re not a brunette.”

He didn’t sound disappointed. “No, I’m not.”

“What’s your normal color? Your usual color?” he amended. “Strawberry blonde?”

Surprise and delight rushed through Lexi. She scratched the puppy where he liked it most and smiled. “You were putting me on before. You have seen me on TV, haven’t you?”

“No.” Kyle shook his head. “Sorry.”

“No reason to be.” He’d been interested enough to consider what she usually looked like, to wonder about the woman beneath the disguise and the Hollywood image. It was more than she’d hoped for. “Yeah, I’m a strawberry blonde.”

He regarded her mouth and murmured, “With pink lips.”

Nodding, she ran her tongue across the length of them.

Kyle watched, his expression absorbed, and then he pulled in a deep breath. “I’m certain Jacqueline and no one else inside have a clue who you are.” Without meeting her gaze, he inclined his head to the left. “My cabin’s over there.”

Still ragged with emotion, wondering what had broken the magic of a moment ago, Lexi followed. They moved down a narrow path flanked with monstrous trees, their advance recorded by faint crunching sounds beneath her boots and his mocs.

The faint noise lulled Buddy Baby as much as the scratching. His panting grew subdued.

Lexi’s pulse picked up. A finger of moonlight cut through the branches, bathing Kyle’s shoulders, skimming his hair, making it appear blonder than it had in the subdued lights of the roadhouse. The racket from its patrons had already faded, replaced with the gurgling of a creek, wind brushing the trees, crickets serenading each other and the night.

Helpless to resist, Lexi imagined being here under different circumstances, as an ordinary woman with a conventional life. Instead of following Kyle, they’d be walking to his cabin with their arms wrapped around each other’s waists, so eager to enjoy pleasure they’d stop frequently to kiss.

The stubble on his cheeks and chin would chafe her face, but his lips would be oh so soft. He’d run the tip of his tongue over the seam of her mouth, tempting her beyond restraint, demanding entrance, taking what he wanted, what he simply had to have, his fingertips grazing her throat.

It wouldn’t be close to enough.

He’d ease her top over her shoulders, baring her breasts to the gentle breeze and the starry sky, demanding that she lose the rest of her clothing…that she prepare herself for him. Stripping quickly, Lexi would leave on her boots, providing him with a bit of kink. Nude, she’d let him do whatever he wanted with her.

Given his outstanding looks and his pro-football past, she had no doubt Kyle had lots of practice pleasuring women.

He’d run his hands down her body, giving his attention to her every contour as though he were blind and touch was his most acute sense. His fingers would explore the geography of her breasts, her tightened nipples, the bumpy areolas. He’d lick one, then the other, moaning at how good they tasted, how sweet her flesh was to him. His hand would travel lower, fingertips skimming her belly, combing the light brown curls between her legs, seeking her hidden lips. They’d be plump with arousal, moist with need.

Without hesitation, he’d mount her, plundering her body with his, burying his stiffened cock into her sheath, holding nothing back, not lust or tenderness, delivering true intimacy she’d never known.

At the wanton images her mind created, Lexi’s breath caught, then spilled out on a mournful, expectant sigh.

Kyle’s pace slowed.

She stopped when he did, a few steps behind him.

He twisted his torso, looking back at her.

Had he heard the noise she’d just made? Had she unwittingly made others? Or had he stopped because he too fantasized about fucking her hard, long, endlessly? Did he want that?

When he said nothing, she asked, “What?” The relative stillness surrounding them accentuated the excitement in her voice.

Several locks of hair danced over his forehead with the breeze. With his free hand, Kyle dragged them back. “We’re here.”

Lexi’s gaze darted past him to a shadowed structure secluded within the pines. It looked to be the size of her childhood home before she’d hit it big. Unlike that place, Kyle’s cabin had wood shingles on its sloping roof and walls. The front door and window frames seemed to be dark brown, giving the place a uniform color. At night, if one weren’t looking closely, Lexi sensed the building would have gone unnoticed even from the path. Making it an awesome place to hide out, to be alone, undisturbed from anything bad while waiting for something good.

Afraid to trust her voice, she nodded, following him.

“It’s not much,” he warned.

“It’s perfect.”

His hand stalled on the doorknob. He turned his head to look at her, their faces mere inches away. All Lexi had to do was lean into him for a kiss. Considering the desire in his eyes, she figured he wouldn’t resist. At least, until Buddy Baby yelped or whined. The puppy’s previous calm had evaporated now that they were home. Or rather, he was home. He squirmed in her arms, determined to get free.

Struggling to keep him confined, Lexi stated the obvious. “I think he wants inside.”

Eyes still on her, Kyle unlocked and opened the door, then reached blindly around it and flicked on a switch. Pale light, the color of weak sunshine, poured from the room. Edging a bit closer, her biceps touching his, Lexi peeked inside.

She hadn’t been wrong. It was perfect.

A stone fireplace dominated the wall to the left. Positioned in front of it was chunky, masculine furniture, a sofa and chair in a dark green-and-beige plaid. The cocktail and end tables appeared to be made of pine. On them rested a pair of lamps with mismatched shades. One was an oatmeal color, the other light brown. Somehow, they seemed to belong together, as though an avant-garde decorator had planned it that way. The entire scene was recorded in a gauzy glow on the hardwood floor. Not exactly polished, but not dirty either. His place was clean, rather than fussy.

Some might call it a cabin or a house, but to Lexi it was far more. A real home, giving off the same vibes his office had, of comfort and warmth. Again, she recalled the house she’d grown up in, so pleasant and safe, until fame and wealth destroyed her parents’ moral compass and overtook her life.

There are other places, ones that are really out of the way where you could go, he’d said.

Maybe, but those five-star hotels or luxury retreats had everything except charm and the sense of belonging.

“Thanks,” she said, turning to Kyle, wanting him to know how grateful she was for tonight and the few to follow.

He pulled his gaze from her breasts. Unashamed, he met her eyes. “For what?”

“Letting me stay. You won’t be sorry,” she added, then went inside, waiting for him to close the door, wanting him to.

Relishing the thought of being alone with him.

Chapter Four

You won’t be sorry.

Kyle figured he was going to regret this for a long time to come given how his body and mind continued to betray him. He craved Lexi as if he hadn’t had sex in years and not only because he found her physically attractive in spite of her getup.

He sensed her longing, recognized her vulnerability and somehow wanted to make things easier, better for her, complicating their relationship when there wasn’t any. There wouldn’t be.

Lexi was everything he’d dismissed…a shallow existence, wealth that destroyed rather than enhanced, fame that ate a person alive. Yet here she was, a reminder of all that, telling Kyle what he hadn’t wanted to admit.

At times, he still missed the ease of that life. Picking up the phone at any hour, having someone respond to his every need, no matter how outrageous or undoable it may be. Having a staff see to the crappy everyday things he hadn’t wanted to be bothered with. And all because he’d been able to run faster than most people could, throw farther and earned more in one game than he would in ten years of operating the roadhouse.

You know what I’m talking about, she’d said. Getting multi-million-dollar contracts when other people deserve it more. Firefighters and cops for example. They risk their lives to save people.

He was no hero, that was for sure. He’d been nothing more than a jock, a piece of meat for the tabloids to exploit. Once they hooked on to him, once he started the downward spiral into painkillers, there had been a steady flow of bad or humiliating press, crowding out the good times. Trouble was, those good times had been so exceptional they’d kept luring him back until he realized they were no more than a temporary illusion.

No different from his current hunger for Lexi.

As she stood in the middle of his modest living room, taking everything in, Kyle remained at the door. He struggled for a good second, and then his gaze raked her. Those fringed cowgirl boots, her exceptionally long legs, that short-short skirt, her taut belly, awesome breasts, slender throat, sable hair.

A smile touched his lips at what she’d said earlier. She was a strawberry blonde, just as he’d imagined. His gaze dropped to her mound, his thoughts again running wild, pondering the color of those delicate curls between her legs.

His cock didn’t care what shade they might be. With a relentlessness that surprised Kyle, his rod grew harder still, so erect his skin stung. Teeth clenched, he told himself to knock it off. For the next week, maybe two, Lexi was an unwanted guest, then it was back to the plastic life she’d left that put her into rehab for anger management.

I did to him what he’d done to me.

Kyle recalled how desperate she seemed for him to believe her. He remembered the tenor of her voice, how it shook with outrage and sorrow. His fingers tightened into fists. Good for her for doing what she had. Served the creep right. That prick, not Lexi, should have been marking time at a treatment center. Instead, he was probably outside its gates right now, camera in hand, eager to get his first shot of her, making certain it would be embarrassing. Determined to do everything but leave her alone.

Again, her earlier words whispered in his mind.

I’d like to have some real peace for a change before I’m forced to go back.

Kyle figured she needed more than a few days of serenity. What she should have had was someone to protect and take care of her as she was doing with Autumn and her parents.

So where were mom and dad in all of this? Why were the roles reversed, with Lexi taking on the burden of everyone’s welfare except her own?

He couldn’t bring himself to ask.

Absently, she ran her fingertips over the top of his sofa, then brought back her hand, looking guilty. As though she hadn’t the right to touch anything and didn’t want to risk pissing him off.

A measure of tenderness Kyle had rarely known tightened his throat, urging him to tell her it was okay. She was welcome in his home. Hell, she could do anything she wanted while here.

The words rose to his lips, then died with his sudden caution. Getting sentimental over Lexi was downright stupid, considering what had brought her here and what would take her away. Determined to ignore his feelings, he swung the door closed.

At the brief smack of wood against wood, she looked over.

There was no alarm in her eyes. Rather, Kyle saw a soft heat, the kind a female generates when she’s aroused and wants the same as a man. An expression Denise had often worn when he’d been pulling in the cash. The moment he’d turned off the spigot, her desire for him evaporated. Too late, Kyle had learned that sex and devotion were the currency she used to keep him at her side.

He wondered about Lexi. Was the distress and hopelessness he’d seen in her eyes nothing more than a performance to convince him to let her stay here?

Guarded now, Kyle pulled her backpack off his shoulder. “You better put him down before he starts chewing on you.”

Lexi looked at the puppy as though she just remembered him despite how he squirmed in her arms. The second she lowered him to the floor, he scampered between her and Kyle, his pudgy body bumping their legs.

When neither of them acknowledged the puppy’s urge to play, he padded to his bed near the hearth, chewing on one of Kyle’s old mocs as he watched them.

“I can take my backpack,” Lexi said, advancing, resting her hand on Kyle’s.

At her featherlight touch, bursts of warmth traveled up Kyle’s arm and down his spine, settling in his groin. His erection got harder, his balls compressed even more, becoming painful. Tightening his fingers on the backpack’s strap, he shook his head. His voice rasped, “I’ll put it in the spare room.”

Lexi’s fingers stroked the back of his hand, moving from knuckle to knuckle.

He found it impossible to swallow. His knees wavered.

She murmured, “Whatever you want.”

Kyle hadn’t a clue what he wanted, and yet he did. She shouldn’t be here, reminding him of what he’d left, taunting him into thinking it was something it was not, tempting him with her sweet voice, the helplessness in her gaze, her succulent body, her loving touch.

He lowered the backpack to the floor, then straightened, facing her. “And what do you want, Lexi?”

She looked at his mouth, then met his eyes. “What you do.”

He heard no guile in her voice and saw none on her face. Color tinted her cheeks. Anticipation of what might happen—what she was trying to make happen—glittered in her eyes. Kyle’s heart hammered so hard, he had difficulty breathing. He wanted to believe her, but a part of him recalled the game Denise had played and nearly won when he hadn’t even been aware of her strategy.

Lexi’s was far less involved and painfully obvious. He’d refused to take her cash. He wasn’t impressed with her wealth or fame. In her mind, that left only a roll around his mattress to get him to keep his word about allowing her to stay. And that pissed Kyle off royally.

“I thought you weren’t interested in sex.” Crowding her with his body, he advanced a step.

She withdrew the same distance, the action seeming to be instinctive. Her eyes widened slightly, sending her slender brows to beneath her bangs.

Kyle tried to determine if her reaction was genuine and couldn’t. He advanced again.

Lexi backed into the wall, her palms against the rough texture, face turning to it.

Giving her no chance to recover, Kyle planted one hand near her head and leaned close, inhaling deeply of her scent, damn near intoxicated by it and the softness, the heat of her body. Lips brushing her ear, he murmured, “Ever.”

A soft, wanton sound escaped her throat. With each halting breath, her breasts pressed into his chest. Resting her hands on his torso, she curled her fingers into his tee. It was more than Kyle could endure. Primal desire flared so quickly, he eased back before he did something they’d both regret.

Face flushed, Lexi released his tee and inched her gaze to him. Her eyes were glassy with what looked to be genuine lust. After a moment’s struggle, her lids lowered. Her words escaped in a breathy purr, “I may have been wrong about that.”

The sexual allure of her voice, her proximity and scent were driving him nuts. Kyle wanted to trust what she was saying, her response to him, but wasn’t yet certain. “You may have been?”

She parted her lips to speak, but inhaled sharply instead and opened her eyes. Head lowered, she watched him wrapping his fingers around her wrists.

Kyle dragged her arms above her head, holding them to the wall as he pressed close, his erection snuggled against her mound, his eyes on hers, his voice firm. “Don’t play me, Lexi.”

Astonishment swept over her features. “Play you?”

His brows drew together.

She searched his face, then matched his frown. “I’m not. All right?” She pushed against him to get away.

He held tight, not allowing it.

She arched one brow. “Don’t you play me. I’m through with that. It won’t happen again with any guy.”

Beneath her outrage, hurt rang in her voice. With it, Kyle’s distrust evaporated. So what had other guys done to her? How had they played her?

Not knowing what to say, he blurted, “I said I don’t want your money, all right? I’m not impressed by who you are. You can stay here because I said you could. End of story. I won’t change my mind. You don’t have to do this.”

She glanced up at his hands still holding her arms above her head. “Do what?”

He should have released her, but didn’t. His thumbs stroked her wrists.

She made a throaty sound that reminded him of a contented kitten.

Encouraged, he kept stroking. “Pretend you’re interested in me.”

In a whisper, she asked, “You think I’m pretending? You think I’d have to do that with a guy like you?”

Her obvious surprise reduced him to silence.

“I’m not.” Proving it, she softened against him, her lids slipping down, her lips parting.

A trace of moisture sparkled inside her mouth, past the weird lipstick. The bit of pink Kyle saw defeated all the restraint he owned. On a strangled growl, one of frustration and need, he lowered his head, slanting his mouth over hers, plunging his tongue inside.

There wasn’t anything tentative about his kiss. Hands gripping her wrists, he kept her captive, a prisoner to what he desired. What she did too.

Arching her back, rubbing her nipples against him, Lexi suckled his tongue, drawing it more deeply into her mouth. She whimpered.

He grunted, enjoying her wet warmth, the mild taste of the tea she’d had, the faint flavor beneath it. Something Kyle couldn’t quite identify or describe but knew it was uniquely hers. It made him wild, insatiable.

Bringing down her arms, he pulled her away from the wall and into his length, one of his hands imprisoning Lexi’s behind her back. With his other, he cupped her breast, testing its suppleness and weight, rubbing his thumb over her rigid nipple.

She gasped in delight.

It allowed him to fill her even more with his tongue. Greedily, she suckled him, her breathing and sounds impassioned. On a choked moan, Kyle deepened the kiss. For minutes, he was so lost in it he no longer considered her needs, whether he might be hurting or scaring her.

His behavior no different from the paparazzi.

The reality struck him with the force of a slap, quieting his lust, replacing it with respect and tenderness. Gently now, he coaxed her tongue into his mouth, suckling it with care.

Her previous whimper returned. Sagged against him, she yielded fully, ready for whatever happened next.

And what was that going to be? Fucking all night, then regretting it in the morning? How could they not? These last few seconds had changed everything for Kyle. A mindless screw was one thing. Making love was another.

When it came to Lexi, Kyle understood the distinction. She’d been abused by the press, possibly used by her parents and god only knew what her boyfriends had done.

I’m through with that, she’d said. It won’t happen again with any guy.

And here she was, prepared to jump into the fray again with him, not even seeming to care that she required a hell of a lot more than Kyle could ever give her. Their current situations, their futures were just too different.

Disquieted, he forced himself to end their kiss. On a rough breath, he opened his eyes.

Her lids remained closed. The glow in her cheeks, her harsh breathing told Kyle how aroused she still was. Too easily, it stripped away a lot of his concern and stoked his lust. With another kiss, a caress, the right words, he could take advantage of her.

Just like the other people in her life.

Fucking jerks. Anger bubbled up in him, making him want to slug the paparazzo and find the guys who’d played her.

No way would he be one of them. Releasing her wrists, he stepped back and grabbed her backpack. His heart continued to beat crazily. He cleared his throat, hoping to steady his voice. “I’ll put this in your room.”

Not waiting for her response, he strode down the hall and tossed her bag on the bed he kept ready for his parents’ frequent visits. Thank god they were on vacation in Mexico for the next couple of weeks and wouldn’t be dropping in to witness their son’s meltdown.

Head lowered, Kyle shoved his fingers through his hair and attempted to pull in a decent breath.

Seconds passed, then a minute, maybe more. Neither his breathing nor his heart rate slowed. He knew he had to return to the living room, it was the only way out of this place, unless he crawled through one of the windows. Calling himself an idiot, he tamped down his emotions and told himself to just do it, like the Nike commercial advised.

On his way to the living room, Kyle prayed that Lexi would now be on the sofa, facing the fireplace and Buddy, not him. No such luck. With her shoulder propped against the wall, she met his eyes, her lips puffy from the force of his kiss, her gaze questioning and more vulnerable than he wanted it to be.

He spoke before she could. “I have to get back to the roadhouse.”

She seemed more disappointed than surprised. “Can I ask you something?”

He wished she wouldn’t. “What?”

“Do you mind if I go with you?” Pushing away from the wall, she held up her hands and spoke quickly before he could say no. “I won’t bother you. I just thought I’d get a burger or a bowl of chili. I haven’t had anything all day. I could eat it in the kitchen with Pete. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind. I could even help him prepare the food for your customers.”

The words were out of Kyle’s mouth before he could stop them. “You cook?”

“Yeah. It’s a passion. I—” She stopped abruptly, then shrugged.

“What?”

Lexi shook her head, wariness flickering in her eyes. “Wasn’t important. I promise I won’t mess up anything.”

He wasn’t worried about that. If she wanted to hide out here and keep the press away, she didn’t need to be exposed to the constant traffic in the kitchen from the waitresses, especially Jacqueline. “My fridge is stocked as well as the kitchen. Take whatever you want from there.”

“I’ll pay you for—”

“No. And don’t offer again.”

Her expression was a mixture of gratitude and embarrassment. “Thanks. Do you have potatoes and oil? I haven’t had French fries in four years.”

“What? You’re kidding, right?”

“Wish I was. There’s a weight clause in my contract. When I was fifteen, I kind of gorged on fast food after I got dumped by—” Again, she paused, then continued, “Doesn’t matter. Since then, I’ve had a reputation for weight swings. It’s not true, but Hollywood’s a small community and word gets around, and anything bad sticks to you forever, so now I have to weigh in before filming. I figure if I eat the fries tonight, I’ll have two weeks to lose whatever I gain.”

Jesus. And Kyle thought his career demands had been bad. “There’s a bag of fries in the freezer. Just put them on a baking pan and pop them in the oven.”

“Thanks, but they’re better when they’re made fresh. Tell you what,” she said, speaking hurriedly, “I’ll just make do with whatever you have. I won’t go to the roadhouse and bother Pete.”

Kyle frowned. “You’re not bothering anyone, all right? And it’s not like you have to make do with what I have. There’s steak, TV dinners, ice cream, cookies, whatever you want.”

“What kind of ice cream?”

“Double mint fudge.”

Hands to her chest, she smiled.

Rarely had Kyle seen an expression so radiant. It stole his breath. “Whatever you want,” he murmured.

Her voice was equally soft. “You’re making me hungry.”

Somehow, he had the feeling she wasn’t talking about food. Before Kyle lost what remained of his good sense, he went to the front door and kept his tone neutral. “There’s also a sack of puppy chow in the kitchen.” He inclined his head to his pet. The mutt was on his back, twisting from side to side on the doggy bed. “I’d prefer you use it rather than giving any of your leftovers to Buddy.”

“Buddy Baby,” she corrected.

Kyle curbed his smile and stopped himself from crossing the room and taking her in his arms again. The strain of doing the right thing, the only sensible thing, made his chest and shoulders ache. “You’ll be safe here. No one will disturb you. Lock the door behind me.”

He was steps away from the cabin, sucking in the cooling night air, when Lexi’s breathy voice drifted from the doorway.

“When will you be back?”

Not breaking stride, Kyle answered her over his shoulder. “I don’t know. Late.”

With her shoulder propped against the jamb, Lexi watched him stride down the path through splashes of moonlight, putting as much distance as he could between them. Sighing deeply at his escape, she lifted her face to the star-dusted sky, recalling better times—his mouth on hers, his tongue demanding entrance, his long fingers fondling her breast, playing with her nipple. His kind offer of whatever she wanted. Except for him, of course.

The breeze swept past, wiggling the ends of her skirt and hair, bringing with it the pristine scents of the forest. The clean, fragrant aromas were no match for Kyle’s. He’d smelled of musk and stark male need. He’d tasted of beer and a bit of spiciness, perhaps the chili Pete had been eating.

It was one of the best kisses Lexi had ever experienced—unrestrained, powerful, then searching and tender. Recalling the moment, she forced down a swallow. Tears stung her eyes.

Don’t play me, he’d warned.

As if she could. She’d always been the one people toyed with, especially guys. They never got hurt. That was her job.

You can trust Kyle, Pete had said.

She pushed away from the jamb and moved a bit down the path so she could still see Kyle. He’d paused near a monster tree, its width many times his. Hands on his narrow hips, head thrown back, he stared at the sky.

A sad smile curved Lexi’s lips. If he was wishing on a star, hoping for her to leave, she knew he was out of luck. His kiss, no matter how brief, no matter how much he regretted it, had been the real deal. He’d refused her money. He thought little of her career. While she’d been in his arms, he’d craved the real Lexi, the woman beneath all the other junk.

She’d wanted him just as badly. She ached to share his bed. Not smart, she knew, recalling everything her counselor had said and warned against. Didn’t matter. For years, she’d been so lonely. Even if Kyle could give her nothing more than sex, Lexi’s heart craved some degree of closeness.

Not that she’d be getting it tonight. He wouldn’t be back until late. No doubt to avoid the temptation of being around her.

Lowering his head, he continued down the path, disappearing from view.

Shoulders bunched, she wrapped her arms around herself, her body hurting with unfulfilled need. Not just for him but this place. How lucky he was to have such a simple, uncomplicated life. What she’d never be able to attain.

She had Autumn to provide for, her parents to deal with, the studio to please, the paparazzi to avoid.

Stop it. Gripping her elbows, Lexi ordered herself to relax, to enjoy the few days she had here, away from the other crap and all her obligations.

Turning, she nearly tripped over Buddy Baby. He looked up at her with soulful eyes that captured her heart and brought on more yearning. In her gentlest voice, she asked, “What are you doing out here?”

Head cocked to the side, he regarded her, then scampered past.

“Whoa, sweetie.”

Lexi caught him just as she had Autumn when her kid sister had been a toddler and about to get into no end of trouble. Holding the wriggling puppy to her face, Lexi sighed at his weight and warmth. “Sorry to stop your fun, but you’re not leaving me too.”

Having Kyle do it was enough for one night.

She sneaked one last look at the path, hoping he’d changed his mind and was returning.

The filmy moonlight showed Lexi how wrong she was. How alone she continued to be.

Chapter Five

Just inside the back door of the roadhouse, Kyle stopped. At the other end of the hall, facing him, Pete did the same.

From the bar area, the patrons shouted wildly. Feet stomped the floor. Glasses clinked. No doubt the Braves’ performance had improved considerably while Kyle had been gone, busying himself with pushing Lexi against the wall, holding her arms above her head, kissing her like he had the right, fondling her breast.

Ladle in hand, Pete regarded Kyle, unaware of the barbeque sauce dripping from the metal spoon to the long apron wrapped around his waist. His reddish brows inched up his forehead, smashing countless freckles together. Curiosity, then understanding registered in his eyes. In a series of quick strides, he was soon close enough to speak in a lowered voice. “You kissed her, didn’t you?” His head bobbed up and down as he took in Kyle’s length. “You couldn’t have slept with her. You weren’t gone that long. But you did kiss her, right?”

Kyle resisted rolling his eyes at Pete’s dumb question and his own stupidity in having done anything with Lexi. Moving around his friend, Kyle elbowed him in his gut.

Feigning pain, Pete groaned loudly. He spoke with a smile in his voice. “Was it good?”

Kyle’s hand stalled on the knob to his office, the same as it had at his cabin when Lexi had claimed his home was perfect.

Was it good?

Sweat prickled on the back of his neck. The muscles in his belly and thighs tensed. Intense heat settled in his groin, stiffening his unruly cock.

Yeah, it had been good. Damn near awesome. And deeply dumb.

With his back to Pete, Kyle growled, “Don’t you have something to kill and cook?”

“In a minute.” Pete joined him. “Was it—”

The door slamming in Pete’s face cut off the rest of his words. “Did she slug you?” Pete asked, just loud enough to be heard through the wood.

Pivoting, Kyle opened the door.

Pete stepped back in surprise, then leaned close and spoke in a lowered voice. “What the hell happened between you two?”

Nothing. Yet.

Jesus, stop it. Getting a grip, Kyle asked, “Do you have any potatoes and oil?”

“What? Why?”

“I want you to make French fries. A mound of them. Enough for five linebackers.” Enough to make Lexi forget not having had them for four years. “I also want a large container of chili and two double cheeseburgers.” Kyle figured she probably hadn’t had either of those in far too long. Speaking softly, he said, “As soon as you’re through, bring them to Lexi. Don’t screw around and let them get cold, understand?”

“I’m not certain I do.”

“Just get on it, all right? And call her at the cabin before you get started. Tell her not to make anything. That you’ll be bringing her something in a little bit. She doesn’t have to cook.”

Lifting the ladle to his mouth, Pete licked off a bit of the sauce and swallowed. “Afraid she’ll burn down your place?”

Kyle gripped the side of his door to close it.

Lifting his arm, Pete blocked him. The wood shimmied. He asked, “What if she doesn’t answer your phone?”

“Then run out there and tell her what you’re going to do, then come back here and start cooking her damn food.”

A grin broke across Pete’s face. “The kiss was that good, huh? Hey,” he complained, stumbling back with Kyle’s push.

Ignoring him, Kyle locked the door, yanked his chair to his desk and dropped into it. The springs protested with a loud squeak. A series of thumps followed, coming from the direction of the bar, making his framed business license vibrate against the wall. He hoped to god a fight hadn’t started. Head cocked, he listened for the sound of shattering glass.

Waves of muted cheers and laughter rose to a crescendo, then fell to a more mellow clamor.

Drumming his fingers on his desk, Kyle glanced at his reflection in his laptop’s monitor. His hair was a mess. Had Lexi run her fingers through it? How could she? He’d held her hands above her head, then behind her back while he’d kissed her hard and pawed her with abandon.

At the memory, air hissed through Kyle’s teeth. He ran his hand down his face, pausing on his bristly jaw. Had his stubble irritated Lexi’s skin? Is that why she’d been making those whimpering noises? Had his coming beard, rather than arousal, caused the rosiness in her cheeks?

Kyle recalled her eyes, glazed with hunger, and the way she’d sagged against him, her body limp with desire.

Was it good?

It was something he had to forget. He stretched out his legs and rotated his shoulders, trying to relax the muscles before they started to hurt. Searing pain in the right one was what had started him on the prescription pain meds. An injured knee had added to his misery. Luckily, or so the doctor had said, Kyle hadn’t needed an operation on either part of his body in order to resume playing. He’d needed physical therapy and the pills, at least for a while. Once they’d served their purpose, he’d already been hooked.

Unwilling to revisit that time, Kyle flipped on the radio. Beyonce’s clear, strong voice poured through his office as she sang the same question over and over—why don’t you love me?

Years ago, Kyle might have been tempted to ask Denise the same thing. Tonight, an image of Lexi filled his mind, the heartache in her eyes as to why she’d been treated so badly by the paparazzo and then the court. Even if she had what a lot of people thought they wanted, fame and fortune hadn’t eliminated her desire for genuine acceptance. If anything, it magnified her need to be truly respected and liked.

Kyle had seen that on her face when he’d voiced his approval of what she’d done to the prick who’d hounded her. He remembered how she beamed when he told her she could have whatever was in his fridge. He’d offered so little, just a bit of emotional support and basic human kindness, and she’d appreciated it so much. She was certainly the loneliest woman he’d ever met, her yearning for closeness obvious in the way she’d clung to and showered affection on Buddy.

Buddy Baby, she’d corrected repeatedly.

Kyle smiled at the memory, then shook it off. Firing up his computer, he brought up Excel, determined to do some bookkeeping so he wouldn’t have to return to his cabin until after midnight. He figured Lexi would be blissfully asleep by then, contented and stuffed with Pete’s cooking. Without her to tempt him, Kyle could climb into his bed, masturbate and call it a day. Shit.

On a heavy sigh, he stared at the figures on his spreadsheet, then closed it out and brought up Google. He keyed in “Lexi” but not “Sands”, telling himself he shouldn’t be doing this. He sure as hell wouldn’t have appreciated it if she’d been snooping into his sorry past.

A new series of thumps rattled his office wall, accompanied by loud whoops.

The noise urged him to go up front, check out what in the fuck was happening, greet his customers, watch the game, have a beer.

Or get to work on the bookkeeping crap he still had to do.

Struggling for a moment, his fingers poised above the keyboard, Kyle finally keyed in an S. Like magic, Lexi’s full name popped up with a zillion hits and a lot of photos.

Kyle’s mouth went dry. His mind warned, don’t do this.

He ignored what was prudent and scrolled down, regarding the picture taken of Lexi in court when she’d been sentenced to thirty days of anger management. Dark smudges stained the delicate skin beneath her eyes. Her hair, a faint reddish blonde, parted on the side with no bangs, hung limply around her face. Her lower lip, a subtle pink, jutted out as it had in his office when she’d seemed ready to cry.

At her obvious distress, Kyle’s heart cramped. However, the caption beneath the photo had a different take on her misery. Pretending to be sorry, it said.

Frowning, he studied her features slack with defeat and her shoulders hunched like a whipped dog. Great actress or not, he didn’t think she’d been putting on a show.

He scrolled to the next series of shots, then clicked on the link that brought him to a website called Back Then and Now devoted to the rise and fall of Hollywood stars, models and other celebrities. The top half of Lexi’s “Back Then” page showed her as a kid, her strawberry blonde hair worn in pigtails or braids, face scrubbed clean, a few freckles scattered across the bridge of her nose, her eyes innocent, her smile untroubled and joyous as only a kid’s can be.

Beneath those shots were flashing red letters that read A Few Years Later!!!

Scrolling down, Kyle stared. Photo after photo showed Lexi in a series of acne commercials, zits dotting her face, with the captions reading These are real. She actually looked like this. Gross, huh?

Soul-deep humiliation shone in her eyes. Even if the photographer had directed her to look like that, no way did Kyle think her mortification was solely for the camera.

He recalled being fourteen, Lexi’s age displayed beneath these shots. At the time, he’d been small for his age and scrawnier than Pete. Unlike his friend, Kyle had suffered the additional embarrassment of having to wear glasses. In those days, Pete had been the less geeky one.

It hadn’t lasted. Contact lenses, then later the miracle of LASIK surgery had perfected Kyle’s vision, while a series of growth spurts had corrected everything else.

Even so, it had taken Kyle years to rebuild his self-esteem, helped along by his parents who’d always thought he was great, and the girls in his senior year of high school who suddenly couldn’t offer their affection or bodies quickly enough.

Had anyone told Lexi the zits didn’t change the fact that she was still pretty? Had her parents tried to ease her hurt? Why would they let her pose for these stupid ads in the first place? It was one thing to have a god-awful picture in a yearbook or on a driver’s license. It was another to have your flaws broadcast for the entire world to see.

This site was certainly doing its best to do just that.

The next series of pictures showed Lexi going about her day, dressed in baggy tees and loose denim shorts, unaware anyone was taking pictures. In the first, the camera had zoomed in on the backs of her thighs. These flashing letters screamed Look at the cellulite!!! Beneath six photos, each taken at different times and locales, the wording was the same regarding the state of Lexi’s legs.

Gaze turned inward, Kyle recalled her short denim skirt hitching up her thigh, her smooth expanse of skin as she’d taken the wad of cash from her boot. He hadn’t noticed any imperfections in her flesh then.

Had she gotten liposuction and exercised until the flaws were gone? Or was the human eye, and the human heart, immune to what the camera caught?

If Kyle had harbored any doubt as to whether Lexi had seen these awful pics, the next series of shots proved she had. She still wore baggy tops, but gone were the shorts, replaced by jeans that covered everything. The website’s owner noted that, adding in one caption Here she gained twenty pounds!!! Do we wonder why?

Tongue snaked out, Lexi licked the side of her ice cream cone heaped with three scoops of chocolate. A dribble of the treat ran down her chin with some of it staining her powder blue tee.

When I was fifteen, she’d said, I kind of gorged on fast food after I got dumped.

Kyle read farther. The guy who’d done the deed had been a teen heartthrob at the time, nearly as big as Justin Bieber was now.

Do you blame him for breaking it off with her? the article asked, then showed a picture of Lexi from the back. A banner across her ass shouted WIDE LOAD as she waited in line at a fast food joint.

I haven’t had French fries in four years.

Outrage tore through Kyle. He squeezed his fists so tightly his knuckles hurt. She wasn’t overweight in any of these fucking photos. She’d been normal for her age, but the press’s cruelty must have gotten to her. Six months after the “wide load” shot had been taken, she’d been honored for her movie work at the Teen Choice Awards. Her arms were beyond thin, nearly skeletal. Scary skinny, the photo’s caption claimed, adding, What’s the matter with her? Eat something!

Sure. So she’d then gain a few pounds and be criticized for that? Unable to look any longer, Kyle closed out the site, which brought him right back to Google. He read a few headlines, most of them dealing with Lexi stalking the paparazzo, then stopped on one regarding a wannabe rocker named Hank.

Satanic tattoos covered the guy’s chest and arms, no doubt to give him street cred or to make him seem tough to clueless teens. Lank brown hair hung in greasy strands around his bony face. It appeared he’d been on the same starvation diet Lexi had at fifteen. She’d actually dated this guy?

Unable to imagine it, Kyle clicked on the link, running his free hand down his torso as he waited for the page to load. The second it did, his hand paused, then dropped to his lap. In Lexi’s eyes, Kyle saw adoration for this man, while Hank didn’t appear to notice her at all. He was too busy grinning lewdly for the press that surrounded them.

So why did she look so happy? Had she and Hank just gotten engaged? Had they just gotten married? Fuck. Was she still married to this turd?

Disturbed at the thought, not willing to explore why it would bother him at all, Kyle read the caption and remembered to breathe. Apparently, Hank had just announced that Lexi was going to fund his band’s first record. Reading more, Kyle learned that Lexi and Mr. Wannabe had met six months earlier and fell in love, but hadn’t consummated it with the State of California or God.

She was still single. Relief swept through Kyle, along with renewed dread that he’d feel anything at all. His fucked-up emotions didn’t stop him from keying in Hank’s name along with Lexi’s for his next Google search.

This time, the whole sorry story emerged of the two lovebirds.

Lexi had spent a good chunk of cash to fund Hank’s dream. The album tanked. No label wanted him. In article after article, she defended his talent and bad boy antics, but eventually had to cut off the dough. He griped about it publicly, calling her selfish, a D-list actress with no talent, claiming the stories about Lexi sleeping her way to the top were true.

Hank said he had evidence of her numerous affairs with Hollywood’s A-listers, including Johnny Depp, Leonardo DiCaprio and Matthew McConaughey. Hank offered his inside information to the highest bidder.

No evidence of those alleged affairs ever came to light even in the smutty tabloids. However, unflattering pictures Hank had taken of Lexi during their relationship did make the rounds. One press report said he’d offered to sell them to her first. When she declined, he had to do what was necessary to fund his career. “It’s business,” the article quoted him saying. “She’ll get over it.”

She hadn’t yet. Kyle recalled the unease in her eyes when she wasn’t certain of his reaction to what she’d said or done. Did she worry that pissing him off wouldn’t only get her a fast exit from his cabin, but that he’d then betray her too?

Probably. Slumped in his chair, he hadn’t a clue how to convince Lexi that he’d never do anything so vicious. Nor did he know how to stop prying into every freaking thing in her past or present. Locating her show Stitch in Time, he started the download of last season’s finale, hoping it wasn’t too bad, which would only add to his concern for her.

He rotated his shoulders again. They continued to tense. He tried to focus on the progress of the download, but his mind kept returning to his cabin, picturing Lexi at his kitchen table, a Formica-and-chrome relic he’d gotten at a yard sale. He imagined her slipping Pete’s thick, wedge-cut fries into her mouth, licking ketchup from the corners, moaning softly at the condiment’s tang and the salty taste of the potatoes, her breasts bobbing with her gratified sighs.

Kyle’s toes curled within his mocs. Closing his eyes, he envisioned her lips snuggled around the business end of a double cheeseburger, her white-white teeth biting into its moist, meaty goodness. She’d chew slowly, her lids heavy with pleasure, and then she’d lift her head and swallow, the angle exposing her kissable throat.

Like a YouTube video, more images arrived, these X-rated. Lexi in his bathroom, untying her top, peeling it and her bra off, dropping her clothing on the tile floor, her fingers running over the faint ridges that the underwire had left on her skin. Palms cupping her breasts, she’d lift their precious weight. The achingly soft flesh would spill over the sides of her hands. Her nipples’ long pink tips would peek out from between her fingers.

Legs spread wide, his butt on the edge of the chair, his head on the back of it, Kyle envisioned one of Lexi’s hands snaking down her torso, circling her navel, then unzipping her itsy-bitsy skirt. The denim would hug the delicious flare of her hips for a few tenuous seconds before plunging south and exposing what? A black thong? No underwear at all?

His cock liked the latter scenario. The speed with which it stiffened demanded his attention.

Hand on his fly, stroking himself through denim worn to softness, he pictured her lifting her foot to the edge of the tub as she had to his chair, the backs of her thighs exposed and facing him, her skin enticing, not flawed, while her ass—oh god, her ass. His thoughts envisioned two perfect globes separated by a dark furrow. As she bent down to remove her cash and the boots before she showered or had a bath, she’d display the tight pink ring of her anus and beneath it another slice of heaven.

Her cunt, all pink and pouty, wet and alluring, would invite him closer, begging his rigid rod to fill her. Losing all control, he’d run the tip of his cock up her juicy slit, then sink into her channel, burrowing unhurriedly and deep, taking his time, pulling every sound he could from her—a whimper, moan, gasp and finally a lusty cry as he stroked her clit, rolling the hard little nub between his fingers.

Finding the sensations too much to bear, she’d try to get free.

No damn way. Hands on her curvy hips, he’d pound into her until they both screamed in pleasure. And then, he’d catch his breath and go at it again and again and—

His computer dinged. Kyle’s fingers halted on their journey down his erection, his images of Lexi fading away. Grunting, he forced himself to a sitting position, seeing the download was complete. With a shaky hand, he turned off his radio and started the show, now hoping it would be so boring he’d deflate fast. It was either that or masturbate and risk being disturbed during the act by Pete or an unruly patron pounding on his door.

Arms crossed over his chest, swearing softly, Kyle glared at the show, prepared to hate it.

Lexi’s face filled the screen. Winking at the camera, she next ran her forefinger over the full length of her plump bottom lip. Real slow. Like she meant business.

Wanting to swallow, Kyle couldn’t quite manage the action as yet. He inched a bit closer to his laptop’s screen as the episode started. Dressed in a pale yellow suit that complemented her natural coloring and fit her like skin, she parried with a guy hanging over the side of a hot tub, nursing what looked to be the century’s worse hangover.

As he whined, she paced, her three-inch heels clacking against the spa’s Mexican pavers, the muscles in her calves tensing, her hips swaying slightly, hair swishing across her narrow shoulders. Her client didn’t appear to notice.

Kyle sure as hell did. Damn, she was sexy. But that wasn’t the half of it. Her comic timing was amazing, her acting unbelievable. She was funny enough to make him laugh, and so moving a lump formed in his throat. In her eyes, he saw the real Lexi, sweet, misunderstood, angry, cautious. Not to mention likeable and oh so beautiful.

Not in the conventional sense, the kind of gorgeous an Angelina Jolie or a young Catherine Zeta-Jones might own. Lexi’s looks were unique…arresting and intriguing, though slightly different from when she’d been a kid. And not only because she’d grown so nicely. It was more than that.

Kyle tried to reconcile her current images with the ones on the Back Then and Now website. Although there was a similarity to her features over the years, there was also something different he couldn’t quite figure out. After a few more minutes, he forgot to try. Engrossed in the episode, Kyle started at a sound from behind. The click of metal against metal.

Mystified, he tried to place it, then did. A key was turning in his door’s lock, opening the damn thing.

Before Pete waltzed inside, Kyle muted his computer’s volume, exited the episode and brought up his Excel spreadsheet. Swiveling around to face the door, he was ready to bitch at the intrusion when he saw dark hair, not red. Jacqueline’s face, not Pete’s.

She winked.

Kyle stared.

“I knocked,” she said at his silence, coming inside and closing the door. “When you didn’t answer, I used my key.” She dropped said key into her jeans’ front pocket where it lay snuggled against her hipbone and the slight flare of her belly.

There wasn’t a chance in hell Kyle would go after the key now. To be honest, he’d forgotten she still had it. Not because they’d been all that close, at least not from his side of the relationship. When he’d been called home for his grandmother’s funeral, Jacqueline had asked for the means to get in here so she had access to the receipts and other stuff if Pete was too busy or wasn’t around.

She glanced at his laptop’s screen, then reached behind herself and turned the door’s lock.

Not expecting that, Kyle’s gaze jumped from it to her. He asked the only thing that seemed reasonable at the moment. “Problem out front?”

“No.” She advanced without hesitation and a bit of slink in her step, not stopping until she stood between his legs.

Remarkably, his lingering erection died with her proximity. Jacqueline didn’t appear to notice, or if she did, she wasn’t letting on. Her eyes slid back to his computer screen. “Working?”

Had she heard the music and dialogue from Lexi’s show? “Yep. What are you doing in here?”

His blunt question pulled Jacqueline’s attention from his screen. Hurt or irritation blazed in her eyes, replaced by quick nonchalance as she regained her calm. “I wanted to tell you the game’s over.”

Kyle hadn’t noticed even though one of Tim McGraw’s hits currently blared from the sound system, replacing the earlier noise.

She added, “It was a real upset. The Phillies lost.”

Offering no comment, Kyle drummed his fingers on his thighs, wanting her to leave.

Head tilted down, Jacqueline regarded his hands. And then her attention inched up to his disinterested cock. “Who’s the girl?”

It was the second time she’d asked. Again, he lied easily. “A friend of Pete’s cousin Fiona, just like I told you earlier in the bar.”

“Is that what you’d said? I didn’t hear it. Too noisy out there.” She ran her fingers down her torso and lower, pausing on the bottom of her fly that rested against the soft curve of her mound. “Weird-looking chick.”

At Jacqueline’s less-than-kind appraisal, quick and brutal annoyance surged through Kyle. Nevertheless, he didn’t comment.

Lifting her head, she regarded him thoughtfully. “So what did she want? Where’d you take her?”

Unease crept up Kyle’s spine, not because he cared if Jacqueline knew what he did. Kyle didn’t want to blow Lexi’s cover. “I didn’t take her anywhere. Fiona came by. They left together.”

Jacqueline’s perfectly shaped brows arched slightly. “When did that happen? I saw her leaving with you out the back door.”

Heat rose to Kyle’s chest at what he’d forgotten—Jacqueline at the end of the hall watching him and Lexi going outside.

“You were carrying her backpack,” she added.

“It’s mine, not hers,” he lied. “I let Fiona borrow it. She was returning it for Fiona.”

“She?”

“Autumn,” he said, blurting the name of Lexi’s kid sister, unfortunately the first one that came to mind.

Jacqueline’s lips curled up in a smirk that didn’t mar her gorgeous features. “Good choice. Fits her other weirdness. So Fiona met you guys out back?”

“No.” His thoughts whisked over a reasonable lie for what never happened, hopefully something Jacqueline would believe. “She met us up front. Autumn and I went out back because she wanted to collect some pinecones. She makes them into jewelry or something.”

A ridiculous explanation, Kyle knew, but it was the best he had, and suddenly he couldn’t stop talking, determined to protect Lexi’s privacy, just about the only thing he could give her at this point. “When she got the cones she needed, I walked her back out front. At the time, you were delivering drinks. I think it was to the group at the pool table. Could have been someone else. I hope you warned the women that if they fucked up the table’s felt, they’d be charged for it.”

At the change in subject, she cooed, “Don’t worry, they didn’t hurt it.” Leaning close, she ran her fingers down his stubbled cheek.

When she got to his throat, Kyle swallowed hard, an involuntary reaction, like what his mind was doing, bringing him back to the kiss he’d shared with Lexi. He regretted having held her wrists, wondering what her hands might have done if they’d been free. Would they have run up and down his back, cupped his ass, cradled his balls, traced the contours of his cock?

His lids fluttered and his breath caught.

Jacqueline’s expression softened even more. Her lids slid down to half-mast, while her voice grew smokier. “Remember when you and I played on the table and it wasn’t pool?”

He did. A crappy winter storm had necessitated an early close that night, keeping even their hard-core patrons away after dumping several inches of rain. Two beers into their clean-up, Kyle and Jacqueline were going at it as though death awaited them beyond the front door and the present was all they had.

It had been a good fuck, just like the others they’d shared, satisfying in every way, except it hadn’t touched Kyle’s soul. Remembering that, he wrapped his fingers around Jacqueline’s and eased her hand from his neck. “Don’t you have customers to serve?”

She curled her fingers around his, caressing his hand, not allowing him to take it back. “Nan has it covered. I’m on my break.”

Kyle fought a sigh. “I have work to do, Jacqueline.”

“Do it later. You’re the boss. You can take a break with me.” She gave him another wink, this one conspiratorial.

The same as Lexi’s at the beginning of her show. God help him, Kyle liked Lexi’s better. Keeping lust from his voice, he asked the obvious, “What about Vince?” The guy she’d been seeing for six months now and claimed to love.

“He’s busy tonight.”

Kyle didn’t buy it. “His garage stays open this late? Remind me to use him the next time my pickup fucks up. Most places close at five.”

Unfazed by his sarcasm, she said, “So does his. His ex is throwing a birthday party for their kid. I wasn’t invited.”

“And you want to be with me to get back at him?”

Jacqueline’s smile froze, a look of desperation and need replacing it. “No. I want to be with you because I want to be with you. I miss you, Kyle.” Bringing his hand to her mouth, she brushed her lips over his knuckles.

Kyle’s belly churned at the stark desire on her face and beneath it a small measure of hope that this moment could change their past. Pulling his hand from hers, he kept his voice nice but firm. “We’ve been there, all right? It wouldn’t work out. I’m not what you need. I can’t give it to you, honey. I’m sorry. Really.”

She stared at his hand. Frustrated tears shimmered in her eyes. Her voice dropped to just above a whisper. “You never gave us a chance.”

“I did all that I could.” His voice held as much sorrow as hers. “It didn’t work out then. It wouldn’t now.”

She opened her mouth, clearly prepared to argue. Instead, she backed away, swiping her eyes with the back of her hand. “Got it. You don’t have to tell me twice.” Defeat colored her voice. “Sorry to have bothered you.”

Kyle wanted to tell her she hadn’t. The words wouldn’t come. She left, closing the door gently, too carefully. He would have preferred if she’d lost her cool and slammed it so hard the wood split, making him less the creep, more the victim.

Elbows on his thighs, he buried his head in his hands, feeling trapped. He couldn’t leave his office, not with Jacqueline still in the building, ready to ambush him for another try at their nonexistent relationship. As far as escaping to his cabin, Lexi was there with all the complications she represented, including his intense and idiotic attraction to her.

Grinding the heels of his hands into his temples, Kyle tried to rub away his coming headache, while the thought of Lexi still beckoned.

Chapter Six

With a hint of remorse, Lexi finished the last of the fries Pete had run over to the cabin. Literally run over.

More than an hour before, the man’s freckled face had been an even shade of red, his shoulders bobbing as he wheezed in air, his hands shaking the two large sacks stuffed with the food he’d called about earlier.

At first, Lexi had ignored the phone’s jangling, figuring she had no business answering the call. When the ringing didn’t stop, she wondered if it was Kyle trying to reach her, telling her he wouldn’t be back all night or wanted her gone or that somehow the paparazzi had broken her cover and were on their way here as he spoke.

Thankfully, it was Pete.

“Don’t cook,” he’d warned on the other end of the line in a voice that could only be described as insistent. “Kyle doesn’t want you to.”

Clearly, Kyle had changed his mind about his earlier “whatever you want” comment, or he didn’t believe she had the capability to slap together some food. Of course, he knew so little about the real Lexi Sands.

She’d wanted to set the record straight when Pete had arrived with her meal, but did not. The way he kept staring at her throat told her he was searching for hickeys not explanations as to her expertise in the kitchen. For a breath, Lexi wondered if Kyle had boasted about their kiss, then decided he had not.

He wasn’t impressed with her image or career. Pete had probably just guessed what had happened between them.

As Lexi relived that very nice moment, she’d offered Buddy Baby some puppy treats, then gave into temptation and gorged herself on half the fries and two burgers. Stuffed in a way she hadn’t been for years, she’d then taken a shower, washing away the midnight black hair coloring, a temporary rinse.

What’s your normal color? Kyle had asked. Your usual color? Strawberry blonde?

She recalled the wistful quality of his question. Was that why she’d shampooed repeatedly so she could prove him right? Or was it that she simply wanted to please him?

The thought gnawed at her, and not entirely in a good way.

Back in the kitchen, wearing one of her oversized tees, she’d heated the cup of chili and polished it off, trying to calm her nerves. That was ten minutes ago. Now, holding back her still damp hair, she licked ketchup from the Styrofoam plate that had once held the fries, moaning in pleasure, along with a load of misery.

It was going to take forever for her to burn off these calories. If she didn’t meet the stipulations in her contract, there would be hell to pay. And not only for her.

Biting her lower lip, Lexi cleaned off the table, dropping all traces of her meal into the garbage can as if hiding what she’d done would make things better. As far as Buddy Baby was concerned, it only piqued his curiosity. He padded to the aluminum container, a retro design.

Paws on the slick surface, the puppy yelped, wanting in, no doubt drawn to the lingering scent of beef and cheese.

Lexi couldn’t blame him. No matter how much she’d eaten, tonight it didn’t seem to be enough to fill the emptiness inside. “Come on, you,” she said, lifting the squirming pooch in her arms, bringing him down the hall to the master bedroom. There, on Kyle’s pine nightstand was the only phone in the cabin.

For a breath, Lexi considered grabbing her iPhone from the backpack and using it to make her call. Just as quickly, she nixed the idea, afraid the press would somehow intercept the transmission, broadcasting everything she’d said. Or worse. The call would lead the paparazzi from the treatment center to here, where they’d camp out in the forest surrounding Kyle’s place, waiting to click away.

Cringing at the thought, Lexi turned on the brass lamp nearest her, appreciating the warm glow it lent.

“Stay,” she told Buddy Baby, placing him on the pine bed. Big like Kyle, it was a California king in a rustic design scented with his musky-soapy fragrance.

Her nipples constricted and her knees gave out. Sinking to the quilted bedspread, a cocoa color that reminded Lexi of Kyle’s eyes, she looked down at the puppy butting his body against hers, then resting his head on her leg. The way he panted told her he was on the far side of content.

Unexpected tears pricked her eyes at the comfort he afforded, his unconditional love. The same as Lexi’s for Autumn. Her kid sister was the only reason she’d hung on this long, the sole reason she’d resume her lousy life in Hollywood.

Checking the time on the nightstand’s clock, Lexi grabbed the phone’s receiver and punched in the number. She let one ring complete before killing the call. Again, she made it, this time allowing two rings prior to cutting off the connection. On her third try, barely one ring had completed before Autumn picked up, attuned to the call-then-hang-up signals Lexi had used for years to alert her sister that it was actually her on the other end of the line. Not a tabloid reporter. Not a psycho fan.

“Lex?” Autumn asked, her young voice breathless and a bit uncertain.

The hesitation in her sister’s tone cut deep. Head bowed, feeling guilty for having caused it, Lexi closed her eyes. A lone tear ran down her cheek. From the moment their mom had brought Autumn home from the hospital, Lexi had fallen hopelessly in love, adoring everything about her kid sister, treating her more like her own baby than a sibling. For Autumn, Lexi would face anything—the hounding press, restrictive diets, a career she’d grown to loathe. For her sister, she wanted only good, not the caution she now heard.

“Lex?” she said again.

Clearing her throat, Lexi drove away sentiment and made her voice casual, like she had everything under control, no different than her character on Stitch in Time. “Hey, kid. What are you doing up so late?”

“What are you? Who’s Kyle Griffin?”

Lexi’s eyes snapped opened, her skin going cold, then hot. Her mind panicked, racing over the probability that the paparazzi were already outside. That they’d taken video of her pigging out on Pete’s food, and had somehow gotten the footage to the entertainment sites, along with information about Kyle. What had she done by coming here? Why hadn’t she closed the blinds in the kitchen? Were there even blinds? Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit.

“Lex? You still there?”

Only because her legs shook too badly to run. Voice catching, she asked, “How do you know about Kyle?”

“I don’t. His name’s on caller ID.”

Stupidly, Lexi had forgotten about that. She dragged in some air, trying to calm her elevated heart rate. Readjusting herself and Buddy Baby on the mattress, she propped the pillows against the roughhewn headboard and sagged into them, catching herself before she moaned at Kyle’s soapy scent still clinging to the fabric.

“Who is he?” Autumn asked.

“Just a guy I met through Fiona.”

“That girl who works at the treatment center?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Why are you using his phone?” Autumn inhaled sharply. “He’s not in your room at rehab, is he? You’ll get in trouble. Isn’t that against the rules?”

“Everything’s against the rules. And no, he’s not in my room. I’m not there any longer.”

“Oh my god,” Autumn cried even though the volume of her voice was subdued as though she didn’t want to risk being overheard. “They threw you out? You’re going to prison now because you didn’t do what that judge wanted?”

“No, of course not. I graduated.” Sighing, Lexi wondered if she’d been as dramatic at fifteen. “I fulfilled the court order. I left.”

Her sister talked fast. “But TMZ just said that you tweeted about deciding to stay another week. Maybe two.”

“As usual, they’re wrong. Not about the tweets…I did do that. They’re wrong about what I really plan to do.”

“What’s that? Where are you? Are you okay?”

Lexi’s eyes traveled the small room dominated by Kyle’s bed, two nightstands and a pine dresser, as simple and masculine as the rest of this place. The only luxury item was a flat-screen TV, no more than twenty-something inches. Resting on the dresser’s top, it faced the bed so he could watch important stuff.

For one hopeful moment, Lexi wondered if he’d catch her show when she was gone, and just as quickly decided he wouldn’t. He might not even recall their kiss. Could be he’d forgotten it already. “I’m fine,” she said, masking disappointment. “How are you?”

“I’m worried about you.”

“No need to be. I’ve never been better.”

Autumn’s silence said she didn’t believe her.

Changing the subject, Lexi asked, “How are Mom and Dad? Are they there?”

Her sister answered with a sigh. Following it were faint tapping sounds, the noise one makes when walking across a hardwood floor. Next, Lexi heard Autumn closing a door, no doubt the one in her bedroom. At a thousand square feet, the room was bigger than a lot of middle-class homes, decorated by a leading designer in pinks and purples, Autumn’s favorite colors. With a white wrought iron bed, furry beanbag chairs, wall murals of current teen heartthrobs and every electronic gadget available, it was a kid’s paradise.

Willingly paid for by Lexi. She’d given her sister everything she could except what mattered most—stability and a loving family occupying the rest of the mansion.

“Mom’s out,” Autumn said at last. “Don’t know where, exactly. She said it was business.”

Lexi’s hand stalled mid-stroke on Buddy Baby’s head. The puppy whimpered in protest. Scratching him behind his ears, Lexi hoped her mother wasn’t having another affair. The first she’d heard about was on the day she’d won the Teen Choice Award. At one of the parties after the ceremony, a girl Lexi had never seen before told her in no uncertain terms to keep her mom away from the girl’s dad.

Later, Lexi found out the man in question was the nutritionist who’d put her on a diet to slim down for the awards. She’d confronted her mom about the adultery. Didn’t change anything. Her mother had her boyfriends, while her father had his own brand of addiction.

Fighting a sigh, she asked, “And Dad?”

“He’s downstairs, watching stock reports or something.”

Lexi closed her eyes. A year ago, she’d learned that her father, who had once been her financial manager, gambled a huge chunk of her wealth on the stock market and lost. He didn’t need Vegas to lose control. He had the New York Stock Exchange and NASDAQ.

No apologies were ever given for what he’d done without her knowledge. He assured Lexi he would get the money back. All he needed was a hot stock and more funds.

She fired him and made certain he couldn’t touch another dime she earned. It was either that or risk bankruptcy. As it was, she had to keep working to maintain her parents’ lifestyle and Autumn’s future.

Sensing her sister’s concern, she murmured, “Don’t you worry. No matter what he does, I’ll always take care of you. You’ll never want for anything. You do know that, right?”

“Are you kidding?” Autumn cried. “I’m not worried about me, Lex. I’m worried about you. Are you all right? Are you feeling better?”

She glanced down at the puppy licking her thumb. She could still taste the chili’s heavenly spice and the vinegary bite of the ketchup. She recalled Kyle’s hand holding her wrists so effortlessly, his powerful body snug against hers, his beer-scented breath as he leaned close, the sweep of his impossibly soft lips, the scrape of his coming beard, the manner in which he’d left her, hurrying down the path, out of sight.

And now hours passing with him staying away.

As he waited for what? Her to fall asleep? To leave?

How could she when everything about him—his great looks, that deep, rough voice, his honesty and empathy— called her even closer? When the safety of his cabin, its seclusion and coziness was everything she’d been missing in her fucked-up life? One she’d reenter in a short two weeks.

“I’m great,” she said on a sigh.

“Really?”

“Okay, good,” she admitted, then added, “Way better than I was when I first went in.”

There were more tapping sounds. Lexi pictured Autumn pacing the length of her room, shoulders hunched, face tight with uncertainty.

She assured, “You don’t have to worry about me, kid.”

“I can’t help it. Are you dreading coming back?”

More than she cared to admit even to herself. Tears threatened, stinging her eyes and the back of her nose. Ruthlessly, she blinked them away and put a smile in her voice, along with a lie. “Of course not. I can’t wait to see you again so we can do stuff. I still owe you an afternoon at the stables and after your ride we’ll work our way through the tack shops and then go to one of those all-you-can-eat joints and pig out on whatever you want.”

“That’s not what I’m getting at, Lex, and you know it. Are you dreading coming back to all the other junk?”

She lied. “No. My counselor taught me how to deal with it.”

“Then you’re headed this way now? You’ll be here in a little while?”

At the longing in her kid sister’s voice, Lexi swallowed. “No, sweetie. I’ll be home in two weeks.”

“From where?” She sounded way past worried. “Answer me this time. Quit treating me like I don’t have a brain. Are you at Kyle’s house? Does he work at the treatment center too?”

“No. And I’m not staying at his house.” Pulling in a breath, Lexi continued to lie. “I’m just using his phone because I can’t find mine, must have left it at the center. Fiona found a place for me to stay. An apartment. The paparazzi don’t know that I’m here and they won’t. To be totally honest, my counselor suggested this. She said I should do something for myself for a change, treat myself to another couple of weeks away from everything before I have to deal with the press again.”

“Why don’t you quit? I know how much you hate it. Quit. It won’t be the end of the world.”

Maybe not. But it would be the beginning of lawsuits from the studio and her endorsement deals, and the end of Autumn going to the best private academy in LA, then on to college and a real career, one she wanted.

At the hopelessness of her situation, a tear slipped down Lexi’s cheek. Dismissing her feelings, she kept frustration from her voice. “I can’t. I have contracts. And I want you to keep attending Wellington Day, then go on to college. Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Cornell. Wherever you want, and after that veterinary school.”

“I’ll get a scholarship. Or I’ll go to work and pay for it myself.”

“No.” Lexi’s voice was hard, brooking no argument. “Don’t say that. I don’t want you even thinking it.”

“And I don’t want you to be unhappy because of me.”

Lexi pressed her fingers to the inside of her eyes, unable to stop the flow of tears. Autumn was one of the few bright spots in her life. She wanted to give her what she’d never had even if it meant going back.

Even if it meant leaving here.

Oh who are you kidding? She had to leave. This cabin wasn’t her home any more than her mansion in Beverly Hills had ever been. They were both temporary shelters.

She kept her voice light, trying to hide her misery. “I’m not unhappy. Everything will work out, you’ll see. I’ve always taken care of you, haven’t I?”

“Why do you keep twisting my words around? I don’t want you to take care of me. I want you to be happy.”

Lexi’s lower lip trembled. How she wanted that too, but had no idea how to accomplish such an impractical goal. Certainly not here with a man who aroused her, who fed her needy heart, but who would turn out to be as transient as the other guys she’d known.

Maybe worse. She and Kyle weren’t even lovers. They’d kissed for too scant a time, and then he’d stopped and fled. Not a good omen of what would happen between them next.

* * * * *

With nowhere else to go, Kyle returned to his cabin, drained to the point of weariness from his lewd thoughts of Lexi.

Pausing just outside the front door, he noted the living room lights were still burning, the same as when he’d left. Had she been reluctant to turn them off because it wasn’t her place? Or had she forgotten about them as she’d fallen asleep? Not on the sofa in front of the fireplace, but in the spare bedroom where she’d hopefully still be tomorrow morning. That way he could leave here without being tempted by her. He could flee to the roadhouse like the coward he was, arriving hours earlier than he needed to.

With that plan in mind, Kyle opened the door and let out the breath he’d been holding. Lexi wasn’t stretched out on the sofa, skirt hiked past her upper thighs, showing him she wasn’t wearing panties and exposing the light brown curls he just knew would be between her—

His thoughts halted at the faint clicking noises coming down the hall. Seconds later, Buddy Baby appeared, tail wagging, ready for some serious love.

Scooping the pup in his arms, Kyle whispered, “What are you doing up? Where’s Lexi?”

Excitedly, the dog licked Kyle’s cheek, ear and throat. Too bad he couldn’t talk. Padding across the room to put the critter in his bed, Kyle stopped short of it, hearing what sounded like a hitching breath or a sob.

“That’s not true,” Lexi said, her voice wobbling, “how many times do I have to tell you that?”

Who in the fuck was she talking to? Stepping to the side, Kyle looked over. Down the hall, light spilled from his room. His heart stumbled on a beat, then raced out of control. Head swinging to the front door, he tried to recall the last time he’d seen Jacqueline tonight. Had she been in the roadhouse’s kitchen as he passed and left the building? Had she been in the bar?

Had she guessed his interest in Lexi and come here to confront her?

“Please, just listen to me,” Lexi said, her voice thick with tears.

Fuck. Kyle headed down the hall, then pivoted, remembering Buddy Baby, taking him to his doggie bed. “Stay,” he warned the pup, his voice low but harder than it had ever been.

The animal gave him a startled look, then hunkered down to the corduroy cushion, its small body shaking.

Oh hell. “Please,” Kyle added in a nicer tone, patting the poor little thing on its head. With a parting wink, he hurried down the hall, stopping just short of his bedroom door. Head cocked, he listened.

“You have to quit worrying about me,” Lexi insisted, her tone stronger now. “I’m fine. I want you to concentrate on school. That’s your job.”

Okay, so it wasn’t Jacqueline in there with her. Kyle waited through a long pause filled with silence, as though Lexi was listening to someone on the other end of a call. On his phone?

“I know it’s summer vacation,” she said, “but you have a reading list for fall, right? So get on it. Do good. That’s what will make me happy, Autumn.”

The name registered immediately. She was speaking to her kid sister.

“Please,” Lexi said, “don’t let them do this to you. No, no, no, no,” she insisted, clearly interrupting the girl. “Don’t do it out of guilt or for any other reason. I’ll be there for you. I’ll never let you down, no matter what I have to do.”

Kyle wasn’t about to consider what they might be discussing. Feeling awkward for having eavesdropped, intent on returning to the roadhouse and sleeping on his office sofa, he backed up. Straight into Buddy Baby.

Before Kyle could untangle his feet, his shoulder hit the wall. As he spit out a curse the pup yelped, then ran around his legs into the master bedroom.

“Sweetie, I gotta go,” Lexi said, her voice low and breathy. “I’ll call you tomorrow.”

The phone’s receiver clacked as she dropped the thing into its cradle.

Uncertain what to do, Kyle waited for Lexi to join him in the hall, confronting him about sneaking up on her like countless paparazzi.

She didn’t.

He heard her rough sighs and Buddy Baby’s whimpers. Rubbing the back of his neck, Kyle entered the room. The pup lay near the nightstand, chewing on another of Kyle’s old mocs, its manner tentative as it eyed him then Lexi.

Head down, she sat on the edge of his bed, her hair hiding her face.

Kyle stared at the strawberry blonde color and what he could see of her mouth. Free of the black lipstick, her lips were now the color of a blush. An oversized blue tee, large enough to fit him, hung limply on her narrow shoulders. Her legs and feet were bare, her toes long, the nails unpolished.

A surge of lust battered him, complicating the sympathy beneath. The way Lexi held herself reminded Kyle of how cowed his pup had been when he warned the animal to stay in its bed.

Did she think he was going to bitch at her for using his phone?

On what sounded like a cautious breath, she fisted her fingers into his bedspread, no doubt waiting for the worst.

It broke his inertia. Giving Buddy Baby a stern look to stay where he was, Kyle went to her. “You okay?”

She brushed the tears from her face and looked up, the skin around her eyes puffy and red. “Sure.” Her mouth trembled.

Kyle’s heart made a funny turn in his chest. “Lexi?”

Sucking her lower lip, she shook her head.

At any other time, with any other woman, Kyle would have offered a word of comfort or whatever plausible lie he could think of, then escaped as quickly as possible. After a moment’s hesitation, he sat next to her on the bed, his weight shifting the mattress, causing its springs to squeak. With even less pause than he would have guessed, Kyle took Lexi’s hand.

Her fingers curled around his as Jacqueline’s had in his office. Unlike that moment, Kyle squeezed Lexi’s hand, holding it gently but firmly, letting her know he didn’t want her to pull away. “What happened?”

She cleared her throat. “Nothing.”

He waited.

She sighed. “I was just talking to my kid sister, that’s all. I’m in here because I didn’t want to use my cell phone, I don’t know who’s listening in or intercepting the calls. I’ll pay for the long distance. Forty dollars should cover—”

Gently, Kyle interrupted, “I don’t want your money. Use the phone all you want.” He laced his fingers through hers and rested their hands on his thigh. “What happened? Is she all right?”

Lexi’s head remained tilted to their hands. A moment passed and then another and another. At last, her thumb stroked his.

The tingle it created shot up Kyle’s arm to the back of his throat. Every hair on his body felt as if it were standing at attention.

She nodded, then shook her head.

At a loss as to what she was trying to convey, Kyle was about to ask her when he recalled his question about Autumn. Taking a calming breath, he tried to steady his voice. “What happened with her?”

A faint whimper escaped the back of her throat.

“Lexi?”

She spoke quickly, the words rushing out as though she could no longer stop them. “The paparazzi are starting to gather outside my parents’ house, waiting to see if I’ll show up there. I wanted to protect Autumn from them, but the bastards are beginning to hound her too. Do you know what that’s like for a fifteen-year-old kid? If they take her picture and splash it all over a magazine, making her look bad, do you know what that will do to her self-esteem and confidence?”

After seeing the press’s effect on Lexi, he had a fair idea. Even so, he assured, “They can’t do that. She’s not a public figure like you are.”

“You think they care about that?”

“What about your parents, can’t they call the cops or something?”

Tightening her fingers around his, she spoke in a voice limp with despair. “My mom’s out, probably with her latest lover, and no way would Dad chase them off and risk losing the publicity. He lives for stuff like this. He and Mom always insisted that Autumn be in the business like me. I told them to back off from her. To let her be whatever she wants, that I’d make enough for everyone, but only if they leave her alone.”

Stunned to silence, it took Kyle a moment to find his voice. “And they aren’t doing that?”

She whimpered. “Not since I went into treatment. They’ve been pressuring her to go to The Disney Channel’s stupid cattle call. Disney needs a fresh face for a new series like their Hannah Montana franchise. My parents think Autumn would be perfect for it. She’s even willing to try out for the part and every commercial that’s being made if it means letting me quit the business. I told her I don’t want her doing that. That I’d make back the money Dad lost on his dumb investments.”

Another surprise. “Your father’s a day trader?”

“I don’t know. I guess. He was my financial manager until I fired him. He’s still not talking to me. The last I saw of him was in court when he gave a statement that he knew I was out of control and that I should stay in treatment no matter how long it takes. In other words, until I let him control my money again.”

Kyle’s belly churned. He couldn’t find the words to describe a parent who would do such a thing to their own child.

Lexi’s body trembled with her quiet weeping. She whispered, “I’ve got such a fucked-up life. I can’t let that happen to Autumn.”

“It’s okay. Everything will work out.” Lame advice, Kyle knew, but he hadn’t a clue what else to say. Wanting to comfort, he wrapped his free arm around Lexi’s shoulders.

They were narrower than he would have guessed, so delicate he couldn’t quite catch his breath. On her own ragged sigh, she released her weight into him, her cheek to his shoulder, her free hand on his torso.

The warmth of her body seeped into his, relaxing his joints, weakening his resolve to simply offer a good hug, to assure her that things would look better in the morning, then let her have his room while he slept in the spare.

At the heat of her breath on his throat, its feathery touch, Kyle’s lids sank. Beneath her palm, his abs jumped. Their other hands remained joined, Lexi’s thumb still stroking his.

Kyle bit back a moan at the intense pleasure such a small movement created. He inhaled deeply, captivated by the fresh scent of her shampoo, a fainter rose than her perfume. Stirred by it, his cock continued to thicken.

She knew. Her hitching breaths quieted, signaling an end to her tears and the start of something else. Kyle felt it in the way her body softened against his, her lack of resistance, the same as when he’d kissed her earlier.

Don’t do it, Kyle’s mind ordered. Let her go.

His arm tightened around her shoulders.

In response, Lexi yielded even more. Her cheek brushed his shoulder as she lifted her head, her lips seeking his throat.

Raw desire tore through Kyle, shaking him to his core. Lexi’s gentle suckling, the sweep of her tongue on his skin, so wet and hot, pulled a raw groan from him.

Together, they fell to the mattress, their hands unlacing, fingers exploring, touching as much as they could while they kissed. He cupped her breasts, she cradled his balls, her touch sending sparks of sensation to every part of him that mattered. Angling his mouth, Kyle deepened their kiss, tasting the chili she’d eaten, oddly aroused by it as he was by the rest of her.

To his delight, Lexi responded like a wild woman. They made sloppy sounds, more animal than human, betraying their hunger.

She kept rolling onto him, doing her best to stay on top. Not about to let her, Kyle easily pushed Lexi onto her back, draping his body over hers, trapping her beneath him.

Elbows on the bed, hands on either side of her face, he tore his mouth free and opened his eyes. Shoulders heaving with his fitful breaths, he stared.

Lexi’s hair snaked out in all directions, tangled and abused by his hands. Her lips were puffy and reddened from his brutal passion, the neck of her tee hung precariously close to her right nipple. With each of her gasping breaths, the hard tips touched his pecs.

Hard lust slithered down Kyle’s spine. It took all of his will not to react in the way he wanted—with a feral craving that would please the hell out of him but might scare her.

Beneath his body, she was both sluggish from desire and restless for more. Her building tension evident in how her legs pressed against his and in the way her fingers clutched his arms. She blinked slowly, as though she couldn’t manage a more taxing movement.

He wanted to ask if she was okay, but didn’t dare, didn’t have to.

“We shouldn’t be doing this,” she whispered.

He should have been surprised, but wasn’t. In the part of his brain that was still working independently of his cock, he thought the same. “You’re right, we shouldn’t.”

Neither of them moved. For a moment, Kyle knew they didn’t even breathe.

Lexi’s throat bobbed with her swallow. Holding his gaze, she squeezed his biceps, her nails digging into his skin.

The slight sting didn’t come close to the savage ache in his groin.

She made a mewling sound, one of frustration, perhaps caution, telling Kyle she was worried that if she let down her guard, if she allowed them to make love, he might hurt her as so many others had.

He didn’t have an answer, at least not one that would have pleased either of them. What time they had was measured by her stay here, no more. He should get up. He had to leave before this went too far.

He shifted his weight.

Lexi’s nails dug deeper. She murmured, “Don’t leave me, please. I want you, Kyle. God, I want you.”

Chapter Seven

Giving him no chance to object or to change her mind, dismissing all that her counselor had said about projecting her desires onto others, Lexi pulled Kyle back down. And then she kissed him gently, with all the affection and gratitude she felt. Earlier, when he’d wrapped his arm around her shoulders, when he’d held her hand and tried to comfort, when he insisted he didn’t want her to pay for anything, they’d stopped being strangers.

They were on their way to at least being friends.

He grunted in what appeared to be surprise at her tender kiss, his chest pushing against hers with the sound.

Trailing her fingertips down his bristly cheeks, she traced the depressions that harbored his killer dimples. Her toes splayed, then curled at the thought of them. They nourished her passion, the same as the wonder of his imprisoning weight, his body’s strength and protection, the innate goodness of his heart.

Tonight, with him, she was safe. She could forget about all the other crap. She could hope.

Legs wrapped around his, Lexi gave Kyle everything she had, playing with his tongue, exploring the contours of his teeth, encouraging him to do whatever he wanted.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t what she’d expected.

Within seconds, he ended their kiss, resting his forehead against hers, his panting breaths still scented with beer. She ran her finger over his bottom lip, the hint of moisture her tongue had left.

He shivered slightly.

Encouraged at his response, she murmured, “Come back here.”

Kyle swallowed loud enough for her to hear, then rolled to the side, untangling her legs from his, keeping himself at a distance.

Lexi’s heart sank. But she wasn’t about to give up. Propped on her elbows, she asked, “What are you doing?”

Kyle left the bed, swayed as though he was dizzy and spoke in a voice tight with desire. “Putting him in the other room.”

Lexi’s gaze shot to the pup who was trying to jump on the bed, yelping loudly with each attempt. She pushed to a sitting position and scooted to the edge of the mattress, prepared to go with them. “I’ll help.”

“No. Stay here.”

Kyle’s voice was so sharp, his gaze so intent, Lexi hesitated, then asked, “You will be back, right?”

His attention dropped to her upper thighs, the edge of the tee barely hiding the gentle swell of her mound. He cleared his throat twice before he seemed able to answer. “Oh yeah.”

Lexi beamed at the yearning she heard in his words.

He made fast work of taking the protesting pup to the spare bedroom. Using the time to her own advantage, Lexi left the bed, listening to Kyle’s voice drifting down the hall.

“Stay,” he ordered the pup, his tone distracted, hurried, brooking no argument.

Buddy Baby whined.

“Please,” Kyle begged, sounding like a frustrated little boy and a scolding parent all wrapped into one. “Go to sleep. At least keep quiet. Got it?”

Minutes passed. Lexi bounced on her heels, trying not to be too impatient. Finally, the pup settled.

Kyle padded out of the room, closed the door behind himself, turned, then stopped dead in the center of the hall.

Lexi gave him an inviting smile.

He didn’t seem to notice. His gaze slipped down her full frontal nudity, then back up, lingering on the delicate curls between her legs, the curve of her belly pouched from tonight’s feast, her nipples constricted with arousal.

Kyle’s grin was quick and deep, producing both dimples, saying he approved of what he saw.

Even so, Lexi wanted to be absolutely certain, needing to hear the truth in his voice. “You like?”

He started at her question, his gaze jumping to hers, his dimples disappearing. Wearing an unexpected frown, he approached, not stopping until he was close enough for her to see the small flecks of gold and green in his dark eyes.

Longing rolled through her.

“No,” he said, answering her question, his voice rough. Hands on his narrow hips, he loomed over her. “I wanted to strip you.”

Lexi liked the sound of that, especially the desperation she heard in his voice, which matched her own. Her heart beat so violently the corners of her vision dimmed. “Next time,” she promised, trailing her fingers down his torso to his fly.

Kyle lowered his head, sending a wayward lock over his forehead, as he watched the journey her hand was taking. Again, he swallowed loud enough for her to hear.

“But I’ll keep on my boots then,” she added, “for a little kink.”

His brows arched at her words and the way she edged to his side. He turned so he could still face her. “You like kink?”

She wanted to do everything with him, no matter how lewd the rest of the world might consider it to be. With Kyle, every carnal act would be exciting, dangerous, satisfying, even loving, exactly what she needed for the next two weeks.

Something to remember. Pleasant memories to hold onto when she left, never seeing him again, meeting other guys instead. Ones who’d claim to like her while taking whatever they could.

No. She didn’t want to think about that now. Lifting her hand, she planted her palm on his chest. “Oh yeah.”

His dimples returned. He reached for her.

She pushed him hard, toward the wall.

Head snapped to the side, Kyle remained where he was, his body too solid and muscular for her to move. “What are you doing?”

“This.” Unable to trap him against the wall as she’d planned, Lexi sank to her knees. With one hand on his fly, tracing his ungodly hard erection, her other stroked his balls through their denim prison.

That got him moving. On an indecent groan, he took two steps back, his shoulders smacking the wall, his body sagging into it, allowing the barrier to brace him.

Lexi followed, her fingers back to tracing his cock and stroking his testicles.

From the spare bedroom, Buddy Baby continued to yelp.

“Quiet,” Kyle gasped. Chin lifted to the ceiling, jaw clenched, the muscles in his throat corded.

As he struggled to take a full breath, Lexi pulled his tee from his jeans, bunching it to the side to keep it out of her way. His solid bulk, sculpted abs, the half-moon of his navel fascinated her. She trailed her fingers down his taut belly.

His muscles quivered beneath her touch. He inhaled sharply at her tongue circling his navel, then probing the slight depression.

Finished for the moment, she brought back her tongue and asked, “You like?”

He panted like Buddy Baby had as she prepared his puppy chow. “Take off my fucking clothes.”

“You’re sure?”

“Lexi.”

At the huskiness of his voice and her effect on him, a giggle of joy bubbled up. Controlling herself, she sucked her bottom lip and focused on the task at hand, slipping the jeans’ metal button through its slit, lowering his fly, exposing his navy boxers. The stretchy fabric fit him like a second skin. Unable to help herself, she pressed her face to the placket, inhaling deeply of his musk.

Kyle ground out a moan, drowning out Lexi’s. Blindly, he reached for her, his large hands cupping her head.

Turning her face toward his palm, she licked his wrist, then bit him gently.

His belly vibrated with his soft laughter.

The sound stroked her soul. For the first time in forever, she didn’t need direction as to her next moves. Passion guided her, along with her genuine liking for Kyle, the type of man he was, the kind she’d always wanted and never quite got.

Discouraged by the past, dreading the future, Lexi warned herself to focus only on the present. On a wistful sigh, she eased back, ready to strip him naked and fuck him raw.

As though he knew her intent, Kyle’s hands dropped to his sides, allowing her what she willed.

With her thumbs hitched beneath his boxer’s elastic, she dragged them and his jeans lower, inch by inch, exposing more of his golden flesh and the silky line of hair that arrowed down his belly, stopping just short of his dark bush.

Her mouth went dry at the pubic hairs she’d freed. She adored their cocoa color, the same shade as Kyle’s brows. With her cheek against his groin, she flicked the tip of her tongue over the hairs and his skin.

He gasped and went to his toes, his legs wavering.

Pleased with his response, Lexi licked the faint marks the boxer’s elastic had left on his flesh, then swooped down and pressed her lips to his cock, hidden by the soft cotton. The hard muscle flexed beneath her mouth. Feeling mischievous, she blew air on it.

“Holy shit,” Kyle muttered, then choked out his words, “quit screwing around, take them off.”

“Not yet, I don’t want to rush.” Each moment tonight was too precious. She needed to memorize the contours of his amazing body, to drown in pleasure before facing all the bad.

“You want to wait?” he asked, his words strangled. “We’re going to wait?”

His mournful tone made Lexi smile. Looking up, she offered no answer, watching as the silence goaded Kyle into lowering his head and looking at her. Confusion and a bit of annoyance registered in his beautiful eyes.

“I don’t want to rush,” she repeated, her voice a soft murmur. “Indulge me.”

Kyle looked like he wanted to argue, maybe like he wanted to cry. Jaw tightened, he struggled to compose himself. “Out here,” he said at last, then inclined his head to the bedroom. “In there, you’re mine.”

At the naked hunger in his words, Lexi’s heart skipped several beats, then raced, shooting heat to her throat and face.

Given Kyle’s smug expression, he noticed her blush. “In there,” he added, his voice firm, “we do what I want.”

Sounded fair. Sounded like a plan. Sounded like the makings of a future.

At least in a made-for-TV movie. Too bad this was the real world where relationships didn’t last and men didn’t stand by their women and she always ended up alone.

“Deal,” she said, dismissing the inevitable. They had right now. And tomorrow. And a few other days. More than she’d ever hoped for.

Sitting back on her heels, Lexi eased Kyle’s clothing lower, taking her time.

His breathing accelerated. He fisted his fingers so hard, his knuckles turned white.

Lexi had no doubt that once they were in his bed, he’d make her pay for such a slow pace. She tried to swallow, but couldn’t. Her throat refused to work. Her mind however…

She imagined Kyle trapping her between his body and the mattress, taunting her with his masculine scent, refusing to plunder her with his rigid cock until she begged for it. And she would, all while he had her wrists lashed to the headboard and her ankles to the baseboard, not allowing her freedom from his fantasies.

In there, we do what I want.

And what might that be? Fiona had told her so little about him. Only that he’d been a football star who’d left the game, unable to take a minute more of the hounding press, the seduction of painkillers, the mindless groupies.

What carnal games had he played with those women? What had he enjoyed with Jacqueline? Given her blatant seduction, they’d enjoyed bondage surely. How about a little S&M? Or had they engaged in something else that Lexi didn’t know about and had never experienced?

Moaning at the endless possibilities, all wanton and desire, she moved at a faster clip, no longer willing to deny Kyle or herself. She wanted them in his bedroom…just as soon as she finished pleasuring him here, better than any groupie ever had, way beyond anything Jacqueline might have done. With one hard push, Lexi directed Kyle’s clothing to the middle of his hairy thighs and whimpered in delight.

Freed, his cock greeted her with a brief bounce, too rigid to move more than that. Long and thick, prominent veins wreathed its length, its color beyond ruddy, nearly purple with his intolerable need. Beneath it and his thick brown bush, his plump balls hugged his body.

Lexi licked her lips.

He spoke on a sigh. “Finally.” His hands returned to her head, directing her closer.

Willingly, Lexi pressed her face to Kyle, nourishing her arousal with the intense heat radiating from him, the contradiction of his silky skin, wiry hair and unyielding erection. She suckled the base, its root, working her wet kisses down to the meaty crown, two perfect halves forming an extraordinary whole with a slit in the middle, the size of a teardrop, his pre-cum glistening on it.

Licking it away, she enjoyed the salty taste and his satisfied grunt.

“More,” he rasped.

Eager to please, Lexi flicked her tongue over the bumpy skin at the back of the head.

He gasped and his body tensed, the pads of his fingers digging into her scalp.

Unmindful of anything but his continuing pleasure, Lexi waited no more, taking him into her mouth, opening her throat so he’d go as deep as a man could. The tip of her nose touched his thick curls. Her nostrils flared slightly with their lusciously decadent scent.

He growled out a curse, then panted like a whipped dog, no doubt trying to control himself and hold off.

Lexi wasn’t about to let him have any restraint tonight. At this moment, she was the director, playing his body as he would soon use hers. Lust shuddered deep inside, settling in her pussy, contracting those muscles, snatching her breath, quickening her pulse.

Like Kyle, she fought to discipline her response, easing him from her mouth until only his crown remained inside, filling her fully. Curling her tongue, she dragged it over his most sensitive spot.

He groaned.

Not good enough. She wanted his shout, a helpless bellow, the sound no different from that of a rutting animal.

To encourage him, Lexi suckled the head of his cock even as her fingers slipped beneath his balls. Cupping them in her palm, she drew her thumb over the wrinkled, lightly furred flesh. Their weight and heat drew a mewl from her.

Kyle wasn’t as dainty. He made sounds few men had during her intimate moments with them. There was richness, a depth of emotion in Kyle’s response that told Lexi he was enjoying her for more than just sex. He really did like her as a person. He accepted her as a real woman with flaws.

Her hair was a mess, she wore no makeup, her earlier tears had no doubt made her eyes red and puffy, she tasted of ketchup and chili. And still, he desired her.

Delighted, she took him back inside her mouth, teasing his cock better than her vagina ever could.

Kyle went to his toes, then fell back to his heels, his feet making a dull smacking sound on the floor. Buddy Baby must have noticed. His nails clicked against the wood, recording his dash to the closed bedroom door. It rattled faintly with his body butting it.

If Kyle noticed, he didn’t reprimand his pet. His fingers fisted in her hair, then released it abruptly. He pulled back his hands, bringing them to his head.

Gaze lifted, Lexi watched him gritting his teeth and squeezing his lids tight, creating a fan of wrinkles at the corners. Before the night was over, she was going to lick each one.

For now, she ran her mouth up and down his length, while her fingers tended to his heavy sac.

He cried out, “No, stop—I’m going to—I’m—I can’t hold—” His next gasp stole the rest of his words, followed by his strained puffing.

At the intimate music he made, Lexi guided Kyle to climax, her persistent suckling and stroking assuring him that she wanted this. Nothing about him disturbed or offended.

With one last huff, he surrendered to what his body demanded and she desired. His shout filled the narrow hall, silencing the pup with its volume, releasing a wanton whimper from her.

And then it came. Hot, thick cum, tasting of salt, flavored by him, rolled over Lexi’s tongue.

Greedily, she drank him dry, savoring the texture and essence of his pleasure, reluctant to set him free.

When she did finally, he adjusted his shoulders against the wall, feet planted as widely as he could manage considering the restriction of his clothes.

She should have finished undressing him, but preferred watching such a big guy looking as weak as she felt.

He coughed and cleared his throat, then coughed again. It seemed more than he could manage to open his eyes. His lids edged up, then slid right back down.

Running her hands over his hips to his ass, she cupped his firm cheeks and murmured, “Are you all right?”

He nodded once, the back of his head hitting the wall.

Buddy Baby whined at the noise, his nails clawing the door.

“You’re sure?” Lexi asked.

Kyle’s Adam’s apple bounced with his swallow. He panted, “Yeah.”

“Good. I was worried for a sec.”

“Why would you be—whoa.”

Discounting his startled outcry, Lexi continued suckling his balls, taking as much of them as she could into her mouth. As it turned out, it was a lot.

Kyle wriggled in place, his fists pounding the wall. “Damn it, stop. I can’t stand—you’re driving me fucking—oh my god, will you stop!”

He might as well have been trying to reason with the paparazzi, because that’s how effortlessly Lexi ignored his demands. She knew what he needed. Hell, what he required. With her tongue stroking his sac’s short hairs, her mouth loved his testicles just as it had worshipped his cock. When it seemed he could take no more, her fingers journeyed to the furrow between his cheeks, exploring the length of it and the tight ring of his anus.

If she’d surprised him earlier, she’d amazed him now. He stiffened for a breath, then went limp, allowing her full reign. Out here, at least.

Recalling that, musing on what would soon come, Lexi enjoyed Kyle until he could barely breathe. He certainly couldn’t speak. Finished with her job and damn proud of it, Lexi tilted her face to look at him.

Kyle’s head hung between his shoulders. Every muscle in his face was slack, his mouth sagging open.

She offered a smile. “You going to survive?”

Managing to lift one lid, he glared at her.

She giggled. “It was good, huh?”

His mouth closed and his expression changed, stalling her next heartbeat because what seemed to be tenderness glittered in his eyes. All the more remarkable because Lexi knew she’d caused it. How? With her teasing? With her smile?

Kyle’s attention drifted to her mouth and remained there.

Seconds ticked by at a glacial speed. Under his quiet scrutiny, Lexi’s lips began to twitch and her grin became uncomfortable. The same as it always did when she’d go to an audition and strangers would scrutinize her, their hurtful comments only seconds away.

Although Lexi knew Kyle wasn’t going to criticize her, she wasn’t used to lovers regarding her as he did now.

“What?” she asked, unable to withstand his silence, not all that certain she wanted to hear what he was thinking.

Offering no answer, he used his elbows to shove away from the wall.

Scooting back, Lexi watched him toe off his mocs, then push his clothes to the floor. She reached for them. “I can do it.”

Kyle’s gaze slid to her. Whatever he’d been feeling a second before was long gone, replaced by an expression of hunger that was just this side of wild.

Lexi’s hand fell to her lap.

He freed himself of the clothing, kicking it away. His large feet, long toes and muscular calves held Lexi’s attention. Until he grabbed the hem of his tee, yanking it up, revealing his broad chest dusted lightly with hair. The tuffs in his pits were dark and silky, his nipples almost chestnut in color.

He flung the shirt to the side.

Ignoring it, she looked at him. Kyle offered her his hand.

In there, you’re mine. We do what I want.

Lexi’s heart banged into her throat. Both eager and daunted at the thought of relinquishing all control to him, she slid her fingers over Kyle’s calloused palm, allowing him to help her to her feet.

Facing him, she expected him to say something.

He did not.

She waited for him to gather her close and kiss her senseless. To maybe even take her in this hall.

Only his gaze moved, touring her nudity, tarrying on her breasts, her mound, her mouth and then her eyes.

In his, she saw a hint of mischief and a whole lot of payback for what she’d put him through…delaying his orgasm, then afterward, suckling his balls despite his protests.

Instinctively, she stepped back.

Too late.

With an ease that surprised Lexi, Kyle grabbed her wrist, bent down and slung her over his shoulder.

On her surprised gasp, a hunk of hair fell in her mouth. Spitting it out, she blurted, “What are you doing?”

Hand on her ass, he slid his fingers down the furrow between her cheeks, circling her anus before dipping lower to her cunt and clit. “Whatever I want.” Possession rang in his voice.

In the spare bedroom, Buddy Baby whimpered. Out here, Lexi closed her eyes, her mouth to Kyle’s back, muffling her whimper at the sensations tearing through her.

Heedless of both sounds, Kyle turned and headed toward his bedroom.

Chapter Eight

As weary as Kyle had been seconds after his orgasm, he was as energized now, determined to love Lexi to distraction tonight. To hear her scream with shattering need and make crude sounds that betrayed her pleasure.

To make her forget her earlier tears and the crap that had driven her to his home.

With one arm wrapped around her legs and his free hand exploring her plump, moist cunt, he reached his bedroom’s doorjamb and stroked her clit.

A hitching moan escaped her. Hands on his back, she slid her fingers down to his ass, separating the cheeks.

Kyle’s step and hand paused as Lexi explored his furrow again, willingly, effortlessly, the same as when she’d swallowed his cum. He hadn’t expected her to do that, would never have asked.

With Denise, the activity had been tried once, never to be repeated. He’d seen the queasy look on her face and blamed himself for it, while still believing she really loved him. With Jacqueline, Kyle sensed she was only giving him what he wanted, not what she craved. It was the same with the groupies he’d been with. They did what was necessary to please him, never enjoying the act. Even the groupies he’d been with hadn’t reacted as Lexi had.

She’d made the same sounds he had when enjoying a particularly flavorful steak, as though she’d never tasted anything better than his cum. Hours before, he might have considered that she’d been putting on an act like most of the women he’d known. He didn’t now. He’d seen the real Lexi, stripped of all defenses, after she’d spoken to Autumn. It was the same woman whose gaze he’d first met when they’d been in the roadhouse and the one who was driving him crazy now.

With his ass cheeks spread, she ran her forefinger over his anus.

Never had a woman played with him there. The sensations shot to the top of his head, tingling his scalp. Fearful of dropping her, Kyle growled, “Stop that.”

“No.”

Shit. He smacked her ass lightly. “I mean it.”

“No you don’t.” Her voice tinkled with mischief. “Admit it. You want me to be bad.”

Kyle recalled his earlier question when he asked if she liked kink. His knees bent at her next stroke. Tingles dashed down his legs and up his arms. He huffed out his words. “You like to be punished?”

Her finger halted. “Have you done it before?”

Not even in his fantasies. “Afraid not.”

“Good. Then we’re both virgins. We’ll find out what we like.”

Kyle figured he should argue with that and the fact that they were doing anything at all, but his protest refused to come. Bringing her to his bed, he smacked her ass lightly, tentatively.

“Harder,” she breathed.

Considering it, he instead caressed her ass, then turned his head and kissed the fleshy cheek.

A purring sound vibrated her chest, pleasing Kyle nearly as much as the way her nipples poked his back.

Carefully, he held onto her and leaned over, grabbing his bedspread, yanking it to the foot of his bed. Billowing down, it released a wave of scent from the detergent he used. Depositing Lexi in the middle of his mattress, he then stepped back and simply looked at her.

Tangled tresses hung haphazardly over her shoulders. On the right side, her bangs stood up, away from her forehead. A blush reddened it, along with her cheeks, throat and the top of her chest, the skin there matching the color of her rosy nipples. They were tight with arousal, the tips amazingly long.

Kyle’s mouth watered as he regarded them. He glanced lower at her curly bush, and beneath it the glimpse he got of her slick, juicy cunt.

Lexi made a soft sound in the back of her throat, not exactly a whimper, but close.

His gaze moved to her face.

She sucked the side of her bottom lip as she regarded him, her expression open, vulnerable, searching.

For what?

Did it matter? The way she looked at this moment captured his soul, awakening something inside Kyle that he hadn’t known existed.

She lowered her eyes, then returned them to his, as though she were embarrassed. Kyle couldn’t imagine why. She looked amazing, everything a man could ever dream of or possibly want.

Not the sleek perfection of women like Denise or Jacqueline with their perfect features, makeup and hair, but the real deal.

“What?” Lexi asked now as she had in the hall.

The words fell out of his mouth before Kyle could stop them. “You’re beautiful.”

Disbelief registered on her face.

He recalled that awful website he’d looked at earlier, the vicious comments. No doubt, few people in Lexi’s life had ever told her how pretty she was.

“I’m not,” she said, arching a brow, her gaze skipping down his torso to his thickening cock. “You’re just horny.”

“Fucking A. But I’m not blind.”

A smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. “You’re sure about that? Maybe the orgasm I gave you caused a minor stroke or something. You were pretty out of it for a while. We probably should be careful. Wouldn’t want to injure you too much while we’re in here.”

Kyle’s shoulders shook with suppressed laughter. When he had himself under control, he told her the score, indulging in a bit of his own fantasy that included the kink she claimed to want. “I’ll worry about that. Now lie back, wrap your hands around the slats in the headboard and spread your legs wide.”

She didn’t move.

He crossed his arms over his chest and made his voice firm. “It’s either that or nothing happens. You stay there and I stay here.”

Head tilted to the side, she looked at him from beneath her lashes. “Think you can hold off as long as I can?”

Shit. She was killing him. “I can always leave.” He stepped back.

“Okay. Fine.” She held up her hands in surrender. “We’ll do it your way.” Sinking to the mattress, Lexi spread her legs and lifted her arms above her head. Just short of wrapping them around the slats, her fingers stalled. “After you tie my hands here are you also going to secure my ankles?”

With what? He glanced at her oversized tee crumpled near the base of the nightstand. Next to it was a pair of white cotton panties, hardly the thong he’d imagined she wore. To Kyle’s surprise, he liked the looks of her no-nonsense underwear. A sudden, inexplicable urge to pick them up and press them to his face ate at him. Fighting it, he explained the obvious. “The only rope I have is out back in the shed.”

“You don’t have any ties? Like the ones you wear with a suit?”

“Got rid of them years ago. Haven’t worn one since. We’ll just have to make do.” He lifted his chin, directing her to do as he’d ordered earlier. “Hold on tight, don’t let go.”

“And if I do?”

“You won’t get this.”

Going to the bed, he leaned over, cupping the side of her face in his hand, turning it to his. With his thumb stroking her jaw line, Kyle slipped his tongue into Lexi’s mouth, filling her so completely, he muffled her whimpering moan.

In response, she angled her head, yielding even more, allowing him greater access.

Kyle took it, kissing her savagely, his fingers slipping from her face to her throat to her breast. Cupping its weight, he fondled the supple globe as hard as he dared, dragging his thumb over her nipple.

Mewling in delight, she brought her hand down, blindly reaching for his cock.

Before she could touch it, Kyle broke their kiss and stepped back, fighting for a full breath.

Lexi’s lids snapped open. Her hand fell to the mattress, well short of him. She frowned. “What are you doing?”

“I’m not giving you this.” He ran his hand down the length of his rod, fully hard now and too damn sensitive to his touch. Even so, Kyle wasn’t about to let his burgeoning arousal stop him. Cupping his cock in his palm, Kyle stroked it slowly, his lids fluttering at the outrageously pleasant sensations.

Lexi went to her elbows, watching, her expression confused, and then she seemed to get it. Falling back down, causing the bedsprings to squeak, she kept her gaze riveted to his continued stroking. During it, she wrapped her fingers around the slats in the headboard, then held onto them as though her life depended upon it.

Her pleasure surely did. Kyle was going to make certain of that.

“I’ll be good,” she said, her voice meek, playing their game.

One that intrigued Kyle. Who would’ve guessed? Still stroking himself, he gritted his teeth, praying he wouldn’t come as he regarded her at an unhurried pace he knew would increase her excitement.

He studied her fingers clutching the slats, her grip so tight, her knuckles were prominent. His gaze moved lower, to the undersides of her arms, her shaved pits, then to the deepening reddish stain on her throat and chest.

Liking it, wanting her to feel more naked than she ever had before, more vulnerable to him than she’d allowed herself to be with any other man, Kyle stepped back and rounded the bed, halting at the baseboard. There, he regarded her parted legs, the promise of heat and shelter between them within her tight sheath. Her damp lips beckoned, showing the way. Already they were turgid with arousal, glistening with her moisture in the mild bedroom light.

“Spread your legs more,” he ordered, his voice cracking with tension, revealing his need. Not about to hide it, he said, “Bend them at the knees. I want to see all of you.”

An indistinct noise poured from the back of Lexi’s throat.

“And keep your fingers around the slats,” he warned, “or you’ll know what will happen.”

Biting her lower lip, Lexi removed her hand from over her eyes, returning it to the headboard as he’d directed.

“Look at me,” he said.

It took her a moment, but she did.

Kyle saw lust and anticipation building in her gaze, along with a bit of embarrassment. It killed him to see any doubt on her face. “You’re beautiful,” he murmured, telling her what she should have already known.

Quick tears brimmed in her eyes.

Not wanting her to cry, uncertain as to whether his heart could withstand it, Kyle made his voice firm and teased, “You going to be good?”

Her gaze dropped to his cock, his thumb running up and down it. “Well, yeah, if you keep torturing me like this.”

Fighting a smile, he released himself and rounded the bed again, climbing onto the mattress, sitting on his heels between her legs. “Baby, you don’t know what torture is.”

She slid her foot across the sheet, then along the inside of his leg, reaching his rigid shaft. With her big toe stroking the crown, she purred, “Nor do you.”

Hearing the challenge in her voice and loving it, Kyle wrapped his fingers around her ankle, then pushed her foot back to where it had been.

She sighed loudly.

He sank to his elbows. Slipping his hands beneath her buttocks, he eased her a bit closer, lowered his head and latched onto her cunt, sweetly scented with soap and her own innate fragrance. In no hurry, enjoying himself as he hadn’t in too long, Kyle drew his tongue up the full length of Lexi’s cleft, lapping her juices, halting finally on her erect clit, concentrating on it.

Lexi’s mouth fell open on a gasp at Kyle’s intimate plunder, his leisured exploration of her nub. Nerve endings fired ruthlessly with each of his licks.

Teeth gritted, lids squeezed tight, she fought a lusty moan, afraid it might signal to him that she was finished.

She wasn’t. Not even close. As far as Lexi was concerned, he could keep her in here forever.

He suckled a bit harder, running his fingers lightly on her ass. Her back arched in response. Kyle grunted as though satisfied. His fingers tugged her pubic hair. Shamelessly, he played with her, and then…oh god…and then he slipped two of his fingers inside her cunt.

At the pressure, the feeling of being filled and stretched, Lexi moaned as loud as she wanted, unashamed, not caring about being judged, wanting only to be pleasured. Seconds later, she managed a hitching cry as he stopped licking her clit, instead dragging his thumb over the small rise of flesh.

“Ah—ah—ah,” she blubbered.

His stroking paused. The bed shifted beneath his weight as he forced his head up, abandoning her cunt. “Lexi.” His voice held a warning.

Crap. Like the obedient woman he expected her to be, she released his head and wrapped her fingers back around the headboard’s slats. Teeth clenched, she repeated her mantra. “I will be good. Damn good. Fucking—oh—ah.”

New sounds poured from her, lewd and crude. Kyle tended to her as no man had done before. With a slight twist, he worked his fingers, pulling them out a bit, then sliding them back inside even as his tongue flicked over her nub and his free hand explored her anus.

Too many sensations bombarded Lexi, all of them dashing to her pussy, settling there, tightening her cunt’s inner muscles.

On Kyle’s next stroke, she soared then crashed, her orgasmic wail filling the room. It was freaking loud, she knew, and yet she didn’t really hear it. Her ears buzzed. Breath after breath huffed out of her as if she’d run several miles. Deep within her channel, a pulse ticked, its rhythm steady, the contractions it caused sucking his fingers deeper, deeper.

Lexi’s hands fell from the slats. Dragging them to her face, she scrubbed her eyes, figuring her defiance of what Kyle had ordered would make him stop licking and stroking her.

It didn’t.

He continued. She tried to wriggle away. Not having it, he followed, suckling the inside of her thigh now, an exquisitely sensitive area, his thumb back on her clit.

Pleasure arrowed down Lexi’s legs and up to her belly, the sensations far too intense to endure. “I can’t stand it,” she cried. “It’s too much. Stop!”

He grunted. He freaking continued.

She planted the soles of her feet on his shoulders and pushed, not moving him a bit. He was too damn big and heavy.

A series of moans and groans poured from her. A stranger might have thought she was dying. In a way, she had. The old Lexi was gone, replaced by a woman who would never be satisfied with another man.

She came again, this climax richer, more intense than the one before. Panting, eyes closed, she went limp, her feet dropping from Kyle’s shoulders to his forearms.

At last, he stopped, removing his fingers from her.

Instantly, Lexi felt deprived, though she didn’t have time to dwell on it.

Given how he adjusted his weight then went still, she knew he was looking at her. No doubt enjoying the sight of her sprawled on his bed, powerless to move, a testament to his virility.

Is this how he’d behaved with Jacqueline? Is this what he’d done with the countless other women in his life?

With more than a little reluctance, Lexi opened her eyes, both curious and afraid to know the truth. That she wasn’t special at all. That she hadn’t measured up to the other babes.

Again, Kyle surprised her. Head tilted down, he wasn’t looking at her face, boobs, belly or thighs, all areas he might compare to former lovers. He regarded the longish scar on her right knee, the imperfection puckered and white with age.

Without warning, a part of Lexi fell into guarded mode, steeled against being evaluated and judged. In the past, every little thing about her had been criticized, from the shape of her nose, to the fullness of her lips and the arch of her brows.

No such judgment crossed Kyle’s face. His handsome features held surprising tenderness.

Why?

With what appeared to be hesitation, he ran his thumb over the scar and looked at her. “You have a bad bike accident when you were a kid?”

She ran her tongue around her mouth. It had gone too dry with emotion. “No. I was on the set of one of my commercials and tripped over a cable. I was wearing shorts, the floor was concrete. Not the smooth kind. Rough, like a sidewalk. I bled really bad. They had to delay shooting that day until they could find another actor who could take my place.”

Although he didn’t comment, dismay registered in his dark eyes. Lexi sensed he empathized with her, not for having been hurt, but for having spent much of her childhood working, rather than being outside playing with friends.

“I’m much more careful now,” she offered, then opened her arms and proved herself a liar with her next words. “Come here. I want you to fuck me. Hard and long.”

His mouth quivered, as though he were struggling not to smile.

Wanting to tease, liking the intimacy of it, Lexi brought down her arms and used her elbows to push her weary body up. On a sigh, she murmured, “You do know how to screw, don’t you?”

He cocked a brow.

“Want me to show you the ropes?” she asked, feigning innocence.

Kyle lowered his head, his shoulders shaking with suppressed laughter, his voice rasped with it. “I suppose you know, you’re going to pay for that.”

“Gonna toss me around like a hockey puck, huh?”

His laughter wound down. His head jerked up. “Football.”

She knew that. She’d never forget it or him. She’d just wanted to yank his chain a bit more. “Either’s fine with me. So what are you waiting for?”

Her gaze dropped to his cock, its crown so tumid with blood, its color so dusky, Lexi figured it had to be hurting him.

Beneath his breath, Kyle growled, “You asked for it.” Crawling over her leg, he went to the edge of the mattress and opened the top nightstand drawer.

Before he could pull out what she suspected would be a string of condoms, Lexi said, “We don’t need that. I’m protected.”

His head whipped to her.

She lifted her shoulders. “It’s in my contract.”

Shock widened his eyes. “You’re kidding.”

“No. But it’s okay. I’m not ready to be a mother. When I have a kid—that is, if I have a kid,” she corrected herself, “it will be for all the right reasons and in the right circumstances. That’s definitely not now.”

Kyle looked like he wanted to say something but hadn’t a clue what it might be. Lexi knew how he felt.

Closing the drawer, he hesitated, not moving closer, certainly not crawling all over her like she wanted.

To ease whatever concerns he might have, she lifted her foot, running her toes up his thigh toward his cock. Within the last few seconds, it had deflated a bit. Uncomfortable news generally did that to a guy.

Of course, a man’s libido was nothing if not resilient. With the attention from her toes, a rush of interest plumped the crown nicely while stiffening his shaft.

“Come here,” she purred.

Defiant, Kyle cradled her foot in his hands and brought her toes to his lips. With great care, he kissed the tip of each, then ran his tongue between Lexi’s big toe and her longest one.

She giggled. He growled again, in pleasure this time. Dropping her foot, Kyle crawled back over it, positioning himself between her legs, his hands heavy and hot on the insides of her thighs.

Lexi sobered quickly. Her lids fluttered and her words spilled out. “Hard and long.”

“Fingers around the slats,” he directed.

“No. I want to touch you. Please,” she thought to add.

He rewarded her with a dimpled grin, then leaned down and kissed her belly. Lexi’s muscles quivered in response. All of the air she held whooshed out. And then her breath caught as Kyle ran his fingers up and down her slit.

She knew her vaginal lips were puffy and parted, like a blossoming flower, her entrance slick with moisture, prepared for his thick cock.

Cradled in his palm, he touched its crown to her.

Parts of her body she’d been unaware of tingled in response. She spread her legs a bit farther, inviting him closer, begging him to fill her.

He took his time, whether to draw out their pleasure or because he was still playing their game, Lexi didn’t know.

With restraint that surprised her and darkened his face with color, Kyle eased the head of his cock into her opening, bit by bit, obligating her to experience the impressive size of his organ, the intense strain it generated as it entered her narrow sheath.

She breathed hard and so did he, their eyes meeting several times to check on each other’s response. Lexi wondered if her face was as flushed as his. He seemed ready to swear or give in to his basest needs, the effort of holding back, of not taking her like a wild man evident in his expression and gaze.

Poor guy.

Pulling in a deep breath, Kyle went still for a moment. And then his lids slid down before he forced them back up. With the heel of his hand resting on her mound, his thumb stroked her clit.

Lexi’s mouth hung open with the intensity of the feeling, her nub far too sensitive to endure it. She gasped and wriggled.

Didn’t faze him at all. He kept at it.

Bastard.

“Kyle,” she moaned, grabbing his wrist to pull his hand away. “Not yet. It’s too much. Give me a sec.”

“No. In here, we do what I want. Remember?” To prove it, he persisted, his strength far greater than hers, his hand immovable, his thumb determined.

She shivered and cried, “You’re driving me crazy. I can’t stand it.”

“Good,” he taunted, teasing her nub while his rod penetrated her depths, tunneling deeper and deeper as he worked himself fully inside.

She whimpered shamefully. He made a sound that was beyond husky.

With their curls finally touching, they both blew out all of their air.

To Lexi’s relief, he’d stopped stroking, seeming to need his full concentration to keep from getting too excited.

Bad girl that she was, she tightened her muscles around him, spacing out her contractions to maximize the effect, to drive him as crazy as he’d done with her.

Shoulders lifted to his ears, he grunted, an indelicate, masculine noise.

Loving it, Lexi squeezed even harder.

“Stop it,” he ordered, his voice breathless.

“Or what?”

The muscles in his neck knotted as he gritted his teeth. His nostrils flared slightly. He growled. “I’ll leave. I’ll pull out and—”

“No you won’t.” Even Superman wouldn’t be able to manage that feat.

As she kept at it, her body playing his, Kyle’s head dropped between his shoulders. Perspiration dotted his forehead.

“You okay?” she continued to tease.

He pulled in a deep breath, releasing it with his words. “Ask me that in a few hours.”

Hours? Distracted by the thought, Lexi forgot to squeeze.

Kyle noticed.

He lifted his head and gave her a look that was all male, intense, possessive, proving that he’d been toying with her only a second before, just as she’d been doing with him. He was aroused, sure, but he was still in full control of his emotions, his body.

And determined to conquer hers.

With a pace that was so slow it was maddening, he eased out of her and pushed back inside, his thumb on her clit moving at the same speed.

Lexi gripped his upper arms.

His muscles flexed and hardened beneath her touch. His measured tempo magnified the sensuality of the act. His unwavering gaze heightened Lexi’s awareness of her nudity.

It was delicious and intimidating at the same time. Her face and chest got hot with a blush that wouldn’t stop.

Kyle’s gaze dipped to her mouth, her throat, her breasts.

The globes swayed with his precise, sturdy thrusts. Currents of sensation swirled around her clit, feathering out to her belly, the tops of her thighs and between her buttocks to Lexi’s anus.

A moan gathered at the base of her throat, which she released on a hitching sigh.

In reaction, Kyle slowed his pace even more, his thumb circling her nub, rather than touching it, in an attempt to prolong the act and drive her batty.

A shiver tore through Lexi, wobbling her voice. “Dammit, don’t stop stroking my clit.”

“No?” he asked, his breathing uneven. “You just said to give you a sec.” The circles he made around her nub became even wider as he continued to slide out of her, before easing back inside. “You said you couldn’t stand it. You claimed that I was driving you crazy.”

She forced down a swallow and mewed. “Since when do you listen to me? In here, you do what you want, remember?”

“That’s right.” He huffed out a new breath. “Thanks for reminding me.”

Her face scrunched with impatience. He continued to avoid her clit. “You’re welcome. So go on. Continue. Do your thing.”

“You’re sure?”

If it meant he’d resume stroking her where it mattered most, then yeah. Her orgasm kept edging close only to drift away each time his fingers abandoned her. Sinking her teeth into her lower lip, Lexi met his gaze and nodded.

“Whatever I want?”

At this point, she would have offered her soul. She gave him another nod.

Looking pleased with himself, Kyle stopped pumping altogether. A protest rose to Lexi’s lips, dying there as he leaned down to her right breast, licking her nipple. With each lap of his hot, wet tongue sensations poured through her, causing the top of her head to tingle.

Bawdy moans rushed from her. At the moment, words and sentences were beyond Lexi’s ability.

Kyle made his own sexual music, a grunt here, a muffled groan there. Flexing his cock within her pussy, he continued suckling her right breast, while fondling her left, his movements just a shade below rough, and precisely as Lexi liked.

She arched her back, dug her nails into his upper arms and tightened her inner muscles around him, offering more proof of her satisfaction.

Again, he stopped and lifted his head.

A moan of complaint escaped Lexi. He paid her no heed. Snuggling his face against her throat, he latched his mouth onto another of her uber-sensitive areas.

Oh, who was she kidding? With him, even her toenails were aroused.

With each of his suckles and licks, faint tremors coursed through her. She whimpered and sighed so much, soon she was breathless.

And right on cue, her reaction caused him to halt and pull back.

No, no, no, oh.

This time, he didn’t stop. This time, Kyle meant business.

Lexi’s lids flew open. Not wanting to stand in the way of what he was doing, she released his arms, gripping the sheet instead.

With a disciplined fury that impressed and excited, he pumped quickly, relentlessly, while also thumbing her nub.

The sweet, sweet climax arrived without warning, jolting Lexi with its raw power. A coarse cry of pleasure poured from her, accompanied by her blubbering moans.

Kyle was even less refined. He growled, bellowed and grunted as he continued to thrust and spill himself into her, his fingers still attentive to her clit.

Her head thrashed from side to side, the only means she had of telling him enough. Speech was impossible. Lexi couldn’t get her voice to work.

Thankfully, Kyle’s orgasm finally did him in. His strokes slowed then stalled on her nub. A thin sheen of perspiration coated his face and chest. It pumped as he struggled to pull in enough air. He regarded her through heavy-lidded eyes.

With affection that didn’t surprise her, but should have, Lexi cupped his face in her hands, using her thumb to wipe the sweat from his upper lip.

He smiled, not enough to produce any dimples, but her heart still sang.

She studied him now as he’d done with her minutes ago, her gaze lingering over the locks dangling over his forehead. Damp from his exertions, his hair was now a darker blond. His nostrils widened a bit with his next breath. Swallow after swallow caused his Adam’s apple to bob.

Meeting his eyes again, Lexi was about to smile but did not, content in simply regarding him.

A moment passed. Fatigue and curiosity shone in his eyes, then something she hadn’t expected…a bit of the shyness she’d felt all of her life as people stared at her.

“What?” he asked.

She made him wait for her answer, enjoying the moment and him. He’d given her a night like none she’d had before. So simple and yet so complicated.

Not wanting to think about that or how they’d both feel about this in the morning, she murmured, “NFL.”

His brows lifted slightly. “Huh?”

“NFL,” she repeated, adding, “the league you played for. I remember. I’ll never forget anything so important.”

Chapter Nine

Morning light bled through the bedroom’s curtains, casting the room in a hazy, golden glow. The intrusive illumination, along with Lexi’s foot pushing against his chin, awakened Kyle.

Forcing one lid up, he took a cautious look around, his pulse rate elevated but not yet panicked. The angle of the sun told him it was probably around eight. His pillows and bedspread on the floor reminded him of how he and Lexi had tossed them aside so they’d have more space to play.

They’d enjoyed each other until three a.m., finally ending up where they were now—with her head at his feet and her ass and cunt facing him, determined to tempt.

Carefully, so he wouldn’t wake her, Kyle eased her leg from his shoulder.

Her limb tapped the mattress. She mumbled something he didn’t get, yawned then drew her knees up to her chest and fell back into unconsciousness.

Lucky her. Suddenly, Kyle was beyond alert, his gaze dropping to her ass, the lush, rounded cheeks. Given her fetal position, he could see her anus and cleft clearly, both of her openings pink, inviting him closer.

He ran his hand down his face and tried to make sense of what he’d allowed last night, getting physically involved with her. His remorse this morning was no different from what he’d experienced after engaging in too much mindless sex or downing too many painkillers during his out-of-control football days.

NFL, she’d said. I remember. I’ll never forget anything so important.

She’d meant it. He’d seen the candor in her eyes, heard it in her voice. She’d wanted him to know that if it was special to him, it mattered to her.

Kyle wished it wouldn’t. It was a gift he didn’t want and knew he hadn’t deserved. Two seconds after meeting her, he’d made that dumb crack about not watching TV, unless it was something significant.

Like what? A sports game? The Weather Channel, because one of the female meteorologists was hot? The news, so he could keep up with the economy and how it might affect his business? The cartoons he sometimes watched with Buddy?

Buddy Baby, Lexi’s voice corrected in his mind.

Without thinking, Kyle smiled, then sobered quickly. He had to get out of here, away from her, before he did any more damage to either of them. Like allowing her to believe they were becoming more than temporary housemates. Permitting himself to enjoy her laughter, teasing and sweet gentleness when he knew it wouldn’t last. Less than two weeks from now, she’d be heading back to Hollywood and her series, the only way he’d ever see her again.

And he would. He’d watch the show with Buddy Baby. After two weeks of her nonstop love, the pooch would probably go crazy with grief missing her. Maybe the show would ease its hurt.

Or maybe he was just losing his mind.

On a sigh, Kyle propped himself on his elbows and held his breath, waiting to see if Lexi moved.

She did, clutching her hands to her heart like a little girl making a wish.

Kyle swallowed, hoping she got whatever she desired. He wanted that for her. She’d been through such shit. He didn’t want to see her hurt anymore.

He didn’t want that for himself either.

Easing his legs to the side of the mattress, he pushed to a sitting position and looked back, his eyes sweeping over the bumps in her spine, her tangled hair, the rosy soles of her heels and feet.

An overwhelming urge to suck her toes into his mouth washed over Kyle.

Idiot. Get a grip.

His fingers dug into the edge of the mattress. He emptied his lungs, then frowned at his sour morning breath. He next noticed a lot of his body parts aching, including his cock. Its skin stung from so much use.

Five times he’d mounted her last night. If he wasn’t very careful, it would be even more today.

Disturbed by the thought, Kyle went to his feet, backing to the door, cautious not to make too much noise and rouse her.

Lexi remained as she was, sleeping in his bed as if she had always belonged there.

At the thought, Kyle was about to flee into the hall but turned back and padded to the bedspread, pulling it off the floor. He knew what he was doing was nuts, that it would probably wake her, but he couldn’t leave her unprotected. Without his body’s warmth, she might get cold.

He eased the spread onto her legs, then inched it up the rest of her body, his touch lighter than he’d believed possible.

Tucked in, she blew out her next breath on a tiny snore, its gentle force wiggling her upper lip.

His heart turned over, startling affection urging him closer.

Kyle fought it, going into the hall, closing the door behind himself. After tugging on his jeans and mocs, he brushed his teeth and washed his face and pits.

He was halfway down the hall, pulling on his tee, prepared to leave the cabin when he remembered his pup.

Upon opening the spare bedroom’s door, Kyle saw his pooch snuggled against the wall, probably having slept there all evening.

“You okay?” Kyle whispered.

Buddy Baby’s brown, soulful eyes met his with what looked to be a bit of confusion as to what had happened last night.

Join the club.

In the next breath, his tail wagged, and then the pup was all over Kyle’s foot, licking what skin he could get at.

And not entirely out of affection. Kyle saw the damage the dog had done.

One of the pillows lay near the window, rather than on the bed. The other was gone, possibly under the bed. With his teeth, Buddy Baby had yanked at the spread, leaving it hanging half-on, half-off the mattress. The toes of Lexi’s cowgirl boots had chew marks on them. So did her knapsack, along with smears of doggie drool. And in the corner of the room near the nightstand, Kyle saw what no dog owner wanted to see.

Aw shit.

“Bad boy,” Kyle whispered. “This isn’t a bathroom.”

His pet whined, like he had to go again or as though he might be hungry.

Not knowing which, Kyle scooped the dog in his arm, closed the door and headed for the kitchen.

Buddy Baby made fast work of the puppy chow and his bowl of water, scratching the back door, wanting to go out.

Arms crossed over his chest, Kyle watched the dog scamper from tree to tree, smelling each, apparently having a difficult time choosing which one he wanted to pee on.

“Hurry it up,” Kyle ordered in a lowered voice, not wanting his words to travel inside and wake Lexi.

Panting, Buddy Baby looked at him. “Please?” Kyle added.

What seemed like a lifetime later, the pup finished its business, wanting to play. Kyle caught him as he raced past his feet, bringing the pooch back inside, putting him on his bed. “Sleep. Don’t disturb Lexi. You keep quiet and there’s a bag of doggie treats and a Bullwinkle cartoon in it for you, understand?”

Not a chance.

Buddy Baby followed him to the front door. As Kyle closed it, trapping the pup inside, it whimpered loudly.

He knew how it felt.

Down the path Kyle went, sucking in a lungful of morning air that was still brisk but not biting. Scented with pine, flowers he couldn’t identify and the sun’s building warmth, it had a clear, sweet quality that was amazing. Yet nowhere near the wonder of Lexi’s fragrance.

His steps halted. On a powerful urge, he brought his arm up to his nose and sniffed, wanting to smell Lexi on him, the faint aroma of her rose perfume mingled with her musk.

His nose wrinkled as he caught Buddy Baby’s odor instead.

Sighing, Kyle dropped his arm and continued down the path, stopping when he saw the back of the roadhouse, not even realizing he’d been heading there. It would be empty at this hour, allowing him to hide out in his office until Pete came in and started quizzing him on the wonders of last night.

A smile touched Kyle’s lips as he recalled them.

After Lexi’s NFL remark, he hadn’t been able to find words. He simply stared at her, while she did the same with him. A whole lot of minutes ticked by as they became lost in each others’ gazes.

Kyle sensed what was happening, a bond forming between them that he hadn’t predicted and didn’t want. Not that reality or good sense stopped him. With his cock still inside her cunt, he’d snuggled his arms around her torso and rolled across the mattress until she was on top.

Lexi had required no further direction. Tightening her inner muscles around his rod, she squeezed then relaxed, squeezed then relaxed, her contractions encouraging him to get stiff and fast.

Kyle obliged, his heart rate spiking.

Wearing a pleased smile, Lexi bent down. Her messy mane swept his shoulders as her tongue laved his nipples and her teeth tugged the hair on his pecs.

Kyle’s chest and belly quivered with his faltering sigh.

She encouraged another with her next move. Fingers wrapped around his wrists, she dragged his arms above his head, keeping them there as she licked the inside of his upper arm, while also tightening her inner muscles around his cock.

He gasped at the intense sensations her tongue and cunt created.

Continuing, she kept up her contractions as she also lapped his skin, journeying from his arm to his pit, sweeping her tongue over the dark tuff of hair.

Kyle’s lids fluttered. “Fuck,” he whispered.

“Not yet,” she cooed, burying her face in his pit, inhaling deeply of that part of him.

Her action was so sincere, so intimate—as when she’d taken him in her mouth and accepted his cum—it humbled Kyle. It made him want her with a hunger that was startling.

And got him moving again now.

Pivoting, he retraced his steps down the path, away from the roadhouse and past his cabin, then headed for the creek, his strides long, hurried. But not fast enough to escape his thoughts.

An image of Lexi rose in his mind, the look on her face when she was atop him, her fingers heading for her clit, stroking it, masturbating herself as her body slithered up and down his.

“I’ll do that,” he’d said, his voice choked with desire, his hand brushing hers aside.

“No,” she’d murmured, still riding him as she brought his hand to her lips, kissing his knuckles. “I want you to concentrate on your pleasure.”

He’d argued, but she hadn’t listened, determined to deliver them both to climax. When she had, surprising tears sparkled at the corners of her eyes. As though the act had turned out to be more than she could handle emotionally…or she already mourned its end.

Kyle sure as hell hadn’t wanted the good times to stop. While she was still panting and spent, he’d gathered what little strength he had left and directed Lexi to her elbows and knees, legs spread, ass lifted, with him prepared to take her doggie style.

Just as soon as he could get hard again.

It had taken less time than he’d expected but was still long enough for him to explore, his eyes regarding her submissive position—so fucking arousing, so deliciously female.

She’d moaned like the end of time had come as he ran his fingers up the insides and backs of her legs that awful website had criticized.

To Kyle, her thighs looked perfect, seamless, except for a few crease marks in her skin from the sheets. He licked the marks and made her gasp. Pleased, he tasted other parts of her, the dimples above her ass, the curve of her butt cheeks, the backs of her knees, while his cock reacted predictably, growing rigid so he could plunge into her delightful depths.

And he had. Oh god, he had.

After that, they were all over each other in every possible position, fucking with an urgency that kept warning Kyle to stop, that what he had with Lexi, or thought he had, wasn’t going to last.

Unfortunately, that hadn’t kept him from going at her like a starving man devouring one of Pete’s triple cheeseburgers.

Thinking of his nosy friend, Kyle increased his pace, hearing the creek’s gurgling long before he reached it.

Slender deciduous trees, far younger than the firs in other parts of the forest, flanked both sides of the water that snaked and tumbled past slate-colored rocks. Several birds, startled by Kyle’s approach, took flight. Following them with his gaze, he squinted at the sun, its beams streaming through countless leaves, brightening their green tint, a contradiction to the heavy shade where he stood.

A place of seclusion and peace.

At least, it had been that way yesterday morning. Now it wasn’t even close. His heart beat too fiercely. Despite the mild temps, beads of perspiration ran down his chest and spine as though he’d run up and down a football field intent on scoring points, rather than having walked the short distance to this location.

He wanted to go farther, but had no idea where. The roadhouse was out of the question. In time, there’d be too many staff in the kitchen preparing tonight’s fare, too many prying eyes and questions with Pete’s leading the way. He couldn’t return to the cabin, not when he didn’t know what to expect when Lexi woke up, since it was his reaction, not hers, that worried the crap out of him. Shit. Even after all they’d engaged in last night, it hadn’t sated Kyle in the least.

He wanted more.

What if she felt the same? What if she didn’t?

A frown narrowed his eyes. For a minute, he forgot to breathe.

When was the last time he’d been worried about a woman dumping him after a night of incredible fucking? When was the last time he’d actually made love…the way he had with Lexi all through the night?

The air he’d just taken in spilled out, emptying his lungs. He drove his fingers through his hair, dragging it off his forehead. The soft breeze sent it right back, drying the sweat on his chest, fluttering the hem of his tee.

Backing up, Kyle leaned against a trunk, gaze turned inward as he thought back to his bed play with Denise, a woman he’d convinced himself he loved. To prove it, he’d bought her a four-carat diamond from Tiffany’s, booked the newlywed suite at an exclusive Virgin Islands resort and didn’t even mention a pre-nup as his attorney had advised.

Kyle’s frown returned. He couldn’t recall any amazing details of the times he’d slept with her. Even worse, he couldn’t picture her face unless he really tried. Lexi’s kept popping into his mind, distracting him, his thoughts showing her as she’d been when he’d left a few minutes ago. Curled up in a tight ball as though she needed to protect herself, even in sleep, from stalking paparazzi and pricks that put up websites like Back Then and Now.

Kyle hooked his thumbs in his jeans’ pockets and tightened his fingers into fists. God help that website’s owner if Kyle ever found him. He’d make him pay for putting caution in Lexi’s eyes and sorrow in her voice.

He recalled how she’d looked as a kid, her expression glowing with joy, confidence, hope. How dare anyone rob her of that?

Fury tightened the muscles in his neck and shoulders along with a feeling he needed to dismiss.

He liked her, and not only because a lot of his feelings were clouded by lust. The hunger was there, he wouldn’t deny it, but he also really liked her. Far too much for his own good. In her gaze, there wasn’t the starry-eyed look that he’d seen from the models and actresses he’d dated in the past, those who were just getting started in the business. Nor was there the predatory expression of those who knew the score and wanted to use him to further their careers.

There was simply Lexi, another human being who’d been battered by fame and celebrity, who wanted a shred of solace, to be loved genuinely, unconditionally, if only for a little while.

With that being more than Kyle could give. He wasn’t ready to offer his heart to another woman and certainly not to one he’d just met, who was going to be here one day and gone the next. The fact that he was even thinking about such nonsense proved he’d lost his mind.

They’d had great sex, period. It wouldn’t be repeated. No way was he returning to the cabin. He’d bury himself in work at the roadhouse and wait until Pete arrived a few hours from now. He’d corner his friend and tell him in no uncertain terms to call Fiona and get Lexi out of here, fast.

Kyle didn’t want her around. He wasn’t even going to watch her TV show with Buddy Baby. It would just complicate matters and by god, he’d had a bellyful of that in the past.

All he craved now was some freaking peace.

His mind and heart wouldn’t allow it.

The moment he pushed away from the tree to go to the roadhouse, he sagged against the trunk again, wondering where Lexi could go once she left here. Where she’d be safe from the prying press.

Head lowered, his mind racing, Kyle thought hard about the people he knew that might be able to help her, of the connections he still had in the NFL.

I remember. I’ll never forget anything so important.

At her promise, he smiled, then lost it, thinking that he could call his former agent. They’d parted amicably. More than a few times the man had advised Kyle how to stay out of the spotlight. Maybe Lexi could crash in the guestroom at his house.

If he said no, Kyle figured he could sweeten the deal with some cash. And if that didn’t work, he’d just call someone else until he found her a place to—

His thoughts halted at the crunching sounds coming from the left, reminding him of the noise twigs and pine needles make when crushed beneath someone’s feet.

Pete? Had he arrived earlier than usual, seen Kyle headed here and decided to bother him?

Or was it Jacqueline come to pay him another surprise visit as she had last night in his office?

Please god, not that.

Head cocked and holding his breath, Kyle listened, hearing more sounds that told him something was disturbing the debris on the path or near one of the countless bushes. Maybe it was an animal. Could be it was a visitor to this area, a hiker who’d lost his or her way.

Hoping for the unknown animal or hiker, Kyle glanced up and stared. Instantly, his heart tripped on several beats then went into overdrive.

Lexi approached, moving in and out of splashes of sunlight.

The beams caught and accentuated the reddish highlights in her hair, combed now, the glossy strands bobbing on her naked shoulders.

Kyle’s mouth went dry. His gaze dropped lower.

With each of her steps, needles or twigs crackled and her bare breasts bounced.

The sight of her shimmying flesh set his ears to ringing and made his knees weak. Luckily, the tree supported him, its bark biting into his shoulders and ass. He tried to swallow and managed it after a few attempts as he watched the curve of her belly vibrating slightly, since she wasn’t wearing anything there either.

An errant sunbeam broke through a canopy of leaves and touched the curls between her legs, turning their light brown color a dark blonde with just a hint of red to complement her other hair and milky skin.

There was a lot of it to look at. Too fucking much. Except for her cowgirl boots, she was gloriously nude.

And holding a cup, her slender fingers hugging it, showing him she’d removed the black polish from her nails. Wisps of steam drifted up from the freshly brewed coffee, its rich scent reaching Kyle before she did, the delectable aroma carried by the coolish breeze.

“Hey,” she said, her eyes on Kyle as they had been since she first spotted him, all while he’d been leering at every other part of her. “Morning. I brought you some coffee.”

She stopped just shy of his tree and offered him the steaming cup.

He stared at her puckered nipples, then her bottom lip.

Snaking out her tongue, she licked it.

The muscles in Kyle’s chest tightened at the sparkle of moisture she’d left. His eyes jumped to hers. “You brought me coffee?”

She nodded.

Here? “How’d you know I’d be…” He didn’t finish.

Lexi looked a bit sheepish. “I heard Buddy Baby whimpering and noticed you were gone. I opened the cabin door and saw you headed down the path this way. Go on,” she said before he could respond, lifting the cup a bit to bring his attention back to it. “It’s good, I promise. I do know how to make coffee.” Hesitating slightly, she lifted her shoulders. “And a lot of other stuff. I learned from the best.”

What in the fuck was she talking about? Kyle couldn’t get his mind to work. “Huh?”

“Well, not from Emeril,” she said, her brows drawn together. “I wanted to train under him, but he’s busy, you know?”

“Emeril?”

Her expression clouded.

With it, Kyle’s memory kicked into high gear. “That guy you mentioned last night when we were outside the roadhouse headed for my cabin.”

Eyes rounded, she beamed. “Yeah. You remember.”

Not entirely. He couldn’t recall what she’d said about the man, except his name, not that Kyle would have ever admitted it. He didn’t want to disappoint her. Hell, he’d cut off his balls before he deliberately caused her any distress.

She took a sip of her coffee, moaned almost as well as she had during last night’s sex, then smiled. “I know you have no idea who he is. He’s this really famous chef. He has his own line of cookware, recipe books, all kinds of stuff. He’s also on The Food Network.”

“Wow,” Kyle said.

Lexi giggled.

The sound pierced his heart, reaching his soul.

“Now you’re putting me on,” she said, then sobered quickly. “Not that I don’t like it. I do. Anyway,” she continued, “I hired another chef to teach me. He’s famous in LA, not the world. In fact, he looks down on The Food Network, says it’s gotten too commercial with all the competitions.

“I don’t agree,” she said, lowering her voice as though someone might overhear her comments with them getting back to him. “I think the contests are exciting. But I wouldn’t ever tell him that.”

Kyle nodded. He asked, “You really cook? I mean, like a professional?”

Her face lit up, exactly as it had during her many orgasms. “Oh yeah. I would have told Pete that last night when he called, then brought all that food to the cabin, but we didn’t get much of a chance to talk. He seemed intent on delivering my dinner. Did you ask him to?”

More like insisted. And not because he’d been worried she couldn’t boil water, but because he’d wanted to give her what she’d been denied. Mounds and mounds of French fries. Unwilling to admit that, he said, “He already had so much made, I didn’t want you to have to go to any trouble.”

“That’s sweet. He’s a good cook. I really enjoyed his stuff. While I’m here I’d like to ask him to show me some of his recipes, especially his chili—if you don’t mind.”

He did. Kyle figured she shouldn’t stay. He knew he shouldn’t want her with a fierce longing that muddied his thoughts. Again, his eyes betrayed him, dipping down to her breasts, the nipples tighter, harder than a few seconds ago.

“You do mind,” she said.

“Why do you cook?” he asked, not only wanting to change the subject, he was genuinely curious.

Lexi finished another sip of her coffee, licked stray beads of it from her lips and smiled. “It’s my passion. It’s what I’ve wanted to do since I was a kid.”

But hadn’t. He heard her unspoken words, that she’d been sucked into acting instead. Kyle hoped to god that the sympathy he felt wasn’t evident on his face. “Did your parents know about this?”

Wearing an uneasy look, Lexi shook her head.

“You never told them?”

“It’s complicated,” she said. “They needed the money I made as an actor, especially when Autumn came along. It takes years to build a reputation as a chef. There wasn’t time. Hey, I was only seven when I got my first commercial. No one was going to turn a kitchen over to me, not with gas burners and ovens that could explode.”

Kyle laughed.

She smiled, then shrugged. “When I turned seventeen, I contacted Carlo, the chef I hired to train me. I didn’t want to upset my parents—I mean they would have argued that I was wasting my time or I’d burn myself and have a scar that would make me unemployable—so I told them I was going clubbing. That the free publicity would be good for my career. Instead, I went to Carlo’s mansion in Bel Air. He has a really amazing kitchen.”

Kyle didn’t know what to say. He wasn’t certain whether to be proud of her for defying her parents, to hate them for being so narcissistic or to tell her that he’d have a talk with Pete, ensuring that she’d get every last one of his recipes.

It would be Kyle’s parting gift to her, because he still figured she should leave. This was getting so out of hand he didn’t know what to do.

“Truly awesome,” Lexi added, her voice hesitant as though she’d read Kyle’s face and didn’t like what she saw.

Clearing her throat, she held up the cup, offering it yet again to him. “I made it strong. You like it strong, right?”

His gaze darted to the cup, then returned to her.

“Taste it,” she coaxed. “If it’s not right, I’ll make more.”

With his eyes on hers, Kyle finally reached for the coffee, their fingers touching.

Jolts of pleasure swept through Lexi. She lost all of her breath on a yearning sigh, unable to hide her continuing arousal. Even though she knew Kyle intimately now, his touch felt shockingly new and exciting.

She didn’t let go of the cup. He didn’t seem to mind, using his hold on it to ease her closer, his free hand moving up her arm.

Lexi shivered.

Kyle’s gaze fell to her biceps and lower, his expression surprised. “You’re got goose bumps.”

“Yeah, I know.” She inhaled deeply. “That’s what happens when I’m turned-on.”

“Bullshit,” he said, “you’re cold.”

Only since she’d taken off her sweatshirt, draping it on a bush after she’d spotted him leaning against the tree, head down, deep in thought. No doubt about her and what had happened between them last night.

Fearful he’d ask her to leave before they got too involved, she’d decided to dazzle him with her nudity despite the coolish temperature.

“I’m fine,” she assured, holding back another shiver.

Kyle shook his head. Taking the cup from her, he set it on the ground, straightened and pulled off his tee. Before Lexi could voice her objection, he had the garment over her head, was pulling her arms through the sleeves, then easing her into his embrace.

With his hands moving up and down her back, creating friction and heat, he asked, “Better?”

Oh yeah. The very best. She sagged into him, her heart banging into her throat, deepening her voice. “Uh-huh.”

Kyle’s rubbing halted. To get him started again, Lexi turned her face into his neck and suckled his throat.

His body stiffened and then he groaned, the sound potent, virile, telling Lexi he wanted more.

She gave it, placing her hand on the side of his head, turning his face to hers. Their lips met. Their tongues touched. They kissed better than they had last night, with the familiarity of lovers attuned to each other’s desires.

Lexi ran her thumb over his bristly cheek. Slipping his hands beneath the hem of his tee, Kyle cupped her naked ass in his palms, pulling Lexi into his newest erection, telling her without words of his passion.

With stunning speed, the depth of their desire made them breathless. Ending their kiss, Kyle rested his cheek against hers. “Morning,” he said, then paused to swallow and pull in more air.

Smiling, huddling closer, Lexi ran her free hand up his naked back, trembling at his smooth, hot skin. “You hungry? You want breakfast? I’ll make it for you. Whatever you want.”

“No.”

Her heart stopped soaring and went into a freefall with that word and his tone. So final. Like he’d come to his senses and planned to tell her what they were doing wasn’t wise. In fact, it was downright dumb. Exactly what her counselor would have said.

Braced for what she didn’t want to hear but would have to accept, Lexi stopped rubbing him and said, “No what?”

Kyle’s chest expanded with his deep breath. It smelled of minty toothpaste and tickled her ear as he sighed it out. “I don’t want breakfast. Not right now.”

A thread of hope warmed her almost as well as his body. She ran her hand down his spine to the waistband of his jeans. “Then what do you want right now, Kyle?”

He moved his face, his lips touching her ear.

Lexi’s lids slipped down.

He whispered, “A shower.”

“Really.” She put a smile in her voice, and worked her fingers inside his jeans, pleased he hadn’t put on his underwear. “When I was twenty-two, I starred in a geisha movie based on this best-selling historical romance. My character was abducted from an English ship and brought to this bathhouse in Asia where she had to tend to American guys. The plot didn’t make sense at all, but I did my research anyway and I do know a lot about bathing men.”

He tightened his grip on her ass, pulling her closer.

Out of arousal? Jealousy?

He whispered in her ear, “I don’t believe you.”

“Want me to prove it?”

“I—” He stopped, all of his air whooshing from him.

Lexi bit her lower lip, noting the sudden tension in his body, his struggle for control. Because he really liked her or just enjoyed sleeping with her? With both emotions being far beyond what either of them had expected.

“Fuck yeah,” he sighed at last, then brought his mouth back to hers, his kiss starved, that of a man who’d lost all restraint and didn’t know what to do about it.

She didn’t either, nor would she question what was happening or think about what faced her in the coming weeks.

For now, she was content to enjoy him as much as she dared. This time, Lexi ended their kiss, wanting to return to the cabin. “A shower it is then. Let’s—”

An unexpected sound stopped her.

Kyle ran his thumbs over her ass. “Let’s what?”

She turned her head to the side, looking past him, seeing clumps of trees, bushes, the creek, birds drinking from a few stray puddles or taking flight, their wings barely missing the edges of too many leaves. “Did you hear that?”

Easing his hold, Kyle followed her gaze. “No. What?”

Lexi studied the area, a mix of darkness and light, some of the vegetation speckled with sun, making the shaded areas so green they seemed primordial, not quite real. “I’m not sure. A noise that didn’t belong, like something moving down the path.”

“Buddy Baby?” Kyle asked.

Lexi smiled at him for using the name she’d coined. She wondered if Kyle was even aware of it. Probably not. “No. I put him in the spare bedroom so he couldn’t get out when I left to come here.”

Kyle’s gaze drifted down her, then came back up, his expression more troubled than aroused. “You only called your sister last night, right?”

At his cautious tone, Lexi pulled her hand from his waistband. “Of course. I don’t want anyone to know I’m here. I don’t want to face that again. You do believe me, don’t you?”

Kyle’s gaze returned to the surrounding forest, lingering on it for a long moment before he again met her eyes. His were veiled, the same as when Pete first introduced them last night. What seemed like years ago.

“It was probably an animal you heard,” he said, his voice neutral, holding none of his earlier passion. “No one’s going to find you here unless you want them to.”

She stared at him. She frowned. “I don’t. I already said I don’t.”

“Then there’s nothing to worry about.”

He released her ass and retrieved the cup, not sipping the coffee she’d made especially for him.

Lexi followed him up the path to his cabin, watching as his gaze darted from tree to tree, bush to bush, as though he expected paparazzi to be there.

As though he didn’t quite know what to expect or believe, especially from someone like her.

Chapter Ten

Three days later at dinnertime, Kyle entered the roadhouse’s kitchen to grab a bowl of chili mac. Pete’s specialty of the day.

His friend sat at one of the long prep tables in the otherwise deserted room. Apparently, Tomas and Roberto, who represented the rest of the crew, were outside enjoying a smoke.

Leaving Kyle and Pete all to themselves. Something Kyle didn’t want. For the last seventy-two hours or so, he’d avoided any time alone with the man, just as he’d been dodging Lexi. Making himself scarce so he wouldn’t sleep with her again—which he hadn’t. With Pete, Kyle simply didn’t want his friend to guess what had already happened with her.

Like Lexi showing up at the creek as nude as Eve in the Garden of Eden, except for her cowgirl boots. Him putting his tee on her for warmth. Lexi offering to take care of him in the shower like a submissive and wanton geisha.

The moment never materialized. When they’d reached the cabin, he’d mumbled an excuse for not staying, then told her to keep out of sight and off the phone if she really wanted to keep the paparazzi at bay. Ignoring the hurt look on her face, Kyle came here, buried himself in work and pretended nothing else existed.

Which was exactly the way Pete currently behaved, his full attention on the plate of food in front of him despite Kyle’s presence.

Kyle’s first reaction was to turn and flee.

The succulent scent of pork and sweet apples with cinnamon drew him closer. He stared at the nicely seared chop stuffed with cubes of the fruit and what might have been walnuts. To its side were cheesy mashed potatoes and slivered almonds on a pile of steaming asparagus. “When did you make that?”

Pete speared a bite of the juicy meat, slid it into his mouth, then moaned at how good it clearly tasted. “I didn’t,” he said after swallowing. “Lex made it.”

Lex? As in Lexi? Kyle’s gaze jumped to Pete’s hazel eyes. “She came here and cooked?” His head swung to the doorway, expecting to see her striding into the room from her trip to the woman’s john or wherever the hell else she might have been. Waiting tables? Gabbing with Nan and Jacqueline? Hopefully wearing more than she had the morning she’d caught him off-guard at the creek? “Has she lost her mind? Have you?” Kyle accused, keeping his voice low.

“Relax. She hasn’t been here. I’ve been at the cabin.”

Kyle frowned. “My cabin? Since when?”

“Since you refuse to go there. I know you’re eating all of your meals here now. Are you also sleeping in your office?”

It hadn’t gotten to that point. He just stayed there, watching reruns of her TV show until the wee hours, when he figured she’d be in the spare bedroom, thankfully asleep. “If I am, I’m allowed. It’s my business. I own the goddamn place.”

“Actually, it belongs to the bank.”

Kyle’s frown deepened.

Ignoring it, Pete slipped another bite of the chop into his mouth. As he savored every chew, he reached into his pocket, pulled out a piece of paper and extended it to Kyle. “For you,” he said, his mouth full. “From her.”

Kyle wasn’t about to take what Pete offered. Was it a farewell note from Lexi? Had she left on her own after making Pete this meal, knowing Kyle didn’t want her here?

His heart ached a bit at the thought. He felt like a monumental prick. Worse, he felt really alone.

Pete swallowed and gestured with his fork as he spoke. “Want me to read it to you? That would really make this like middle school. You know, me passing notes to you from the cute girl who sits behind me and—”

“Shut up.” Kyle swiped the paper, noting how his hands shook as he opened it.

In Lexi’s script, she’d written Please come to the cabin for dinner tonight. I’ve made you something really good. One of my best dishes. As a way to thank you for letting me stay.

So she hadn’t given up on being here for the remainder of her two weeks. The thought made Kyle’s heart soar while twisting his empty belly. He looked at Pete’s plate, how the chop glistened in the kitchen’s harsh light.

“This is outstanding,” his friend said, a morsel of apple stuffing clinging to the side of his mouth. “You should go and have dinner with her.”

“You read the note she fucking wrote to me?”

“Just like in middle school.” He wiggled his brows, the movement wrinkling his forehead, squishing a lot of his freckles together. “I live vicariously through you. Hell, I wish I was you, especially now.”

“No, you don’t.”

Pete tossed his fork on the plate. It clinked against the thick plastic. Leaning forward on his elbows, he spoke in a subdued voice. “Yeah, I do, you damn fool. She’s not only pretty, she’s fucking nice, probably one of the nicest women I’ve ever met. She can cook. How many pretty women can do that? And she fucking likes you, dummy. So what are you doing here when she’s over there?” He inclined his head in the direction of Kyle’s cabin.

“She’s leaving at the end of two weeks,” he argued, his voice at a pitch no one but Pete could hear. “She’s only at my place because you and Fiona conned me into it. Which I did not want,” he said, interrupting Pete. “Once her stay is over, she has her own life to get back to far away from here.”

“That’s right, I forgot. She lives on the other side of the universe, twelve zillion miles from your cabin. I hear you have to go through several security checkpoints to get there. If you don’t show the proper ID, you get laser-zapped in the balls. Ouch.”

Kyle’s jaw clenched. “Her world and the one I want are light-years apart and you know it. I don’t want her to like me. I don’t want to hurt her.”

“I don’t want you doing that either. So get your ass over there and make her happy. She’s not a leper, you know. She just wants to feed you.”

“This isn’t about food.”

“Well then, good for you. You score again.”

“Watch it,” Kyle warned, not liking where this conversation was heading.

“Fine.” Pete lifted his hands in surrender, but his voice remained firm. “You’re not joining her for dinner tonight. Suits me. I’ll just go to the cabin and tell her the good news and then I’ll keep her company.”

“Like fucking hell.” He stepped in Pete’s way before the man could come around the table. “Sit down.”

“Excuse me?”

Kyle tempered his voice and words. “If you leave, who’s going to run the damn kitchen?”

“Roberto. He’s been my second in command for a year now, remember?”

“I don’t want you at my cabin.” Kyle crossed his arms over his chest. “Mine. Not yours. Not the bank’s. I own it free and clear. It’s private property and I don’t want you there.”

“You don’t want me around her,” Pete corrected. “Well too bad. If you’re not interested, then I am. I’m in between women right now, completely unattached, so I’ll invite her to my place tonight. Show her a good time for a change rather than having her take care of Buddy all the time.”

“Buddy Baby,” Kyle corrected.

Pete’s brows shot up. “Buddy Baby?”

Tightening his arms, Kyle dug his thumbs into his clenched muscles. “Don’t bother her.”

“Who says it’s a bother?”

“Do not go over there. Please,” Kyle added, then asked, “When did she give you the note?”

Pete sank back down to his stool. “When I picked this up.” He waved his hand at the plate. “About ten minutes ago. Yours should be ready just about now.” Slipping his hand into his jeans’ back pocket, he pulled out his cell phone. “Want me to call her to say you’re on your way?”

“No. I’ll do it. From my office,” he added when Pete extended the phone.

“Don’t you disappoint her,” the man said.

Or what? Pete would keep her company for a few days, then take his vacations in Hollywood, visiting her on the set?

Swearing beneath his breath, telling himself he shouldn’t care what she or Pete did alone or together, Kyle went into his office, closing and locking the door. Forehead to the wood, he debated what to do.

Music boomed from the bar area with Carrie Underwood’s voice telling a tale of rage and heartache in her song Before He Cheats. Footfalls passed Kyle’s office, the steps hard and clomping, perhaps Roberto and Tomas on their way back to the kitchen. Lighter ones followed.

“Hey guys,” Jacqueline called out, “I got a party of six that just came in. We have enough potato skins to make them happy before they order their meal?”

Her footfalls continued down the hall toward the kitchen. Seconds passed and then her voice, fainter now, said, “Hey, what’s that?”

Aw crap. She’d seen what Pete was eating. Kyle left his door, heading for his desk, not wanting to hear her next questions or Pete’s answers, which could possibly blow Lexi’s cover. What in the hell was the matter with the man? What was the matter with Lexi? Did she want Jacqueline gossiping with Nan about her, someone in the bar overhearing them and then the paparazzi swarming all over here?

Frowning, Kyle called his cabin. On the third ring, Lexi picked up.

“Sands Diner,” she said, her voice sounding breathless as if she’d run to his bedroom. “Sorry, we’re closed for the night. Private party, you know.”

Kyle’s frown fell away. He stopped himself before he laughed. Hell, he stopped himself before he told her how much he enjoyed just hearing her voice. “Private party?”

Her silence answered, as though she was as taken with listening to him speak as he was with hearing her breathe. Or maybe she was recalling how he’d been avoiding her these past days. Or could be she was remembering them making love and thinking how much she missed it, as much as—

“The privatest,” she said, her breathy tone breaking into Kyle’s thoughts.

This time he did chuckle. “That’s not a word.”

“At the Sands Diner it is. I like that song playing in the background,” she added. “Carrie really belts it out. You have a good crowd tonight, huh?”

She sounded so lonely that Kyle leaned against the lip of his desk, his free hand gripping it as though it would keep him here, safe from all the complications she represented. No matter what Pete had said, there was no future in this for Lexi or him. Only hurt when it was over, with him having to bear a good deal of it.

“You’re not coming to dinner,” she said, her voice as small as Carrie’s was large. “You’re calling to turn me down.”

His plan had been to bitch at her for being so careless, then to tell her he couldn’t make it. “I’m on my way,” he blurted.

“Really?”

She didn’t trust what he’d said. Kyle couldn’t blame her. At the creek, he’d kissed her with the passion of an out-of-control teen, rather than keeping his distance like a man who knew better. He’d led her to believe more would follow, then simply brushed her off, abandoning her. “I’m leaving now.”

“When you get here, knock twice, then stop, then knock once, then stop, then knock three times and I’ll—”

“I was going to use my key.”

“Oh—okay. Sure. That’ll work.”

His frown returned. “Has someone been snooping around the cabin?” Other than Pete? “Have you seen someone outside?”

“No.” Her voice wobbled as though her heart was beating as fast as his. “At least I don’t think so. I keep hearing sounds like something moving through the bushes. When it’s dark outside, it gets really noisy here.”

And scary. While he’d been holed up in his office to keep his heart safe from her, she’d been alone in the cabin, listening to animals outside.

And to the one within. On her side of the call, Kyle heard his pooch’s yelps. “Buddy Baby been giving you any trouble?”

“Oh no.” The caution fell away from her voice, replaced with affection. “I love taking care of him. In a few minutes?” Lexi asked.

She’d lost him. “In a few minutes what?”

“You’ll be here?”

Kyle had no choice. The velvety softness of her voice, the sweet sensuality beneath it urged him to her.

Just short of his cabin’s front door, Kyle halted. None of the inside lights were on. Why?

Had Lexi been lying to him when they’d spoken? Was she keeping things dark in there because she had seen someone snooping around outside? Not a paparazzo, that just wasn’t possible. However, an intoxicated patron looking to get some fresh air might have accidentally come here. Had Lexi been afraid to make too big a deal of it, knowing it might convince Kyle that she should leave?

Using the available moonlight, he squinted at the ground near the windows to see if there were any shoeprints in the dirt. A quick inspection told him there weren’t, only a ripe odor that said Buddy Baby had used the location recently to relieve himself. Holding his breath, Kyle backed away and unlocked the door.

Before he could call out to Lexi that he was home—like they were married or really living together—his pooch scampered down the darkened hall to greet him.

Something square and white hung from a string around the dog’s neck.

“Hey.” Kyle hunkered down. As the pup lavished him with lick after lick, Kyle removed the folded paper. With his eyes adjusted to the available light, he read Lexi’s script.

Welcome to Sands’ Diner, sir. If you’ll follow me, I’ll show you to your table.

A laugh bubbled up in Kyle’s chest, threatening to break loose. Along with it, overwhelming tenderness misted his eyes. He pushed back both emotions, settling on a grin that felt just this side of goofy. “Where’s Lexi?” he murmured to the pup.

Rolling on its back, the pooch looked at him lovingly, wanting its belly rubbed.

Later. Right now, Kyle needed to see Lexi, his craving so strong it startled him. He closed and locked the cabin’s front door, then went down the hall toward the kitchen, pausing when he saw the faint light spilling from the doorway.

She’d lit candles? Managing a breath, Kyle smelled their cinnamon fragrance. So where had she gotten the damn things? Had she asked Pete to buy them for her? Had Fiona done the deed?

Who the fuck cared? They enticed him closer. Buddy Baby followed, running into Kyle’s leg as he stopped at the kitchen’s doorway, taking in the scene.

Candles in a variety of sizes—fat, short, tall, slender—sat on the counter and the table, their flames flickering merrily, perfuming the room, along with what she’d cooked. Bowls of the cheesy potatoes and asparagus were next to a platter of sizzling chops.

Even from where Kyle stood, he could hear the inviting sound. He stared at the banquet and how she’d used one of his white bed sheets as a makeshift tablecloth.

“Welcome to Sands’ Diner,” she murmured.

Kyle’s swallow stalled, caught in his tightened throat. His gaze jumped from the food to her. Holding a long cooking spoon that she’d no doubt gotten from Pete, Lexi gestured for Kyle to take his chair.

He did not. His gaze swept over her hair, worn in a ponytail, her freshly scrubbed face, oversized tee, baggy shorts and cowgirl boots.

For a little kink, she’d said days ago.

Kyle’s cock reacted now, stiffening with interest, as though she was wearing skimpy lingerie or skin rather than an outfit he could only describe as sloppy. The kind a woman would choose to clean house or to discourage a guy from any carnal intentions.

Unfazed and still growing hard, his cock pressed against his jeans’ fly. She looked adorable. Hell, she looked better than the food.

“Go on,” she coaxed, stroking the top of his chair with her slender fingers. “Sit. Once you do, I’ll take care of him.”

Buddy Baby, the him in question, continued to yelp, running in circles around Kyle’s feet.

He finally got them moving, making it to the edge of his table.

“Come on, you,” she said to the pup, scooping him in her arms, using the spoon to keep him there. “I’ll just put him in the spare bedroom,” she said, “then I’ll be back to serve you.”

Her cowgirl boots made sharp taps against the hallway floor, the sound matching the tempo and force of Kyle’s hammering heart.

I’ll be back to serve you.

Jesus. Images of her as a geisha flooded Kyle’s mind. On the first night he avoided her, he’d found the film she’d mentioned and looked at the movie stills on a website. In one, she’d been clad in a scanty, clingy gown, her eyes lowered, her manner meek as she poured water over a man’s naked shoulders.

In another, she knelt at the man’s feet, her fingers splayed provocatively on his thighs.

Kyle planted his hands on the top of his chair, fingers digging in, holding tight until a wave of dizziness passed.

“Now, you be good,” she called out to the dog, and then her footfalls started back down the hall.

Buddy Baby whined loudly from his temporary prison.

Kyle pulled out his chair, but didn’t sit, his gaze returning to the table, noticing something he hadn’t before.

“I offered him my backpack to chew on,” Lexi said as she entered the room. “Once he gets interested in it, he should be fine.”

“What’s this?” Kyle asked, his voice sharper than he’d intended.

Her smile froze. She glanced to where he pointed. “Your place setting. Why?” Joining him, she leaned over and frowned at his plate and utensils. “Did Buddy Baby drool on your stuff? I had my back turned for a minute when I was checking the chops and he got up on the chair somehow. Maybe he jumped and—”

Kyle laughter interrupted her. Oh god, she was driving him nuts and he was so enjoying it. “That’s not what I meant. Where’s your place setting?”

“Oh.” She straightened and lifted her shoulders. “I’m not eating.”

“Why not?” His head swung to the feast. “There’s enough here for a party of ten.”

“I didn’t know how hungry you’d be. You’re a big guy. I just figured you eat a lot, especially since you haven’t for a few days.”

He slanted her a look.

Her face was all innocence, her expression expectant, as though she hadn’t just bitched at him for making himself scarce.

Kyle turned and advanced, his body crowding her.

Lexi took a step back, more reflexive than anything. He saw that in her eyes.

“You’re not hungry?” he asked.

Eyes on his, she ran her fingers down her hip to her thigh, the edge of her unshapely shorts. Kyle and she were so close, Lexi’s knuckles brushed his leg, leaving a ribbon of warmth in their wake.

He pulled in some much-needed air.

Her gaze settled on his mouth. “I tasted everything while I was cooking. I ate then.”

Uh-huh. “That bad, huh? Afraid to have a real bite, are you? So you’re using me as your guinea pig.”

Her guileless act evaporated, replaced with a snotty frown. “I know you’ve probably killed your taste buds long ago with your crappy junk food diet, but my stuff is good. It’s the freaking best.”

“Prove it.” Taking her hand, he went to his chair and sat, pulling her on his lap.

Chapter Eleven

His scent registered first, the clean outside air clinging to his hair and skin, along with the headier fragrance of musk. Next, she noticed how solid his body was. And warm. Not to mention hard.

Excitement strummed through Lexi at his erection pressing against her ass. She warned herself not to react further. Not to slip her arms around his neck and kiss him like tomorrow might not come.

From the moment she’d planned tonight, Lexi had ordered herself to be casual, never needy. After three days of Kyle’s absence, no one had to tell her that he’d regretted their earlier bed play and her blatant attempt to seduce him at the creek. That’s why she’d cooked a meal she sensed he’d enjoy, as a friend, while doing absolutely nothing to make herself look attractive.

His increasingly rigid cock told Lexi how wrong she’d been. He did want her.

The cooking spoon fell from her hand, clattering against the linoleum floor.

If Kyle noticed the noise, he didn’t react to it. His gaze pinned hers, his look lusty and intent. In a soft murmur, he asked, “Why aren’t you eating, Lexi?”

The way he said her name, as though it belonged on his lips and felt comfortable there, made her body ache with need. But it didn’t mean Lexi could answer him, at least truthfully. She shrugged.

He wrapped one arm around her waist, keeping her steady on his lap.

Liquid heat poured through her. Lids fluttering, she relaxed against him.

He murmured again, “Because of your contract?”

“It’s okay,” she said, embarrassed that she’d told him about it earlier and that he knew her worry about gaining too much weight while she was holed up here.

Here. The word said it all. Its generality mocked. This place was no more than a temporary situation. A vacation from reality. Never a home.

Ignoring the truth as she too often did, Lexi walked her fingers up his chest to his throat. There, she settled her palm, enjoying the powerful drumming of his pulse.

“No, it’s not okay,” Kyle said. “We’re going to share this.”

“You say that now,” she joked, “but when you taste my stuff, you’re going to keep me from taking even one bite from you.”

His fingers left her hip to run down her thigh.

She trembled with pleasure.

In a soft voice that aroused her as much as his uncivilized kiss, Kyle said, “You think so, huh? You’re that sure of yourself.”

She couldn’t have been more vulnerable, wanting him to enjoy her food and to like her. Reluctant to tell him the truth, Lexi answered with what she prayed was a confident smile, hoping he’d reciprocate so she could see his killer dimples. God, how she’d missed them, and everything else about him these last days.

He remained serious, not a bad thing. She saw the mounting heat in his eyes and suspected he’d already forgotten about the meal.

Trailing her fingers over his throat, stroking the short bristles of his coming beard, she whispered, “Let me get more comfortable.”

His gaze dropped to her oversized tee, his expression saying he was waiting for her to remove it.

Lexi had no intention of doing so. At least, not yet. She didn’t want to spook him as she had at the creek. Small steps, baby…small steps. Leaving his lap, she turned to face Kyle, then straddled him, her cunt on his cock, exactly where it should be.

His brows lifted a bit, while his arm returned to her waist. Holding her body tightly against his, he scooted the chair closer to the table, its legs making harsh scraping sounds on the floor.

“Don’t move,” he ordered.

“Okay.” She draped one arm across his shoulders and lifted her legs, hooking one ankle against the other, anchoring herself to him.

He responded to her disobedience with an arched brow. His arm left her waist as he leaned forward, his torso slightly to one side.

She looked over. Despite the difficulty of having her on his lap, he grabbed the utensils, cutting into the chop. His stomach rumbled loudly. Hers wasn’t any better.

With a sizeable slice of meat speared on his fork, Kyle eased back and brought the food to her lips. “You first.”

Lexi wrapped her free hand around his wrist. “No, you. And not because I don’t intend to eat any of it,” she added. “I will. But I want your opinion. I want you to tell me how awesome or awful it is.”

An emotion flashed across his face, one Lexi couldn’t identify. If pressed, she might have said it was tenderness mixed with a healthy dose of alarm. She was doing it again, unnerving him. “Not that I care whether you like it or not,” she said, using her most blasé tone, hiding her neediness.

Her lie brought another look of what seemed to be unexpected affection, the kind many men would have fled. Oddly enough, it relaxed Kyle this time. He twisted his wrist until her hand fell away from his. With the fork edging toward her mouth, he spoke in a stern voice. “Open up.”

“Only if you do. We’ll eat it together.”

Even in the faint light, Lexi saw his color heightening as though he liked her plan.

Proving her correct, he slipped one end of the meat between his lips, then inched toward her, offering the other.

She snaked out her tongue and licked the end of it as she once had the head of his cock.

Kyle stared. The corners of his mouth lifted in a pleased grin, just short of making dimples.

Determined to see them and give him whatever he desired, Lexi placed her hand on his fly. Her thumb stroked his groin while she ran her tongue over the pork, taking it deeper into her mouth.

Their lips touched and their lids slid down. In concert, they each bit the meat, chewed their portion and moaned at the savory flavors of salty and sweet.

The noise Kyle made was way louder than hers, telling Lexi everything she wanted to know. He approved. To thank him, she tilted her head to the side, slanted her mouth over his and eased her tongue inside.

He tasted better than the meat. His horny groan gave her the license to do whatever she willed. Tightening her arm on his shoulders, she pulled him closer, as near as two people could be and kissed him with abandon.

The knife and fork fell from his hands. From the sounds they made, one landed on the table, the other on the plate, making a sweet clamor that told Lexi he’d gone beyond control.

He kissed her like he meant it, as though he couldn’t help himself and wasn’t about to try. He pushed his hands beneath her tee and his fingers touched skin.

Lexi’s mouth opened on a delighted gasp.

To her surprise, Kyle used it to end their kiss, pulling his face away, gulping air as though he couldn’t get enough. His harsh breathing didn’t improve when his hands continued to slide up her back, his fingers telling him she hadn’t worn a bra.

“You like?” she breathed.

Lifting his lids, he gave her the blurry look of a man approaching orgasm. “Yeah. You’re one fucking good cook. I want more.”

Her head tilted down at him, removing his hands from her back. She looked over at him retrieving his fork and scooping up a mound of the cheesy potatoes. This time, unlike the last, Kyle shoved the food into his mouth rather than offering it to her.

“Damn,” he said, his voice muffled by the potatoes. “This is unbelievably good.”

With the tip of her finger, Lexi scraped off the potatoes that had fallen from the fork to his tee. Bringing the morsel to her mouth, she sucked it off, happy that he liked her stuff, pissed and confused that they weren’t still kissing. “Told you so. Try the asparagus.”

His arms jostled her as he cut another bite of the chop, scooping some of the stuffing and more cheesy potatoes with it. Mouth full, he shook his head. “I don’t like or want it.”

“You haven’t tried mine.” He hadn’t followed through on what she really craved. To coax him in that direction, Lexi adjusted her butt, teasing his rod with her cunt.

His lovely organ flexed in response.

Lexi gave him a look that said he was busted.

Kyle pretended not to notice. He finished chewing his food, swallowed, then ran his tongue around his mouth. “I’m sure it’s great, but I’m still going to pass.”

Not at her table, he wasn’t. She’d got him this far and Lexi was determined not to let him go for the rest of the night. As far as tomorrow was concerned, who knew what would happen. He could get skittish as he had the last time and she might never see him again.

Thinking of that, knowing this could possibly be her last chance, she said, “If you don’t, you’re not going to get this.” She pulled up her tee, removing it. Naked to the waist, she flung the garment aside.

It landed on Buddy Baby’s water bowl.

“Whoops,” she said.

Kyle said nothing at all. He stared at her nipples, puckered and tight, just inches from his mouth.

“We’ll take this slowly,” she murmured.

His gaze jerked to hers.

Lexi mellowed her tone even more. “It’s the best way to go when you’re trying new things.”

Confusion flooded his features.

Giving him no chance to recover, Lexi twisted her torso and picked up an asparagus spear. Turning back, she drew the vegetable’s tip around her right nipple, trailing its butter sauce over her skin. “Try it,” she said, a mild challenge in her voice. “It won’t hurt you.”

A sound of hunger, frustration and need escaped Kyle’s throat. Wrapping his arm back around her waist, he used his free hand to cup her breast, lifting it, testing its weight.

At his intimate touch, Lexi’s arm dropped to the side, the asparagus spear tapping her leg. Head bent to her shoulder, she forced her lids to stay up, not wanting to miss a thing.

Kyle ran his thumb over her nipple. As Lexi trembled with delight, he lifted his digit and licked it, tasting the sauce.

His grunt told Lexi he liked what he’d sampled. His next move proved he demanded more. Head tilted to her breast, he drew her nipple inside until he’d filled his mouth.

His heat, the wet sweep of his tongue demanded Lexi’s response. Placing her free hand on the back of his head, she steered her fingers through his hair, using it to keep him to her.

Within the coming moments, he sucked her clean, making her nipple so hard it stung. When he was finished and pulled his head back, unmindful that she wanted more, Lexi was ready for him.

She trailed the tip of the asparagus over his bottom lip.

His lids sank even lower and his nostrils flared with his rough breath.

“Taste it,” she coaxed.

“Later,” he growled.

With that, he was on her, his arms imprisoning, his mouth demanding.

As she had with the spoon, Lexi dropped the asparagus, her moans loud at Kyle’s lips on her throat, him sucking hard enough to give her a hickey that would brand her for days.

That would make her his.

She trembled at the hopeful, reckless thought. A startled gasp escaped her as he shoved his chair back, pushing to his feet. Without being told, Lexi wrapped her legs and arms around him, holding tight, expecting him to carry her into his bedroom.

Clearly, he had a better idea.

Leaning down, he blew out the candles on the table and pushed the bowls toward his place setting, making room for her on the other side.

No sooner did he have her seated on the edge, he ordered, “Lie back. Lift your ass.”

Lexi’s ears rang as she complied, watching Kyle unbutton, unzip and pull down her shorts.

Just past her cunt, he stopped, realizing she hadn’t worn panties. His broad smile produced two staggering dimples. “Nice.”

He had no idea. “We’ll see,” she said.

At her sass, Kyle shot her a look and yanked her shorts off. The right side got caught on the top of her boot.

“Take them off too,” she said on a sigh.

“No, they stay.”

He got the shorts free, dropping them on the floor. His mocs, jeans and boxers followed. Not taking the time to pull off his tee, Kyle turned back to her and stared.

While he’d been busy undressing, Lexi had placed two asparagus spears on her belly with the vegetables pointing toward her furry mound. On her nipples, she’d smeared a bit of the cheesy potatoes. Coating her fingers were the drippings from the chops.

Giving him a wicked smile, she spread her legs, pushed out her chest and lifted her hand, offering her cunt, nipples and fingers to him, a feast, just like with her meal, wondering which part of her he’d choose first.

On a lusty growl, Kyle sank his cock into her cunt, his assured thrust burying his rod to its root. Having claimed her sheath, he leaned down and sucked her fingers clean, then lapped the potatoes from her nipples, taking everything she’d offered.

Well, almost everything.

“The asparagus,” she panted.

“No way,” he said, speaking around her nipple, his voice so husky it scraped on each word. Working his hand between their bodies, he pulled out the vegetables, flinging them aside.

They hit the wall with a faint whap.

She forced back a giggle.

Hands around her wrists, Kyle pulled Lexi’s arms above her head, imprisoning them in his firm grip as he pumped his rod into her with no reserve, his balls tapping her ass, his strength and weight overpowering. Giving her no chance to resist.

This was the best freaking meal ever.

Her mouth fell open on a savage cry.

Kyle responded by holding her wrists in one hand, while his other travelled to her cunt. As he ran his thumb across her clit, he continued to thrust into her, his pace calculated…not too fast, not too slow.

After three days of being denied his attention, touch and scent, Lexi shot toward orgasm, shivering uncontrollably as she reached it, then came down hard, shouting, panting.

Kyle lasted a bit longer, no doubt determined to prove he could. But when he came—wow. His bellow filled the room. His big body shuddered with the force of what she’d given to him.

Elbows on the table, head hanging down, he wheezed out each breath with the air warming her chest.

“Nice,” he gasped.

Oh it was way better than that. Everything Lexi had always wanted from a guy, which only made her crave more. “Time for dessert,” she said.

Kyle’s torso sagged a little lower toward her body and the table. He tried to lift his head to look at her and failed. Still breathing hard, he asked, “Dessert?”

“It’s in my shorts’ back pocket.”

That got his attention and curiosity going. Twisting his shoulders, he looked behind himself and down, no doubt at her clothing on the floor.

“What is it?” he asked.

“Check it out and see.”

He grumbled beneath his breath, exactly as a kid would when told by his mother to take out the trash.

“If you don’t want it,” Lexi said, “it’s all right. I understand. Maybe what you’ve already had was enough…or more than you can handle.”

Kyle flung her a look that said she’d pay dearly if she was challenging his manhood. Pulling out of her, he stumbled backward, his ass hitting the counter. With a grunt, he hunkered down and searched her back pocket.

She smiled when he held up the condom she’d stuck there earlier, so she’d be prepared for whatever happened.

Fighting her own fatigue, Lexi pushed to a sitting position and slid off the table. To keep her balance, she braced her feet widely apart. “We’ve done it all,” she explained, “except for…”

Not finishing, deciding it would be better to show Kyle what she meant, she faced the table and bent over, lifting her ass, offering him the only opening he hadn’t yet taken.

The only channel she had never offered any other man.

He stared at her bawdy pose, his fingers pinching the Trojan’s cellophane packet that she got from his nightstand drawer.

Down the hall, Buddy Baby howled mournfully, reminding Kyle that he had a pet. So how long had the pooch been making that racket?

Why was Lexi doing this? Because she liked him as much as he liked her? Or was it something deeper, the beginning of a soul-deep trust that allowed everything, denying nothing? The faith a couple gave each other when they were falling in love.

The muscles in Kyle’s chest and throat tightened, not allowing him to swallow or breathe.

Their emotions couldn’t have gone that far. This was simply what Hollywood stars and ex-football players did to add a bit of kink to things, to ratchet up the passion. He’d been with enough women and had engaged in his share of over-the-top parties to understand it wasn’t anything more.

“Kyle?”

Lexi’s buttocks shimmied a bit, and then the muscles tensed, telling him she’d twisted her torso to look past her shoulder at him.

He remained where he was, one knee on the floor, his attention riveted to her ass, and spoke without knowing he would. “You do this often?”

She didn’t answer right away. When she did, her voice was uncertain. “Why?”

Because he didn’t want it to be something she always did, as though it was expected. Nor did he want to hurt her with his passion and size. His eyes hungered over her cleft, damp from his cum and her own arousal, the moisture gleaming in the subdued light. Trailing his gaze upward, Kyle stared at her anus, the ring so vulnerable, seemingly delicate. “Just curious,” he answered, his voice sounding distracted, strange.

“No, I haven’t,” she said, “but I want to with you.”

His heart stalled with her words, the truth behind them. And then the organ beat too quickly, because he felt the same and was convinced he shouldn’t.

Pushing to his feet, Kyle padded to her, resting his palm on her ass. Her skin was so hot, so fucking soft, he could barely manage words. “I don’t want to hurt you.” He’d chew off his balls before that happened.

“You won’t. We’ll take it slow. It’s always best to do that with new things.”

Yeah, it was, except Kyle knew she wasn’t talking about anal sex, at least when it came to his past experience, and that frightened the crap out of him. She was offering her heart and wanted his in return.

Buddy Baby yelped and scratched the spare bedroom’s door. The noise made a perfect excuse for Kyle to back away, explaining he had to check on his pup. It gave him an out.

He didn’t move.

“It’s okay,” Lexi murmured. “I trust you…I want you.”

The sound of her voice, her confession soothed every hurt Kyle had ever known. His thoughts went quiet. He allowed his soul to have what it craved, what he’d denied it all these years with females he’d liked well enough but hadn’t adored.

With a careful touch that said what he could not, Kyle dipped his fingers into her juicy cunt, using the moisture to lubricate her tight pink ring.

Air poured from her. She fisted her fingers into the makeshift tablecloth, her grip so tight he could see her knuckles blanching even in the candlelight.

Kyle’s fingers paused on her anus. “Lexi.”

“I’m excited, not scared.” She turned her head a bit more so she could look at him. “You do know the difference, right?”

Her back talk did the trick, finally relaxing Kyle, allowing him to do what they both coveted. Lifting one brow, he asked, “What do you think?”

Her wide smile said it all. “I think you’re going to be just awesome.”

“But no pressure, right?” he joked.

“None at all.” She waved her hand. “Go on. I’ll be with you every step of the way.”

That’s what scared Kyle and pleased him beyond reason. With his teeth, he ripped the packet open, making quick work of rolling the silky latex down his cock. With each of Lexi’s admissions about how she felt, how she desired him, Kyle’s erection had lengthened and thickened.

He brought the head to her anus, stroking it. A sound Kyle had never heard from Lexi purred from her throat.

“More,” she sighed. “Don’t make me wait.”

How could he when she responded to him like this? With a gentleness that contradicted the act, Kyle eased his crown past the powerful muscles guarding her opening. Once inside, with his cock held tighter than it had ever been, Kyle paused at the sensations rocketing through him, the pure intimacy of the act. His chest heaved with his uneven breaths and so did Lexi’s, her words ringing in his mind.

I’ll be with you every step of the way.

True to her promise, she arched her back, lifting her buttocks, affording him the greatest access, inviting him to continue.

Kyle accepted her gift, working her body until he’d ploughed all the way inside and his balls swung against her damp cunt. The combination of heat and snug fit caused the room to lurch. Digging his fingers into her hips, Kyle held tight.

“Nice,” she purred, mimicking his earlier comment.

“More,” he panted, parroting hers.

Lexi gasped at his fingers seeking her clit. She let out a low, throaty moan as he jerked his hips, pumping in and out, accomplishing with her what no other man had.

Gratitude for what she’d allowed, worry over what he was taking rose in equal measure with pleasure finally winning out.

Her passage was so narrow, his strokes on her nub so continuous, their respective climaxes arrived with little hesitation or warning.

Still pumping, Kyle roared his pleasure as he hadn’t since getting clean of prescription drugs, his response pure, needing no chemical enhancement. Beneath him, Lexi moaned, wholly unrestrained, her response proving her earlier comment.

I trust you.

He loved her. There it was—the stark truth. Kyle wanted to push it aside, to dismiss its hold on him, but could not. When she left, as she would, Buddy Baby wouldn’t be the only one howling in pain.

Terrified in a way he’d never been, the pleasure of his climax fading fast, Kyle eased out of Lexi and backed up, his steps halting, uneven. As he disposed of the condom, she remained bent over the table, still breathing hard.

He wondered what she was thinking, but couldn’t find the courage to ask.

Returning to her, Kyle eased Lexi to her feet, intending to take her to his room where he’d leave her with the excuse about finally seeing to his pooch, after which he’d clean up in here, then fall asleep on the couch.

He didn’t make it one step past the table.

Hand on his cheek, Lexi brought his face to hers, kissing him deeply. His already weakened legs gave out, refusing to support his weight. Together, he and Lexi sank to the floor. There, Kyle pulled off his tee and pillowed her head with his arm, cuddling close, her back to his front, his leg over hers, keeping her to him.

At least until they woke and he had to face what he couldn’t now.

Chapter Twelve

In spite of what just happened, Lexi knew nothing had really changed. She sensed it in Kyle’s silence, the length of time it took him to fall asleep and not only because the floor was hard.

He’d enjoyed the sex but regretted surrendering to his needs because he still wanted her out of here, back to her world, free of his.

She couldn’t blame him. What lucid person would choose the insanity of Hollywood over the serenity of this place? What mature adult would willingly opt for public humiliation over privacy and peace?

Not Kyle. Not her…if she had another choice, which she didn’t, because of Autumn.

Thinking of her sister’s future, Lexi figured she should leave the kitchen, pack her stuff and give Kyle the good news. That she was heading back days before the end of her stay.

Her resolve lasted all of two seconds. Scooting closer, she snuggled her back into Kyle’s front, liking the dead weight of his arm on her waist, enjoying his soft snores, wanting this to last until she had no other choice than to take off.

Sometime later, Buddy Baby’s yelps and the cold linoleum jerked Lexi from sleep. At the same moment, Kyle stirred, groaning as he pulled his arm from beneath her head and his leg from hers.

Saddened at the loss of his touch, Lexi turned into him, resting her hand on his chest. His skin was still heated from her body. How in the world was she going to live without that warmth when she left? How could she resist it now? “Let me help you up.”

Kyle lifted one lid, avoiding her gaze as his darted around the room to the still-burning candles. Given the wax pooled on the plates, they’d been asleep no more than an hour. “Up?”

“Yeah.” She dragged her hand down his torso to his thick bush, stroking the hair, working her way toward his cock. “And into the bath.”

Kyle’s other lid opened. He looked at her.

Anticipating his rejection, Lexi brushed her lips over his to keep him from speaking, then eased back. “No need to look so alarmed. I’ve been trained in the ways of the geisha.” She scooped his penis into her palm, guiding her hand over its length. “I won’t injure you.”

He smiled.

Lexi wanted to kiss his dimples. To tell him that she’d fallen hard and kept tumbling toward the point of no return, but restrained herself. A man like him wouldn’t accept her love, not with all the crap that came with it. Releasing his cock, she pushed to her feet and offered both hands. “Come on,” she purred, playing up her lust, burying her adoration, acting with a skill she’d never called on before.

Reluctance continued to flood his face, along with a whole lot of desire. Speaking to it, she bent at the waist, her breasts swinging provocatively as she ran her fingertips over his beard-roughened jaw. “Want me to carry you?”

He laughed, though not for long. With an expression of intolerable longing, Kyle pushed to his feet and swept Lexi into his arms, carrying her into the bath, holding her body tightly to his.

She whimpered at his impassioned embrace, then moaned as he suckled her throat. “Oh my god,” she murmured, “that feels so freaking good. Don’t stop. Ever.”

He grunted in answer, then captured her mouth, kissing her with brutal lust that was tempered by affection. It was more than Lexi could bear. Happy tears stung her eyes. She clung to him, suckling his tongue, inhaling his wondrous scent.

For minutes, they necked, lost in their own erotic paradise. She ran her fingertips over his shoulders and through his hair. She traced the curve of his earlobe and the firm line of his jaw.

It proved too little to satisfy either of them. On an impatient groan, he ended their kiss and released Lexi’s legs, keeping his arm around her waist as he turned on the water. With steam billowing around them and the spray pounding hard, Kyle backed her into the slick tile wall, keeping her there with his superior height and weight, his cock snuggled against her cleft.

Pleasure rippled through her. Eyes lifted to his, Lexi spoke on a ragged breath. “This isn’t what geishas do.”

“Fuck that,” he said, his tone preoccupied as he ran his hands from her breasts to her buttocks. “This is what I do.”

And he did it so freaking well, pulling her up and into him, wordlessly directing Lexi to wreathe her arms around his shoulders, her legs around his hips. Once she was positioned, Kyle entered her without the care he’d shown in the kitchen, plundering her body with a right she adored.

A series of deliciously vulgar sounds spilled from her. Lexi’s head fell to the side, exposing her throat, offering it to him once more.

Kyle accepted, his hard suckles marking her again, making her moan while he pounded his cock into her sheath. Gritting her teeth, she resisted climax and so did he, stopping his thrusts to gather strength, panting as he did.

His breaths heated her shoulder. His rod filled her, ruthlessly demanding that her body shelter his.

Obediently, Lexi squeezed her inner muscles around his cock to draw it deeper.

Kyle growled in what sounded like satisfaction, then took charge, pumping, thrusting, plundering. They kept at it for so long the water lost a bit of its warmth. The skin on Lexi’s fingers puckered. Her body screamed for completion.

She denied it, refused to give in to it, as did Kyle.

He pumped and rested, then began again with both of them trembling at the deprivation that couldn’t last. She broke first, huffing in release, too tired to do anything more.

His grunt was also subdued, but still powerful, filling the small enclosure, touching Lexi’s heart, reaching her soul.

“Good, you’re here,” Kyle said.

Elbows on the kitchen’s prep table, Pete looked up from the recipe he’d been reading to Buddy Baby cradled in Kyle’s arm. Straightening, Pete asked, “Run out of puppy food?”

“Nope. Afternoon,” Kyle said to Tomas and Roberto who continued to chop celery and onions as they glanced at him. With his free hand, Kyle grabbed Pete’s arm. “Can I have a word?” he asked, giving his friend no choice in the matter as he steered him from the kitchen into the hall.

There, Pete shook loose of him and patted the pup’s head. “Why are you here?” he asked, his voice lowered as though he suspected this had to do with Lexi. “You’re not due in for hours. Last night’s dinner go worse than you expected?”

Oh hell, it had been way better than he’d ever dreamed. So good, in fact, they never did get back to the food, indulging in each other instead. After the shower, they played in the living room and every other place they could use in his cabin. “Take him,” Kyle said, handing Buddy Baby to Pete.

The man’s brows lifted. “Forever?”

“No, of course not. For the afternoon. Put him in my office. See that he has his puppy chow and plenty of water. Walk him around outside until he does his duty. Do not let him relieve himself in my space.”

Pete kept craning his neck to keep his mouth from being licked by the pooch’s tongue. “How about I put him to work in mine?” He inclined his head toward the kitchen. “I got shit to do, man. I don’t have time to babysit your dog. I thought that was Lex—”

“Hey, hey, hey,” Kyle interrupted, “keep it down, all right?” He quieted his voice even more. “She’s got the afternoon off.”

Pete turned his head back to Kyle, then sighed as Buddy Baby’s tongue got him on the lips. Lifting his shoulder, he wiped his mouth clean of doggie drool and asked, “To do what?”

To have fun like the kid she hadn’t been allowed to be. To have an ordinary afternoon with a man who thought she was extraordinary just as she was, and who didn’t want anything from Lexi except her presence and happiness.

Kyle scratched the back of his pup’s ears, then stepped away, keeping his voice as quiet as he could. “Just make certain no one comes to my cabin or the surrounding area. Please.”

Pete followed Kyle to the back door. “You’re not about to do something that’s going to hurt her, are you?”

“No.” Kyle sighed. “I’d let you kick me in the balls first.”

“Whoa. I knew you liked her, but this?” Leaning close, Pete whispered, “What in the hell happened last night?”

“Just keep everyone away from my place, all right? Please?” he asked again.

“We never go there anyway, why would we today? What do you guys have planned?”

“Not what you think.” Kyle suspected all sorts of X-rated thoughts were whizzing through Pete’s brain, like Lexi strolling through the forest as nude as she’d been the other day. Or them going at each other on the unfinished patio behind his place. Maybe even skinny-dipping in the creek.

Given how their last couple of days together had ended up, any or all of that might happen, but first he was going to give her a surprise. Thinking of that, he headed away from the door and back into the kitchen.

“We’re doing what?” Lexi asked.

Kyle lowered the stuff he’d gotten from the roadhouse onto the kitchen table, which she’d cleaned in his absence. Even the candles’ wax puddles were gone, the plates they’d stood on washed and drying in the dish rack near the sink.

“You and I are going on a picnic,” he repeated, opening containers and wrappers, showing her the black forest ham, provolone cheese, potato salad and coleslaw he’d taken from Pete’s stock.

Backing up toward the counter, Kyle grabbed a package of rye bread. From the fridge, he chose Dijon mustard, putting it on the table. “There are plenty of good spots not too far from here on the acreage I own.” He glanced up from the plastic tie he’d untwisted.

Wonder continued to transform Lexi’s features, making her look far younger than the character she played on her series, more like a little girl at Christmas.

Pride welled in Kyle for having caused her happiness. He smiled.

So did she.

Lowering the bread to the table, he pulled out four slices, tossing them near the ham. “And after our picnic, we’re going fishing.”

Her smile faltered.

“You’ll like it,” he assured.

“Okay.” She sounded less than certain. “Let me do that.” Pulling a spoon from the drawer, she slathered the bread with mustard, returning to the fridge for the mayo, which she also used.

Within minutes, she’d built four of the biggest sandwiches Kyle had ever seen. “I expect you to eat at least two of those,” he ordered, “along with half of the potato salad and coleslaw. None of that starving yourself shit here.”

Dismay filled her eyes.

Kyle suspected part of it was because he’d acknowledged her worry over gaining weight, with the rest of it being her reluctance to return to a life in which she had very little control. “You have more than a week to eat whatever you like and do whatever you want,” he said, unable to help himself. “Enjoy it. Indulge yourself…please.”

Her gaze flicked to him, then went to the fridge. There, she pulled out a six-pack of Coors, putting it on the table. “Do you have any chocolate candy?” she asked.

That’s my girl.

Hand lifted, Kyle said, “Stay here.” He went down the hall into the master bedroom, pulling out a large bag of M&M’s and Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups from the dresser’s bottom drawer. Snacks for when he watched TV.

Back in the kitchen, he tossed his goods on the table next to the rest of their feast.

Lexi clasped her hands over her heart and moaned. “That was in your bedroom? You’ve been holding out on me.”

Maybe yesterday and perhaps even late this morning when he’d awakened and showered without her. But not any longer. There was simply too little time for them to enjoy each other.

With their meal and a blanket stuffed in her backpack, Kyle slung it over his shoulder and grabbed two fishing poles from the screened-in back porch. “Get the bait box,” he said, pointing at a battered metal container. “It’s not heavy.”

Lexi lifted it. “Want to see me balance it on my head while I walk? I starred in this movie once where I was a native girl. Each day I had to traipse down to the stream to wash clothes, which I carried on my head in a basket. I trained for weeks with a woman who’d actually lived with this group in New Guinea so I’d get it right.”

He arched one brow. “Bullshit. You were never in a movie even remotely like that. Not even one that went directly to video or that woman’s channel on TV.”

True. She’d been putting him on, playing with him because she liked the intimacy of it. Before Lexi could stop herself, she blurted, “How do you know—how did you know?”

His face turned a deep red. Averting his gaze, Kyle inclined his head to the left. “We’ll take that path to our spot.”

Lexi’s surprise jumped another notch at his choice of words. Our spot. “Okay.”

Side by side, they walked in silence with nature’s noise filling in the quiet. Birds squawked and cooed overhead. Some kind of animal, hopefully a harmless squirrel, ran through the bushes, rustling leaves. Branches swayed in the warm wind scented with sun and the lush vegetation. Dry pine needles made crunchy sounds beneath her boots and his mocs.

Reaching out, Kyle took her hand, lacing his fingers through hers, squeezing gently as though to let her know he not only wanted to do this, he couldn’t help himself. He liked her that much.

A surge of emotions rose so quickly, Lexi couldn’t swallow. Her eyes filled with tears, making the gorgeous scenery swim with color—cool greens from below, the startling blue sky overhead and shafts of butter-colored light that streamed through the forest’s canopy. Bits of dust floated in the beams, along with a few insects that seemed to be playing tag with each other.

She smiled, thinking it looked better than a Disney animated flick where the animals sang and danced as the human lovers kissed. Turning her head, Lexi sneaked a glance at Kyle. At the very same moment, she suddenly recalled something she’d forgotten.

“Oh my god.” Her steps slowed. “We left Buddy Baby in the spare—”

“No. I took him to the roadhouse and left him with Pete.”

Thank goodness. She caught the breath she’d lost and quickened her pace to match Kyle’s. “Lucky for him at least one of us makes a good parent.”

“Don’t say that.”

At his harsh tone, Lexi swung her face to Kyle.

Avoiding her gaze, he said, “You don’t give yourself enough credit, especially for your career.”

Her what? Since when had he considered what she did an actual career? “It’s crap. That says it all.”

“No, it doesn’t.”

“How would you know?”

“I looked you up online.”

This time Lexi stopped, causing him to do so too, her heart back in panic mode, her stomach knotting with dread.

Turning to her, Kyle looked as uneasy as she felt, his previous anger gone. “I was curious about that geisha movie you starred in. It led me to your bio, your other films.” He lifted his broad shoulders. “I have to say, I like the stills from the geisha one the best.”

Heat prickled Lexi’s cheeks. “What else did you look at?” What other websites? Surely not Back Then and Now.

He pulled his gaze from hers, then to Lexi’s surprise met her eyes again. “I caught a couple of episodes from your series. You’re really good, and I am not BSing you. I loved the way you put that prick Wagner in his place when he threatened to sue you for doing your job. SOB deserved everything you said and more. Hell, if it had been me, I would have kicked him in his nuts.”

Lexi couldn’t contain her astonishment. Not only had Kyle watched a few episodes, he’d actually remembered the character’s name. “Hey, I did do that and more, but the director had it edited out.”

Kyle laughed. With the tension broken, he eased toward her. “I also checked out all the stills from the films you’ve done since you were little.”

Her apprehension returned. Sensing what was coming, she said, “I don’t look like that anymore.”

“Well, no.” Kyle raked his gaze up and down her length, carnal interest sparking in his eyes despite the baggy shorts she wore, along with one of his tees. “Thankfully.”

Lexi knew she should have left it at that, grateful he found her attractive no matter how crappy she looked, but she wanted to be honest with him. “I mean, I’ve had stuff done. When I was a teenager. To look better, to be more employable in the business, you know?”

His gaze dropped to her breasts.

She sighed. “They’re real.” One of the few genuine things about her.

Kyle continued to regard her nipples poking against the tee’s stretchy fabric. “I knew that.”

He didn’t sound as if he was lying. His candor compelled Lexi to tell him the rest…what had been speculated about for years on the web with before and after shots being offered as proof. “I’ve had a nose job.”

That brought his attention back to her face.

Holding back her next sigh, she said, “I was born with this small bump on my nose and my nostrils weren’t shaped right, so the plastic surgeon fixed it. After that, I got veneers so my smile would be perfect. Electrolysis evened out my hairline. And for my complexion, I went to—”

He interrupted. “How old were you when all this happened?”

“A teenager.”

“How old?”

Embarrassed, she mumbled, “Fourteen. I couldn’t get a gig because I’d grown so tall without developing boobs or hips. At that point in my life, I was like super skinny, my skin was a mess and—”

Again, he interrupted. “Your parents suggested the surgery and all the other stuff so you could work?”

She didn’t want to admit it, knowing how bad it sounded to someone who hadn’t grown up that way. “It’s done all the time in the business. Kids younger than I was have stuff done. It’s no big deal.”

Kyle lifted his face to the sky and pulled in a deep breath.

Lexi could see how pissed he was at what she’d gone through and that stirred her more than the way he continued to hold her hand, his touch gentle, tender, protective.

“You should have seen me at fourteen,” he mumbled.

Uncertain what to say, she joked, “You had a nose job too?”

His dimples showed with his amused smile. Lowering his head and sobering up, he looked at her. “No. But I didn’t look like I do now either. I was five-three, a hundred and twenty pounds and I wore glasses with really thick lenses.”

Lexi stared, then ran her gaze up and down his luscious length. “Impossible. I don’t believe it. You’ve got to be lying.”

“When we get back, I’ll show you my yearbook pictures.”

“Wow, you’re brave to have kept yours. I burned the only one I had, along with my first DMV photo.”

“There you go again, not giving yourself enough credit.” He moved close, crowding her, frowning when she stepped back. “When we get to our spot, I expect you to eat three of the sandwiches.”

Fighting tears, she giggled. “Food isn’t going to boost my confidence.”

“Maybe not.” He softened his tone. “But it’ll make me feel like you’re enjoying yourself.”

This time, she moved into him, their thighs and groins touching, her voice husky with emotion. “I don’t need a sandwich for that.”

Swooping down, he brushed his lips over hers, then pulled back. “We’ll see.”

Kyle led her to the most secluded part of the creek he could find where they’d picnic, fish, be alone and hopefully forget the past.

I couldn’t get a gig because I’d grown so tall without developing boobs or hips.

It’s done all the time in the business…no big deal.

God help her parents if he ever caught up with them. What in the fuck made people like that tick? Didn’t they ever stop to think of how their narcissism and greed were affecting their kids?

Clearing the tension from his throat, Kyle used his mildest tone. “Here looks good.” He released her hand.

Lexi looked from that to the surrounding area. The trees’ low-lying branches canopied the creek. Through the leaves, sunlight spilled onto the water, glinting off the gentle ripples. Moss clung to the large gray rocks, providing another splash of color.

To the right, near a massive trunk, was an area free of vegetation, the deep shade precluding anything from growing.

“Take these.” Handing her the poles, Kyle lowered her backpack from his shoulder. “I’ll put the blanket near that tree for our picnic. We’ll set up our lines before we eat.”

She followed him to the trunk, watching as he laid out the blanket, then sank to one knee, setting up their table. He put three of the sandwiches, four beers and the entire bag of Reese’s Peanut Butter cups on her side.

“Kyle.”

“You eat all of this,” he warned, “or you don’t get to fish.”

“You’re serious? Tell me we’re never going to have sex again and I might be worried.”

Still on one knee, Kyle draped his arm on his thigh and looked at her, his heart sinking at the thought of when she would leave. How much he’d miss moments like this.

Clearly misreading his silence, she said, “I’ll eat all of it, even your portion, all right? Just don’t deny me.”

How could any man do that? Pushing to his feet, he took the poles and bait box from her, stalling until he could trust his voice. “Glad you’re onboard. Now for your first lesson in fishing. We need to find bait.”

Her gaze flicked to the metal box he held. “It’s not in there?”

“It’s in the ground,” he said, his tone that of a teacher with a clueless student. “Or on top of the ground.”

Lexi wrinkled her nose. “On top?” Head lowered, she moved cautiously to the right and left as though spiders were skittering toward her cowgirl boots, ready to crawl up them.

Suppressing a smile, he said, “Yeah. But we’ll only resort to that if we can’t find grubs, worms or insect larvae in the dirt or under rocks.”

The corners of her mouth turned down. “Maybe we should settle for the stuff that’s on top. Less work, you know?” Her head swung from side to side as she scanned the immediate area. “What exactly should we look for?”

“Anything that’s been left over from a kill. An animal’s arm or leg with some meat still hanging on the bones would be good. However, a skull that hasn’t been picked clean of the brain would be great. If we’re really lucky, birds hatch but don’t always make it and their corpses fall from the nests. The bodies are so little we don’t have to pull off the meat, we can use the whole—”

“Oh my god,” she interrupted. “I’m not touching any of that. Ever.”

Kyle struggled not to laugh. “You’d prefer to dig for worms or hunt for insect larvae?”

Arms wrapped around her torso, Lexi shivered. “Sounds like my kind of fun. Did you pack a shovel in that?” She inclined her head to the bait box.

In a patient voice, he explained. “You use your hands to dig, Lexi. Beneath rocks, the earth is really soft and moist, gooey if you will.”

Tightening her arms around her body, she gave him a frown. “Why in the world would you want to do this? It’s gross.”

“It’s the reality of fishing,” he corrected, his tone composed. “You have to lure the fish with something, unless you plan to take your chance on bashing their brains out with a rock as they swim by.”

“Couldn’t we catch them with a net, like they do on those commercials for fish sticks? Hey, are you laughing at me?”

Hell, yeah. So hard, he couldn’t answer her.

Pivoting, she walked back up the path. Dropping his equipment, Kyle caught up with her easily, slinging his arm around her shoulders, pulling her back into his front.

“And where do you think you’re going?” he murmured.

She turned her face to his, showing Kyle how hard she fought a smile. “I don’t do worms or any of that other stuff.”

“Then I guess we’ll have to use the small jigs and spinnerbait I have.”

Her lids sank as he ran his hand beneath the tee and up her torso to her breast. “What’s that?”

Heaven. Her skin was outrageously soft, her areola so tight it snatched his breath. “Your nipple.” He rolled it between his thumb and forefinger.

Her shoulders shook with laughter, then sagged on an aroused sigh. “Yeah, I know. What’s that other stuff you’re talking about?”

“I’ll show you.”

She claimed one red and one green lure for her own, liking the fuzzy ends so much she decorated her ponytail with them.

Once he’d set up their poles, Kyle propped his back against the trunk, spread his legs and patted his thigh. Needing no further direction, Lexi crawled between his legs and settled in for their meal.

Kyle handed her the first sandwich. “Eat.”

“Yes sir—oh, oh.” Her head fell back at his hands moving beneath her tee, his palms cupping her breasts, his thumbs stroking her nipples. Leaning up, he pressed his mouth to her ear. “Eat,” he ordered.

“Are you nuts?” she whined. “While you’re doing that?”

“You’re right. I’ll stop.” He released her breasts.

“No. Don’t. Please. I’ll eat.” She took an enormous bite and spoke with a full mouth. “Go on.”

He did. Fondling her while she polished off the first sandwich, overloading her senses given the way she whimpered and moaned at the meal and what he was doing. By the time she dug into the potato salad, Kyle had his hand in her shorts, between her legs, stroking her clit.

“Oh my god,” she sighed, her words slurred by the food and desire. “This is so fucking amazing.”

It was like nothing he’d ever experienced and didn’t want to end, knowing it would. Denying reality, at least for a little while longer, he brought her to orgasm.

Within seconds, her body was slumped over his leg, her head on the blanket, mouth sagged open, the spoon hanging limply in her hand.

Unwilling to give her a moment’s rest, Kyle opened the candy and ran a peanut butter cup across the seam of her mouth.

She parted her lips for the treat, her tongue snaking out, licking his thumb.

“You want?” he murmured.

“Yeah, I—”

When she didn’t finish, Kyle leaned down. “What?”

Grunting, Lexi pushed up on one elbow, her head turning from side to side, causing the lures to wiggle on her hair.

“What?” he asked again.

Lexi spoke in a quieter voice than he had. “Did you hear that sound?” She pushed to a sitting position, forcing him to pull back. “Crunching noises, like someone walking.” She looked behind them.

So did Kyle, not seeing anything except heavy vegetation and shade interrupted by patches of sun.

“Is this a popular spot?” Lexi asked, her face turned to him, her eyes worried.

“Only for me. I own it.” In all the years he’d been here, no one had trespassed to this particular place. “You probably heard an animal.”

That didn’t lighten her mood. She pulled down her tee and zipped her shorts. “Big enough to make the same sounds we do when we walk?”

“I’ll go check.”

“Wait.” She wrapped both hands around his arm.

Kyle sank back to the blanket, realizing the cause of her concern. “It’s not the paparazzi,” he said, his voice just above a whisper. “No one knows you’re here. No one will. But if you want, I’ll go take a look.”

Sucking her lower lip, she glanced around, then met his gaze. “Do you mind?”

“Not at all.”

For ten minutes, Kyle checked the surrounding area. He wasn’t a wilderness expert, but he could see the only shoeprints on the ground belonged to him and Lexi, while none of the plant life appeared to have been disturbed.

Returning to her, he said, “No one’s been here.”

She pulled her gaze from a spot in the distance and looked at him.

“Do you want to leave?” he asked.

“No.” Arms lifted, she invited him back into her embrace.

Chapter Thirteen

Lexi didn’t allow paranoia to get the better of her again. For the rest of the afternoon and during the next couple of days, she enjoyed Kyle with an abandon that seemed normal in their abnormal relationship.

He neglected work, calling in when he should have been helping Pete to operate the place. At night, they made love like newlyweds, again using every available spare foot of the cabin, even the screened-in porch.

During the day, they behaved like friends, ribbing each other.

“Oh my god,” she said, staring at his high school yearbook, the picture he’d told her about. “You were such a geek.”

He cleared his throat. “Yeah, I know. But aren’t you supposed to say something nice? Like I wasn’t so bad?”

“Sorry.” Calling on her acting skills, Lexi pretended to be surprised. “Is this Pete?” She pointed to his picture and read the caption, feigning more shock. “It is. Whoa, he was seriously cute.” With her most innocent expression, Lexi looked at Kyle. “Did he get all the babes? Were you jealous?”

“You know you’re really asking for it.”

“Oh yeah?” Even with all they’d done, they’d never gotten around to him punishing her. “Don’t you like me being honest?” She lowered her voice a notch, lacing it with a bit of scorn. “Can’t you take it, Kyle?”

Leaning close, with the tips of their noses just about touching, he warned, “Watch it.”

“Or what?”

He took his yearbook and closed it with a snap. “This goes right back out to the shed, buried beneath the other junk I have out there. You don’t get to see it anymore.”

“Until I pull it right back out,” she challenged, goading him with a deliberateness that surprised her.

Unfazed, Kyle didn’t take the bait.

Lexi refused to give up, wanting to experience everything with him, knowing their time together was waning away.

The following afternoon, she pretended obedience as he taught her the basics of football, nodding in all the right places—she hoped—while hungering for a new carnal experience. Her naked from the waist down, bent over his knee, ass exposed and oh-so vulnerable, while he—

“So that’s what you do,” he said, breaking into her smutty fantasies. Trotting backward across the yard, he called out, “Go on, throw it.”

Lexi rotated the pigskin in her palms. “Overhanded?”

“Yeah.” Hands lifted to catch it, he jerked his chin up. “Go on. Like I just showed you.”

“Okay.” With both hands, she raised the ball above her head.

He frowned. “No, not like that. Use your left hand.”

“Why? I’m right-handed.”

“Like hell.”

So he’d noticed. Heartened by him noting such a small thing about her, Lexi was ready to push him past the edge. Right here. Right now. Turning her back to him, she bent at the waist to throw the football from between her thighs. At this angle, Kyle was upside down, but even with that and from this distance Lexi still saw immediate lust on his face.

She knew she created quite the picture, wearing only her cowgirl boots and his tee—no bra, no panties. In her current position and with the push of the breeze, the shirt had hitched up, exposing the curve of her ass and all of her cunt.

Clearly forgetting their purpose in being out here, Kyle strode toward her.

Lexi looked around her leg. “Hey, what are you doing?”

Eyes on her cleft, he spoke in a voice edgy with desire. “What do you think?”

Giving him no answer, she waited until Kyle was a few feet away and then she flung the ball, hitting him at the top of his fly, a breath away from his precious cargo.

Flinching, he stopped.

She straightened and turned, part of her shock faked, a part of it genuine since she’d been aiming for his belly. “Oops.”

His expression changed, going from surprised to intense, wolfish. “You did that on purpose.”

“No,” she lied, taking several steps back.

Kyle followed. He stalked.

Heat rushed to Lexi’s cheeks. Her limbs were sluggish, her body screaming for discipline, an act she’d fantasized about but never had the courage to engage in, fearful the guy she was with might hurt her.

Not Kyle. She trusted him. She adored him.

“Wow, you seem to be kind of pissed,” she said, her tone deliberately innocent, intended to goad.

“You are so pushing it,” he muttered.

That she was. Trotting backward, Lexi reached the cabin’s front door, though not quickly enough. Her gaze dropped to Kyle’s hand on her upper arm, his grip firm but not painful.

“Did I hurt you that much?” she asked, her voice oh-so sincere with a bit of surprise thrown in. “Are you in pain? Should I call 9-1-1? Will you ever be able to perform normally in bed again or is that part of your life over?”

Kyle made a sound that was somewhere between laughter and a growl.

Lexi shook her head. “What was that? I didn’t catch it. Are you about to faint? Do you need me to—” She lost the rest of her words in a gasp. With more speed and strength than she believed possible, Kyle had her inside the living room, slung over his knee, one arm anchoring her down, while his free hand yanked up the tee, exposing her naked buttocks.

Lexi was so turned-on she was in danger of coming without him even touching her. She gasped again as Kyle ran his fingers up her cleft, exploring her lips, puffy and damp from lust. She shivered.

He spoke in a strained voice. “You’re sure about this?”

For her, speech was impossible, so Lexi nodded and lifted her ass to give him even more incentive to do what she wanted.

Kyle hesitated, and then he brought the palm of his hand down on her cheeks. Just hard enough to create a sharp crack followed by a warm, deliciously wicked sting.

A guttural sound escaped Lexi’s throat, encouraging him to do more.

And he did. For several seconds, Kyle paddled her, delivering a pleasantly warm sting, not discomfort, his male energy controlled. Finished, giving her no chance to comment or recover, he led her to the sofa, guiding her to grip the arm and bend at the waist.

Once she had, Lexi looked over.

“No,” Kyle said, his voice a restrained growl. “Keep your head down and your ass lifted.” He pushed the tee to her waist.

Lexi’s heart skipped a beat. She dug her nails into the sofa’s fabric. Yielding to his command, she arched her back, lifting her buttocks. In her mind, she imagined the skin pink from punishment.

The floor groaned. Had Kyle stepped back? Lexi was about to look when she stopped herself. Keeping her head down and her body available to his, she waited through an interminable silence, guessing he was regarding her nudity.

Excitement rolled through her, warming her face, moistening her pussy, so wanting of his cock.

He made her wait for it. Outside, a gust of wind rustled leaves, sending a spray of gritty dirt against the cabin’s windows.

In here, Kyle’s tee sailed past her shoulder to land on the floor in front of the sofa.

She swallowed. He unzipped his fly, the metal rasp sounding almost too loud.

Once more, the floor groaned and his flesh touched hers. Hot. Hard. All male. She sighed helplessly, her head dropping down, her mouth sagging opened at his fingers on her cleft.

He toyed with her for minutes, running his fingers up her damp lips, deliberately avoiding her clit. Biting back an oath, Lexi bent her knees, trying to move into his hand.

Kyle removed it, abandoning her cunt.

“Aw god, no,” she whimpered. “Don’t—” The rest of her complaint died on a lusty moan.

Kyle continued to plow his cock into her, one hand gripping her hip, the other rubbing her clit, giving her no rest. He worked her mercilessly, not stopping even when she cried her release.

When his bellows quieted, he remained inside of her. In that position, they remained until he grew hard again. And then he took her once more, fulfilling another of her fantasies.

“You look like crap. You’re moving like a slug. Maybe I should drive.”

Stopped at a red light, Kyle ran his hand down his face, ignoring Pete’s pissy comments and suggestion, which he knew weren’t entirely out of line.

Even in his football days with his full-blown addiction, Kyle hadn’t experienced fatigue like this. The good kind that came from too much loving, along with the bad kind that resulted from dread because things couldn’t stay as they were.

Lexi had a few more days at his place. That was it, and then it was back to Hollywood because she had contracts to honor and a kid sister she worried about and parents who would guilt Autumn into working if Lexi didn’t.

That awful reality loomed between Kyle and Lexi whenever things got quiet, like right before they fell asleep or when they awakened in the morning.

Kyle was beginning to fear both times, remedying the situation by not sleeping at all and keeping Lexi alert with every carnal trick he could think of, including—

“I should drive,” Pete repeated, interrupting Kyle’s thoughts, reaching for his door’s handle.

Reaching over, Kyle grabbed his friend’s arm, stopping him from leaving the vehicle’s cab. “I’m fine.” The simple acts of steering, accelerating and braking gave him something to think about other than Lexi, which was why he’d insisted on accompanying Pete on this trip. “I don’t want you driving my pickup.”

“Someone has to.” He pointed. “Light’s green.”

The residential area preceding the town was so small they were the only ones on the road. “I don’t think anyone’s going to mind if I miss it.”

“I will. I want to get to the store before the end of this week and buy my equipment so I can make stuff, so we can stay in business.”

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

“You know, I could have done this on my own,” Pete reminded. “I’m capable. I can sign on the company credit card.”

Ignoring the man’s whining, Kyle pulled away from the light that had turned red and headed for the newer part of the town, complete with a Walmart and other major retailers.

With his shoulder propped against his door, Pete turned to him. “Living dangerously, aren’t you?”

Kyle finished his yawn. “You know as well as I that the cops around here don’t wake up until noon.”

“I meant with Lexi. She’s really wearing you—”

“Don’t go there.” He looked over. “I mean it, Pete. Don’t.”

The man’s eyes widened slightly. He grew as grim as Kyle, his voice sounding concerned. “Already it’s that serious?”

More like hopeless. His gaze back on the road, Kyle nodded.

“For her too?”

Kyle’s heart snagged on a beat, then raced. This morning, when he’d awakened, he’d caught Lexi watching him. Surprise flickered in her eyes at being busted, but she hadn’t looked away. Instead, what seemed like love transformed her features, making her the most beautiful woman Kyle had ever seen, along with the most unattainable given her job, lifestyle and all the shit that accompanied it.

Suppressing a sigh, he shrugged.

Pete cleared his throat. “You haven’t asked?”

“We don’t talk about it, all right?” Again, Kyle looked over. “And neither will you or I.” He paused at two green lights, then entered the business part of town where traffic started to pick up.

“Have you thought this out?” Pete asked.

“My brain’s fried from thinking about it so much. Can we just drop it?”

“Not while you’re acting like the living dead and driving ten miles an hour in a thirty-five-mile zone. A lot of these people have shotguns. Are you trying to get us killed?”

Kyle hit the gas pedal. His pickup jerked with the sudden acceleration, keeping up with the rest of the flow.

“Have you considered asking her to stay here?” Pete said.

Kyle’s foot slipped off the gas. “Are you insane?”

“Well, I know you’re never going to live in Hollywood and be Mr. Lexi Sands, so I figured the only way this would work out for you two would be to—”

Kyle interrupted, “There is no way for this to work, all right? When she leaves, she leaves. We’ll never see each other again. Like you said before, she lives on the other side of the universe. Far, far away from here and my world, the one I want.”

“So you’ve said. But people do move, Kyle. Other people do visit the forbidden land of Hollywood from time to time.”

Not him. This had already gone too far, it wasn’t going further. Shaking his head, determined to resist whatever Pete said and whatever Lexi stirred in him, Kyle drove toward the store, planning what to do with the rest of his day to keep away from her.

Resolved not to surrender to what his heart continued to desire.

Without Kyle around to keep her busy, Lexi pampered Buddy Baby as she hadn’t in days.

“Take your time,” she encouraged.

The pooch looked at her with an expression that was oddly human, as though not quite believing his good luck. After all, he’d been confined in the spare bedroom too many times since she’d arrived. And he really hadn’t liked it. Her boots and backpack bore so many chew marks there was no saving them for future use. Like when she returned to LA.

Her stomach sank.

Testing his freedom, the pup padded toward one of the trees near the cabin, lifted his hind leg, then changed his mind at the last moment and moved on to the next tree, sniffing its base.

Lexi watched through tear-filled eyes. God, how she loved him, this place and Kyle…his daddy. The thought caused her to giggle and cry.

Buddy Baby looked over at the weird sounds she made.

“I’m okay,” Lexi assured, knowing she’d never be again.

With Hank and a few other guys, she’d honestly thought she’d fallen in love. How wrong she’d been. Lexi hadn’t liked any of them as friends as she did Kyle. Nor had she respected them. Kyle was such an honorable man and such a good guy, Lexi couldn’t imagine a woman not falling in love with him.

Jacqueline had. Lexi had seen it on the woman’s face the first night she was here. Knowing Kyle as she did now, Lexi couldn’t blame her. As far as Denise was concerned, there was no way Lexi could wrap her mind around that bitch having abandoned Kyle when he’d left football and wanted to come here.

During one of their quiet moments, he’d told Lexi about that time and his ex-fiancée, his tone relieved at how things had played out. During his disclosure, he’d looked around his bedroom as if seeing it for the first time. The joy on his face said it pleased him greatly. Here, he had a real home. Here, the public was kept at bay.

Here wasn’t the NFL or Hollywood.

Another tear slipped down her cheek. She pushed away from the screen door to follow Buddy Baby as he explored the yard, pushing his nose into bushes and wildflowers, scampering away when a butterfly took flight.

Lexi laughed. Too quickly, it turned into more weeping.

Are you nuts? Stop it. With the back of her hand, she swiped at her tears, telling herself she was being ridiculous. She had work to do and bills to pay with none of that involving Kyle.

Where was he?

Lexi lifted her arm to look at her watch, realizing she wasn’t wearing one and hadn’t since she’d come here. Tilting her head to the sun, she squinted at its light streaming through the branches. Hours ago, Kyle had left, saying he had stuff to do with Pete. What stuff? When would they return?

Her head snapped down at Buddy Baby running past her, his pudgy body bumping her legs. At the same moment, she heard something else. Footfalls? Kyle?

Turning, Lexi squinted, her vision still compromised by her tears. She fingered them away, searching the path and the surrounding vegetation, not seeing him. Again, she listened.

The pup’s panting was too loud, as was the breeze and the vegetation it rustled, muffling the other noise. Head cocked, Lexi lifted her shoulders and held her breath, hoping to hear better. Wishing for Kyle’s return.

There were no footfalls, nor the rumble of his pickup barreling down the road, then pulling into the roadhouse’s parking lot with him shutting the engine off.

Her shoulders slumped. She sighed.

Beneath it, a thin, high-pitched jangle carried from inside the house to where she stood. The phone? Kyle calling her, saying he was on his way home? Ordering her to put Buddy Baby in the spare bedroom, then get undressed fast and wait for him in the master’s?

Had to be. No one else ever called here.

Pivoting, Lexi headed for Buddy Baby. He yelped in protest as though he knew what was coming. “Sorry, sweetie, mommy’s got a call to answer.” She scooped him in her arms and ran inside the cabin, bringing him into the master bedroom with her. “Now be good,” she warned, setting him on the mattress.

Still panting, Lexi picked up the receiver, cutting the call off in mid-ring. “Sands Diner. What’s your pleasure, sir?”

Dead air answered her.

Buddy Baby yelped.

Lexi threw him a frown, then said, “Kyle?”

“Lex?”

Autumn. Immediate alarm raced through Lexi. She’d just spoken to her sister yesterday afternoon. Everything had been all right. There was no reason for Autumn to be calling Kyle’s number now, unless something truly awful had happened.

“Are you all right?” Lexi asked. “Is Mom okay? Is Dad?”

“We’re fine.” Her voice trembled.

“What’s the matter? Has there been an earthquake?” Lexi paced as she spoke. “Are they there with—”

Autumn interrupted, “They’re downstairs, watching TV. It’s all over the entertainment news. It’s online too.”

Lexi’s steps halted. She sank to the mattress, barely aware of Buddy Baby plopping his body next to her thigh. “What is?”

“Stuff about you and Kyle.”

The blood drained from Lexi’s face with a speed that left her lightheaded and made her voice whispery. “What stuff?”

“Photos of the two of you.”

Oh god, oh god, oh god. Lexi’s heart pounded so fiercely, she couldn’t breathe. Head turned, she stared at the flat screen on Kyle’s dresser. “Photos?”

Autumn started to cry. “Those jerks are so mean. How could they do this? Why are they doing this to you?”

Because it meant money for them and ratings for the entertainment sites, which also translated into dollars, the only thing that mattered in their world, not ruining someone’s happiness or holding them up to the world and inviting humiliation.

Lexi pushed to her feet and had to lower her head to keep the room from spinning. Locking her knees to steady herself, she thought back to her first nights here. The noises she’d heard outside the cabin while Kyle had been gone.

And at their picnic.

Her heart caught. She’d heard something then too, but Kyle had checked and he’d seen nothing. Didn’t matter. Someone had been watching them. A paparazzo had been there all the time.

“What site is showing them?” she asked.

“No, don’t look,” Autumn cried. “Please. I just wanted to warn you that the other paparazzi are going to know you’re not at the treatment center any longer, and they’re going to be headed to Kyle’s cabin to—”

Lexi interrupted, her voice sounding oddly calm, disengaged in an effort to calm her sister. “It’s okay.” It was already too late. Nothing she did now would change that. She went to the flat screen, looking for a way to turn it on, not finding it. “What site are Mom and Dad watching?”

“I don’t know. I don’t want to know.”

Lexi searched the dresser’s drawers for the TV’s remote. Wasn’t there. “You said the photos are also online?”

“Please, just get out of there,” Autumn said. “I don’t want you to get mad and get in trouble again because of the photos.”

They must be really bad. She wanted to be sick. “I won’t get mad,” she promised. “I won’t say or do anything to the paparazzi. I have to go.”

“Where?” Autumn shouted.

Lexi swallowed. She fought new tears and tried to steady her voice. “Away from here. I need to make a few calls. As soon as I get to a new place, I’ll phone you. Don’t worry about me. I won’t let you down again.”

“You haven’t ever done that,” Autumn cried.

“I’ll be in touch as soon as I can.” Dropping the receiver in its cradle, Lexi ran into the spare bedroom and dug through her backpack for her iPhone. Hands shaking, she turned it on and flinched at Buddy Baby having followed her. Nuzzling close, he poked his nose at the instrument.

Fresh tears ran down Lexi’s face. She kissed his snout, then brought up a list of entertainment sites, clicking on the first. As its home page filled the screen, bile rose to her throat.

Amateur photos, taken with what appeared to be a cell phone, showed her and Kyle walking down the path toward the creek, setting up the fishing poles, horsing around with the football and each other.

Circles were drawn on the pictures to highlight the dimpled skin on the backs of her thighs, her sloppy ponytail, a zit she hadn’t noticed near her jaw. In one of the photos taken at the creek, she’d been making a face at Kyle’s comments about bait, them having to dig in the mud for grubs or worms. The caption claimed Lexi’s frown proved her out-of-control rage had returned.

But that wasn’t the worst of it.

Above the pictures a banner with tall red letters read “Troubled star shacks up with disgraced ex-football player!!!”

Beneath it was a paragraph detailing Kyle’s fall from NFL greatness, his addiction to painkillers, the rumor that he hadn’t left the league voluntarily but had been forced out because he was a hopeless druggie, an overpaid sports star with little talent.

A complete loser.

Chapter Fourteen

Pete balled his napkin up and dropped it on his empty plate. “Thanks for the meal, but I really need to get back, Kyle.”

In no hurry, he sipped his pineapple milkshake. With half of his cheeseburger and all of his home fries left to eat, Kyle figured he could delay the inevitable for another thirty minutes or so.

Sighing, Pete sagged into the booth’s vinyl seat, causing it to creak beneath his weight. “If we don’t leave soon, our patrons won’t have anything to eat when we open up tonight.”

Kyle finished his swallow and dragged a fry through the ketchup he’d poured on his plate. “Roberto and Tomas are there. They know what to do.”

“Not if I didn’t write down what I wanted them to cook,” Pete argued. “We left before I could. You wanted to get on the road, so we did.”

Kyle didn’t comment.

Scooting up in his seat, Pete leaned across the table, speaking in a lowered voice. “I know you’re trying to avoid Lexi again, but hey, you can’t. So man up, face her and tell her how the fuck you feel.”

Jaw clenched, Kyle lifted his gaze to his friend.

“It’s either that,” Pete said, “or stay here for the rest of your life.”

Kyle licked ketchup off the edge of his fry, then dragged it through the condiment again.

“Great,” Pete muttered. He put out his freckled hand and wiggled his fingers. “Can I at least use your cell phone?”

“Why?”

“Because I left mine on the prep table in the kitchen. I need to call Roberto to tell him what to prepare while you keep me prisoner here.”

Dropping his fry, Kyle dug into his jeans front pocket, pulled out his keys and placed them on the table in front of Pete. “There. Go. I’ll walk back.”

“From here? It’s over twenty miles, Kyle.”

“It’s a nice day, Pete.”

“Just give me your damn cell phone.” Although he’d kept his voice low, Pete glanced at the other diners, making certain he hadn’t been overheard. “I’ll call Roberto, tell him what to prepare and then you and I can go to my apartment and polish off a six-pack while you decide what you want to do, all right?”

“I can’t ask her to stay. That’s not even in the equation.”

“We’ll figure it out.”

“No…it’s not your problem.” He sighed. “I’m being a jerk pulling you into my shit, all right? So just go on and take my pickup. I’m a big boy. I can find my way back.”

“I’d feel better if we do this my way, so quit arguing with me.” He wiggled his fingers again. “Your phone?”

On another heavy sigh, Kyle pulled it out of his back pocket, handing it over.

The moment Pete flipped it open, the damn thing rang. He handed it right back.

Kyle didn’t take it. “Who’s calling?”

“I don’t know. I didn’t check. It’s your phone.” Putting the instrument on the table, Pete pushed it to Kyle’s side.

He glanced at the display, seeing Roberto’s name. Apparently, the man really didn’t know what to do without Pete being there.

“Hey,” Kyle said, answering the call. “Your boss is right here. Let me give him the phone.”

“No,” Roberto said. “I need to talk to you.” He lowered his voice to a murmur, “About Lexi.”

What little lunch Kyle had eaten started to come right back up. How in the fuck did Roberto know her name? Had she gone into the kitchen and introduced herself? Had she asked the man if she could cook there? Not about to inquire, Kyle pretended ignorance. “Who?”

“Lexi.” He kept his voice low. “Tomas just took her over to Fiona’s.”

Kyle pushed up in his seat, his free hand clenched in a fist. “What? Why?”

“Who is that?” Pete asked.

Kyle waved his hand, wanting Pete to be quiet. He interrupted Roberto. “What? I didn’t hear that. Say it again.”

The man huffed as though he was pacing. “Lexi had to leave before the paparazzi got here. A bunch of them are outside the front of the roadhouse right now. Tomas was able to get her off the property and take her to Fiona’s before anyone showed up.” He paused to take a breath, then blurted. “There’s lots of pictures on TV and the internet, man. They’re saying real bad shit about her and you.”

For a moment, Kyle couldn’t think. He couldn’t move.

“Hey,” Pete called out as Kyle left the booth.

Halfway to the diner’s front door, Kyle stopped, recalling his keys still next to Pete’s plate. Returning to their booth, he looked at his phone in his hand. He shoved it at Pete. “Call Fiona.”

“Why?”

Kyle swiped his keys off the table and headed for his truck.

“Hey,” Pete said, catching up with him, “We haven’t paid yet.”

Fuck. Kyle dug out a twenty, retraced his steps to the table and left the bill under Peter’s coffee cup.

At his pickup, he repeated, “Call Fiona.”

“You still have your—” Pete stopped as Kyle tossed the phone. Catching it, he asked, “Why am I calling her?”

“Tomas just took Lexi over to her place.” Kyle slammed his pickup’s door and started the vehicle. Pete scrambled in on the passenger side. “There’s shit about Lexi and me on all the entertainment sites,” Kyle continued. “Paparazzi are outside the roadhouse.”

“How in the fuck could that have happened?” Pete inhaled sharply. “Do you think Lexi told—”

“No,” Kyle interrupted, pulling out of the diner’s parking lot so fast his tires squealed. “She wouldn’t do that. I know she wouldn’t.” At the end of the street, he made a hard right, causing the pickup’s cab to shimmy. “Fiona must have said something.”

“No way,” Pete argued. “She wouldn’t betray Lexi like that. She likes her. Besides, why would Lexi want to go over to my cousin’s place if she was the one who told the press where to find her?”

Kyle gripped his steering wheel so tight, his knuckles hurt. “Call her. Get Lexi on the line, then give me the phone.”

“You’re not going to holler at her, are you?”

“Fuck no. I’m telling you, Pete, this isn’t Lexi’s fault. I want to know if she’s all right. I’ve seen the shit that’s been written about her all these years. I’ve watched the hurt on her face when she talks about it.” Kyle tried to pull in a deep breath and couldn’t, the muscles in his chest were too tense. “According to Roberto, the entertainment sites are saying all kinds of bad shit.”

“I’ll get Fiona.” Pete punched in the number, then listened and listened. “She’s not picking up.”

Crap. “What’s her address?”

“384 Monroe, Apartment 115.” Pete turned in his seat to look at the street behind, as though he expected them to be followed. “I don’t understand how this could have happened. It’s not as though your cabin is a high-traffic area like a housing complex. Not once did Lexi come over to the roadhouse. This just doesn’t make sense. How could the paparazzi know she was with you?”

“I don’t fucking know how they—” The rest of what Kyle had meant to say didn’t come. As he continued to drive, his thoughts turned inward to these last days with Lexi and what Pete had just said.

I don’t understand how this could have happened.

Until a few seconds ago, Kyle hadn’t either.

That day at the picnic, Lexi had heard something but when Kyle checked he hadn’t seen any footprints or disturbed vegetation. What paparazzo knew the area so well he could have traversed it without leaving a trace or without getting lost in the maze of trees Kyle had led Lexi through to get to the most secluded part of the creek?

And if someone had crept close to the cabin to take pictures of her and him through the windows, Buddy Baby would have yelped like a hound from hell. That’s what the pup did when he heard or smelled a stranger approach. Like that bank’s rep who’d come by to appraise the property, and when the guy from the satellite company had stopped by to fix the dish. But not once had that happened. The pooch had whined about being put in the spare bedroom, but Kyle knew his pup’s vocalizations well enough to know that Buddy Baby had never sensed a stranger outside.

“Find the pictures,” he said to Pete.

“Why?”

Kyle wanted to see if they were professional, the kind from a paparazzo’s expensive camera or the sort taken on a cell phone. “So I can look at them.”

By the time they’d reached the first red light, Pete had brought them up. He sucked in his breath, then swore.

“Let me see,” Kyle said, reaching for his phone.

“Maybe I should drive,” Pete said. He pointed. “There’s a parking lot over there. Pull in and I’ll drive.”

Kyle spoke through his teeth. “What did those pricks say about Lexi?”

“It’s not all about her, Kyle. A lot of this shit’s about you.”

His gaze dropped to the phone. “Give it to me. Now, Pete, I want to see it.”

Sighing, he offered the phone.

Kyle ignored the crap written about him, swearing instead at how the site had highlighted Lexi’s perceived imperfections on photos that hadn’t come from a professional camera. Just as he’d suspected. Returning the phone to Pete, Kyle pulled away from the stop with the rest of the traffic. “Call Roberto. Ask him if Jacqueline’s called in sick.”

“Huh? Are you serious? You think she did this?”

There wasn’t anyone else. Buddy Baby was used to her smell. The pup wouldn’t go nuts if she were around.

Jacqueline had a key to his office. She knew the password to get into his computer. She’d used it when he’d been away at his grandmother’s funeral. Like a fool, Kyle hadn’t thought to change it once he came back or after they’d broken up.

These past nights, when he’d been away from the roadhouse, all Jacqueline had to do was search his computer’s history for the sites he’d visited, with most of them having to do with Lexi.

Who’s the girl? she’d asked twice that first night, wanting to know where Lexi had come from, what she and Kyle had done.

He’d lied. Convincingly, he’d thought, realizing now how wrong he’d been. Jacqueline hadn’t believed it. She’d snooped.

I want to be with you because I want to be with you, she’d said. I miss you, Kyle.

His rejection hadn’t settled the matter. It had fueled her anger.

“According to Roberto she hasn’t called in,” Pete said.

It was still early. Could be she was just going to quit without notice. After all, she must have been paid very well for those shots of him and Lexi.

On the main road now, Kyle drove even faster, the scenery whizzing by as quickly as his thoughts.

“Fiona’s complex isn’t too far from here,” Pete said. “You better slow down.”

A few minutes later, Kyle and Pete were at her front door. Despite Kyle’s persistent knocks, she didn’t answer. Nor did Pete see her car in the lot.

“I’ll try calling her again,” Pete said, punching in her number. He followed Kyle back to the pickup. When they were on the road, Pete asked, “We going to the roadhouse?”

“Not yet. I have a stop to make first.”

At the Sequoia Sunset Apartments, Kyle left the pickup’s motor running as he opened his door. “While I’m gone, keep trying to get Fiona.”

“Where are you going?”

“I’ll be back as soon as I can.” Striding across the lot, Kyle took the steps two at a time to the building’s second floor. Hurrying down the outside walkway, he stopped in front of unit 243 and used the side of his fist to pound on the door.

No answer. No surprise.

He didn’t give up. His rage wouldn’t allow it. Kyle kept pounding, ignoring the next-door neighbor who opened her door and stuck her head out to see what the commotion was about.

At last, Jacqueline opened her door.

“Hey,” she snapped when Kyle pushed his way inside, forcing her to step back.

Swinging the door closed, he growled, “You even think of coming within two miles of the roadhouse or me or Lexi and I’ll have a judge slap a fucking restraining order on you.”

She didn’t even try to pretend surprise or ignorance about what he’d said. Her pretty mouth twisted with disdain. “She’s a public figure. You were too—once. I can do whatever the hell I—”

“No, you can’t,” he interrupted. “You think what you did is going to go away without you paying for it? Think again.” Turning, he reached for the doorknob.

“What are you going to do, break up with me again?” she hollered. “Treat me like shit? Pretend I don’t exist? That’s how you’re going to punish me again, Kyle?”

He looked over, keeping his voice far quieter than hers. “I didn’t do any of that. You know I didn’t.”

“Screw that. You used me.”

Kyle stared. “For what? We dated, Jacqueline. We had some good times, but that’s all. It didn’t work out. Happens all the time. Most people just move on.”

“Like you? With her?” Her eyes rounded in mock surprise, then narrowed with renewed scorn. “You’re a goddamn fool, you know that? She’s been playing you all along. You think she actually wants you? Hell, she’s been with every guy in Hollywood. Why, I can’t imagine. She isn’t even pretty. She’s had more plastic surgery than Donald Trump could ever hope to afford. She was fat until the studio made her lose weight. She—”

Her words stalled as Kyle crowded her, forcing Jacqueline to shut up and move back. “Like I said, you stay away. You say anything about her to the press and you’ll answer to me, got it?”

Her jaw clenched. “You don’t scare me.”

“I will,” Kyle promised, scarcely able to control his anger. “I’m sure Vince would love to hear how you came on to me in my office. And,” he continued, interrupting her, “once the money runs out from you selling those photos, just try to get a job at any bar, restaurant or diner in this area. You won’t. I know these people. I’ll tell them exactly why I fired you and that you can’t be trusted.”

Jacqueline hollered, “She’s been playing you! You think she’s going to stay here with you in that crappy cabin when she has Beverly Hills to go back to?”

On his way out, Kyle slammed the door so hard, the windows shook.

He was halfway down the steps when Jacqueline came out of her apartment and shouted, “She does not want you, Kyle! She can do so much better in LA! Why the hell would she want you?”

At the pickup, Pete stood just outside his door, his gaze shooting from Jacqueline’s continued rant to Kyle. “Holy shit, she actually did it.”

“Did you get Fiona?”

“No. She’s still not answering.”

“Would she be driving Lexi to LA?”

Pete lifted his shoulders. “Haven’t a clue. Where to now?” he asked.

Kyle got into the pickup and headed for the roadhouse.

In the lot, he turned his vehicle to the left, heading directly for the knot of paparazzi. They scattered like roaches. The shortest of the group lifted his fist and hollered, “Watch it, asshole. You hurt me and I’ll fucking sue you for everything you have.”

“Kyle,” Pete said.

“I’m all right.” Pulling his baseball bat from behind his seat, Kyle exited his vehicle.

As one, the paparazzi lifted cameras to their eyes and snapped pictures as Kyle approached.

He tapped the top of his bat against his palm. “Private property. Get off. Now.”

They moved, but only to get a better shot of him.

The tallest in the group called out, “Where’s Lexi?”

“She in your cabin?” another asked.

“She gonna be supporting you like she did her last boyfriend?” the next shouted.

“Is that why you got involved with her?” the tallest one said, the volume of his voice louder than the others. “You need her dough?”

“Kyle,” Pete said from behind, grabbing his arm.

He shook free and spoke to the SOBs in front of him, his bat hanging loose at his side, ready for him to swing at their cameras. “I’m not asking again.”

The front door of the roadhouse popped open. Roberto shouted, “I’ve called the cops. They’re on their way over.”

The shortest paparazzo smiled. “So we’ll just wait across the road on public property.”

“You do that,” Kyle said, approaching so quickly, the prick trotted backward.

“You hurt me, I’ll fucking sue,” he warned again. “I’ve got a right to take these pictures.”

“Kyle,” Pete said for the third time, using all of his strength to pull him back and into the roadhouse.

“I couldn’t get rid of them,” Roberto apologized, following Kyle through the bar to the hallway and the back door. “I told them it was private property but they wouldn’t listen.”

“It’s okay,” Kyle said to him. To Pete, he said, “Keep trying to get Fiona. When you do, call me.”

He left the building, sprinting down the path toward his cabin, not caring if the paparazzi followed. He had to get home, to be in the last place he’d seen Lexi, to catch her rose fragrance.

It filled the cabin’s front room. Head down, Kyle sagged against the door. He tried to think, to figure out what he could do to make this right. To bring her back here.

Yeah right.

She had contracts, Autumn to worry about, her parents to appease.

People do visit the forbidden land of Hollywood from time to time, Pete had said.

You think she actually wants you? Jacqueline had yelled.

He hadn’t asked. He’d been too much of a coward to know the truth.

His head jerked up at Buddy Baby’s whining and yelps. His heart twisted at the fact that Lexi had left him here alone.

Frowning, Kyle tossed his bat on the sofa and headed for the spare bedroom, stopping at the master instead, the closed door. Opening it, he looked down. The pup’s water and food bowls were filled. In his hurry to get to Kyle, Buddy Baby fell over Lexi’s cowgirl boots, left there for the pooch to chew on.

Emotion and loss wrenched Kyle’s heart again.

On one knee, he scooped up his pooch, cradling him close. Buddy Baby made a sound that seemed sad. His licking didn’t seem as excited as before.

You’re losing your mind. She’s gone, fool. She was never here to stay.

People do move, Pete had said.

So true, but Lexi wasn’t people. She was a star. A celebrity. The public’s property. She hadn’t even said goodbye.

Swallowing hard, Kyle pushed to his feet, wanting to call her, wondering what to do about a relationship that would never work. Before he lost his nerve, he headed for his phone, stopping suddenly at something in his peripheral vision. Looking over, he saw a piece of paper near the flat screen.

For a long moment, he just stared at it, unable to do anything else. When he finally got moving, he put Buddy Baby back on top of Lexi’s boots and went to the note.

In a script he now recognized, he read what she’d written.

I’m so sorry to have gotten you involved in this mess, Kyle. I should never have come here. I wish I hadn’t.

I realize how embarrassing it must be for you to be called my boyfriend. If it’s any consolation, I know what we did was just for fun. The stupid press doesn’t seem to get that. To them, everything’s blown so far out of proportion it’s laughable.

We just had a few good days together, that’s all.

I want to make this up to you. I’m going to contact my attorney and have him offer you a settlement for your trouble…the stuff with the press, what they said.

I’ll have him get in touch with you next week. I’ll make it enough so you can pay off the roadhouse. I owe you that, at least.

I left my boots for Buddy. He’s always liked them more than I ever did.

Lexi.

Again and again, Kyle read the note, his sorrow flaring into fury. She thought he wanted money? She thought what they’d shared was nothing more than a good time? She’d written Buddy, not Buddy Baby, the name she’d insisted upon since first seeing the pup?

She’d erased the dog and him from her life as easily as she’d entered it?

Balling the paper in his fist, Kyle let it drop to the floor while Jacqueline’s earlier words returned to mock him.

You’re a goddamn fool, you know that? She’s been playing you all along. You think she actually wants you?

Lexi’s words answered. We just had a few good days together, that’s all.

Chapter Fifteen

“I’m sorry, sir.” The assistant to the producer cleared his throat, then continued in his most soothing tone. “We’re still having trouble with the lighting. We’re trying to fix it as quickly as we can.”

“While my daughter’s forced to wait two hours?” Simon Sands raised his voice a bit more to prove his authority. “This incompetence is unacceptable. I’m getting Max on the line.”

“Dad, please, it’s all right.” The last thing Lexi needed was him calling Max Avery, the executive producer, to make an unreasonable demand. Turned to the mirror in her trailer, she glanced at the reflection of the assistant who stood near the door.

Shuffling his tennis-clad feet as though he wanted to run, the young man looked at her for help.

“I don’t mind waiting,” she said.

Tension drained from the guy’s lanky body. “Thanks, Ms. Sands.” He hurried away.

Another crewmember poked her head around the door. “Mr. Capallano said you might want to have lunch now, Ms. Sands…while we have to wait.” The girl’s gaze shot to Lexi’s dad, then returned to her. “Do you want me to bring you a plate from the buffet?”

Lexi shook her head. She wasn’t hungry. Hadn’t been since the day she’d left the cabin, nearly a month ago. The entertainment sites had noticed her weight loss with some praising Lexi for her new svelte look. Others claimed she’d always been a closet bulimic and had again fallen into old, deadly habits.

Disengaged, she’d listened to the praise, criticisms and lies about herself as though the comments had been directed to another person, one she wasn’t any longer. One she’d never been.

Tears filled her eyes, but didn’t fall. That would ruin her makeup. Her legs ached, but she couldn’t sit. That would wrinkle the business suit she wore for the next scene, delayed now for forty minutes, not the two hours her father had claimed, because of a technical problem.

He closed the trailer door. “You should have let me call Max. I can still do it.”

“No. Don’t bother him.”

On an audible huff, Simon dropped his cell phone in his jacket’s inner pocket. Crossing his arms, he propped one shoulder against the wall, his Italian suit draped beautifully on his still powerful body, his blond hair styled to perfection. “So you’re just going to let them treat you this way.”

Lexi didn’t bother to answer. She had no energy for a protracted argument or a lecture on how to be a proper star, one that commanded respect. Pulling her gaze from her father, she glanced at the splash of color at the bottom of the mirror. The two lures she’d selected from Kyle’s bait box that day at the creek and had worn in her hair.

The sight of them taped to her mirror brought more tears that Lexi blinked away. She shouldn’t have taken them the day she’d fled, but couldn’t resist, wanting them and other things as a memory of the best time she’d ever had.

In return, she’d left her cowgirl boots, hoping that in some small way they’d remind Kyle and Buddy Baby of when she’d been there, feeding them, taking care of them, loving them.

Her father tapped his foot against the floor. Lexi’s shoulders sagged. Since her return from the cabin, she’d avoided her parents, refusing to discuss Kyle with them, knowing what was coming. Unable to avoid it any longer, she asked, “Why are you here?”

“Why am I here?” he parroted, sounding surprised. “You’re my daughter. What’s the matter with you? Is this any way to treat your father?”

Lexi closed her eyes. “Please, just tell me why you’re here. Why you bullied your way onto the set today.”

“Bullied?” He huffed again. “Did I have a choice? You won’t come to the house. You never answer your phone.”

Not commenting, Lexi waited for the inevitable, hoping her father would simply leave.

“Fine, have it your way,” he said, his tone one of helpless exasperation, no different than when she’d been a kid and wanted to watch cartoons rather than go on another audition. “Your mother sent me over. She has a bit of good news she didn’t want to leave on your voice mail.”

Lexi swallowed.

At her lengthening silence, her father continued, “Several of the entertainment sites keep contacting her. They all want an exclusive on what happened at that guy’s place and they’re outbidding each other to get you to—”

“No.”

He sighed loudly. “Will you please let me finish before you say—”

“No.” Turning to face her father, Lexi grabbed the edge of the makeup table to steady herself. In a strained voice, she said. “I’m not doing any shows on that. I’m not talking about Kyle. Ever. You tell Mom that.”

Simon’s face flushed with irritation, but he kept his tone even. “They’re offering a lot of money, Lex.”

“I don’t care. It’s not going to happen.”

“We can control what they ask. We’ll set the ground rules.”

“Dammit, I said no!”

“Hey.” Pushing away from the wall, Simon swung his head to the trailer door, then back to her. “Keep it down. Control yourself.” He uncrossed his arms and jabbed his finger in her direction. “This is a good opportunity. There’s so much speculation going on as to what really happened, we can keep the coverage going for weeks. Do you have any idea how much this kind of publicity costs? We’ll be getting it for free.”

“I want you to leave.” Her body shook with years of suppressed fury. “Now.”

Not moving, he curbed his frustration, turning it off as easily as an actor in a scene.

“I know you don’t mean that.” His tone was now mild, cajoling. “We’re family, Lex. What do you have without me, your mom and Autumn? It’s only an interview, sweetie. No more than an hour with your mom and me providing the questions. We didn’t want to bring it up, believe me, but your mom’s worried and so am I. It’s not cheap living where we do. The older Autumn gets the more things she needs, stuff you don’t know about, activities her friends are all involved in. Now if she had just gotten into the business like you, then—”

Lexi interrupted, her voice icy. “Stop it. No,” she said, interrupting her father again. “I mean it. You don’t suggest to Autumn that she audition. Mom doesn’t either. If you do, if you try to guilt her into giving up school and supporting you, I’ll petition for custody. I’ll tell the court that all you and Mom care about is the money, not Autumn. You are not doing to her what you did to me.”

“Did to you?” His eyes bugged. “Are you crazy? You wanted this. From the moment you could talk, you begged us to take you to auditions, to let you be an actor.”

She shouted, “I was a little kid who wanted her parents’ love. The only way I knew to get it was to please you by going on auditions, by getting gigs, by bringing in the cash. But I don’t care about what you and Mom want anymore. Autumn’s happiness is my only concern.”

His face flushed darker. Beads of perspiration dotted his forehead. “We’re her parents.”

“For now. But don’t push it, Dad. I’m warning you.” Turning her back to him, Lexi lowered her head, her body weak from rage. All she wanted to do was curl up on the sofa and sleep. “I’ve asked you to leave. Please do so.”

“You’re going to regret doing this to your family,” he muttered.

“I’m saving Autumn, the only family I’ve ever known.”

Swearing softly, he went to the door and yanked it open, stopping at whatever he saw. “What is it? What do you want?” he snapped at someone just outside. “Have they fixed the lights?”

The young guy in tennis shoes shoved his hands into his back pockets and shook his head. “Lights are still down. Ms. Sands has a visitor.” He inclined his head.

Kyle glanced from the kid to the older man who looked to be in his early fifties and was clearly agitated.

Shutting the door, he came down the steps of the trailer and kept his voice low. “My daughter’s not seeing anyone right now. She has a show to film.”

“Lights are still down,” the young guy mumbled, while rocking on his heels. “Just got a call from Mr. Avery to bring her visitor over.”

“Max called?” Lexi’s father asked. He frowned at Kyle, taking in his height, which was inches more than his. “Why? Who are you? How do you know Max?”

He didn’t. But his former sports agent did. And with a few calls, here Kyle was. “Mr. Sands, I’m Kyle Griffin.” He put out his hand.

A look of astonishment swept the man’s face. “You’re the guy from the roadhouse.” Giving Kyle no chance to respond, her father said, “We need to talk.” He pointed. “Over there.”

Kyle watched Lexi’s father hurry to a spot free of props, cables and people. When the man noticed Kyle hadn’t followed, he frowned and returned. “I said we need to talk.”

In a firm, yet respectful voice, Kyle said, “I’m here to see your daughter, not you, Mr. Sands.”

“You want to see her, you talk to me first.”

If that’s the way he wanted it, then Kyle had plenty to say. This time, he followed, waiting just long enough for the man to stop and turn around before speaking.

“If this has anything to do with you using me for publicity,” Kyle said, “then don’t even bother saying it. I’m not interested.”

Her father cocked one brow. “Don’t be so sure.” He glanced at Kyle’s tee, jeans and mocs the way one might regard someone who was homeless. “You haven’t heard what it pays.”

“I can guess, and I don’t care if you offer me the moon, I won’t do it.”

His expression turned ugly. “Then why the fuck are you here?”

“Like I said before, to see Lexi. I love her.”

The man stared, then chuckled. “Oh right. You love her. And when did this happen? Where in the hell have you been for the last few weeks?”

At first, he’d been licking his wounds, thinking things out, growing up, becoming the man she deserved. After that, he’d had to find her. “I’m here now,” Kyle said.

“To do what?”

“To give her the life I’m hoping she really wants.”

Simon’s face lost all of its color. He pointed his finger. “Now you listen to me, you stupid prick. I don’t want you anywhere near my daughter.”

“That’s not your call to make.”

His jaw clenched. “I’m her father. She’ll listen to me.”

“Out of guilt? Out of fear?” Kyle asked, tempering his building rage. “Is that what you really want? She’s your daughter, Mr. Sands, not an employee, not an object to be used. You’re the one who should have had a job all these years. You’re the one who should have supported her and the rest of your family.”

“Excuse me?” The man stepped closer, deliberately crowding Kyle.

He didn’t give an inch. No way could her father hurt him. Kyle was bigger, stronger, younger and immune to manipulation. More importantly, he was determined to protect Lexi.

Stepping back, the man reached into his inside jacket pocket. “I’m calling security.”

“Do what you have to. You’re not keeping me away from her. No one can do that except Lexi.” Pivoting, Kyle headed for her trailer, his heart pounding as he went inside.

Lexi stood in front of the mirror, head down, eyes closed, her sorrow so pronounced it stole Kyle’s breath. His gaze swept her length, how thin she’d become.

It brought him back to the day they’d had the picnic, what he’d said before they left for it.

None of that starving yourself shit here.

He recalled her joy when he’d brought out his stash of candy. Thinking of it, Kyle closed the door gently and turned the lock.

At the noise, Lexi lifted her head and opened her eyes, glancing at his reflection in the mirror. Her features went slack with surprise…wonder.

Now, if he could only get her to smile, to show him what else he sensed was in her heart. “Hey.”

Lexi’s gaze zipped down him, then returned to his eyes. Turning, she took several steps toward him, hesitated and stopped. Still staring, she backed up, her hand going to the makeup table, gripping it as though she needed to steady herself. “What are you doing here?”

Her voice was as breathy as he’d recalled, her expression as guileless. It made Kyle’s legs wobbly and begged him to tell her the truth. His heart, however, feared going too fast and being broken all over again. “I wanted to come sooner.”

Tears sparkled in her eyes. “You did?”

He nodded.

“Then why didn’t you?”

Was that an invitation? A “yes” to what he wanted to propose? Uncertain, Kyle remained where he was, rather than closing the distance between them and pulling her into his arms. “I read your note.”

Her face paled even more. A tear ran down her cheek.

“You said what we had was only a good time, no more than that.” He swallowed, then continued, “Is that how you really saw it?”

Her lower lip trembled. “I didn’t want to cause you more trouble than I already had.”

“You didn’t cause me any trouble at all until you left me that note and disappeared.”

“I didn’t have a choice,” she cried. “What those sites said about you was awful. I did what I thought would fix it. I wanted to make it up to you.”

“By offering me a settlement? I don’t want your money, Lexi. I never wanted that.”

Hope filled her eyes, along with lingering uncertainty. “Then why are you here?”

“To come for what’s mine.” Crossing the trailer, he pulled her into his arms.

A quiet sob escaped her. She wreathed her arms around his neck and held him as tight as her strength allowed.

It wasn’t enough. Kyle pressed his face into her neck, inhaling deeply of her rose fragrance, enjoying her softness and heat. Cradling the side of her face, he claimed her mouth, slipping his tongue inside, kissing her deeply.

For minutes, they necked, the sounds they made as desperate as their passion. At last, Kyle ended their kiss, pulling back, needing a full breath.

Lexi snuggled into him and whispered, “Am I yours?”

Oh hell yeah. “I love you, baby.”

Her shoulders shook with her renewed weeping. She dug her fingers into his tee. “I tried to stop thinking about you, but I couldn’t. I haven’t been able to sleep or eat.”

“We’re going to change that.” He cupped her ass and squeezed. “From now on you’re going to eat whatever you want.”

She giggled until a new sob cut it off. “I can’t…the show.”

Expecting that, Kyle eased back. He cupped her face in his hands. “Do you want to do this, Lexi? Be honest with me, please. It won’t change how I feel about you. It won’t change our future.”

Her mouth trembled with emotion. “You’d move to LA for me?”

“Yeah, I would. Do you want me to?”

“God no,” she cried. “I hate this more every day. I told you before I never really enjoyed performing. I’ve always wanted to cook. But I have to pay for Autumn’s school and the crew depends upon me for their living and if I quit there would be no end of lawsuits and—”

“Shhh.” He brushed his lips over hers, tasting her tears, then eased her bangs aside, kissing her forehead before he straightened. “Let’s talk about Autumn first. You don’t have to worry about her. She doesn’t care about the fancy academies or the Beverly Hills stuff. She said she’d be just as happy attending a public school in Marin County, then going for a scholarship to one of the Ivy League schools, if that’s what it takes. If the scholarship doesn’t work out, then I’ll do whatever I can to help her pay the tuition.”

Lexi loosened her grip on his tee. “What are you talking about? You spoke with her?”

“Not as soon as I would have liked. After I discovered you’d taken my high school yearbook along with my lures, I called her to get your unlisted number, which you never answer.” He pulled his gaze from the lures taped to her mirror. “Given that you swiped my stuff, I figured that your note was probably bogus crap. That maybe you really did want me.”

“Probably? Maybe? It took you all these weeks and you talking to Autumn to figure out how I felt?”

“Well hell, I’m still not totally sure. You told Buddy Baby any number of times that you—”

She interrupted, “How is he?”

“Several pounds heavier, taller and he’s learned how to growl. You should hear how nasty he gets when I try to take your cowgirl boots away.”

“Aw god.” Her voice wobbled. “I adore him.”

“Yeah, I know, but you still haven’t said that you love—”

“I do,” she whispered, resting her fingertips on his bottom lip.

The roof of Kyle’s mouth tingled. He fought a shiver of delight. “Then you don’t mind Autumn moving in with us at the cabin? She suggested it seconds before I could. She told me your contract with the show is up this year. You don’t have to renew unless you want to. The crew can find other jobs. They do it all the time. There won’t be any lawsuits. After fulfilling your obligations to the studio, you can take off.”

Kyle paused, then continued, “I know you worry about your dad and mom, but hey, they can sell the mansion you bought them. With what they make from it, they’ll be able to live comfortably…or they can get other clients, maybe even other jobs.”

Once more, her eyes filled.

Prepared for that, Kyle used his gentlest tone. “You can’t give up your life for your parents or anyone else, Lexi. You deserve a chance to be happy.”

She licked a tear from the corner of her mouth. Voice shaking, she asked, “You’d actually pay for my kid sister’s schooling? You’d let her live in your home?”

“Our home,” he corrected. “That’s what families do. And,” he said, interrupting her, “I told Pete you wanted to cook and he’s fine sharing the kitchen with you. All I need is your okay that this is what you want.” Kyle’s heart started beating too quickly again. The back of his neck prickled with sweat. He was slightly dizzy, but he had to ask, “What do you want, Lexi? Tell me.”

She regarded him for a long moment, then wound her arms around his neck, pressing the length of her body against his. “To go home with you.”

Kyle grinned so hard, his cheeks hurt. Holding her close, he murmured, “Just as soon as we can?”

Nodding, she pressed her mouth to his ear and whispered, “It won’t be long, I promise. I’ll settle things here.”

“We’ll settle things here,” he corrected. “I’m not leaving your side.”

Lexi released her weight into him and made a sound as though she was weeping.

“Hey,” Kyle said, his voice soft. “You do want me to stay while you settle things, right? It’s your call.”

She hugged him even tighter. “Never let me go. Please.”

“Aw, baby, I won’t. I want what you want.”

“Then take me away, Kyle.” She drew in a ragged breath and spoke in a voice filled with tears. “As soon as it’s possible…take me away.”

About the Author

Tina Donahue is a multi–published novelist in contemporary and historical romance. Booklist, Publisher’s Weekly and Romantic Times have praised her work; she has reached finals and/or placed in numerous RWA-sponsored contests. She was the editor of an award-winning Midwestern newspaper, worked in Story Direction for a Hollywood production company and is currently the Managing Editor for a global business document concern.

Tina welcomes comments from readers. You can find her website and email address on her author bio page at www.ellorascave.com.

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