Total pages in book: 76
Estimated words: 71931 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 360(@200wpm)___ 288(@250wpm)___ 240(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 71931 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 360(@200wpm)___ 288(@250wpm)___ 240(@300wpm)
Blake said those exact words, and I was too stupid in lust to understand he was using me. Hell, I pulled every string I had to launch his career in Hollywood.
“But that’s not why I’m going.” He lifts on an elbow and stares down at me, his face cast in shadows. “I’m your partner, your companion, your lover. Your security team is qualified, but they’re not me. I can’t sit here with my thumb up my ass while you’re on the other side of the country, being stalked by creepers, hounded by paparazzi, and sleeping in a hotel room alone. You’re not going without me.”
For all my cynical distrust, his response makes my chest swell with happiness. Makes me wonder if he’s capable of loving someone as messed up as me. Makes me hope for a life that’s safely and forever entwined with his.
I pull in a breath and shake those thoughts away. “Violet called earlier.”
“I know. I was there when you walked out on our conversation to take the call.”
“I’m sorry. That was rude. But you’ll like what she had to say.”
“She said you’re not to leave my side? Ever?”
My cheeks fill with a grin. “Close. Evidently, I’m doing a terrible job at proving I’ve moved on from Blake.”
“You haven’t left the house in a month.”
“Yeah, she expresses her frustration about that on a daily basis. She can’t keep me at the top of the news stories if I refuse interviews and public appearances and blah, blah, blah.”
“I’ve enjoyed having you all to myself.”
I’ve enjoyed that, too. Too much. “She wants you to go to L.A.”
“Good thing, since I’m going anyway.”
“She wants you to go as my boyfriend.”
CHAPTER 16
LAYNEE
The roar of the jet engines tapers to a dull hum as we reach coasting altitude. I stare out the small window, absorbing the majestic beauty of the sunrise over Savannah. At my request, Reese sat in the rear of my sixteen-passenger Gulfstream with the bodyguards, leaving me alone with the man who hasn’t taken his eyes off me since we boarded.
“Why are you staring?” I turn to face Decker’s smoldering gaze.
Sitting in the aisle seat beside me, he places a hand on my knee. “Can’t stop thinking about last night.” His thumb lightly strokes the skin beneath my skirt. “And this morning.”
My body’s still wired and vibrating after he followed me into the shower this morning, knelt at my feet, and buried his face between my legs. I came with my hands tangled in his hair and his name on my lips. Then he washed us both and rushed us out the door without finding his own release.
I rest my hand over his and weave our fingers together. “I owe you an orgasm.”
“I’ll collect before the end of the day.”
“I don’t see how. Today is going to be a whirlwind.”
The five-hour flight puts us in L.A. by eleven in the morning. The photo shoot will last a few hours, and because I refuse to stay overnight in L.A., we’re flying back home when the shoot is finished.
“Let me worry about that.” He slides a thumb over his sexy bottom lip, his eyes dancing with promises. “Why are you doing this photo shoot?”
He already knows it’s for a magazine spread, a promo opportunity that highlights the top hottest Hollywood bachelorettes. I’m the oldest of the four selected women by fifteen years. I fought doing this for months, but my agent and publicist won the argument. They’re right. It’s perfect timing on the heels of my divorce announcement.
“When the glossy goes to print,” I say, “it’ll shine a favorable light on my single status and in turn redirect focus on the mysterious man I’m dating. It’s all part of the sweep-my-divorce-under-the-rug strategy.”
“I like being your mysterious man.” He leans over, brushes my long hair behind me, and touches his nose to my neck, inhaling. “Goddamn, I love the way you smell.”
My breath catches. “What do I smell like?”
“Sweet, bite-sized temptation.” He pushes the collar of my blouse aside and nibbles on my throat. “Why don’t we stay the night in L.A.?”
The desire he’s igniting with his lips quickly dissolves with his question.
I sent Reese to the rear of the plane so I could use this time to give Decker some answers. He just gave me an opening, and my voice decides to abandon me.
“Laynee.” He lifts his head, and the concern in his huge brown eyes latches on to my heart. “You’re squeezing the circulation out of my fingers.”
Oh. I release his hand and turn my head toward the clouds outside the plane. “We need to talk.”
“Are you addressing me or the window?”
I drop my head back and close my eyes, unable to meet the gaze caressing the side of my face. “This…us…I’m going to mess it up.”
“Tell me why you think that.”