Kat turned away from the stove to see Luke walking toward her, his lean body clad only in a pair of ratty jeans and a T-shirt gone soft from washing and wear. Her heartbeat sped up so rapidly she was half-afraid she would fall face-first on the floor in front of him.
Boy, that would make me look cool, calm and collected, wouldn’t it?
It was hard to be cool, calm and collected around Luke. Every time she looked at him, she felt achy and restless. She wasn’t used to being thrown so off-balance, even by a man as attractive as Luke.
“That smells good,” he said.
You smell good,
she thought.
More than good. Delicious.
His aftershave had a definite tang, and his soap mingled well with it. Below those scents was a different scent, a musky masculine odor that was solely his.
“Here, have a seat,” she said and placed a plate of food in front of him.
“You weren’t kidding about taking care of me, after all. But I thought you were just going to feed Bella.”
She shrugged. “I poked around your pantry. I hope that’s okay.”
“Of course. Thank you.”
She waited until he took a healthy bite of his sandwich and then bit into hers. It was perfectly golden-brown and the sweet cheese was offset by the tart, crunchy apple.
He looked surprised as he chewed. When he was done, he said, “You make a mean sandwich.”
Kat laughed. “I learned out of self-defense. My mom is an awful cook but she cooked a lot. She said it gave our lives normalcy.”
“Was your childhood not normal?”
She’d said too much. She didn’t want to talk about the limitations that had been placed on her as the child of a public figure. She didn’t want to talk or think about limitations at all. Here, with Luke, with her still feeling antsy from the way he’d backed her up against the counter earlier, she wanted to think about possibilities instead. “Is anyone’s childhood truly normal?” she asked.
“Well—”
“Luke, I need to say something. Two something’s actually. Can I—can I do that?”
He leaned back in his chair. “Of course.”
“First, I wanted to say thank you for helping me with those men by the lake. You were right. I should have used my head a little bit more. Since you’re not female and you obviously have never been…” Kat paused, relaxing a little more when he smiled. “Well, it’s hard to explain to a man how hard it is to live your life according to what men may or may not do to you.”
“I get that, Kat, honestly. I’m sorry I gave you attitude. I didn’t mean to imply you deserved what happened. I just wanted you to be more careful next time.”
“Yeah, well hopefully there won’t be a next time.”
“Right. Hopefully,” he said. “So what was the second thing you needed to tell me?”
“That’s it? We’re—we’re okay?”
“We’re more than okay, Kat,” he said. “I’m pretty sure I expressed how okay I think you are before my shower.”
She blushed, then tilted her chin up. “Well, it seemed you were kind of mad then, too.”
“I wasn’t mad,” he said with a grin. “I was…riled. And that’s not always a bad thing.”
She burst out laughing. “No, I suppose not. But the second thing I wanted to say was I’m sorry if I came off bossy when I walked in here.”
“You
were
pretty bossy,” Luke said, leaning back in his chair. His eyes gleamed with continued good humor, but they also blazed with something more. Something that made his lids heavy again.
A feeling of boldness suddenly swept through her. She looked down, then glanced up at him through her lashes. “From the way you cornered me against the counter, I’d say you know a thing or two about being bossy too.”
*
* *
Luke cleared his throat and shifted slightly in his seat, uncomfortably aware that he was aroused again and had been since they’d sat down to eat. She’d eaten slowly, like a cat, occasionally licking a stray crumb from the corner of her mouth with a vivid satisfaction that made his lower body ache and stiffen despite the orgasm he had had in the shower.
Moreover, every time the little pink triangle of her tongue streaked across her mouth he recalled the fantasy he’d jerked off to and his dick stiffened even more. He was seriously getting worried about the state of his jeans. They were old and worn, and he wasn’t sure they could handle the strain of his erection pressing against the denim.
“From what I remember, you seemed to like how bossy I was. Or am I wrong?”
“No. You aren’t wrong.”
Luke’s brows rose. He was surprised she’d admit it so readily. He was even more surprised when she continued.
“I liked it a lot. Mostly I liked that you weren’t treating me as anything but a normal woman. A normal woman you wanted.”
“Why wouldn’t I treat you that way?” It was a bold move on his part. He was drawing her out now, and if she didn’t take the bait, he’d have to keep pretending not to know who she was. He really didn’t want to.
She pushed her bowl aside. “Because I’m not. I’m actually…a bit of a celebrity.” She looked at him expectantly.
Careful, Luke warned himself. “Are you a singer? Dancer?”
“I’m actually an actress. My full name is Katherine Bailey.”
“Oh. I don’t watch a lot of television.” It wasn’t a lie exactly.
She laughed. “That’s awesome. But I don’t do a lot of television anymore. I do movies, mostly.”
“So…you’re famous then?”
She nodded. “Yes.”
“Do you like it?”
“It’s good for my career, of course.”
“But do you like it?”
“Right now, I hate it. Recently, I was caught up in a pretty public scandal.”
“What kind of scandal?”
She scowled. “Nothing new. I was involved with a man. He cheated on me. I broke up with him. Then he leaked photos of me sunbathing topless during a vacation last summer.”
“Wow. That sucks, Kat.”
Instinctively, she crossed her arms over her chest, and once again, Luke wanted to kill her ex for exposing such intimate photos of her to the public.
“Damn right it sucks. Not only because my private life—among other things—is being put out there for everyone to see and the people doing it aren’t respecting my privacy but because…”
Luke waited but she remained silent.
“Because what?”
She swallowed hard. Bit her lip. Looked as if she wasn’t sure she should confide in him. “I’ve been threatened,” she said quietly. “By someone who thinks
I
did my cheating ex wrong.”
“Shit. That’s horrible. I’m sorry, Kat. And I’m sorry for not knowing how to express just how horrible it is. I can’t imagine how hard it’s been to deal with.”
She nodded, then caught her breath when he turned his chair so he could take her hands in his.
She stared down at their joined hands before licking her lips and continuing. “I was hoping things would blow over, but the threats just kept coming, so my manager hired a bodyguard for me.”
“So where is he? Or is it just that I can’t see him?”
“No, no. I
had
a bodyguard but…well, he ended up getting drunk and bailing on me, and I just needed some time to regroup. Some time to be by myself. Away from others. I needed time to think. That’s why I’m here. And that’s why I reacted so badly when you accused me of being careless with my safety yesterday. I need to know I can take care of myself. I need to.”
From the vehemence in her voice and the look in her eyes, he suspected there was even more to the story but what? He’d been so busy tracking her down and setting up security measures here that he hadn’t bothered to dig very deep into her background, but perhaps he needed to do that. Right now, however, he didn’t want to push her. “I have no doubt you can take care of yourself in most situations, Kat. But when someone is threatening you? There’s no shame in accepting help.” He looked at her intently for a few seconds and then he said, “If not from a professional, then from a friend. While I’m here, I can keep an eye on you. I’d be honored to take care of you.”
Her eyes widened. “You already took care of me.”
He leaned toward her, unable to stop himself from touching her. His hand stroked up her arm and back again, and she shivered. Through her shirt, he could see her nipples stiffen.
“I took care of you yesterday. You took care of me today. Maybe we can continue taking care of each other.”
She blushed. That little red flush hit her cheeks and spread up to her forehead, reminding him of that magical flush a woman got just as she came. His cock throbbed in an agonizing way.
“What do you mean?”
His fingers moved upward. Her lips parted just slightly. He tucked a tiny strand of hair behind her ear then let his fingers wander down to her neck. His fingers rested right above her collarbone as he said, “I’m going to come right out and say it, Kat. I’m attracted to you. I was attracted to you long before you told me you’re a famous actress.
Her throat worked with some kind of emotion. “I’m attracted to you, too.”
His hands slipped lower, came around so that one of his strong fingers pressed lightly against the pulse at the hollow of her throat. He felt it speed up and his own pulse accelerated. “You mentioned a cheating ex. Does that mean you’re single?”
“I am most definitely single. What about you? Do you have a wife or girlfriend stashed away somewhere that you are conveniently forgetting to mention?”
“Not at all. So since we’re both single…and we both appear to be quite good at taking care of the other…maybe we can keep each other company while we’re here. Just have fun.”
She gave him a long assessing glance. “Do you mean keep each other company in bed?”
“If that’s what you want. I certainly do. But even if you don’t want that, I’d just like to spend more time with you. Starting with dinner tonight.”
She paused, her eyes locked onto his. For a moment he was positive that she was going to reject his invitation. She cleared her throat. “I’m not looking for someone to watch over me, Luke. I can protect myself.”
“I’m not trying to protect you.” The hell he wasn’t, and she was wrong—she couldn’t protect herself. Not if someone was hell bent on hurting her. Granted, it didn’t appear that danger had followed Kat to Tahoe, but he was staying alert. That didn’t mean they had to stay holed up in the cabins.
“How about this? You want a healthy dose of normal, right? Let’s go out tonight and just have some fun, no pressure.”
“Go out where?” she asked.
He hesitated. Was she feeling anxious at the thought of going out in public? Maybe he should play it safe and suggest they stay in. Only everything about Kat screamed that she was longing for a bit of normalcy in her life. That she didn’t think she could have a normal life, be safe, and be an actress, too. He wanted to show her differently, if only for one evening. She was already opening up to him; if he could show her that having someone protecting her would only enhance her life, not stifle it, it could make an enormous difference in what she did from here on out.
“We can start at the casinos? Grab a drink and then dinner?”
She bit her lip. Then her smile could have lit up the entire lakefront. “That sounds perfect.”
When Luke knocked on her door promptly at seven, Kat took a deep breath, hoping to calm her nerves. The urge to wear something sexy had been tempting, but in the end she’d decided to dress more sedately to reduce the chances she’d be spotted and recognized. She’d settled on a casual halter dress with sparkly sandals. She’d styled her hair in a soft updo and wore only some mascara and lip-gloss. The tan she had gotten looked good on her skin and she sprayed a light amount of her very expensive perfume into the air before walking through the mist so that the slightly musky scent wrapped her in decadent but subtle fragrance.
She went to the door and opened it to see a clean-shaven Luke wearing a pair of dark slacks, and a plain button down shirt that clung to his powerful shoulders and arms.
Easy, girl. Don’t jump him right here and now even though you want to—badly. Have some manners.
Luke took a long look at her and a smile lit up his face. “You look amazing.”
“So do you.” Her eyes wandered over his powerful chest, then automatically dropped to the slight bulge at the front of his slacks. She jerked her gaze up hastily. “Where are we headed?”
“You’ll see.” He pulled a hand out from behind his back and she gasped in real pleasure. He held a bouquet of wildflowers, freshly picked. As far as Kat was concerned, other women could lust after hothouse flowers all they wanted to—wildflowers were the ones she loved the most. “They’re beautiful. Let me just put them in some water, okay?”
When he nodded, she stepped back to let him inside. She turned away, found a glass pitcher in an upper cabinet, and filled it with water. She added a little sugar to it, an old trick that would keep the flowers alive longer.
Finished, she took the arm he held out and they headed down the trail to his cabin and the car sitting in the driveway. He opened the door for her, and helped her in before walking around to his side. She enjoyed watching him move. He had good looks
and
lovely manners. The two together were a heady combination.
They drove down to the casino side of the lake and started with a drink at the bar. Luke raised his glass. “To a fun, normal night.”
She raised hers. “Here, here.” They clinked their glasses together and when they did, their fingertips brushed.
Nobody seemed to recognize her, and she was so relieved that no one was whipping out phones and taking pictures or pointing at her.
It was exactly what she had needed, to feel like everyone else for a change, to shake off her fears and questions about her future.
They didn’t talk much. Simply soaked in the ambience and each other’s company. However, at one point, Luke took her hand, absently stroking his thumb against her knuckles. He was so attentive. And she got the distinct feeling that the reason he wasn’t talking was because he was giving her time. Time to think about what he’d told her.