Her Fictional Fling: Scandals in Scotland Contemporary Romance Series Book 1 (8 page)

After Colin changed out of costume and washed up in his trailer, he took Andi to his motorcycle like he had the previous evening. But this time, without the crowds of photographers swarming, he took his time before hopping on, his hands lingering around her waist when he pulled her close. He placed the same helmet on her head again, but instead of buckling it quickly, stopped to kiss her slowly on the mouth, surprising the hell out of her. His lips tasted like salted caramel, and as he pulled away, he nibbled the flesh of her bottom lip, setting off a surge of lightning under her skin.

Just one kiss, and Andi could feel warm moisture between her legs. Surely sleeping with Colin would ease her hunger, and then maybe she could check out that online dating site that Lily had begged her to sign up for; she definitely couldn’t jump back into the sea of fish in her current state. She needed to be with a man who knew what he was doing, who could show her what she was missing and build the confidence she might have had if she’d never fallen into Jared’s dangerous web.

Twenty-six was too damn old to have spent so long sleeping with one crappy guy, and Colin was exactly the right type to help her get back in the saddle, so to speak. At that moment, Andi decided that no matter how scared she was, no matter how strong the fear threatened when the issue of sex came up again, she wasn’t going to back away from it this time. She would push through, no matter how terrified she might be of making a fool of herself, of doing all the wrong things. She refused to live her life afraid of something as inconsequential as sex.

And if she was honest, she also secretly hoped, deep down, that Colin could show her how to feel good in bed. She must have been with Jared hundreds of times, but it had never, ever been good for her; she’d always been left feeling hollowed out—empty—yet she still hoped, perhaps naively, that it wouldn’t always be that way. She hoped Colin could bring that part of her to life.

Chapter Seven

After driving from the set back into downtown Glasgow where they parked along Byres Road, Andi was sure her hair would look like a rat’s nest, but Colin didn’t say a word as he slipped his sunglasses into his shirt collar, then lifted the helmet off of her head. Andi reached up to smooth down any wayward strands, and caught Colin staring at her, hands in the pockets of the jeans he’d changed into back at the set.

“What?” she asked, suddenly self-conscious.

“You have no idea how appealing you are, do you?”

Andi resisted the urge to deny his compliment, knowing it would make her look like a silly teenager rather than the strong woman hidden inside her. She wished that woman would show up more often—she could really use a pep talk right about now.

“Thank you,” she said simply, meeting his eyes.

Colin reached up and placed a finger under her chin, raising it for her. “It’s true,” he said.

Andi swallowed around the lump that rose in her throat.

“You need to start accepting that. I don’t know what happened at the condo last night,” he started, and Andi opened her mouth to explain but Colin held up a hand as if to tell her not to interrupt and she bit her bottom lip instead of speaking. “And I don’t need to know,” he continued. “But whatever it is, you have nothing to be shy about.”

He stopped speaking and pulled her close against him. “And, if you’ll let me try again, I’ll show you just how sexy I think you are.”

Andi didn’t say anything. She couldn’t have if she wanted to because her brain was thick with fog, the words swimming in chaos, out of reach. Astonishing how, just using her imagination and a little research, she could craft scene after scene of sexual tension and release in her books, but a single, forward comment from this man had the power to undo her completely. It was becoming harder and harder to separate reality from acting. That’s what this was, after all, wasn’t it? A two-person play starring Andi and Colin—happy new couple—tumbling toward a known ending as each day of the short week passed.

Colin released her from his grasp and when his arm trailed down hers, he grabbed her hand, squeezing her palm as he tugged her eagerly toward the endless upscale boutiques along the sidewalk. The city was beautiful with its Victorian architecture framed by mountains in the background. Tourists and locals enjoyed after-dinner coffee and dessert as they leisurely read newspapers and worked on laptops at outdoor café tables. A few people looked up as they passed, some giving Colin second glances despite his dark sunglasses, but for the most part, they walked along unnoticed, blending in as though he and Andi were just a normal couple out enjoying the cool evening.

The notion wasn’t half-bad.

“Where are we going?” she asked again, slightly nervous that the jeans and sweater she’d chosen might not be appropriate for their destination.

“You’ll find out soon enough,” he said, glancing over at her, the corners of his eyes wrinkling with his grin.

They walked along holding hands and Andi was certain they’d be attacked by paparazzi, but then again, no press release had disclosed their plans like it probably had about the cast party at the hotel, so she breathed a sigh of relief, hoping they would have some uninterrupted time together.

She couldn’t imagine living her entire life with an audience like he did. No matter how her books grew in popularity, Andi would never have to face the challenges that Colin endured on a daily basis. Yeah, he had plenty of advantages. He was rich, for one, and could have just about anything or anyone under the sun that he desired, but at the high cost of his privacy. The thought of that kind of existence brought so many questions to mind.

“Colin?” she asked, and he stopped walking to give her his full attention, making her feel like she was the only woman on the planet. Jared had paid her plenty of attention, but not like this. Colin seemed to really want to hear what she had to say, rather than to break her apart. “Do you ever get tired of all this?”

His forehead knit as he looked at her. “All of what?”

“Just…all the fame. The people following you around with cameras and everything. Especially after what happened with your ex.”

His eyebrows knit together and he gave her a funny look.

Oops.
She cringed and swallowed. “I…did a little research online…just to make sure you’re not, you know, a murderer or something.”

He nodded but didn’t speak for a moment; Andi could tell that he was measuring his words carefully. “I wanted this life,” he said finally, “and I got it. Anything that comes as a result is something I asked for when I took that first major movie offer.”

Andi waited for an explanation before realizing one wasn’t forthcoming. “That’s it?” she asked.

“Yeah, that’s it,” he said, turning around to continue walking, his tone colder than she’d heard it since meeting him, as if her question had caused him to shut down, which of course only further increased her curiosity. How many regular people like her got the chance to spend time with a celebrity? She might even be able to use this experience in a book if she ever decided to write one with a contemporary setting. Colin still held her hand in his, so, despite his sudden change of mood, she had the gumption to probe a little further.

“But what about the paparazzi? What if you ever decide to have a family and they won’t leave you alone? How could you stand it?”

He kept walking for a few steps, staring straight ahead at the sidewalk toward their mystery endpoint until suddenly, he stopped and faced her, his eyes stormy and unreadable.

“That’s not something I have to worry about, seeing as how I’m not interested in marriage, and I won’t have a child without it.”

A flood of sadness came out of nowhere. What did she care whether or not he ever had a family?

Colin’s eyes had softened by the time Andi looked back up at him.

“It’s not that I don’t like kids—I do very much, actually—it’s just that I don’t see them in my future.”

Andi shook her head as if to say it was none of her business, which it wasn’t. But for some inexplicable reason, the thought of Colin never having a child saddened her. “No, it’s okay. I shouldn’t have pried. I know how you feel, actually. I’m getting to the point where I’m not sure I’ll ever meet the right guy.”

Colin nodded and reached for her hand again. They kept walking.

“I do want a family, though,” she said, so quietly that she wasn’t sure he heard her.

After a few minutes, he turned and flashed Andi the grin that women across the globe adored, the storm clouds from a few minutes ago gone from his eyes. “Here we are,” he said, slowing his steps to a halt.

Andi looked over his shoulder as Colin held out an arm. The boutique behind him was definitely not what she’d expected. She squinted at him. “Are you sure this is where you meant to take me?”

“Absolutely,” he answered.

“You’re positive this is the right place?”

“Andi, I don’t have time for games, so yes, I’m sure.”

“But it’s a—”

“A lingerie shop—yes, I know.” His voice softened. “Just trust me, Andi.”

She shook her head, backing away from both Colin and the looming store, the windows of which displayed exquisite panties and bras in enticing jewel tones. One look told Andi that a single pair of underwear from those racks would cost her a month’s rent on her tiny Dallas apartment.

“Where the hell are you off to, love?” Colin shouted, trailing after her.

“Oh no,” she said, quickening her pace. “I’m not going in there with you. No way in hell.”

He grabbed her arm gently and tugged her to a stop. Andi winced a little at the touch, a brief reaction that didn’t escape Colin. “Oh yes, you are,” he said. It wasn’t a question.

Andi crossed her arms and gave him a look that she hoped appropriately depicted how crazy she thought his idea. “I hate shopping for underwear
by myself,”
she said, loud enough to earn a few glances from passersby. She lowered her voice to a stage whisper. “So there’s no way on earth I’m going in there with”—she eyed him up and down—”with someone like you.”

“Oh for shit’s sake, Andi. It’s not like you’ve got anything to hide. I’ve seen you stark naked.” He waved a hand up and down her body. “I know what’s under those clothes.”

She fiddled with the strap of her tote bag. “That’s exactly why I don’t want to go lingerie shopping with you.” She could accept that he’d seen her body in all its natural…imperfect glory, but she couldn’t let him see her in those beautiful pieces of fabric, trying to be something she was not. Her eyes pleaded with him to understand how uncomfortable she really was.

As if to acknowledge and soothe her distress, he took her hand and raised it to his lips, kissing each one of her knuckles one at a time, in front of at least twenty strangers passing on the sidewalk, a few of whom slowed to stare. The gesture was so simple, and yet so intimate, that Andi felt more exposed than she had last night when she’d been completely bare in front of him. All she could do was stand, frozen, as he lowered her hand from his mouth. It seemed like several minutes passed before he opened his lips to speak.

“It’s not complicated,” he said, still holding her hand. “Just think of it like this. Actors wear costumes, right?”

She didn’t answer and exasperation crossed his face.

“Andi. They wear costumes, do they not?”

“Yes,” she said, her words raspy, still unrecovered from his gesture. She cleared her throat and tried again. “Yes. They wear costumes. But I’m not an—”

“Andi,” he interrupted, chuckling softly. “Let me finish, will you?”

She nodded, swallowing.

“When I put on that Viking costume—as ridiculous as that damn thing is—it changes something when I wear it. I’m not just Colin in bloody Viking garb, no. I
become
Bjorn. The clothes help me get into Character; they allow me to be someone else for a while. When you put on sexy lingerie, you’ll become the Andi McKenna I’ve seen hints of in there—the confident, sexy, deliciously curvy, lush young woman who just wants to have a little fun before she heads back home to write her next steamy bestseller.”

“I see where this is going, and I don’t like it at all,” Andi said, her heart racing at the thought of him buying lacy bras and nighties for her. Even as her pulse beat rapidly, though, the idea was…well, to tell the surprising truth…she wondered what it would be like to try them on for him. To have him admire her in such beautiful things. She did want to be someone different for a change, or at least herself but with the confidence he seemed to believe she could have. And the way he’d described her just now was flattering, to say the least.

Colin rolled his eyes. “For a writer, you’re not very adventurous, are you?”

The bastard was dead-on right. No way was she going to let him know that. “I
am
adventurous!” She didn’t sound at all convincing, even to her own ears.

Colin just blinked at her.

“I can be,” she said, weakly.

“Uh-huh,” he said, eyeing her with suspicion. “I saw just how adventurous you were last night.”

Ouch.

Colin’s eyes widened, and Andi could tell that he knew he’d hit a soft spot. How could he read her so easily? How could he see straight through her walls to the raw, defenseless parts of her?

“Look, I’ve spent a fair amount of time around women, and if I had to guess, I’d say that some jerk hurt you, and even though you want to know what it’s like to be with me, something’s holding you back. Am I close?”

No way would she admit that he was right, and she hated that he’d lumped her in with all the other women he’d been with. Though, why should she care? This wasn’t going anywhere permanent—she knew that—so what did it matter if he thought of her the same way as all the rest?

He didn’t wait for her to say anything. The answer hovered thick in the space between them. Andi shivered in the spring air, despite her sweater.

“So. Here’s how this is going to work. You’re going to follow me into that store. You’re going to pick out some things you like, which you’ll then try on for me. When you’ve chosen a sufficient amount of lingerie that makes you feel as sexy as I know you are, I’ll purchase the lot. Is that clear?”