Danger Zone (8 page)

This night couldn’t end quickly enough. She’d completely backed herself into a corner. “Go back to school and study what?” she asked, playing the usual game as she spun the ring around her finger.

“Whatever you want. It’s your life. What turns you on?”

You.
But she certainly couldn’t say that, could she? Not while they were in the backseat of his limo all by themselves. Not when it would be too easy to get lost in each other. “Just because I think about finding a new job, doesn’t mean I don’t like what I do.” That was honest. “Usually, I really enjoy it.”

He studied her while he rubbed his hand in his lap. “I get it,” he said. “You’re an adrenaline junkie.”

She grinned. “Gosh, I’ve never heard
that
one before. What about you?” she asked quickly. “Once you sell the company, what do you want to do?”

The grin on his face dimmed. “You know…I wish I knew. All I can think about is getting out. I was never given a chance to do what I want. I was expected to follow the family business. I never figured out what I wanted to do, I just struggled with doing what I had to do.” Her heart went out to him. There was no avoiding the sincerity in his words. Part of her connected with him. Understood doing what had to be done to survive. He kept pressure on his hand, swirling motions over his knuckles. A nervous habit?

“How did you hurt your hand?” she asked.

The smile on his face fell and he quickly folded his arms across his chest. “Why do you ask that?”

“Because I noticed you’ve been rubbing the back of your right hand like it’s aching.” She raised her brows. “I’ve had my share of aches. I guess I’m tuned into it. What happened?”

Quinn looked out the window and his jaw flexed. “Car accident.”

She’d had her share of those. Of course they were all scripted. Still, they were never
fun.
Just work. Quinn’s reaction had her wondering. “A bad one?”

“I survived.” His tone, his complete shutdown, threw Ellie. Obviously she hit a nerve, not to mention a subject he didn’t want to discuss. What a pair they were. Hiding secrets, giving only the barest and most general information to keep the conversation going. A lot of jokes and not a lot of heart.

Pathetic.

“We’re here,” he said with an attitude change so abrupt, it could’ve been a movie take. Right on cue, the limo pulled up to her apartment building and Quinn checked his watch. “Ten fifty-four. I should get points for bringing you home a little early.” The smile returned to his face and sent a wave of tingles down her back. It was impossible
not
to be affected by his smile.

She’d rather give him something besides points, but that was out of the question. “Two points,” she said, lifting two fingers.

“Two? God, what does a guy have to do to get on your good side?”

Ellie glanced away from his exasperated pout and held back a grin. Luckily, Bill—she refused to think of him as Fido because then she wanted to call him Mad Dog—opened her door. She climbed out and started up the walkway. Quinn strode next to her. It was time for the obligatory after-the-first-date kiss. She really hated this part.

“I had a great time tonight,” she said. “Thank you.” Reaching her door, Ellie faced him, but she couldn’t quite make eye contact. Standing so close to her, he frazzled most of her nerves.

“You’re welcome. I had fun too.” He checked his watch. “Look at that, five minutes to spare.”

“You’re good.”
Damn. So much for not feeding the ego.

“What if we do this again tomorrow night?” His low voice wrapped around her, promising seduction and sin. His gaze drilled into hers.

“That’s probably not a good idea.”

Completely undeterred, he grinned down at her, his eyes sparkling with a not-so-hidden agenda. He brushed a strand of hair behind her ear and sent goose bumps along her nape. “What’s not good about it? We laughed, we talked. We had a close encounter of the oceanic kind.”

She smiled. It had been a nice night, but what had he really thought would happen? “Let’s be honest with each other, Quinn. You’re here visiting. I live here. I don’t do one-night flings or casual sex. I’m old-fashioned that way.” Shrugging, she put all her sincerity into her next words. “You’re a nice guy and I appreciated the dinner tonight, but you need to know that it’s not going to get you into my bed. Or me into yours.”

He still looked down at her with a gorgeous quirk to his upturned lips, his white teeth almost glowing in the darkness. Finally, he nodded. “That leaves four minutes.”

Her speech hadn’t fazed him. Ellie laughed and shook her head. “Does anything I say penetrate that head of yours?”

“So if you’re not going to go out with me again…if I don’t have a shot at getting under any sheets with you, be they yours or mine…do I at least get to end the night with a kiss?” His gaze fastened on her lips and Ellie’s heart rate picked up.

“I d-don’t really see the point,” Ellie murmured. “I mean the reason for a kiss is really just the beginning of something…” Damn. She didn’t want to mention the word.

“Something… What?” He moved closer, his broad chest and shoulders like a massive wall. His cologne mingled with the smell of seawater. “Something sexual?”

She nodded, unable to utter words.

“A kiss can also be the end of the something,” he told her. “Like the end of a first and last date.”

Ellie tipped her head to the side. Had he just admitted defeat? “So you understand that nothing’s going to happen between us?”

“I didn’t say that. Something’s going to happen. Just maybe not what I would’ve liked.”

“At least you’re honest,” Ellie said.

“Just like you.”

Resisting the urge to laugh in his face because she was maybe one of the biggest liars on the planet, Ellie focused on the collar of his black shirt.

“You didn’t answer my question,” he said softly. “How about a kiss?” He pulled away a fraction, amusement lurking in his eyes. He traced a gentle finger along her cheek. “I’m down to three minutes.”

God, she was such a pushover. “As long as you know it won’t happen again.” Her voice barely came out.

“A first and a last.” His whispered words floated around her as he closed the distance between them. Her heavy lids fluttered shut when he tipped her chin up and pressed his lips against hers.

Holy meltdown, Batman.

Quinn’s soft kiss insisted on cooperation. He cajoled her lips apart until she opened for him, welcomed him. The tip of his tongue brushed against her bottom lip and a rush of tingles ran riot over Ellie’s spine. Her hands crept up his chest, over his shoulders and wrapped around his neck. Oblivious to his wet pants, Quinn pulled her against him and tasted her more deeply. She gasped at the shock of his hard body. Not just muscle hard, but aroused hard. Despite her earlier trepidation, she loved the feeling of him against her. His tongue continued to own her mouth. Plunging, retreating, dancing with her own in the softest, sexiest kiss she’d ever experienced.

He pulled back, his eyes on fire with heat and lust. He ran a hand through her hair, settled his warm palm against her head as he stared down at her. “One minute left.” After one last stare that nearly incinerated her, he leaned in and kissed her again.

Nothing had ever been this good. No kiss had ever made her so completely ready to toss her no-sex-on-the-first-date/no-sex-with-out-of-towners rule. The gentle kiss slowly turned into something hot and hungry. With a hand on her lower back, he pulled her flush against him again and his erection burned against her belly. She had to be imagining things. He couldn’t seriously be that well endowed.

But she’d never get that far, they’d just made that perfectly clear, so she wrapped her fingers in his hair and kept their lips sealed together. He made love to her mouth. Kissed her deeply and stroked his tongue against hers in a slick, sensual dance. A low moan quivered in the back of her throat at the same time that Quinn’s fingers slid through her hair, his palm warm against her head.

Much too quickly, Quinn pulled away, breathing hard. He cupped her face in his hands. “You don’t look it, but officially you’ve turned into a pumpkin.” His husky voice sent a new wave of desire crashing into her stomach. “I could be in grave danger when it comes to keeping my points. I only have two of them as it is.”

Not really. After that kiss, he’d scored past the ten thousand mark, but he didn’t need to know that information.

Ellie smiled, forced her gaze away from his face and pulled out of his arms. “Don’t worry. Your points are safe.” She turned and unlocked her door before she could do the most ridiculous thing and invite him in. “Thank you again for dinner.”

He nodded and took a step back, shoving his hands in his pocket. “You’re welcome.”

She opened her door.

“Hey, Elle.”

She turned and he was right there. He bent his head and kissed her again, so softly. Just like the kiss in her trailer. Sweet and tender, and Ellie was lost in the gentle warmth of his mouth.

Quinn eased away a fraction. “Good night,” he said at her lips. “Sweet dreams.”

Ellie couldn’t find words. She just smiled and nodded. Stepping into her apartment, she closed the door behind her, leaned against it for support—since her knees were about to give out—and sighed.

“Oh my God.”

“Oh! My! God!” Ashley’s frantic words brought Ellie out of her date-daze. She stood near her bedroom door with her hair pulled back in a long ponytail, wearing the Rob Thomas T-shirt she always slept in. Her hands covered her nose and mouth like a surgeon’s mask.

Instantly alert, a healthy dose of adrenaline raced through Ellie. “What? What’s wrong?”

Ashley spread her hands in front her. Speechless. She pointed outside. “That kiss,” she finally blurted. “Oh my, God, did you see that kiss?”

Ellie exhaled with a smile. “See it? I was in on it.”

“Ohmygod, ohmygod, ohmygod!” Ashley danced around the room like a lunatic escaped from a mental hospital. Had it been that long since Ellie had been on a date that her roommate had to go bonkers?

Probably. Come to think of it, when was the last time she’d kissed a guy? Eight months ago? Nine? And how long had it been since she’d had sex? That thought was too depressing to dwell on.

Letting her roommate burn off energy, Ellie headed toward her bedroom. “While you freak out, I’m going to bed.”

“Oh no you don’t. Ellie Louise Morgan, you get your butt back here this instant. I want to hear every second of what happened tonight.”

“Uh oh. Anytime you pull out ‘Louise,’ I’m in trouble.” Giving in with a sigh, Ellie came back and collapsed on the recliner next to the sofa. She couldn’t hold back the huge smile splitting her face. It really had been a lovely evening. From the dinner, to the walk on the beach, to the goodnight kiss at the door. Yum.

Vaulting over the couch, Ashley sat cross-legged and stared at her wide-eyed. This was what college would’ve been like had Ellie gone. Forming lifelong bonds that stood the test of time. Sitting in T-shirts and underwear and ready to tell any and all of the deepest darkest secrets to a friend who’d go to the grave with the information.

Ashley insisted on the night’s details and Ellie complied, telling her everything from the table by the window to the rogue wave at the beach. Reaching for the brush on the coffee table, Ashley pulled her hair out of its band. “Admit it. You’re thrilled you wore the outfit. I mean, my God, you did see that man’s suit, didn’t you?”

Not to mention the man
in
the suit. A sigh floated from Ellie’s lips. “Yes, I saw his suit.” She closed her eyes and remembered his hands, his strength and warmth heating her skin. The way his lips smoothed across hers before taking complete control of her mouth.

“I wished I could’ve seen his face when he saw you.” Ashley closed her eyes and sighed too, as she brushed out her long hair. What a pair of mooning females they were. “God, what a hunk.” She sat forward on the sofa. Her spine straightened and her eyes widened. “I’m going to tell you something and I’m completely serious,” she said. “The way he dressed, the way he shared his dinner. He wants to stand out, you know.” She paused for effect. “He’s
the One
. I can feel it.”

Ellie bit her bottom lip and held back the laughter. Ashley’s dramatics cracked her up. “He is not
the One
. He’s not even the two.”

“But—”

“No buts.” Ellie stood, snatched her shoes by the straps and headed toward her bedroom. “He’s a nice enough guy, visiting the city, trying to talk to his brother and he’s leaving in about a week. That’s all there is to it.” Reaching her door, Ellie turned. Ashley’s dejected face made her feel cold and heartless. “I know you want him to be the guy that sweeps me off my feet,” she said, letting her down gently, “but he was just a date. A very good-looking, rich date.”

“He is rich, isn’t he?” Ashley said. “I saw that limo and that suit and I knew it.”

“Cute and rich do not define
the One.
This guy is looking for someone to warm his hotel bed and it’s not me. I’m sure there are a ton of women willing to keep him company. Hell, I’ll give him your number.”

“Yeah, Miss Big Talker. Give him my number.” Ashley rose from the sofa and came toward her. “Sometimes you have to let go a little, Elle, and live on the edge.”

“I work on the edge, Ash. I don’t want to live there too.” Ashley had always been a free spirit when it came to her sexuality. Something Ellie had never gotten the hang of. “I was never as casual as you are about sex and I never will be. I can’t just give my body away like that.”

“It’s not giving your body away when there’s mutual satisfaction,” Ashley said, “And I said
sometimes,
Elle. Just sometimes you have to let go.” She stood at her door across the short hallway, a smile on her lips. “You had fun, though, right? It was nice?”

Ellie had to nod. “Yeah. I had fun.” And that kiss at the door was way more than nice. A wave of tingles climbed up Ellie’s spine just remembering that kiss, the way Quinn’s mouth had owned hers, the mint taste of his mouth and his sandalwood cologne.

“He is totally
the One.
”

Blinking her eyes, Ellie stared at her roommate. “Why do you keep saying that?”

“Because you’ve never sighed before. Like you just did. After you’ve been out with a guy. Never. And I would know.”

“You were the girl who thought Freaky Fred was ‘the One’ for me too, and look how that ended.”

Indignant, Ashley’s eyes widened. “That was your fault. If you’d told me that he cracked his toe knuckles, I would’ve told you ‘
not
the One.’ But you kept that little tidbit to yourself.”

“I didn’t know that I was supposed to give over every little speck of information about every guy I go out with.”

“Not every speck,” Ashley insisted. “Just the important specks. And toe knuckle cracking is a definite no-no.”

Ellie shuddered thinking about it. She opened her door. “I’ve got to be in the makeup chair at six-thirty tomorrow morning. I have no idea why I’m still talking to you. Oh! Wait.” She turned back. “I almost forgot. Mark said the first AD asked him if any of us wanted to use our cars in the shot the next couple of days. And I told him yes. If you can squeeze into the car pool at work for a couple of days, they can use your car.”

“Starbucks money.” Ashley closed her eyes, all but in a precaffeinated high. “Absolutely, I’m in. In two days, my car will make enough money to keep me in coffee heaven for a good five or six weeks. God, I’m craving already.” Snapping her lids open, she grinned.

“Cool. Thanks, Elle. I love when my car works as hard as I do.”

“If you don’t start taking better care of your car, it won’t have the chance to work as hard as you do. I swear that thing is going to quit for good any day now. It needs an overhaul.”

Rolling her eyes, Ashley prickled at the subject. “Don’t start in about my car. It’s fine. If it were anything different, they wouldn’t be using it for their shot. They need something to offset the classic blue Mustangs. Hint. Hint.”

“Yeah, yeah,” So the sun damaged paint job and all the dents were strictly for show. “I get it. Good night, Ash.”

“Night, babe.”

Ellie brushed her teeth, washed off the makeup, slipped off her clothes and slid into bed. She didn’t even bother with a T-shirt. Glancing at the clock, she groaned. She should’ve been in bed an hour ago. Especially with a day like tomorrow ahead of her.

After setting her alarm for the ungodly hour of five, she snuggled deep under her covers and closed her eyes.

A vision of Quinn instantly popped in her head. All tall, muscular and handsome. Looking at her when she came out of the bedroom as though he’d never seen a woman as beautiful. Hadn’t that sent a spark of giddy anticipation through her veins?

Then at dinner, he’d given her his undivided attention. She’d been sure he’d scope out the restaurant to see if someone famous or more beautiful had walked in—out-of-towners usually did that—but he’d focused completely on her. Completely. He’d listened to every word she said. It was as if his amazing silver gaze could see through to her heart and soul. Almost as if he knew her secrets, but didn’t care.

Like that would ever happen. Ellie burrowed deeper into her pillow and let herself go. What would’ve happened if Quinn hadn’t set her down on the beach? What would’ve happened if he’d kissed her instead?

Her mind conjured up the star-speckled sky at the beach. The cool breeze blew through her hair. The sand seeped between her toes with every step and the smell of the salty ocean cleared out the city smog in her nostrils. Nothing was more beautiful than the majesty of an ocean.

Although the man next to her ran a damn close second.

There was Quinn, wearing his dark Armani suit, holding her away from the rush of the cool tide. He lowered her against him until their eyes were level. His gaze burned into hers with enough fire to set them both off. Instead of putting her down, he kissed her. One hand tunneled through her hair as his tongue eased its way into her mouth. His lips were demanding and hot, just like they’d been at the front door.

Ellie abandoned herself to her dream. Let Quinn continue to kiss her, lay her on the cool sand of the beach and cover her with his body.

Hello, big daddy, did he ever have a body. From the feel of things, she’d been right about the foot-to-penis ratio. But it was a dream, so that might actually be one of those weird dream-fantasy things that really couldn’t be possible.

His warmth seeped through their clothes as he kissed and touched her. She burned for him, wanted to feel him inside her. Wanted to devour him and take everything he had to give. Her clothes melted away at his touch until they were skin to skin. Sandalwood and sea air mixed together as their kiss got hotter, more out of control. Quinn moved over her, rocked against her. His weight pushed her deeper in the sand, sent her senses reeling on a different plane.

Suddenly a lifeguard appeared out of nowhere. On closer inspection, it was David Hasselhoff and he had on those red lifeguard shorts from
Baywatch.
What was he doing here? He flipped the alarm on a bullhorn. Talk about a fun killer.

She detached her lips from Quinn’s and craned her head at The Hoff. “Go away,” she told him. Couldn’t he see they were
busy?

All he did was turn the volume up on the horn.
Was that even possible?

Real life sank in. Her alarm. 5:00 a.m.

Well, crap. Just when it was getting good too. She smacked the clock quiet.

She didn’t mind doing Quinn in her dreams; it was the reality that scared her. She blamed her tendency of relating sex to love, and she was too chicken to see if she’d gotten past the habit. She’d fallen into two horrible relationships because of sex and didn’t plan on any repeat performances. No more broken hearts for her.

After taking a few minutes to get dressed and get out the door, and spending over an hour on the freeway, Ellie sat in the makeup chair with her eyes closed. While Lucia, the makeup lady, turned her into a Julie Fraser look-alike, Ellie visualized the upcoming stunt, went through every beat of what needed to happen to make it work.

The trailer door squeaked open. Julie’s call time wasn’t until seven-thirty so it couldn’t have been her. What if Quinn came in early to say, “Hi. Thanks for last night. I had fun. Really enjoyed sucking face at your front door too.” Nothing like a stupid fantasy to get her heart rate up.

“Elle, what in God’s name are you grinning about?” Lucia never missed a facial expression.

“I was just—”

“Well, as I live and breathe.”

The smile faded from her lips at the sound of that masculine voice, but she got it back. A wave of apprehension churned in her tummy. She kept her eyes closed. The production had been running so smoothly, and she’d done such a good job of pretending she wouldn’t see him, that his presence actually surprised her.

“Ellie Morgan, I haven’t seen you in what…five or six years?” he said.

Five years and four months, but who was counting?
“Leo Frost. I didn’t see your name on the call sheet.” As opposed to the cast list where his name topped the list. “How are you? It’s been a long time.”
Just not long enough.

“Long enough for me to have won an Oscar and an Emmy.”

Leo never wasted a second when it came to tooting his own horn. He had taken what…thirty seconds to bring up the awards? Ellie finally cracked open an eye. “I must’ve missed that.” It had been big news in Hollywood when Leo won both an Emmy and an Oscar in the same season. She doubted that even a hermit had failed to catch the buzz.

Leo flashed the movie star smile that made him eighteen million dollars a picture. How could people pay him that amount of money? Because his last six movies grossed nearly a billion dollars combined? Life wasn’t fair. How could a man with so much raw sex appeal be such a pain in the ass? Leo thought the world revolved around him. He only looked out for himself and he did it with a smile on his face. Six foot two inches of cut muscle, cobalt blue eyes, thick coffee-brown hair and the most fucked-up personality in Hollywood.

“You’re still a joker, Morgan. Love that sense of humor of yours.”

Terrific.

“So what? I don’t rank a hug anymore?”

Eek gads
. Ellie stuck her hand out. “Can’t mess up Lucia’s makeup.”

Leo actually
kissed
her hand and Ellie resisted the urge to snatch it back. She wouldn’t let what happened five years ago haunt her now. “Ah, Morgan, you’re a tough nut to crack. I forgot what a challenge you are.”

Because he was too busy screwing anything that moved. “If I were you, I wouldn’t try. Waste of time, Leo. Concentrate on the easy bait.” Just not the jailbait. Oops. Too late. “That reminds me… You get that lawsuit straightened out with the high school cheerleader?”

“Old news, Elle. Old news.”

Yeah, but it was fun to bring up.

Leo released her hand and sat in the makeup chair next to her. She’d heard that to make the charges go away, he’d paid the girl close to five million dollars, but that had been a rumor. Of course, in this town, most rumors stemmed from a certain percentage of truth. And she knew firsthand exactly how Leo Frost operated.

“So what have you been up to? Keeping busy?” he asked.

“Well, I—”

“Can you believe this is my seventh picture in a row?” He laughed. “But gotta strike while the iron is hot, right? I can sleep when I’m dead.”