Over Exposed (32 page)

The door opened and his heart tripped over itself to keep beating.

The low light from the hall backlit her so he couldn't see her face. And since he sat out of reach of the glow from the fire, she might not be able to see him.

He held his breath as she hesitated in the door for several seconds, only releasing it when she walked through and closed it behind her.

“Greg?”

“I'm here, Bree.”

She turned toward the sound of his voice, taking another step into the room before stopping. The fireplace was at the other end of the room from where he sat, and far enough away that she probably couldn't see him clearly.

“Where exactly is here?”

Rising from his chair, he walked toward her until they could see each other clearly.

She'd taken the time he'd sat here worrying to change, and he barely contained his growl of approval. Or the urge to rip the dress off her.

Made of some silky material he couldn't wait to get his hands on, the simple black dress molded to each and every curve the way his hands wanted to. If he was right, he'd only have to tug on the bow at her hip to get it open. The neckline plunged far enough that he could see the black lace of her bra beneath.

“You got my messages.”

Her eyebrows arched and he'd already started to smile when she said, “I'm here, aren't I?”

“And I'm grateful for that.”

Tipping her head to the side, she waited for him to continue.

He sighed. “Not gonna give me any leeway, are you?”

“Should I?”

“Probably not. So . . . Kate told me you signed the waiver days ago. Wanna tell me why?”

“Do you think it's any of your business?”

“I'm hoping it is, yeah.”

Instead of answering, she motioned toward the fireplace. “Can we sit for this conversation?”

“Only if you sit next to me and, when we're done, I get to pull on that bow and unwrap you like a present.”

She started to smile then bit her lips like she was trying to hide it. “Greg . . .”

“No debate.”

He scooped her up in his arms and held her against his chest as he walked to the loveseat near the marble fireplace.

Her eyes widened but she slid her arms around his neck and held on. When he sat, he kept her on his lap.

He already had an erection, and it throbbed even harder at the press of her ass against his thighs. He barely controlled the urge to kiss her and forget the talking, at least for now.

“Now, talk.”

She wrinkled her nose at his command. Fucking adorable. “Fine. I planned to meet you here one night but you left.”

“And that's why you told me we were through? Because you realize life with me would be a series of interruptions?”

She shook her head. “No, I realized I loved you, but I knew that when you left after the movie was finished I might not see you again, and I couldn't handle it.”

His mouth curved in a hard grin. “And what if I told you I don't want to leave you.”

Her answering smile was bittersweet as her hands sank into his hair, winding through it and tugging, which made his cock tighten even more. “I might be willing to give up everything to make it happen. But I'm not sure I want to be that person, the woman whose life is defined by the guy she's seeing.”

“What guy in his right mind would want a woman like that? Not me, babe.”

“Then what do you want?”

“You. Do you trust me?”

“If I didn't, I never would've let you take those pictures of me.”

He smiled, hope making his heart pound. “Then trust me when I say I don't want to wake up in a bed without you ever again. And yes, I know that's gonna be impossible but here's my propo—”

She kissed him, short-circuiting his brain and anything he might have added to the rest of that sentence.

It didn't matter now. She'd given him her answer whether she'd said the words or not. And he was going to hold her to them. And hold her against him for as long as he could. Preferably forever.

Of course, he still hadn't told her about the move. That could wait. Because she was kissing him like she was afraid she'd never see him again.

Her hands cupped his jaw as her lips moved over his, demanding a response he was only too willing to give. His hands tightened on her hips, lifting her so she could straddle his lap. And he really fucking liked this dress because it split apart to let her.

Now on her knees, she was slightly taller than him, and he had the unfamiliar sensation of looking up at her when she pulled back.

Her hair fell around his face, brushing against his shoulders until he wanted to take off his shirt so he could feel it against his chest.

Actually, he wanted her to remove his shirt. And maybe he was just a little bit telepathic because she drew back then, reached for the hem, and began to lift it over his head.

“I'm guessing this won't be the first time people have had sex in this room. Although I'm thinking it might be the first time there were only two people in here having sex.” She got rid of his shirt then rested her hands in the middle of his chest. The warmth of her skin seeped into his, made him breathe like he'd just run a flight of stairs. “Kate told me about you and her and Tyler.”

Now he couldn't breathe at all. “And?”

“And it's in the past. Yes?”

“I haven't been with another woman since the night I met you.”

Her eyes rounded. “Seriously?”

“As a heart attack.”

Instead of making her happy, that seemed to throw her off. “I don't know what to say to you sometimes.”

“Then just say yes. Or, ‘Please, Greg, take me now.'”

Her smile returned, sexier than ever. Bending closer, she made sure her lips were only a hair's breadth away from his when she said, “Please, Greg, take me now.”

He threaded his fingers through her hair, rubbing the silky strands against his skin. “As long as you realize that when I do, I'm not giving you up.”

“Then you better know the same goes for me.”

“Wouldn't have it any other way. Now . . .”

He let his free hand fall to that bow and give it a tug, watching as the dress fell apart at the front, revealing the black lace and gold satin bra molding her breasts. And the silver chain with the diamond-encrusted key hanging between her breasts.

“Jesus, Bree.” His words sounded strangled but he hoped she heard the sincere, loving sentiment behind them. “You're absolutely gorgeous and I fucking love you.”

“And you have the dirtiest mouth I've ever heard on a man.” Her hands had fallen to his pants, where they were busy working to open the button and the zipper. “Good thing I love you, too. Otherwise, I might have to punish you for it.”

He grinned so wide, his face hurt. “Promises, promises.”

He didn't ask about her panties. He just tore them off her hips and dropped them on the floor.

She either didn't notice or didn't care. And frankly, neither did he, because she wrapped one hand around his cock and stroked him, hard and fast, until he thought maybe she planned to make him come outside her.

No fucking way.

He grabbed her hips and brought her down until his cock split her wide.

“Mine.”

On a gasping breath, she agreed. “Yours.”

*  *

“Go ahead, Sabrina. Just leave already. These last fifteen minutes aren't going to matter. Get changed. Have a good time.”

Teresa had been trying to get her to leave for the past hour, but Sabrina had resisted. They'd been busy earlier and she didn't want to leave Teresa with all of the work.

But now that they were caught up . . .

“Are you sure you don't mind?”

Teresa rolled eyes. “Please. I was young. Once. If I was going to the party, you would've bet I'd have left you to fend for yourself an hour ago. Go. Have fun. Dance with a hot guy. Maybe do a little more than dance.”

Sabrina gave Teresa a quick hug then took her coworker up on her offer.

The New Year's Eve party had been in full swing for about an hour. She knew Greg was already there with Jared, Annabelle, Kate, and Tyler, along with the members of his cast and crew who hadn't left for home already.

She hadn't seen Greg but he'd texted her to let her know she should look for him when she got there.

As if she wouldn't.

Sebastian had stopped by the desk on his way to the party and she'd nearly laughed herself into the hiccups. Instead of a costume like Julius Caesar or the Blues Brothers, all of whom she'd seen walk by, he'd been dressed as himself. His stage self, complete with spiked hair, combat boots, ripped jeans, and a Black Sabbath T-shirt with the sleeves torn off that showed his spectacular arms in all their tatted glory.

Sabrina knew Teresa thought that's who she was meeting. Which was fine with her. Greg hadn't said anything about taking their relationship public and she figured that was okay. For now.

They hadn't really talked about how they were going to work their relationship other than they didn't want to give up on it. She figured she'd better get used to making the most of their alone time because who knew when he'd be back.

Or how long their exclusive arrangement would last.

She tried not to think about that as she took a quick shower, styled her hair, did her makeup, and dressed in the slinky red, sleeveless gown she'd found at a secondhand store. Kate had altered it to fit her like a glove and when she turned sideways, she could almost see the resemblance to Jessica Rabbit, which is who the dress had reminded her of when she'd bought it.

Now, she wondered if it wasn't a little too revealing.

Too late.

Grabbing her black lace mask, she hurried back down to the ballroom with only fifteen minutes to spare until the new year.

Jared was at the check-in podium when she walked up and he took one look at her and whistled.

“Please don't sue me for harassment but, Sabrina, you clean up well.”

She laughed, as she knew he'd meant it, and she loved Jared for making her feel beautiful.

“You don't look bad yourself, boss.”

He shook his head. “Not your boss tonight, sweetheart. Just a friend. Make sure you save a dance for me. Then again, your dance card might be filled.” His smile made her blush. “Annabelle and Kate have been texting me relentlessly for the past half hour. Please go tell them you're here so they can stop asking.”

With a smile and a wave over her shoulder, she made her way into the ballroom.

The amazing color of the costumes should have made her want to stop and stare, but she wanted to see Greg. Even if they weren't going to take their relationship public, they could at least have one dance tonight. And later . . .

She smiled and that's when she saw him. He'd already noticed her and was making his way across the ballroom toward her.

Her breath caught at the sight of Greg in a tux. Oh, my God. The man cleaned up well. Her heart began to race and she forgot she was on her way to sit with Annabelle and Kate until Greg was close enough to touch.

She thought he'd smile and continue on but he stopped in front of her.

“Hello, Greg.”

“Jesus, Bree. Let's blow off the rest of the party and leave right now. You look beautiful, sweetheart.”

She blushed, grateful for the mask that covered most of her face. “You look pretty gorgeous yourself.”

Then she glanced around to make sure no one was close enough to hear. “Sorry.”

He frowned. “For what?”

“I just thought . . .”

“Whatever you're thinking, unless it's how much I want you, it's wrong. Take the mask off, Sabrina. No more closed doors. No more hiding how much I want you by my side or in my bed.”

She didn't hesitate as she reached behind her head to release the mask then held it out to him. He took it and stuffed it in his jacket pocket then took her hand.

“Come and celebrate with me.”

“What are we celebrating?”

“The start of a beautiful relationship.”

Her mouth curved into a smile, her heart kicking into a bass line similar to one of Sebastian's songs. “I think I've heard that line before. But I think I like it.”

His answering smile held more than a little victory. “Guess it's a good thing I'm moving my entire base of operations to Philadelphia then.” He bent to steal the look of shock off her face with a kiss.

When he pulled back, she blinked up at him. “Seriously?”

“I've been thinking about it for months.” He lifted one hand to run a finger down her cheek. “But when I met you, I realized I'd do just about anything to make sure I could keep you with me. I want to be with you. I can work from anywhere. You can't right now. Yeah, it's gonna take some adjustments, but what relationship doesn't?”

Only one word kept popping into her head. “Seriously?”

He laughed but his expression quickly turned intense. “Absolutely.” Bending down, he kissed her, lingering over her until she couldn't breathe. And didn't care that she couldn't.

When he finally pulled back, he kept his gaze locked on hers. “Mine.”

Her smile widened until she couldn't help herself, and she started to laugh as she threw her arms around his shoulders. “No. All mine.”