Star of His Heart (8 page)

That fight was taken out of his hands when they heard the sound of conversation right outside the trailer door and they quickly ended the kiss. He took a deep breath while forcing his body to cool down, which seemed nearly impossible to do.

He reached out and flicked the pad of his thumb across her bottom lip. “I know what you said last night, but I think we'll be doing each other an injustice not to explore what could be, Rachel. There will be risks but I intend to convince you they will be worth it.”

He leaned down and swiped a quick kiss across her lips before moving toward the door.

“L
et me make sure I got this right.” Wide-eyed, Charlene spoke in a low tone of voice as she leaned across the table while they waited in Roscoe's for their food to be served. Lower still, she said, “You spent the weekend with Mr. Drop-Dead Gorgeous himself? Ethan Chambers?”

At least Charlene hadn't blurted it out in a loud voice, Rachel thought, grateful for that, although it was evident Charlene was stunned. “Only
part
of the weekend,” she quickly clarified. “He arrived around eight Saturday night and left Sunday afternoon around five. That's not even a full twenty-four hours.” What she didn't have to say, and what Charlene could figure out on her own, was that a lot had happened during that period of time.

“Wow!” Charlene said, still clearly stunned. “Two weeks ago you said the two of you were nothing more than friends. What happened?”

Rachel drew in a deep breath, wondering how she was going to explain to her best friend that lust happened. The man was simply irresistible, both in and out of bed. “Well, it happened like this…”

Charlene leaned even farther over the table. Not only were her ears perked but her eyes were bright with curiosity. Rachel figured she was more than ready to take in all the hot-tamale details. “Yes?”

When Rachel didn't say anything, Charlene lifted a brow. “Well?”

A smile touched Rachel's lips. “Well what?”

Charlene gave her a don't-you-dare-play-with-me-like-that look. “Tell me what happened.”

“Whatever you can imagine probably did happen, Cha. The man knew positions that are probably outlawed in most states, and he has more staying power in bed than Peyton Manning has on a football field.”

A huge grin lit Charlene's face as she sat back in her chair. She exclaimed proudly as she looked at her with envy, “What a woman.”

Rachel shook her head as she recalled the past weekend. “No, what a man.”

And she seriously meant that. Ethan had her considering taking risks she normally would not take. He said he would make it worth her while and, considering this past weekend, she had no reason not to believe him. After that incident in the trailer a few days ago, she
had been trying to keep a level head around the set and handle things decently and in order. In other words, although she didn't try to avoid him, she didn't do anything to seek him out either. But she was well aware that he was waiting for her to make the next move.

She glanced over at Charlene. “What have I gotten myself into?”

Charlene smiled naughtily. “His pants, for starters.”

“Girl, be serious,” Rachel protested.

“I am.”

Rachel chuckled. Yes, her friend was serious and also right. She had gotten into his pants and was looking forward to getting into them again. How shameful was that?

“It doesn't make sense,” she said. “You know what a private person I am and how I hate being in the spotlight. Anyone involved with Ethan will have their face plastered all over the tabloids. There's no way to get around that unless we sneak around.”

“And how do you feel about doing something like that?”

That was a good question and one she needed to think about. Were earth-shattering, toe-curling orgasms worth all of that?

“You know what's wrong with you, don't you?” Charlene asked, smothering a giggle.

Rachel took a sip of her iced tea. “I don't have a clue.”

“You went without a hot male body too long. Trust me, I know how it feels.”

Rachel hated to admit that Charlene was probably right. In the past, she'd always had enough on her plate to keep her mind occupied so she didn't think about sex. She was just as busy now as she was before, so what was there about Ethan that made her want to make him a top priority on her “to do” list? It wasn't like she wasn't routinely surrounded on the set by gorgeous, sexy men. Why had her body decided Ethan was the one?

Before she could offer any more input to the conversation, her cell phone began vibrating. Caller ID indicated an unknown number. Normally she refused to answer those kinds of calls, but she felt a warm sensation in the pit of her stomach. She excused herself from the table and quickly headed toward the ladies' room.

“Yes?”

“This is Ethan. I want to see you.”

So much for him waiting for her to make the next move.

The sound of his voice plunged her into a sea of desire so deep she felt herself going under. “Why? Do I need to save you again?”

“No, but I do need you to make love to me like you did last weekend.”

If she hadn't been drowning before, she was certainly drowning now and there was no one around to throw her a life jacket.

“Ethan, I think—”

“You do too much of that.”

For a moment she struggled with the possibility that maybe he was right. “One of us needs to.”

“No, we don't. Just consider it something we both deserve. We work hard, so we should get to play harder.”

He did have a point. Didn't he?

She drew in a deep breath, wondering where her logical mind was when she needed it the most. It had probably taken a flying leap with that first orgasm Saturday night. “We're risking the chance of you being followed.”

“I have everything under control.”

Including her, she thought, when she tried summoning the gumption to deny what he was asking. But then all she had to do was to remember Saturday night or the kiss they'd shared in her trailer earlier in the week. His lips had teased her mercilessly, and his tongue had nearly made her short-circuit.

“Rachel?”

“Yes?”

“Will you meet me?”

She nervously licked her lips. “Where?”

He rattled off an address that was followed by a brief set of instructions. “Do you need directions?”

“No, I'll use my GPS,” she said, tucking the piece of paper she'd written on back in her purse.

Moments later, she hung up the phone with her heart pounding in her chest. Emotions she refused to put a name to stirred in her stomach, and she knew she was falling deeper and deeper into lust.

 

Slow down, buddy. The last thing you need is a ticket while racing across town for a night of hot and heavy sex.

Ethan flinched at the thought of that because he knew his meeting with Rachel was more than that. She was different and not just because she wasn't a woman anxious to blast their affair to all who'd listen.

And they were involved in an affair because neither of them was looking for any sort of heavy-duty relationship right now. He was satisfied to keep things under wraps as much she was, especially since he knew how she felt about the matter.

He had actually been followed for a short while after leaving his place. He had driven his car to the private parking garage of condos owned by a friend of Hunter's from college. If the person tailing him thought he was smart, Ethan intended to show he was smarter.

Ethan had parked his car in a designated spot and had donned his disguise before getting out of his car and getting into another vehicle—one owned by that same friend of Hunter's who was presently out of the country for the next month or so.

He had smiled upon leaving the garage and bypassing the photographer who was parked across the street, waiting for Ethan to come out. No doubt, the man would be there for some time while trying to determine what woman and at what address Ethan was visiting at this particular condo complex.

Ethan couldn't ever recall going through this much
hassle to keep his interest in a woman hidden. If he wasn't so concerned about Rachel's feelings, he truly wouldn't give a damn.

But he needed tonight. He needed her. This had been one hell of a week, with Frasier in rare form, demanding more than perfection from everyone. The rumor floating around the set was that the man and his partner were having problems. Although Frasier's policy demanded all of them leave any and all personal matters at the door and not bring them on the set, evidently that rule didn't apply to Frasier.

Luckily, so far none of Frasier's tirades had been leveled at him but at a number of others, including Tae'Shawna when she had messed up her lines. After the lie she'd told to Rachel, the woman hadn't gotten any pity from Ethan.

He had come close to confronting Tae'Shawna on more than one occasion about the lie she had told. However, Rachel had asked him not to say anything. She worried that Tae'Shawna would resent her for breaking a confidence and possibly even retaliate in some way.

Ethan exited off the interstate and noted a lot of cars on the road for a Thursday night. He was in Industry, a city in the San Gabriel Valley section of Los Angeles. His destination was an old warehouse owned by Chambers Winery that was used to store bottled wine shipped from the vineyard. In other words, it used to be their off-site wine cellar. More than once he had considered the idea of fixing up at least part of the place as a possible hideaway when he needed peace from the
media's scrutiny. This week he had acted on that idea, and after a few phone calls and explicit instructions, he had received word that the place was good to go. He couldn't imagine not bringing Rachel here to help christen the place.

More than once during the drive over, he had glanced back in his rearview mirror to make sure he was not being followed. Satisfied that he had not been, he pulled into the drive and around the side of the building that was away from the street.

Grabbing the pair of wine glasses off the seat beside him, he got out of the car and closed the door behind him. It was a beautiful August night with bright stars lighting the sky. The perfect night for a romantic rendezvous.

He had made good time, intentionally arriving ahead of Rachel. As he headed for the entrance with the wine glasses in his hands, he smiled. So far so good. His evening was going according to his plans.

 

Rachel pulled into the parking lot of the huge vacant building to park next to the vehicle already there. Her heart began pounding and her hand on the steering wheel began trembling somewhat.

She glanced around through her windshield. She had followed Ethan's instructions to the letter, and the huge building looming before her appeared dark and scary. But she knew somewhere inside, Ethan was waiting for her.

She opened the car door and glanced around as she
got out. It had been hard for her to consume her dinner knowing what her plans were for afterward.

If Charlene suspected anything was amiss, she hadn't let on. Rachel would give her best friend all the details later. But for now, the plan for tonight was something she hadn't wanted to share. She didn't want to take the risk of anyone talking her out of doing something she really wanted to do. She didn't want anyone to knock the craziness out of her and force her to go back to being her logical self.

She pushed the door and, to her intense relief, it opened, just like Ethan had said it would. The moment she stepped over the threshold, the smell of vintage wine consumed her nostrils. She could probably get intoxicated just from the scent alone.

The place was dark. The only light was a bit of moonlight shining in through one of the windows. She'd never been afraid of the dark but there was something eerie about this place. Her heart rate increased, and she fought back a nervousness that was about to consume her as she took a step back and bumped against the hard, solid wall of a masculine chest.

She gasped when a pair of strong, muscular arms reached around to enclose her within a powerful embrace. The familiar scent of him surrounded her and she breathed it in and relaxed against him. She could feel his hot breath at her neck, close to ear, when he whispered, “Welcome to my lair.”

Her heart rate steadied when another type of response took control—not fear of the unknown but apprehension
of the known. She knew why she was here, why he had asked her to come and how tonight would end up.

She released her breath with a shaky sigh when he turned her to face him and leaned forward to give her a more physical display of welcome, one she had no problem receiving.

His tongue tangled hotly with hers while his hands seemed to roam all over her, finding her bare skin not covered by her short skirt. And he was caressing her backside in a way that only he could execute. When he finally pulled back, she was grateful for his hands around her waist because her knees seemed to buckle beneath her, and she felt herself swaying against him.

He held her tight as he continued to rain kisses all over her face while his hands gently massaged her back. They stood that way for a while as their heartbeats and breathing returned to normal. But she was completely aware of the way her hard nipples pressed against the hard wall of his chest.

“Come on, let me show you around,” he whispered against her temple.

He took her hand in his, and using a flashlight that he pulled from his pocket, he led the way. She glanced from side to side and saw rows and rows of wine bottles and immediately knew this was a place his family owned.

“There's usually a security guard around,” he said. “Clyde has worked for us at this place for years, making sure no one runs off with anything. I thought I'd give him the rest of the night off.”

Instead of saying anything, Rachel nodded and
merely followed him through another door and up a flight of stairs. She tried pushing back the question rushing through her mind. Why was she here and not at home in her own bed getting a good night's sleep? After all, it was Thursday and tomorrow was a workday for the both of them. But she knew the reason. Ethan had called and said he wanted them to make love again. She wanted them to make love again as well. For what other reason would she be here?

She knew getting involved with him, secretly or otherwise, was probably not a good idea, but then she could do casual dating just like the next man or woman. She wasn't looking for everlasting love. She liked her life just fine the way it was.