The Price of Fame. Anne Oliver

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      ‘I must’ve missed it. Obviously you didn’t.’

      ‘I’m a guy. I saw the word sex,’ he said, amusement in his voice as he flicked through the pages. ‘Okay, test your knowledge. Sales of condoms decrease when a recession hits—fact or fiction?’

      She took a moment to compose herself and consider. ‘Fiction. Definitely. Too expensive to go out and too expensive to have kids.’

      He nodded. ‘Correct. How about this? Humans are the only species to have sex for pleasure.’

      The way he said ‘pleasure’, all virile and velvet and promising, made her skin rupture with heat. She took another sip of wine. ‘Yes.’

      ‘Not so.’ He studied her with inscrutable eyes. ‘Apparently we’re not the only creatures on the planet wanting to get it on.’

      ‘Oh?’ But was she the only one in this room right now wanting to get it on? He was as relaxed as if he was discussing the weather, one arm slung over the back of the chair, whereas she was as tense as strung piano wire.

      ‘How about this, then? Men’s sexual organs are designed for more pleasure than women’s.’

      ‘Um …’ She trailed off at the hot promise of that pleasure. Her own feminine places dampened and she had to resist squirming on the chair. ‘Fiction.’

      ‘Yep. Women have it all over men in this department. According to the quiz, the clitoris is the only known organ that exists for the sole purpose of pleasure.’

      Oh. Her cheeks felt as if they were on fire. Had she ever had such a bizarrely intimate conversation with a guy before? ‘Um … sexual organs aside …’ she bit down on her bottom lip ‘… surely it would depend on who’s giving the pleasure?’

      His head came up and he looked at her through lazy-lidded eyes. ‘You’re a woman—you tell me.’

      ‘For me …’ She struggled for composure and sophistication. ‘It definitely depends on the partner.’

      ‘Wouldn’t this partner’s expertise have something to do with it? Besides liking the guy.’

      ‘Ah …’

      ‘I mean, you could be totally hot for him but if he doesn’t know how to do it for you … Ever had a guy like that? You really like him, the connection’s there, the spark, the desire, but then you’re left hanging. So to speak.’

      ‘Uh … hmm.’ Flynn. The earth hadn’t exactly moved with him. Ever. She’d told herself that was okay because she’d loved him, and love and affection and common goals were more important than physical fulfilment.

      Maybe she’d been wrong, because there’d been a shifting of tectonic plates happening beneath her feet since she’d kissed Nic. She knew instinctively that he wouldn’t be the type to leave any woman unsatisfied.

      ‘What’s this non-committal “hmm”?’

      ‘It’s a yes, okay?’ she snapped out, hating to admit it. Hating that he knew already. ‘I’ve had guys like that.’

      A slow and sexy, won’t-happen-if-you’re-with-me look drifted across his expression.

      If he ever decided to make a move.

      And why was this all about her? His focus was entirely too … focused. She deflected with, ‘But a guy can enjoy sex with anyone because it’s all about basic drive or need, right?’

      His gaze drifted over her like slow-moving lava. ‘Personally speaking, I like to connect with the woman I’m with. Enjoyment has to be about more than satisfying a basic urge. I feel a connection with you, Charlotte. I’m pretty sure you feel that connection too. I’d like to see where it takes us.’

       To heaven and beyond?

      His eyes had darkened as he spoke and she felt a shifting and thickening of anticipation in the air. But he didn’t move. Not so much as the flicker of an eyelash.

      Ah. ‘Are you waiting for me to give you the green light?’

      ‘Your call.’ He remained ostensibly at ease, legs sprawled in front of him, arm still relaxed on the back of the chair. Only a muscle tic in his jaw betrayed his tension. ‘You need to be sure this is what you want. But for pity’s sake, make it soon.’ His voice thickened and he looked down at his crotch. ‘Because you’re damn near killing me.’

      She’d deliberately kept her eyes above his waist, but now she followed his gaze to the impressive bulge in his shorts. And swallowed. Her whole body went weak, except for her galloping pulse. She also noticed his thighs were as tanned as his neck, sprinkled with dark hair and heavy with muscle as if he worked out. A lot.

      She wanted to touch. She wanted to feel those thighs rub against hers. She wanted that magnificent masculine part of him inside her.

      But she didn’t want entanglements. No morning after, no getting to know each other beyond the physical. ‘Only tonight.’

      ‘Fine. Should I take a shower first?’

      ‘No.’ She smiled. ‘Told you you’re considerate.’ She liked the way he smelled: warm and slightly sweaty but not unpleasant. A primal masculine smell that beckoned and aroused her feminine instincts. ‘I want it—I want you—as you are. I want to feel your sweat on my skin. Now.’

      He smiled back. ‘First move’s all yours.’

      ‘Mine?’ Her trembling fingers tightened a little on the soft terry lapels. She knew how to initiate sex … but with a man like Nic? Except she didn’t know Nic, not really. So what did she mean: ‘a man like Nic’? What did Nic-who-she-didn’t-know want or expect?

      ‘You could start by taking off that robe,’ he suggested after a few seconds of silence ticked by. ‘Or you could come over here and let me do the honours.’ Still he didn’t move. ‘I’ll leave that decision to you.’

      Eyes fastened on him, she pushed up off the chair. The few steps she took seemed like miles while her blood drained to her legs. She was glad of the background music because it covered the sound of her heart thumping its way out of her chest. Not with fear but with the illicit, dizzying prospect of having sex with a man who was, by anyone’s standards, a stranger.

      She was the one in control—because Nic had given it to her. She was the one with the choice. And she wanted this night with this man.

      Coming to a stop in front of him, she loosened the looped tie just enough so that the robe’s front edges parted slightly. As she was standing, his head was tilted back a little, eyes focused on hers, and it was her first chance to look down at him. She reached out and smoothed a strand of his hair off his brow. ‘Decisions, decisions …’

      He slid his fingers behind the loop in her belt and drew her closer, between hot, hard thighs, and she had to drop her hands onto the chair’s metal arms either side of him to keep her balance and stop herself from collapsing onto him.

      His breath, his scent and his heat mingled with hers as they continued to stare at each other. ‘You like being on СКАЧАТЬ