“She loves you. And you love her. Anyone can see both of those things, even if your relationship isn’t perfect.” He continued to stroke his thumb over the soft skin of her jaw as her lips opened slightly in surprise at his words. “You were right when you said that love shouldn’t have to be a battlefield. When it’s with the right person, I’ve seen love be easy. Sweet. And perfect.”
He’d never wanted to kiss anyone as badly as he wanted to kiss her right then. One hot kiss was all it would take to make her forget her mother’s visit, and he could almost justify it to himself that way.
Only, he’d never seen her this vulnerable before, as if the armor she was so careful to put on every morning before coming to the set had been stripped away in one fell swoop by her mother’s unexpected visit.
It would be the easiest thing in the world to take advantage of her vulnerability.
Easy...and wrong.
Fortunately, Smith knew Valentina well enough by now to know that in the same way a kiss would have helped her forget her churning emotions over her relationship with her mother, so would getting back to work.
“Do you have a few minutes to discuss a request that just came in for a photo shoot with Tatiana and myself?”
She blinked at him in confusion for a few seconds, clearly surprised by his sudden shift. But then, the next time she blinked she was the same cool, calm businesswoman he’d taken one look at in that first meeting months ago and had been unable to forget.
“Absolutely. What are the details?”
He’d been so focused on turning her thoughts from her mother that, too late, Smith realized he might not have picked the best thing to discuss with her. Then again, perhaps her reaction might actually end up telling him more about her true feelings than she was willing to admit to his face.
“They’d like the two of us to play our characters, wearing clothes, makeup, even the props from the movie.”
“That sounds fine,” she said, clearly wondering why he’d felt the urgent need to discuss it with her right then. “Did they give you any other details?”
He tried to keep his voice easy as he explained, “The photo editor wants to do a pretty tight focus on the characters as a couple.”
He was pretty sure Valentina’s step faltered right before she said, “How tight a focus?”
“They want to portray the intimacy of the couple’s connection.”
She stopped in the middle of the lot, the fierce protector again, her cheeks flushed as she informed him, “I’m not okay with Tatiana being dressed up and photographed as some sort of nubile sex kitten.”
He wanted to smooth away the hard lines at the corners of her mouth. Not with his fingertips, but with his own mouth. With a kiss that would heal as much as it would arouse.
Soon, damn it. He needed it to happen before he lost his mind entirely over wanting her.
“Neither am I,” he said softly before clarifying, “From the conversation I had with the photo editor, I believe their goal is to highlight the romantic elements...not the sexual ones. And that’s the direction I’m pushing them to go in, too—for romance rather than sex. We see plenty of sex every day in magazines and on TV. But romance will stand out.”
He watched her long, smooth throat move as she swallowed. “Romance.” The word slipped from her lips with equal disbelief and longing. “That sounds—”
Her words faltered now just as her step had a short while before, not because she was worried about her sister being photographed with too few clothes on, but, he hoped, because she didn’t like the image of her sister being romantic with him. And there was only one reason that would bother her: if she wanted him for herself.
Finally, she got out the words, “You two are going to look great together in the magazine.”
Unfortunately, while he was glad to see she wasn’t nearly as immune to him as she tried to pretend, he hated hurting her in any way.
“Valentina, if you have any reservations at all about it, you need to let me know.”
But she had already stuffed the emotional woman away and was back to all-business. “I think the photo shoot sounds fantastic. People are going to see it and rush to the theaters to watch the two of you together on screen. And they won’t be disappointed.” She turned away to head back to her trailer. But then she stopped and faced him again. “Thank you for being so kind to my mother and her boyfriend.”
Frustration ate at him as he let her go back to her office, climb the stairs, and shut the door behind her. It had been a really, really long time since Smith hadn’t gotten exactly what he wanted, exactly when he wanted it. Not just because he was a movie star. Not just because he was wealthy enough to buy anything he wanted.
But because of the man he’d always been.
Smith knew how to focus, how to channel every last bit of his energy into his work. For the first time ever, even though the timing couldn’t be worse, he was considering turning that focus on a woman.
Hell, who was he kidding? It was pure need that was driving him to it, not some logical decision he was making. Because the truth was, he wanted Valentina so badly that the want, the need, was tearing at his insides. And it was a need only made worse by the sure knowledge that he could already have taken her, could easily have stripped her down and lowered her to the small leather couch under the window of her office for pleasure.
Once upon a time, her beautiful body would have been enough for him. And when he was younger, he would have believed that the easiest way to deal with the need would be to use his charm and looks to persuade her to have a hot, but very casual, film fling.
Only, something told him that uncovering that sensual layer wouldn’t be nearly enough. Not just because it would only fuel his need to know more about the rest of her...but also because he knew that if he risked touching only her body, she’d write off her heart entirely.
What the hell was happening to him?
He pushed one hand through his hair as he pulled his cell phone out of his pocket with the other. He hit speed dial on the number at the top of his list. Just hearing his mother’s voice had him smiling again.
“Hi Mom.”
“Smith, honey, how are you?”
“The movie’s going well.”
“I’m so glad to hear it.” She paused for a moment, and he knew she hadn’t been fooled by his reply about the movie and not himself. “And how is everything else?”