by Lucy Monroe
"Everyone who has stopped us to talk has been a neighbor?" She found that hard to believe. Especially considering how far out he lived.
"Everyone in Cailkirn is a neighbor."
"Well, that makes sense."
"I notice you didn't ask if this was a date," he drawled with a tinge of sarcasm.
She gave him her best prim look. "Some might call it a kidnapping, but I prefer the term date."
"I gave you a choice about coming."
"So, a date."
"Does that mean you don't want anyone joining you?" a deep masculine voice asked from behind Deborah.
She turned her head, surprised to see the mayor. She'd seen his bio and picture on the town's website, but it didn't do him justice. Former Army Ranger, Sloan Jackson, was a definite hottie. With his brown hair cut and styled in the latest trend, molten grey eyes, a body on par with Rock's and features an action star or a rival politician would envy, he was the whole package. And a bag of chips.
"Sloan." Rock nodded in acknowledgement of his friend.
Unable to forget Miss Elspeth's words about at the mayor and his preferences in sexual partners, Deborah felt her cheeks heat in an uncharacteristic blush as she met the mayor's undeniably flirtatious grey gaze.
"This is Deborah Banes, one of the film people."
"Nice to meet you, Deborah. Elaine Morganstein mentioned you when we met."
Deborah smiled. "It's good to have the town's support of the film."
"We came to an amicable agreement after some discussion," Mayor Sloan said. Which wasn't exactly agreement but wasn't denial of her words either.
"Surely filming is good for the town." She understood Rock's attitude but was surprised the mayor would have taken any kind of convincing.
The information she'd found on him and the town seemed to indicate he courted publicity.
Sloan smiled, the expression every bit as shark-like as anything she'd seen back in LA. "This time of year is busy around Cailkirn. Businesses are already stretched to their limits managing the tourist trade off the cruise ships."
"But surely our small crew doesn't stretch the town's resources too much."
"As I've said, Elaine, Art and I worked out an agreement that's good for your movie and our town."
She wondered if that had anything to do with the change in filming schedule for town shots. Then realized, of course it did. It probably explained why the catering service was out of Kenai as well, when originally, she knew the intention had been to use someone local.
Everyone local was probably already fully booked. Just like this diner, with not a single open seat, unless friends shared a table.
She wasn't surprised, or even really disappointed when Rock invited Sloan to join them. He stood up to sit beside her though, putting Sloan opposite them and got a little a growly when Sloan flirted with her over the menu.
"What's the matter, Rock, worried she's going to realize she might be interested in seeing what else is out there while she's visiting our little town?"
Deborah laid her hand on Rock's thigh before he could answer and whatever words he was about to say turned into a glare and a growl but remained unspoken.
Sloan smirked. "Don't tell me she's tamed you already."
"Damn it, Sloan."
The unleashed power she felt vibrating off Rock felt anything but tamed to Deborah. "Are you being an ass on purposed, Mayor Jackson?"
The mayor threw his head back and laughed.
Rock turned and kissed Deborah right there in the middle of the busy restaurant. And not like he'd done on the boardwalk either. This kiss was anything but sweet. It was fast; it was hot, and it taste of both passion and possession. And no, she didn't mind that even a little. This wasn't about being a possession, it was about being possessed.
And it turned her on. A lot.
When he pulled back, she took a second to catch her breath and then asked, "Not that I'm complaining, but what was that for?"
Would he admit it out loud? His need to possess her? She was still smarting from his clear intention for their relationship still to end when filming did. Things had changed for her, but they hadn't for him. Or he simply wasn't willing to admit it if they had.
A man as stubborn as him probably never would be.
Rock looked at her, catching her gaze and keeping it, making her feel for that moment like she was the only other person in the crowded restaurant. "I like you."
"I do too, Deborah Banes." The mayor's voice was an unwelcome intrusion, but not one she could ignore. "And it's just Sloan to my friends."
She flicked her gaze to his and saw that the other man's eyes glittered with speculation. It was a familiar look, one she'd seen in other men's eyes many times in her life. And if she hadn't met Rock, she might have explored that look. Or not. This man was far too confident in his own attraction.
"I can't say the feeling is mutual." Deborah took a sip of her water and gave the mayor a reproving frown over the rim of her glass. "So far, all I've seen is your annoying side. How about you show me something else for the rest of dinner. Rock's your friend. There must be a reason why."
Both men laughed; Rock put his arm around Deborah and pulled her close to his side. "He's annoying all right, but he's got his good points. He was there for me when my parents died. He helped me with Carey and Marilyn."
"And that was a good thing?" she asked dubiously.
Mayor Sloan chuckled. "I tried not to be too bad of an influence."
"So, it wasn't your idea for Carey to affect an English accent."
"Is he still doing that?"
"Enough that you notice when he doesn't."
Sloan shook his head. "He's still hiding from who he is."
"Maybe not so much." Rock sherry gaze darkened with satisfaction. "He said the role is a statement, so he doesn't have to hide who he is as an actor."
"That takes guts," Sloan said. "I'd like to see that boy stop running."
Deborah pointed out, "He's not going to stop chasing his dreams."
"That's not the same thing as running from himself." The mayor sounded like he knew what he was talking about.
Dinner was nice, and Deborah did end up liking the mayor, but she was glad when she and Rock left the restaurant and were alone again. They were so rarely alone. Even when the film crew left, Carey was there. Their time alone was usually in bed and that always led to sex, then exhaustion…then sleep. Especially as early as most of her casting calls were.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Tension he hadn't realized had been gripping him dropped away as Deborah followed Rock into his bedroom. She'd been distant in some indefinable way since dinner.
He'd thought at first it might be Sloan, but as annoying as the mayor had been with his damn flirtation, Deborah had handled him just fine. No, it was something else. If he were a betting man, he'd put five thousand on the probability she was upset he hadn't wanted to talk about her coming back to visit after the movie was over.
But what was the point in letting her make promises she wasn't going to keep?
He was doing her a favor, even if she didn't realize it.
Deborah started peeling her clothes off with deliberate movements, her expression pure feminine provocation, no distance in her expression now. "I've got plans, Rock, and they require your cooperation."
"I like plans, hot stuff."
"I know you do." She stepped out of her underwear, no signs of self-consciousness, every glorious inch of her pale skin uncovered.
He could look at the feast in front of him for hours. Her breasts were a perfect handful, even for his big hands, tipped by dark pink nipples, already drawn tight with desire. The curve of her waist flared to perfect hips going down legs he wanted wrapped around him while he pounded inside her, or rubbed against her.
Damn it. He didn't care how they pleasured each other. He just wanted their bodies to be together, moving in unison.
His dick took immediate, near painful notice. "Damn, beauty, I'
ve suddenly got some plans of my own."
Her laugh was as sultry as a Caribbean summer night. "Maybe you should lose the clothes, Alaska Man." She started moving backward toward the bed, her body all sinuous grace.
He yanked his shirt over his head, not bothering with buttons, jerking his jeans and shorts off over his already hard cock with impatient movements.
She laughed at him. "In a hurry, Rock?"
"Yes."
She ran her hands down her torso, over those perfect pink tipped breasts, touching herself in ways meant to provoke. And damned if it didn't work spectacularly. He dove for the bed without a thought of playing it cool.
It didn't matter they'd already made love earlier today, or that they had a steady diet of daily sex, his need for her was as strong as if he'd had a long dry spell and met this sensual beauty for the first time. She was pure primal sexy.
Her laughter turned into a long, sensual moan as his mouth landed on the bare, soft skin of her throat. She undulated against him.
More provocation.
"You trying to make me lose my mind here, hot stuff?" he asked against her ear, his voice gruff with want.
Her foot slid up his thigh, caressing, taunting. "What if I am?"
"You're doing a damn fine job."
"Good." There was something there. Something in her voice. Something in the way she was teasing him.
But damned if he could focus enough to figure it out. Rock was used to being to aggressor. Even with this woman.
His beauty didn't lack confidence, but she wasn't like this. Pure heated desire rubbing against him with unadulterated intent.
She was all sinuous grace, soft skin so hot against his, he'd caught fire with a need that would consume him if he didn't meet it.
He pressed down, his hard cock aching, pure pleasure shooting from his groin to the rest of his body as his rigid sex rubbed against her moist flesh. She gyrated her hips, giving him delicious friction and making him groan.
"You like that, Rock?"
"You know it."
"Do you want more?"
Was she kidding? "You know I do."
She hitched her leg higher on his hip, opening herself to him, allowing his hard-on to rub against her swollen clitoris. They moaned together. And damned if her obvious pleasure didn't turn him on more.
The knowledge that his body was exciting hers, that not only was she allowing it, but inviting it, making it happen? That was intense in ways he did not want to think about.
This woman did it for him on every single damn level.
He surged forward with his pelvis, pressing against her, pleasuring them both, wanting to be inside her, but loving the feel of rubbing against her too much to stop what they were doing.
"Feels so good," she moaned in a voice laced with decadent pleasure.
Had any woman ever been as honest in her body's desire with him? If she had, Rock couldn't remember it. Deborah was special. And she drew forth a level of desire in him he'd never felt with another woman either.
"You are something special, hot stuff," he admitted just before taking her mouth again.
He poured feelings he would never give words to into that kiss. This relationship couldn't last beyond filming of the movie she'd come to Alaska for.
Deborah wouldn't be back to Cailkirn, but that didn't mean he wasn't going to take advantage of every day and night he had with her. Including wringing every last ounce of pleasure out of their current situation as he could right now. For both of them.
Rock continued to rub off against Deborah until he brought her to a shattering climax that had her screaming in his ear and arching up against him. He was coming moments later, his ejaculate splattering between them, marking her in a way that satisfied him on an atavistic level.
For several long minutes, they lay there, bodies pressed together, both their breathing harsh in the aftermath, the scent of spent pleasure mixing with sweat and pheromones in a fragrance Rock didn't find offensive at all.
"That was amazing," she said breathlessly as he cleaned them both up after he'd convinced himself to move.
Fighting the primitive urge to rub his come into her skin, he remained silent. He wasn't some kind of caveman that had to mark his woman with his scent. Deborah wasn't even really his. She was his temporary lover. That didn't justify the feelings of possessiveness twisting his insides.
Other lovers had never engendered these feelings and he'd be damned if he gave into them now.
"Didn't you think so?" she asked, sounding a little peeved.
He smiled, letting her see just how sated he was, his cock hanging against his thigh at half-mast. "It was good, beauty. Damn good."
"I mean I know we didn't, you know."
"For a Hollywood star you sure can be an innocent," he teased as he tossed the wet washcloth at the laundry hamper and pulled her close.
She snuggled in, no attempt to maintain any kind of distance between them. "I'm no star."
That was one of the things he loved about having her in his bed. She matched him perfectly as a lover, but she was a great sleeping partner too.
"We don't have to screw to get off." And he was starting to resent the condoms for some crazy damn reason.
It wasn't like he couldn't get off wearing one. He wasn't some selfish kid that claimed he couldn't feel anything wearing a glove.
He just didn't like the sense of separation. So, he'd gone for making love in a way they didn't need them. Yeah, it made so much sense. Not.
He wasn't ever going to admit that issue out loud. He'd deal with it.
"I have an IUD."
"What?"
"And clean test results from the month before we came up to Alaska. I guess you'd have to trust me when I tell you that I haven't been with anyone since six months before then."
"What are you talking about?" But he knew. She was talking about not using condoms. Like she'd been reading his mind. Or maybe, she wanted that intimacy too.
Which should scare the shit out of him. Neither of them should be looking for intimacy in their relationship such as it was.
She slapped his chest, and looked up at him, her glare pretty fierce for how relaxed into the afterglow she'd been. "Don't play stupid. Do you have recent test results?"
He didn't even consider prevaricating. "I do."
"I'll show you mine, if you show me yours." Her voice was teasing, but there was a thread of seriousness he could not ignore.
This was serious stuff. It was the kind of thing they shouldn't even be considering. Not for a few weeks-long affair.
"I'll pull them out tomorrow morning."
"Okay." She yawned, dropped her head down on his chest and went boneless against him.
He loved that moment, when her body told him she trusted him enough to let go of all her worries and trust him to watch over her sleep.
He lay there thinking about the other trust she'd just given him, trust neither of them should be giving each other, but a step he was infinitely glad they were taking.
When her phone range later, waking her out of sleep, Rock was not happy. The expression on Deborah's face as she listened to whoever was on the other end wasn't anywhere near pleased either.
"Okay." Pause as the other person spoke, the agitated masculine tones coming through the phone if not the actual words. "I said, all right. I'll talk to him."
She hung up and gave Rock a worried look, her bottom lip tucked between her teeth.
"What's going on?"
"They somehow managed to lose all of yesterday's footage. Art only just discovered it."
"How the hell did they do that? Who did it?"
"Art doesn’t know. The files were on the computer and the backup server, but they're gone, now and no one knows how."
"That's ridiculous. Someone had to have deleted them."
"Whoever did it isn't fessing up and it's not like we have major security on set. There's no way of knowing who signed into the computer. The whole editorial crew has ac
cess, not to mention Art and Ms. Morganstein's people."
"Is he sure it was an accident?"
"What else would it have been? Everyone on the crew and cast has a vested interest in this movie succeeding."
Rock looked thoughtful. "I suppose Gamble wanted you to ask me to amend the contract, giving you another day for filming."
"He did, yes." Deborah sighed. "I know that even if you say yes, you aren't going to be happy about it."
"If he agrees that when you're not filming, your time is your own, I'll let him have the day. I won't even bitch about it."
"So, I can spend that time with you?"
"So, you can get more sleep, spend time preparing during the day and yes, if you want, spend more time with me."
Deborah felt a grin split her face. Oh, she was so falling for this man. "I'm sure he'll be just fine with that." She knew she was. An extra hour of sleep some mornings would be very welcome. "And sometimes, I want to be on set when I'm not in the scene."
Rock tugged her back down into the warmth of his arms. "Just as long as every night you want to be here."
Rock was not hiding in the barn with the horses while the film crew took over his damn house again. Carey had convinced him to add an extra day of indoor filming to the contract for Marilyn's sake.
She had arrived that morning, all smiles, and hugs for her brothers and pure fascination for the movie being filmed on Jepsom Acres.
Rock had hung around the kitchen for an hour or so, but Mrs. Painter had shooed him away. He'd tried working, but he'd cleared his calendar for Marilyn's arrival.
Finally realizing his sister was not here to visit her eldest brother in any shape or form, Rock had come out to the barn to take care of the horses. There was always something to be done in care of the big animals.
Maybe he'd go for a ride. It didn't matter that despite having a lover in residence and both his siblings being home, he had no one to accompany him. He was not feeling sorry for himself. Millionaire businessmen were too busy for that kind of wasted emotion.
He pulled out Orion's tack and began to saddle the horse, talking to the big, black Percheron. "You'll be happy for the exercise anyway. Too bad we don't have someone to exercise Amanda."
