Six winners. Six fantasies.

SIX MILLION DOLLAR SECRETS…

Plain Jane Kurtz is going to use her winnings to discover

her inner vixen. But what’s it really going to cost her?

She Did a Bad, Bad Thing by Stephanie Bond Available from Mills & Boon® Blaze® in July 2008

* * *

New girl in town Nicole Reavis is on a journey to find

herself. But what else will she discover along the way?

Underneath It All by Lori Borrill Available from Mills & Boon® Blaze® in August 2008

* * *

Risk taker Eve Best is on the verge of having everything

she’s ever wanted. But can she take it?

The Naked Truth by Shannon Hollis Available from Mills & Boon® Blaze® in September 2008

* * *

Young, cocky Zach Haas loves his instant popularity,

especially with the women. But can he trust it?

For Lust or Money by Kate Hoffmann Available from Mills & Boon® Blaze® in October 2008

* * *

Solid, dependable Cole Crawford is ready to shake

things up. But how “shook up” is he prepared to handle?

Tall, Dark and Filthy Rich by Jill Monroe Available from Mills & Boon® Blaze® in November 2008

* * *

Wild child Liza has always just wanted to belong.

But how far will she go to get it?

What She Really Wants for Christmas by Debbi Rawlins Available in the M&B™ collection Her Christmas Temptation in December 2008

KATE HOFFMANN

lives in a small town in Wisconsin, where she spends her days spinning stories for books. Before penning her first romance novel, published in 1993, Kate was a teacher, an assistant buyer for a department store chain, the head of alumni relations at a university, and an advertising executive. When she isn’t writing, she enjoys gardening, golf and genealogy.

Dear Reader,

When the concept for this book, For Lust or Money, was presented to me, I had some reservations. I’d never attempted an older woman/younger man story. But as I thought about the possibilities, I decided that it might be fun. After all, as a single woman over thirty (and forty, too!), I could relate to the fantasy of falling for a younger man.

Zach Haas isn’t just any younger man. He’s smart and funny and handsome – oh, and he has millions. How could Kelly Castelle keep from falling in love? Well, it wasn’t hard to find reasons… I simply asked myself what would keep me from falling for a guy eleven years younger than me.

Still, by the end of the book I’d managed to convince myself that it would be possible. Now I just have to find the guy! I hope you enjoy For Lust or Money. I certainly enjoyed the challenge of getting these two together for you.

Happy reading,

Kate Hoffmann

FOR LUST OR MONEY

BY

KATE HOFFMANN

www.millsandboon.co.uk

MILLS & BOON

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1

KELLY CASTELLE was in hell. At least, this was exactly what she imagined hell to be, minus all the traffic and the sidewalks and the buildings. She brushed a wayward strand of hair out of her eyes and dabbed at her damp forehead with her wrist. She’d had her share of awful jobs in the past, but this time, she truly believed she’d find Beelzebub behind the camera.

“Is it always so hot here?”

The driver glanced at her in the rearview mirror. “It’s the middle of August, miss,” he said. “And it’s Atlanta. What did you expect?”

“Something a bit more like L.A.,” she muttered. Back home it was warm, but she’d never experienced humidity like this. Her clothes clung to her skin and her hair had gone limp the moment she’d stepped off the plane. Wilted would barely do justice to the way she felt. And if she looked even half as bad as she felt, they’d fire her on the spot and hire another actress—one who knew how to look crisp and composed in ninety-five-degree heat.

Maybe this was all just a sign, Kelly mused. Just a week ago, she’d decided that it might be time to get out of Hollywood and show business and find a new life for herself. She’d worked on her acting career, first in New York and then in L.A., for nearly fifteen years and had nothing to show for it. Sure, she’d made a few guest appearances on TV series that had long been cancelled. She’d done some commercials and had a bit part in a cheesy horror movie. She’d even worked on a soap opera for two years before her character got killed off when a meteor fell on her trailer home. But she’d never been able to land a decent agent and she was fast approaching the age when no one would even bother calling her to read.

Thirty-five. There were plenty of actresses who would kill to be her age again. But over the past couple of years, Kelly had heard her career clock ticking down. Women in Hollywood had a short shelf life and she was beginning to mold around the edges.

Just last month, her agent had called to ask if she’d ever considered doing soft-core porn. Kelly would have fired Louise DiMarco on the spot had she not offered a national hemorrhoid commercial in the same breath. She’d turned them both down before Louise made casual mention of a small job in Atlanta, performing in a skit for the talk show Just Between Us.

Though it didn’t pay much, Kelly didn’t care. It was a free trip to Atlanta and a night in a nice hotel and enough money to pay the grocery bill for a few more months. Desperate to get out of L.A., if only for a day or two, she’d jumped at the chance. Though this could hardly be called her big break, at least it wasn’t soft-core porn.

But was she fooling herself? A bit part in a six-minute skit on a talk show could hardly even be compared to a walk-on in a feature film with a third-rate director. She’d have to make some firm decisions about her future once she got back to L.A. For now, she’d just have to focus on doing the best job she could.

“Here we are,” the driver said as he pulled up to the curb. “CATL studios. Need help inside with your bag?”

Kelly shook her head and handed him a twenty from her purse. “No, I’m fine. Thanks.”

He waved his hand. “The fare is taken care of by the show. The tip, too.”

The driver popped the trunk and jumped out of the Town Car, then helped her out of the backseat. Kelly drew a deep breath and stepped out into the heat. She stared at the exterior of the studio, a modern mix of glass and redbrick. Silver letters, spelling out the call sign, gleamed in the noonday sun. She glanced down to see her bag sitting on the curb as the car roared away.

“The show must go on,” she muttered.

Dragging her suitcase behind her, Kelly crossed a small courtyard and stepped through the wide glass doors into a cool, quiet lobby. A pretty receptionist sat at a sleek modern desk in front of a glass wall. Sofas and chairs were scattered about in small conversation groups and a bank of television monitors hung from the ceiling behind the receptionist’s desk.

Kelly pasted a smile on her face and stepped up to the desk. “Hello, I’m—”

“Miss Castelle,” the receptionist completed. She quickly punched a button on her switchboard. “Hi, Jane. It’s Mindy. Miss Castelle is here.” The receptionist looked up. “She’ll be right out.”

“Is there somewhere I could freshen up?”

“Oh, they’ll be taking you right back to wardrobe and makeup.”

Kelly blinked in surprise. “Makeup?”

“You’re scheduled to start shooting at…” Mindy peered at her computer screen. “In a half hour.”

“I—I thought we’d have a meeting or a read-through. I didn’t think we’d—”

“They work on a really tight schedule back there,” Mindy said, a hint of an apology in her tone.

Kelly bent down and frantically searched through her carry-on for her script. She’d glanced at it on the plane, but if she was expected to start taping in thirty minutes, then there was still work to do. She hadn’t even thought about her character’s goals and motivations. She’d assumed they’d cover that at the read-through.

Oh, hell, what was she worried about? It was skit. A six-minute skit for a local talk show. It would air once and then fade into television obscurity.

“Miss Castelle?”

Kelly struggled to her feet, the script clutched to her chest. “Yes?” The woman standing in front of her was dressed in a funky vintage shirt and black jeans that hugged her slender legs. Her bleached hair was cut in an asymmetrical bob that only makeup artists and wardrobe stylists could pull off.

“I’m Jane Kurtz,” she said. “Welcome to Atlanta. I’m just going to take you back to wardrobe and then we’ll get you into makeup.” She glanced at her watch. “How was your flight? Hartsfield can be a nightmare but you seemed to have survived it all right.”

She held the door open as she let Kelly pass, then led her through a maze of hallways. They came to an open door and Jane stepped inside a large room filled with floor-to-ceiling racks of clothing. “This is Karen Carmichael, my new assistant,” Jane said.

Kelly smiled at a dark-haired woman in her late twenties, dressed in a wildly patterned smock. A purple streak colored her ragged bangs and a tiny diamond glittered from one of her nostrils.

“Size two,” Karen said. “And five-six?”

Kelly nodded. “Good guess.”

Jane grinned. “See, Karen, I knew there was a reason I hired you. Although your ability to guess my weight to the pound is not a talent that I want you to cultivate.”

“One hundred and sixteen,” Karen said, with another glance at Kelly.

Kelly gasped. “Wow. That’s incredible.”

Karen looked at Jane. “Couldn’t you just kill her? The last time I weighed one-sixteen I was in seventh grade.”

Jane chuckled. “I’ll kill her after we’re done taping.”

Kelly glanced between the two of them and saw the humor in their eyes. “You can take some solace in the fact that I’m probably at least five or ten years older than each of you.” She paused, then held up three fingers, followed quickly by all five.

“Nicole is going to flip out,” Karen said. “You don’t look thirty-five. And you’re supposed to be the older woman in this skit.”

“Don’t worry,” Jane said. “The guy she’s working with looks really young. It’ll work. And the lights always add five years.”

They continued down the hallway to the makeup room. Jane placed Kelly’s bag beneath the counter, then sat her down in a chair in front of a wall of mirrors. A television monitor hung from the ceiling, the sound barely audible.

Kelly stared at her reflection. “My hair looks horrible.”

“I’ve got some miracle hairspray. We’ll just tip you upside down and give it a shot and then touch up with a curling iron.” Jane ran her fingers through Kelly’s hair. “Lovely color,” she said. “Who does your color?”

“No one,” Kelly replied.

“You do it yourself?”

“No, I don’t color my hair. Why, do you think I should color it?”

“No. Don’t touch it. I’m just surprised you haven’t found any gray yet with your hair as dark as it is.”

In truth, Kelly had found more than a few gray hairs at her temples. And she’d been methodically plucking them out, rather than admit that it might be time to visit a good colorist. But now that she wasn’t going to be an actress anymore, she wouldn’t have to worry. Women had gray hair in the real world. “Not yet,” she lied.

As Jane worked, Kelly reviewed the script. Just Between Us was an interesting hybrid of all the best elements of talk shows. The host, Eve Best, presented sexy topics, laced with humor and spontaneity, ranging from celebrity gossip to the latest trends in fashion to personal relationships. Lately, the producers had been using skits that resembled reality television, with small scenes interspersed through the show to highlight an upcoming segment. The title on Kelly’s script was “In Praise of Younger Men.” The smaller segments pointed out the pitfalls and pleasures of an affair with a younger man.

“Hello. You must be the older woman.”

Kelly glanced over to find her “younger man” standing in the door. She wasn’t sure what she’d expected, but seeing the typical Hollywood “himbo” as her acting partner brought a twinge of disappointment. The guy was gorgeous in that obnoxiously pretty way that was sure to make him look ten times better on screen than she did.

“Hi,” she said, forcing a smile. “Kelly Castelle.”

“Bryan Lockwood,” he countered with a nod and dazzling white smile. “Say, can we move this along? I’ve got an 8:00 p.m. flight back to the coast and I can’t miss it. I’m meeting with Hanks’s people tomorrow morning about a part in his new film.”

“Tom Hanks?” Kelly asked.

“It’s a big part. My agent says I’m perfect for it. And later this week I’ve got a meeting with Cruise’s new production company. The last thing I want is to screw that all up because of this silly job.”

“We’re almost ready,” Jane muttered.

“Cool. I’ll see you on set,” he said, giving Kelly another dazzling smile.

“What an ass,” Jane muttered a few moments after he’d left the room. “That guy was a nightmare in the chair. I had to redo his foundation three times until I got that sun-kissed, west-coast, Laguna Beach shade that he wanted.” She placed her hands on Kelly’s shoulders and met her gaze in the mirror. “I’ll let you in on a little secret. He’s got a receding hairline. I give him two more years before he’s going to need plugs.”

“Thanks,” Kelly said. “This whole job is really taking a toll on my ego.”

“You’re gorgeous,” Jane assured her. “Look. That classic profile, that perfect nose. Those cheekbones couldn’t get any higher.” She grabbed a pot of lip liner. “And look at this mouth. All those women who get their lips plumped up have got to be green with envy when they see yours.”

“All right, my ego is soothed,” Kelly said with a laugh. “No need to overdo.”

Jane carefully filled in with lipstick then handed Kelly a tissue to blot. “You’re set. Come on, I’ll take you out and introduce you to Nicole. She’s the segment producer.”

Kelly looked at herself in the mirror. She still looked good. There were plenty of actresses her age that looked older. Drawing a deep breath, she cleared her mind of all the insecurities and self-doubts. This was just another acting job. And though it might be the last of her career, she’d be the consummate professional.

And later, when she got back to her hotel, she could give in to all the emotions that raged inside of her and have a really good cry.

ZACH HAAS STOOD in the shadows of the set, staring through the lens of the television camera at the woman sitting on the park bench. Since she’d walked onto the set, he hadn’t been able to take his eyes off of her.

He zoomed in on her face, which was turned in profile, and studied her features. He’d worked behind the camera at Just Between Us for six months now and he couldn’t recall ever seeing a more extraordinary woman. Every feature of her face was in delicate balance with the others. Perfection, he mused. And just slightly exotic. He couldn’t put his finger on her heritage, but it was a tantalizing mix that had given her deep mahogany hair and pale green eyes and smooth porcelain skin.

“All right,” Nicole Reavis said, “let’s get started. Why don’t we do a quick run-through while George adjusts the lighting and then we’ll roll tape? We have four short little scenes here. Cultural references, life experiences, sexual compatibility and future happiness. In this first one, you’ve just met and you’re talking about music. Kelly, this is where you realize that Bryan has never really listened to the music that defines your life. And it makes you uneasy.” Nicole stepped back and walked back toward the control room. “Whenever you’re ready,” she called.

They were taping with two cameras and Zach waited to hear Nicole’s voice through the headset he wore. She’d give him and John the cues for close-ups and wide shots, as well as calling out directions to the actors over the P.A. system in the studio.

“All right, let’s get this on tape,” Nicole called after they’d run their lines.

Kelly glanced over at the cameras with a nervous look. “I—I’m used to rehearsing a bit more. Can we just run it a couple more times?”

“Don’t worry,” Nicole said. “We’ll fix any problems in editing. From the top.”

Zach focused on Kelly and smiled to himself as she began to deliver her lines. He’d spent a lot of time looking through a camera at all sorts of people and places. Nearly six years in film school, first undergrad in Colorado and then graduate school at City University of New York, had taught him that not everyone looked good on film. But no one had ever looked quite as beautiful as this woman. She was like one of those movie stars from the thirties, glamorous and alluring.

He felt a frisson of desire shoot through him and he drew a ragged breath. Ever since he’d come to Atlanta, he’d been careful to avoid any serious entanglements with the opposite sex. There had been women he’d felt mildly attracted to and women he’d taken to bed. After all, he was twenty-four years old. A guy had needs. But he’d avoided anything that came close to a real relationship.

His needs. That’s what had gotten him into trouble in the first place. Or maybe it had been all about the risk, the danger, the kick of seducing an older woman… especially a woman with power. But he’d never expected her to use that power against him. It had cost him everything he’d worked for, everything that meant anything to him.

“Zach!”

“I’m here,” he murmured to Nicole.

“Pull back a bit.”

Zach did as he was told, the murmur of Kelly’s voice serving as a soft counterpoint to his thoughts. The day he’d left New York, he’d decided to give up his penchant for older women, but now he had cause to reconsider. Kelly Castelle was the first woman he’d seen in a long time that had caused an immediate and intense reaction. Though she couldn’t be that much older than he was. She looked thirty, tops, and what was six years?

“I’m sorry,” Kelly said, rubbing her forehead. She looked up. “Can we go back and do that again?”

“If you’d read the line right in the first place, we could all get out of here!”

Kelly gasped, then turned to look at Lockwood. “I just think the pacing is a little quick for this scene.”

“Cut!” Nicole shouted.

Zach frowned, then stepped out from behind the camera.

Bryan Lockwood stood up and shook his head, throwing his hands up dramatically. “This is ridiculous. I’m just not feeling it. She’s not giving me anything to work with here. What’s my motivation? Why would I even take a second look at a woman her age?”

“I’m sorry,” Kelly said, her voice trembling slightly. “I—I’m just used to a bit more rehearsal. Let’s do it again. I’m sure I’ll be able to get it right—”

“No,” Bryan replied, “I’m used to working with professionals. It’s obvious you don’t know what you’re doing.”

Zach felt his temper rise. Just who was this jerk? He had no right to talk to Kelly this way. But before he could speak up, Kelly stood up and whacked the guy over the head with her script.

“Listen, you…you little—shit. I was studying acting with some of New York’s finest teachers while you were still watching Barney. I was doing Shakespeare in the park while you were playing a munchkin in your grade-school production of The Wizard of Oz. Don’t you dare question my professionalism or my talent. I’ve been at this for fifteen years. When you’ve been a working actor for that long, buster, you come and see me and then we’ll talk.”

“The name’s Bryan,” he muttered. “Bryan Lockwood. Remember it. You’re going to be hearing a lot about me in the next few years.”

“The only person who’ll remember you in ten years will be your mother.”

“I don’t need this job,” he muttered. “Get yourself some community-theatre castoff to do this.” With that, Bryan Lockwood turned on his heel and strode off the set.

“And you better look into hair plugs right now,” Kelly shouted after him, “because you’re going bald!”

The door slammed behind Lockwood and the studio became eerily silent. Kelly, wide-eyed and flushed with temper, glanced between Nicole and the assistant producer. She swallowed hard, then attempted a smile. “I’m sorry. I—I don’t know what got in to me. I’ve never, ever spoken to a colleague that way.” Tears swam in her eyes. “I—I don’t know what to say. Please forgive me. I—I’ll just be going now.”

“Hold it,” Nicole said. “You’re not going anywhere.”

“I—I just assumed you’d be…firing me.”

“We’ll call in another actor. We’ll have to find someone local. And make a note. We are not paying for Mr. Lockwood’s plane ticket home. Geez, what an ass.”

“I’m so sorry,” Kelly said. “I just don’t know what got in to me. I’ve never done anything like that before, I swear.”

Nicole rubbed her temple as if to ease a tension headache coming on. “We’re not going to be able to stick to our taping schedule if we have to wait around for another actor.”

“I’ll do it,” Zach said. The words were out of his mouth before he realized he’d said them. He slowly stepped out from behind the camera. “Hey, it doesn’t look that hard. And I took some acting classes in college. I’m here and you’re paying me anyway, so why don’t you let me give it a shot.”

He met Kelly’s gaze and saw a look of gratitude in her pale green eyes. A tiny smile touched the corners of her sensuous mouth and at that very moment, Zach wondered what it might feel like to kiss her. He’d soon find out since there was a kiss written in to the script.

“I suppose we don’t have anything to lose,” Nicole said. “Are you sure you want to appear in front of the camera?”

“It’ll be an interesting experience,” Zach said. “And Larry’s been looking for a chance to get behind the camera. He can take my place.”

“All right,” Nicole said, glancing at her watch. “I’m going to give you two an hour to work this all out and then we’ll try taping it. If it doesn’t look good, we’ll call in another actor for tomorrow.” She handed him her script.

A few moments later, they were alone in the studio. Kelly sighed softly. “Thank you. I don’t know what to say.”

“No problem,” Zach said. He was afraid to look at her, afraid that once he did, he’d never be able to drag his gaze away. “So, I guess we should rehearse.”

She held out her hand. “I’m Kelly Castelle. Extremely embarrassed actress.”

Zach took her fingers into his grasp. The moment he touched her, he felt his blood warm and his pulse quicken. She had such beautiful hands, perfectly tinted nails and long fingers. His mind flashed on an image of her fingers skimming over his chest, then moving lower to his belly, and then lower still. Zach stifled a moan. “Zach,” he murmured. “Zach Haas. Accommodating cameraman.”

A long silence grew between them. “Maybe we should start?” she said. “We don’t have much time.”

As they read their lines for the first segment, Zach found himself distracted again and again by a surreptitious study of her face. Even with the cheesy dialogue, she managed to find the true emotion in the script. Her acting seemed so natural and effortless on the surface, but he could sense her analyzing and adjusting as they went along. Obviously the jerk they’d hired to play opposite her hadn’t been smart enough to see what she really was. Careful, nuanced…real.

“It’s your line.”

Zach shook himself out of his distraction. “What?”

“You. It’s your line.” She paused. “I’m really sorry for this. If you don’t want to do this, you don’t have to.”

“I do,” Zach answered. “I do.”

She closed her script and smoothed her fingers over the cover. “I don’t know what got in to me. I’m usually a very calm person. I can’t remember the last time I blew up at someone.”

Reaching out, Zach smoothed his palm over the back of her hand. He hadn’t thought twice about touching her. It seemed like the most natural thing in the world, to soothe her regrets. “If it’s any consolation, he deserved it.”

She stared down at his hand, a hesitant smile on her lips. “Still, that’s no excuse.” Drawing a deep breath, she closed her eyes for a moment. “Maybe I’m having a midlife crisis. Not that I want to run out on my husband and have an affair, but I’m just feeling so restless. Like I need to make a huge change in my life or I’ll just go crazy.”

“Do you have a husband?” Zach had never considered that prospect. She wasn’t wearing a wedding band. But then, she wouldn’t wear it if she were playing a single woman in the skit.

“No,” Kelly replied.

“Good.” He smiled as he traced a long, unbroken line up her forearm with his fingertip. “I mean, good that you haven’t broken any marriage vows. Not good that you’re not married. Unless, you don’t want to be married. Then it’s good.”

She giggled and fixed him with a sultry look. “How old are you?”

“Very old,” he teased. “Ancient by teenage standards.”

“I’m old.”

“How old?” he asked.

“In Hollywood, everyone is twenty-nine. Besides, it’s not polite to ask.”

Zach leaned back, stretching his legs out in front of him and linking his hands behind his head. “I don’t think age makes any difference.”

“The only people who say that are too young to know better,” Kelly said.

Zach clutched his chest. “Ouch. That was cruel.”

“Age makes all the difference,” she said with a serious expression. “At least where I come from.”

“You are, without a doubt, one of the most beautiful women I’ve ever met. And I’d still think that, no matter how many candles you put on your birthday cake.”

Kelly blushed. “You may not be old, but you are charming beyond your years.”

“How about we just pretend we’re the same age?”

“That would be a bit difficult considering the casting of this skit.” She glanced down at the script. “We should probably get back to work. We haven’t gone over the last segment.”

“The bedroom scene? I figured you were saving the best for last.”

This time she laughed, a light, musical giggle that echoed through the studio. “You are so cocky.”

He grabbed her hand and laced his fingers through hers. “I love it when you talk dirty to me.”

“Change of plans!”

Kelly yanked her hand from his and stood up, nervously clutching her script. Nicole swept into the studio and regarded them both with a curious expression. Her eyebrow rose as she gave Zach a disapproving look. “We’re going to have to put off taping until tomorrow afternoon. We’ve got to retape a remote interview for another show before the end of the day. Kelly, we’ll have your driver take you back to the hotel. We’ll change your plane ticket and get you another night at the hotel. I hope that’s all right with you?”

“Fine,” Kelly said. “I’ll be ready to go tomorrow, I promise.”

“Then you’ve rehearsed everything?” Nicole asked.

“Not everything,” Zach quickly said. “But we can get together tonight and run lines. Your hotel?”

His request took her by surprise, but Zach knew she couldn’t refuse extra rehearsal, especially in front of Nicole.

“I really think we should keep this on a professional level,” she whispered, just out of earshot of Nicole.

“I wasn’t suggesting a date,” he said, grinning.

“We can meet early tomorrow, before we’re scheduled to tape.”

Zach wasn’t about to give up so easily. He wanted to explore this attraction he had to Kelly and that would take some time outside the studio and away from the prying eyes of his coworkers.

“Zach, can I see you in the hall?” Nicole asked.

He sent Kelly a smile, then followed Nicole. When they reached the hallway, she turned to him.

“Are you sure you took acting classes?” she asked.

Zach nodded. “Three semesters.”

“Then you must have missed the lesson where they taught you not to hit on your costars.”

Zach chuckled. “I’m just trying to get the best performance I can out of Miss Castelle.”

KELLY STARED AT her reflection in the dressing-room mirror. Her face was flushed and her eyes bright and it wasn’t until a few minutes ago that she was able to breathe normally.

This was crazy! From the moment Zach Haas had stepped out from behind the camera, she’d been unable to think, unable to do anything more than just lose herself in every detail of his face and his body. The sound of his voice, the color of his eyes, the shape of his mouth. He was one of those incredibly gorgeous young men, the kind who didn’t realize the effect they had on women, the kind who made females of all ages weak in the knees.

In the course of a half hour together, she’d managed to convince herself that he was probably the best kisser on the planet, that he had a killer body beneath the baggy cargo pants and T-shirt he wore, and that he could seduce a woman by simply smiling at her.

Yes, he was young. But his playful, boyish nature combined with just a bit of bad-boy attitude and quick-witted intelligence was a lethal combination in a package like that.

She’d pegged his age at twenty-five, give or take two years. If he were only twenty-three, then she was dancing close to perversity. But if he were twenty-seven, then that was nearly thirty. And any man over thirty would be an appropriate choice for her.

Kelly groaned and buried her face in her hands. What was happening to her? Ever since leaving L.A., she felt as if her life were spinning too fast for her to think straight. Was it the heat? Or was she really standing on the precipice of a midlife crisis?

“Are you all right?”

She sat up and looked at Jane’s reflection in the mirror, then slowly turned around in the chair. “I’m fine. It’s just been a really long day. I got on a plane this morning at 5:00 a.m. and I haven’t had a chance to relax since then.”

“Your car is waiting out front. He’ll drive you back to the hotel and pick you up tomorrow afternoon. We’re scheduled to tape at three and Zach will probably be available before then to rehearse. If there’s a change, Nicole will call you at the hotel.”

“Thanks,” Kelly said. She slowly stood. “Again, I’m sorry about all the trouble I caused.”

“Don’t worry. We’re all looking forward to seeing Zach in front of the camera. He’s usually the one giving us grief about our jobs, now we can give him some grief about his performance.”

“He seems like a really nice guy,” Kelly commented, trying to sound objective and uninterested.

“He can be. He’s also an incorrigible flirt and too sexy for his own good. Be careful with that one,” Jane warned. “I suspect he’s talked his fair share of ladies right out of their clothes and into his bed.”

“I got that feeling, too,” Kelly said, forcing a smile.

“But then, he is legal, so what goes on between consenting adults is…”

“How old is he?” Kelly asked.

“Twenty-four, I think. Maybe twenty-five. He was in graduate film school until he started working for the show last winter.”

Twenty-four, Kelly mused. Somehow nine years seemed a whole lot more acceptable than eleven. There was a double-digit difference between them!

“Well,” Jane said, “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“I’ll be here,” Kelly replied. She stood up and began to gather her things to change back in to her street clothes. She slowly unbuttoned the silk shirt she wore and let it fall off her shoulders. A soft knock sounded on the door and a moment later it opened. She expected to see Jane again, but Zach stepped inside.

Kelly snatched up the shirt and held it over her chest. “Hi,” she said.

Zach’s gaze slowly drifted down her body. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to—”

Kelly turned her back to him and slipped in to the shirt again, clutching it closed in the front. “What is it?”

“Nothing important,” he said.

She faced him, waiting for an explanation. A frown furrowed his brow and he studied her face for a long moment. Then in a few short strides, he closed the distance between them. Before she could even protest, he captured her face between his hands and kissed her, his mouth melting against hers, his tongue delving into the crease of her lips.

When he finally drew back, Kelly couldn’t think of anything to say. Should she be angry or insulted? In truth, her mind was whirling. Zach Haas knew exactly how to kiss a woman. He’d obviously had a lot of practice. After all, she’d been fantasizing about it since he’d stepped out from behind the camera and it had been so much better than she could have imagined.

“There. We got that out of the way,” he murmured, running a finger along her cheek.

“Out of the way?”

“I knew if we didn’t, I’d be thinking about it all night. And since we have to do it in front of the camera tomorrow, I thought we might want to get the…bugs out.”

“So that was just practice?” Kelly asked, trying to catch her breath.

“Maybe,” he said. “And little bit of curiosity. Should we try again? Practice makes perfect.”

She didn’t object and he took that as an invitation. He kissed her again, this time lingering over her mouth until she opened beneath him. The kiss was deep and stirring and Kelly felt a delicious warmth course through her body. What harm could it possibly do to kiss Zach Haas? It certainly was one of the more pleasant experiences of her life. And an actress had to prepare for these things. Besides, she needed something to take her mind off the disaster that had made up the day’s events. Now, at least she had a bright spot to look back on.

“Maybe we should rehearse tonight,” Kelly suggested.

A wide grin broke over Zach’s face. “I think that would be a very good idea. I want to make sure we get it right. It needs to be believable.” He slowly backed toward the door, keeping his eyes fixed on her face. “I’ll call you when I get done at the station.”

“Yes, call me,” she said. “I’m staying at the Sheraton.”

“I know,” he murmured. “Everyone from the show stays there. I’ll see you later, then.”

“See you,” Kelly said, giving him a little wave.

When the door closed behind him, she drew a deep breath and groaned. Oh, God, what was she doing? Every instinct told her to keep her relationship with Zach strictly professional. And every impulse told her to do the opposite. He was just so…hot! And it had been a long time since she’d indulged in the pleasures that a man’s body offered.

There had been boyfriends over the years, but Hollywood romances were always rather shallow and short-lived. And Kelly had a unique talent for picking men who were emotionally unavailable. Whenever things came close to getting serious, they usually headed for the door. She once visited a therapist to try to sort it all out and the woman had claimed it was Kelly who was deliberately choosing men who wouldn’t stay because she was the one afraid of commitment, afraid of anything coming between her and her career. But who cared about commitment? All she wanted was a chance to kiss Zach Haas again.

Kelly reached up and touched her lips, still damp from his tongue. Her heart was still pounding at a rapid rate and she could barely draw a breath without growing dizzy. She felt silly and nervous and overwhelmed. What difference did age really make anyway? Hell, any man who kissed as well as he did was no novice to seduction. They were two consenting adults who were attracted to each other, so there was nothing standing in the way.

She was just a little bit more adult than he was.

2

KELLY RELAXED in the backseat of the Town Car as it sat stalled in rush-hour traffic. She pulled out her day planner and wrote down her call time for the next day, then flipped through the pages, searching for the number of her yoga instructor. She traded acting lessons for private yoga instruction and she’d made plans to meet with Katie tomorrow morning. Plans that would have to be cancelled. “McCready,” she murmured.

As she was looking through her planner, she passed a familiar name. Angie McMahon. Sweet Nothings. Atlanta, Georgia. She and Angie had been roommates—and best friends—seven years ago, until Angie gave up acting to marry a businessman from Atlanta. They hadn’t spoken in almost two years, but still exchanged long letters with each Christmas and birthday card they sent.

“Are we near Buckhead?” Kelly asked the driver.

“About five minutes away,” he said. “But your hotel isn’t in Buckhead.”

“I’m not going to the hotel. I want to go somewhere else if that’s all right.”

“Wherever you want to go, miss,” he said. “You just have to be there by six. I’ve got to make a run out to the airport for a pickup.”

“I can grab a cab back to the hotel,” she said. “The shop is called Sweet Nothings.” Kelly read off the address and the driver nodded, then made a lane change when they reached the next intersection and turned right. Within minutes, they were moving more quickly.

She and Angie had shared a tiny two-bedroom apartment in West Hollywood for almost three years, while they were both trying to break in to television work. One night, they’d gone out clubbing and Angie had met Joe Sheppard, a devastatingly charming thirty-five-year-old in town on business. After a long-distance romance, they’d fallen in love and married in a lavish ceremony in Santa Barbara. Now, Angie had a four-year-old daughter and owned a lingerie store.

The driver found the location in a matter of minutes and dropped her and her overnight bag at the curb. Kelly walked up to the door and saw by the sign that the shop was open until six on Tuesday evenings. How would it be to see Angie again? They barely had anything in common anymore, beyond the friendship they’d once shared. And at times, Kelly had envied Angie’s happy marriage and her new family. Her friend had given up her dreams of stardom and simply exchanged them for a better dream.

Kelly opened the door, then set her bag just inside and strode up to the counter. “I think my boyfriend is stealing my underwear,” she said in desperate tone, recalling an old joke between them. “And he likes to wear it. Do you think we should break up?”

Angie glanced up and a wide smile broke across her face. “Kelly Castelle! What are you doing here?” She hurried around the end of the counter and threw her arms around Kelly’s neck, hugging her tight. “I can’t believe it’s you. Gosh, look at you. You haven’t changed a bit.”

“I’m here for a job. I’m doing a segment for Just Between Us.”

Angie stepped back. “The talk show? Really? How long are you going to stay?”

“Tonight and tomorrow night.”

“Oh, that’s so great! We can have dinner tonight. Joe is out of town on business and Caroline is at Joe’s sister’s place for a birthday sleepover. I’m a single woman. At least for one night.”

Kelly thought about the offer for a long moment. She didn’t really have firm plans with Zach, just plans to make plans. And she had enough trouble controlling herself in his presence. It wouldn’t do to tempt the attraction she felt toward him with an evening of kissing rehearsal. “All right. We’ll have dinner.”

“Oh, drinks first and then dinner. God, I can’t believe you’re here. It seems like ages ago that we lived together. I miss having a roommate. It’s so hard to talk to Joe about that time in my life. He just doesn’t get it.”

“It does seem like it was ages ago.” Back then, they were both twenty-seven or twenty-eight and still full of hope about their future. They’d tell each other nearly every day that their big breaks were just around the corner.

“You haven’t changed,” Angie said. “I think you might have even gotten more beautiful. I’ve been watching for you on television and checking your page on IMD.”

“My career has slowed down a little. Ever since I got written off on the soap, I’ve just had a few jobs. Nothing big.” Kelly took a deep breath. “In fact, I’m thinking about getting out of acting. I’m going to look for a real job—a normal job. Maybe sell real estate or get a job in casting.”

“Oh, you should move here!” Angie said, her eyes full of excitement. “I need someone to help manage the store. I’m opening up another location in midtown and I can’t be two places at once. And you’d love Atlanta. It’s got everything that L.A. has, except people are real here. And everything doesn’t revolve around the movies. And you don’t have to even think of plastic surgery until you’re at least forty.”

Kelly shook her head. “I don’t know. I haven’t really decided where I’ll settle. Just that I have to make a change.”

Angie glanced at her watch. “Come on, let’s get out of here. It’s nearly six. I’m the boss and if I want to close early, I can!”

She grabbed her purse from beneath the counter, locked the register and then slipped her arm through Kelly’s. “My car is parked out back. Where should we go?”

They ended up at the bar at the Sheraton. Kelly checked in, then made a quick trip up to her room to wash her face and change. By the time she got back downstairs, Angie had already ordered them a pair of cosmopolitans and was chatting up the handsome bartender.

After three drinks and a lot of memories, it seemed as if only a few hours had passed, instead of seven years. Kelly hadn’t had a roommate since Angie had left and she realized she hadn’t had a best friend, either. She needed someone to confide in, someone who’d understand all the changes she was going through, someone to help sort through the confusion.

“So, tell me about your sex life,” Angie said, getting right to the point.

“I don’t have one.”

“Oh, come on. All those gorgeous men in L.A. and you aren’t dating someone?”

“For every gorgeous man there are three gorgeous women. And two of them are younger than me.” Kelly gnawed on her lower lip. “Actually, there is someone I’m interested in. The only problem is that he’s younger.”

“Younger is good,” Angie said. “Like a few years younger? Or boy-toy younger?”

“Eleven years,” she replied.

Angie’s eyes went wide. “Oh, my. That’s definitely boy-toy.” She took another sip of her drink. “Is he wonderful in bed? Please tell me all the details. I’ve been sleeping with the same man for seven years and I’d like to imagine someone out there is having wild and crazy sex. Not that we don’t have our moments. My talents as an actress have come in handy on more than one occasion, though I’ve been typecast as the French maid.”

“We haven’t done anything yet,” Kelly admitted. “In truth, I just met him today. There was just a…a spark. I know he’s interested and the more I think about it, the more I think I might be interested, too. Or maybe curious is a better word. And I think I’m reading the signals right, though I can’t be absolutely sure.”

“I don’t think the signals have changed over the years,” Angie said. “Why not go for it?”

Kelly groaned. “Because he’s twenty-four, for starters. Isn’t that reason enough?”

“No. Men at that age are in their sexual prime, they’re adventurous and uninhibited and…energetic. They say that older women should be with younger men because they’re a better match in bed, orgasmically that is.”

Her answer did make sense and Kelly was forced to rethink her position. Maybe it was that simple. Maybe, when it came to sex, younger was better. “God, he’s so gorgeous,” Kelly said. “And he’s not an actor, so I don’t have to worry about him spending the entire evening talking about himself. He’s just a regular guy with a beautiful face and killer body and this bad-boy smile that just makes me want to tear off all my clothes and give him everything he wants.”

“Then why the indecision?”

“It would just be sex,” Kelly said, wincing. “There’s no future with him. I thought I gave that kind of thing up a long time ago. I’m older and I’m supposed to be wiser and less self-indulgent.”

“You’re older, but you also have the maturity to take pleasure where it’s offered,” Angie said. She picked up her drink. “Here’s to new experiences. And new beginnings. Maybe you’ve found more than you expected here in Atlanta.” She downed the rest of her drink then set the glass on the table. “It’s time for me to go home. I’m a little drunk and I’m horny and I’m going to call my husband and force him to have phone sex with me.”

“You can’t drive.”

“I’ll take a cab and come back and get my car in the morning. The shop doesn’t open until ten. If I’m up early, maybe we can have breakfast. We can talk a little more about that job I have for you.”

They walked out to the lobby together and Kelly gave Angie a hug. “It’s been so nice to see you again. And let’s definitely have breakfast tomorrow. I don’t want to leave without seeing you again.”

“Call me,” Angie murmured. “Or I’ll call you. Better yet, I’ll just stop by.”

Kelly watched as she walked out of the lobby, giving her a little wave. The bellman motioned for a cab and a moment later, Angie slipped in to the backseat. Kelly smiled as she walked over to the elevators. It was only eight, but she felt as if she’d been awake for days. She hadn’t eaten, so she’d order something light from room service then crawl into bed and sleep.

She closed her eyes as the elevator climbed to the twelfth floor. She could sleep or she could call Zach Haas and invite him over. No doubt there’d be a message from him waiting on her voice mail. Kelly giggled softly. God, was she really considering making a booty call?

The elevator doors opened and she walked down the hall toward her room, weighing her options. Kelly noticed a man sitting on the floor near her room door, his attention focused on his cell phone. She hesitated for a moment, then recognized Zach. “Oh, boy. Here we go,” she murmured to herself.

With every step she took, she felt as if she were walking in to dangerous territory. The sexual attraction between them was undeniable and incredibly intense. And a man like Zach was probably used to acting on his urges and getting exactly what he wanted whenever he wanted it. She’d lived her life within the lines for so long. Was she really ready to step out and do something so bold and daring?

He stood up as she approached, tucking the phone in his jacket pocket as he leaned back against the wall. Kelly reached in to her purse and withdrew her key card. He watched her the whole time and she tried to keep her hands from trembling.

“I was about to leave,” he murmured.

She sent him a sideways glance, their gazes meeting for a long moment. Kelly felt a shiver run down her spine at the look in his eyes—confident, determined, a bit predatory. He had one thing on his mind and she knew what would happen if she let him into her room. He’d find a way to seduce her and she wouldn’t be able to stop him. “I’m surprised you came,” she said.

“I was in the neighborhood.”

“How did you know my room number?”

“The production crew is in and out of this hotel all the time. Since we pay for the rooms, the front desk gives us the numbers.”

Kelly slid the card into the lock and the door clicked. She pushed it open, then turned back to him. “Can you just wait out here for a second?”

“Sure,” he murmured.

She slipped inside the room and closed the door behind her, then hurried to the bathroom. The fluorescent light over the sink flickered on and Kelly stared at herself in the mirror. Running her fingers through her hair, she tried to calm herself. “Nothing will happen if you don’t want it to,” she said to herself.

But the truth was, she did want something happen. She wanted to cast aside everything she’d always known about sex and start again. Only this time, she’d find the spontaneity in it, the all-consuming passion that had always been lacking in her relationships with men. She could be a different woman with this man, could test the boundaries of her need. It would be so simple, one night together with no strings and no expectations—and absolutely no inhibitions.

So what was holding her back? “Fear,” Kelly said. What if it was so wonderful that the memory stayed with her for the rest of her life? What if every man she met in the future were measured by one night spent with a twenty-four-year-old stranger?

Or what if she didn’t measure up? What if he found her too repressed or too nervous…or too old? Though she kept in good shape, her body wasn’t perfect. He was probably used to a twenty-year-old butt and fake boobs and skin that was smooth and tanned and tight. She’d fought her battles with cellulite and she’d lost.

“Oh, God,” Kelly said. She unbuttoned her blouse and looked down at her chest. Maybe she should have gotten the boob job when she’d had the cash. She was so completely unprepared for this. She should be wearing black underwear, not this silly leopard print. And she should have fixed her hair and taken time with her makeup and put on a bit of perfume. Oh, and then there were condoms. She didn’t have condoms!

A knock sounded on the door and Kelly quickly buttoned her blouse and hurried back into the room. She pulled the door open and peered out.

“If you’re going to be much longer, can you get me a beer from the minibar?” Zach asked. “And some peanuts if they have them.”

Kelly opened the door. “Sorry. I just needed a moment.”

Zach strolled inside. “Let me guess, you had to put on your nice underwear?”

“Very funny. I always wear nice underwear.”

He walked over the minibar and pulled out a beer. “Can I make you a drink?”

“No. I’ve had enough to drink for one night.” Her face felt flushed and she blamed it on the cosmopolitans she had shared with Angie, not on her nerves. She’d been with plenty of men. This was just one more. He had all the same equipment, all the same body parts. She’d studied the operator’s manual and knew what to do with him. So why was she so nervous?

“It might help you relax,” Zach said.

“Do I seem tense? I’m not. Not at all.” Kelly grabbed her purse. “If you’ll excuse me, I have to run down to the lobby. I need to buy some toothpaste before the gift shop closes. I’ll be right back.”

She hurried to the door and slipped out into the hallway. This was horrible. She was a wreck and he was probably regretting his decision to see her outside of the studio. If she intended to have one night of incredible sex, then she needed to pull herself together and at least appear as if she were interested—and capable. She rode the elevator back down to the lobby and headed toward the gift shop. Of course they’d have condoms. People had sex all the time in hotels.

She wandered through the small store, past the T-shirts and the coffee mugs, the magazine rack and the stuffed animals, to the corner that featured the toiletries. She found the condoms in boxes of three. They came in a variety of brands…and sizes. The last time she’d shopped for condoms, there was only one size.

Kelly grabbed a box of regular and a box of XLs, then walked to the checkout stand. A young man stood behind the counter. He smiled at her as she set her purchases down. Then he rang them both up. That’s twenty-four ninety-three,” he said.

“What?”

“That will be twenty-four ninety-three,” he repeated.

“For six condoms? Good grief, when did sex get so expensive?” The young man leaned forward. “If you go on over to the CVS, they’re a much better buy. We kind of count on the fact that folks need ’em in a hurry and they’re willing to pay.”

Kelly reached in to her purse and pulled out her wallet, but she’d spent the last of her cash on drinks with Angie. “Can you put these on my room bill?” she asked.

“Sure, what room?”

Kelly opened her mouth to tell him, then realized that the show was paying for the room. They wouldn’t be too thrilled to see condoms on the bill. “Tell me something,” she whispered. “If I put these on my bill, will they be itemized?”

The young man shook his head. “No,” he whispered back. “It will just say gift shop. For all anyone knows, you bought twenty-four ninety-three worth of potato chips and candy bars.”

Kelly tucked the condoms into her purse and signed the tab. “Thanks. You’ve been very helpful.” She walked out of the store and back to the elevator.

“Have fun!” the clerk called, his voice echoing into the hallway.

“That’s exactly what I intend to do,” Kelly muttered.

ZACH GRABBED THE REMOTE from the bedside table and flipped on the TV, running through the channels until he found ESPN. He slid a pillow behind his back and kicked off his shoes, stretching out his legs in front of him. This was the strangest date he’d ever had, if it could even be called a date.

After the kiss they’d shared that afternoon, Zach had looked forward to spending some time with her, knowing where that one kiss would inevitably lead. He couldn’t recall ever being so focused on seducing a woman as he was on seducing Kelly Castelle. And he’d thought she was equally interested in him.

But now he wasn’t sure where he stood with her. Kelly seemed almost afraid to be in the same room with him. Was she having second thoughts? If so, what was the hang-up?

Maybe she was married. Maybe she did have a husband waiting for her back in L.A. And maybe she was contemplating cheating. Zach tipped his head back and ran his fingers through his hair. This was becoming a problem with him—he jumped in to sexual relationships with complicated women, seducing them before he even had a chance to examine the luggage they brought to bed with them.

He took a long sip of his beer, then dumped a handful of peanuts into his palm. Maybe it was the age thing, he mused. Women could be really strange about that. He’d always found older women attractive. They were smarter, more sure of themselves, much more fun in bed. And more exciting than the cookie-cutter girls in their early twenties that populated the clubs in Atlanta.

Zach glanced at the door. He climbed off the bed, beer in hand, and wandered into the bathroom. Kelly’s things were spread out over the marble vanity. He reached out and picked up a bottle of perfume and held it to his nose. The scent was familiar, causing a current of desire to race through him. He picked through her makeup, looking at lipsticks and eye shadows, then held up a pink razor and ran it over his cheek.

A pretty flowered bag sat next to the sink and he peered inside, only to see a tube of toothpaste and a small bottle of mouthwash.

He shook his head and walked back out into the bedroom. The toothpaste was obviously an excuse to get out of the room. A few moments later, he heard the key in the lock and hopped back onto the bed, stretching his feet out in front of him again. Kelly slipped back inside, her purse clutched in her hand.

She started toward the bed, then stopped. “I’m just going to go brush my teeth. I’ll be right back.”

He heard her talking to herself in the bathroom and Zach quietly crossed the room to listen at the door. But then the door flew open and he jumped back. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I couldn’t hear you. Were you talking to me?”

“I—I was talking to myself.” Kelly cleared her throat. She ran her fingers through her hair, then walked into the room and stood at the end of the bed. “I think I will have that drink now.”

He settled himself back on the bed as he watched her walk to the minibar, his gaze taking in her slender body. She was graceful as she moved, like a dancer, with delicate limbs and perfect posture. He imagined what it might be like to hold that body against his, to slowly remove each piece of her clothing until she was completely naked.

Kelly busied herself mixing a small bottle of vodka with a can of cranberry juice. “I’m sorry I wasn’t here when you got here,” she said. “I didn’t think you’d come without calling.”

“I was just in the neighborhood.”

She sent him a sideways glance, then took a long swallow of her drink. “I went out with a friend. A girlfriend. She lives here in Atlanta.” She sat down on the end of the bed, her back to him.

For a long time, neither one of them spoke. He took a sip of his beer. For Zach, seduction had always been a fairly straightforward process, but with Kelly he felt as if he had to tread a bit more carefully. She gave new meaning to the word skittish.

“Did you bring your script?” she asked.

“No,” Zach said. Perhaps she needed the pretense of rehearsal to make her more comfortable. “We can use yours.” He slid down to sit beside her and she immediately stood up.

“Right. Really, we should be off script by this point.”

“Are you nervous?” he asked, his gaze dropping to her fingers, which were tightly twisted together. “You seem tense.”

“No,” she murmured, then paused. “Yes. A little bit.”

“We’re not going to do anything here that you don’t want to do,” Zach said, leaning back to rest on his elbows.

Her gaze flitted over his body, stopping briefly at his crotch. “What do you want to do?” she asked, her green eyes wide.

He reached out and grabbed her hand, weaving his fingers through hers. “I want to do it all.”

She swallowed hard. “I’ve never done anything like this before,” she said, her voice cracking slightly.

This was not going well at all, Zach mused. The attraction between them was electric, crackling between them, but Kelly was so cautious that stealing a kiss might be too much for her to handle. He decided to backtrack a bit. “But you rehearse all the time.”

“Is—is that what we’re doing?” she asked.

“What did you think we’d be doing?” Keeping her off balance was the best approach, he decided. When they finally gave in to their desire, he wanted her desperate and determined. He wanted the fiery, passionate woman he’d seen through the camera lens, the woman he’d been obsessing about the entire afternoon.

“I’m worried about the bedroom scene,” Zach continued. “I was hoping you could give me some tips. We’re supposed to kiss and I’m not sure how that’s going to happen. Do we figure out ahead of time who goes which way? Or do we just let it happen, as if we’re doing it for real?”

“We already did it for real,” she said, staring at him with a suspicious glint in her eye. “In my dressing room.”

“And that was good? I mean, for a screen kiss?”

A tiny smile curled the corners of her mouth. “Yes, that was very good. I think if we just do it like that, we’ll be fine.”

“Good to know,” he answered, nodding his head. He took another sip of his beer and pointed to the television. “Good game. The Padres are at the top of their division. They’ve got a really good pitcher from—”

“Maybe we should try it again,” Kelly interrupted. “Just to be sure we have it right.”

“All right. We should probably lie on the bed. That’s what the script says. And as long as we have a bed here, we should put it to use.” He shimmied back until he was lying with his back resting against the pillows. “All right,” Zach said. “Now, you would be right here.” He patted the spot beside him, then set his beer down on the bedside table.

She left her drink on the dresser and sat down on the opposite edge of the bed, folding her hands on her lap. “Shouldn’t you be lying down, too?” he asked.

Kelly kicked her feet up on the bed.

“So, you want me to start?”

He moved closer and her gaze fixed on his mouth. She licked her lips and he did the same. “Sure,” she said softly. She waited, holding her breath as he slowly leaned forward. But at the last minute, he turned his head the opposite way and their noses bumped.

“Sorry,” Zach said. “I thought you were going the other way.”

“No, once you start moving toward me, I’ll just stay the way I am.”

“Right,” he said. “Okay. Let’s give this another try.” He moved in and at the last minute, feinted to the left. She took his cue and tipped her head in the opposite direction and, this time, Zach deliberately missed her mouth completely, kissing her chin instead.

“This shouldn’t be so difficult,” she said, her voice tinged with frustration. “We’ve already done it before.”

“That time it was more spontaneous,” Zach explained. “I wasn’t concentrating so hard.”

“Well, stop thinking then,” she said. “Just do it.” She sighed deeply. “Like this.” Kelly cupped his face in her hands and pressed her mouth to his. Gradually, the kiss softened as his tongue teased at her lips. She opened her mouth and he lost himself in her sweet taste. It had taken them a while to get here, but it was worth the wait, he mused.

Zach slipped his arms around her waist and pulled her onto the bed to lie on top of him. A tiny moan slipped from her lips as he furrowed his fingers through her silken hair and molded her mouth to his. He couldn’t recall ever needing to kiss a woman as much as he needed to kiss Kelly. It was like a hunger inside him that ached to be satisfied. But the more he tasted, the hungrier he became—Kelly was like the Chinese food of kissing.

The buildup, the anticipation, had been almost too much to bear and he was already aroused, his erection pressing against her belly. There was no time to think about consequences or regrets, about mistakes he’d made in the past. This was about lust, pure and simple—the need for two people to take pleasure in each other.

His hands skimmed over her body, her shoulders and then her arms, her torso and her hips. She twisted above him, her fingers clutching at his T-shirt. Zach slipped his hands beneath her blouse and ran his palms up and down her back, every shift of her body causing a wave of pleasure to race through him.

Her skin felt incredible, like warm silk, soft against his hands. Zach forgot everything that had come before, all the hesitation and indecision, and gave himself over to pure sensation. The scent of her hair, the taste of her mouth, the sounds of their breathing mingling together, quick and shallow and desperate.

Any indecision she’d felt earlier was gone and Kelly was now an equal partner in this seduction. When he kissed her, she kissed him back. When he touched her, her hands found a new spot on his body.

Zach drew her leg up along his thigh. His palm skimmed along her rib cage, then over her flat stomach as he stared down into her eyes. “This isn’t rehearsal anymore, is it?”

Kelly drew in a quick breath, surprised by his comment. “Did you want to rehearse?”

“No,” Zach replied. He furrowed his hands through her silky hair and pulled her closer. “I think this is a much better use of our time, don’t you?”

KELLY SLOWLY OPENED her eyes. Light spilled into the room through the sheer drapes and she squinted against the morning sun. A tiny headache nagged at the spot between her eyes and she reached up to rub at the pain. It was only then that she felt the body beside her.

Holding her breath, she turned to look into Zach’s face. He was lying on her pillow, his dark hair mussed and his lips slightly parted. He’d discarded his shirt and the top button of his cargo pants was undone. And his feet were bare.

Kelly closed her eyes and let her mind drift back to the events of the previous evening. She’d prepared herself for a night of wild sex and a morning of guilty regrets. But to her surprise, they’d gone no further than kissing and caressing. She was left with no regrets, just a warm, satisfied feeling inside.

To her surprise, Zach had been a gentleman, waiting for her cues to move forward. And though she had been curious, kissing Zach had been an adventure in itself. He elevated the activity to an art. He could be sweet and soft and then turn fierce and demanding. Every need, every emotion he felt, was conveyed through his lips and tongue. And to be honest, Kelly had to admit that kissing him had been more exciting than anything else she’d ever experienced with a man.

She looked at him again, taking in the tiny details of his face, the scar on his forehead, the mole near his left eye, the way the corners of his mouth curled up, even while he was sleeping. With youth came the ability to look good in the morning, and he looked irresistible.

But Kelly knew she wasn’t quite as blessed. She carefully crawled out of bed, taking care not to wake him, and walked to the bathroom. The sight that greeted her was enough to make her groan. Her hair looked like a flock of birds might set up housekeeping at any moment. And her makeup was smudged beneath her eyes. And a big red crease ran down her cheek from a fold in the pillowcase.

She quickly stripped out of her clothes and tossed them aside, then turned on the shower. If they were going to continue where they’d left off, she’d need to look a bit more alluring.

She stepped beneath the warm flood of water and closed her eyes. It felt wonderful to finally wash away the stickiness of August in Atlanta. She rinsed her hair, then grabbed the tiny bottle of shampoo that the hotel provided. As she worked the lather through her hair, an unbidden fantasy crept in to her thoughts.

She imagined Zach waking up in an empty bed. He’d look around, wonder where she was, and then he’d hear the shower. He’d walk to the bathroom and slip through the door, then stand silently on the other side of the curtain. Then slowly, he’d strip off his clothes and pull the curtain back. And then, she’d step into his arms and their naked bodies would touch for the very first time.

Kelly drew a ragged breath. Oh, it was a wonderful fantasy, like an erotic movie running in her head. But the most wonderful thing about it was that it could actually happen. She stood beneath the water for a long time as she ran her soapy hands over her skin. But when her fingers began to get pruny, Kelly gave up on the fantasy and shut off the water. She grabbed a towel and dried her hair, then wrapped another around her body.

She opened the door and peered out, but Zach hadn’t stirred. He was still sound asleep, his head on her pillow. Kelly grabbed her comb and slowly began to pull it through the tangles in her hair. But as she did, she heard a knock on the door.

Holding the towel at her chest, she walked to the door and looked through the peephole. Angie was standing on the other side. She opened the door.

“Good, you’re up!” Angie cried. “Get dressed. I’m taking you to breakfast. We have to find one of those all-you-can-eat buffets because I want pancakes and sausage and—”

Kelly pressed a finger to her lips. “Shhh!”

“Don’t worry. I’m awake.”

She spun around to see Zach standing at the end of the bed, his cargo pants hanging low on his hips, his eyes sleepy. He smiled and gave Angie a little wave. “Hi, there,” he murmured. “I’m Zach.”

Angie giggled softly. “The younger man?” she murmured beneath her breath.

“Yes,” Kelly whispered.

“The younger man who spent the night in your room?”

“Yes.”

“You know, I can hear everything you’re saying,” Zach commented. “Us younger guys have really good hearing. And I can see right through that towel. We have X-ray vision, too.”

Angie stepped past Kelly, into the room, her hand extended. “Hi. I’m one of Kelly’s oldest friends, Angie Sheppard. Actually, Angie McMahon Sheppard.”

He took her hand. “Zach Haas. It’s nice to meet you, Angie.”

“Oh, it’s a pleasure to meet you, Zach. I understand you work for Just Between Us. I just love that Eve Best. She is so funny and smart. And sassy. Is she that way in real life?”

Kelly felt a blush warm her cheeks and she gently took Angie’s arm and pulled her toward the door. “Can you wait for me downstairs? I’ll be down in just a minute.”

“Take all the time you want,” Angie whispered. She gave Kelly a silly expression then mouthed the word gorgeous. “I’ll meet you in the restaurant. I’m pretty sure I saw a breakfast buffet when I walked past.”

Kelly slowly closed the door and turned back to Zach. He was grinning, finding great amusement in her situation. “So you talked with your friend about me?”

“I just mentioned we’d met.”

He nodded. “I see.” He slowly approached her and Kelly backed up until she stood against the door. Zach placed his hands on either side of her head and bent down to kiss her. His lips were soft, the kiss fleeting. “Morning,” he murmured.

Kelly felt her knees go weak and her head begin to spin. “Morning,” she said. She clutched the towel tightly at her chest and wondered what might happen if she’d simply let go. Let go, her mind repeated over and over again. Why not just…

She loosened her fingers and the towel dropped silently to the floor. Zach’s breath caught in his throat and he drew back to look into her eyes. She stared up at him, unflinchingly, daring him to take what she offered, yet afraid that he might not.

His hand slowly moved to her shoulder, smoothing over the length of her neck before dropping lower to cup her breast. Kelly closed her eyes as he gently caressed her nipple with his thumb. She wasn’t nervous at all now. This seemed so perfectly right, a fantasy come to life.

A moment later, his lips closed over the taut peak and she furrowed her hands through his hair and moaned softly. And then he dropped to his knees in front of her, his tongue trailing across her belly.

Everywhere he kissed, he left a damp imprint, a reminder that he’d tasted that part of her body and moved on. His hands smoothed over her backside, drawing her closer, and when he kissed her inner thigh, Kelly felt a shiver of desire wash across her skin.

She knew what he wanted and she anticipated how it would feel. But when his tongue found the soft folds of her sex, a shudder of pleasure wracked her body. She gasped, her eyes flying open with the shock of sensation.

Bracing her hands behind her on the door, Kelly arched into him as his tongue flicked at her clitoris. She’d never felt anything quite so wonderful, so achingly powerful. He controlled her with his mouth, meting out pleasure a tiny bit at a time until she was frantic for release.

She didn’t want to give in. Instead, she wanted the desire to last forever, to be caught in this whirlwind of pleasure, this precarious balance between hunger and release. Her body belonged to him now, completely and irrevocably, and she wanted to surrender completely.

He knew exactly what he was doing to her and he seemed to take delight in teasing her. Kelly groaned and grasped his hair, gently tugging him even closer. Her body felt boneless, as if any moment it might melt. She wanted him inside her, but she was afraid to want more, afraid that this desire would consume her completely. This was already too much.

She felt the ache building inside her and suddenly, she couldn’t fight it any longer. She wanted to let go, to give Zach what he sought. She held her breath and let the pleasure build and then, as if the floodgates burst, she felt the orgasm wash over her. Her body jerked, then dissolved into delicious spasms.

The power of it all took her breath away, made her dizzy. Her fingers tangled in his hair as she pulled his head back, suddenly too sensitive for his caress. When the last spasm subsided, Zach pressed his damp mouth to her belly, nuzzling against her.

“Oh, my,” she breathed.

He got to his feet and cupped her face in his hands, then touched his lips softly to hers. “I have to go,” he murmured. “I was due at the studio a half hour ago. But I’ll see you this afternoon. And tonight, we’ll pick up where we left off.”

“All right,” Kelly repeated, breathlessly.

Chuckling softly, he bent to pick up her towel and wrapped it back around her body. Then he led her to the bathroom. “Are you gonna be all right?”

“I’m fine,” Kelly said.

He nodded, then disappeared. A minute later, he was back at the door, only to find her standing in the same spot, the towel clutched in her hand. She couldn’t seem to move, even though she knew she ought to.

“Angie’s waiting downstairs in the restaurant. You’d better get moving.” He stepped into the bathroom and gave her another quick kiss, then pointed at the mirror. “Dry your hair and then get dressed.”

“Right,” Kelly said.

She heard the room door close behind him and she sank down to sit on the edge of the tub. Pressing her hand to her chest, she forced herself to breathe normally. What was happening to her? Was it the heat? Or had she caught some kind of travel-induced dementia?

She’d never in her life felt anything like this…so intense, so shattering. Whenever she came within three feet of Zach Haas, she found herself compelled to test the limits of her inhibition and she’d found herself stunned by her reaction to his touch. How could she be expected to resist him? He was like a fantasy come to life—a young, virile guy who could make her feel as if there were no end to her desire for him.

She had one more night in Atlanta. The old Kelly Castelle might have spent the evening alone, locked in her hotel room, watching public television and reading the Tourist’s Guide to Atlanta. But the new Kelly was determined to entice Zach back into her bed and, this time, enjoy every pleasure that his flesh offered.

But before that, she’d go to the studio and pretend she was in love with a younger man. She wondered if the cameras would see that it wasn’t such a far-fetched idea. Falling in love with Zach Haas would be as easy as falling off a log. But she couldn’t afford to do that, so she would settle for simple lust. For Kelly, that would have to be enough.

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