Page 126 of Wicked Fantasies

If only he wasn’t feeling so much damn stress about the screenplay.

What if he pushed her too far?

The ways he wanted to take her were too extreme, and he’d never forgive himself if he hurt her by pushing her into something she wasn’t ready for.

Worse yet, what if he’d read her wrong?

What if he revealed his true nature and it scared her, drove her away?

He knew she craved his rough touch, but what would she think when she realized that the charming, playboy Ty Ransome had areallydark side?

Who knew?

Perhaps she would be the one woman who could handle his needs. Perhaps she would be the one who would accept him for himself, rather than the image on the screen and—dear God, please—perhaps she would be the one to stick around for a lifetime or so.

Tires on the driveway pulled him from his thoughts, and he opened the front door as she emerged from the back of the limo and looked at him. He could see she was surprised to find him standing there.

“Hey, Hollywood,” she said as she climbed the steps.

He reached out his hand and she accepted it. He didn’t release her until he’d pulled her straight into his arms. He lowered his lips to hers before she could resist and kissed her long and hard. She struggled for only a moment before opening her mouth to his questing tongue.

When at last he allowed her to pull away, he grinned at her annoyed expression.

“Dammit,” she whispered. “I can see you haven’t repented the error of your ways.”

“Sweetheart, the only mistake I could make with you would be to walk away.”

“Ty, this isn’t how?—”

“Come inside. I’ve had the cook prepare us a nice lunch. I thought we’d eat out by the pool.”

“I really want to talk about?—”

“After lunch, I thought we could take a swim,” he said.

She narrowed her eyes at his continual interruptions. He knew she would continue to resist him, but he wouldn’t allow her to run from him. She was about to find herself under a full-scale Ty attack.

He’d battened down his hatches and was ready to see her white flag waving surrender against the horizon.

Failure wasn’t an option he was ready to face.

After lunch and a pleasant conversation,Gwen leaned back in the poolside lounger feeling more relaxed than she would have expected. Ty’s welcoming kiss, the special lunch, the way he was looking at her, proved he had no intention of backing off. She would be here for two months, working with him day after day, and she realized there was no way she’d be able to fight off her attraction to him.

“That’s a serious look.” He glanced over at her from his own lounger.

“You aren’t even going to try to keep your hands off of me, are you?”

He gave her a wicked smile. “Nope.”

Just sitting anywhere near the man caused such a soul-melting heat to course through her that she felt as if she were being consumed by flames.

“Will you at least try to understand where I’m coming from about the professionalism?”

“Nope.” He grinned as he spoke, and she felt herself falling under his spell. No wonder the guy was a box-office sensation. No woman alive could resist him when he smiled like that.

Her bedroom toys had been overworked since her return to New York, but regardless of how many times she’d tried to sate her overwhelming needs, nothing had come even close to relieving her weary body as he had with just his fingers.

“I want you.” He forced her gaze to meet his. “I’m not going to lie, not going to pretend that I don’t.”

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