Page 72 of Kissing Games
‘One day, maybe.’ He shrugged, although he already knew exactly what tattoo he wanted. ‘May I have your autograph, Valentina?’
She blushed.
He chuckled. ‘Have you ever autographed someone’s chest?’
She shook her head.
That fact made him deliriously happy. ‘Go get your Sharpie then.’
She scrambled up and rummaged in her bag, pulling it out and returning to kneel in front of him. He tried to control his breathing as she put her hand on the front of his shoulder to steady herself. His cock was already throbbing, pushing against the cotton of his boxers. He felt hot puffs of air against his skin as she breathed. She carefully signed her name, then sat back, looking critically at her work. She was so beautiful he couldn’t breathe.
‘It’s missing something.’ She leaned in and placed a soft kiss above her signature. ‘Perfect.’
His heart was pounding through his body. ‘You know I’m never washing that off.’
She straddled him, their faces nearly touching. She rubbed herself against his cock.
‘Fine by me,’ she whispered as she brought her lips to his.
23
The next few days felt like a surreal dream to Valentina. She spoke to her family as normal, but everything else was different. She let her emails slide, didn’t bother posting to social media, and for the first time since she was a child, put thoughts of money and her career to one side. She spent every moment she could with Charlie and had never been happier.
He was the most incredible person she’d ever met. Being with him was like discovering your house had gold under the floorboards and fairies in the attic. She’d never been so comfortable in her body, so at ease with who she was and what she looked like. And as for the sex... It was ecstatic and meaningful, intimate yet otherworldly. Part of her was screaming that it was all about to end, that she had a new film and a new challenge to go to, that emails had to be answered. But she ignored the voices and threw herself into every moment with Charlie. Every second was even more precious because she knew it wouldn’t last.
One evening, late at night, she got a call from her agent to say the cosmetics contract had been signed and the first deposit of money placed in the agency account.
She’d done it.
After twenty years of work, she had enough to buy her family a new life. Charlie was thrilled and ‘permanently borrowed’ a vintage bottle of champagne from the castle’s cellars. They drank it in her room, playing strip poker and laughing, then spinning the empty bottle and making love late into the night.
The next morning Valentina woke with a dry mouth and a sore head. She picked up her watch from the bedside table and groaned when she saw the time. She didn’t have to work that day, but wanted to feel a little more human. She rubbed her toes up and down Charlie’s leg. He didn’t respond. She rolled over to face him and froze.
He was reading the script for her next job.
She saw how much he’d read. He was almost at the end. Her stomach heaved. He looked at her. At first glance, his face was blank, but she could see his devastation. He put the script to one side and got out of bed, putting on his clothes.
She sat up, pulling the covers tightly around her. ‘Where are you going?’
He ran his hands through his hair. ‘I’m going back to my room to shower.’
‘Why were you reading that?’ she demanded. ‘It’s private. Confidential.’
His eyes were bleak. ‘It was by my side of the bed. I woke up a while ago and wanted to let you sleep. I picked it up to pass the time.’
She looked away.
‘Has your family read it?’ he asked, his voice unsettlingly calm.
She shook her head, embarrassment and shame spiralling inside her. How she felt now would be nothing compared to when her family saw the completed film.
‘Why, Valentina?’
‘I’m trying to build my career. Do something different, get more opportunities,’ she muttered, hating herself and hating him for calling her out.
‘With that?’
‘It’s art house.’
