Million Dollar Devil (Million Dollar #1)(55)

I laugh. “I know it’s not, which is why you’re so irresistible. Because of . . . you.”

I pause, then push my chair back and head around the table. As if sensing my intentions, James pushes his chair back and makes room for me, seizing my hips and drawing me sideways on his lap. A nice little hard bulge greets my bottom as I sit. I walk my fingers up his chest, keeping my voice low so that Charlie doesn’t overhear. “You’re sort of . . . irresistible,” I admit, stroking my fingers down his clean-shaven jaw.

He raises his hand and strokes his thumb down my cheek, the touch exquisitely tender, even though the gleam in his eyes is fierce.

“Want to spend the night here?” he asks quietly.

“Charlie . . .”

“Charlie’s asleep.” He grins wickedly. “Maria’s probably binging on Netflix. And me . . . ?” A heavy silence before he starts to nod meaningfully. “I’m available. Very, very available for the likes of you, Miss Banks.” His voice drops.

“James, I don’t know . . . ,” I hedge, my heart skipping.

“You do know, Lizzy. And if you don’t, then I know. I know what you need. I think you need these.” He slides two fingers into his mouth and pulls them out with a pop. Then he wiggles them, slowly giving me a roguish grin. “Inside you.” The gleam in his eyes darkens as he looks into my eyes, then greedily surveys my mouth. “Three minutes with my fingers inside you and you’ll be screaming for mercy, and you know what . . . ?”

He seizes my chin, holds my face still, and leans forward.

“I’ll give you none.” His lips smother mine—take mine, possess mine. My arms wind around his neck, and his hands are covering my whole ass, squeezing my cheeks as his mouth claims mine.

It takes every ounce of my power to pull away from him. “I can’t, James. I shouldn’t have let it go as far as it’s gone. Tomorrow . . .”

“Tomorrow what?”

Tomorrow, everything will be different. Tomorrow, he won’t be just mine. I look into his eyes, wanting him to calm my fears, but I can’t tell him this.

“We just have a big day ahead of us,” I say, and it takes every ounce of my resolve to untangle myself from the heaven of his arms and push myself to my feet. I grab my keys. “Good night, James. I’ll see you tomorrow.”





WEST COAST

Lizzy

It’s the big day. The West Coast Fashion Week starts tonight, and James and I have seats together for the plane ride out to Los Angeles. I can’t remember being this excited about a trip before.

James takes my handbag and shoves it into the compartment above our heads, then settles down next to me.

The air shifts in temperature, or maybe it’s just me, warming because he’s so close.

A whiff of the Tom Ford cologne I bought him reaches me. It’s a struggle not to lean closer and take another, deeper whiff. It’s my favorite cologne. But somehow, on him, it’s even more sexy and seductive.

He buckles his seat belt, his shoulders bumping mine. James is wearing black slacks and a plain white button shirt. The top two buttons unbuttoned. He looks like a businessman—clean shaven and beautiful, fit and young—but it’s those twinkling blue eyes and that dimpled smile that always get to me the most.

“What are you watching?” I ask him as he plays a video on his new phone.

He angles the screen in my direction. “Some stunt videos that I did that I never uploaded. Thinking of editing a few and loading them up, you know, once our contract is over.”

He winks playfully.

Curiosity pricked, I feel myself smile and edge closer, curious. I watch the video with him.

James is wearing a wet suit on board a Jet Ski. I assume Charlie is on the shore, filming. When the camera zooms in on James, the view is fuzzy. James seems to say something, but he’s too far away to hear clearly. Instead, I listen to Charlie’s voice in the background.

“What?” Charlie’s yelling at him.

James cups the side of his mouth, his deep voice carrying through the wind. “Don’t get too close to the bank, or you’ll fall on your face! You got a clear view?”

Charlie starts answering, but the camera shifts away in a jerk. We’re suddenly staring at a view of the sky, and I hear Charlie curse in the background.

I start laughing when it hits me.

“He fell?” I ask James.

I can hear the motor of the Jet Ski coming closer and suddenly James’s voice. “You okay, buddy? I’m supposed to make a fool of myself, not you, buddy. Come here.” I hear shuffling as James helps Charlie to his feet; then James peers into the phone and taps the screen, blue eyes squinting. “Still working. Damn, Charlie, you—” He turns it off.

“I can only imagine all the adventures you guys have had.”

I can’t help but giggle.

Lifting my eyes to find James watching me intently. Has he been watching me all the time I was watching the video?

He’s smiling to himself.

He reaches out to brush a strand of loose hair behind my ear, then drags his thumb down my jawline to brush fleetingly across my lower lip.

“I like it when you let your hair down,” he husks.

We’re taking off now, and I’m breathless under his touch.

“Literally? Or figuratively?”