One Wild Night (Hollywood Chronicles #1)(5)

“Shh.” It was all a frantic whisper, my eyes wide and wild as they jumped to Roger and Lindsay, praying they weren’t noticing who’d slithered up to my side.

God. Did the man have no shame?

His hand found the slit on my dress, his fingertips light, so, so light I had to wonder if he was really even touching me. Still, the energy eliciting a cascade of chills, an illicit feeling washing me in thigh-clenching desire.

“I like your dress.” He whispered it like a tease.

Nope.

No shame whatsoever.

He inched closer, and I lost all my breath. My hands clutched tighter to the armrests, and I gave it my all to keep my breaths from panting out of my lungs.

“Stop it,” I hissed.

“Stop what?” Oh yes, he could play it off as all kinds of innocent. But I could see the mischief glinting in the brown of his eyes.

“Stop trying to get a rise out of me.”

“Is that what I’m doing? Getting a rise out of you? I’m fairly certain it’s the reverse.”

Gah. I wanted to scream. The man was incorrigible.

Roger Ward slanted us a curious glance.

My voice was hardly a breath. “You’re making a scene.”

His fingers fluttered up, not quite touching me. Not until they were right over the thunder stampeding beneath my ribs. He caressed at the v of my low neckline, right between my breasts. “I like making scenes. Obviously. And right now, I want to make one with you.”

“Not a chance.”

“Oh, I beg to differ. I’d put down good money that there are all kinds of chances rolling around in that pretty little head of yours.”

“You don’t know me.”

“But I will.”

I gulped around the lump in my throat, focused ahead, on the screen. Of course, the infuriating man just teased me from there. Time spun on like the best kind of torture, my breaths shallow and my lungs heavy, butterflies flitting this way and that as I watched the romance play out on the big screen.

Intense.

Deep.

Sexy.

His voice was back to whispering, lips brushing the shell of my ear. “Pay close attention, Kaylee Rose. We’re getting to the good part.”

My legs went weak as the film slanted into the shadows of a bedroom, the moon all aglow to illuminate one of the sexiest, hottest love scenes I’d ever seen, seductive and slow, and there was nothing I could do to keep from envisioning that mouth sliding down my neck and delving between my breasts.

I squirmed in my seat.

For that scene alone, Paxton Myles deserved an Academy Award.

Hell. Who was I kidding? I doubted there was any acting involved. It didn’t take a lot of imagination to figure out Paxton Myles knew his way around the bedroom.

A gush of air left me as the scene closed.

A dark chuckle, so low, filtered around me like a hot breeze. “Someone seems…affected.”

Mouth dry, I swallowed. “It was a beautiful movie.”

I meant it, in all honesty. I was incredibly proud of Roger. And as much as I didn’t want to be, I was completely awed by Paxton.

Another rogue grin. If I wasn’t already sitting, it would knock me from my feet. “Not quite as beautiful as you.”

Soft, disbelieving laughter left me on a sigh. “You know, you don’t need to patronize me.”

For the first time, something serious flashed through his expression. “I’m not a liar, Kaylee Rose, nor do I have the time or inclination to patronize women. When I tell you you’re beautiful, I mean it.”

Redness seeped across my chest and climbed to my cheeks.

God. This man.

“Then I apologize.” I stood, straightened my dress as Roger and Lindsay were standing. “If you’ll excuse me,” I said, turning all my attention on the Wards, my escape.

Paxton didn’t stand. Of course, he didn’t. Instead he made me nearly crawl across his lap to make my way out.

Roger met me at the end of the aisle. “What did you think?”

I swallowed down the flush I could feel still coloring my face. “I thought it was phenomenal. The best thing I’ve ever seen.”

“Oh, you don’t need to play it up on my account.”

My thoughts flashed to the parting words I’d shared with Paxton.

“I’m not.” I swore it like a solemn oath. “I felt it everywhere. It’s unforgettable.”

Pride simmered on the man’s face, and Lindsay tucked her head on his shoulder, patted his chest. “I told you,” she said. “It’s perfection.”

I felt the intensity of the stare boring into me, and I pushed a smile to my face and fiddled with a strand of hair. “Thank you so much for having me. I’m going to head out.”

Roger tsked. “You can’t leave yet. We’ll be leaving for the after party in just a few minutes.”

“Oh, I think I’m going to pass.”

I needed to get out of there and now. Because all I wanted was to turn and look over my shoulder, to seek out the distinct laugh reverberating through the air, the mesmerizing sound coming from the man who’d completely captivated me.

My fantasy was a little too close to reality for my comfort zone.

My jammies and a big tub of ice cream were definitely calling to me. It was time to come back down to earth.