Come A Little Bit Closer (The Sullivans #7)(57)

Damn it, he couldn’t believe he’d forgotten what was coming tomorrow. The sex scene between Graham and Jo. More than ever, he needed to stay tonight and make sure Valentina understood that he and Tatiana were just going to be actors tomorrow when they had their hands and mouths on each other in front of the cameras.

“Valentina—”

She shoved a bottle of water from the fridge at him and said, “I’m going to turn in early,” to cut him off.

But before she could walk away from him yet one more time, he blocked her sister’s view with his body and took Valentina’s free hand in his. She sucked in her surprised gasp just before it left her lips, her eyes wide and full of the passion she never managed to conceal when she looked up at him.

He stroked his thumb along the inside of her wrist and felt her breath go in a soft whoosh. “Actually,” he said loud enough for Tatiana to hear, too, “with Nicola and Marcus crashing at my house tonight instead of heading back to Napa in the storm, would either of you have a problem with me staying here tonight so I can let the two lovebirds have some privacy?”

The flash of fire in Valentina’s eyes at how easily he’d trapped her had him grinning, even as Tatiana said, “You’re always welcome here, isn’t he, Val?”

Her “of course” came from between gritted teeth at the same time as she yanked her hand from his.

“Sweet dreams, Valentina.”

* * *

Valentina was nearly surly enough to lock her bedroom door. But she refused to give Smith the satisfaction of hearing her make a lame attempt to keep him out of her bed. How sad would it be if she needed a padlock to keep her legs shut around him?

If he dared come to her tonight, he’d find that she was strong enough to turn him away, to tell him that it simply wasn’t appropriate for the two of them to continue their secret tryst while her sister was only across the hall.

She decided to fight the chill of the rain pouring down outside by running a bath. Oh yes, she would very much enjoy the fact that Smith would have to listen to the water running and know she was naked and wet—with only her rubber ducky for company—while he sweated out the final mechanics of tomorrow’s scene with her sister.

Her gut clenched tight as she thought about what tomorrow would bring. Not just more of the gentle kisses Jo and Graham’s scene had ended on today, not just the adoring looks they’d had to give each other while in character during the photo shoot earlier in the week, but—

No.

She shouldn’t get all twisted up about it. She’d known all along this day would come where Smith and Tatiana would film a very intimate and sexy love scene, and that was one of the reasons why she’d been so careful not to let Smith get too close...so that what happened during filming wouldn’t end up destroying her.

Valentina put her fingertips into the water to test the temperature, sucking in a breath when she realized she’d made it too hot. She ran the cold tap for a few seconds, but when she tested the water again it was too cold.

She muttered a curse, the one harsh word echoing in the tiled room, as she pulled the plug to let some water out so that she could try to get it right again. But as she watched the water swirl and drain out of the tub, she suddenly saw herself in the water, pulled deeper, faster, down down down by the inescapable force of gravity.

It didn’t matter how hard she’d tried to fight her attraction to Smith, or how far away from the edge of the cliff she’d stood...she’d never succeeded at doing anything but falling straight into his wide-open arms.

What, she suddenly found herself wondering, if she didn’t fight it?

What if she let falling in love with him be as natural as gravity?

And what if she let Smith love her the way she’d always secretly dreamed of being loved? Was there a chance that they could work through all of the potential problems and issues that came from his career and her fear of being caught out by flashbulbs and cameras?

Kneeling by the side of the tub with the questions going around and around inside her head, she stared blindly at the water. Only when the last drops going down the drain made a loud sucking sound did it jolt her into standing up to finish getting ready for bed.

As she slid naked between her sheets, with the comforting sound of Smith and Tatiana talking out in the living room lulling her toward an exhausted sleep, she dreamed, not of broken hearts and raw disappointments...but of strong, warm arms that held her close until the storm outside stopped raging.

* * *

After Smith said goodnight to Tatiana, the seconds that he waited to hear her bedroom door close felt more like hours. Finally, he headed across the hallway to Valentina, silently opening, then closing her door.

In the dark, he could see, just barely, Valentina’s curled-up form under the covers. His heart skipped a beat as he watched her sleep. She was so beautiful, so peaceful as she breathed deeply and evenly. Her long hair was spread over the pillow and there was a small smile on her face, one that had him hoping she’d been dreaming of him.

He slid in behind her, her scent sweet and utterly intoxicating. He didn’t want to wake her when he knew how badly both of them needed the rest, but he had to hold her.

“You came.”

Valentina’s voice was sleepy, and so damned seductive it sent every last cell in his body that wasn’t already on fire up in flames.

Thanking God she wasn’t angry with him for sneaking uninvited into her bed, he couldn’t stop himself from slowly, softly, running one hand down her sleek curves. He wanted her, desperately, but just this chance to lie in bed with her was so precious that he would happily forgo making love if it meant getting to hold her.