Come A Little Bit Closer (The Sullivans #7)(58)

Smith had always thought he had women under control, that they were a need he could turn on or off at will, that no woman could ever cause him pain.

Valentina had proved him wrong. So damned wrong.

It was how he knew for sure that he was in love with her. And love, as he’d seen first with his parents, and then with his siblings and their significant others, was worth the need, the hurt—worth absolutely everything.

He pressed a kiss to her shoulder, then to the sensitive skin at the curve of her neck. She shivered against him, then turned to put her arms around him so that her br**sts were pressed against his chest and her legs were sliding against his. She whispered his name, but he knew she was more asleep than awake.

“Shh,” he murmured against her lips before he pressed a soft kiss against them and felt her drop back into sleep just that quickly. “I’ve got you.”

Forever, if she’d have him.

Chapter Twenty-one

The storm had washed away in the middle of the night, leaving behind brilliant blue skies and crisp, clean San Francisco air as Valentina headed into her office on the set. She pulled her laptop out of her bag and put it down on her desk, her skin still tingling from Smith’s slow, sweet lovemaking that morning.

He hadn’t woken her when he’d come to her bed in the dark, just wrapped her up in his strong arms and held her. She couldn’t ever remember sleeping so deeply or so well. Nor could she remember ever waking up so needy, so hungry, so ready to be touched, kissed, stroked, loved by a man.

Their first night together—and all the quickies that had come after—had been about temptation, about discovery, and inescapable pleasure. But this morning, their need for each other had been a demand that neither of them could, or would, deny.

Even now as she thought back to it, their early morning lovemaking seemed more like a dream than flesh-and-blood reality. Perfectly silent, barely moving, they’d come together so naturally, so perfectly. Smith’s body fit against hers like he’d been made for her, and she’d been made for him.

She pressed her hand to the hollow of her throat where he’d pressed one kiss after another as she’d arched into him, and felt her heart beating the same rhythm it had beat beneath his lips. Not fast, but with a languid heat that rose more with every slow slide of his body into hers. She couldn’t remember what any other morning had been like without him there, could barely imagine a time when Smith hadn’t been hers.

The first rays of the sun had broken through the darkness as she’d given herself to him. His mouth had covered her sounds of pleasure, his tongue against hers driving her even higher still, before he’d given himself up to her, too.

All she’d wanted was to stay like that with him forever, to forget the rest of the world existed outside of their own private paradise.

But, she couldn’t forget that he had an early call. Knew, too, that she’d need to be on set soon to support Tatiana, on what was sure to be a difficult day. Quite possibly the most difficult one of the entire shoot.

Plus, if Tatiana had seen Smith coming out of her bedroom, the jig would officially be up...and Valentina would have some pretty big explaining to do to the one person from whom she’d vowed never to keep secrets.

She’d thought for sure when Smith had shown up at their house last night that he’d been looking for a showdown, but in the morning he hadn’t made her explain any of her swirling, conflicted thoughts. Instead, he’d said, “Today, when Tatiana and I are filming—”

She’d pressed her mouth to his to stop him from saying anything more. Filming sex scenes was part of his job. And since she hadn’t managed to keep her walls up around him these past weeks, then she was just going to have to find a way to deal with it, wasn’t she?

When she’d finally drawn back from his sinfully delicious mouth, he’d simply smiled his breath-stealing smile down at her, and said, “You make me very, very happy, Valentina.” He’d kissed her once more and then was gone a moment later, back to the guest room he hadn’t used for a quick shower, and then out the front door a short while after that.

Valentina finally realized she’d been daydreaming with her computer still in her hands for God knew how long, and gave herself a firm mental shove before briskly walking across the parking lot to her sister’s trailer. Pausing outside, she took a steadying breath and worked on her smile before knocking.

Her sister opened the door wearing a blue silk robe. Valentina’s breath caught in her throat. Tatiana had never looked lovelier, or more fresh and innocent at the same time that her sensuality had been played up with professional makeup and clothes and hair.

“You look beautiful, T.”

Her sister bit her lip. “Filming today is going to go okay, isn’t it?”

Oh God, what could she do but put her arm around Tatiana, smile as if it were no big deal, and say, “Of course it will. You’re two professionals doing your job. You know everyone always says that filming a love scene is not that different from filming a fight scene. One arm here. One leg there.”

“You’ll be there the whole time, right?”

The set was the very last place in the world Valentina wanted to be today. Just the thought of Smith’s mouth, his hands on her sister, had her stomach on the verge of emptying out the nothing she’d eaten. It was a closed set, and only the most essential members of the cast and crew would be there.