Kissing Under The Mistletoe (The Sullivans #10)(23)

Standing up and walking onto the set, Jack said, “Time for a break.”

Gerry sighed in clear relief as he put his camera down. “I’m going to run across the street for a triple espresso. Should I bring back one for everyone?”

Jack shook his head. The last thing he needed right now was more adrenaline coursing through him.

“Thanks, but I’m fine, too,” Mary murmured, reaching around to rub a kink out of her neck. “I think I’ll just get off my feet for a few minutes.”

After Mary had left the set for her small dressing room, Gerry told Jack, “No other model of her caliber and fame would even consider assisting with lights and makeup like this. There isn’t another woman like her in the world.”

“You’ve got that right,” Jack agreed.

“I was extremely surprised when Mary called me about your campaign. She was dead set on leaving modeling, and no one could get her to change her mind. Not until you came along.”

“I’m a very lucky man.”

Gerry assessed Jack again with his cool green eyes before nodding once. “Don’t ever forget it.”

Jack headed over to the small room at the side of the set that Mary had disappeared into. At first he only saw the table where Mary had set up a mirror, and her makeup and hair kit. Just as Gerry had pointed out, she normally had a whole crew of people working on her photo shoots. Moving deeper into the room, he saw that she was sitting on a soft chair, rubbing her neck and shoulders as if they ached.

She turned her head toward him when she heard his footsteps. “Jack, do you need something?” She immediately moved to stand, but when he replaced her hands with his own on her shoulders and began to massage the tight muscles, she sank back down into the chair.

* * *

Mary knew she shouldn’t let Jack touch her like this—especially while they were working together—but when it felt so good how could she possibly muster up the strength to tell him to stop?

But she had to stop it. Jack’s strong, warm hands on her would likely lead to more wonderful, deliciously sensual things.

The kind of more that she had specifically told him they couldn’t do while they were working together.

Oh, but what a struggle it was to make herself slide out from beneath his hands to stand. When she felt she’d removed all desire from her expression, she turned to face him.

“Friday night, I know the boundaries of our relationship got a little fuzzy—” Particularly when she’d been begging him for one more kiss. “—but you were right to leave when you did.”

“It was a hell of a weekend without you,” he said in his disarmingly direct way. “The only consolation was that I knew I’d get to work with you today.” He shook his head, his eyes dark and intense again. “I wish just working with you would be enough.”

Lord, the things this man did to her with nothing but a look and a few simple words. She was tingling head to toe, inside and out, as she made herself take a step away from him.

“It has to be enough, at least until the campaign is over.”

“Tell me why we have to wait. Make me understand why I can’t kiss you again right now when we both know how good it will be?”

She went to take another step back from him, before looking up into his eyes and realizing she had done the exact opposite. Instead of moving further away, she’d gotten closer.

“I made a mistake a few years ago. A big one.” A chill moved over her just thinking about Romain. “And what I learned from my mistake is that we should wait until our relationship isn’t wrapped up in the ad campaign, or tracking how many units are being ordered. Then we’ll both be able to think clearly about things.”

Seeing her shiver, he slid his hands over her arms to warm her. “What I’m feeling for you has absolutely nothing to do with units or ad campaigns.”

She wanted so badly to believe him, especially since her own feelings for him were growing at an exponential rate. His hands on her felt so good, so comforting and arousing at the same time, that her body instinctively shifted closer yet again.

“You’ve worked toward fulfilling your dream for ten years,” she reminded him. “You shouldn’t even consider putting anything or anyone else first right now.”

“Whoever it was that hurt you,” he said in a low voice that rumbled through her, “was an idiot.”

They were just inches apart as she agreed, “Yes, he was.”

“Rumor has it,” he said with a small smile that drew her in closer for the kiss she was trying not to give him, “that my IQ is quite high.”

How could she possibly fight her feelings for him when he didn’t just make her burn but made her laugh, too?

“Is that so?”

“One hundred sixty, and my mother still has the test results to prove it,” he said with a grin. “Although I’ll confess that sometimes I get an idea in the shower and forget to shave because I’m hurrying to get it down on paper.”

She almost sighed out loud at how sweet and cute and sexy it was that his brain worked so fast he could hardly keep on top of normal, everyday things like shaving. Did his socks match, she wondered? But worse even than mulling over his socks was the fact that she wanted to nuzzle against the dark bristles he’d forgotten to shave away that morning.