After several minutes of packing, Samantha forgot all about the cameras and found her head deep inside her dresser. She grabbed a simple band and tied her hair back out of the way.
“Should I be worried about all these shoes in here?” Blake asked from her closet.
She laughed. “You’re the one who told me to go shopping,” she teased.
“Looks like I’ll be hiring a handyman to build another walk-in just for you.” There was laughter in his voice.
“Women love clothes.”
“And shoes, apparently. God, I didn’t think anyone needed this many.”
Samantha tucked her panties into a box and reached for more. “I’m short, in case you haven’t noticed. I need heels to see how the rest of you live.”
Blake’s voice moved closer. “You’re not short,” he said.
She turned to see him holding a pair of four-inch pumps.
“Vertically challenged, then.” She stood to prove her point. “See?” Beside him, the top of her head met his chin. “Short!”
His eyes seemed to drag her into his frame. “I wouldn’t change anything about you,” he told her. Blake reached out and tugged the band from her hair. His fingers brushed over the ends and Samantha forgot to breathe. The closer he moved into her personal space, the less air was available for her lungs. She tilted her head as he moved in and allowed his mouth to move over hers. Blake’s hand dropped the shoes and wrapped around her waist, holding her close.
Her br**sts pushed against the hard plane of his chest as Blake angled his head to deepen their kiss. Only when his tongue licked her lips open did she remember the cameras pointed at them. She stiffened, but Blake didn’t let her go. Instead, he glided his hand down her back and rounded over her behind.
Her body buzzed and his tongue started a slow dance with hers. His pine scent and heated breath easily distracted her from everything but the feeling of him holding her, touching her.
Liquid started to pool in her belly as desire swept up her spine. She hadn’t been kissed in so long she’d forgotten how good it felt. And had it ever felt this good? She didn’t think so.
Blake moaned, or maybe she did as his lips left hers and started to trail over her jaw, her neck. He might be playing for the camera, but his body didn’t know the rules. The heat of his erection sat against her belly, displaying a need she felt.
“I missed you,” he whispered in her hair.
Samantha reached around his shoulders and clawed at the edges of his shirt. “I missed you, too.”
His eyes caught hers and a sparkle of mischief there made her smile. When her hand found the bare flesh of his back, his eyes darkened. He kissed her again, this time with more desperation. She felt his hand cup her breast through the fabric of her shirt. She wanted to feel him closer, wanted him to taste her skin where his hands wandered.
“Oh, God,” she whispered. This is dangerous. Their desire was real, or at least it was for her.
“You know what I want?” he asked when he let her lips go.
“What?” She kissed his jaw and started to undo the buttons on his shirt.
Blake bent down and lifted her into his arms.
She squealed and grasped onto his shoulders to avoid falling.
“I want to have you in the shower.”
Samantha smiled and crossed her ankles as Blake walked them out of the room and away from extra eyes.
When they reached the bathroom door, he placed her back on her feet and took her lips again. The back of her legs bumped into the cheap Formica countertop as they squeezed into the small space. Blake lifted her until she sat next to her sink, all the while his lips kept dancing with hers. He wedged himself between her thighs and her hips rocked forward to find more contact.
The sound of the door closing registered in a small corner of her brain, but her lips kept themselves glued to Blake’s.
They were alone. No cameras, no watchful eyes.
The soft comfort of Blake’s mouth left hers and came to rest on her temple. She whimpered at the loss. He kept his arms wrapped around her body, kept her tucked firmly in his embrace. Reality slowly seeped in as they both searched for control.
She shouldn’t be so at home in his arms. How was she going to stay out of his bed if they continued to play Russian roulette? Samantha started to pull away but Blake held on.
“I need a minute,” he breathed into her ear, voice rough with desire.
She leaned into him and loosened her grip on his broad shoulders. For several minutes, they stood still, neither talking. Blake ran his hands up and down her back with slow, even strokes.
“Shouldn’t we turn on the shower?” she finally asked, not sure if Blake was ever going to let her go.
Blake’s smoky gaze met hers and his brow lifted. “Is that an invitation?”
“For the camera,” she said in a rush.
Was that disappointment flashing in his eyes? “Right.” He shook his head and pushed himself away from her arms. The room chilled instantly.
The tiny bathroom didn’t leave much room for either of them, so Samantha stayed on the counter and watched as Blake turned on the water in the shower. When he turned toward her and rested his back against the door, he attempted a smile but it didn’t reach his eyes.
“This is crazy, isn’t it?” she asked him, wanting desperately to know what his thoughts were.
He ran a hand through his hair in a gesture Sam started to recognize as a sign of stress. “What’s crazy is how much I want you, and how much effort we’re going through to convince people we’re sleeping together when we’re not.”