Movie Lovers (11 page)

“I’ve…uh…never felt like that with
anyone before,” he said.

“Really? Never…uh…come with a
woman?” Her eyes widened, embarrassment heated her cheeks.

“Of course I have. Not that. The
other…stuff, you know.”

“Feelings?”

“Yeah. That stuff.” He cast his gaze
down.

“Never had feelings for another
woman?”

“Not like I have for you.”

“What kind of feelings?” She rested
her palm on his shoulder.

“Made it all special…different than
before.”

“How?” She kept probing, but he was
tongue-tied.

“Like something more.” He glanced at
her, then away again.

“More than what?”

“More than just sex.” He closed his
fingers over her hand.

“I hope so.” she said.

“You know.”

“You mean like love?”

“Yeah. Like…love.”

“Are you trying to say you love me,
Jake?” The heat of a flush spread over his face. She stroked his rough cheek.
“I already said it, so you wouldn’t be saying it first.”

“You weren’t like asleep when you
said that?”

She chuckled, “Hardly. Don’t say I
love you in my sleep. Only awake.”

He leaned in and kissed her. “I love
you, too, Gracie.”

She inched closer to him and he
rested his hand on her back for a second before he ran his fingers up and down
her smooth, silky skin. “God you feel good.”

“So do you.” She flattened her palm
on his chest.

Her touch started a fire in him. He
moved his hands to her breasts, enjoying free access to her body. Pressure
between his legs told him he was already erect and ready.
Now to get her to the same level.

Chapter Seven

Grace set tight controls on herself to
keep from jumping up and down when Jake admitted loving her. She allowed a
smile on her face, but no screaming or attacking him. It wasn’t easy. Her heart
seemed to swell to twice its normal size as it pounded a fast, steady rhythm.

He
loves me?
She decided not to question but just accept it. Besides crushes,
she had never been truly in love before, and the sensation was heady. She
stretched out, moving her body up against his, staring into his golden eyes,
where adoration mixed with lust.

He kissed her long and slow. A sigh
escaped her throat as she surrendered to his desire, her own bursting forth
under his touch. He moved his lips down her neck to her chest where he made love
to her breasts. Slipping his hand between her legs he whispered in her ear.

“I’m ready, but you’re not. Wait a
minute.” His mouth slid to her abs and went lower and lower. When his head
stopped between her legs, she sucked in a breath. “Oh my God!” she exclaimed
when his tongue touched her tender flesh. He brought her to his level of
arousal within minutes.

Twenty minutes later, Jake poised
over her with one last groan before he collapsed. Gracie was still dreamy from
the pleasure he had given her. She ran her nails gently over his back, which
was lightly coated with sweat.

“Oh, baby,” he muttered. “You’re amazing.”
Gazing into his eyes, her heart filled with love for the shy, awkward man who
could make love like nobody’s business. Sex had been enjoyable for her in
college but never an explosive, heart-stopping experience like it was with
Jake.

“So this is what they’re talking
about,” she murmured after he rolled off her and onto his side.

“What?”

“All the talk about how great sex
is. I guess not with everybody.”

“You didn’t enjoy sex before? That’s
hard to imagine. You’re so…so…responsive.”

Heat came to her cheeks. “Thank
you.”

“No, really? Not like this before?”

She shook her head. “It was okay,
but nothing like it is with you.” He beamed. “I guess you’re an expert.”

Jake chuckled. “I don’t like to
brag, but I know my way around the bedroom.”

“Guess you do. How many women have
you had?” She raised herself up on an elbow and stared at him.

He paled. “
Dunno
.”

“Just give me a general
idea…hundreds? Thousands?” He went straight from ashen to beet red. “Thousands,
really?”

“No, no.”

“That’s a relief.”

“Enough. Does it matter?”

She shook her head. “Just
yankin
’ your chain.”

“Oh?” He cocked an eyebrow as a devilish
gleam lit up his eyes. “How about this?” He launched into a tickle attack that
had her screaming for him to stop and gasping for breath in no time. “That’s
what you get for asking that question.” He grinned.

Grace lay back in the bed, sucking
in air and calming down. “It’s always the shy ones…”

“What?”

“Yeah. Always the shy ones who score
the most. Women don’t see ‘
em
coming.”

“You saw me coming.”

“Hard to miss a Mack truck!” She
fell into a fit of giggling.

“Oh, that’s funny, huh? I’ll show
you funny,” he said, pulling her across the bed and into his arms. Grace hooked
her leg around his waist and accepted his hard, possessive kiss. “You’re mine
now, Gracie Brewster. All mine.”

Her heart sang at his words, and her
body melted into his. “Yes, sir. All yours.”

Interrupted by the rumbling of her
stomach, she disengaged from his embrace. “I’m starved. Breakfast!”

“Can I shower first?”

She nodded. “Meet me in the
kitchen.” After setting up the coffeemaker, Gracie put fire under the pan for
eggs. She stood at the stove, turning bacon, wearing one of Cara’s filmy, short
negligées in blue. Jake, in jeans only, joined her. He came up behind her and embraced
her.

She leaned back into him and shut
her eyes for a second. The scent of him scrubbed clean mixed with the fresh aroma
of soap and a slightly sweet aftershave.
Never
smelled anything as good as Jake.

“Bacon and eggs? My favorite.” He
kissed her hair.

“Mine, too.”

Jake released her and searched the
cabinets. Finding plates and utensils, he set the table for two then filled two
mugs with coffee. “How do you take your coffee?” he asked.

“One sugar, light. Why?”

He prepared her drink and put it on
the counter next to the stove. Winding an arm around her waist, he whispered,
“I want to know everything about you. Even the little things.”

She grinned.
Sweet! You can know everything, except Movie Maven.
The food was
ready in no time. “Our first breakfast together,” she said, picking up a piece
of bacon.

“The first of many. I hope.” He took
a forkful of eggs.

“What do you want to do today?” The
glint in his eye made her laugh. “I get it. But what else? We can’t spend the
whole day in bed.”

“We can’t?”

“It’s beautiful outside. Let’s drive
down to the beach.”

“It’s too cold to swim.”

“How about a picnic on the beach?”

“Perfect. Ever make love on the
beach?”

She shook her head.

“Ah, there’s always a first time.
But be careful of the sand. Ouch!”

“Why do you get drunk at the
premiere parties? I don’t see you drink that much at other times. It’s not like
you have an alcohol problem.”

“Those people make me nervous.” He
glanced down at his hands.

“Why?” Grace brushed her hair.

“They’re professionals, experienced,
famous. And I’m new, real new.”

“They’re just people.”

“Not to me.”

“Living with Cara, I’m used to them.
They don’t scare me.”

“But at first?”

“Yeah, okay. Maybe at first.”

“That’s where I am. By the way.
Thanks for stopping me before I got plastered.”

“No problem.”

“Saved me for something much
better.” He shot her a sexy grin as he moved his fingers over hers.

When they finished eating, Jake took
her in his arms for a hug. “Why don’t you get dressed while I clean up in
here.”

Gracie stared at him, a slow smile
crept across her face. “A man who does dishes, willingly? I’m yours!” He
laughed.

Grace disappeared into her bathroom
and turned on the shower. Her body hummed with satisfaction, all tension gone. She
sang her favorite song, “Summer Rain,”
in
the shower. After toweling off, she threw on jeans and a sexy, dark pink
T-shirt with a low-cut, ruffled neckline.

When she got back to the kitchen,
Jake was wiping down the counter. “Fabulous job!”

“My sisters trained me well.” His
gaze wandered over her body. “You look great.”

“Now for the picnic.” She opened the
refrigerator, then the freezer, then the cabinets.

“Hmm, it’s been a while…not too much
here. How about PB&J?”

“My
fave
,
how did you know?” He came up behind her and kissed her neck.

Within half an hour, a small picnic
basket had been loaded into the car, and they were heading down Mulholland
Drive toward the beach. Grace drove the red, two-seater Mercedes down the
familiar streets, keeping under the speed limit so Jake could soak up the
scenery.

“This is some car. Love to get under
the hood.”

“Geez, first you want to get under
my hood, now Nellie’s hood. You do get around.”

“Nellie? You’ve named the car?”

“Yup.”

“Getting under your hood. Haven’t
heard that expression before.”

“Just made it up.”

“Of course, you’re a writer.” She
shot a smile at him before turning her gaze back to the road.

Jake leaned back and rested his hand
on her thigh. “Does it bother you if I do that?”

“Hell yeah, but I love it.” He laughed.

They arrived at the beach by two
o’clock and tore into the lunch. After eating, Jake lay down on the blanket
with his hands linked behind his head. Grace cozied up to him, cuddling into
his side. He wrapped an arm around her. “Life out here is nice.”

“No snow.”

“Sure beats the ass-freezing winters
in Willow Falls.”

She sat up and looked at him. “Ass-freezing?”

“Guess we can’t all be writers,” he
chuckled.

“I like it here, too. Need to be
here if I’m ever going to sell a script.”

“That’s tough. Probably harder than
finding work acting.”

“Maybe it’s a tie.”

He leaned over and kissed her. “You
look beautiful in the sun.” He held her face between his hands as he deepened
the kiss. With her eyes closed, Grace could sense him moving closer, sliding on
top of her. The pressure of his chest against hers lit her fire. She raised her
legs, resting her feet flat on the blanket, giving him the opportunity to
position himself between them, which he did. His hand covered her breast.

While the beach was almost empty,
there were a few people around.
Thank God
we’re dressed, or he’d be inside me right now.
As his tongue tangled with
hers, Grace’s chest rose and fell in uneven breaths. She raised her hips
slightly to meet his, causing him to moan. He lifted his head to stare into her
eyes. His erection nudged her through their jeans. The heat of his stare made
her want him.

“We’d better go,” he said in a
hoarse voice as he pushed up on his hands.

Damn!
What were you going to do, strip and do him on the beach? Don’t think so.

“Right. Go.” She waited until he’d
abandoned his position before she straightened her T-shirt and brushed her locks.

“Can’t keep my hands off you,” he
muttered, gathering up the trash from lunch.

Gracie packed up the leftover food
and put the top back on the thermos of lemonade.
Can’t keep my hands off him, either.
Within fifteen minutes, they
were back in the car heading to Cara’s house. Grace let Jake drive. It was
obvious he was enjoying it, as he commented on several aspects of the vehicle with
admiration. He took her hand and rested it on his thigh while she sat back and
let the wind play with her hair.

A deep feeling of contentment washed
over her. Being with Jake instilled a sense of security in Grace. It was a new
sensation for her, being loved by a man and comfortable with him at the same
time. In the past, the guys she had been most at ease with turned out to be
only friends. While the men who became lovers, getting close to her heart, made
her nervous. No worries about her hair or makeup being perfect when she was
with Jake.

Although she didn’t understand much
of what he was raving about, she enjoyed listening to him talk about cars.
Small town Jake, not movie star Jake.
Talking about his hobby.

She trained her gaze on him, and he
met her eyes from time to time during a straight stretch of road. He threw her
a lopsided grin, his eyes shaded by attractive sunglasses. His lips were perfect,
stretched into a dazzling smile.
So
kissable. How did I get this lucky?
Grace turned off her mind and let her
senses take over. Happiness seeped into her heart as the sun beat down but the
cool breeze kept her comfortable.
I could
keep driving with him forever.

They returned home in the late
afternoon. After they put everything away, Jake took her by the elbow and sat
her down next to him on the sofa in the den, facing the pool. “I’d like to take
you out to the fanciest dinner…the best restaurant in town.”

“Not dress-up, though, right?”

“Prefer not to dress up, but I
will.”

“Okay. Mojave on Rodeo Drive.”

“Fine. Do we need a reservation?”

“Of course, and probably a pledge of
our firstborn. It’s pricey, very pricey.”

“Nothing’s too expensive for my
girl.”

Grace sidled up to him.

“Am I your girl?”

He slung his arm around her and drew
her in for a hug. “Damn right you are.” Jake found the number via his phone and
stepped away to make the call. He chatted with a person at the restaurant for a
bit before rejoining Grace. “Seems Movie Maven helped us out,” he chuckled.

Her heart stopped. Her hands grew
cold, and her mouth dried out. “Oh? How so?” she squeaked.

“Woman on the phone at the
restaurant hadn’t heard of me until she read the lousy review. She was
sympathetic…and recognized my name. Without that hatchet job, we might not have
our confirmed reservation at the exclusive Mojave restaurant!” He grabbed Grace
and danced her around the room.

She blew out the breath she had been
holding.

“Your hands are like ice,” he said,
draping his sweatshirt around her shoulders.

She avoided his gaze.

“Reservation’s for eight. Let’s
practice our dance. Do you have any music?”

“For a waltz or samba?” She went to
the cabinet that housed their CD collection.

“Waltz now, samba after dinner.” He
started moving without her.

“Why?”

“Samba warms you up for dancing between
the sheets,” he said, doing a turn.

“Always in the bedroom…” She shook
her head. “We only have a couple of weeks left before the dance contest.”

“We’ll be ready.”

“You’re pretty confident.”

He pulled her toward him, taking her
hand and placing his other one on her waist. The music began. “Yep. We’re meant
to be.”

Gracie raised her eyebrows before being
carried away by the collection of Strauss waltzes and his strong arms leading
her around the room in an almost perfect Viennese Waltz.

* * * *

It seemed all eyes turned to look at
them when they entered Mojave. Grace wore a long, gauzy white skirt with a
white cotton piqué vest, showing plenty of cleavage. Silver sandals brought her
closer to Jake’s height, but he still had several inches on her. He wore a blue
striped sports shirt, navy sports jacket, and khaki pants.