The Princess and the Porn Star (10 page)

After two or three more run-throughs, Jim announced it was time to move to the green screen.

To the green screen, and, in front of that, the tiny, revolving platform. Where Lee and I could be eye to eye. Face-to-face.

“We’re going to shoot in close this time,” Jim said once Lee and I were on the platform. “Zoom in on just your faces. Rachel, you’ll be lip-synching, just like always. Buck, you’re going to be facing her, and you’ll get in as close as you can get, almost kissing her but not quite.”

My mouth went dry. I fought the urge to look at Lee.

“So we’re just going to be standing on the platform?” I asked. “While it goes around and you’re zoomed in on our faces?”

Jim nodded.

“In that case”—I gestured at my feet—“I don’t suppose I can take these off, can I?”

He shook his head. “Buck’s taller than you. I want you two eye to eye for this one.” Before I could open my mouth to suggest, I don’t know, maybe standing on a stack of phone books or something, Jim smacked a hand against his clipboard and shouted, “Places!”

I didn’t argue. I could grin and bear it a little while longer, especially if that meant staying off the director’s shit list.

Lee and I faced each other. With any other co-star, this might have been all serious business. With others, we might have been giggling because no matter how this looked on camera, it felt a little ridiculous in person.

Not Lee and me.

We held each other’s gazes, and all I could think was,
is your heart beating as fast as mine?

“Closer,” Jim said.

I gulped. So did Lee.

We inched toward each other.

“Closer.”

Jesus Christ, we were almost touching now.

“
Little
closer.”

There was no almost about it: we
were
touching. His chest grazed mine, and my nipples hardened. I didn’t dare look down to see if they were visible through the thin, tight leather.

“Hmm,” Jim said. “I want a little more difference in height. So she’s looking up at him.”

I gestured at my feet again. “So the shoes—”

“No,” he said with a dismissive wave. “That’d be too dramatic of a difference. Just need a couple of inches.” He snapped a finger at someone. “Get me a two-by-four over here.”

Lee and I exchanged glances. He rolled his eyes, and I stifled a snicker.

A crew member appeared with a board in his hands. Lee stood up on his toes, and the crewman put the board under his heels. When Lee came down, he was definitely taller than me, if only by an inch or so. That inch or so was enough, though, that I had to look up, which meant lifting my chin.

Which brought my mouth a fraction of an inch closer to his.

Oh God.

And my brain picked that moment to wonder if perhaps Lee’s obvious blessing below the belt wasn’t the only reason he’d done so well in his line of work.

Bet he’s a great kisser. Bet he’s even better at—

“Rachel,” Jim broke in, “while you’re singing, you just watch his eyes. The whole time.”

I swallowed and nodded. That…that wouldn’t be too difficult. Other than Lee’s mouth, there was no other place I could look right then. The platform wasn’t even turning yet, and already the rest of the world spun around me, blurring, and he was the only thing I could bring into focus.

Jim continued, “Buck, you can look in her eyes or at her lips. Wherever feels natural. While she’s singing, you want to kiss her, and you’re thinking about kissing her, and you might even be trying to kiss her, but you won’t. Not quite. Got it?”

Lee nodded. He didn’t say anything. He also didn’t look away from me.

My heart beat faster and faster.

“Here we go,” Jim said.

Then the platform jerked into motion, and I remembered the spinning sensation had been all in my head.

I was vaguely aware of an order for the music to start and distantly heard the familiar intro. I looked straight into Lee’s eyes, just like Jim had ordered. Seemed easy enough. Lip-synch, look in Lee’s pale green eyes, then get out of here so I could take off these—

You have really pretty eyes.

Jesus. Like
really
pretty eyes.

Those incredibly pretty eyes flicked toward my lips.

Then back up to meet mine.

The song played once. Twice. Three times. I thought I’d be dizzy and sick to my stomach by now, but the only feeling in my stomach was the fluttery nervousness of a woman standing on the precipice, ready to jump into something that was terrifying and amazing and so fucking hot.

We were just inches apart. Closer than we’d gotten last night when I’d secretly hoped for a good-night kiss. Once that was almost inevitable even when we weren’t nearly as close as we were now, and now we were so close I could have kissed him if I wanted to. So close he had no trouble obeying Jim and moving in like he was
just
about to kiss me, but pulling back a second before we made contact.

The lyrics started again, and my own lips moved of their own accord. Muscle memory. Habit. Something. I didn’t even know what song was playing anymore. Hopefully my mouth formed the right lyrics in time with the right music, but I barely noticed there was music playing at all. Even the squeaking leather was muted now, almost unnoticeable over the whisper of Lee’s breathing.

Lee’s eyes flicked toward my lips again.

“
Why you throwin’ love around already, baby?
” My own recorded voice cut through the delirium.

A warm, ragged breath fluttered across my skin.

“
Too soon for that, boy,
’
cause you ain’t even… you ain’t even kissed me yet!
”

God, his mouth was so close, so close…

One hand left my waist. A moment later, it materialized on the side of my face and sent shivers all the way down to my numb, crushed toes. Jim didn’t yell at us to stop, and Lee didn’t lift his hand away, and I couldn’t help closing my eyes and pressing against his warm palm.

With my eyes closed, my equilibrium almost fell apart, so I opened them again. And found myself looking right into Lee’s. And realized there was less space between us than before. And that space was narrowing by the second. Slowly but noticeably, as if centrifugal force was drawing us toward the center of the spinning platform. The laws of physics and chemistry were at work here, and there was no point in resisting even if I wanted to, and I didn’t want to.

The lyrics ended, and as the music began its slow fade, Lee tilted his head, and if Jim yelled “Cut!” I didn’t hear it because my heart was beating too hard.

And then Lee pressed his lips to mine.

We were both still, as still as the platform allowed us to be, but then he tilted his head a little more and gently coaxed my lips apart. His tongue met mine, and I slid the tip of mine under his. Everything around us disappeared. Everything except the faint flavor of coffee and the heat of his body and his thick, hard erection between us. I inhaled through my nose, and the air was made of leather and coffee and sweat.

The music was gone. Had it cut off suddenly? Faded away? I had no idea. But it was definitely gone.

I drew back a little, and as my lips broke contact with his, the rest of the world came back into existence.

My hand was on his arm. I didn’t remember putting it there. The camera was still revolving around us. There were lights. People who I couldn’t see or hear.

I stared up at Lee. He looked down at me, his expression a mix of arousal and fear and
what the hell was that?

“That wasn’t what I had in mind,” Jim said, oblivious to the moment he was jerking me out of. “But I’ll take it. I’ll definitely take it.” He clapped a few times. “That’s a wrap, folks. Well done, everyone. Well done.”

I had to admit, uncomfortable shoes or not, I was a little disappointed that we were finished. Though if we kept going like this much longer, Jim was going to get some improvisation he probably hadn’t bargained for.

The platform slowed to a stop. I hadn’t been dizzy until the spinning actually stopped, and now I was lucky to stay on my feet. Lee staggered a bit too as he stepped off the platform, putting his arms out to regain his balance.

All the arousal and exhilaration faded in favor of trying not to get queasy or fall. I stumbled toward a chair, sank onto it and leaned forward as much as my dress would allow. Couldn’t quite get my head between my knees, but this was enough to give the world a few minutes to slow down and, finally, stop.

When I sat up, Lee was nowhere in sight. Quinn wasn’t around either, but his voice in the back of my mind reminded me I had a plane to catch.

I carefully pushed myself to my feet. A crew member wandered past, and I stopped him.

“Sorry, do you have the time?”

He pulled back his sleeve. “Quarter after four.”

“Thanks,” I said, and as he walked away, I whispered a curse. I’d be cutting it close for my eight o’clock flight to New York. Time to get out of here and hustle to the airport.

But before I did anything else? Off with these shoes. My feet were done. Even the prospect of walking back to my dressing room was too much, and where the hell was Quinn? To hell with it. These things were coming off right now.

I put my foot up on a bench, held my breath and leaned over to unbuckle it.

“Need help?” Lee’s voice would have made me wobble no matter what, but balancing on one precarious heel? I was screwed.

Hands materialized on my sides. Exactly where they’d been for most of today.

“You all right?” His voice vibrated across flesh that still tingled from his breath.

I put my other foot down. “Yeah. Yeah, thanks.”

“You sure?” He loosened his grasp.

“I’m good.”

“Sit.” He nodded toward a nearby chair. “Before you break your ankle.”

I hesitated, but between my aching ankle and my shaking knees, there was no point in trying to stay on my feet. So without a word, I gingerly eased myself onto the chair.

Lee knelt in front of me. He cupped the back of my ankle with one hand just like he did yesterday, but this time, as he unbuckled the thin strap, he let a finger trail across my flesh, sending a shiver right through me. The strap loosened. He carefully slipped off the shoe and set it down beside him.

Then he lowered my foot to the floor and beckoned. “Other foot, Cinderella.”

I lifted my foot as he asked. “Wasn’t Prince Charming putting a shoe
on
Cinderella?”

His eyebrow arched. “You want me to put it back on?”

“No, no.” I put up both hands. “No, please don’t.”

“Didn’t think so.” He slid his hand around my calf, and as he let it drift down toward my ankle, he looked up at me. “I’m not sure I’d make such a great Prince Charming, I’m afraid.”

“Oh?” Leather squeaked as a shiver made me squirm in my chair. “Why’s that?”

“Because I’m generally inclined…” He slid a finger along the strap just as he had the other shoe. Then his eyes flicked up. “I’m generally inclined to take things off rather than put them on.”

Another shiver. Holy hell.

From the way he laughed quietly before returning his attention to removing my shoe, he knew exactly what effect he had on me.

“Well,” I said, pretending I wasn’t so goddamned flustered. “I need something removed; you like removing things.” I shrugged. “Sounds pretty convenient, am I right?”

“Hmm, very true.” Lee slipped off my shoe and sat back on his heels. Holding up my shoes, he said, “Pity my work is done.”

Oh God…

I smirked in spite of my rising body temperature. “Definitely a pity.”

He just snickered softly. We both stood. Now that I was barefoot, he was taller than me. A
lot
taller than me. Of course he’d been taller than me last night and on the platform, but here, now, there was something unspeakably sexy about looking up at him this way. Especially because he was
so close
.

He lifted his hand, letting the shoes dangle from his fingers by their heel straps. “Your shoes, m’lady.”

“Thank you.” I held his gaze as I plucked the ridiculous shoes from his hand.

Neither of us moved. The crew and other dancers rushed past us in all directions like we were boulders in a river, their speed emphasizing our stillness, and I was right back on the spinning platform with his kiss on my tingling lips.

I’ve kissed you. I know what you taste like. I want more. Just say the—

Someone bumped Lee, jolting us out of the moment.

He cleared his throat and lowered his gaze. “Well, um…” He took a step back, drawing all the air in the room with him. “I’m off to my dressing room.” As he turned to go, he paused and added a nearly inaudible, “For a while.’

And then he was gone.

I stood there like an idiot, shoes in my hand and heart pounding in my ears. Was that an invitation?

My ankle throbbed, but between the cortisone and the topical Quinn had put on it earlier, it was bearable, especially now that I was off those damned stilts. And damn if my skin didn’t tingle everywhere Lee’s hands had brushed. Closing my eyes, I curled my toes against the cold, hard floor as goose bumps prickled every inch of my skin.