“Not sure if you know this, but this amazing river guide kept me awake all night, and I currently smell like I spent six days on a river and had to face down a Class V rapid.”
Her smile turns into more of a smirk as her eyes trail over me. “I happen to find your current state extremely sexy. For the record.”
I grin back at her. “Noted. But I need a shower. And sleep.”
The exhaustion settling into my bones might be stronger than I’ve ever felt before, like if I close my eyes I might sleep for days. That sounds nice.
Sighing, Donovan nods and gets to her feet. “I’ll get out of your hair.”
Though she heads for the door, I grab her hand before she makes it very far. “That wasn’t me asking you to leave.”
“Oh.”
“Unless you want to leave,” I add with a wince. “I’m not… I’ll never make decisions for you. I’m sure Hunter would be happy to escort you home if you want to go.”
She grins. “Again, I’m not his job.”
“Hunter protects every part of me, including my heart.” I wrinkle my nose as soon as the words leave my mouth. “Okay, there’s a reason I’m an actor, not a writer. I meant you’re important to me, so you’ll be important to him.”
Clearly torn between laughing and rolling her eyes, Donovan moves in close and presses a kiss to my forehead that leaves my whole body warm. “Cheesiness aside, that was incredibly sweet, Derek Riley. But you need to give that man a break beforehebreaks.” She runs her hand through my hair, this time sending a shiver through me. “Great as you are, you’re also incredibly stressful.”
She’s right. I just don’t know what to do about that.
Chuckling, she gives my hair another run through, then steps back. “Go take your shower, Superman.”
“You’ll stay?”
She looks around the room and purses her lips. “Your hotel room is bigger than my entire apartment by at least three times.”
“Not an answer to my question, Tate.”
Her arms fold over her chest. “I smell just as bad as you do.”
“My shower is right over there.” I jerk my head in that direction as I slowly get to my feet without breaking eye contact with her. I worry that if I look away, she’s going to disappear. It’s a miracle she’s still here as it is. “You can go first.”
“I don’t have anything to wear,” she says next, as crimson slowly rises up her face the closer I get to her, and her arms fall back to her sides. These are all valid excuses, but everything about her body language, and the fact that she’s still standing in front of me, tells me she wants to leave as little as I want her to.
Placing a hand on her waist, I pull her close and marvel at the way she so easily responds to my action by splaying a hand over my stomach. Nohesitation, no second-guessing. She’s afraid of what comes with my fame, but I don’t think she’s afraid of me. Ofus.
“And you wondered if they were real,” I murmur, flexing my core as her fingers press into my abs.
“Still wondering about a change of clothes, actually,” she murmurs back, though her voice has gone breathy.
I brush my nose against hers, sliding my hand into her hair. “You can take anything of mine that you want.”
“Anything?” she repeats in a teasing tone.
Honestly? Yes. She could have everything I own as long as she keeps letting me hold her like this. Keeps making me feel like I’m not facing an uncertain future on my own. “Or I can send Janie out to buy you a whole new wardrobe. Right now, she’d probably do anything I ask her to.”
“You’re going to talk to her about all of this, right? Get her version of the story?”
“Later.” Finally—finally—I lean down and touch my lips to hers, and this time she doesn’t stop me. It’s missing the heat from earlier, but this kiss is no less potent and leaves me almost mindless. Her lips are warm and soft, but she kisses with the same confidence she has with everything she does as she wraps her arm around my neck to pull herself closer.
And while I’m starting to think kissing Donovan Tate is a way better idea than taking a nap, she pulls away and smirks at whatever dumb expression I must have on my face. “I’ll take you up on that shower,” she says as she slips out of my arms and heads for the bedroom. “You should tell your friends that you’re okay so they can stop calling you.”
She’s right, but before she disappears into the bedroom, there’s one more thing I need to say. “I do know by the way.”
She looks back and cocks her head. “What?”
