Winter's Heart (12 page)

“I don’t do everything for you,” he protested before his lips curved into a panty-melting smile. Draping an arm around her shoulders and once again pulling her against his hard body, he continued, “I just help with the motorcycle stuff since I know how touchy you are about riding it.”

“Uh huh,” she murmured, her lips curving up into her perpetual Winter smile.

“And if, on occasion, I want to take care of my girl I hope she lets me,” he continued, giving her a sideways hug, pulling her even more flush against him. “And if you don’t, I might have to take drastic measures.”

“And what would those be?” she asked, resting her hand against his sternum, feeling the steady beat of his heart beneath her palm.

He looked down at her and grinned, “I might have to take you over my knee and spank you.”

“You wouldn’t,” she breathed, watching his eyes dilate at the thought of doing exactly that. “Good thing I didn’t sign an NDA regarding our relationship. The tabloids would have a field day if they learned you’re into spanking.”

His expression froze and his body tightened, “Don’t….”

“Oh, God!” she cried out in instant regret. Coming to a stop, she looked up at him and cupped his cheek, “I would never, NEVER, speak of you to the paparazzi, I don’t care if they offer me all of the money in the world. I’d never do it.”

He studied her for a moment, a long, long moment, before he took a breath and slowly let it out. She saw the moment he believed her and she smiled, “Besides, I wouldn’t want the world to know I’ve been spanked.”

He chuckled as they started walking once more. “
Have
you ever been spanked, Flynn?”

“Never, not even as a child,” she answered with a smug smile. Tilting her head back, she looked up at him, “I was a perfect angel.”

“Ugh,” he groaned, planting a kiss on the top of her head. “I’ve always avoided goody-two-shoes.”

“And I’ve always avoided insanely gorgeous men who have a penchant for spanking,” she countered.

“You think I’m gorgeous?”

“
Insanely
gorgeous.”

“Hmm,” he said, as if he were considering something. A wicked smile curved his lips as he let his arm drop from her shoulders and he cupped her bottom, giving it a little squeeze. “I think I might like to redden a virgin ass.”

A little whimper slipped past her lips, making him chuckle. The feel of his broad hand on her ass felt way too good and she hated to admit she was looking forward to feeling the heat of it when he spanked her. If she wasn’t careful, she was going to lose complete control of her orderly life and end up a hot mess like her oldest sister had been before she straightened out her life.

Is this what it was like for Murphy, this exhilaration and this breathless anticipation? God, it was irresistible!

“Afterwards, I think I’m going to claim this ass for my very own,” he vowed, his breath whispering across her skin. “Have you ever had someone in your ass, Flynn? No, of course not; you’re a good girl. I’m going to change all of that, Flynn. I’m going to make you mine.”

She swallowed thickly, her breaths shallow and her heart rate too fast as she listened to his words, his promises. She was never going to survive Winter.

“Two tickets to
Kinsmen of Arcadia
,” his low voice murmured, making her realize they were already at the ticket counter. The cashier did a double take when he saw Winter but when Winter kept a bland smile on his face, nothing happened. Taking the tickets, Winter next bought a box of popcorn and a single drink, handing her the popcorn before leading her through the corridor to the theatre where the movie was going to be playing. Pausing outside of the doors, he looked down at her with a hint of hesitancy in his expression. “I hope you don’t mind sharing and I hope you don’t mind sitting in the back.”

“No,” she squeaked, her thoughts still replaying his words. Clearing her throat, she spoke in a more normal voice as she added, “That’s fine. Both are fine.”

“Good, because I really want to make out with you.”

Tilting her head to the side, she twinkled her eyes up at him, “If you’re my fake boyfriend, are the kisses going to be fake as well?”

“Oh, no,” he said in mock gravity. Wrapping his arm around her waist with the hand that wasn’t holding his pop, he pressed his pelvis against her and bent his head until his lips hovered just over hers. His minty breath swirled in her mouth and it was almost as intoxicating as being kissed. The fake whiskers tickled her nose and she wondered what it would be like to kiss him, really, truly kiss him. “The kisses are going to be very, very real.”

Instead of kissing her, though, he entwined his fingers with hers and pulled her into the darkened theater with a broad grin on his face. “You want to know what I like best about this theater?”

“What’s that?” she asked, following as he started sliding into the very last row. Because it was the middle of the day and the movie had been out for a few weeks, the theater was practically empty. There were just four other people and they were all up front, oblivious to the two newcomers.

Sitting, he put their refreshments down then pulled her into the adjacent seat. With a grin she was becoming all-too-familiar with, he raised the arm rest between them. “Look. No barriers.”

A slow smile curved her lips as she finally realized they weren’t there to watch the movie at all. A small, infinitesimally small, part of her brain was disappointed that she wasn’t going to be watching the movie but the rest of her was doing backflips at the thought of spending two hours in the dark heading to second or third base with Winter. Reaching up, she lightly tugged on the beard, “And will this be joining us?”

“Not today.” He tore the synthetic hair from his face and stuffed it into his pocket before he turned to her and took her hand in his, entwining their fingers. Looking at their joined hands, he murmured in a suddenly serious voice, “I don’t want you to feel rushed, Flynn. We can sit here and watch the movie….”

Sliding her free hand into the silky blackness of his hair, she leaned forward and covered his lips with hers, shutting him up with a kiss. His firm lips offered the slightest resistance before he opened and his tongue pushed into her mouth. Minty heat swept over her, through her and her eyelids drifted shut from the sheer overwhelming-ness that was Winter. But there was something that was stopping her from drowning completely.

Tearing her mouth away from his, she rested her forehead against his and whispered, “I like the seats and I love being here with you but maybe we should wait until the lights go down.”

His laugh was a little breathless as he nodded his head and pressed a soft kiss against the shell of her ear, “I think that’s a good idea.”

Twisting back in his seat, he scrubbed his fingers through his hair and heaved a deep breath. There was a slight tic along his taut jaw and his lips were flushed with blood and he was beautiful beyond words. With his slightly tousled hair, he looked like he had just rolled out of bed and it was a good look on him. Of course, she didn’t think he had a bad look and she took pleasure in just watching him up close and personal. He caught her staring at him and gave her a slight smile, “You want some popcorn while we wait?”

At her nod, he handed her the bucket while grabbing a handful of popcorn for himself and then they both faced forward. Knowing that they were just waiting for the lights to go down so they could get back to the kissing, she felt so naughty. This was so unlike her that she hardly recognized the girl wearing her skin. But none of that mattered because she was with Winter and it had nothing to do with her girlhood infatuation with the actor and everything to do with her intense attraction to the man. If she could bottle this feeling, this euphoria, she’d be able to sell it and make a small fortune.

Or she could keep it on a shelf and use it when all of this was over and done and she was back to her usual mundane world, when Winter moved on to other girls.

Six months.

The lights dimmed a little and her belly fluttered in anticipation but it was only the previews. It would be a while longer before the theater went completely dark and the movie started. She glanced at Winter out of the corner of her eye and found him staring at her with an enigmatic smile on his lips. “What is it?”

“I’m just trying to figure out where you came from,” he grinned, reaching out and taking her hand in his, as if he couldn’t help but hold her hand. “And I’m really looking forward to discovering what makes you scream.”

She was in way over her head and she knew it but it didn’t matter. The things he said turned her to mush and made her want to experience… everything, as long as it was with him. Feigning a boldness she was just learning she possessed, she reached over and dragged her nails over the length of his erection and purred, “I’m sure I have a fairly good idea.”

He sucked in a breath and closed his eyes, almost as if in pain. But when he looked at her, the smile was still there and he chuckled, “It’s going to be so good between us, Flynn.”

She swallowed back her fears and doubts and smiled at him, not knowing what to say because she had so little experience to compare it to and she had never felt like this before. As the previews played in the background, with the loud explosions and dramatic voice overs, she was barely aware of anything beyond Winter and the butterflies that were shaking in their boots in her stomach.

She still wasn’t sure how she had gotten to this place, sitting in a darkened theater with Winter Mitchell. One minute she was showing him her dad’s brilliant work and the next she was his alter ego’s fake girlfriend. And now she was Winter’s fake girlfriend. It just sort of… happened. If his star wasn’t connected to Melissa Irish’s, would she be his real girlfriend? Well, that’s assuming they happened to meet, which was as farfetched as her becoming Winter’s fake girlfriend.

“You’re thinking too much.” Winter’s voice interrupted her thoughts a moment before his thumb rubbed the spot between her eyes that crinkled when she was lost in contemplation. His warm breath fanned over her face as he whispered, “Enjoy the moment, Flynn. When I have more to offer, it will be yours.”

Her heart flipped over in her chest and a shiver whispered through her body at the heated promise in his words, the promise of more. When he leaned closer and the heat of his body wrapped around hers, she almost forgot to breathe. His lips moved against her ear as he murmured, “You’re the first thing I have wanted for myself in a very long time, Flynn. Let me have this.”

“Yes,” she mouthed, the word coming out as a sigh as his lips brushed against the delicate skin beneath her ear. His hand slid around her neck and cupped the back of her head as he captured her lips with his and she was lost. It didn’t matter that the previews were still playing or that her popcorn spilled as she dropped the box or that she could very well get her heart broken. Running her hands up his chest, she slid her fingers into the black silk of his hair and held on, knowing she was going to drown.

His tongue moved against her lips and she automatically opened for him, taking his tongue into her mouth and tasting mint and popcorn and Winter. Her heart pounded furiously in her chest, her skin tingled, and she was pretty sure she was going to need a new pair of panties before their date was through and she loved it. She loved the enchantment of kissing Winter, of being kissed by Winter.

His warm palm slid beneath the hem of her shirt and she startled, which made him pull away. “Is this all right?”

Holding his eyes, she nodded even though she didn’t think she’d ever get used to having his hand on her skin. It was too much pleasure for one person to handle and it was always going to overwhelm her, especially that first touch that sent shocks of awareness through her body. With a hungry grin, he reached past her and leaned her backwards until she was sprawled on the seats and he was hovering over her. “The lights have gone off.”

Blinking, she realized that they were surrounded by darkness, the only light coming from the screen that could have been in a different country for all she cared. As a voice, as
Winter’s
voice, came over the speakers, she jumped and then laughed, “You have such a sexy voice.”

Without answering, he took her lips in another fierce kiss, his hand going back to her waist. This time when she trembled, he didn’t stop kissing her, only smiled against her lips. Slowly, deliberately, he rocked his erection against her thigh and she could have sworn she felt it grow even bigger and she wondered how he was ever going to fit and then she wondered how soon she could find out.

“Stop thinking,” he breathed into her ear, nipping her earlobe with his teeth and sending a trill of pleasure down her spine. Pushing off her a little, he held her eyes as he pushed the hem of her shirt upwards until her breasts were exposed to his gaze. When he dropped his eyes, he sucked in a breath and in that moment she felt like the most beautiful woman in the world.

Almost reverently, he lightly ran a finger along the lacy edge of her bra, giving her goose bumps. Hooking the finger in the lace, he tugged downwards until her breast was freed and her nipple was exposed to the cool, theater air. She struggled against the instinct to cover her naked breast and instead concentrated on breathing so she wouldn’t pass out from lack of oxygen. If he didn’t do something, her heart was going to explode in her chest from fear and anticipation.