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Now, there was only heatand so much desire it took her breath away

"Come here, Nicola"

She didn’t move a muscle She couldn’t "But I should--"

"No showers Not yet Not without ister, the proether, of being soaped up and all ith his to her insides

She knew he must be able to read her reaction on her face, but he didn’t say anything else, he siht where he was by the door and waited for her to come to him

She could do this Of course she could Just put one foot in front of the other and as long as her heart didn’t explode fros as shaky as they’d been that very first tian the sloalk toward Marcus

Chapter Nine

Marcus was a heartbeat away fro her It nearly killed him to hold back, to watch her slowly move across the carpeted floor toward hiht when they’d gotten in the cab She had such incredible sex appeal--the video rehearsal confirmed that she clearly kne to use her sexuality to whip her audience into a frenzy--so her nerves didn’t ot all about needing things to add up

Who cared about anything but getting her out of her clothes?

He had to reach for her, had to grab a handful of her sweatshirt in his fist and lean down to take her sinfully seductive ainst his mouth and he yanked her sweatshirt up He pulled back to lift it up and over her head

Nothing but thin Spandex and curves awaited him

"My God, you’re beautiful"

She blinked up at hi blue eyes softer now, more aroused than worried "Thank you"

Hadn’t she heard a thousand times over by no beautiful she was? If not from her fans, then from the men she’d shared her bed with? And yet, the way she’d said "Thank you" had been so pure So honest

As if he were the first lover who had ever told her she was breathtaking

Again and again, she surprised hi And then in the , when she’d walked into S and fresh and ridiculously innocent, despite the leather dress she still wore And just a few enuinely interested in those kids downstairs who’d wanted her autograph