Just before their lips met, they heard a sound behind them suggested the security guard was returning for his next round. It broke the mood.

She shifted out of his arms and stood. “I need to be getting home,” she said. “I have lines to work on. And I should really get in a workout before bed.”

He stood too, stuffing his hands into his pockets so he wouldn’t be tempted to reach out for her. He could give her a workout, and he almost said as much, suspecting she might even want an invitation to not complete her to-do list. But even though they’d been talking about sex, the current conversation seemed quite different from their usual naughty flirtation.

He had another idea now. Rocking back and forth from the balls of his feet to his heels, he wondered if he should just say goodnight or run with the wild hair he’d gotten up his ass.

The wild hair won. “Would you want to do this again sometime? The talking without belittling each other?”

Heather tilted her head. “Like a date?”

“Yeah. I suppose that’s what it’s called.”

Big brown chocolate eyes branded him. The way she stared at him—stared into him—it was like getting a tattoo with all the same burn but also a whole lot of euphoria. He couldn’t remember the last time a woman had that effect on him. Was that why he was so crazy over her? Taking a job several steps below his skill level, lying and hiding the truth. Practically stalking. He didn’t deserve to have anything with her, let alone what they’d shared, but he couldn’t stop himself from wanting more.

Heather took a deep breath. “Can I think about it?”

Well, he shouldn’t have expected anything else. She needed time to deal with her conflicting emotions. It had taken her ten days to seek him out after they’d had sex in her trailer, after all. He could give her time. “I hate that you have to. But I suppose you can.”

His eyes didn’t leave her. He couldn’t stop staring—she grew more beautiful the longer he looked. He couldn’t have designed a more enchanting specimen if he spent his life trying.

She blushed under his gaze. “What?”

There was only one thing he wanted at that moment. “Can I kiss you?”

“That seems so weird for you to ask after…everything.”

“Well, it seems we’re on new ground. I’m not sure what the rules are here.” He felt like a teenager. Awkward and horny.

“Me neither.” She lifted her head up. “But yes, you can kiss me.”

He leaned in slowly, taking his time. When his lips met hers, they moved together without destination, without need to get off. It was like a first kiss. Tender. Deep. Sweet.

“Goodnight, princess.” He’d started her nickname as a way to mock her snootiness. This time when he said it, he meant it as a term of endearment.

He watched her as she walked off the set toward the parking lot, his chest aching with each step she took.

Chest aching? Term of endearment? Was he falling for Heather Wainwright?

Aw, shit.

He’d asked her on a date. Seriously? Heather didn’t date. Dates were too difficult—paparazzi and fans fawning over her. They wouldn’t have any privacy. All the media outlets would purport them as an item. Was she ready for that? To be paired with Seth in front of the whole world?

No, she wasn’t.

But she wanted to get to know Seth better. Wasn’t that what dating was supposed to be about? Figuring out if you wanted to be with someone. Getting to know them before you had to make those decisions. It wasn’t fair that her life didn’t allow her that simple cultural norm.

She chewed her bottom lip as she climbed into her trailer. After shooting a text to Lexie, telling her she was ready to be picked up, she curled up on her couch with her script to work on her lines.

But she couldn’t focus, her mind still on Seth. She could have stayed with him while she waited for Lexie. He might have even offered her a ride. More than one kind of ride. The thought sent a shiver down her spine. She was already so needy and turned on. Maybe she should have let him get her off after all.

Except she needed to take this slow. Well, slower.

As she’d told Lexie she would, she’d researched about sex and spanking, learning a lot of information that had opened her eyes. Wide. She wasn’t so ignorant to not know about the whole Dominant/submissive world and the punishments that went with it, but that had never interested her. Still didn’t. Beyond that, she’d thought spanking was abuse. That the men who spanked their women during sex were the same ass**les who got 911’d for beating on their wives. She’d seen a lot of that in the trailers—poverty could turn people to their worst selves. Some it drove to drink like her mom. Some it drove to drugs like her dad. Some it drove to be just plain mean like half the people in her park.

But when she’d read the websites Lexie had given her, and then Googled sex and spanking and found hundreds of articles about regular, everyday couples having rough sex all the time, she had to swallow her pride and admit she was uniformed with a capital U. She’d always been into hair-pulling and nail-clawing, but she’d never dared to push that further. Apparently, the men she’d been with didn’t either. Seemed that her always being in control had some serious downfalls. Like never getting to learn new things. New things that could possibly be enjoyable.

So now she was intrigued. She wanted to explore this recent discovery. She wanted to explore it with Seth. But she was still timid about it, and that was why she’d let her evening with him end. Besides, she’d liked the note they’d ended on.

With him asking for a date.

She lay back with a sigh, her script open against her chest. A date wasn’t impossible. It would take careful planning to ensure they kept under-the-radar. They’d have to meet somewhere. Somewhere discreet. She wouldn’t want to don a disguise. Somehow disguises always seemed to attract more attention. If she put enough energy into it, she could think of a place that wouldn’t require that level of hiding. A simple excursion. Maybe a picnic at a park. Or hiking.

Or she could just let Seth handle the planning. That was how dates usually went, after all. The one who did the asking made the arrangements. Could she trust him to manage the details needed to maintain discretion?

If she couldn’t, then there was no point pursuing a relationship with him.

A relationship with Seth.

My, but she liked the sound of that.

Chapter Eleven

The next day, Heather didn’t lose sight of Seth. Over the week and a half that she’d avoided him, he’d been everywhere, but she hadn’t given herself permission to notice. Now she did. Damn, was it an improvement.