I ran a hand over his hard chest, down his flat stomach, imagining my fingernails turning into claws, effortlessly shredding the white dress shirt that separated me from his skin. I whispered into his ear, “I’m betting that you pass out as soon as your head hits the pillow.”

He took the back of my neck in a possessive grasp as he raked his top teeth over his lip. “That’s a bet you’re sure to lose, my love, because I am definitely, definitely up for the challenge.”

I squeezed my fingers into his buttocks, coaxing his hips to grind in a bit harder as if he were already naked and between my legs.

I didn’t care that we were in a room full of people.

The music swirled and the lights danced around us, sending my blood into hyper-drive. Ryan’s finger drifted, seductively snaking down my neck, over the hollow of my throat, down to the crest of my cleavage. I envisioned his tongue snaking the same path.

He sighed, almost saddened, resigned.

“The hardest part is knowing that underneath this incredibly sexy dress is a totally hot lace bustier and sheer panties that you put on when you thought I wasn’t looking.

But I have to confess . . . I was so looking.” I nudged him lightly. “That was supposed to be a surprise!”

All playfulness was gone, replaced by determination and hunger. His lips came down on mine, taking ownership of my mouth, of my senses. One touch of his tongue was all I needed to open and let him in.

“Don’t be mad,” he murmured, reminding me that he still possessed total control of my body. “I’m an actor, remember? I can play surprised.”

My mind drifted, picturing his long, hard body holding me fast to the bed. He wants to pretend to be surprised? I’ll give him surprised.

“You’re obviously not a very good Peeping Tom, since you failed to mention that I’m wearing your favorite item.” He glanced down at the floor. “The stilettos?”

I shook my head.

As if I’d just told him Santa Claus was truly real, his eyes opened wide, all glistening and hopeful. His hand flew to my thigh, seeking confirmation. A deep, feral groan rolled up this throat when he found the top band of my nylons.

I bit his earlobe tenderly. “I’d much rather you played evil doctor with me.” That was apparently all he could take.

“I am going to fuck you in those shoes. That and the nylons. When we get back to the room, they stay on.” Ryan grabbed my hand and quickly led us through the crowd.

There was no stopping him. He was a man on a mission.

Chapter 5

Oui

Through my blissfully heavy eyes, I barely took in the sights of another opulent hotel suite, dimly lit from the soft glow of a table lamp. The last eleven days had blurred into one continuous streak of hurried travel, decadent meals, paparazzi chases, limo rides, blinding camera flashes, and screaming fans to the point that I was dizzy from it all.

Ryan’s mouth tenderly caressed the base of my neck as he panted heavily from physical exertion. My lungs ached as if they were at risk of collapse from dragging in so many repeated shallow breaths.

His muscular back arched, allowing refreshing air to channel between our sweat-soaked bodies. His hips rolled and pushed in one more time, sending another ripple through me as his hands pinned my wrists to the bed. I felt the bristly brush of his stubbly chin rasp over my cheek as he lifted his eyes to meet mine.

“Welcome to Paris,” he said softly, rolling the tip of his tongue up the length of my neck, tasting me before covering my lips with his own again.

Considering our plane from Heathrow just landed two and a half hours ago and we were driven straight from the airport to this magnificent hotel, I had barely seen Paris. The first order of business, after spending a few hours salaciously flirting on the airplane, was to strip each other bare and make mad passionate love in this pristine bed.

Responding to his little tease, knowing that he was totally proud of his abilities to ruin me, would have to wait. Most of the pillows had been pushed to the floor, the sheets were in complete disarray, and powerful af-tershocks from my mind-blowing orgasm were still jolting my body.

I took the momentary reprieve of my lips to exhale out the one French word I knew.

“Oui.”

Even making that one little sound felt like a monumental feat.

Ryan’s gaze was thoughtful and intense, silently telling me everything that mere words alone could not define nor express.

Desire to devour him overwhelmed me and I grazed my teeth over his muscular bicep before tugging his hair so I could suck that tasty little lobe of his ear into my mouth. Ry-an let out a growl of pleasure before reunit-ing our lips for more passion.