Dirty Sexy Alphas (Twenty Book Box Set) - Hannah Ford Page 0,228

ocean if he’d asked.

I thought he might take him to his bedroom or at least give me a tour of his stunning (second) home, but instead we sat on the white linen couch, a respectable distance between us.

“Is everything okay?” I asked, suddenly nervous. Was he going to tell me that he didn’t want to see me anymore, or worse—that he knew who I was?

“Of course,” he said, reaching for my hand. I instinctively moved closer to him; he put his other hand on top of mine and held tight. With his eyes down on our hands, he said, “I don’t want you think I just brought you here to sleep with you, although,” he smiled, “I have to admit it’s on my mind a lot.” I grinned, my chest bursting with the pleasure of knowing I’d been on Leo Armstrong’s mind. He ran his fingers up my arm, sending chills all over my body. “But then I realized,” he said, “that I don’t even know where you’re from. I know somewhere in Maine, but I don’t know what town.”

I almost laughed. Actually, I think I kind of did. Leo Armstrong wanted to know where I was from? Okay, then. “Mechanicsville, Maine. It’s about as glamorous as it sounds.”

“Hmm, Mechanicsville,” he said with mock serious. “And I suppose you were raised to be a mechanic?”

“Way to go for the low-hanging fruit,” I said.

“An uncreative movie guy,” he joked. “What’d you expect? I need you to edit me.”

“Very funny,” I said, but I loved the sound of him needing me, even if he was only teasing.

“Did you always want to be a writer?”

“This is sounding strangely like a job interview or something.”

“Or something like a date?” he said. “I’d say a first date but I’m not sure we’ve properly had one so I want make sure I get to know you. Like a normal guy who is seeing a normal girl.”

“You are so not a normal guy,” I said.

“And you are no normal girl,” he said, grinning. “So tell me—what’s your favorite movie?”

“Sure, no pressure,” I said. “Only the movie question.”

“It doesn’t have to be one of my movies,” he said. “In fact, I’m pretty sure it isn’t.”

“If this were a job interview, I’d definitely say one of your movies,” I said. “I’d say, Dangerous Connections. Or maybe No Second Chances. Both visually stunning.”

“No, come on,” he joked right back with me. “What kind of movies do you like?”

“This is like when someone asks what kind of music you listen to, and you have to admit that you love pop music more than anything.”

“I love pop music,” he said, touching his chest. When I gave him a look, he said, “Okay, I think it’s insipid and the end of civilization as we know it but that’s okay. You can still be a normal person and like pop music. Maybe. I don’t know, I might need to think on this one.”

“Forget it,” I said. “I’m not telling you what my favorite movie is or what kind of music I like.”

“So you do like pop music?”

He eyed me closely as I sat for a moment, thinking. Finally I burst out, “Okay, it’s true! I like pop music, which, by the way, means popular music. Lots of people like it. It’s fun and energetic and sometimes the lyrics really speak to me.”

Leo fell back against the sofa, his hands over his face. “Oh my god, what have I gotten myself into? Next thing I know she’ll be telling me her favorite movie is Maid in Manhattan.”

“Well, it wasn’t so bad…”

“Stop! I can’t listen anymore!”

“Oh, please,” I said. “Coming from the guy whose last movie had more explosions than the last six months’ movies combined. Yeah, that’s art.”

“Ouch,” he said, clutching his heart. “Hit me where it hurts.”

I reached over and put my hand over his, over his heart. “Don’t worry. You’ll survive. I bet that thing is made of steel, anyway.” He slid his hand out from under mine, and covered my hand with his. I felt the steady beat of it his heart beneath the soft fabric of his shirt, and once again I wanted to undo those buttons of his. My eyes found his, looking at me so closely, sending a swarm of butterflies into my stomach. His fingertips touched my face, then traced lightly over my lips, which were parted and eager for him to come closer, to cover mine with his.

“I love kissing these lips,” he said quietly.

I nudged my