Touching the Billionaire - Holly Jaymes Page 0,19

gasped slightly when I kissed her. But maybe it was all a part of her being Nicolette. It was a damn shame, because as wrong as it was, I liked the feel of her against me. I liked the taste of her lips.

“Theo, I liked that show of surprised or unsettled feeling you showed at the end of that kiss,” Corrine said.

I wasn’t going to tell her that I was surprised and unsettled by the kiss. I had kissed a lot of women on screen. Some of them were nice and others were just a part of the job. In the past, some of the nice ones led to off-screen kissing and ultimately a night in bed. At the time, it was a perk of the job, but that was it. Both of us were in for the sex and that was it.

But there was something about this kiss with Madeline that shook me a little bit. I couldn’t say why or how she affected me that way.

“Now, of course, when we do it on the next take, you’ll do it a little longer to satisfy the audience and then of course, Madeline, you’re going to break it off. When you do, I want you to have that same feeling, that you’re unsettled by the kiss. Going into it, each of you is using it as a power-play over the other, and as you come out of it, you both recognize that perhaps you miscalculated.

Madeline nodded, but didn’t say anything. I was worried that perhaps she really was unsettled. “Are you alright?” I asked.

She looked at me. “Yes. Why?”

“Just checking.” I wondered if I needed to apologize for not stopping when Corrine called “cut” the first time. “Listen, I’m sorry I didn’t stop right away. It just seemed we were so into the scene that we should finish it.” In my ears, that sounded like a dumbass excuse for stealing a kiss. I was pretty sure everyone in the room watching knew that I kissed Madeline as me, not Jack.

“I understand,” Madeline said.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, of course. I was actually a little annoyed that she called ‘cut’ too.”

“Okay,” Corrine interjected. “Let’s go ahead and take it up at the part where Nicolette tells Jack to stay within the law.”

We moved back into our places.

Madeline jumped right in again. “Maybe you should stay on the right side of the law, Cole.”

I narrowed my eyes at her, annoyed that she’d judge me. “Maybe you should try to get on the right side of history.”

She stepped closer to me, adjusting her expression to challenge me. “Maybe you should try using all that money you have for good if you feel people have been wronged.”

I moved closer too, and now our faces were inches apart. “Maybe you should use your investigative talents to make things right for all those who were wronged.” I focused on being Jack, a man who liked women but was focused on his mission. He’d use the mutual attraction to his advantage. But it was hard, because Madeline was sexy, and smelled divine, and her strength and feistiness were intoxicating.

“Maybe…” She paused and I wondered if it was acting or if she was feeling the snap, crackle, pop between us too. “Maybe you should stop being so arrogant.” She looked down, her character exhibiting a brief moment of weakness.

My character duly noted it and planned to exploit it. “Maybe you should stop being so damn beautiful.”

Her gaze shot up to mine. “What?”

“You heard me.”

She swallowed. “You’re just saying that to distract me.”

“Is it working?” My lips inched closer.

“No.” She looked at me defiantly, and it made my blood sizzle.

“Liar.” I moved closer until my lips were a mere whisper away. “You’re distracting me, Nicolette.”

“I am?” her voice squeaked.

“You are. If you don’t want me to kiss you, you should leave.”

Her gaze dropped to my lips. I hoped she liked what she saw. I took my time, moving slowly, building the anticipation, less for the audience and more for us.

She arched a brow. I wasn’t sure if this was another dare.

I smirked and then closed the distance. I settled my lips over hers, gliding over their soft silkiness, taking in the taste of her. She made me think of honey and vanilla. My hands went to her waist and slid behind, pulling her to me. My dick was joining in the fun, which interestingly enough, didn’t usually happen to me on set. And now it was happening twice.

Per the script, I