Slow Burn (Feverish #4) Read online

  “And action!”

  Searching her emerald eyes, Brian slowly leaned in closer. Once again, he caught the scent of flowers and vanilla on her skin, and it made his blood start to swirl in his veins. It caused the urges to bubble up inside him once more, but he was going to fight like hell to keep his cock down. Remember, Brian, your only task here is to show her what she’s missing. As he brought his lips closer, he could feel something like electricity sparking between their skin, making the tiny hairs on his body stand on end. Finally, he got so close that he could feel the warmth of her skin, could feel her breath against his facial hair, and—if he wasn’t mistaken—she, too, moved ever so slightly toward him. Again, he had to fight the urges growing stronger inside him. At last, his lips touched hers. He tried not to savor those soft luscious lips of hers, but it was an impossible task. Taking his time, he tickled her lips with his tongue, knowing that the camera would capture it all, and then he moved deeper inside to taste of her.

  Jesus Christ. It was like fireworks exploding in his head, and it was all he could do to not give in to the primal urges brewing inside. There was no way she couldn’t be feeling this magic, too, making him wonder if they’d kissed back in Jersey…maybe she wouldn’t have gone through with her trick.

  But then, just as quickly as his brain had lit up, it fizzled as she pushed against him with both hands flattened against his chest, pushing them apart. “I can’t do this,” she said, running down the sidewalk and around the corner of the building, leaving Brian and everyone else wondering what the hell had just happened.

  * * *

  Sophie leaned up against the warm wall of the building, trying to take a deep breath. What the hell had just happened? Sure, she thought, it had been eons since she’d been with a man, but her response back there was absolutely ridiculous. Over the top. Completely unexpected. No matter what her rational side thought about Brian Zimmer, her body felt an entirely different way and it was betraying her now, giving her away. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been this aroused, and it was a dangerous place to be—especially considering how she really felt about Brian. Falling for him like this went against everything she believed in. She didn’t know him well enough to warrant emotions even close to this and, in fact, what she did know warranted the exact opposite. And yet she couldn’t deny her instinctive response.

  It was just a kiss. For God’s sake, she’d had his cock close to her mouth a couple of months ago and that had been nothing. Was the way she felt today perhaps because she’d been getting to know him even if she thought she hadn’t? Was learning more about him humanizing him? It was entirely possible, but she had to remember her end game now: Fame, to be sure, and money. That was all Brian Zimmer offered her; anything else would probably just be misery. Her life had been hard enough. She didn’t need more pain and agony. Finally, her life was getting on track, arriving at a place where she was actually able to meet the bills without worrying about how. The last thing she needed was man trouble.

  And yet it was presenting itself, like it or not.

  Of all the kisses Sophie had experienced throughout her entire life, that one had to be in the top five. The back of her mind niggled at her, correcting that idea. It was the absolute fucking best, baby. But she tried to deny that thought. It was bad enough that she could taste him on her tongue. She could still feel the gentle way his lips had urged hers open—and she’d willingly complied. That fucking kiss had been the kind girls dreamed of. The man knew what to do with his mouth and she’d been his willing victim.

  Her response had been so strong, so immediate that she hadn’t known how to deal with it. So she’d done the next best thing, running away like an idiot unable to reconcile her emotions. Now she had to find a way to go back there, hoping she didn’t look as stupid as she felt. Part of her just wanted to walk away right now, making up an excuse later as to why.

  But before she could fully commit, none other than Brian came around the corner. “Is everything okay?”

  “Yeah, I just, um…I just needed some fresh air.”

  “Are you feeling sick?”

  “No. No, that’s not it.”

  What it really was, she didn’t want to say. She especially didn’t want to say anything to this man, her mortal enemy.

  But chances were he already had an idea. After all, he’d been the one delivering the crushing blow.

  * * *

  “So what’s the problem, Sophie?” Brian searched her eyes, trying to find the answer. “I know this is weird and awkward and uncomfortable. You don’t have to tell me what made you leave, but we’re both stuck here until we finish this—so if I can help, please let me.”

  “Fine. You really want to know?” Frowning, she looked away, seeming to stare at something far off in the distance. When she finally spoke again, her voice was soft—and she turned her head back to Brian but kept her gaze on his chest rather than looking in his eyes. “My body was reacting to that kiss.”

  For several moments, they stood in silence. Brian wasn’t surprised by her revelation; after all, he’d experienced his own strange reaction—but it was the elephant in the room they needed to talk about. Finally, he said, “I think that’s natural, don’t you? I mean, we’re doing what people do when they’re attracted to each other—and I think sometimes our bodies don’t understand that we’re just acting.”

  “You’re right.” The look of relief on her face was evident when she returned to making eye contact.

  Damn it. Why was he being nice to her?

  And yet, he couldn’t help himself. Somehow, it felt like they’d made some kind of breakthrough and he wasn’t willing to ignore that. Flashing a small smile, he said, “So let’s just go back in there and get this done.” Still, the hesitation in her body language was impossible to ignore. Lowering his voice, he added, “We don’t have to be friends. We just have to finish this. Once they say we’re done, then we can walk away.” In his peripheral vision, Brian spied the director coming around the corner. He gave a slight shake of his head, hoping the guy took the hint. After all, he was dealing with a spooked rabbit—and he’d almost won her trust. That guy could completely undo all the progress Brian had made.

  In the back of his mind, though, Brian knew his kiss had had exactly the effect he’d hoped, and that was why she was struggling.

  Meanwhile, Sophie was considering his words. After several seconds, she nodded her head. “Okay. Let’s do this.”

  Ah, Brian hadn’t completely lost his charm after all. With a grin, he held out his hand, urging her to lead the way. “Atta girl.”

  Her sideways glance told him to shut his mouth now while he was ahead.

  Chapter Twelve

  After another excruciating block of time that felt like hours but, really, only lasted for minutes, the director claimed he was happy and cut them loose. While they were gathering up their things, Brian said, “Mark sent the limo one last time. Please don’t make me ride in it by myself.”

  He was awfully cute in an annoying way—but the kind, gentle way he’d talked her off the ledge earlier had endeared him to her. Even though they’d never be friends, what would it hurt to play nice for the next half hour ride? They’d part ways afterward and, aside from watching the video once or twice, she’d never have to see Brian Zimmer again.

  “It’s already paid for,” he said. “Might as well get our money’s worth.”

  “Sure.”

  Soon, they were riding slowly down a busy road in stop-and-go traffic. “I don’t know why they call it rush hour. Nobody’s rushing right now.”

  Sophie laughed, unable to stop herself. “Was being a comedian your second vocational choice?”

  “Is it that obvious?” He glanced out the side of the limo at the traffic again. “I’ve found that a little levity can lighten most moods. You can either go around being pissed off or upset, or you can choose to have a good time.”

  “I guess that makes sense.”

  Looking back at h
er with those disarming blue eyes, he asked, “Are you flying out tonight or tomorrow?”

  Now it was her turn to smile, and she hoped he took her words the way she intended. “Well, Mark said all expenses would be paid for my trip. A woman like me needs her beauty sleep, so I chose to spend one more night, and I’ll fly out tomorrow afternoon. All on your dime, of course.”

  The expression on his face could have been interpreted in more than one way. Was he amused or trying to fake it, actually irritated? “Of course. And nothing but the best for a stupid video no one’s gonna want to watch.”

  Oh. What had she missed here? “Why? You don’t think your fans would like me?” Couldn’t he go more than five minutes without reverting to his natural asshole state?

  “No, that’s not it. This album…let’s just say it’s not performing like our past records. We wanted to experiment, do something different. I’d say a majority of our fans are digging it—but there’s a vocal minority who fucking hate it. Look at our first two videos on YouTube. You don’t have to scroll too far through the comments to see what I mean. You’d think we’d eaten their newborns for breakfast based on some of the shit those people are saying.”

  “Seriously?”

  “Yeah.” When he nodded, his lip turned up ever so slightly in the sexiest way, and Sophie tried to ignore her gut reaction. “And the critics were the same way. Some lauded us for our brave experimentation, our stunning combination of digital sound fused with classic metal. Others said we needed to hang it up. One guy described it as worse than shit on toast.”

  “Oh, God.”

  “Yeah. So that’s why I said no one would want to watch the video. It’s not true, of course. There will be plenty of eyes on it—just not the usual volume.”

  When she looked out her side of the limo, she wondered when this crawling pace would pick up. She could walk faster than this beast was moving. “It seems to me then that you guys shouldn’t be throwing good money after bad. Maybe you shouldn’t spend money on that stuff.”

  “Nah. It’s all part of it. It’s marketing. There are probably lots of fans out there who liked the music but still haven’t bought tickets to a concert or bought the album—and you never know what song or video’s gonna convince them. Even if not, we make money off the videos, too, just by people watching them. So it’s all good.”

  It was hard not to let her guard down around this man, and she found it easier to be honest with him, especially after baring a dark truth about herself earlier. “So why were all you guys bitching about it yesterday?”

  He laughed. “You caught that?”

  “How could I miss it?”

  “The main reason was we had two days off with no shows. The guys wanted to head back home or just chill, and instead we had to do this. We’ve got another week or two without any serious downtime, so they were just venting. Mark’s pretty good natured, so he takes all the whining and crying we dish out.”

  She nodded but found she had nothing else to say. While Brian was easy to talk to, she wasn’t the world’s best conversationalist—and, suddenly, she’d found herself feeling unsure around him. So she turned her head to look back out at the traffic, now finally moving about an inch per minute.

  “What plans do you have for tonight?”

  Obviously, Brian wasn’t comfortable with silence, but she wasn’t right now, either, so she grabbed on. “I think I’m going to treat myself to a long bubble bath and then maybe hit the hay early.”

  “You can’t tell me you’re tired.”

  “No…but I do think I’ve earned a little pampering.”

  He began shaking his head. “Uh-uh. You’ve earned yourself a good time. All my dudes are gone, which means you and me are gonna party it up.”

  “No way.”

  “So you’re telling me you’re not keyed up anymore after feeling nervous all goddamned afternoon?”

  Sophie gave it some thought. In a lot of ways, he was right. It had been a tense, nerve-wracking day and she was relieved that it was over. “I guess I might still be feeling the residual effects.”

  Brian cocked a lovely brown eyebrow that made the glint in his eyes seem all the more devilish. Despite her brain’s protestations, her pussy clenched and her toes curled, and she had to force herself to relax. The way he spoke told her he didn’t notice her attraction to him—which was all the better. There was no way that was going to happen. “Exactly. So I’d like to make you an offer.”

  “Go on.”

  “We don’t know each other very well, but…you seem to be wound pretty tight. Would that be a fair assessment?”

  Suddenly, she felt defensive. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “Don’t take it the wrong way—but you seem to control yourself pretty well. You keep your emotions bottled up, and maybe that’s a model thing. You seem cool, calm, always keeping your shit together.”

  “Would you rather I be like you? Loud and boisterous and out of control?”

  “You think I’m out of control?”

  Her eyes assessed him up and down, and when they returned to his face again, she said, “Compared to me, yes.”

  Then he laughed warmly. “That’s fair. And maybe I could stand to cool down once in a while—but now’s not the time. I think, just for now, maybe you should take one night off. Let go. Cut loose. What have you got to lose?”

  Sophie considered his words for several moments. Once she let the emotional defenses down a bit, she knew he was right. While everything about this man made her want to rebel, made her want to fight and argue and protest, she knew he was right. She was tightly wound. And while there were plenty of good reasons for it, every once in a while maybe she did need to let go. Suppressing a smile, she said, “Okay, you’re on. What do you have in mind?”

  The smile on his face grew wide as he flashed his beautiful white teeth and, once more, Sophie’s knees felt weak. Thank heavens she was sitting down. He said, “You’re just gonna have to wait and see, Miss Buckley, but I will make one promise: you’re gonna have a good fucking time.”

  Brian got up off the seat and moved the short space to the front of the limo. Opening the glass pane, he stuck his head through and chatted with the driver, quietly enough that she couldn’t make out the words.

  That was okay. For the first time in eons, Sophia Buckley was excited and wondering what was about to happen next.

  She had a feeling she was going to like it, but there was no real way of telling.

  After all, she was with Brian Zimmer—but was he friend or foe? She no longer knew the answer to that question.

  * * *

  So maybe he and Sophie would never be friends, but it looked like they might have a pleasant evening together anyway. If he could get his brain to stop thinking about her naked, he’d be doing lots better.

  As they approached the front door of the restaurant, Brian said, “I try to come here at least every other time I’m in L.A. The food’s good, the atmosphere is chill, and the vibes are energetic. You’ll see what I mean.”

  Sophie’s cocked eyebrow was adorable—and his reaction reached deep into his core. Keep your shit together, Brian. Fortunately, she didn’t seem to have noticed. “I’ll try to have a good attitude about it—but, for the record, I’m dubious.”

  Holding the door open for her, he said, “Dubious? Have I ever led you astray?” As she walked through, he added, “Don’t answer that.”

  The subtle smile that hid underneath her steely façade kept calling him. Just like in his youth, he wanted to entertain, because it had always been a means of distracting the enemy. And, much as his cock and heart wanted to believe otherwise, his brain knew without a doubt that she was his enemy—but that didn’t mean they couldn’t have fun together.

  “Two?” the hostess asked, practically answering her own question as she pulled out a couple of menus, ready to lead them to a table. Just as he’d remembered, the restaurant felt alive, full of energy—which was exactly the mood he wanted to
be in, because if Sophie were amenable to it, he was going to suggest a more physical activity after their meal. Fortunately, this place was pure California—light but tasty—and he didn’t remember seeing any dishes they served last time that would weigh someone down.

  Although, admittedly, a few extra pounds on Sophie wouldn’t hurt.

  Once they sat down, the hostess said their waiter would be with them shortly. Sophie began perusing the menu. “What would you recommend?”

  “Personally, I like the tacos.”

  “Hmm.”

  As her eyes continued scanning the page, he said, “But they also make really good sandwiches.”

  “I’m not much of a sandwich girl.”

  Brian refrained from saying aloud that she didn’t look like much of a food girl. He’d been with her multiple times where food was involved, and that relationship didn’t appear to be too healthy. “Sophie, I know you have to watch what you eat for your job, but just let loose just one night. Order something you wouldn’t usually order. We’re gonna hit the town after, and I’ll make sure you burn off any extra calories, okay? And if I don’t, then I guess you can complain about that on Instagram.”