All because of Seth.
“Do you need me to help with the binder?” Seth asked from behind her.
“No.”
She realized how sharp she’d sounded when she turned to see Seth halt dead in his tracks. She regretted her harshness, but she just wasn’t up to having Seth unzip the tight corset. Not now, she wasn’t, especially when she considered all those times he’d done it before, and her defenses ha
d crumbled. “It’s gotten a little looser since I first started wearing it,” she explained lamely.
Seth nodded. “I’ll just grab some things and sleep in the other guest room tonight.”
“Seth, I didn’t mean—”
“You need some privacy,” he said evenly, grabbing some clothing from the bureau drawer. He walked toward her, his face a mask, his stare on her unflinching. “Maybe we both could use a little space tonight,” he said before he left her standing there alone.
* * *
As the minutes passed, she regretted her sharpness with him more and more. After she’d gotten into the large bed alone, her discomfort only amplified. All her thoughts pained her.
If you think I’m asking you to sacrifice a fucking thing, you’re completely misunderstanding me.
She cringed internally thinking about the whole volatile exchange. She’d read more than she should have into what had happened at the movie theater. Of course he wasn’t asking her to change anything about her life. How stupid could she be? He’d made it clear their relationship would last only while they were here in these woods. She wasn’t ever going to change her acting career for Seth.
So why was she upset about him declaring he’d never ask her to?
Because part of you wanted him to demand both of you make compromises so that you could be together, not just here, but in Hollywood. Part of you wanted him to suggest that you make concessions on both sides because the relationship was worth fighting for.
She stifled a moan of misery and moved restlessly on the bed. She’d clearly been influenced by seeing happy couples all day that had overcome obstacles, like Chance and Sherona, and Rill and Katie. It had been her error to put Seth and her in the same category.
It shamed her to think of how stupid she must have sounded to him. Sleep was not going to come easy tonight.
She caught a big shadow moving from the side of her vision and stifled a scream.
“Shhh, it’s me,” Seth said.
“Seth?” she asked, startled. Relief and trepidation surged through her. Why had he come? She felt the mattress give as he sat at the edge of it. “What are you doing?”
“I couldn’t sleep. I kept thinking about what I said on the porch.”
“Me too,” she admitted in a hushed tone. She squinted into the darkness. She could just make out the shape of his broad shoulders and head.
“When I said I’d never ask you to sacrifice anything, I just meant—”
“I know what you meant,” she said in a rush. “You were reminding me that we’d decided this relationship was going to be about the here and now. Why would you ask me to give up something permanent because of our temporary arrangement?”
He paused. “No, that’s not what I meant.”
Her heart fluttered. “It isn’t?” she asked cautiously, propping up her upper body on her elbow.
“I just meant that I’d never ask you to sacrifice anything for me, let alone acting. I’ve seen how passionate you are about it. You’re meant to be an actress. I’ve never met anyone who was so perfectly destined for something. But more importantly, it makes you happy. And when it comes down to it, I want you to be happy, Gia.”
Her throat went tight with emotion. His admission had been so sweet. She felt too overwhelmed to speak, so she reached for him, finding his forearm in the darkness. She slid her fingers over his warm skin and found his hand. He moved in when she pulled him toward her. He came down next to her on the bed. They both lay on their sides, facing each other. She absorbed him with skimming fingertips across his jaw, neck and bare chest. His breath caught when she trailed her fingertips over his taut abdomen.
“I owe you an apology,” he said, his low, gruff voice raising bumps on her neck and forearms. He cupped her waist warmly. “I do get frustrated sometimes when I think about your life and mine. I get irritated at your job because it feels like something that separates us. But I realized just now, it’s not your job that’s doing that. It’s me.”
“But I like you,” she said in a choked voice. “I like your low-key modesty about your brilliance as an artist and your independence and your need for privacy. I like how you care so much about family and want to keep them safe. I love those things about you. I would never ask you to change those things either, because I’d be asking you to be something you’re not.”
“Shhh,” he soothed, because her voice had cracked at the last, and he could probably feel her trembling as she touched him. He pulled her closer with his hand at her waist. Their bodies brushed together, the feeling sublime. Exciting. Her nipples tightened against the thin gown she wore. She pressed them against Seth’s hard chest, sighing in pleasure. His mouth found hers in the darkness. He caught her small sob with his lips. As usual, his kiss was deep and possessive, demanding all her attention. He was hot and tasted so damn good. She abandoned her fears and anxieties, sacrificed them to the heat of need. All those insecurities and worries were nothing to the sudden flash fire that leapt between them.