wrapped his arms around her waist, just as he had on the stage that afternoon. But this time there were no costumes, no parts. No Romeo, no Juliet. Just Noah and Eloise.
She stared up at him, her lips parted, her pupils so large they almost eclipsed the blue-green of her beautiful eyes. She wanted this as badly as he did; he could see it.
But the most frightening thing was, he wasn’t sure that a kiss would be enough. Or one night. Or several nights.
He wanted her body, sure, but what scared him was how much more he wanted. What was it about Eloise that made him want to look deeper? To know more, to understand?
Deeper was off the table—and had been since Sally.
But if it hadn’t been...he had a feeling that Eloise was a woman he could have shown every inch of his soul, and come to know hers in return.
He shook his head, just an inch or so, just enough to dismiss the thoughts. He’d known the woman a couple of days. That wasn’t what this was about, for either of them.
All he needed to concentrate on was kissing her again.
He didn’t say anything—words were unnecessary now. As he stared into Eloise’s eyes he knew she understood everything he wasn’t saying. He tilted his head, lowering his lips to hers, and she rose up on her toes to meet him, pressing her body against his. He could feel every inch of her pressed against him, warm and soft and wanting where they touched, and he couldn’t help but deepen the kiss. It took everything he had not to sweep her up against the nearest wall and make love to her, without a thought for who might see or what they’d think. Or what might get back to Stefan, the director, who needed to believe that Noah could control his baser instincts.
Usually, he could, Noah was sure. He remembered having control, willpower, restraint once. Before he’d met Eloise.
He’d never felt this before—this desperate, unthinking desire. He’d dated the world’s most beautiful women and he’d had true love, yet none of them had ever inspired this sort of passion down deep inside of him.
Noah didn’t want to think too much about what that meant. He just wanted to enjoy it.
But then Eloise pulled away.
Noah let his hands fall from her waist as she stepped back, staring up at him, her mouth half open as if she wanted to talk but couldn’t quite get the words out. After a moment of wordless staring, she swallowed and said, ‘Not here. Please, not here.’
‘Right. Of course.’ This was a bad idea. This was everything he’d sworn he wouldn’t do this week. ‘I should go.’
But then Eloise met his gaze and shook her head before she turned away, stalking up the hallway towards the stairs.
He watched her go, his whole body at war with his mind. His feet ached to follow her, his arms to reach out and grab her. But his mind told him to stop this now, before it grew too much. Too dangerous.
Never mind that it could jeopardise the first movie role he’d been excited about in seven years. As much as he wanted it right now, the film seemed like the least important thing in his world.
There was a reason he didn’t normally feel this way about women—he didn’t let himself. But Eloise had pierced through every defence he’d ever built in less than forty-eight hours. How much more damage could she do with another day?
His eyes fell shut as he willed his body to leave it be.
But this time his body won out.
It took seconds to catch her up, halfway up the stairs to the third floor, but she didn’t acknowledge his presence at all. Which at least meant she wasn’t sending him away. In silence, they made their way up the stairs, down darkened hallways, to a room at the far corner of the hotel.
Eloise’s hands shook as she reached for her key, and he leaned over to take it from her without thinking. She rested against the door, her back to the wood as she looked up at him, her eyes vulnerable now. Wary.
‘I said I wouldn’t do this,’ she whispered. So had he. But some things couldn’t be denied.
‘Because you don’t want to?’ he asked softly. ‘Or because Melissa told you not to?’
‘Because I’m not normally this person.’
‘Do you want to be?’
If she said no, he’d walk away. The frustration might kill him but he’d do it. But he didn’t think she would. He’d seen something deeper in her—something more than she’d admit to. She might try and hide herself in those dark and dull dresses, might pin her beautiful hair back so it didn’t blaze so brightly, but she couldn’t hide who she really was for ever.
And Noah had a feeling that the real Eloise Miller would be spectacular.
How could he not want to see her in all her glory?
‘If you ask me to go,’ he said, his voice hoarse, ‘I’ll go.’
She bit her lip, then reached out to take the key from him again.
‘Don’t go,’ she whispered, and Noah’s whole soul sang.
WHAT WAS SHE DOING? What on earth was she doing?
Well, Eloise thought as Noah kissed her deeply, pressing her up against the wood of her bedroom door, whatever she was doing felt fantastic.
But then reality caught up with her.
‘Nobody knows,’ she managed to get out between kisses.
Noah tilted his head back from hers and she missed his lips the instant they were gone. ‘What?’ he asked, sounding hazy with lust.
Good. She shouldn’t be the only one losing her mind over this strange attraction between them.
‘Nobody knows,’ she repeated. ‘This is our secret, okay?’
He nodded. ‘Fine. Great. Anything. Just open the door.’
The man had a point, Eloise conceded as she turned within the circle of his arms and struggled to open the door with shaking hands. If they didn’t get to a bed soon it was very possible they’d both be naked in the corridor within five minutes. Maybe less.
Finally, the door gave way and they tumbled into Eloise’s room. It wasn’t anywhere near as grand as Noah’s, but she didn’t imagine he cared very much right then. She definitely didn’t.
As she fell onto the bed, Noah’s body covering hers, Eloise’s last coherent thought before giving in to pleasure was, As long as it’s a secret, no one can get hurt.
* * *
Later, much later, Noah drew lazy patterns on her skin with his clever fingers, and Eloise couldn’t even find the energy to care that she was naked beside one of the world’s official top ten most beautiful men, and he was staring at
