For Lust Or Money

“It’s your line.”

Zach shook himself out of his distraction. “What?”

“You. It’s your line.” She paused. “I’m really sorry for this. If you don’t want to do this, you don’t have to.”

“I do,” Zach answered. “I do.”

She closed her script and smoothed her fingers over the cover. “I don’t know what got in to me. I’m usually a very calm person. I can’t remember the last time I blew up at someone.”

Reaching out, Zach smoothed his palm over the back of her hand. He hadn’t thought twice about touching her. It seemed like the most natural thing in the world, to soothe her regrets. “If it’s any consolation, he deserved it.”

She stared down at his hand, a hesitant smile on her lips. “Still, that’s no excuse.” Drawing a deep breath, she closed her eyes for a moment. “Maybe I’m having a midlife crisis. Not that I want to run out on my husband and have an affair, but I’m just feeling so restless. Like I need to make a huge change in my life or I’ll just go crazy.”

“Do you have a husband?” Zach had never considered that prospect. She wasn’t wearing a wedding band. But then, she wouldn’t wear it if she were playing a single woman in the skit.

“No,” Kelly replied.

“Good.” He smiled as he traced a long, unbroken line up her forearm with his fingertip. “I mean, good that you haven’t broken any marriage vows. Not good that you’re not married. Unless, you don’t want to be married. Then it’s good.”

She giggled and fixed him with a sultry look. “How old are you?”

“Very old,” he teased. “Ancient by teenage standards.”

“I’m old.”

“How old?” he asked.

“In Hollywood, everyone is twenty-nine. Besides, it’s not polite to ask.”

Zach leaned back, stretching his legs out in front of him and linking his hands behind his head. “I don’t think age makes any difference.”

“The only people who say that are too young to know better,” Kelly said.

Zach clutched his chest. “Ouch. That was cruel.”

“Age makes all the difference,” she said with a serious expression. “At least where I come from.”

“You are, without a doubt, one of the most beautiful women I’ve ever met. And I’d still think that, no matter how many candles you put on your birthday cake.”

Kelly blushed. “You may not be old, but you are charming beyond your years.”

“How about we just pretend we’re the same age?”

“That would be a bit difficult considering the casting of this skit.” She glanced down at the script. “We should probably get back to work. We haven’t gone over the last segment.”

“The bedroom scene? I figured you were saving the best for last.”

This time she laughed, a light, musical giggle that echoed through the studio. “You are so cocky.”

He grabbed her hand and laced his fingers through hers. “I love it when you talk dirty to me.”

“Change of plans!”

Kelly yanked her hand from his and stood up, nervously clutching her script. Nicole swept into the studio and regarded them both with a curious expression. Her eyebrow rose as she gave Zach a disapproving look. “We’re going to have to put off taping until tomorrow afternoon. We’ve got to retape a remote interview for another show before the end of the day. Kelly, we’ll have your driver take you back to the hotel. We’ll change your plane ticket and get you another night at the hotel. I hope that’s all right with you?”

“Fine,” Kelly said. “I’ll be ready to go tomorrow, I promise.”

“Then you’ve rehearsed everything?” Nicole asked.

“Not everything,” Zach quickly said. “But we can get together tonight and run lines. Your hotel?”

His request took her by surprise, but Zach knew she couldn’t refuse extra rehearsal, especially in front of Nicole.

“I really think we should keep this on a professional level,” she whispered, just out of earshot of Nicole.

“I wasn’t suggesting a date,” he said, grinning.

“We can meet early tomorrow, before we’re scheduled to tape.”

Zach wasn’t about to give up so easily. He wanted to explore this attraction he had to Kelly and that would take some time outside the studio and away from the prying eyes of his coworkers.

“Zach, can I see you in the hall?” Nicole asked.

He sent Kelly a smile, then followed Nicole. When they reached the hallway, she turned to him.

“Are you sure you took acting classes?” she asked.

Zach nodded. “Three semesters.”

“Then you must have missed the lesson where they taught you not to hit on your costars.”

Zach chuckled. “I’m just trying to get the best performance I can out of Miss Castelle.”

KELLY STARED AT her reflection in the dressing-room mirror. Her face was flushed and her eyes bright and it wasn’t until a few minutes ago that she was able to breathe normally.

This was crazy! From the moment Zach Haas had stepped out from behind the camera, she’d been unable to think, unable to do anything more than just lose herself in every detail of his face and his body. The sound of his voice, the color of his eyes, the shape of his mouth. He was one of those incredibly gorgeous young men, the kind who didn’t realize the effect they had on women, the kind who made females of all ages weak in the knees.

In the course of a half hour together, she’d managed to convince herself that he was probably the best kisser on the planet, that he had a killer body beneath the baggy cargo pants and T-shirt he wore, and that he could seduce a woman by simply smiling at her.

Yes, he was young. But his playful, boyish nature combined with just a bit of bad-boy attitude and quick-witted intelligence was a lethal combination in a package like that.

She’d pegged his age at twenty-five, give or take two years. If he were only twenty-three, then she was dancing close to perversity. But if he were twenty-seven, then that was nearly thirty. And any man over thirty would be an appropriate choice for her.

Kelly groaned and buried her face in her hands. What was happening to her? Ever since leaving L.A., she felt as if her life were spinning too fast for her to think straight. Was it the heat? Or was she really standing on the precipice of a midlife crisis?

“Are you all right?”

She sat up and looked at Jane’s reflection in the mirror, then slowly turned around in the chair. “I’m fine. It’s just been a really long day. I got on a plane this morning at 5:00 a.m. and I haven’t had a chance to relax since then.”

“Your car is waiting out front. He’ll drive you back to the hotel and pick you up tomorrow afternoon. We’re scheduled to tape at three and Zach will probably be available before then to rehearse. If there’s a change, Nicole will call you at the hotel.”

“Thanks,” Kelly said. She slowly stood. “Again, I’m sorry about all the trouble I caused.”

“Don’t worry. We’re all looking forward to seeing Zach in front of the camera. He’s usually the one giving us grief about our jobs, now we can give him some grief about his performance.”

“He seems like a really nice guy,” Kelly commented, trying to sound objective and uninterested.

“He can be. He’s also an incorrigible flirt and too sexy for his own good. Be careful with that one,” Jane warned. “I suspect he’s talked his fair share of ladies right out of their clothes and into his bed.”

“I got that feeling, too,” Kelly said, forcing a smile.

“But then, he is legal, so what goes on between consenting adults is…”

“How old is he?” Kelly asked.

“Twenty-four, I think. Maybe twenty-five. He was in graduate film school until he started working for the show last winter.”

Twenty-four, Kelly mused. Somehow nine years seemed a whole lot more acceptable than eleven. There was a double-digit difference between them!

“Well,” Jane said, “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“I’ll be here,” Kelly replied. She stood up and began to gather her things to change back in to her street clothes. She slowly unbuttoned the silk shirt she wore and let it fall off her shoulders. A soft knock sounded on the door and a moment later it opened. She expected to see Jane again, but Zach stepped inside.

Kelly snatched up the shirt and held it over her chest. “Hi,” she said.

Zach’s gaze slowly drifted down her body. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to—”

Kelly turned her back to him and slipped in to the shirt again, clutching it closed in the front. “What is it?”

“Nothing important,” he said.

She faced him, waiting for an explanation. A frown furrowed his brow and he studied her face for a long moment. Then in a few short strides, he closed the distance between them. Before she could even protest, he captured her face between his hands and kissed her, his mouth melting against hers, his tongue delving into the crease of her lips.

When he finally drew back, Kelly couldn’t think of anything to say. Should she be angry or insulted? In truth, her mind was whirling. Zach Haas knew exactly how to kiss a woman. He’d obviously had a lot of practice. After all, she’d been fantasizing about it since he’d stepped out from behind the camera and it had been so much better than she could have imagined.

“There. We got that out of the way,” he murmured, running a finger along her cheek.

“Out of the way?”

“I knew if we didn’t, I’d be thinking about it all night. And since we have to do it in front of the camera tomorrow, I thought we might want to get the…bugs out.”

“So that was just practice?” Kelly asked, trying to catch her breath.

“Maybe,” he said. “And little bit of curiosity. Should we try again? Practice makes perfect.”

She didn’t object and he took that as an invitation. He kissed her again, this time lingering over her mouth until she opened beneath him. The kiss was deep and stirring and Kelly felt a delicious warmth course through her body. What harm could it possibly do to kiss Zach Haas? It certainly was one of the more pleasant experiences of her life. And an actress had to prepare for these things. Besides, she needed something to take her mind off the disaster that had made up the day’s events. Now, at least she had a bright spot to look back on.

“Maybe we should rehearse tonight,” Kelly suggested.

A wide grin broke over Zach’s face. “I think that would be a very good idea. I want to make sure we get it right. It needs to be believable.” He slowly backed toward the door, keeping his eyes fixed on her face. “I’ll call you when I get done at the station.”

“Yes, call me,” she said. “I’m staying at the Sheraton.”

“I know,” he murmured. “Everyone from the show stays there. I’ll see you later, then.”

“See you,” Kelly said, giving him a little wave.

When the door closed behind him, she drew a deep breath and groaned. Oh, God, what was she doing? Every instinct told her to keep her relationship with Zach strictly professional. And every impulse told her to do the opposite. He was just so…hot! And it had been a long time since she’d indulged in the pleasures that a man’s body offered.

There had been boyfriends over the years, but Hollywood romances were always rather shallow and short-lived. And Kelly had a unique talent for picking men who were emotionally unavailable. Whenever things came close to getting serious, they usually headed for the door. She once visited a therapist to try to sort it all out and the woman had claimed it was Kelly who was deliberately choosing men who wouldn’t stay because she was the one afraid of commitment, afraid of anything coming between her and her career. But who cared about commitment? All she wanted was a chance to kiss Zach Haas again.

Kelly reached up and touched her lips, still damp from his tongue. Her heart was still pounding at a rapid rate and she could barely draw a breath without growing dizzy. She felt silly and nervous and overwhelmed. What difference did age really make anyway? Hell, any man who kissed as well as he did was no novice to seduction. They were two consenting adults who were attracted to each other, so there was nothing standing in the way.

She was just a little bit more adult than he was.

2

KELLY RELAXED in the backseat of the Town Car as it sat stalled in rush-hour traffic. She pulled out her day planner and wrote down her call time for the next day, then flipped through the pages, searching for the number of her yoga instructor. She traded acting lessons for private yoga instruction and she’d made plans to meet with Katie tomorrow morning. Plans that would have to be cancelled. “McCready,” she murmured.

As she was looking through her planner, she passed a familiar name. Angie McMahon. Sweet Nothings. Atlanta, Georgia. She and Angie had been roommates—and best friends—seven years ago, until Angie gave up acting to marry a businessman from Atlanta. They hadn’t spoken in almost two years, but still exchanged long letters with each Christmas and birthday card they sent.

“Are we near Buckhead?” Kelly asked the driver.

“About five minutes away,” he said. “But your hotel isn’t in Buckhead.”

“I’m not going to the hotel. I want to go somewhere else if that’s all right.”

“Wherever you want to go, miss,” he said. “You just have to be there by six. I’ve got to make a run out to the airport for a pickup.”

“I can grab a cab back to the hotel,” she said. “The shop is called Sweet Nothings.” Kelly read off the address and the driver nodded, then made a lane change when they reached the next intersection and turned right. Within minutes, they were moving more quickly.

She and Angie had shared a tiny two-bedroom apartment in West Hollywood for almost three years, while they were both trying to break in to television work. One night, they’d gone out clubbing and Angie had met Joe Sheppard, a devastatingly charming thirty-five-year-old in town on business. After a long-distance romance, they’d fallen in love and married in a lavish ceremony in Santa Barbara. Now, Angie had a four-year-old daughter and owned a lingerie store.

The driver found the location in a matter of minutes and dropped her and her overnight bag at the curb. Kelly walked up to the door and saw by the sign that the shop was open until six on Tuesday evenings. How would it be to see Angie again? They barely had anything in common anymore, beyond the friendship they’d once shared. And at times, Kelly had envied Angie’s happy marriage and her new family. Her friend had given up her dreams of stardom and simply exchanged them for a better dream.

Kelly opened the door, then set her bag just inside and strode up to the counter. “I think my boyfriend is stealing my underwear,” she said in desperate tone, recalling an old joke between them. “And he likes to wear it. Do you think we should break up?”

Angie glanced up and a wide smile broke across her face. “Kelly Castelle! What are you doing here?” She hurried around the end of the counter and threw her arms around Kelly’s neck, hugging her tight. “I can’t believe it’s you. Gosh, look at you. You haven’t changed a bit.”

“I’m here for a job. I’m doing a segment for Just Between Us.”

Angie stepped back. “The talk show? Really? How long are you going to stay?”

“Tonight and tomorrow night.”

“Oh, that’s so great! We can have dinner tonight. Joe is out of town on business and Caroline is at Joe’s sister’s place for a birthday sleepover. I’m a single woman. At least for one night.”

Kelly thought about the offer for a long moment. She didn’t really have firm plans with Zach, just plans to make plans. And she had enough trouble controlling herself in his presence. It wouldn’t do to tempt the attraction she felt toward him with an evening of kissing rehearsal. “All right. We’ll have dinner.”

“Oh, drinks first and then dinner. God, I can’t believe you’re here. It seems like ages ago that we lived together. I miss having a roommate. It’s so hard to talk to Joe about that time in my life. He just doesn’t get it.”

“It does seem like it was ages ago.” Back then, they were both twenty-seven or twenty-eight and still full of hope about their future. They’d tell each other nearly every day that their big breaks were just around the corner.

“You haven’t changed,” Angie said. “I think you might have even gotten more beautiful. I’ve been watching for you on television and checking your page on IMD.”

“My career has slowed down a little. Ever since I got written off on the soap, I’ve just had a few jobs. Nothing big.” Kelly took a deep breath. “In fact, I’m thinking about getting out of acting. I’m going to look for a real job—a normal job. Maybe sell real estate or get a job in casting.”

“Oh, you should move here!” Angie said, her eyes full of excitement. “I need someone to help manage the store. I’m opening up another location in midtown and I can’t be two places at once. And you’d love Atlanta. It’s got everything that L.A. has, except people are real here. And everything doesn’t revolve around the movies. And you don’t have to even think of plastic surgery until you’re at least forty.”

Kelly shook her head. “I don’t know. I haven’t really decided where I’ll settle. Just that I have to make a change.”

Angie glanced at her watch. “Come on, let’s get out of here. It’s nearly six. I’m the boss and if I want to close early, I can!”

She grabbed her purse from beneath the counter, locked the register and then slipped her arm through Kelly’s. “My car is parked out back. Where should we go?”

They ended up at the bar at the Sheraton. Kelly checked in, then made a quick trip up to her room to wash her face and change. By the time she got back downstairs, Angie had already ordered them a pair of cosmopolitans and was chatting up the handsome bartender.

After three drinks and a lot of memories, it seemed as if only a few hours had passed, instead of seven years. Kelly hadn’t had a roommate since Angie had left and she realized she hadn’t had a best friend, either. She needed someone to confide in, someone who’d understand all the changes she was going through, someone to help sort through the confusion.

“So, tell me about your sex life,” Angie said, getting right to the point.

“I don’t have one.”

“Oh, come on. All those gorgeous men in L.A. and you aren’t dating someone?”

“For every gorgeous man there are three gorgeous women. And two of them are younger than me.” Kelly gnawed on her lower lip. “Actually, there is someone I’m interested in. The only problem is that he’s younger.”

“Younger is good,” Angie said. “Like a few years younger? Or boy-toy younger?”

“Eleven years,” she replied.

Angie’s eyes went wide. “Oh, my. That’s definitely boy-toy.” She took another sip of her drink. “Is he wonderful in bed? Please tell me all the details. I’ve been sleeping with the same man for seven years and I’d like to imagine someone out there is having wild and crazy sex. Not that we don’t have our moments. My talents as an actress have come in handy on more than one occasion, though I’ve been typecast as the French maid.”

“We haven’t done anything yet,” Kelly admitted. “In truth, I just met him today. There was just a…a spark. I know he’s interested and the more I think about it, the more I think I might be interested, too. Or maybe curious is a better word. And I think I’m reading the signals right, though I can’t be absolutely sure.”

“I don’t think the signals have changed over the years,” Angie said. “Why not go for it?”

Kelly groaned. “Because he’s twenty-four, for starters. Isn’t that reason enough?”

“No. Men at that age are in their sexual prime, they’re adventurous and uninhibited and…energetic. They say that older women should be with younger men because they’re a better match in bed, orgasmically that is.”

Her answer did make sense and Kelly was forced to rethink her position. Maybe it was that simple. Maybe, when it came to sex, younger was better. “God, he’s so gorgeous,” Kelly said. “And he’s not an actor, so I don’t have to worry about him spending the entire evening talking about himself. He’s just a regular guy with a beautiful face and killer body and this bad-boy smile that just makes me want to tear off all my clothes and give him everything he wants.”

“Then why the indecision?”

“It would just be sex,” Kelly said, wincing. “There’s no future with him. I thought I gave that kind of thing up a long time ago. I’m older and I’m supposed to be wiser and less self-indulgent.”

“You’re older, but you also have the maturity to take pleasure where it’s offered,” Angie said. She picked up her drink. “Here’s to new experiences. And new beginnings. Maybe you’ve found more than you expected here in Atlanta.” She downed the rest of her drink then set the glass on the table. “It’s time for me to go home. I’m a little drunk and I’m horny and I’m going to call my husband and force him to have phone sex with me.”

“You can’t drive.”

“I’ll take a cab and come back and get my car in the morning. The shop doesn’t open until ten. If I’m up early, maybe we can have breakfast. We can talk a little more about that job I have for you.”

They walked out to the lobby together and Kelly gave Angie a hug. “It’s been so nice to see you again. And let’s definitely have breakfast tomorrow. I don’t want to leave without seeing you again.”

“Call me,” Angie murmured. “Or I’ll call you. Better yet, I’ll just stop by.”

Kelly watched as she walked out of the lobby, giving her a little wave. The bellman motioned for a cab and a moment later, Angie slipped in to the backseat. Kelly smiled as she walked over to the elevators. It was only eight, but she felt as if she’d been awake for days. She hadn’t eaten, so she’d order something light from room service then crawl into bed and sleep.

She closed her eyes as the elevator climbed to the twelfth floor. She could sleep or she could call Zach Haas and invite him over. No doubt there’d be a message from him waiting on her voice mail. Kelly giggled softly. God, was she really considering making a booty call?

The elevator doors opened and she walked down the hall toward her room, weighing her options. Kelly noticed a man sitting on the floor near her room door, his attention focused on his cell phone. She hesitated for a moment, then recognized Zach. “Oh, boy. Here we go,” she murmured to herself.

With every step she took, she felt as if she were walking in to dangerous territory. The sexual attraction between them was undeniable and incredibly intense. And a man like Zach was probably used to acting on his urges and getting exactly what he wanted whenever he wanted it. She’d lived her life within the lines for so long. Was she really ready to step out and do something so bold and daring?

He stood up as she approached, tucking the phone in his jacket pocket as he leaned back against the wall. Kelly reached in to her purse and withdrew her key card. He watched her the whole time and she tried to keep her hands from trembling.

“I was about to leave,” he murmured.

She sent him a sideways glance, their gazes meeting for a long moment. Kelly felt a shiver run down her spine at the look in his eyes—confident, determined, a bit predatory. He had one thing on his mind and she knew what would happen if she let him into her room. He’d find a way to seduce her and she wouldn’t be able to stop him. “I’m surprised you came,” she said.

“I was in the neighborhood.”

“How did you know my room number?”

“The production crew is in and out of this hotel all the time. Since we pay for the rooms, the front desk gives us the numbers.”

Kelly slid the card into the lock and the door clicked. She pushed it open, then turned back to him. “Can you just wait out here for a second?”

“Sure,” he murmured.

She slipped inside the room and closed the door behind her, then hurried to the bathroom. The fluorescent light over the sink flickered on and Kelly stared at herself in the mirror. Running her fingers through her hair, she tried to calm herself. “Nothing will happen if you don’t want it to,” she said to herself.