the previous day continued, she’d be temptation of the worst sort—his friend’s sister and definitely not Japanese. A man didn’t act on sexual impulses with a friend’s sister without honorable intentions. And he wasn’t in any position to offer honorable.
Alex smiled at Sabrina. That sort of smile Kaz was accustomed to. It was a power smile. It had do this or else written all over it.
“You need to heal,” Kaz said in support of Alex. More than just supporting his friend, encouraging a wise choice was the right thing to do. Sabrina wasn’t ready to take on the film project, not physically and not mentally. He’d just have to stuff his wayward impulses and deal. “I can help.”
Sabrina let out a puff of air and looked from her mother to Alex. Jackie was silent, had been since the exchange began.
“I couldn’t come until Tuesday,” Sabrina said.
“That’ll have to do,” Kaz said.
And knew that he’d just made a very big mistake.
Chapter Seven
The flight from SFO had been a breeze, but the traffic from the airport was clogged as it so often was on a Sunday afternoon. Sabrina thanked the concierge at the Hotel Bel-Air and followed the bellhop to her fifth-floor suite.
She tipped the bellhop, kicked off her shoes and ran a hot bath.
She needed to find an apartment in town, a place to call her own during the shoot, but until then, the Bel-Air would have to do.
She emptied a packet of bath salts left for the guest’s use into the swirling water. The scent of lavender wafted through the room as she took off her sling and stripped. Her reflection in the mirror stopped her. Her shoulder was hunched forward, curved in. Kaz’s words about defense and offense filtered into her thoughts. She straightened her spine and made a move to pull her shoulder blade back and down like he’d shown her.
Pain tattooed through her.
She wasn’t in any way ready to tackle the scene blocking and stunts ahead of her. Kaz had intimated as much even if he hadn’t said it outright. But it was her reaction to him that was the most troubling. Needing to work with Derrick hadn’t been the only reason for her hasty departure from Trovare.
Never had a man’s touch been so unsettling, reached so deep into her so fast and without warning. And yet he seemed walled off, brittle in some way she couldn’t get her head around. Like he was protecting a secret or just plain didn’t have feelings at all.
She lay back in the tub and let the hot water soothe her shoulder. With a long sigh she closed her eyes. As her muscles relaxed and she focused her awareness on her body, on the gentle swirling of the jetted water against her skin, she found she couldn’t get Kaz out of her mind. She could still feel the touch of his hands and the deep and surprising flood of desire his touch had stirred.
The man was confusing.
One minute he was acting like a defended fortress and the next he was encouraging her to go to his farm. Lots of people felt a loyalty to Alex, so maybe that was what Kaz’s invitation was about. Or maybe now that he’d had a taste of her problem, maybe she’d become some sort of challenge. He seemed like the kind of guy who didn’t know how to back down from a challenge.
Or maybe she was overthinking the whole thing. She’d drive to Valley Cross on Tuesday afternoon and take it from there. What harm could there be in spending a few days on a peach farm and getting into shape?
What harm indeed? Her warning signals were in full-on scream mode. But the messages of danger didn’t make sense. Kaz seemed every inch a gentleman, at least with her. Sure, he had a temper—she’d seen it flare with Derrick. But Derrick had a way of setting people off. It was almost as though some secret part of him made it impossible for him to resist taunting others. Oddly, she felt protective of Derrick, like a person might feel when coming across an animal that had endured more than it could bear.
She toweled off and
Alex smiled at Sabrina. That sort of smile Kaz was accustomed to. It was a power smile. It had do this or else written all over it.
“You need to heal,” Kaz said in support of Alex. More than just supporting his friend, encouraging a wise choice was the right thing to do. Sabrina wasn’t ready to take on the film project, not physically and not mentally. He’d just have to stuff his wayward impulses and deal. “I can help.”
Sabrina let out a puff of air and looked from her mother to Alex. Jackie was silent, had been since the exchange began.
“I couldn’t come until Tuesday,” Sabrina said.
“That’ll have to do,” Kaz said.
And knew that he’d just made a very big mistake.
Chapter Seven
The flight from SFO had been a breeze, but the traffic from the airport was clogged as it so often was on a Sunday afternoon. Sabrina thanked the concierge at the Hotel Bel-Air and followed the bellhop to her fifth-floor suite.
She tipped the bellhop, kicked off her shoes and ran a hot bath.
She needed to find an apartment in town, a place to call her own during the shoot, but until then, the Bel-Air would have to do.
She emptied a packet of bath salts left for the guest’s use into the swirling water. The scent of lavender wafted through the room as she took off her sling and stripped. Her reflection in the mirror stopped her. Her shoulder was hunched forward, curved in. Kaz’s words about defense and offense filtered into her thoughts. She straightened her spine and made a move to pull her shoulder blade back and down like he’d shown her.
Pain tattooed through her.
She wasn’t in any way ready to tackle the scene blocking and stunts ahead of her. Kaz had intimated as much even if he hadn’t said it outright. But it was her reaction to him that was the most troubling. Needing to work with Derrick hadn’t been the only reason for her hasty departure from Trovare.
Never had a man’s touch been so unsettling, reached so deep into her so fast and without warning. And yet he seemed walled off, brittle in some way she couldn’t get her head around. Like he was protecting a secret or just plain didn’t have feelings at all.
She lay back in the tub and let the hot water soothe her shoulder. With a long sigh she closed her eyes. As her muscles relaxed and she focused her awareness on her body, on the gentle swirling of the jetted water against her skin, she found she couldn’t get Kaz out of her mind. She could still feel the touch of his hands and the deep and surprising flood of desire his touch had stirred.
The man was confusing.
One minute he was acting like a defended fortress and the next he was encouraging her to go to his farm. Lots of people felt a loyalty to Alex, so maybe that was what Kaz’s invitation was about. Or maybe now that he’d had a taste of her problem, maybe she’d become some sort of challenge. He seemed like the kind of guy who didn’t know how to back down from a challenge.
Or maybe she was overthinking the whole thing. She’d drive to Valley Cross on Tuesday afternoon and take it from there. What harm could there be in spending a few days on a peach farm and getting into shape?
What harm indeed? Her warning signals were in full-on scream mode. But the messages of danger didn’t make sense. Kaz seemed every inch a gentleman, at least with her. Sure, he had a temper—she’d seen it flare with Derrick. But Derrick had a way of setting people off. It was almost as though some secret part of him made it impossible for him to resist taunting others. Oddly, she felt protective of Derrick, like a person might feel when coming across an animal that had endured more than it could bear.
She toweled off and
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