Page 37 of Her Movie Star's Secret Plan

Chapter 9

Owen had to have this woman in his life. He’d never felt so bonded to another human being. He would do anything for her. She only needed to ask. He stroked the satin skin of her cheek with his thumb as he kissed her tenderly. He wanted to cherish her, show her how precious she was.

But then she pulled away from him, breaking the spell. “Owen, we can’t.”

“What’s wrong?”

She turned away from him. “This was a mistake.”

“Why?”

“I’m not here for a fling.”

“I never said anything about a fling.”

But he hadn’t thought clearly about what he planned to do after kissing Alexis. He just knew he had to do it. He hadn’t realized that she would be as emotionally invested as she seemed to be.

“What else could this be?”

“I don’t know. I’m not thinking clearly right now.” And it was no wonder. He could still feel her kiss lingering on his mouth. He ached to have her near him again.

Alexis climbed out of the pool and went over to the lounge chair where she’d stretched out a towel. She picked it up and wrapped it around her body. The same body he’d just been holding, cherishing. He wanted her to know she deserved to be cherished.

“I just wanted to see if there was a connection between us.”

“Well, I’d say there’s definitely a connection.”

A tremor rolled through Owen’s body just thinking about the kiss they’d experienced. He craved more of her. Desperately.

“If there’s a connection, then why are you pushing me away?” Owen asked.

“Because I don’t know what to do with it.”

“Enjoy it.”

“I—I can’t.”

“Why not?” Owen asked.

“Because it’s too strong. I can’t feel this way and not have you.”

“What do you mean by ‘have me’?”

“I mean a commitment. And I know you can’t give me that.”

“Why don’t we just take things slow? See where things go. There’s no rush here, Alexis.”

She stared at him like she didn’t believe him. “Slow? You think after a kiss like that, anything could be slow?”

Owen chuckled. “I do. I have self-control.” He cared for this woman. He had for many years. He didn’t want to lose her now.

“You can’t kiss me again. At least not like that.”

He hoped she planned to change her mind about that soon.

She shivered.

“Are you cold?”

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