Page 12 of Sweet as Sin (Bad Habit 1)
I was going to tell him it was no joke. Really, I was. But then my gaze found Nico once again, and my thoughts flew right out of my head.
Still reclining on the bed, a wicked little smile on his lips, he crooked his finger at me, then patted the mattress beside him.
I’m sure my gulp was audible.
“Showtime,” Kenji murmured, watching this exchange. He sighed. “Lucky bitch.”
“Lucky” wasn’t the word I’d use. “Screwed” would be more fitting. Because if my shaking hands, pounding heart, and sweaty pits were any indication, I was going to have a hell of a time remembering even a single instruction Obi had given me.
I was about to go lie on a bed with the most beautiful man I’d ever seen . . . and pretend I was his bride-to-be. While three dozen people watched. And filmed it.
Thirty thousand. Thirty thousand. Thirty thousand.
That was my mantra as I walked slowly across the room toward Nico, my pulse like thunder in my e
ars.
“You look incredible.”
Nico’s voice was low and gruff. His eyes were unblinking, the look in them intense. I glanced away, picking at the delicate lace on my sleeve.
“You need powder.”
Dear God, please tell me I didn’t just say that out loud.
“’Scuse me?” Nico sounded confused.
Yep. I did say it out loud. Now if only I accidentally farted, my humiliation would be complete. “You, um . . . your nose. The lights . . . you should have powder.”
“You tellin’ me I need makeup, Kat?” His tone was gently mocking.
Did he know how much he affected me? Yes, of course he did. He’d been turning females stupid for years. I blew out a hard breath, and cleared my throat. “Everyone needs makeup for the camera.”
He studied me. “Not everyone.” A furrow appeared between his brows. “You covered your freckles.”
He sounded disappointed. For some bizarre reason, he didn’t like that I’d covered my freckles under a heavy layer of foundation. The freckles I’d hated my entire life. The freckles I would’ve sold my soul to permanently remove.
Obi shouted, “Replacement girl, on the bed! Quiet on the set!”
With horror, I realized there was no way I could lower myself to the mattress. That would require bending, which would no doubt cause multiple seams to split. Kenji had stuffed me into the designer gown so well it was molded to my body like a sausage casing.
“Replacement girl! Now!”
“Her name’s Kat, Obi.” Nico watched me from hooded eyes as he said this, one corner of his mouth curved up. “Apparently she doesn’t answer to anything else.”
Obi released a pained sigh. “Kat! Please! On. The. Bed!”
Well, fuck it. If the entire room was about to watch me bust out of a ten-thousand-dollar dress, at least I’d be getting paid triple that to do it.
I took a breath, closed my eyes, and, without bending at the waist, pitched forward.
I landed right on top of Nico.
His surprised grunt was almost drowned out by the laughter of the crew. I wondered how much humiliation a person could suffer before dying of it.
A pair of strong arms encircled me. Nico whispered playfully in my ear, “I’m flattered, Kat. I’ve had women throw themselves at me before, but never quite so literally.”
Mercifully covered by my hair, my face flamed red with shame. I was contemplating never opening my eyes again when Nico gently rolled us both over, and tucked me into his side. He brushed the hair from my face, but I hid in the crook of his arm, groaning.
