me.” She took a step back and eyed the exit.
“Don’t be stupid,” Cole whispered close to her ear. “There are cameras everywhere. Dance with me.”
“I can’t.”
“You have to now. Everyone has seen us together. If you walk out on me, you are just going to feed the rumor mill.” After plastering on a smile and waving to the crew, he navigated her to a different part of the dance floor.
“Let go of me.” Her words were saying one thing, but her body another as she melted into him.
“I’d love to, but I’m afraid if I do, you’ll run off. I don’t know about you, but I’d rather not be the center of tabloid gossip any more than I already am.”
Georgia glanced around the crowd and noticed that everyone in the room was staring at them. All of them had seen the sex tape, she realized. All of them knew that she and Cole had broken up and were working on a project together. She had been standing in line in the grocery store yesterday and had read a headline suggesting that there was trouble on the set. The dancers were probably wondering if they were going to create a scene.
Someone pulled out their phone and snapped a picture.
“Put your arms around me, Georgie,” Cole whispered.
Slowly, reluctantly, she did as she was asked and forced her gaze to his. “I don’t want them to take our picture.”
“Can’t be helped. We’re in public, remember. They can do what they want.”
“But—”
“Dance with me for this song, and then I’ll lead you safely out the back. And for fuck’s sake, Georgia, try not to look as if you’re going to the dentist. You’re going to ruin my rep.”
Georgia swallowed the lump in her throat as Cole pulled her up against him.
This—this was what killed her every time on set. Her mind knew that being with him could only bring her pain, but her body…
Her body wanted to reenact that sex tape. Right here, right now.
Slowly, she placed her arms around his neck and let herself sway. When he looked into her eyes, when she saw that familiar flicker that told her just what he’d do to her if they were alone…
Would it really be so bad to take some pleasure from something they both wanted so badly?
“Cole.” His face said that he wanted to kiss her. He didn’t, and it frustrated the hell out of her. Urged on by some indescribable force, she pressed her lips to the hollow of his collarbone.
“Georgia.” He pulled back, just a whisper, the lights of the club flickering over the lean planes of his face. “Are you making a move?”
She didn’t reply, instead touching her fingers to her lips.
“Cole! Over here!” Flashing lights that had nothing to do with the strobes in the club started to flicker around them, and Georgia jerked back.
“Georgia! Did the sex tape bring you back together?”
“Are you going to make a new tape?”
Georgia’s head spun as Cole waved to the crowd. “Sorry guys, we’ve got to make it an early night. Filming and all.” He smiled for a picture and tugged her toward the back entrance.
The room seemed more crowded than before, and Georgia found it difficult to breathe. Smoke rose up, mixing with the colored lighting and making Georgia feel as if she was in some sort of dream.
People started closing in, but Cole somehow managed to navigate them through the sea of endless faces.
This was what the pair of them had always hated about their celebrity in the past. They could never simply be .
He pushed past one of the club’s security people and slammed his hand on the bar of the door. Georgia yelped as he dragged her down the stairs and out into the alley in the back of the building.
She sucked in great mouthfuls of fresh air as the world seemed to right itself. The crowd—wow. That had been intense, and for the first time she really understood why the studio so badly wanted her and Cole to pretend they were together for publicity’s sake.
And she knew that as soon as they were away from the crowd, he was going to