I’d managed to push the man to the back of my mind, relying on old habits to move forward. But now there would be no escaping him. And the truth was, I no longer wanted to. I had good reasons for avoiding any entanglements with him. Valid reasons that no one could argue with. None of it mattered, though, the moment I saw him again. It had been a couple of weeks, and even though it was impossible to forget what he looked like, it didn’t compare to seeing Vincent in person.

He strode onto the set wearing his confidence like a cape, and immediately started barking out orders. PAs and gofers ran to do his bidding, and the set dressers started tweaking things to his liking. I stood by the craft services table, well out of the way of the main action on set, and just stared. I’d worked with the man on and off for five years. For nine months, I’d allowed myself to admire him, to acknowledge that I found him exceedingly attractive. And for two weeks I’d thought of little else than how he’d felt in my arms, how good I’d felt pressed against him, and how much I wanted to be there again. How desperately I wanted him to take me to bed. Or up against a wall. Or over a table. It didn’t really matter, I just wanted him. And I was determined to have him.

He shooed off a twinky little PA with a huge, sparkling grin, and when he wasn’t immediately swarmed again, I took the opportunity. I walked quickly, and by the time I’d gotten across the set, the only thing he’d had time to do was sit in his chair and pick up his copy of the script. It was heavily marked up, just like they always were. Vincent liked to make notes. In green pen.

Vincent looked up when I drew close, and for a moment, a beautiful smile lit his face before it smoothed again into a mask of polite disinterest. But even though he could control his features, there was no mistaking the lust in his warm, deep brown eyes. I stopped close to the chair and peered down at him.

“You got a minute?” I asked quietly, doing my best to sound neutral. A quick glance around confirmed that no one was nearby, and so I let my body language convey my interest.

Vincent’s gaze flicked to his watch, then back up to my face where it settled. “Yeah, but only just.”

I nodded. Licked my lips. Took a deep breath. And then I smiled, making it as seductive as I knew how. “A couple of weeks ago,” I began, keeping my voice low, “you said to let you know if I wanted more. Did you mean it?”

Vincent’s gaze never wavered. “I meant it.”

“Great,” I said, and offered him a huge grin. Then, feeling silly, I over-exaggerated my flirtatious behavior. “You look gorgeous in that shirt. So, what’re you doing later?”

He blinked at me, then burst out laughing. It was such a rare occurrence that nearly everyone turned to look. Just that fast, Vincent sobered and scowled, the look enough to send everyone back to their tasks.

“You’re an idiot,” he muttered, but I could hear the affection in his tone. “And later I’ll be going to your place to eat and then fuck.”

I swallowed hard, and my stomach dropped. I wasn’t going to dwell on the actual physicality of what we’d be doing. We’d figure that out later and I’d find a way to tell him that, since I’d only ever done that with the fairer sex, that no amount of porn had educated me as to how it really worked between men. At the moment, I was much more focused on the fact that he was coming back to my place, and we’d finally get a chance to explore each other.

“Now that sounds like a plan,” I said. I knew I’d covered my nerves. I’d studied and honed my craft for more than twenty years; I could convince anyone of almost anything. I gave his shoulder a bump with my fist, then made to step away, knowing that he’d wanted to get started soon and he never began late.

But before I walked away, I leaned close one more time.

“But I wasn’t kidding about the shirt. Green looks fantastic on you.” I offered him my best and most real smile, then turned to actually walk away. I did not miss the sharp inhale from him. I did my best to keep the smugness off my face. I’d affected him, which was all I had wanted.