Read The Talk of Hollywood for Free Online Page A

just as snugly to her curvaceousbottom and long and slender legs. Her glorious red-gold hair tumbled in loose layers over her shoulders and down the slenderness of her back today. And those sultry green eyes glowed like twin emeralds in the sun-kissed beauty of her delicately beautiful face.
    She looked far younger and sexier today than the twenty-nine Jaxon knew her to be. In fact if any of his own university lecturers had ever looked this good then he doubted he would ever have been able to concentrate on attaining his degree. ‘In that case, good afternoon, Stazy,’ he drawled.
    She gave him a slow and critical perusal, from the soles of his booted feet to his overlong hair. ‘Are you on your way to a fancy dress party?’
    He raised derisive brows. ‘Whatever happened to playing nice …?’
    She shrugged. ‘It seems a perfectly reasonable question, considering the way you’re dressed today. Or not, as the case may be.’ She grimaced.
    After the way she had stared wide-eyed at him out of the window earlier, Jaxon wasn’t at all convinced by Dr Stazy Bromley’s condescending tone in regard to the way he was dressed. He returned her shrug. ‘I keep an apartment for my use when I’m in London, and the car and the bike are kept there too. As it’s such a beautiful day, and I’ve been stuck on a plane for hours, I decided a ride down on the bike was called for.’ He gave an appreciative smile. ‘Have you ever been on a bike before, Stazy?’
    ‘No,’ Stazy answered huskily, her cheeks blazing with colour as she was assailed with the idea of wrapping her legs around that monstrous machine, feeling its vibration between her legs even as her arms were tightlyclasped about the strength of Jaxon’s waist, her breasts pressed against the warmth of that muscled back—
    ‘Would you like to …?’
    Stazy straightened abruptly, completely nonplussed at the way her thoughts kept wandering down a sensual path that was totally alien to her. Especially as she had managed to convince herself these last six weeks that she had imagined finding this man in the least attractive! ‘No, thanks,’ she dismissed coolly.
    ‘You only have to say so if you should change your mind …’
    ‘I won’t,’ she assured firmly. ‘Is the bike also the reason for the long hair?’ she prompted abruptly, fighting the uncharacteristic longing to run her fingers through those silky dark locks.
    She had dated very little during the past eleven years, and the few men she had been out with had always possessed intellect rather than brawn. She had never particularly cared for long hair on men—had always thought it rather effeminate.
    Jaxon had shown on the last occasion they had met that he was a man of intellect as well as brawn. And as for his being effeminate—the man was so blatantly male there was no possibility of ever doubting his masculinity!
    ‘The long hair is for a pirate movie I start filming next month.’ He ran his fingers ruefully through the length of that hair.
    In exactly the same way Stazy’s fingers itched to do!
    She clasped her wayward hands firmly together behind her back. ‘I’d always assumed actors wore a wig or extensions for those sorts of roles?’
    He grimaced. ‘I’ve always preferred to go with the real thing.’
    Just the thought of Jaxon as a pirate, sweeping his captive—
her!
—up into his arms, was enough to make Stazy’s palms feel damp. ‘Whatever,’ she snapped.
    What on earth was wrong with her?
    She’d never had fantasies about being swept off her feet by a marauding pirate before, so why now?
    The disturbing answer to that question unfortunately stood only feet away from her …
    ‘So, you didn’t answer me—what’s with the added security at the front gates?’ Jaxon prompted lightly.
    ‘I’m afraid it’s all over the estate—not just the front gates.’ Stazy shrugged. ‘My grandfather arranged it.’
    That didn’t sound good. ‘To keep the two of us in or other people