DURING THE ENTIRE drive back to the Bellisimo, there was never a moment when he wasn’t touching her. Little caresses, a brush of her cheek, his hand resting lightly on her thigh. And every tiny movement, every slight caress, ratcheted her already overwound libido even tighter.

Only when the valet at the hotel opened her door did he slide his hand from her thigh, the gentle movement leaving an indelible imprint on her flesh. She eased herself out of the car and stood by the revolving door hugging herself while he took the valet ticket.

She knew what would happen next—they’d go upstairs, flirt a little more, and end up making love all night. She should feel like a slut. After all, they weren’t dating anymore. She was only here with him, letting him stroke and caress her, because she needed something from him. What had he said? Quid pro quo.

But damn if she didn’t want the quid, too.

Finished with the car, he came to her and immediately slipped his arm around her waist. “Ready?”

“Sure. Do you want to grab a drink in the bar?”

He brushed her hair aside and pressed a light kiss against the back of her neck. “Wouldn’t you rather go to your room?”

Oh, yes. Trying for casual, she shrugged lightly. “Sure. If you want.”

His dimple made a brief appearance as he took her arm, and she was reminded once again of how damn handsome he was. “I want.”

“Well, then, by all means, lead the way.”

With his arm around her waist, they headed for the elevators, fighting the conventioneers, now dressed in evening clothes. They stepped onto the elevator with a well-dressed group that got off at the next level, probably heading for dinner at Oxygen.

“Are you sure you don’t need to check in?”

“That’s the beauty of hiring excellent managers. My restaurants run like clockwork even when I’m not there.”

“And that doesn’t make you feel extraneous?”

They were alone in the elevator, and he turned to stand right in front of her, his palms rubbing softly against her arms. “I find ways to keep busy.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Mmm.”

The air between them sizzled as he stepped closer, near enough that she could feel him against her, could tell that he was just as aroused as she was. It was an empowering feeling. She wasn’t calling the shots—not by any stretch of the imagination—but at least she had this tiny bit of control.

“Have you ever made love in an elevator?” His whisper swept over her, tickling the hair near her ear.

“I thought you were into Ferris wheels.”

“Motion,” he said, demonstrating by pressing his hips closer still. “Maybe I just like motion.”

“I—” She broke off with a gasp when his hand snaked down her back, under the waistband of her skirt, and rested at the swell of her backside. He was crossing the line, and she stood up straighter, almost unwilling to believe Ken was seducing her on an elevator. But the evidence was right there, touching and teasing her. “Ken. Not here.”

“Yes, here.” His fingers teased her, dipping beneath the band of her bikini-style panties. “You said anything and everything.” He cupped her rear, stroking and teasing as her knees went weak and she held on to the handrail for support. “Did you lie?”

“N-no.” Someone else’s voice. Unfamiliar and raspy. But she didn’t care. He was winning. Whatever his game was, he was winning. And she didn’t care about that, either. She just closed her eyes and drifted, sandwiched in ecstasy between his hand on her rear, and the hard evidence of his arousal pressed close between her thighs.

He thrust his hips forward, his fingers finding her center with the motion. Another thrust, and she swallowed a gasp as his finger dipped inside her, stroking her wet heat as she writhed shamelessly against him, silently demanding more.

“Do you like that?”

“I…yes.” The admission would cost her, she was sure, but she certainly couldn’t lie, not when he could feel the evidence of her arousal.

His hand snaked around, sliding between them to touch her from the front, and she moved closer, spreading her legs to give him better access, then closing her eyes and moaning as he touched her in slow, languid circles. He was driving her crazy, and she wanted nothing more than to be swallowed by insanity.

His other hand moved to her breast, his fingers playing over her nipple through her T-shirt. Lost in an erotic haze, she leaned her head back until it was pressed against the cool glass walls of the elevator.

Glass? Her eyes flew open. “Ken!” She tried to wriggle free. “This is a glass elevator!”

A slow grin spread across his face. “So I noticed.”

“People can see.” She squirmed some more, but only ended up pressed even tighter against him. His fingers dipped lower, stroking and teasing, and she tried to remember what she was so worried about.

“No one can see.” He kissed her earlobe, then her neck.

“You’re sure?”

“We’re above the fifteenth floor. Too much angle.”

“Oh. Well.” Her mind told her to protest more. Her body told her to relax and enjoy. And since her knees were weak and her muscles limp, her body was probably going to win the debate.

With a ding, the elevator glided to a stop and the doors started to slide open. In an instant he was detached and standing a suitable distance from her, doing nothing more enticing than holding her hand. An elderly couple stepped on, and Lisa wondered if she had some telltale sign of a woman who’d almost been seduced in an elevator.

“This is your floor,” Ken said.

Blinking, she looked at the indicator. “Oh. Right.”

He preceded her out, then took her hand as she led them to her room.

“Well, here we are.” She half leaned against the doorjamb, her head against the wood as she looked into his dark eyes.

“So we are.” He traced the pad of his thumb over her lower lip. She opened her mouth, drawing him in, tasting him, until he pulled away.

“I should…” She trailed off, then pulled her key card out of her purse. When the door unlocked, she pushed it open, pausing a bit in the doorway to see if he was following.

He wasn’t.

“Ken?”

“Good night, Lisa. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

She almost laughed, then she realized he was serious. “Tomorrow? But I thought…I mean, you said you wanted…” She took a deep breath and tried again. “I thought we had a deal. Your club for, well, me.”

“That’s the deal, all right.”

She smiled, trying to figure out the joke. “But you’re not coming in?”

“Not tonight.”

Not tonight? They were doing this again? “But…”

“I never said this was a one-shot deal.” He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “I just said I wanted you. And I do.” He moved away, two long strides taking him to the end of the hallway. He turned back and smiled, slow and inviting. “I’ll see you tomorrow. We’ll do some more…scouting.”

She didn’t breathe until he’d turned the corner, and then she slipped into her room and leaned back against the closed door, relieved, angry and very, very disappointed.

THE COLD SHOWER wasn’t doing a damn thing.

Ken pressed his hands against the tile, his head tilted down, and let the spray pound him on the back of the neck as the ice-cold water dribbled down his body. Nothing. He was still hard as steel and frustrated as hell.

What kind of idiot walked away from a woman so obviously willing to let him into her bed? Apparently his kind of idiot, since he was now several floors below her, trying to ease off a hard-on with a cold shower.

By all rights, he should be thrilled. He wanted her desperate for him, and he had no doubt that she was. He wanted her hot and willing, and she was. The problem was, he was torturing himself along with her, and if he kept it up much longer, he’d probably burst.

Maybe he should just go back up to her room and put them both out of their misery…

Irritated with himself, he reached down and shut off the water, then stepped dripping onto the tiled bathroom floor. Wrapping a towel around his waist, he finger-combed his hair and wandered into the bedroom in search of clothes.

He caught his reflection in the dresser mirror and cast himself a disdainful look. “You’re pathetic, you know?” His reflection didn’t answer, and he took that as agreement. Barely twenty-four hours into his plan, and already he was looking for a shortcut simply because he wanted Lisa in his bed.

No way. He was going to play this out as he’d planned. There was nothing between them now. Nothing. Over the course of the evening some of the rough edges of his anger had been smoothed over. But that didn’t mean his heart was healed. And he certainly wasn’t going to fall under the illusion that some mythical closeness had developed between them simply because they’d had a pleasant evening and she’d melted in his arms.

She’d hurt him, and he now intended to go through with his plan to make a clean break. Flush her out of his system for good. And if that meant making them both horny as hell, then so be it.

Right now he had other things to worry about. He wasn’t seeing her again until tomorrow night, and already he missed her. But when he did see her, he needed to be ready. He’d promised her a tour of Los Angeles’s most sexy locations, and if there was one thing Ken was certain of it was that Lisa would call the entire bargain off if he didn’t keep up his end of the deal.

He pulled on a pair of sweatpants and a ratty U.C.L.A. T-shirt, then wandered around his suite trying to find Tim’s magazine. No luck, and he finally remembered that he’d left it downstairs in his office. He glanced at the clock. Almost midnight, and the restaurant closed at ten on Sundays. Chances were good Tim and the rest of the staff would have already locked up, and he could get in and get out without having to face Tim’s interrogation.

He managed to get into his office without incident, but soon realized he’d been a little too optimistic about being alone.

“Looking for this?” Tim leaned against the door, waving the magazine.

“Actually I am. I thought you’d already memorized that issue.”

“Oh, I have,” he said, striding into the room. “Did you know that you can save money on cosmetics by using your lipstick on your cheeks and eyelids? That way your blush is coordinated with your lips and eyes.”

“Amazing. And here I’ve been dumping all my money into eyeliner.” He grinned up at his friend. “Seriously, what are you doing here?”

Tim folded himself into a chair. “Thought I’d get an update on your game plan.”

Ken chuckled. “My game plan? What the hell are you talking about?”

“The seduction of Lisa, of course.” He tossed the magazine onto the desk. “How’d it go tonight and what’s on the agenda for tomorrow?”

“You really think I’m going to tell you?”

“Hell, yes,” Tim said. “I’m your best friend.”

At that, Ken laughed outright. “Can’t argue with that.”

“Seriously, how’d it go? Like old times?”

Ken could tell from Tim’s smile that the question was lighthearted, but even so, it gnawed on him. In fact, the evening had seemed like old times, and that was what was frustrating him. “It’s not ever going to be like old times again,” he finally said. “Hell, I’m not even sure the old times were as good as I thought they were.”

“I didn’t mean to tap into a sore spot.”

“I know you didn’t.” He ran his hands through his hair. “She just…” He shook his head, knowing words couldn’t express the way Lisa made him feel. Hell, he didn’t know himself. In so many ways, she completed him, but he just had to look at her and the pain flooded back.

Frustrated, he rubbed the back of his neck. “Never mind. Right now I need to focus on why I came down here in the first place.”

Tim kicked back, his long legs crossed at the ankles in front of him. “And here I thought you just missed me.”

“How was business tonight?”

“Booming. We took in about thirty percent more than usual for a Sunday. Looks like your idea to have a lounge singer on Sunday was inspired.” He grinned. “But you always are.”

“Not always.” He grabbed the magazine off the desk, then stood to pace the room. “I haven’t got a single inspiration about a location to show Lisa tomorrow.”

“Nothing in the magazine?”

He stopped, looking down at the cosmopolitan women’s magazine in his hand. “That’s why I came down here—to take another look.”

“Well, don’t let me keep you from perusing the fashion ads.” Tim levered himself up and out of the chair. “Have a good night, boss.” He cast a glance toward the magazine. “And I hope you find some inspiration.”

Back upstairs in his suite, Ken had to admit he was inspired. He was in bed, the magazine open on his lap. The headline—“Sexy City Nights…Love and Lust in the City of Angels”—didn’t do the article justice. The reporter had taken it upon herself to combine the universal appeal of Hollywood with the sensual side of Los Angeles and its surroundings. The result was an article that had more than its share of erotic locations inspired by classics of the silver screen.

He flipped the pages, stopping at a double-page spread of a beach at sunset. Lovers walked hand-in-hand along a beach at sunset, waves breaking around their bare feet. They looked at each other, their expressions filled with pure adoration. On the next page, the lovers were intertwined in the surf—the famous beach scene from the movie From Here to Eternity.

He stifled a groan, feeling himself harden as he imagined Lisa with him on the beach, her body soft beneath his. Closing his eyes, he let his head fall back against the padded headboard. He pictured her hand in his, soft and supple, as they walked barefoot along the beach. Her skirt danced in the wind, the soft material brushing against his legs as they moved.

His body burned from the thought of Lisa next to him, wanting him. And, Lord have mercy, he wanted her.

Frustrated, he tossed the magazine aside and threw off the sheet, letting the cool air soothe his overheated body. Yes, a tribute to the movie seemed like a fine idea, only he’d have to alter the theme a bit to make it uniquely his. For one thing, as erotic as lovers on the beach looked, he had to wonder if all that sand creeping up their bathing suits would be conducive to a seduction.

Not to mention what the bone-deep chill of the Pacific Ocean would do to his…well…enthusiasm. Of course, that might be a good thing. Maybe he needed to start thinking with his head instead of with other parts of his body.

But no. His libido—along with a finely honed need for retribution—was calling the shots. And as long as he’d gotten on this ride, he intended to enjoy it.

IMAGES OF KEN colored her dreams, so vivid she could feel him next to her, so potent she could smell the musk of his skin. She squirmed, reaching for him, but only finding her pillow. Damn.

The sharp buzz of the hotel phone wrenched her from sleep completely, and she grappled for the handset, then mumbled a sleepy, “Hello?”

“Rise and shine, sunshine.”

She groaned, letting her head fall back onto her pillow. “I’m three hours earlier, Greg. Call back at noon.”

“It is noon.”

Throwing back the sheet, she bolted upright, trying to focus on the clock. “Oh, no!” Twelve o’clock, straight up.

“Maybe we should rename you van Winkle.” He chuckled. “Wild night last night?”

Not wild enough. “Just tired. Working. Jet lag. The whole shebang.”

“Yeah, well, you’re working all right. I’m impressed. You’ve barely arrived in La-La Land and you’ve already captured the crown jewels.”

“Excuse me?”

“The crown jewels. The cherry on the sundae. The piéce de résistance. You know—Oxygen.”

“What?” It was a shriek more than a question. “Where’d you hear that?”

“From Winston, of course.”

“Oh, no!” She slid out of bed and started pacing, one hand holding the phone, the other alternatively fisting and unfisting. “No, no, no!”

“It’s not true?”

“No. I mean, yes. It’s true. Well, at least it’s sort of true. I mean, it will be true.” She flopped back onto the bed. “Oh, hell, this is all messed up.”

“What do you mean?” She could hear the frown in his voice. “I thought you told Winston—”

“I told Winston I have a deal. Yes, it’s all going to work out fine. I mean, there’s no reason why it won’t. I just have to live up to my end of the bargain.”

“The bargain?” He paused. “What bargain?”

After she told him, she had to wait a good five minutes for him to stop laughing. “Would you calm down? This is serious,” she said sternly.

“I’m sorry,” he managed to say between guffaws. “It’s just that I guess I was wrong.”

“What do you mean?”

“I figured Ken would just roll over and do whatever you asked. I never figured he’d concoct an agenda of his own.” Another short burst of laughter erupted. “And such a deliciously devious agenda at that.”

She scowled. “He’s not the only one with an agenda, you know.”

“What? Your ingenious little plan to have him help you find other locations for the movie? Come on. Do you really think I’m buying that?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Don’t you? You don’t need a chaperone. You could scour Los Angeles and find locations with or without him. Which tells me that the only reason you’re doing it with him is because you want to.”

She rolled over against her pillow, sure she was blushing even though Greg couldn’t see her.

“I’m right, aren’t I? Or are you being so quiet for some other reason?”

He was right, of course, but she couldn’t bring herself to admit it.

He chuckled again, clearly enjoying himself. “Because I could help you, if you were just looking for some company.”

“Okay! Okay! You win. I want Ken to help. I liked spending time with him.” Liked the way she’d felt when he’d touched her and liked the way he’d looked at her. She didn’t know what his motive was, but that didn’t change the way he made her feel.

“Am I good, or what?”

She laughed. “Don’t pat yourself on the back too hard. I asked him to help because I didn’t want to be the only one on the hook. It wasn’t until last night that I realized…” She trailed off, not sure what she realized.

“That all those old feelings were right there under the surface, just waiting to bubble up.”

“Yes. I mean, no.” She ran her hands through her hair. “I mean, I’m here to get my career back on its feet. And to do that I need Ken’s help. I’m just—” she waved her hand in a circle “—taking advantage of the situation.” And she intended to enjoy every minute.

Again he chuckled. “Well, I hope you enjoy taking advantage.”

“So what did you mean when you said you could help me find locations?”

“I’m flying in tomorrow.”

“No way!” She sat up, thrilled she’d have an ally in L.A. “Why?”

“The company is staging the show in Los Angeles. I’m coming out until they cast someone for the L.A. show.”

“Fabulous!”

“Maybe we can spend a little time together. Unless you’re too busy…” He paused, and she could hear the smile in his voice. “Unless you’re too busy taking advantage of the situation.”

“I can only hope, Greg.” She smiled, imagining the decadent possibilities. “I can only hope.”