Her hands cupped his face, and she covered him with tiny kisses. She drew his earlobe into her hot mouth, and his body nearly jackknifed in shock. He slipped his thumb between her legs, over the silk of her panties. She was hot and moist and delectably sweet.

There were condoms in the bathroom adjoining the office. He cradled her bottom, lifting her away from the door, carrying her to the en suite, all the while kissing, caressing and assuring her she was the most beautiful woman in the world.

Inside, he perched her on the counter, stripped off his slacks and the scrap of her panties, donned the condom, then stepped between her legs. The counter was the right height, and their bodies touched intimately.

He smoothed back her hair and gazed into her eyes. Then he drew his thumb along her swollen bottom lip, following it up with his mouth, drawing her lip inside, tasting her essence as his hands roamed lower.

She squirmed forward, bringing his fingers in contact with the fire between her legs. Her hands fisted in his hair, and her moaning little pants heated his ear.

He parted her flesh.

“Now?” he asked.

“Right now,” she gasped in return, and he pushed inside.

She arched back, and he anchored his hands at the base of her spine, pressing her forward, refining his angle, savoring the feel of her body for long moments before he withdrew. Then he pushed in again, swifter, harder.

Her eyes were closed, and sweat dotted her hairline. Her skin was slick and fragrant against his. Her dress rustled against the counter. He drew down the neckline, revealing her breasts, closing his mouth over one pert nipple, laving it, drawing hard, eliciting a groan as her hands tightened and her fingernails dug into his upper arms.

He moved to the other breast, repeating the motion.

Her eyes were scrunched tight. Her hips arched, her body matching his motion. He wished he could rip off the dress and see her naked. But there was no time for that.

His speed increased of its own accord, and her keening cries made his brain buzz with need. There was nothing left but a roar of desire and a primal need to take them both to the clouds and over the edge and straight into eternal paradise.

He wrapped his arms around her, holding her close as the tremors shook both of their bodies and heat drenched their skin.

Charlotte lay in the tangled sheets of Alec’s big bed. Her cheek rested on his chest, and his breathing was even and strong. A breeze flowed through the open, third-floor window, billowing sheer curtains and revealing the garden lights below.

“I guess we should probably keep this a secret,” she ventured.

“You think?” He trailed his fingertips lightly down her bare arm. “Or should we let Kiefer in with the camera?”

“Or we could hold a press conference right here in the bed like John and Yoko?”

“I can guarantee you the front page.”

She turned her head, resting her chin on his shoulder. “Seriously.”

He gazed into her eyes. “Seriously. It’s our secret.”

She nodded.

“What about Jack?”

Charlotte frowned, not understanding.

“Are you going to tell Jack?”

“No.” Her brother had never been privy to her love life before. “Are you going to tell Raine?”

Alec shrugged. “Your call.”

“She’s suspicious, you know.”

“Really?”

“After you yelled at me this afternoon, she asked if you’d made a pass at me. She thought you were mad because I’d turned you down.”

“She’s not far off the mark,” he said.

“I told her we’d kissed.” Charlotte settled more comfortably against Alec’s chest, toying with the edge of the white sheet.

“Are you going to tell her…” His voice trailed off.

Charlotte didn’t exactly know what to call it, either. A one-night stand? A fling?

But one thing she did know, she wasn’t going to get all needy on him and start demanding to know what this meant and where it was going. She’d gone into it with her eyes wide open. She knew what and who Alec was, but she’d hopped into his bed anyway.

“It’s better if she doesn’t know,” Charlotte admitted. “But I don’t want to lie to her. My grandfather-” She stopped.

She wasn’t going to start borrowing trouble here. Her grandfather didn’t need to find out. Nobody needed to find out. Unless Alec was a complete cad, and she certainly didn’t think he was, this interlude would remain locked in her heart forever.

“How long have you worked for the ambassador?” Alec asked, obviously prepared to move on.

She followed his lead. “Since I was a teenager. I started off helping in the office. Then, after college, I worked full-time. And when his executive assistant quit to get married, I stepped in temporarily.”

“When was that?”

“Three years ago. Right before I met you the first time.”

“Ahh.” He nodded. “Rome. You should have taken my key that night.”

“Right. And I’d have made the front page, scandalized my family and been fired from my job.”

Alec paused. “That’s altogether a worst-case scenario, isn’t it?”

“It’s a likely-case scenario. You nearly ruined my life.”

“Good that we waited, then.” He placed a gentle kiss on her forehead, gathering her close. “Honestly-right now, I’m very, very glad we waited.”

Charlotte didn’t know what to say to that. He made it sound as if they’d done it deliberately, as if they’d had some kind of connection, as if they’d been thinking about each other over the past three years. Had he thought about her after Rome? Did he even remember her in the long line of women he flirted with?

She gave herself a mental shake. She wasn’t going to make more of this than there was.

“Is Kiefer still worried about rumors of you and Isabella?” she asked, moving on.

“We seem to have an ally in Ridley Sinclair.”

“We do?” Charlotte hadn’t even met the man yet.

“I hear he generally has an affair with his costar.”

Interesting. “And he’s staying in the same villa as Isabella?”

Alec nodded. “That he is.”

“You think they’ll have an affair?”

“Rumor has it they already are,” said Alec. “Though that rumor may have been started by Kiefer.”

Charlotte laughed. “I think I’m starting to like Kiefer.”

“You be careful of Kiefer.” There was a serious note in Alec’s tone that caused Charlotte to twist to look him in the eyes again.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean Kiefer has a way with women.”

“And you don’t?” She glanced down at her naked body, the twisted sheets, the comforter that had been kicked off the bed an hour ago. If she needed to be careful of anybody here, it was Alec.

“I hear your father’s due tomorrow.” Alec changed the subject. She didn’t blame him. What more was there to say?

“I heard that Lars has a few more days of second-unit work,” said Charlotte. “But they want to start rehearsals for the major scenes.”

“Will it bother you?”

“The major scenes?” Charlotte expected it to become even more chaotic at the château. But they’d known this was coming.

“Seeing your father. Is it worse than seeing Jack?”

“It’s nowhere near the same,” said Charlotte, burrowing farther beneath the sheet to combat a growing chill from the open window.

Alec reached to the floor and retrieved the comforter, spreading it over both of them.

“Thanks.” She sighed as their body heat formed a warm cocoon.

“Your father?” Alec prompted.

“It’s funny,” she admitted. “I think I always knew David was a terrible father. Even when my mom was alive, he was never around. When she died, I honestly thought it would be Jack who took care of me.”

“How old was Jack?”

“Nine. But he seemed very worldly wise. He used to pour me juice, make me sandwiches and read me bedtime stories.” She smiled wistfully at the memory.

“And then he abandoned you.”

“No, he didn’t.” She knew none of it had been Jack’s fault. “But for years, I expected him to come and get me. I don’t know what I thought, that he’d turn eleven, get a paper route and we’d live happily ever after. Pretty absurd, huh?”

Alec straightened the comforter around her. “You were a little girl.”

“Who took a very long time to wake up to reality.”

“Do you think you might be angry with him?”

She shook her head. “I missed him. That was all.” She still missed him. She wanted a brother, and what she had was an acquaintance.

“Tell me about you and Raine.” Charlotte knew she should go back to her own room before anyone else got home, but she didn’t want to leave. She didn’t want it to end just yet. “Did you protect her? Tease her? Gang up with her against your parents?”

Alec chuckled. “I was Raine’s worst night-”

A deafening boom shook the château. Orange flames lit up the sky. Alec instantly threw himself on top of Charlotte, bracing her protectively against the bed.

“What the hell?” he ground out, glancing to the window behind him.

Charlotte blinked at the fire, smoke and ash rising toward the dark sky.

“You okay?” he demanded.

Her ears were ringing, and she’d experienced an adrenaline shot strong enough to stun an ox, but she nodded jerkily.

Alec sprang from the bed, crossing to the window while he stuffed his legs into his slacks. “Good God. One of the trailers is on fire.”

“It blew up?” Charlotte stated the obvious as she clambered out of bed herself, glancing around for her dress and shoes.

He dialed his cell phone with one hand, pulling his dress shirt on with the other as he headed for the bedroom door. There, he paused. “Will you be all right?”

“I’ll be fine,” she called. She could hear sirens in the distance, and people were shouting down on the lawn.

She prayed that nobody had been hurt. But the sirens were getting closer, and the shouts were getting louder. She struggled into her dress and into her shoes, then she clattered down the stairs to find out if she could help.