Hollywood Blackmail by Jackie Ashenden

rolling her eyes. “Are we done here yet?”
    “Nope.” He pulled on his jeans, his abs tensing impressively as he did up the buttons on his fly. “After I’ve gotten dressed, you’re giving me a lift home.”
    “I beg your pardon?”
    “You know about the file breach, I’m assuming? It means I can’t stay here. And since the media presence out in front of the clinic is too big for a quiet getaway, I’m going to need to find an alternative way out of here.”
    She blinked, not really processing all this. “I don’t understand.”
    “I don’t want any photos of this damn scar. Which means I have to leave quietly. No one’s going to be looking too closely at clinic staff leaving for the day.”
    “You mean you want me to drive you to your house?”
    “Sure. I’ll borrow some scrubs. Wear a cap. No one will spot me.”
    Wonderful. So she wasn’t going to get any respite at all from his disturbing presence. Her day was just getting better and better. “But I’ll be noticed leaving—”
    “No, you won’t. Once we get to my house, you’ll be staying.”
    Lizzie tried to keep her gaping mouth shut. “What already? You can’t be serious.”
    “Sure I am. I told you I’d protect you, so that’s what I’m going to do. Once you’re there, you’ll be safe.”
    “But…I have to go home.” Why was the only thing she could think about that she didn’t have any clean clothes?
    He lifted a shoulder. “No problem. We’ll swing by your apartment first so you can pick up some things.”
    It shouldn’t have surprised her as much as it did. Looked like the lack of sleep and the shock of seeing Ash again had done something to her brain.
    Her shock must have been obvious, because he walked over to her and before she knew what he was doing, he’d put a gentle finger beneath her chin, tipping her head back
    “Don’t worry about it, Lizzie girl,” he murmured. “I’ve got it all planned out. No one’s going to see you. No one’s going to know who you are. Once you’re in my house your secret identity will be safe with me.”
    Her instinct was to jerk her chin away but she didn’t, not wanting to give him the satisfaction. “I hate to point out the obvious, Ash, but I was already safe. Until you came along and blackmailed me.”
    Something flickered in his gaze. “You think they would have stayed safe? Secrets have a way of coming out no matter how hard you try to hide them. Especially in Hollywood. Besides, if even patient files aren’t safe in this clinic, then you’re not safe. “
    He was so smug. So certain. So hot…
    For some reason her skin seemed to have become acutely sensitive to the touch of his fingers and her gaze mesmerized by the shape of his mouth. By the curve of his bottom lip. You could suck on that all day…
    Holy crap. Where the hell had that thought come from?
    His thumb moved, sweeping across her own bottom lip, as if he knew exactly the direction of her thoughts. And right on cue, a familiar heat gathered in the pit of her stomach.
    A dangerous heat.
    “Ah, there they are,” he murmured, his thumb making another pass across her lip. “I remember those eyes. Dark gray. Like a thunderstorm.”
    And she remembered his. Black and hot. Like espresso.
    “And I remember saying something about a syringe full of laxatives if you touched me again,” she said hoarsely. “Don’t think I won’t do it.”
    He grinned. “Hardball, huh? My favorite game.” His fingers dropped from her mouth and she wasn’t disappointed, not in any way. “In fact, I’ve got one rule already. How about you drop the contacts? “
    Her lip felt full and sensitive where he’d touched it. Hot. She pushed the feeling away. “Why? What does it matter to you what I look like?”
    “I don’t want you hiding when you’re with me, Lizzie Kent.” The look in his eyes turned intent. “Or should I say, Coco Dawn.”
    She crossed her arms over her thudding heart. “I’ve got good reasons for keeping