Page 112 of Secrets in the Deep

She chuckled. “No. There was only ever camera chemistry between us. The rumors started after our first movie together, and he and my mother thought it was good for us and our movies, so no one corrected it.”

“What didyouthink?”

She lifted a shoulder. “I didn’t care enough to correct anyone.”

He nodded before he turned back to the saucepan. “Are you worried about what that article did to your image?”

“Not at all. Considering I plan to take an extended break from the profession, I don’t think it will have any impact on my life.”

There was a flexing of the muscles in his back. “What will you do?”

The uncertainty in his voice made her pause. Was he still worried that he wouldn’t be enough for her? “I don’t know. I don’t have to work, but I want to figure out who I am without the big fancy career and a mother who dictates my every move. I want to do something that feeds my soul, you know? I could start a small production company here in Deep River. I could teach. I love that, for once, my future isn’t set out for me. There isn’t one path that someone has painted my name on and told me I have to walk down. I have options.”

He nodded again, his shoulders visibly relaxing as he focused on the stove. “What about your mom? How willthatrelationship play out, do you think?”

If she had a dollar for every time she’d asked herself that same question… “Honestly, I have no idea. She’s my mom. And despite everything she’s done, I love her. I do think, in sometwisted way, she believes that everything she did was for me. But I also can’t trust her. She’s meddled in my life too much.”

“Maybe you just need some time apart.”

“Hopefully.”

A few minutes passed while she just watched Ryan work. The muscles in his arms bunched as he grated cheese. The flex in his forearm as he stirred the roux.

There was such practiced precision in the way he moved. But it was the crease between his brows, the one that deepened with every passing second, that held her attention.

“What are you thinking about?” she finally asked.

“I probably should have asked this already, but in the movie…Faye’s the killer, right? She’s always the person wearing the mask in your scenes.”

“Yeah. It’s revealed at the end that her character’s in love with Preston’s character. But he chooses me. And she decides if she can’t be happy, no one can.”

His frown deepened.

She held out a hand. “Come here.”

Without any hesitation, he turned down the heat on the stove and stepped between her thighs.

“Tell me what’s going on with you.” She ran a palm over his hard shoulder. “Because I feel like I’m missing something right now.”

“I keep seeing you on the floor.” His voice was low and controlled, but there was strain in his eyes, like it was costing him to keep calm. “I can’t get the image out of my head.”

“If the person is truly going by the movie, they were never going to kill me. But even if they were, you would have made it there in time.”

“Ididn’tget there in time. You got hurt.”

“I’m alive.”

Some of the armor fell, and she saw just a bit of his raw, unguarded fear. It looked so unfamiliar on his face. “I can’t lose you a second time.”

“I’m not going anywhere.” She ran her palm over his rough, day-old stubble.

His gaze lowered to her mouth. One glance. Then he kissed her. And this kiss wasn’t slow or calm. It was urgent. Fierce. Maybe even a bit reckless.

He buried a hand in her hair, fingers slipping between the strands. She wrapped her legs around him, tugging herself to the edge of the counter.

Thank God he was shirtless. She needed the warmth of his skin. The feel of him with no barriers and nothing between them.

She gasped into his mouth and he took advantage, tasting her.