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  “As a heart attack. So—what is it?”

  She laughed softly. “Fine. It’s red.”

  “Why?”

  “It’s bold and daring like I dreamt of being when I was growing up in a small conservative Texas town. What about you?”

  “Orange.”

  “Like the Texas Longhorns?”

  “Only a Texan would turn orange into Texas Longhorn burnt orange,” he said. “I’m talking California orange—a new day’s sun burning over the ocean. I was born here, you know. Those sunrises were one of the things I missed when I was gone. Us soldiers see more dirt and grunge than we do oceans and sunrises.”

  Sam was a soldier, a Special Forces soldier. Who knew what all he’d seen, what he’d lived. “Your job was risking your life,” she said, feeling a heavy dose of perspective. “It makes all my worries about television and ratings so shallow.”

  “Soldiers fight for right and wrong, and for freedom. This show, and the kids chasing their dreams, is part of that, too. The land of opportunity, where you dare to dream, and make those dreams real.” His voice softened, husky and male, and oh so alluring. “Don’t start turning yourself into a villain, Meagan. You’ll steal all of Kiki’s fun. Which is a bad subject, so let’s get back to the American dream. It makes me think of apple pie, which I love. Do you know how to make one?”

  She laughed. “I know how to buy one at the bakery, which is far better than anything I could ever bake. Though I make a mean pan of Kraft mac’n’cheese, which is, I assume, because I follow instructions well. It’s one of my favorite late-night dinners.”

  “Excellent choice. I’m fond of it myself.”

  The drive flew by as Sam drilled her with random questions that had her laughing and eagerly waiting for his own answers in return.

  It wasn’t until she pulled into the hotel parking lot, and found a spot, with Sam whipping in next to her, that she realized two things. She hadn’t heard from her staff, or even tried to call them during the drive. And she was suddenly nervous again about being alone with Sam. Which was nuts. She’d already slept with Sam. She’d done naughty things with Sam in his truck. But she’d also convinced herself those adventures were just that. Adventures. Until tonight. Tonight “things” had become a relationship for her and Sam.

  She shoved open her door to find Sam already approaching, and before she could let her nervousness get the best of her, he pulled her into his arms and kissed her. A hot, passionate, reassuring kiss.

  “I had to do that before we go inside and the insanity of whatever waits for us steals you away from me.”

  “Do it again,” she ordered, and when he did, she decided there really was more to Sam than bossy alpha male. She really liked the way this soldier took orders.

  * * *

  THEY DIDN’T HAVE TO AGREE to be discreet, they simply were, and Meagan liked Sam all the more for intuitively knowing what was necessary. And somehow, riding the elevator from the garage to the lobby, with him beside her, looking straight ahead, not touching her, only stoked her desire. They’d switched elevators and rode to their private floor. The elevator dinged and Meagan found herself casting Sam a sideways smile. He arched a brow at her all-too-obvious “I want you” look, the heat in his expression saying he was feeling exactly what she was.

  The doors slid open, and he motioned her forward. Her smile faded fairly fast when she found a large group of her crew and almost every dancer in the competition sitting around on sofas and chairs, with food and beverages, in the common area. Several cameras were rolling, one of which singled out her and Sam.

  “Off of me,” she told her cameraman. “You know how I feel about that.”

  “You’re no fun, Meagan,” the cameraman shouted.

  “I’m not supposed to be fun,” she commented. “I’m the producer.”

  “That’s why they have me,” Kiki said, lifting her glass.

  Meagan gestured to her, and Kiki sighed heavily before arriving at her side. “Before you say anything, we had no brilliant footage ideas for tonight, so we all decided to just chill out and talk, and hope for something good to happen.”

  Carrie and Tabitha had Jensen sandwiched between them. The two giggled and hugged him. He was smiling from ear to ear.

  Meagan and Sam exchanged a worried look. She sought out her director. Shayla’s expression was one of concern, as well.

  “From fight to ménage,” Shayla whispered. “If that isn’t good television, I don’t know what is.”

  “Or another fight, and a lawsuit,” Sam said softly, giving the crowd his back.

  “Exactly,” Meagan echoed. She wasn’t about to stand by and let Tabitha and Carrie end up in another argument, but she chose her words cautiously with Kiki. “While I reluctantly appreciate what you’re trying to do for ratings, we need to tread cautiously.”

  “This is darn good footage, Meagan,” Kiki said in a low voice. “This little romantic drama will make them crazy-popular.”

  Meagan bit back her first reaction, which was disapproval. “In that case, we don’t want them to get kicked off the show for poor behavior. We need to get them to go relax and go to bed. We’re moving to the house early tomorrow.”

  “Well, that’s good,” Kiki said. “But I really dislike the dance part of this show.”

  “That would be the entire show,” Meagan responded.

  Kiki snorted and addressed the group. “We’re moving into the new house tomorrow, everyone,” she called out, “so be ready to leave at the crack of dawn. Time for bed.” There were lots of moans and groans, and chaos that followed, but the announcement got everyone moving.

  Meagan and Kiki chatted with DJ and Ginger to ensure they were prepared for their lead roles in the move, and then in the new house. Sam and several of his staff ended up in a powwow of some sort by the elevator, and as much as she didn’t want to notice, she could tell the instant Sam stepped away. Once all the contestants were in their rooms, Sam positioned several of his people on the floor to ensure no one snuck out. Sam then disappeared with Josh in tow.

  In her room, Meagan fought the empty, disappointed feeling she had. She was alone. As in, without Sam, and she admitted now just how much that wasn’t how she wanted this night to end.

  For the first time in three years, Meagan had not only let someone into her life, she’d let another alpha in. That should terrify her, and scream of a mistake. She’d always chosen the wrong men. But Sam didn’t seem wrong. Nor was he some alpha control freak. Sam was...well, he was Sam, who managed to somehow make being tough and strong so darn alluring and perfect. And now that he was in, she wanted him here, with her. She wondered if he was thinking the same thing, if he wanted to be here. And if he did, why wasn’t he?

  She laughed that off, knowing all too well, it wasn’t as if he could just walk up to her door and come in without creating talk. She might have caved to the impossibility of staying away from Sam, but she still didn’t want to paint a bulls-eye on his chest for Kiki. Kiki seemed to be into the show though. Meagan had researched the other programs Kiki had been involved in and this was the first with huge ratings out of the gate. Her hope was that Kiki would believe this show’s success was a bigger feather in her cap than its demise.

  She shoved aside thoughts of a failed show, and headed to the bathroom, for her surefire comfort ritual of a hot bath. She was about to step into the tub, when her cell rang.

  She rushed to grab it from her purse, saw Sam’s number and smiled. She flipped the cell open.

  “And now you know why I kissed you by the car,” he said, without a hello.

  She returned to the tub and sank down into her favorite jasmine-scented bubbles. “Now I know.”

  “Where are you?”

  “In my room. You?”

  “On my way back to the hotel from the property. We had a problem with some reporters who managed to find their way out there, but it’s under control. They’re gone.”

  “Wow,” Meagan said. “I don’t know w
hether to be frustrated or excited that the show is getting so much attention.”

  “I’ll handle the frustrated,” he said. “You just be excited.”

  Warmth filled her. “You keep making me want to say thank you, and I’m afraid it will go to your head.”

  “Sometimes you have to live dangerously.”

  “Hmm,” she said. “I would rather do that in person.”

  “Alone time isn’t going to be easy to come by.”

  “Yeah, I know. That kind of stinks.”

  His voice softened. “Do you wish I was there now?”

  She was done being cautious with Sam. “Yes. I do.”

  “I do, too. You want to have phone sex?”

  She laughed. “I’m not into phone sex, Sam.”

  “Have you ever had phone sex?”

  “No.”

  “Then how do you know if you haven’t tried?”

  “I don’t want to try. Though I can certainly imagine all kinds of things I’d do to you if you were here now.”

  “Like what?”

  “Sam, I’m not—”

  “Humor me.”

  “Fine. I’d be in charge. I’d make you undress—as in completely. I wouldn’t undress. Then I’d drop to my knees and lick—”

  “Stop,” he ordered. “Bad idea after all. I’m driving, and you’re going to make me crash.”

  “Or you don’t like the idea of me being in charge?”

  “You want to play dominatrix, bring on the leather and whips. Just as long as you remember whatever torture you dish out, I plan to return tenfold.”

  “Promises, promises.”

  “That is a promise. You can count on it.”

  She was so counting on it. And when they hung up, after talking about everything from Kiki to the odd ménage possibilities between Tabitha, Carrie, and Jensen, Sam’s brother and their relationship, and even how much Meagan had often wished for a sibling, she was still counting on it.

  She couldn’t wait to test Sam, to discover her inner dominatrix and see just what his “tenfold” promise would reveal.

  17

  THE NEXT DAY CAME and the arguments over who got what room, while impossible to avoid, were easy to predict. When it looked as if Tabitha and Carrie might end up rooming together, Meagan vetoed it, in spite of Kiki’s approving the pairing. Ultimately, Carrie would be crushed if she lost this competition, and Meagan saw the writing on the wall—Tabitha would happily manipulate Carrie to ensure that Carrie failed and she succeeded. In the midst of this, Meagan reviewed the locations of cameras, and a list of house rules.

  When it was all said and done, what Meagan hadn’t predicted was the somber mood that would overtake the group as they settled into the house. One of them would be gone in only a few days, eliminated at the first live show.

  Prior to rehearsal at the studio, Meagan and Sam had managed a few steamy stares with, frustratingly, no hope of acting on the crackling energy anytime soon.

  Per Sam’s instructions, at nearly ten that night, Meagan called him to report their approach to the house. He was determined to greet her, and the contestants, at the house, to personally ensure he prevented any problems for their first night’s stay.

  The contestants filed up the stairs, with moans of aching bodies, and a need for bed. “I’m going, too,” Kiki said from the doorway. “I’m dead to the world.”

  That left Meagan and Sam in the foyer of the main house, staring at one another. Suddenly, her tired body was alive and alert.

  “And here I thought we’d never manage to be alone tonight,” he said, for her ears only.

  “If only it were so easy.” She had this bad feeling about combusting into flames from wanting this man so badly. She motioned to their surroundings. “I have this terrible fear that this is an alternate universe, and once we step outside it, the real world will erupt around us.” And just like that—as if she had jinxed them—a female scream came from the top floor.

  “You had to say that, didn’t you?” Sam asked, even as they charged toward the girls’ side of the house.

  They found Tabitha and her assigned roommate—a redhead named Jenny Michaels—on top of the bed. “Mouse! We have a mouse.”

  The hall filled with females, followed by shouts from the guys, who were also charging up the stairs.

  Sam used a stern “soldier in charge” voice, and ordered them all to their rooms, and boy, was Meagan glad he did. Truth be told, she didn’t have that kind of energy.

  And even if she had Sam alone, tonight was not the night for them. She wanted to be everything she could be, when she was with him again.

  After they’d calmed everyone down except for Tabitha and Jenny, who were insisting they move to another room, Sam stopped Meagan in the hallway for a private chat. “You know the best answer to catching a mouse, don’t you?”

  “If you mean a cat,” she said. “Samantha’s not quite ready for the job. She’s as small as a large mouse right now.”

  “Ah, but we don’t need Samantha,” he said. “I found an adult cat today.”

  “Really? Samantha’s mother maybe?”

  “Maybe. Anyway, I say we put him to the test.”

  “Bring on the mouser, so we can try and get some sleep.”

  He motioned to the girls. “I’ll leave you to the...fun, while I fetch Mel to help.”

  “Mel?”

  “I didn’t have the heart to call him Meagan, despite the fierceness so like your own. But a man—even the tomcat version—can be sensitive about a name. And we need him feeling manly right now.”

  She laughed and waved him off. “Go get Mel, then.”

  Mel turned out to be a big hit, adored by everyone in the house, and reveling in all the praise. Meagan and Sam promised to adopt a friend for Mel the next day, which Sam vowed he’d name Meg. Eventually, Sam escorted Meagan to the mother-in-law house, where they walked up the wooden steps of the rectangular deck, and were, at least, semi-alone.

  “Well,” he said, resting his palm on the doorframe above her head as she rested her back on the door. “I guess this is where I say goodnight.”

  “Yeah,” she said. “I guess so.”

  “I take it goodnight kisses are off limits.”

  She barely quelled the urge to push to her toes and take that goodnight kiss. “Probably not the most discreet thing to do.”

  “You do know this is killing me,” he said. “I’ve been thinking about our ‘almost’ phone sex all day.”

  She laughed and bit her bottom lip. “Yeah?”

  “Yeah.” His eyes darkened and he pushed off the door. “I better go before I decide not to. Or do something someone will see, and which you’ll hate me for later. And I’m not calling you when I get to the other place, or I might change my mind and come right back here.”

  He stepped away, as if he couldn’t quite get himself to turn. “Night, Meg.”

  “Mea...gan.”

  “Okay, sweetheart,” he said, his voice low. “Meagan.” And then he turned and walked authoritatively away, all broad-shouldered and muscle-defined, and totally confident. She sighed and entered the house to find Kiki leaning on the kitchen counter, sipping from a coffee cup.

  “Oh, hi,” Meagan said. “What’s up?”

  Kiki smirked. “Nothing,” she said. “Nothing at all.”

  But her look, her tone, didn’t say nothing. It said something.

  Knots formed in Meagan’s stomach. Had she just put Sam back on Kiki’s radar? Meagan said a quick goodnight to Kiki, thankful it was an easy escape. How was she supposed to do a good job if she was always so worried about her assistant. If this show had a season two, Meagan was negotiating Kiki out of the contract. That would be a deal breaker. In the meantime, it was critical that Meagan decide how best to protect Sam without destroying what felt like a really good thing.

  * * *

  OVERNIGHT, MEAGAN REALIZED that Sam would never back away from the potential threat that Kiki might represent. She had to pul
l away from him again, and she wasn’t sure he’d forgive her for that. Still, she resolved to do what she hadn’t. Take action. She started her search for a new agent immediately. As much as she valued the importance of control, she hadn’t been embracing it at all. Taking action was the only thing that kept her distance from Sam in place.

  It was early evening when she arrived at the house for the night. After changing into jeans and a T-shirt, she headed to the contestant’s house, where everyone was having dinner. Meagan made her way to the kitchen to snag a soda right when Sam came in with a small pet carrier, holding a beautiful white cat.

  The instant Sam’s eyes met hers, she felt that familiar punch of awareness in her chest. “Hey, sweetheart. How was your day?”

  “Productive,” she said, and a torment, she added silently. Staying away from Sam when she didn’t want to was incredibly hard.

  “I’d say mine was too, considering what I have here.” He set the carrier on the island counter.

  “She’s gorgeous,” Meagan said sliding a finger inside the bars to stroke the friendly animal who purred loudly. “A perfect friend for Mel.”

  “We had great timing with this one,” he said. “She had to be rescued today or—”

  “Don’t say it,” Meagan ordered, stroking the animal through the bars. “I’m just glad we can give her a home.”

  “Her name is Meg,” he said, a teasing glint in his eyes.

  She laughed. “I deserve that, now don’t I?”

  “She’s beautiful!” Ginger called from the doorway, “DJ! Come here!”

  It wasn’t long before Meg was carried to the other room, and smothered with attention, leaving Meagan alone again with Sam. “It appears Meg is a hit,” Meagan said.

  “Yes,” he agreed. “Meg most definitely is a hit.”

  The air all but crackled around them. She couldn’t help but stare into the man’s too-blue eyes. Could she be falling in love with him?

  She wanted to tell him her concerns about Kiki, but he was stubborn and macho. He’d insist he didn’t need protection.

  “Sam—”

  “Look at Meg go!” Ginger shouted, and before Meagan could find a way out of it, she and Sam were herded into the living room. They joined the group as everyone talked about how excited but scared they were over the live show the next night, but declared Meg and Mel good luck charms and the “curse” officially gone.