Free Overnight Sensation by Karen Foley

waist as he stared down at Ivy, who was still curled up beneath the sheet.

    “Don’t worry,” he said, smiling in a way that set Ivy’s teeth on edge. “If you’re too squeamish to do the love scenes, we can always bring in a body double.”

    As if on cue, Denise, the makeup artist, stepped onto the set and handed Eric a cool drink. She pointedly ignored Ivy. Eric accepted the glass, then deliberately ran his gaze over the other woman’s body with a practiced eye.

    “Now that I think of it,” he said musingly, “you and Denise have similar body types. In fact, without seeing your faces, a person could easily mistake one for the other. And I know for a fact that Denise has some…experience with love scenes.” Then, smiling broadly, he tipped his glass at Ivy in a mock toast, before he turned and walked away, a bewildered and red-faced Denise close behind him.

    Ivy narrowed her eyes at his retreating back. She couldn’t say if he and the other woman were sleeping together, and she didn’t particularly care. Denise was welcome to him. But Ivy did wonder if his threat had any substance. Finn wouldn’t really consider substituting a body double for the love scenes, would he? There were actors who flatly refused to do nude scenes, forcing a director to either dispense with the nudity or bring in a body double. But she wasn’t one of those actors. She was experienced, a professional. She just had to put her personal feelings aside and get on with it.

    “Hey. You sure you’re okay?”

    Glancing up, she saw Garrett standing over the bed holding her dressing robe. He watched her in a way that made her feel as vulnerable and helpless as a kitten. His entire stance was protective, as if he was her very own bodyguard and heaven help anyone who tried to mess with her.

    “Yes,” she said, summoning a smile. “I’m fine.” She took the robe from him and drew it on, careful to keep the sheet in place until she’d secured the sash. “So I guess you’ll be going into the jungle with Finn and the crew, huh?”

    “Actually, I’m going to hang around here for a couple of days,” he responded. “Finn and I already went over the scenes with the drug cartel, and he doesn’t need me on location for those shoots.” He smiled wryly. “The terrain is pretty rough. I’d just slow them down.”

    Somehow, Ivy doubted it. Even with his bad leg, she was pretty sure there wasn’t much he couldn’t do. The guy oozed capability.

    Finn called his name, and Ivy observed Garrett as he consulted a map with the director. She couldn’t help but admire Garrett’s physical grace. He stood with his head slightly bent, one thumb hooked in the front pocket of his pants as he nodded at something Finn said. His black hair fell back from his square forehead in loose waves. He wore a faded T-shirt that was frayed at the hem and a pair of jeans that hugged his trim backside and emphasized the length of his legs. The strong muscles of his back and shoulders were evident through the thin material of the shirt, and again Ivy wondered what it would be like to run her hands over all that firmness.

    Eric Terrell, still clad in his bathrobe, moved to stand on Finn’s other side. His handsome face had graced the cover of countless magazines; his name was synonymous with sex appeal. Yet when compared with Garrett Stokes, he was like a green recruit. Garrett was the real deal, and he looked every inch of it.

    Dark. Dangerous. Compelling. And sexy as hell.

    Ivy climbed off the bed, still watching the two men, and suddenly, she knew what she had to do. In order to portray her character realistically, she had to learn everything she could about Helena Vanderveer, especially what had happened between her and Garrett. She had the script to go by, but it was too superficial for her to gain an in-depth understanding of Helena’s character. She wanted to get into the missionary’s head, discover what it was that had compelled the woman to