Free Love By Design by Liz Matis

can say it was a cultural exchange.”
    “You mean fluid exchange?” she grimaced.
    “Ouch. So cold for what we just shared.”
    His smile mocking but his touch gentle, Russ drew her into his arms. As he bent his head to kiss her again she placed her hand on his chest in a stopping motion, his lips inches from hers. “Don’t you have somewhere to be?”
    He straightened and laughed. “That I do. You make a man forget himself.” He opened the door but turned his head before leaving, his golden brown hair flipped with the movement leaving a couple of strands in front of his eyes. A crooked grin appeared on his face. “See you tomorrow, cupcake.”
    Victoria watched him swagger down the hallway like they just had wild sex instead of a kiss. One long-wet-thrilling-five-minute kiss. Or pashing as he called it.
    No matter the name, it was unprofessional to be groping in a homeowner’s bathroom. Worse, she’d lost control of the situation and of herself. And she still didn’t know where he was going.

Chapter 12
     
    T he cocky smile on his face faded into a deep frown as he turned his head away and strode down the hallway. What the hell had just happened? Okay, he knew what happened, but how? Russ wasn’t kidding when he told her she could make a man forget himself. One minute he was washing up, feeling guilty as all hell to be leaving them in a fix and the next moment he had Victoria propped up on the bathroom counter kissing her like he wanted to swallow her whole.
    Real smooth, Russ . Though she didn’t seem to mind. In fact she gave as good as she got. And her anger at him seemed to dissipate with each stroke of his tongue. The smile returned to his face.
    Man, she was a handful. Was she really that mad over him cutting out? The production schedule had shown filming ending at 6:30. He’d thought he’d be in the clear to leave for his 8:30 dance slot for Thunder Down Under. Though filming had ended on time, he had yet to start painting the wall unit. Stephen didn’t make a big deal out of it. Why should Victoria? For a director, Stephen was a wuss. Deep down Russ knew that, even took advantage of it. He wasn’t asked for an explanation so he didn’t offer one.
    Victoria had jumped to her own conclusions. So was she mad because he was cutting out or for her assumed reason behind it? Her voice indicated jealousy. So did her eyes, which darkened like a storm off the coast, complete with sparks of lightning. God, she was adorable when she was mad. He couldn’t help but kiss her, if only to shut her up.
    He didn’t mean to be so rough when he picked her up. With his body pumping with desire he forgot she weighed next to nothing. But that didn’t stop the pint-sized vixen from kissing like a six-foot Amazon ready to order him to her lair. He would’ve gladly obeyed. With her lips sweetened by strawberry lip gloss, Russ was anxious to discover what the rest of her tasted like.
    Unfortunately, by tomorrow she would have her guard back up. She already informed him in that snooty, holier-than-thou tone that it wouldn’t happen again. But with them with coming together like two lust filled teenagers at a make-out party, who was she kidding?
    A more troubling question nagged at him. Why would he rather stay put and prod Victoria into another fit than race off to strip for hundreds of screaming, willing women? Some questions were better left unanswered.
    ***
    R uss waited by the backstage door for the rest of the guys to finish dressing. Even though he needed a night on the town with his mates to get his mind off Victoria, he wondered what time she clocked out. Was she still there? Guilt twisted in his gut. Brady left the dressing room to wait by the exit.
    “Some show tonight, eh?”
    Russ shrugged. One show was just like the other. Same music. Same routines. Even the faces in the audience seemed the same. It was exhausting, not thrilling like he’d imagine. Russ mentally shook off the feeling. His testosterone