House of Pleasure, Deborah Court [great books of all time TXT] 📗

and people queued in front of his favorite restaurant or his gym to ask him for autographs, which he patiently gave.

If he wanted a beautiful woman in his bed, he only needed to attend one of the glittering events to which he was invited nearly every day. Not even bothering to introduce himself, he would give the object of his passing interest an inviting look or a naughty smile, began some small talk, spiced up with compliments and daring comments. Whoever she was, she'd willingly follow him up to his hotel room for a guiltless one-night-stand, or to his luxurious house in Malibu. Now that he could afford such a home, he had recently bought this one from an aging co-actor who was in need of money.

Driving home after a meeting on this later summer's day, he found himself stuck in one of those typical L.A. traffic jams. Cursing, Luke pulled over and parked by the sidewalk, then stopped the engine. Maybe he'd wait in a coffee shop until the streets were clear again. He was wearing a baseball cap and mirrored sunglasses, so he hoped that nobody would recognize him immediately. His bodyguards only accompanied him to public events since he refused to be watched wherever he went. Often his unusual height was intimidating enough to keep most unwanted followers away.

Just at that moment, Luke spotted a beautiful woman, the loveliest he had ever seen. She was tall, slender but not like one of those Hollywood models he met every day. They looked like stick insects to him. No, this one was dangerously curved, with full breasts and hips and long, auburn hair that reached almost to her waist in luxurious, thick curls.

She sat on a bench on the other side of the crowded street in a small piece of parkland which was lush and green, surrounded by a white fence. She hadn’t even noticed him. She was reading a book in which she seemed to be deeply immersed. He wondered what it was that she read, but he was too enchanted by her wonderful body in that thin white summer dress to think about it further. One strap of the dress slid down over her shoulder when she shifted to a more comfortable position. He wanted to kiss that naked shoulder while he drew that dress down to reveal her alluringly full breasts ...

As if she had sensed his thoughts, she looked up from her book and instantly saw him, looking him straight into the eye. Her face was beautiful, too, she had classic features with high cheekbones, a straight, aristocratic nose and huge eyes. His heart beating faster, he wondered what color they were and was determined to find out. Quickly, he put on his naughty boy grin and winked at her. This always worked with women.

But, to his utter astonishment, she looked down at her book again, obviously finding her lecture more interesting than flirting with him. Luke was dumbstruck as he stared at her disbelievingly. Didn't she recognize him? Well, he often wore heavy make-up in his movies, but he had been a lot in the press lately. Besides, he deemed himself to be strikingly attractive for his thirty-four years. Women seldom managed not to be seduced by his charm and extraordinary blue eyes, let alone his sculpted body.

It was outrageous for a woman to behave this way.

Cursing, Luke jumped out of his Porsche, not even caring to open the door. Taking off his cap and glasses, he threw them onto the back seat. He could not leave this alone. He had to find out who she was. And he wanted to see if she really was able to resist him for long.

With purposeful, long strides, he headed straightaway to the park, towards the bench she was sitting on. The closer he got, the faster his heart began to pound in his chest, and he had a strange feeling in his stomach. What was this woman doing to him? He felt like a teenage boy on his first date, and he didn't even know her. Although he wasn't close enough yet, there was that odd sensation of being able to sense her wonderful scent - like the wild flowers that grew beside the wheat fields of his grandfather's farm in Canada. He was captivated.

He was only a few steps away from her when she looked up again, and raised her lovely green eyes to him. Suddenly, he couldn't lift a single limb, so compelling was her intense gaze. He stopped dead in his tracks, simply staring at her. He wasn't aware of time anymore - he could have stood there a minute or an hour, he didn't know. Nothing seemed to matter but his overwhelming wish to be with her, to taste these seductive lush lips that were opened slightly, inviting him to touch them with his.

"I knew you'd come, Luke," she said, her voice deep, warm and slightly husky, like she'd just woke up after a night of passionate loving. He wondered how she knew his name. Of course, she probably recognized him from one of his movies or the pages of some tabloid, but she spoke to him as if she really knew him. "I waited for you."

And I have been waiting for you all my life, he thought, unable to utter a single word.

Why did he behave in such a strange way? He was used to speaking in public. He had been to so many parties that he could make small talk about anything; he had learned to always choose the right words. And still he felt that whatever he might say to this woman right now would sound ridiculous.

Silently he sat down beside her, not taking his eyes off her for a single moment. Her skin was pale, but had a slight glow to it, like cream-colored silk. And she smelled just the way he had imagined it, sweet and irresistible. Unable to keep himself from touching her any longer, he