Hot Pursuit

Chapter 23

[Georgina's POV]

He laughed.

He actually laughed at my question as he shook his head at the same time that I almost thought we were really not being serious about this so-called "proposition" of his. Well, he might have been quite surprised that I would actually spit such a daring question back at him. But it was not like we were still strangers here. We had already kissed and I already knew how passionate he could get in being intimate with someone else. Ha.

Feeling quite smug about myself, I just watched as Kieran took his time to calm down from laughing heartily before finally flitting his gaze back at me. Then he clicked his tongue, putting a finger over his lips as his eyes squinted at me.

"You're really upfront, huh?" he teased, "In regards to kissing, we would definitely have to do that again."

Wriggling his brows at me, I found myself chuckling at what he said. Was he flirting with me? I can't complain though. This man was really too bad for my heart, and I felt my chest pounding at the sight of those dazzling eyes sparkling as he gazed intently at me. He must be really good at getting women to fall for him because I could totally feel how dangerously flattering it was to be the receiving end of his undivided attention. But then again, it was not as if I was trying to get into his pants. I just wanted to make this more natural and easier for me to deal with his deadly charms. And after all, I still had that plan in my mind to figure out what he was hiding about his real life.

"Then, let's do it," I said afterward, not even resisting anymore. I did not want to make this any longer. The faster we agree on things, the better it would be for me to get what I wanted out of him. The important thing was I still have the chance to stay closer to his side as much as possible. I can be the pretend lover and act as if I was madly in love with him.

"But just so you know, Miss Georgina," he then added shortly, smiling with his eyes as he continued, "If you are really going to do this with me, we have to act real."

"What do you mean?"

"You and I will have to face the media and the paparazzi together," he explained right away, and at the mention of that clause, I felt myself tensing up. "Your face will be on the covers of the magazine. I'm not only asking you to pretend as my lover... I am offering you to be my front to the public."

A front, huh? So that he could keep his secret from anyone, right? That was the reason why he wanted to use me to cover his own personal life. Because he was definitely married. Penelope was totally right about that. This man really was shady.

"Deal," I drew out a breath, nodding back, "I'll play the part for you. But you have to keep your promise too, Mr. Locke. I'd never leave your side."

At the words I had used, Kieran started laughing softly again and he soon reached a hand across the table as if offering it to me.

"I promise," he told me, "So let's shake on that now."

And I shook his hand as my affirmative response. I did not even have time to register what went through that whole conversation as I stood up and gather my stuff with Kieran leading me towards the exit doors of the hotel. He was taking his time though as if we were in no hurry as he slowed down and matched my strides until we finally got out on the front driveway of the place. I was warily observing him from my peripheral view, trying to get a sense of what he was planning now that we had agreed on that deal. But before I could even realize what was happening, Kieran was suddenly pulling me into a semi-hug with his strong arm wrapping me around the waist. This felt like deja vu. And I could not even process what he was going to do. I just awkwardly went with the flow and found myself staring up at his handsome face.

"Relax," I heard him whisper, grinning down at me as a dimple showed beside his mouth, "We're playing the part, remember?"

I began to calm down as soon as he reminded me of that. But as I gradually tried to condition myself to what was happening between us, I suddenly felt eyes staring around us. I could not really look away from Kieran in the midst of it all, because I was too nervous to find it out myself. But I knew that people were starting to recognize his face. Well, we were already out in the public in the first place, what was I actually expecting? I could already see the headlines coming up on the front covers of every tabloid and spreadsheet by tomorrow morning. And the only thing that I could think of was how unappealing I would appear in the pictures. But I don't think I even have enough time to at least put some lipstick on because I could already see Kieran closing the distance between our faces.

My heart went up a notch. My stomach swirled at the thought of feeling those lips again. And I instinctively closed my eyes, waiting for that one hot kiss.

"Welcome to my world, darling," I felt his breath fanned over my nose when he whispered to me again and I slowly got drowned in his scent. It was intoxicating and I felt my mind shutting off at once. Then as if feeling impatient all of a sudden, my hand moved and found its way up to his chest. My body was doing what it wanted to do and I let it. And before I knew it, I did the initiative to grab his collar and pulled him down towards me.

I kissed him. Again. But this time, it was not Kieran who made the first move between us. It was me. Because after all, who wouldn't want to be kissed by the one and only Mr. Kieran Locke?