Lessons in Rule-Breaking by Christy McKellen Read Free Book Online Page A

into something that made her jitter with barely contained anxiety.
    He gave her a questioning frown. ‘I don’t believe it. How can you be terrible at massaging?’
    She shrugged. ‘It’s just not something I count as one of my talents.’
    ‘Hmm.’ He was looking at her with such an intense, searching stare it made her insides twist.
    She wasn’t used to dealing with such overt flirtatiousness. The men she’d dated in the past had been attractive guys, but nothing like the unwieldy package of sexual energy that Xander Heaton embodied. He was something else entirely.
    Walking past her, he pulled out a chair from the table and gestured for her to sit down.
    She nodded her thanks and perched herself on the edge of the leather-upholstered chair, folding her hands on the tabletop and kicking off her shoes so she could flex her aching feet under the table. She watched as he pulled out the seat opposite and dropped into it with a sigh.
    ‘I’m curious. Why don’t you give interviews any more?’ she said, hoping that if she just kept firing random questions at him he’d eventually give her some straight answers.
    He leant back in his chair and smoothed the front of his shirt down with long, tanned fingers.
    Jess watched the movement, fascinated by the simple beauty of his hands, noting how his fingernails were dark-rimmed with ingrained paint. There was something lovely about how his hands reflected exactly who he was.
    A warm and tingly feeling wound through her belly—and lower—as her thoughts slid towards what sort of mischief he could get up to if he put those amazing hands of his on her body.
    She really needed to stop thinking about him like this; it wasn’t conducive to getting the best out of the interview if all she could think about was how damn sexy he was.
    ‘I’ve had some bad experiences with the press twisting things I’ve said. They take things out of context and make me sound like an idiot.’ He leant forward in his chair. ‘And I prefer to keep my private life just that— private ,’ he said, giving her a knowing smile and stretching out his legs under the table, his calf brushing gently against hers. ‘But I’m sure I can trust you to give me a fair write-up, Jess, especially as I have the power to make you look bad, too. You don’t want your bad-hair day hanging on someone’s wall for ever, do you?’
    Her breath seemed to be coming out in shorter gasps than normal, which was making her light-headed. Sucking in a deep, calming slug of air, she carefully moved her leg away from his and attempted to centre herself before responding.
    ‘You wouldn’t do that.’ The shake in her voice made it clear she totally believed he would .
    He laughed. ‘Of course not. I’m only joking. I promise to be true to your character.’
    She nodded slowly. ‘So what happened last year to kill your muse?’ she asked casually, glancing up at him through her lashes in the hope he’d answer without thinking.
    He gave her such a what the hell are you talking about? look she shrank back into her seat in disgrace.
    Okay, so it wasn’t the most professional way to conduct the interview, but then again she had nothing to lose throwing out provocative questions. In fact, if she was going to get something juicy enough to satisfy Pamela she was going to have to push the boat right out and straight into enemy waters.
    Xander must have thought he’d reacted a bit too strongly because he flicked her a smile and manipulated his body into a more relaxed posture.
    ‘My muse isn’t dead, just resting. I had a few years where I worked pretty intensively and I needed a break.’
    ‘So taking a break had nothing to do with the reviews you had of your last exhibition, then?’
    His expression darkened and he leant forward in his chair. ‘You really think I care about the opinions of a few talentless hacks? I have zero respect for people who don’t have the ability to produce their own art so spend their time and