“Hey! That’s my research,” Faye said defensively. “It must have fallen out of my bag.”
Gregor closed the folder and looked Faye directly in the eyes. It was eerily just like in the dream. “Let’s get one thing straight,” he said, his tone turning serious. “If I’m going to do this interview, then it can’t be any of these canned questions. No, ‘what’s your go-to recipe’ or ‘your favorite holiday destination’ crap. I want us to have a real conversation. Does that make sense?”
“Of course,” Faye said, sliding the folder off his tray table and back into her bag.
“I don’t mean to criticize, it’s just that I want this to be genuine,” he said. Faye could see that he was struggling to put all his thoughts and feelings into words. “I’ll make you a promise,” he said, leaning in closer toward her, so much that she could smell that manly, heady scent of him again. “I’ll be completely open with you. If you do the same with me.”
Faye shifted in her seat, feeling just the slightest bit uncomfortable. “Well,” she answered carefully, “this interview isn’t about me. It’s about you.”
“True,” Gregor said, his tone growing even more direct, “but if there’s to be trust, I need to know that you’re being honest with me.”
“Okay,” Faye acquiesced. “What do you want to know?”
Gregor leaned in to whisper in Faye’s ear. He was so close, she could feel the bristle of his whiskers against her cheek. “When was the last time you were touched, I mean really touched?”
Faye’s cheeks instinctively burned hot. “Excuse me?” she hissed in a hushed tone.
Gregor turned his head so that their eyes were locked on each other’s. “I can tell when someone is lonely. I’ve met lots of people in my line of work. It’s like a signal people send out when they need contact.”
Faye’s cheeks burned even hotter, not because Gregor was wrong, but because he was so very right.
“Maybe you’re right, but it’s still none of your business,” she said. And with that, Faye reached into her bag, pulled out her headphones and turned her attention to the screen in front of her for the duration of the flight.
When the plane finally landed in Heathrow, Faye was looking cool, calm and collected on the outside, but inside she was completely stressed out. Somehow, she was no longer on speaking terms with the person she was supposed to be interviewing. She vowed to herself to keep her personal feelings out of it and focus on the task at hand.
As they walked from the gate to baggage claim, Faye wondered why Gregor was so intent on figuring her out. Maybe it was a way to deflect attention off himself. Was he afraid of revealing too much? Was there something in his past he’d rather forget? She watched as a little boy walking with his family dropped his stuffed animal. Without a second thought, Gregor grabbed the doll and sprinted toward the family, calling out to them until the little boy was reunited with his bear. Faye watched a second longer as the family recognized him. Gregor gamely posed for selfies with each of the family members, including the stuffed bear. So he was a good guy, too, Faye thought, almost wishing it wasn’t so. If he was an asshole, it would be so much easier to dismiss him, to put thoughts of him out of her mind.
As they left the baggage claim, each with a suitcase, Gregor headed to the parking lot and Faye followed. By the time they reached his car, a glistening black Miata, she was happy to be inside and get warm. Sliding into the passenger seat, Faye looked out the window as Gregor started the engine.
“I’m sorry about what I said back there, about your…” Gregor started and then trailed off. “None of my bloody business.”
“That’s right,” Faye said matter-of-factly, in the most curt tone she could muster. Still, she couldn’t help but allow a smile to cross her lips. It was delightful, knowing he was worried he had offended her.
“What?” he asked, turning his attention from the road to her and back again.
Faye laughed and pushed him playfully on the arm.
“Hey!” he cried. “One of us is operating a motor vehicle. This is serious business.”
“I’m sure,” Faye said, reaching over to the console and turning on the radio. It was “I’m Alive” by Love and Rockets. Faye started to sing and after a moment, Gregor joined in, tapping the beat on the steering wheel.
When the song ended, they smiled at each other in acknowledgment of the moment.
“So, don’t you want to ask me about my sex life?” Gregor asked after a moment.
“Not really,” Faye said, and watched amusedly as Gregor made a face. “How about this,” she started, blushing slightly at the question she couldn’t believe she was about to ask. “What’s the strangest place you’ve ever made love?”
Gregor laughed at the question, throwing back his head. Faye loved the sound of his laugh, it was so devil-may-care and sexy.
“Easy!” Gregor said emphatically. “A bear cave at the zoo!”
Faye laughed. “With—a bear?”
“No!” Gregor yelled, smacking her on the leg. The slap sent a pleasurable sensation across her thigh and straight to her nether region. She put her hand on the spot he had touched and rubbed it. “With a young lady. It was ill-advised. For us and the bear.”
“Thank God you’re alright!”
“Yes, but I am banned by the Zoological Society of London for life. I think they have a security shot of my face midcoitus posted in the break room.”
“I’m sure the bears needed therapy,” Faye said, smiling at him.
“Indeed.”
Faye looked out the window and saw the familiar buildings of London disappearing on the horizon. “Hey, why are we driving away from the city?”
Gregor paused a moment before answering. “We’re going to my country house. You’ll like it. It’s much more intimate.” Gregor must have felt Faye giving him a look because he quickly added, “Less noise. You’ll have your own room, of course, and access to the study.”
Faye thought about protesting—after all this was not according to plan. Bev’s itinerary stated that she would have her own room at The Savoy and that all the interviews would take place in a meeting room set aside for that exact purpose. Still, it was true that she would probably get more out of Gregor if he were allowed to roam free in his natural habitat. And anyway, she was curious to see how this globe-trotting star lived when he wasn’t filming. Often a person’s home told more stories about them, or inspired the subject to open up like nowhere else.
Instead of complaining, Faye found another song she liked on the radio and settled in for the drive.
It was late in the evening by the time they reached the country roads leading to Gregor’s residence, and it was too dark outside for Faye to discern any of the scenery. The only thing she could see was Gregor, his strong profile lit up by the dashboard lights, his face looking serious as he navigated the winding roads. Seeing him like that made her wonder why he had dropped out of the public eye over the past few years. Was it something romantic? Or something related to a family member? There would be time for all of those questions when they got settled into the country house and had gotten a good night’s sleep. The thought of sleeping in the same place as Gregor made Faye’s heart skip a beat. Even if they would be in separate rooms, it would still be such close quarters. She wasn’t sure if she wanted him to turn the car around and take her to the safe anonymity of her reserved hotel room, or to just pull over to the side of the road and make out with her furiously. She thought about what it would be like to slide over the console dividing their seats and straddle his lap. She imagined her hair falling over her face as she leaned over him, grinding her way to ecstasy on that lean, strong, beautiful body of his.
Faye