Bright Lights Billionaire

by Parker, Ali

  "What's up?" She stopped a few feet from me and put her hands on her hips. Her breasts jutted out a little and the beast in my pants lifted its head and growled.

  "You're waking me up, but it's nothing new." I winked and cupped myself as Clayton moved past me.

  "Let's go. We're going to tear down the walls you're building around yourself, Ethan. Acting is giving... not taking."

  "How about I take you into the ocean and stand on your shoulders for a few hours? Sounds like fun. You can pick out seashells until you run out of air." I wagged my eyebrows as Riley rolled her eyes.

  "What is it about him that turns you into a child?" She looped her arm into mine as we walked away from the crew.

  "He's good looking. He's an acting god, and you seem to have a thing for him."

  "Are you describing yourself or Clayton?" She smiled and released me to jog toward him.

  Cheeky bitch that I love.

  Chapter 66

  Riley

  "All right. What are we doing?" I walked toward Clayton and took in a deep breath, letting the tang of the saltwater fill my senses. His dark hair blew in the breeze, his charcoal eyes filled with excitement.

  "We're going to walk through an improvisation or two. Ethan's being a prick-"

  "I'm right here." Ethan moved up beside me and glanced down toward me before wrapping his strong arm around my shoulders. "You cold?"

  "No, but it's a good excuse for your attention." I wagged my eyebrows, playing an innocent game that had delicious possibilities. Something about him made me bi-polar, running from him one minute and racing toward him the next. But it hadn't been me lately, right? He'd taken up the baton of indecision.

  "All right." Clayton clapped his hands before rubbing them together. He could have easily been a film director himself. Because he was so in tune with the emotion of acting, it was only a matter of time. "Let's go with the following scenario, but before I give it to you, you both remember how this works, right?"

  Ethan huffed beside me. "You give us a few words. We act it out. We've been studying improv all our lives, Clay. Get to it. Shit."

  "So touchy." I leaned against him and wrapped my arm around the back of his waist. His side tightened under my touch as he flexed his abdomen muscles. "Hot."

  "You like?" He turned to face me as Clayton clapped his hands again and chuckled.

  "You guys are almost too much fun." He moved closer to us. "Ethan is married and has a loveless marriage. You're his girlfriend from the past and you can't help but beg him to get out of it. The emotion-"

  "Is lust," Ethan whispered roughly and didn't take his eyes off of me. "Thanks, buddy. Remind me to repay you for the fun later. Riley and I, here, have loads of untapped lust simmering between us, don't we, baby?"

  I ignored him. There was no reason to feed his ego. It was large enough. I dove into the scene instead.

  "You know she doesn't love you, right?" I ran my hand down the thick curves of muscle on his chest. "She hasn't loved you for a long time."

  "And you do? It's been years, Ri. How in the world could you still feel anything? We were kids." He gripped my hips softly, letting his thumbs roll over my dress. Him using my real name jolted me a little.

  "I don't know what I feel to be honest." I stepped closer to him, wanting to push the scene fast and hard simply for the purposes of being closer to him. It was a safe place to be - hiding behind a mask - while I searched out my heart for the man in front of me.

  He took my free hand and cupped his cock with it. "You feel that... right?"

  "Yeah." I let my eyes move down to where our hands held him tightly. "So fucking hot."

  "Sex has the power to become love. You ready for that?" He leaned down as he released my hand and cupped my face instead. "Or are you scared?"

  Was he being for real? It sure felt like it. It was the very conversation that the two of us needed to have. I glanced toward Clayton as Ethan's hand tightened on my face, forcing me to look back toward him. Was Clayton helping Ethan now? I felt as if I were being set up all of a sudden.

  "Stay with me. Don't go to him." Ethan leaned down and brushed his nose by mine as his voice moved to nothing but a whisper. "Lust will turn into love, Ri. We'll fuck around until we finally make love and then what? You'll wanna go and I'll want to hold you all night. You'll want to text the next day a few times, but I'll wanna talk on the phone until the sun sets in the sky. What then? How will that day play out?"

  "Are you being serious, Ethan?" I blinked a few times and tried to push away the suffocating rightness of having him pressed to the front of me. As much as I hated myself for doing it, I sank into him and pulled him as close as I could.

  Of course I wanted love. Lust was best used as a byproduct of love, not the other way around. But... we were acting. Right?

  He gave me a soft smile. "My name is Mark for this Improv. Of course I'm acting. It's what we do best, right?"

  "Cut. Very good, guys. You have some serious magic together. Want to do another one?" Clayton clapped loudly and moved up beside us.

  I couldn't get a word out. The moment had been too real for me. Was Ethan fucking with me? Surely not. Not after everything else we'd been through. Love instead of lust? Yes. I wanted it so badly it hurt, but it scared the hell out of me too. Everyone I loved left.

  "No more improv." Frank moved up beside me and touched the small of my back. "You all right? You look stunned." He glanced up toward the guys. "Did something happen?"

  "Ethan swept her off her feet." Clayton lifted his brow at me. A warning. We'd been working on me having the upper hand with all of my co-stars, but that was easier said than done when my teenage fantasy was breathing high doses of lust all over me.

  "It's the way I roll." He lifted his hands toward the sky and started to stretch. "All the ladies need a fan when I'm around."

  "Oh dear God." I glanced over at Frank. "Let's do the scene. He didn't sweep me off my feet. I got lost in my own head. It's something Clayton has been working on with me."

  "Lost in your own head?" Ethan called after us as Frank and I turned to walk back toward the set.

  "You all right? I know you've been through a lot lately. Don't let us push you too hard, okay? I'm serious." He released me and gave me a warm fatherly look.

  "I'm okay. Just struggling with a few things, but everyone is. I'm no different there."

  "You lost your mother, Riley. That's a really big deal."

  "I know, but I can't dwell on it."

  "You'll have to eventually. Loss bubbles up inside us and forces us to give it homage when we've suffered something big. Just make sure you do that and take the time to grieve, otherwise it will show up at the exact time you don't want it to."

  "Sounds like Ethan." I smiled and forced myself into a facade. Either my sexy co-star was playing around with my emotions, or he was trying to figure out where we were in our relationship under the guise of acting.

  Had he set up the improv with Clayton? Were they ganging up on me?

  You're being a sensitive tit.

  * * *

  "Much better!" Frank clapped his hands as he walked around the set. "That was beautiful. Seems like all we needed to do was to get Clayton to loosen the two of you up a little."

  "Or let me play the part." Clayton winked as I glanced over to analyze if he was being cheeky or serious.

  "It's for a warm-blooded human. That kicks you out right there, old friend." Ethan patted Clay on the back as he walked toward me. "Dinner plans?"

  "I thought we were having a movie fest?" I wasn't so sure that was a good idea anymore after his stunt during the improv work. I couldn't seem to shake the idea that I was playing the fool and he was the one jerking my strings.

  "We can do that too." He stopped in front of me, but didn't reach out like I expected him to.

  Too many people around? Or did he really not feel what I felt? Maybe lust was safer, more pure. At least it didn't lie. I couldn't tell if he was falling in love with me, or
maybe I refused to interpret the signs in a way that left me with a result I didn't want. With lust it was easy. My body betrayed me with the truth, as his did him.

  "Yeah. We should see if anyone else is interested." I started to move around him, but he reached out and grabbed my hands, stilling me.

  "No. I want time together."

  "You do? I thought you were acting."

  "You're headed toward a spanking." He lifted his brow.

  "I like spankings, remember?"

  "Marry me." He smirked before releasing one of my hands and tugging me down the beach with him. "Let's take a quick walk on the beach before we grab a hot dog and go pile up naked in your bed for a long night of chick flicks."

  "You like chick flicks?"

  He chuckled. "No comment on us getting naked?"

  "No. My momma taught me not to feed the bears at the zoo. They only grow bigger." I squeezed his hand and forced my wayward concerns back into the box in my heart where they belonged. I would analyze everything later when I had time to myself, but I needed excitement and lust to reign supreme for an evening.

  Frank called after us. "You guys aren't coming to dinner?"

  Ethan paused and glanced back. "No. We're going to grab a hot dog and go over the sex scenes a few times. It's all good. I brought rubbers." He gave Frank the thumbs up with his free hand as I groaned in embarrassment.

  "You have absolutely no filter, Ethan Lewis."

  "I just wanted to see you blush for me, Riley Phillips." We turned and walked down the beach a few feet before he stopped, released my hand and knelt down to pick up a shell. He glanced up at me as his expression softened. "Talk to me about how you've been doing. You know, since losing your mom."

  "Oh." That. Why did everyone want to talk about my darkest moment? I'd rather tuck it away and forget about it, but that obviously wasn't going to happen.

  "We don't have to talk about it, Ri." He stood up and brushed the shell off.

  "When did you decide to call me by something other than my name?" I took the shell he offered and put it in my pocket.

  "The first time I met you. I'm not trying to abbreviate your name. I lose my breath after the first part because of the way you make me feel." He wagged his eyebrows and reached for me.

  Damn if I didn't sink into his strong arms. "I can't ever tell if you're playing a part or if you're being real."

  "Will the real Ethan Lewis, please stand up?" He glanced around as I chuckled and pressed my cheek to his chest, wishing more than anything that the real Ethan Lewis was the one holding me.

  Only time would tell if that were true.

  Chapter 67

  Ethan

  She was so far beyond perfect, it hurt. The way she molded herself to the front of my body was both sexual and loving. I wanted to tell her that she belonged there - with me, but it would have been silly. Like a dicked up, cheesy-ass line from an old movie. The movies I loved so much.

  "You want to get something to eat?" I kissed the top of her head and glanced back down the beach to find the film crew packing up and not paying us a bit of attention. Did I care if they knew we had something budding between us? Not really. Other than pissing off Deza, which was a bonus depending on the day, I was proud of who Riley was. She'd be a better performer than I ever would, and a part of me wanted to daydream about the day when she was center stage and I was standing behind the curtain, simply supporting her dreams.

  "Yeah. In a minute." She glanced up at me, tearing at my heart with the sadness that sat at the edge of her expression. Whether she was willing to recognize it or not... she was suffering from losing her mom. I couldn't stand my own mother, and I would have crawled in a dark room for a month and let myself wilt over her dying on me.

  "Take all the time you need. I don't have anywhere to be until tomorrow morning." I reached up and brushed her hair back as I worked to memorize the way she seemed to take in the beauty all around us. I couldn't take my eyes off of her. She stole the show from nature, and left my heart racing.

  "My mom and I weren't particularly close, you know?" She glanced back toward me, and my heart constricted in my chest. Fuck. She was going to open up. I wasn't sure what to say, so I nodded in compliance and tightened my grip on her. "She got into drugs when I was young. My brother Derick followed in her footsteps."

  "He's gone too?" Did I really just ask that? Epic fail.

  "Yeah." Her voice lost volume. "I don't know what to think about it. I'm broken by all of it, but I just have it tucked away in this part of my heart that I keep under lock and key, you know?"

  "Yeah, I totally get that. Every disappointment. Every fuck up and failure. Every loss I've ever had is behind the same type of door." I ran my fingers down the side of her face and took a shaky breath. This is what love felt like. Exhilarating and scary as hell. Clayton throwing me to the sharks almost sounded like a joy ride compared to the thought of loving and losing the woman in front of me. "It's the only way I know to keep moving forward and not giving the fuck up."

  "Exactly." She cupped her hand over mine and turned, pressing her lips against my palm. "Don't play with my emotions, okay? I can't handle that shit right now."

  "Never." I leaned down and moved in for a kiss.

  The sweet taste of peppermint filled my mouth as I slipped my tongue deep into hers and ran my hand down her back. I took my time, exploring her, tasting her, loving her. We were meant for each other, and yet both of us were still pushing back. I'd have to have one final conversation with Deza and move forward in my relationship with Riley. Where there were so many reasons for being cautious, the ones for being reckless and going for it far outweighed them.

  She broke the kiss, her big blue eyes glossy, her lip swollen. "Wow."

  "I want more." I went in for another kiss as she pressed her hand against my chest.

  "Let's grab something to eat and we can pick up where we left off behind the closed doors of my hotel room."

  "Movie night in high style, hm?"

  "Movie night is no fun without a little bit of heat, right?"

  "We talking chili powder on the popcorn, or you on my lap?" I kissed the tip of her nose before moving back and wrapping an arm around her shoulders again. We'd probably end up on the front page of every major magazine as a "couple”, but it wouldn't bother me much. The hope was that we were headed that way sooner rather than later.

  "Both?" She gave me a cute smile and snuggled in closer against my side.

  "Nice. Hey, before I forget..." I bit on my bottom lip and thought through whether or not inviting Riley to my parents’ house that weekend was a good idea. It would suck balls to be there and have nothing to do for most of the afternoon and evening on Saturday. Liam would be there, but he usually tried to play the good son in front of our parents.

  "Um, did you forget?" She laughed, causing me to smile.

  "No. I was just trying to decide how much I liked you. My parents are having their anniversary party on Saturday, and Liam and I have to be there. My mom's ready for grandchildren, so she's going to give me extreme amounts of shit if I don't bring someone with me as my future wife."

  She laughed again, and I delighted in the sound. The woman had me by the balls and the heart. It was comical to watch her question her pull over me, but I'd seen her do it multiple times. Clayton needed to forgo his teaching her how to be a better actress and instead remind her of the confidence she had locked down inside of her. If she had a clue of her ability to cast a spell across the audience... she'd be dangerous to more than just me.

  "Are you asking me to pretend to be your girlfriend this weekend?"

  "Yeah. It's not too farfetched is it?" I smiled and moved up to hold the door open for her. "I'll let you pet the monster if you agree to help me out."

  An older couple walked out of the hotel through the door I held open. The look on their faces was priceless.

  "Shit, Ethan. Really?" Her cheeks turned red as she laughed.

  "Absolutely." I took her hand, fi
nding myself not wanting a moment where we weren't touching in some capacity. It felt wrong to miss out on anything with her.

  "I guess I could come. I don't have plans. Are we staying the night?"

  "Not there, no." I held the door at the elevator and let my eyes move down her back to the sweet curve of her ass. How nice it was going to feel to get her naked and run my hands over every inch of her. Would she finally let me fuck her that night? And if so... how many times? How many ways? My body woke up - fast.

  "You okay?" She moved up to face me as the elevator closed.

  "Yeah. I just keep thinking about how good it would feel to sink down deep inside of you." I reached out and pulled her flush against me.

  "And what if you're too big?" She licked her pretty pink lips and ran her hands down my sides.

  "Then we'll work you up to being able to handle me." I leaned in and gave her a quick, hard kiss. "You'd like that, wouldn't you? Me stretching you a little more every time we tried? An inch here and there? Pleasure enough to make you shake beneath me."

  "How did this turn from me playing your girlfriend at your mom's this weekend to you fucking me senseless?"

  I laughed and cupped her face. "Everything comes back to me fucking you senseless. I've wanted to since we met."

  "That's rather flattering, coming from you." She brushed her lips by mine, teasing me.

  "What if I wasn't a movie star, Riley? What if I was just me? Would my words still matter? Would my lust for you still cause your body to ache? To get wet for me?"

  "Oh yeah. It's so much more than that." She leaned in closer, kissing me a few times and smiling. "We're not going to make it through a movie, are we?"

  "Yeah. Of course we are. I have restraint. Do you?" I kissed her again as the door opened.

  "I'm not sure." She walked out ahead of me and glanced down the hallway. "My room or yours."