Beyond Famous (Famous #3)

by Kahlen Aymes

  "Kiss me, Cade. I want to taste you. I missed you, so much."

  My mouth crashed into hers and we kissed again and again, our bodies moving, hands touching, breaths catching. Every time with her was like the first time... like the last time, like I'd never touched her, yet like I'd touched her a million times. As I moved in and out of her slick hot flesh, I could feel her legs start to tremble and her walls tighten and milk around me, the emotions I felt overtook me.

  "Uhhh... Cade, Cade, Cade...” She panted in time with my thrusts and it pushed me to the edge, and I fought it. I wanted more. More time with her like this... forever would never be enough.

  "Brook." Her name ripped from my chest in a low growl. "I want you... I need you to come for me." I put one arm beneath her left knee and hitched her leg higher, so I could get even deeper. I rubbed my pelvic bone against the sensitive flesh of her sex and she dug her nails into my back, dropping her forehead to my shoulder. "That's it. Yes, Brook," I whispered against her neck and then sucked the sensitive skin into my mouth. She shuddered and arched, the delicious throbbing around me let me know without a sound that she was coming.

  With three more hard thrusts, I let myself go and the force of it left me gasping for breath. "Ahhh, Brook... Ughnnng...” I buried myself and stilled as the orgasm racked my body. Her hips still moved against mine, and I knew she was trying to get every last drop out of me. It filled my heart up to the point of bursting, even as the physical ecstasy shook me to the very core.

  When it was over, both of us lay entwined in each other's arms. I bent to kiss her lips softly and then turned my face into her neck as my arms tightened around her so tight I thought I would crush her ribs. My eyes were burning and my throat ached. I felt her hands brush my hair back tenderly and she kissed the opposite temple.

  "Cade?" she asked softly. My only answer was to run a series of kisses along the cord in her neck and hold her tight. I was reluctant to remove my body from hers. "Sweetie, what is it?"

  I shook my head and squeezed my eyes shut, causing a single tear to push from each one of my eyes.

  "Tell me." Her gentle fingers brushed the side of my face over and over again, catching one of the drops as she did so.

  "I just... I missed you so bloody much," I said, my voice thick and cracking. "I was in hell. I'm so glad we're back together for now. At least for a while."

  "Babe." She reached up and kissed me on the mouth, sucking my lower lip in between both of hers and then moved to brush her lips along my jawline. "We have months together now, right? Please don't be sad."

  I finally pulled up to look into her face and moved to her side, sliding out of her body and pulling her to lie on the pillows facing me. I lifted my hand and brushed her hair back. It was shorter now and even though I missed her long tresses, she was still my beautiful Brook.

  "Brook... I know. I just hated being away from you." Her brow crinkled a little and I reached out to smooth the frown away with my index finger.

  "I feel the same way. The time with you goes so fast and the rest drags like it will never end."

  "Yes, exactly. You're so special. There is no one like you in the world."

  Her eyes crinkled and her lips lifted in a soft smile. "Lucky for you," she teased, but I was having none of it.

  I nodded seriously. "Yes, it is. I love... making love to you."

  "Cade." Her voice was suddenly tight. "You know how much I love you, right?"

  "Yeah." I nodded. The tightness in my chest and throat were making it hard to speak. I licked my lips and swallowed once, closing my eyes to the pain. "Remember you told me once that loving this much hurts and it would hurt more?" I opened my eyes to see her reaction.

  She nodded. "Before we were a couple, I still missed you. I missed you so much that even I was surprised by the strength of it. But after this, being away from you is just... unbearable. It's insane how miserable I am when we're not together." I pushed a dangling tendril behind her ear. "I'm considering giving up film."

  She gasped but I put a finger to her lips to keep her from speaking and shook my head. I'd thought about it a lot and I was serious. I didn't give a bloody hell for the money or the fame. Not when my heart hurt so much. "No, Brook. Just listen. It keeps us apart too much. When the series is done, it will be years before we'll be allowed to work together again and I don't want to lose that much time with you. It's too painful." I searched her blue eyes as they welled with tears. "Isn't it?"

  "Very. I missed you, but I don't want to hear that you're considering giving up acting. Ever. You're so gifted at it; more than the world, or even you know."

  I stared into her eyes and then used my thumb to wipe a lone tear off of her face.

  She moved to the curve of my shoulder and curved her arm around my waist. I pulled her close until her head rested on my chest and I closed my eyes, relishing in the feel of her skin on mine.

  "Promise me you won't do that, Cade. Please."

  I sucked in a deep breath and my chest rose beneath her cheek. "Nothing is more important to me than being with you, love."

  Her little hand slid up my chest, over my shoulder and finally found my cheek. "We'll work it out. Whatever, we'll be together as much as we can. I don't think we should turn down roles or stop acting because of schedule conflicts, Cade. We still have to be true to ourselves or we won't be happy as a couple."

  I listened in silence, wondering how this much wisdom could come from a woman barely twenty. I knew she was right, because she was saying the same bloody words I'd said in the logical part of my brain over and over.

  When I didn't speak, she sighed. "Sometimes we'll have to be apart physically, but you’re in my heart. Nothing can change that." I tried to concentrate on the soft patterns her fingers were drawing on my chest. "I worry too."

  "What about?" I asked so quietly I almost didn't hear my own voice.

  "What do you think? The women, being away when you need me, the temptation you'll face."

  "Well, stop. There’s no need." I could read her so well. The slight stiffening of her body and the silence all led to the same place. I knew she was thinking of the new movie that I'd just been cast in. I was cast as a womanizing businessman, and there would be several women on set and sex scenes with some of them. I ran a hand over the silken skin of her arm that was wrapped around me, slid my fingers up over her shoulder then down her back as I leaned over to place a kiss on her temple. She'd read the script back in Los Angeles so she knew what it would require of me. "I've told you before. I don't fall in love with my co-stars, Brook. It's you. I loved you before we were even born. How many times do I have to tell you that?"

  "About a million."

  I smiled into the top of her head and my arms tightened around her slim form, my leg slipping between the two of hers as I settled us both in for sleep. "No bloody problem. No problem at all."

  WE WERE LATE, and I was still so tired. Cade and I stayed up all night. I was helping him run lines for some of his scenes with Leah St. Claire, though making love was something we rarely passed on, and so we barely got any sleep at all. Sleeping was the only good thing about being separated this past summer. When we were together, it was the last thing on our minds.

  I groaned and sat up, running my hands carelessly through the tangles in my hair. The sheet slipped off of my body as I clamored out of bed and padded into the bathroom. My muscles ached in protest. At least I'd have the nagging pains to remind me of his use of me last night.

  I smiled and almost laughed at the happiness I felt at being with him again. God. I love feeling him on me all day, even when he's not even touching me.

  The bathroom was hot and steamy, and there were two wet towels lying haphazardly on the floor. I reached in and turned on the water, stepping underneath the hot spray and grabbing the shampoo that Cade had left there all in one motion, thinking that I needed to hurry and get ready.

  The screening was at two and even though I'd seen the rough cut of the film a month earlier,
none of the cast, including Cade, had seen the finished product. Martin was anxious for our reactions, and truthfully I was a little nervous. It was silly really, I thought as I rinsed the shampoo from my hair. I should be getting used to this stuff, but like Cade, I didn’t enjoy watching myself on film, but this time... ugh. There was that one almost naked scene with Noah. The logical part of me knew it was stupid to feel paranoid and nervous about the scenes Cade hadn't seen yet. After all, he was in most of my scenes, so what the hell was my problem?

  I shook it off as I stepped out and wrapped myself in one of the oversized white towels provided by the hotel. I ran my hand through the short hair on my head and groaned. Cutting it shorter for Dystopia seemed like a good idea at the time, but now I was kicking myself because I’d have to spend the rest of the day getting extensions put in and having it dyed back to my character’s chestnut brown color. Jennifer complained nonstop about the wig she had to wear in the first two films, so I had a good idea of what was in store. I pulled on the strands to measure how long it was, and moaned. It would take two years to get it back to the way it was. Moron, I chastised myself.

  Even though Cade had been supportive of my decision, he had to hate it, even if he was too sweet to admit it. Shit, I hated it, but there was no use crying over it now.

  I heard the click of the outside hotel room door open and within seconds Cade was calling my name. "Brook, I have food and coffee!"

  I walked into the sitting room to find him pulling pastries out of a bag and setting them on napkins, along with the paper coffee cups on the table near the couch.

  "I see it's your usual choice, hon; health food," I teased dryly. Cade glanced at me, his blue eyes roving over my wet hair and the towel that I was grasping around my body. A crooked grin split his face, flashing his white teeth, but he looked as tired as I felt. The stubble, the messy sex hair, still slightly damp from his shower, was gorgeous even if he made no effort. I licked my lips as I picked up a cherry Danish and bit into it. "However, today I have to agree with your choice." I held it out for him. He opened his mouth wide and took half of it in one bite, pulling me close to him at the same time.

  "Mmmm. Well, time doesn't allow for egg white omelets today, so I did the best I could." His hands slid down my back and over my ass to pull me in tighter and bent to drop a series of kisses along the side of my neck and down to the curve of my shoulder. "Delicious," he murmured.

  I was still holding the remnant of the Danish and the towel with the other, so I couldn't put my arms around him. Instead I turned my head and nuzzled the side of his face with my nose, and then pressed my lips to his jaw, silently hoping he'd turn his face and kiss me like I wanted him too.

  "I agree." He pulled back and kissed me softly on the mouth one time.

  "We don't have time to get into this now, love. Peter is waiting downstairs. We've got to be at the theater in thirty minutes or so."

  "I could have sworn you were going to try to get out of it.”

  “Yeah, but I’m anxious to see how it turned out.”

  “That’s a first. Is that how you managed the food?" I asked as I took the last bite and went into the other room to get dressed.

  "Yeah. We drove around looking for a place until we found this little bakery. Peter went in and got it while I hid in the back of the limo. Bloody lucky those windows are solid black. The screamers were still hammering on them even though they didn't know that I was inside for sure. How in the hell do they always know where to find us?"

  "This is the information age. Tweet, tweet, tweet." I mimicked the sound.

  "Yeah. If I thought we could buy the company and shut it down, I'd do it in a heartbeat. But another would spring up instantly." He flopped down on the bed and crossed his legs, leaning back on his elbows as he watched me pull on a black lace thong and matching bra. "Not fair, Brook. You're just being mean now."

  I raised my eyebrow and laughed. "Hey, no one is holding you there. You can leave if you don't like the view."

  "I like the view. Too much," his voice was low and hungry. When I looked at him, his gaze was intense; watching every move I made. The look on his face was full of desire and it made my stomach muscles tighten and the throbbing start. It was so bad that I could feel my heartbeat throbbing in the core of my body.

  "I like the one from over here too, so we're both in the same boat." I pulled on a white sleeveless T-Shirt and dark jeans before digging back in the suitcase for my dark gray hoodie. "I love you, you know."

  His lips lifted in a small smile. "I know. It never bloody stops."

  The phone rang in my purse and it was Jeanne, I flipped it open at the same time that I sat on the edge of the bed next to Cade and ran my hand along his jaw in response to his sweet words.

  "Hello?" I answered.

  "Where the hell are you guys? Get your asses over here, Brook. You’re late!"

  "Humph!" I expelled my breath "Good morning to you, too, Jeanne. We're on our way. Give us ten minutes."

  I shut the phone without waiting for an answer and Cade rose from the bed at the same time. I walked across the room and pushed my feet into my chucks before running into the bathroom and putting on a little eyeliner and lip gloss.

  "Come on, Julia. Let's not keep them waiting," Cade teased in his American accent. I loved his voice and the sound of that accent transported me to a memory of our first film. I began to associate that accent with when he was allowed to touch me and kiss me... when we could lose ourselves in the world we wanted to be in, and not the one that kept us apart.

  "Promise not to run off with Ethan right away, huh?" I was teasing but I bit my lip as I looked up at him. His eyes darkened and his lips twitched slightly in the start of a smile. “Plenty of time for that later when I’m strapped in the salon chair while they torture me.”

  "Fuck Ethan." His arms slid around me and lifted me up before his mouth devoured mine in a deep and very passionate kiss. My hands lifted and slid into his hair as my lips parted to admit his probing tongue into my willing mouth. I lifted my legs and wrapped them tightly around his waist and I could feel the evidence of his arousal grinding into me, his hips pushing forward as if he couldn't help himself. I pushed back and he dragged his lips from mine and buried his face in my shoulder, his breathing heavy and still holding me tight.

  "Ugh... hell, Brook," he groaned against me.

  "Yeah," I agreed and nuzzled into him but he didn't raise his head, despite my attempts. Instead, he leaned down and loosened his arms as he set me on the floor and ran a hand through his hair.

  He laced his hand through mine and led me without a word to the door.

  MARTIN PUT HIS HAND on my shoulder as I left the theater. Brook was walking in front of me and Noah was talking to her. The rest of the cast filed out behind us while he and I shared a conversation about the film and it’s coming promotional tour. Three months from now, he and I would be going to Japan together after A Love Like This wrapped for part of the promotional tour for film number two.

  "What did you think, Cade?"

  I turned toward him, but out of the corner of my eye I was watching Brook's interaction with Noah. She and I agreed to take our own limousine to the concert downtown, even though many of the other cast members were joining us there. Peter was waiting at the curb with the door open for her. Noah was very excited about what he'd seen in the film and he should have been. He was very animated and he had Brook laughing hard. I tried not to be annoyed.

  "I thought it was great, Martin. I'm looking forward to seeing the final cut after the soundtrack is added, but overall, I think it was something you can be proud of."

  "We all can. Editing it all together is the real work. No offense." He laughed out loud.

  I shook my head. "I don't know how they do it. It's amazing."

  "See you on set tomorrow.”

  I was distracted because I wanted to get into that limo and felt that it was going to take my intervention to get Brook into the car.

  "
Sure thing, Martin. When we met two years ago, I wasn’t sure how these films would turn out, but you’ve impressed me. I'm really going to miss working with you, and sorry to see it end." I shook the hand he offered and lowered my voice. "Brook and I really appreciate your understanding of our relationship. "

  Martin swatted his hand as if batting at a fly. "Bah! You two kids deserve a break. Just take care of her. The rules, be damned; you’re only young once. But, I’ve noticed Brook is very sensitive, even though she tries to hide it. The gossip affects her, but I guess I don't have to tell you how it is."

  I smiled and ran a hand through my hair and down to rub the back of my neck. "No. That's for sure. Are you coming with us to the concert?" I asked.

  "No. I'm just going to go back to the hotel. My wife and kids came up for the weekend, so we have plans. My wife gets tired of me being gone, so this is an attempt to soothe her ruffled feathers before we really get into filming."

  We walked up to where Noah and Brook were talking and she turned toward us, a bright smile splitting across her face and her arms opened. She hugged him hard. "Martin, it was so wonderful! Even better than the first one!” Her voice thickened slightly as Martin hugged her.

  "You're a great cast," he said sincerely. “But the chemistry between you two blows off the screen. It’s believable.” He winked at Brook and she smiled.

  "We were lucky you were the director, Martin" I murmured.

  Brook moved to my side and my arm slipped around her to pull her close, my hand resting on her hip and I felt her head tip to rest against my arm. The familiarity of it was not lost on the others that were filing past us into the waiting cars, but this time, they were all told about the situation and the need to keep it under wraps. At least Pinnacle had done that for us. We could be open with each other on set if nowhere else.

  "What’s this ‘were’ bullshit? We still have one film to make.” We laughed. “You guys go and have a good time and stop thinking about the films. Pre-production starts tomorrow, so we have plenty of time for that.”