by Jamie Craig
Sam’s soothing strokes along the side of his face weren’t helping him stay awake, either.
“Nothing wrong with going to bed now,” Sam said softly. “We can always pick this up again tomorrow night.”
Elijah sighed. “Okay.” He nuzzled into Sam’s neck, his eyes closed. “You’re really amazing.”
“That’s my line.”
Elijah pressed himself closer to Sam’s body. “Not tonight, it’s not.”
He was rewarded by Sam wrapping his free arm and leg around him, swallowing the last of the space between them. “Okay. But only ‘cause you’re letting me have you tonight.”
“And tomorrow night.”
Sam’s body was so solid and warm against his, Elijah knew there was no place else he wanted to be. With a soft exhale, he let sleep envelop him.
Chapter 5
Elijah loved his job. Since he’d played Joseph in his church’s nativity pageant at the age of eight, he’d wanted to be an actor. He’d had a part in every single school play, and had done shows in the community theater. When he’d finally left for Hollywood, he hadn’t had big dreams of success. He hadn’t wanted to make millions of dollars and attract the adoration of the world—not that he would have turned it all down—but he just wanted to act. He wanted to make movies.
He hadn’t been prepared for the fact that acting was only a small part of being successful in Hollywood. One of the most key elements was promotion—not promoting himself. Promoting the image that didn’t match any reality he knew. Somehow, it was more difficult to play a part in real life than it was to play a part for the movies.
Promotion meant going out. Promotion meant being seen around town and at movie premieres. Promotion meant showing off his beautiful girlfriend, Jane Cavenaugh. But there was one saving grace. Promotion also meant he had more excuses to spend time with his costar. And as the shoot began to wind down, and the number of days left in filming was in the single digits, Elijah wanted any excuse he could get to spend time with Sam. He didn’t know what was going to happen once the movie wrapped and they both went on to their next, separate, projects.
From the dark corner at the edge of the stage, he watched Sam and Eva run through their blocking one more time before shooting. His script rested in his lap, his excuse ready should anybody come up and try to tear him away from the set, but Elijah never looked at it. His attention remained fixed on Sam’s form, the sound of his laughter when Eva made some unheard joke. He knew that body almost as well as he knew his own. In the past two weeks, he had spent nearly every night with the man. He even had a drawer there now, after one particularly late morning made it clear he couldn’t keep going back to his place if he didn’t want to risk being late to the set.
Still, it didn’t seem like enough.
Sam and Eva nailed the scene in one take, but Elijah remained in his chair when Gordon dismissed them for the day. Eva flounced for the exit without even casting a glance in his direction, but Sam bypassed everybody else to come to the circle of chairs.
“I figured you’d be home putting the shine on your shoes for tonight,” he teased Elijah. “I’m going to be lucky if I get time for a shower before I pick up Connie.”
“My shoes are shined and my tux is laid out. What time are you supposed to meet Connie?”
“Six-thirty. Are you getting Jane and meeting us there, or do you want me to swing by so all four of us show up at the same time?” He propped his foot up on the chair in order to tighten his laces. “Nicky still can’t believe I suggested you and I double. He’s convinced I’m finally turning into a promo king.”
Elijah dragged his gaze up Sam’s body. “Come and pick us up. I convinced Jane to meet me at my place, even though she insisted it wouldn’t give her enough time to get dressed. But when I pointed out there’d probably be more photos if we all showed up at once, she was swayed.”
“Smart girl. Especially with as much buzz as this film is already starting to get.” He glanced around before meeting Elijah’s eyes. “I’m looking forward to tonight.” He’d cast his voice lower, the tone more reflective on time they spent together in his trailer. It wasn’t enough for anybody else to be suspicious, but it was sufficiently intimate to convey more than what he actually said. “Especially since we don’t shoot tomorrow.”
“You don’t have anything scheduled?” Elijah’s voice matched his, and he let his pinky touch the back of Sam’s hand. “No interviews? Meetings? Dates?”
Sam shook his head. “I kept it open. I figured it was going to be a very late night.”
“I wish it was going to be an early night for us. I don’t even want to go to the movie.”
“What, you don’t want to spend two hours sitting next to me in the dark?” Sam clicked his tongue, though there was no denying the twinkle in his eye. “See if I share my popcorn with you now.”
“I didn’t realize popcorn was on the line. I take it all back.” Elijah grinned and took a step back, though the last thing he wanted was to put more space between them. “I better let you go on and get ready. I’m sure Connie will have your head if you’re late.”
“Probably.” Sam flashed him a warm smile as he straightened. “Especially since that’s the only body part of mine that’s actually available to her at the moment.”
Elijah didn’t need to be told, but he wished he could follow Sam to his trailer and show him how much he appreciated that fact. Instead, he took another step back. “What time you coming by? Seven?”
“Seven sounds good. Connie likes to be early to these things. Less competition for the cameras then.” He headed for the exit, waving back. “See you in a little while.”
Not soon enough, as far as Elijah was concerned. Even though he had to rush home from the set, rush through his shower, rush through his dressing, and rush through a conversation with his agent, it felt like every single second dragged on for an eternity. But that wasn’t anything new. He always experienced that annoying timelessness when he was looking forward to a free moment with Sam.
He almost jumped out of his skin when the doorbell rang, even though he knew it wouldn’t—couldn’t—be Sam. He gave up on his tie and hurried to answer the door, a smile and a compliment on his lips.
“You look stunning tonight, Jane.”
He wasn’t lying. With her golden hair, dark blue eyes, and perfectly tanned complexion, Jane Cavenaugh looked like she could have stepped out of any fashion magazine. She always wore the right clothes and the brightest smile. But she was also second generation Hollywood. Her parents had met on a Chaplin film, and while her mother had abandoned her fledgling acting career in favor of raising a family, her father still worked as one of the best cinematographers around. Jane had been bred in the business. She might be beautiful, but she knew exactly what it meant to be a professional in this town.
That was the single, biggest reason Elijah had agreed to the first date they’d ever been on. He didn’t need a woman who might get the wrong idea about going out with him. Jane understood her role. Elijah understood his. It was a relationship that worked beautifully for them both.
Now, she returned his smile and brushed an air kiss along his cheek. “Let’s hope the press thinks so, too.” Her smile faded when she noticed his tie, her scarlet mouth pulled into a moue. “Why can’t you ever do this right?” Stepping inside, she immediately began finishing the knot for him. “I’m not always going to be here to do it for you, you know.”
“I think I almost had it this time, but I had to answer the door, didn’t I?” Elijah said, tilting his chin back. “I’ve been practicing.”
“Ha, practicing.” Except she said it with a hint of a smile. “You hate these premieres. I can’t believe you actually agreed to go to this one.”
“What can I say? I’m a slave to the promo machine. Plus, there are going to be some pretty important people there tonight.” Which was true, but Elijah was only interested in one of those people.
“Well, thank God Sam Coles knocked so
me sense into you.” Jane put the finishing touches on his tie and stepped back, tilting her head to inspect her handiwork. “Who’s he going with anyway? Connie Sinclair again? They always look so good together.”
There was just a hint of jealousy, but it tasted like copper on the back of his tongue. He knew it was utterly stupid, because Sam would not be spending the night with Connie, just as Elijah would not be spending the night with Jane. But he didn’t want to think about how good Sam looked with Connie, or the fact that they were practically an established Hollywood couple.
“Yes, Connie. You’ve met her, right?”
“Last year at one of Terry Moore’s parties. She’s sweet, but I’ll bet you anything, if Sam marries her, she quits the biz.” She turned to the mirror on the wall, smoothing her hand over her already smooth hair. “So who else is going to be there tonight?”
“You think Sam is going to marry her?”
“Why wouldn’t he? They never have any bad press, and he doesn’t even take anybody else out anymore.”
“Yeah, I guess that makes sense. I hadn’t heard any gossip on the set, and that’s usually the place to get the best news.” Elijah fidgeted with his tie, but Jane caught his eye in the mirror and shook her head. He dropped his hand to his side. “I didn’t actually ask for names, I just took Ernie’s word for it when he told me it would be a good idea to show up.”
“It’s a great idea. I’m just glad you called me.” She smiled. “Because the brilliant idea would have been for one of you two to take Eva. The three of you at the same premiere? The press would have eaten it up.”
Elijah internally shuddered at the idea. “Eva is nice enough, but I don’t need that sort of complication in my life. She’s always got to be the star, everywhere she goes. And the center of attention.”
“Yeah, that’s Eva, all right. What about Sam? What’s it like working with him?”
“Sam is a consummate professional and a great actor.” Elijah tried to keep his tone neutral. He couldn’t stand there and sing Sam’s praises. Jane knew why she was there and what Elijah needed from her, but she had no idea that Sam was anything except Connie Sinclair’s adoring boyfriend, and Elijah would never compromise that image to anybody. “He’s also surprisingly down-to-earth. Success hasn’t gone to his head.”
Jane pretended to pout. “Damn. I was half hoping you’d tell me he was a jerk. He’s already yummy enough without knowing he’s one of the good guys to boot.”
“Nope, I’m sorry to report that he’s pretty much perfect.” Elijah shrugged on his jacket. “I don’t have to worry about you making eyes at him and ignoring me all night, do I?”
“Absolutely not.” Jane slipped her arms around his waist and squeezed, careful not to get any makeup on his crisp white shirt. “Have I ever let you down?”
“Not once.” He returned her light embrace. “I’m lucky I’ve got you in my life, Jane. Don’t think I’ve forgotten that.”
A light knock on the door prompted them apart, and Elijah felt a curious twinge of nerves in his chest. He was excited about seeing Sam, as usual. But there was something else there, too. A feeling he had only experienced once or twice in his life. Almost like this was a real date.
Sam looked even taller in his tuxedo, his hair blonder under the brilliant sun. He wore his sunglasses like he always did when he was anywhere near bright light, but Elijah knew the smile Sam greeted them with would be reflected in his eyes.
“And I even got here with my head intact,” Sam joked.
“I guess that means you weren’t late.” And you look absolutely amazing. Elijah stepped back and gestured to Jane. “Jane, this is Sam Coles. Sam, this is my date, Jane.”
He watched Sam take her hand and smile, flirting with her shamelessly all the while. It surprised him a little to see a faint blush come to her cheeks when he complimented her dress, but then again, he should have realized Sam would know how to work even the most seasoned pro like Jane.
“I don’t suppose you’d go out and keep Connie company while I use the bathroom really fast, would you, Jane?” Sam winked. “She rushed me over here just a little too quick for comfort.”
Jane laughed. “Like we’re not already going to have all the cameras on us for having the most handsome dates there. Just don’t be long.” She pecked Elijah on the cheek and strolled out to the curb.
“Is your roommate here?” Sam asked.
“No.” Elijah licked his lips and glanced over Sam’s shoulder. Jane let herself into the backseat of the car, the door shutting behind her. “He left for Vegas today and started his weekend early.”
Sam stepped farther into the living room, as if he really were going to use the bathroom. As soon as he was out of view of the front door and window, he grabbed Elijah’s wrist and hauled him out of sight as well.
“I haven’t kissed you once today,” he murmured the moment before his mouth crashed into Elijah’s.
Either Jane or Connie could come back up to the house for any number of reasons, but it didn’t even occur to Elijah to push Sam away. He was acutely aware of the fact that they hadn’t kissed once all day, and he needed to rectify that, like he needed to eat, or he needed to sleep. He pushed Sam back against the wall, pressing their bodies together as he plunged his tongue into Sam’s mouth.
He paused long enough to catch his breath, and then moved in for a second kiss. This was going to have to get him through a very long night, and he wanted to steal as many seconds with Sam as he could.
Sam clung to him, the hard line of his erection grinding into Elijah’s hip. The hungry desperation of each groan, each sweep of his tongue, each flex of fingers against his back, only made Elijah want to lock the door on the outside world and drag Sam into his bedroom.
Only the car horn blaring from outside managed to tear them apart. Even then, Sam didn’t push Elijah off.
“You look gorgeous by the way.” Sam straightened the tie he’d knocked askew. The glance of his hot fingertips against Elijah’s neck did more to make Elijah ache than anything Jane had done. “Good enough to eat.”
“You don’t look half bad yourself.” Another honk made Elijah grimace. “Can we come straight home after the movie?”
Sam hesitated. They were close enough that Elijah could see his eyes fixed on him, even through his sunglass, but the details were too obscured to make out. “You don’t even have to ask, you know. Just say the word, and I’ll go wherever you want.”
For a crazy moment, Elijah wanted to test that. Don’t go to the premiere tonight. Drive with me to the desert. “I don’t know how it would look if I whisked you back here without our dates.” He sighed. “And it probably wouldn’t look very good if our dates showed up without us because they got fed up with waiting.”
“We have the whole weekend anyway.” Sam pulled his jacket down when Elijah finally backed off, neatening his appearance. “We should probably make good use of it. We finish shooting next week.”
Elijah frowned. Did Sam mean to imply that once shooting was finished, they were finished? Now wasn’t the time to talk about it, but the thought had been weighing on him enough without Sam giving voice to his anxiety.
“After you, sir.”
He followed Sam out of the house, and dug deep to find one of his stock characters—the guy who was happy with the world and didn’t have a single concern keeping him up at nights. He settled in the backseat of the car beside Jane and leaned over the front seat to greet Connie, though he didn’t even want to talk to her.
“It’s good to see you again, Connie. You look lovely.”
She smiled back. “You’re just saying that because we honked the car at you to hurry up.”
“No, he’s trying to steal you away from me so he shows up with both beautiful women in tow and me with none,” Sam teased. He waggled a warning finger at Elijah. “Don’t think I’m not onto you, pal.”
“You’ve got me.” Elijah winked at Connie. “I’ll just have to be more subtle with my flirtin
g.”
She laughed, and Elijah settled back in his seat, closing his fingers over Jane’s.
And so the game begins.
* * * *
Elijah didn’t know for sure, but he suspected Sam manipulated the situation so the two of them could sit by each other in the theater. Which was fine with him, and appeared to be fine with the two ladies. Connie had stuck close to Sam’s side all night, but her attention was continually diverted by a long parade of stars and starlets, producers and directors. Jane mingled and flirted, somehow constantly drawing the attention back to Elijah, making sure he met the right people, and always stood in front of the right photographer.
But now all that was over—at least for the next two hours—and he didn’t have to worry about anything except Sam. The steady rise and fall of Sam’s chest, the smell of his cologne, the distracted way he pushed popcorn into his mouth. He couldn’t see Sam well in the dark room, but there was enough light to make out his strong silhouette and the curve of his mouth.
Once the music boomed through the auditorium, Elijah reached across the arm rest, his fingers brushing against Sam’s warm wrist.
Bodies were packed within the theater, thick and tight, but even knowing people sat behind him, people sat in front of him, people surrounded the girls on both sides, Elijah was only aware of the flare of heat that leapt to meet his fingertips when Sam tilted his hand and trapped them between his fingers. Sam curled them inward, molding Elijah’s palm over the back of his hand, and their thumbs danced in a slow waltz that drove all thought of the others around them from Elijah’s brain.
He risked a glance sideways.
Shadows flickered over Sam’s face, but though his head remained upright, his lashes were lowered. His gaze was firmly fixed on the tangle of their hands, his mouth soft and contemplative.
Elijah wanted to ask him what he was thinking, or at least tell him what was on his own mind. If nothing else, he wanted them to be the only two people in the theater, so he could lean to the side and smell Sam’s skin, or taste the salty butter on his lips. But he couldn’t do anything except continue to caress his warm skin. He stole a glance to his other side, checking on Jane’s attention. It would have been easier if he had at least one ally, but even she couldn’t witness the way their fingers entwined. Not that she was looking at them anyway. Her eyes were locked on the screen.
