Unravelled (Revealed #2)

by Alice Raine

  I knew our problems weren’t over yet, but just seeing his determination to correct things gave me the confidence that we might somehow turn things around, and my desperation to be with him suddenly overtook me. It was as if a tonne had slid from my shoulders, and in the blink on an eye I was collapsing forward into Sean’s arms, gripping at his T-shirt with my trembling hands and burying my head in his solid chest as all my pent-up emotions escaped in a huge rush. God, how embarrassing. Rather annoyingly, I found myself sobbing almost uncontrollably, and within just a few seconds I could feel his shirt becoming soaked beneath my cheek as I wheezed and blubbed like an inconsolable child.

  Basically, I was a complete and utter wreck.

  ‘Hey, hey, it’s all right, my gorgeous girl, I’m here.’ Sean cradled me against him, his strong arms sliding around me with an aching familiarity that made me melt with longing. Before I could really think it through, I was rolling up onto tiptoes and desperately seeking his mouth with mine. My fingers slid to the fine hair at the back of his neck to pull him closer, although it was an unnecessary gesture because he seemed more than keen to return my sudden advances.

  Our lips met almost violently, mine open and needy and his warm and inviting as a rushed breath quivered across my lips when they connected. My tongue slid against his, eliciting a low groan from the back of his throat as his arms tightened around me and supported my weight. His fresh minty taste was mixing with a hint of the salt from my tears, but I barely noticed, my tongue continuing to twist and explore with his as my arousal soared.

  Chapter Twenty-three

  Cait

  Chewing on the skin beside my thumbnail, I winced at the small painful pinch and then looked down at the roughened skin with a frown. Damn it. I knew why I was reverting to this old habit – I was anxious about Allie. She’d disappeared with Sean over twenty minutes ago and I hadn’t seen her since.

  Even knowing that Allie was more than capable of taking care of herself, it didn’t stop me worrying. She’d been in such a state yesterday, and the dazed look on her face this morning when she’d come into the hostel with Sean in tow had really tugged at my heart strings.

  Was she OK? That was the question going round and round my mind like a hurricane. What if they’d had a big row and she was sitting somewhere crying and needing my support? I hadn’t seen Sean leave, but then again I’d been so busy helping Julie that I hadn’t really been keeping a good eye on the door.

  Finishing off the final batch of chocolate crispy cakes, I popped the tray in the fridge to set, rinsed my fingers of the sticky mixture, and made the decision to go looking for her.

  First I checked the common room, washing room, smoking terrace, and the areas downstairs that might offer them relative privacy to talk in, but my search was fruitless. Perhaps they’d gone for a walk to talk things through? Deciding to do a quick check upstairs just in case, I took my hunt to the large communal bathrooms and coffee area before arriving at the door to the library. It was closed, as it always was, but as I pushed it open expecting to find it empty, I was instead confronted by the sight of Allie and Sean in a heated embrace.

  A very heated embrace.

  Holy cow. This scene would definitely need an over eighteen rating, because jeez, their hands were everywhere and their tongues were tangling so enthusiastically I could hear the noise from across the room.

  So apparently my fears were unwarranted. Allie’s continued absence hadn’t been because she was upset, but rather because she and Sean were making up so energetically. Blimey. I knew I should turn and leave, but I was frozen to the spot like an ogling idiot. There was something quite fascinating about the passion in their kiss, not to mention the possessive way Sean was gripping Allie against him.

  Oh God, as he shifted slightly my eyes suddenly caught sight of why Sean was gripping her against him so enthusiastically – a large bulge was tenting the front of his shorts, leaving me in absolutely no doubt about how excited he was.

  That image finally prompted me to shake myself from my gawking. Staggering backwards out of the room I closed the door as quietly as I could before collapsing backwards against the opposite wall.

  My cheeks were burning, my breathing raised, and my mind full of images of passionate kisses, with wandering lips and clutching fingers … only this time they didn’t feature Allie and Sean, but rather Jack and me.

  Is that how Jack would have kissed me if I’d let him? Laying claim to me with his mouth and grip? Or would he have been soft and coaxing, cradling me against him and exploring my mouth with gentle probing flicks of his tongue? Would I have made him as excited as Sean had so obviously been with Allie?

  Swallowing hard – so hard that I heard the strangled noise echo in the corridor – I pulled in a deep breath through my nose and ran a trembling hand across my hair as I tried to recover my composure. My hand came away damp and I realised that my brow and neck were sweating.

  I was well and truly hot under the collar and all just from some vivid thought. If this potent response to a mere fantasy was anything to go by, then it was probably just as well that I hadn’t let Jack kiss me, because I would no doubt have made a complete idiot of myself and done something ridiculous like faint on him.

  Pushing away from the wall I began to stumble my way back towards the stairs intent on forgetting any visions that might involve Jack and me caught up in a lip lock. That type of thing was clearly best left to professionals like Allie and Sean.

  Chapter Twenty-four

  Allie

  Suddenly Sean placed his hands on my shoulders and pushed back from me, breaking our kiss. Sucking in a huge breath he rubbed the end of his nose against mine and gave an embarrassed chuckle. ‘Seeing as you’re finally willingly back in my arms, I’m seriously tempted to ravish you, but my honourable side is insisting that I sit you down and answer any questions you might have.’

  Sniffling the last of my tears away, I used the back of my hand to wipe at my cheeks and smiled up at him sheepishly. ‘Sorry … this has been a really stressful few days. I think my emotions finally got the better of me,’ I said with a small laugh. Seeing his flushed cheeks and dilated pupils, it was obvious that the kiss had affected Sean just as much as me, but then he shifted slightly and I felt an even more obvious show of his arousal press against my stomach.

  ‘Hmmm. I know exactly what you mean,’ he agreed with a subtle thrust of his hips that made me bite my lower lip as I clung to his arms.

  ‘Let’s sit,’ I said, jerking my chin towards the sofa as I dug up the last remnant of my self-control.

  ‘Good idea. I might just about manage to restrain myself if I’m not pressed against you.’ He adjusted his shorts to ease the pressure on what looked to be a rather uncomfortably tight situation, and I couldn’t help but grin at his predicament.

  Reaching into a back pocket of his shorts, Sean removed a folded white envelope before joining me on the couch. ‘I want to share this with you. I’m not supposed to, but I don’t care any more. Besides, I’ve already broken the terms of the contract by telling you most of the details.’ Reaching up, he ran a hand through his hair. ‘I don’t want you to think I’m keeping anything from you ever again, Allie. I was wrong to try and do that, and I’m so sorry. I thought I could protect you from it all, but clearly it backfired big time.’

  Looking down at the envelope with narrowed eyes, I glanced back at him before taking it, a frown furrowing my brow as I hesitated and looked at him questioningly. A sigh slipped from his lips as his face formed a similarly grim expression. ‘This explains everything, so it might help to make it all clear for you.’

  The envelope had obviously already been opened at some point, not to mention folded numerous times. Carefully, I reached inside and removed a single sheet of paper. Scanning it, I saw the familiar logo of the film company Sean was working with at the top, and then traced down to see that it was a letter addressed to Sean. Trying to calm my hammering heartbeat. I allowed myself several moments to
read the contents, and then looked up dubiously and wide-eyed at Sean.

  I could barely believe what I’d read. ‘They actually contracted this farce?’ I asked sceptically, my eyes roaming his face and seeing nothing but a grim reality in the hardened angles of his jaw.

  ‘They did. That’s how seriously they treat the ratings game over here, Allie.’

  ‘This is … um … certainly a little … unexpected. I thought that maybe you and Savannah had just made it up between the two of you …’ I murmured, my eyes flicking to the paper again.

  ‘No, but I can see why you would think that.’ He nodded and then sighed. ‘I’ll explain, as best I can, but it’s not something I'm proud of, so I hope you won't think any less of me.’ The look of concern that had settled on his face certainly appeared genuine, his big, doe-eyed look pulling at my heartstrings and filling me with the urge to reach out to comfort him. So I did, sliding my hand onto his firm thigh and giving an encouraging squeeze. His gaze dropped to the point of my contact and a sweet smile curled his lips until he covered my hand with his and continued.

  ‘I'll start from the beginning. As you know, I’ve been out here on and off over the last few years filming the first two seasons of LA Blue.’ I nodded, yep, so far so good.

  ‘During the second season the show became really popular, more than we had expected, and as a result the publicity surrounding the actors increased. Some paparazzi snapped Savannah and me out together a few times and a rumour went around that we were dating. The show’s ratings soared almost overnight, as did hits on the website. It was crazy, but as you can imagine, the producers were thrilled. People became obsessed with us.’ He shook his head and shrugged awkwardly.

  ‘But you were dating,’ I reminded him, hating the sour taste of jealousy that popped on my tongue.

  Sean shifted on the sofa, scratching anxiously at the back of his neck and leaving the skin red. ‘Yes. But only briefly. Because we were filming, Savannah and I were spending an awful lot of time together. I wasn’t interested in dating her, but she was incredibly persistent.’ I’d never even met the woman, but I already had an irrational hatred for her. ‘In the end we went out a few times during the filming of season two.’

  Lifting my hand from his thigh, where it had practically cramped up from jealousy, he rubbed some life back into it while fixing his gaze on to mine firmly. ‘We never slept together, Allie. Never. I swear to you,’ he assured me, with a gaze so intent that it sent a fizzle of connection bursting through me. As insignificant as it might be to some people, the fact that he hadn’t slept with her made me feel better about the whole situation and I felt my shoulders relax a little.

  ‘Remember when we were snowed in at my house and I told you the rumours of me sleeping with all my co-stars were lies?’ I nodded, remembering the conversation as if it had happened yesterday. ‘That is true, Allie, believe me. I didn’t sleep with her, or any of my co-stars. Like I told you, I haven’t dated for years, not since Elena.’ I nodded, wincing as I recalled the awful story of his on-off girlfriend being killed in a boating accident. He hadn’t dated since. Until he met me, and apparently our connection had been too strong for him to deny.

  ‘Savannah’s a great actress, very professional, but as I came to find out, she's also a completely self-centred bitch.’ I couldn’t help but smile. ‘Once I got to know the real Savannah she began to drive me mad and we split up. Not that we were ever really together.’

  Blimey. I was on a seesaw of emotions as my light mood was once again dulled by the pangs of jealousy squirming in my stomach. As irrational as it was, I hated the fact that they had even been together. She would have touched him, perhaps kissed him, and that made me want to do some seriously nasty things to her. Jealousy wasn’t an emotion I had ever been particularly familiar with, but since dating Sean I had found that I was becoming rather well acquainted with it. Apparently I was quite the possessive woman where it came to a certain Mr Phillips.

  ‘Even at that early stage it was obvious how popular the show was and Finlay, our director, had already informed us that he planned on doing at least another five seasons if the network agreed.

  ‘Obviously he wasn’t thrilled when I told him our brief relationship was over, and being a money-hungry bastard his main concern was the impact it would have on the viewer base and the show’s ratings.’ Sean raised his eyebrows to show his disregard for the director’s attitude, something I couldn’t help but share. Did he have no morals at all? ‘This is Hollywood in all its greedy glory.’ Taking in a heavy breath, Sean smiled thinly. ‘This sounds crazy … even to me … but Finlay offered us both a very healthy pay check if we pretended to continue seeing each other. Nothing specific had to be announced to the press, we just had to be seen in public together every now and again to keep the rumour mill going.’

  Levelling an apologetic gaze at me, he thinned his lips into a tight line. ‘Neither of us was involved with anyone else at the time, and seeing as I didn’t ever date I didn’t see the harm in it.’ Scowling, he lowered his eyes. ‘I gave in to the lure of the extra cash. What can I say? I thought I was different, but I'm obviously just a money-hungry arsehole like everyone else who moves out here.’ He smiled on the surface, but I could see sadness in his eyes.

  ‘That was it, really. Savannah dated other people on and off during the next year, but we were together enough for filming that there were always pictures of us appearing in the press to keep the fans interested, the rumour mill spinning, and the director happy.’

  Blinking rapidly, Sean shook his head. ‘You have to believe me when I say it was never supposed to go beyond that. An engagement was not discussed with me at that point, or ever agreed on.’ Once again his stare was solid and truthful, so I could do little but sit, nod, and allow him to continue.

  ‘One thing kind of led to another and the longer it went on, the more the press were hounding us for gossip. At the start of this season, Finlay called Savannah and me into a meeting and offered us a bonus cheque if we would pretend to be engaged.’ All the air left my lungs at those words. The start of this season was when Sean and I were already together. Did that mean he’d chosen money over me? Before I could draw in a new breath to state my concerns, Sean practically launched himself from the sofa in agitation.

  ‘I was fucking furious at his presumption. I still am!’ His big blues met mine, his fury burning into me and laying my previous concerns to rest. He hadn’t chosen money over me. That was certainly good to know.

  ‘Obviously things had happened with you by that point and I knew with certainty that you were the one for me.’ I was the one for him. There was no way Sean could know how happy those words made me, but my breathing faltered for the second time in less than a minute as they sank in and made something inside my chest heat with love. Even in the midst of this other craziness his words were like a soothing balm. ‘I point-blank refused the offer and left the meeting, but as it turns out, Savannah continued talks with Finlay and agreed a deal.’

  My eyes widened and my eyebrows made a break for my hairline, immediately causing Sean to raise his hands defensively. Or perhaps it was a proclamation of innocence, I wasn’t sure. ‘I swear to you I thought that was the end of it. I had no idea they made the deal behind my back.’

  As I tried to analysis all of this insanity, my expression morphed into a heavy scowl. This was all so unethical, so unreal I could barely believe it – not to mention it was a complete pack of lies being fed to the fans.

  ‘It was such an utter sham. Still is,’ Sean spat with a firm shake of his head. ‘Finlay offered me a second, larger cheque later that week and I told them I didn't agree with lying any further and I turned down the offer … unfortunately, Savannah's greed got the better of her and she announced our engagement at a film premiere about three weeks ago. I found the money in my account the same day.’ Sean’s eyes closed as he shook his head bitterly. ‘I wasn't there with her that night, but the next day it was all over the press and pe
ople were going wild. I couldn’t fucking believe it.’ Sean did occasionally swear, but the passion behind his words made me surprised that more expletives hadn’t slipped from his lips over the course of the last five minutes.

  ‘I was so torn over what to do. I tried to go to the press and deny Savanah’s statement, but Finlay told me in no uncertain terms that my job on the show would have been compromised, and he promised it would affect any future employment in Hollywood.’

  My mouth fell open in surprise. ‘He blackmailed you?’

  A weary sigh heaved from Sean’s chest as he nodded. ‘Pretty much, although obviously he was careful not to word it that way. He’s a big deal in LA, lots of connections to the right people, so I have to take his threat seriously.’ Walking back towards the sofa, Sean sank down onto his haunches in front of me and took hold of both my chilled hands. I felt almost frozen from this new, and bizarre, information.

  ‘I was terrified about telling you, Allie. You have no idea.’ His eyes were flicking around rapidly now. ‘I just couldn’t think of a way to say it and make it sound OK, so I avoided it, like a coward. When you kept asking me why I was tense on our Skype calls, this was the reason.’

  Dropping down, he rested his forehead on my knee as he took several long, ragged breaths, the air warming the skin below my shorts. His contact helped me loosen up my stiff body, and so I tried to return the favour by gently pulling one of my hands free from his grip and running it soothingly through his hair.

  After remaining there for a few seconds, Sean drew in a long breath and looked up, his eyes calmer and more purposeful. ‘I went and spoke to Finlay on Thursday, as soon as you ran away from me and nearly gave me heart failure.’ I swallowed guiltily and bit down on my lower lip.

  ‘I tried appealing to his softer side and told him about you.’ Gripping my hands again, Sean fixed me with his penetrating stare. ‘I explained how very important you are to me.’ My heart gave a kick of happiness, but then Sean licked his lips, the movement slow and deliberate and somehow changing my happiness to something far lustier. He reached up and cupped my cheek, causing a growing heat to flicker between us and almost scorch my skin where we were connected. No matter how inappropriate the timing, I wanted him.