Kicking the door shut and my shoes off, I unzip my jeans, eyes locked on her. “I can’t believe you live with him, Natalie.”
“Max, don’t think about it like that.”
My cock bounces out and I catch it, give it a couple long strokes. “Up.” I crook my finger. “Hands against that wall.”
Natalie licks her lips and walks naked to it, slapping her hands next to a photo of her when she was younger with an orange-furred cat. She hikes her ass up, locking eyes with me over her shoulder. Shaking my head at how much I want her, and how fucked up this is, I walk over, stroking myself as I run one hand down her back. The beauty arches into it, pushing her ass up more, the best invitation, and the most painful. “Why didn’t you tell me about him?”
I give her cheek a slap, massage it in circles, then one more sting. She moans, “Because!”
I bend my knees, stroke her dripping pussy with the head of my shaft before diving in and nailing her to the wall. Her chest is pressed into it, face turned, eyes closed, lips moaning, “Yes, oh God, yes Max, I’ve missed this!”
I don’t think I’ve ever been this hard before. I fuck her like I’m branding her as mine. And because getting her off turns me on, it’s her moans, her shivers, her trembling cries that steer the ride. “You want that guy?”
“No! I want this!”
Her pussy is heaven. So tight, stretched around me, throbbing. She starts to cum but I’m not there yet. I’m too fucking angry. “I’m not letting you get off just once.”
Yanking Natalie from the wall I hold her in front of me, impaled on my hungry cock. She hooks her ankles around the backs of my knees and lets me pull her up and down on my shaft, her moans pitching higher as we fuck. I take a step closer to the wall and she slams one hand on it for balance, grabbing my forearm with the other, pressing her ass down harder each time I ram her.
“You’re so hard, Max,” she whimpers, trembling.
I growl and hiss my climax to heel. But it won’t listen to me. As her hot little pussy clamps down on a fresh round of spasms, I snarl, “Fuck, yes, give it to me. Cum for me again.” She moans and tenses up, writhing, clawing the wall. I can’t hold back even though I want to. She’s too fucking sexy, but I’ve got visions of A.J. lasting all night.
I hiss, “Dammit!” trying to hold back the pressure that the chaste weeks have put on my desire for her. Always aching to touch her. Never letting myself. The whole time he’s been in the next room while she sleeps. I fucking hate the guy.
I wince, throw my head back and let loose. Natalie’s breathing is rough and sexy as she looks at me over her shoulder. A beautiful wince is on her, and I memorize it without meaning to. This woman is going to be the death of me.
I know that now.
I’m doomed.
CHAPTER 18
M AX
L ying on her bed she says, “That feels good, Max,” as I caress the lines on Natalie’s relaxed palm.
“I like your hands. Soft, but strong.” My eyes slide up to her soft lips, and linger there. “You ready to get to business?”
Her light brown eyes shimmer on a subtle, “Okay, fine. Let’s work.”
“Fine,” I chuckle and kiss her palm before gathering my abandoned clothing. She snaps her bra into place, eyes on me as she stifles a smile.
“You really hate that I have a male roommate.”
“Not bothered by it at all.”
“Bullshit,” she chuckles pulling on her sweater. “But I like how you worked out that jealousy.”
“Wasn’t jealous.”
Sliding her black jeans on she cocks her head, hair messy in the best way. “Remember how when we were interviewing all those actors and you told me about your sister Lexi, and how she lies?”
“Yeah.”
“Runs in the family.”
I chuckle and acquiesce, “Okay I might have been a little jealous.”
“Are you still?”
While I slide into my shoes I shrug my shirt into place and tell her, “Not right this second but when I leave you and go home, and night comes and he’s here and I’m not, then probably, since you’re making me be honest.”
Thinking about it, Natalie sits on her bed and tugs her fuzzy socks into place. “We said we wouldn’t get involved.”
“We did.”
Her eyes are a mess of emotions as she looks at me. “Are we sticking to that?”
Dragging a hand through my unruly hair I honestly say, “I don’t know what we’re doing, Natalie.”
Standing up and buttoning her jeans she sighs, “Can we be sure of one thing? Because I’m really trying to keep it together here.”
I step closer to her, unhappy with the worry in her eyes. “What do you need from me?”
“Let’s just make this film the best we can, okay? I need this to work. I need it to mean something.”
Gently lifting her chin with my forefinger I brush our lips together and murmur, “Deal. I want that, too. I also can’t keep my hands off you.”
She searches me and it occurs to me she’s about to shoot me down, or that wall is going to fly up.
My stomach tenses as I prepare myself.
“I’m having trouble not touching you, too.”
A smile spreads on my face. “Yeah? I’m not alone in this attraction?”
She rolls her eyes with a lopsided grin. “Were you alone in that hot sex just now?”
“Nope.”
Tilting her head for a kiss she echoes, “Nope.”
“He coming back soon?”
“No.”
“Damn.”
She makes a funny noise and heads for the door. “Let’s get some work done.”
Chewing my cheek I nod, walking past the photos in the hall and wondering if he took them. This sucks so bad. But there’s nothing I can do about it right now. Not sure how to handle my feelings. It’s a normal reaction to be jealous of another guy, but this was more than that.
Pointing to the couch I ask, “You want to sit on your throne over there or is this good?”
She stares at the chair. “It does look like a throne doesn’t it?”
“Purple, back almost reaches the ceiling. Pretty royal.”
“It was an impulse buy. I saw it on a website and my inner queen had to have it. But it’s not very comfortable. Let’s do the couch. This is better.” She sits cross-legged and reaches for her notepad. “I wrote down everything I thought related to what you’ll need. By hand. Retro, huh?”
“Okay. Lay it on me.”
Thumbing through pages of messy scrawl she explains, “Food trucks are cheaper than actual catering because you can schedule them to come to your location and they can serve other people in that neighborhood, too. Not just your crew and cast. So they’ll charge you less with the free advertising it’s giving them. Especially being connected to a film, no matter the budget. It just looks cool.”
“Smart,” I nod, gaze sliding up her sweater to the dyed tips of her shiny, bobbed hair.. “You have great style.”
“Focus, Max.”
“I’m listening.”
“I verified that your crew is fine not working union, and I got the contracts for the actors from SAG-AFTRA.” Glancing to where my fingers are absently caressing her thigh she struggles to stay focused, too. “I asked some friends about a location for Marnie’s apartment and I have two selections for you to choose from. Did you tell me why you went with the name Marnie?”
“The real girl’s name was Bernie. It’s close without being damning.” Taking the folder I check out the photos she printed and pasted onto the pages. “This the exterior for her place?”
“Yes, that apartment belongs to Mary. Close name, huh? But Mary has it together, believe me. I thought her place was a good fit because it’s very modern, stylish, something a model might own. But not as big as Eric’s. More of a one-person place, even though Mary is married now. Wow, that’s a tongue twister. Alan, her husband, moved in with her and ditched his place.”
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I picture the camera angles I could shoot here. “Looks good. I like this a lot. Who’s Mary?”
“My closest friend.”
Her hand falls to rest on my leg as if that’s perfectly normal. My cock would argue that it’s extraordinary. Clearing my throat I ask, “Best friend?”
She frowns, “I guess so. I don’t get to see her much since she got engaged over a year ago, married last fall.”
“That’s a long time.”
“Mmhmm, but she’s still my closest friend. I think he took the best-friend slot for her.”
Covering Natalie’s warm hand with my own I set the notebook down. “Tell me more about your life.”
Her gaze drops to my lips. “What do you want to know?”
Oddly?
Everything.
CHAPTER 19
M AX
“What’s your family like?”
She blinks at me, leaning back on the couch to say, “My parents are still together.”
“Mine too!”
“Are yours happy?”
“They claw each other’s eyes out on a daily basis.”
Natalie laughs, “Really?”
“Totally, but it’s all in fun. They hated each other when they first met. Turns out that chemistry was just focused in the wrong direction. He gives her shit all the time just to watch her reactions. And she volleys back every time.”
“Mine are more peaceful than that. My mom is very independent, very intelligent, quiet. Dad always says she’s smarter than he is and he likes it.”
Adjusting myself I chuckle, “Excuse me for doing this in front of you, but this hand-massage you’re giving me is driving me insane.”
She pulls away. “Oh, sorry.”
“No no no.” Placing her hand on my thigh where it belongs, I trace her knuckles. “Feels good just touching you.” We’re silent for a while, watching our hands slowly dance. My body is awake, but so is my mind. I meet her gaze and see fire staring back at me. She shuts it down and glances to the notebook.
Not willing to lose her just yet, I ask, “Have any brothers or sisters?”
“I have a stepbrother,” she pauses, leaving the notebook where it lies. “My dad was married briefly before he met my mom. My stepbrother’s a lot older than me. What about you?”
“There are five of us, three boys, two girls.”
She gasps, “Five? Where are you in all of that?”
“The oldest, of course.”
“Oh of course,” she laughs, eyes crinkling in the cutest way as she reaches up and plays with my hair. “Where do you get your curls from, Max?”
“My mom.”
“I always wanted curly hair. When I get my hair dyed at the salon and they rub my head, I’m like a cat, leaning into it like you’re doing.”
“You’re not rubbing so much as stroking.”
“Semantics.”
“Correct use of the English language,” I argue on a smirk, closing my eyes again as she caresses my head with her nails. “I could stay here all day.” A rustling of fabric later and she’s gliding onto my lap, straddling me as I gaze into her smile. “Well, hello there, Natalie.”
“It was difficult to play with your hair in that position.” Gentle fingers stroke the sides of my head, the back, tracing light paths down my neck that send goosebumps sliding everywhere. My hips move up involuntarily and I moan as she buries her lips in my neck and starts kissing me.
“This is amazing,” I rasp, caressing her arms.
“We should stop,” she whispers, her breath hot.
“Yeah, totally. Let’s stop.” Lightly fisting her hair I guide her lips to mine, brush them and hover.
She lets out this soft moan that undoes me completely, increasing the heat in my groin all over again. I press my ache into her as our tongues seek each other out no matter which way we turn our heads. Natalie moans a little higher as we start to grind. After I can’t take the teasing anymore I lie on top of her, hands exploring over the sweater. “Still want to stop?”
“No,” she breathes, arms sliding around my neck as we slowly kiss. With each passing second her legs spread a little more.
I unbutton her jeans, slowly take them off, kissing my way down. It’s not rough and angry like it was in her bedroom. Everything moves like molasses in the fall.
Her fingers unsnap my jeans, slowly slide the zipper down. “I can’t believe we’re doing this again when we should be working.”
“We should be spanked,” I smirk as my cock bounces free.
She gives it a smack. Laughing I grab her hands and pull them over her head, leaning down to tell her, “Now now, play nice with him. He gets very angry.”
Biting my bottom lip she gives me a naughty smile. “I like him angry.”
“Well, that will have to wait. Because I want to fuck you nice now.” I unlock her jaw and kiss her as I reach down, stroke her folds and guide my tip against the sweet entry point. She’s very slippery and I’m throbbing. Natalie moans as we begin to slow-fuck, bodies undulating in perfect sync, shivers of pleasure drawn out by both of us. We trace each other’s skin while we kiss. I lock eyes with her, holding my cock as deep in as it can go. She nibbles my chin. I kiss her nose. And we start to move a little faster.
Natalie arches her hips into me. “Max,” she breathes.
“Give yourself to me,” I moan with thrusts created exactly for this moment. She strains against me, whimpers, helpless as I keep control of how fast we’re going.
“It’s so good,” she moans, walls clenching around me.
“Fuck!” I roar, unleashing myself, claiming her mouth, lashing tongues as we moan. Natalie grabs my head, sighing into me as we take each other higher. When I finally can catch my breath she traces my temple until I meet her eyes.
Staring at me with a frown, she drops her hands and blinks away, wall flying up.
But I’m a stubborn man. Not going to let her vanish like that. “You want Thai food delivered while we finish working?”
She flicks a glance to me and holds for a second, surprised at my casual tone. Frowning she thinks about it. “Okay.”
“Great. I’ve got my heart set on crab fried rice. You?”
“I like curry whatever. If it’s got curry, I’m in.”
“Awesome.” I give her a quick kiss and pull out. “You get a towel and I’ll make the call.”
Laughing, “You’re not getting the towel for me?”
“Don’t want you to get the wrong idea. We’re just business partners.”
She stands up, grabs a throw blanket to wrap around her for the journey to her bathroom. “Real gentlemanly of you, Max!”
“I’m buying the food!”
“You hired me! You’re supposed to buy it!” She disappears.
Dialing my favorite Thai spot I’m smiling to myself because that wall vanished, didn’t it? Oh yes it did. And all it took was acting like I’m not starting to care for her.
As I give our order to the familiar voice at the restaurant, my gaze slides toward the hallway. A frown pierces my skin as I hear the warning she gave me that first day.
Don’t fall in love with me, Max.
“What? Oh, yeah, send over some sparkling waters, too. That’ll be all, thanks.”
CHAPTER 20
N ATALIE
“She doesn’t have the vulnerability you need for the addict,” I sigh at the end of another unsatisfying audition for his lead female role.
Rubbing his eyes, Max leans back on his couch. I’m on one of his side chairs and we’ve moved things around for actors to be able to work. A point-and-shoot video camera sits high on a tripod next to him, waiting to be disappointed again.
“I don’t know, Natalie. She was really beautiful. I could see the hero falling for her.”
My stomach tightens but I shove the jealous reaction way, way down. “You’re just losing hope you’ll ever find the right girl. But think about it, the scene she just read was far into Marnie’s addiction.”
“She was too in control.” Max nods. “The cocaine is in control of her. You’re right.” Concentrating on the headshot she left behind he mutters, “We haven’t found our leads yet. How many people have we seen, fifty?”
“If you count the submissions—”
“I don’t have that kind of time,” he sighs, stretching so far back that his shirt rises above the top of his belt buckle. I stare at the happy trail for a hot second, then blink away.
“Why do we still need these in paper? It’s archaic.”
“Easier to organize when you’re pairing up couples, family members. You shuffle them around and bam, easy.”
Standing up I stretch my body, bend to one side then the other, enjoying the pull against my tight rib cage, how my hips are loosening up. “I’ll get the next girl in here.”
“Hang on,” Max says, his voice throatier.
I look over and find green eyes tinted with desire. Like a predator stalking prey he rises from his chair. Stepping back I cock an eyebrow. “What are you doing?”
“Natalie,” he murmurs closing the distance with each sure step.
“We’ve been so good. It’s been a whole week. Don’t.”
“Don’t what?” he half-smiles, hungry gaze falling as he brushes his lips across mine and sends a shiver into my blood. “This? I didn’t see you for four days of that week you’re so proud of.”
“You’ll find your lead actors.”
“Not that kind of frustration. This kind.”
A gentle knock interrupts us.
As he walks to answer, Max shoots me the sexiest smile over his shoulder. “Saved by the knock.”
He opens the door for a delicate blonde with blue eyes so pretty and long-lashed I instantly fix my hair.
Max cocks his head. “Hello.”
She smiles and my jaw slackens. I swear the girl glows with crystalized fairy dust. “Sorry, I was waiting for an audition and I have to go to another one right after this, but I didn’t want to miss yours, so I knocked.”
Max Cocker (Cocker Brothers Book 15) Page 8
