ME: The Complete Series
Page 46
“Did you get the prints over to marketing so the models can sign them for the meet and greet?” my overbearing boss Glenda asks.
“When have I ever failed you?”
She rolls her big, brown eyes, and I give her a slow wink.
Did I mention I’m a flirt? Kind of goes with the territory, I guess.
“Today there’s a new model starting, so be nice.” She smiles, showcasing a bit of an overbite.
“I’m always nice.”
Glenda narrows her eyes at me, and I crack a smile.
“Yeah, that’s what I’m afraid of,” she mumbles under her breath, thumbing through a few pictures of a previous shoot in a folder in her hand.
I swing my legs off my desk, where I was comfortably perched taking my mid-morning break, and check the lens on my Nikon. She’s my baby, and I treat her well.
“Oh, and no long lunch today. The shoot is at two pm sharp.” She pivots on her six-inch heels and glides from my office with the sophistication of a former model turned editor-in-chief. The last title is thanks to her husband, owner of Bunny Hunnies. Lucky break. In this town, sometimes it’s not what you know but who you know.
But I don’t need luck. I’ve got the dream job.
I stretch my arms over my head and stand. Chattering people pass my door on their way out to the shoot, so I grab my satchel, throw in my camera, and send a text to cancel lunch with my friends. Every Wednesday the four of us, Declan, Booker, Ethan, and myself, meet up. We’ve been best friends since high school, and ten years later, we’re still the four horsemen. That was the name of our band in high school. And no, we don’t play a single instrument.
It was more karaoke in Ethan’s garage.
We thought we were the shit, though.
“Hi, Jonah,” a few of the models walking into the Falcon building call out to me.
“Looking good, ladies.” I wink and they giggle and smile.
I know you’re thinking it. Have I slept with them? I’m not one to announce every girl I bang, I keep my sex life private, but, no, I don’t mix business with pleasure. Zanna, Lyla, and Maria are off limits, no matter how much they try to tempt me.
I jump in my Jeep and head down to Venice Beach. Traffic is a bitch, but I finally ease into a parking spot and settle in to glimpse at the crashing waves. Living in LA is like living on a different planet. It’s perfect weather all the time, ideal for photo shoots on the beach.
I spot the production crew down by the shore setting up, so I hop out of my Jeep and slip inside Hank’s Franks, a local diner, and order a burger.
“Thanks, Gary,” I say to the man behind the counter when he hands me my bag of food. Ah, food. Real fucking food with grease and fat. This is what I need.
I step outside and chomp down on my burger while I watch the crew set everything out along the beach. My eyes zero in on the model. She’s far away, but even from here her body’s bangin.’ She’s not as tall as the other models and curvier.
Long blonde hair. Skimpy little pink bikini. Today’s going to be a good day.
I finish off my sandwich, wash it down with a Coke, and head over before I lose the best light of the day.
“Jonah, over here,” Tim, the shoot coordinator yells. “Meet Chelsea.”
I drop my bag near the set and fish out my camera.
Her back is to me when I walk over, and I get a great view of her sweet ass barely covered by her bottoms.
She turns around and my jaw drops. Beautiful blue eyes I’ve seen countless times before stare back at me. Eyes I’ve known since I became best friends with her brother, Declan.
“Chelsea Sincock?” Fuck. Her last name suddenly takes on a whole new meaning. To say I’m shocked is an understatement. I was staring at her ass. At Declan’s sister’s ass. When did she grow up? I haven’t seen her since their parents divorced and she moved to Texas with her mom at sixteen. Eight years ago. Declan mentioned she moved back a few months ago, but I had no idea she was modeling. How could he forget that detail?
“Oh my God, Jonah.” She rushes over to fling her tanned arms around my neck. Her nearly naked body presses up against me, and I shake off how good it feels.
“What are you doing here?” I ask.
She releases her hold on me. “I’m the new model, obviously.”
“Like hell you are.” She can’t model for this magazine. I hit the brim of Tim’s ball cap as he ogles her. “Stop staring.”
“Let me have your attention,” I call out to the small crowd of set designers, makeup artists, and other crew workers. “No one’s allowed to stare at her.” But me. “This is my best friend’s little sister.”
Chelsea throws me a stunned glance. “Are you serious?”
“As a heart attack.”
“Nice to know you’ve matured since last I saw you.”
She’s angry, hands on her curvy hips, and it’s cute. Cute in a kid sister sort of way. Because that’s all she is to me, a kid sister.
“Nice to know you have, too,” I shoot back. The tone comes out all wrong. Sounds a little husky and sexual. Her body has definitely matured, and that’s the problem. The pink triangles of her bikini barely cover her breasts. Does Declan even know?
He’d shit a brick if he knew. I need to tell him.
“Let’s get started,” I shout, yanking the cap off my camera and lining everything up for the shoot.
Chelsea gets into position, and I focus on her through the lens. The breeze lifts her blonde tresses, exposing the perfect symmetry of her face. High cheekbones, pert nose, full lips—my camera loves her. Now to figure out what to do with her. I want her in the water with the waves crashing over her body.
“Ok, make your way over to the shore. Dip your toes in.”
She crosses the sand, and her tiny pink tipped toes dip into the waves rushing up the shoreline.
She shivers. “Oh, that’s cold.”
Her smile is perfect, and I snap a shot.
“She’s gorgeous,” Tim whispers next to me.
“Don’t look at her,” I warn over my shoulder. He thinks I’m joking but I’m not. I scan around at all the crew men’s eyes gawking at her. “Guys, no staring,” I remind them.
They laugh off my warning like it’s some big fucking joke.
I really need to tell Declan. This is not ok. When she was younger, Declan and I would look after her when the kids would bother her. And now, a sense of over brotherly something or other is kicking in.
But, the more I aim my camera at Chelsea, the more I forget she shouldn’t be here. She’s a natural at this. The sun kisses her skin, making my shot even better.
I loosen up, get into it—moving, shouting demands—and she follows every cue.
It’s one of the best photo shoots I’ve had in a long time. Some of the other models have to be prompted to even smile. Most times, they won’t react unless I say something to get them going.
But not Chelsea. No, she’s really good.
Doesn’t change my mind, though. I’m still telling Declan.
“Get all the way in the water,” I direct, standing so close I’m almost right over top of her, snapping photo after photo. She does as told, and the shutter snaps furious and fast through every pose…
Stretched out on the wet sand, the frothy water rushing over her toned stomach.
Snap.
On her knees, beckoning with a seductive smile on her face.
Snap.
The waves crash at her back, and she loses her balance.
Snap.
She rises from the ocean.
Snap.
I drop my camera and rush forward, throwing my hands over her tits. “Cover your fucking eyes,” I shout. “There’s been a wardrobe malfunction.”
PLAYBOY is available now
Also by Logan Chance
Other Titles by Logan Chance All Available on Amazon
LIKE A BOSS
LOVE A BOSS
The Sex Me Novella Series
DATE
ME
STUDY ME: A Student Teacher Romance
SAVE ME: A Military Romance
BREAK ME
Sexy New Standalones
PLAYBOY is available now
HEARTBREAKER is now available on Amazon
STUCK, Coming Soon, Add it here
Keep reading for Chapter One of TAKEN, A Mafia Romance and now a Top 25 Amazon Bestseller.
Taken Sneak Peek
Prologue
Seventy-two steps until my life ends. Mendelssohn’s Wedding March wafts from the strings of the tuxedoed orchestra serenading my death. The white satin bridal gown and veil cling to me like a shroud.
One.
Two.
Three. I count to calm my galloping heart.
Cold eyes at the end of the aisle lock with mine, daring me to run. The golden wings of the turtle dove necklace hidden within the bouquet of white roses fisted in my hand, cut into my palm.
Four.
Five.
The robed priest smiles under the watchful eyes of the marble saints. Murmurs of “So beautiful” and “God bless” turn to wailing shrieks of horror as a shot rings out, dancing across the crescendo of the wedding march.
God isn’t here today. And there will be no marriage, only death at this red wedding.
Chapter 1
Rhiannon
Eight years old
“Shh, you’ll get us caught.”
“No one’s going to find us. Don’t be such a baby, Rhi.”
“I’m not a baby,” my voice raises a little with denial.
I hate when Xavier calls me a baby. I’m eight years old and can do a ton of things for myself. Like, daddy lets me ride my bike around the neighborhood all alone. Well, really until the end of the street, but still. Plus, grownups say I have a mature soul; whatever that means. It doesn’t sound babyish, though.
“No talking until we get outside,” he whispers.
He’s so bossy. But, he is two years older than me, so I guess, technically, he is in charge. Plus, he’s my best friend, so I overlook these things.
We duck out the French door in the kitchen, into the dark, trying our best not to make a sound.
This probably isn’t a good idea. Rescue the princess is a game we play often but never at night.
The moon plays peekaboo in the cloud-covered sky, and we slip like mist across the damp grass, hopefully without being seen by the guards.
If my father found us sneaking out, we’d probably be murdered. You think I’m exaggerating, but I’m not. I’ve heard the staff whispering when they think I’m not listening. Once, I asked my mother if he’s a bad man, and she told me never to say it again. She said he protects us from the other bad people of the world. So, I guess he’s good to us.
Well, good to me, anyways. He doesn’t care much for Xavier. Mom says he only tolerates him because he’s Hannah’s son. She’s our maid, tall with beautiful hair the color of chocolate, and one of the nicest women I’ve ever met. And if I’m being honest, sometimes, when she brushes my long red hair, I pretend she’s my mother.
Don’t get me wrong, I love my mom, but she’s always busy entertaining my dad’s boring friends when she’s not working at his office.
“This way,” Xavier directs, leading me down the uneven cobblestone path that cuts through the backyard.
He grabs my hand when I hesitate, and like always, I feel as if nothing can harm me out here with him.
“We’re almost there,” he reassures, taking us away from the safety of the big brick house, toward the towering woods.
“Maybe we shouldn’t,” I hedge.
Unsure, I peek over my shoulder for a moment. Like a beacon calling me home, a light flickers through an upstairs window.
“No turning back.” Xavier’s blue eyes glow with anticipation of all the things I’m afraid of as he tugs me along. He’s the opposite of me: fearless.
A blanket of twigs snap beneath our sneakers as Xavier tightens his grip on my sweaty hand. Crickets chirp and things I don’t want to think about rustle through the darkness as we move further than I’ve ever been through the knotty trunks.
A small cabin, in a clearing, comes into view, and he rushes up the rickety stairs to the front door, dropping my hand somewhere along the way.
Spooky shadows lurk inside the windows, and I hang back a bit, my sneakers cemented to the earth. “What’s in there?”
“Don’t be a fraidy cat.”
“I’m not afraid.” I raise my chin and step on the first wooden plank leading up to a small porch.
He opens the door. “Ready?”
I’m not, but I’ll never let him know it, so I continue on and follow him into the unknown.
He flicks his flashlight on and scans the room. The dark walls are bare, and a lone chair sits like a throne in the middle of the room with steel handcuffs attached to both arms.
“What is this place?”
“I don’t know,” he answers, looking over at me. “I followed your dad and his friends the other day down here.”
“Xavier, we shouldn’t be here. I don’t think good things happen in this place. I don’t like it here.”
He grabs my arm, his blue eyes holding mine. “One day, I’ll take you away from your father and all the bad things.”
Xavier has never liked daddy either. His cold hard stare. The gruff in his voice when he yells at him for everything.
My father calls him a …nuisance.
“What if I don’t want to leave?”
“What could you possibly like about living with your father?”
I don’t get to answer because there’s a snap of a tree branch outside.
“Hide,” he says, flicking off his flashlight. We crouch by the far wall of the small cabin, behind a table of tools I don’t fully understand.
The front door flies open. “Who’s in here?” The sound of my father’s voice startles us both. Xavier, eyes loaded with fear, slaps a hand over my mouth before I can answer.
Tucking my knees to my chest, I try to make myself disappear. I squeeze my eyes shut, anything to make me go away. My father will probably spank me for being out here, maybe ground me forever from playing outside, but it’s nothing compared to what he’ll do to Xavier.
He might even go so far as to fire his mother.
When my father shines his light around the room, we shrink back into the small alcove of the side. Footsteps fall faster to our hiding spot, and Xavier is yanked up by his hoodie.
“You’re hiding like a rat,” my father bites out. “Why are you in here?”
Xavier’s eyes meet mine, and he gives a little shake of his head, warning me to stay silent. “Answer me,” he yells so loud it feels like the walls vibrate.
“I was just exploring,” Xavier finally responds.
“Exploring?” My father drags him to the chair and drops him down in it. “Come out of there, Rhiannon,” he orders.
Reluctantly, I stand from my hiding spot. He flips on the light, and I squint against the fluorescent glare. He’s scary when he’s angry. Pinched face, flaring nostrils. And right now, he’s madder than I’ve ever seen him. Hannah says to count when I’m afraid or upset, and it won’t seem so bad. So, I count the steps over to him in my head to calm myself.
One.
Two.
Three.
I don’t want to be a baby, but the tears start falling.
Four.
Five.
He grips my arm and yanks me in front of Xavier. “What are you doing here, Rhiannon?”
Through my tears, I answer. “I’m only eight, you can’t expect me to make good choices.”
He pulls his leather belt free from the loops… and then whips me.
Over and over.
Until the numbers in my head jumble.
Until I see little stars behind my squeezed eyelids.
Until I cry out I won’t do it again.
“Stop,” Xavier yells. “It’s not her fault. Punish me.”
Finally, after a few more minutes, the hits cease, but the sting and burn continues so fierce I rub my bottom. I’m sure Xavier really thinks I’m a baby now; I can’t stop the shudders waffling my frame or the hiccuping sobs.
My father leans down, an inch from Xavier’s stricken face, bracing his hands on the arms of the chair. “Remember this lesson.”
Xavier doesn’t look at me on the entire walk back. My father strides ahead of us across the lawn and when he’s out of ear shot, Xavier takes my hand.
“One day, Rhiannon, I will take you away from him.”
I don’t say a word. The look in his eyes tells me he isn’t kidding.
Note From The Author
Thank you for reading.
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Acknowledgments
I would like to extend a special thanks to all the bloggers, readers, and authors who share my work daily with the world.
This series is very near and dear to my heart. I’ve struggled over each book and am glad that they are loved by so many.
This is my first series, and I’m happy I could bring it all together for this box set.
I hope you have enjoyed.
As always, a big thank you to everyone who has made these books possible with a big shout out to Paula Dawn for all of her hard work over the year to bring each book to life.
I’m very grateful you have taken the time to read the books and hope you have enjoyed them as much as I have enjoyed writing them.
Each book holds a special place in my heart, and I urge you to please leave a review on Amazon. Thank you.
About the Author
Logan Chance is an Amazon Best Selling Author with a quick wit and penchant for the simple things in life: Star Wars, music, and pretty girls. His works can be classified as Dramedies (Drama+Comedies), featuring a ton of laughs and many swoon worthy, heartfelt moments.