‘But do you know what it is though?’ she wheedles.
‘Nope. You’ll just have to wait.’
‘All right,’ she agrees easily. ‘Where’s Prince anyway?’
‘Locked in my bedroom,’ he says.
‘Can I go see him?’
‘Yeah, but don’t let him out.’
‘Oh why not?’ she complains.
He raises his eyebrows meaningfully. ‘Because he’ll do what he did the last time you let him out.’
‘I thought it was a great laugh,’ she says with a little naughty giggle.
‘Seriously? You want a repeat?’
‘So he jumped into the pool. He’s friendly. It’s hardly his fault that everybody else was silly enough to behave as if a man-eating crocodile had got into the pool with them,’ she defends.
‘Britney,’ Cash says patiently, ‘after he emptied the pool he ran outside and shook himself all over the buffet table and slobbered on the barbequed meat so no one had anything to eat.’
‘Your friends don’t eat anyway,’ she retorts.
Way to go, Britney. This is the version of her that I could really start to like.
‘Prince doesn’t get out, or you’re never coming to my parties again,’ he says. His voice is flatter than the flattest thing you can think of.
‘Fine,’ Britney agrees sulkily. ‘I won’t let him out.’ She turns toward me. ‘Do you want to come and meet Prince, Tori?’
I do very much want to meet Prince. I know that he is an enormous, pale tan beast of a Kangal. Two years ago it was all over the news how he had been found in a drug dealer’s backyard, snarling, his bones showing, and his ears chopped off so that he would look fiercer. He was already in the police dog pound waiting to be put down since Kangals are classified in some countries as one of the dangerous dog breeds, but Cash had seen his picture in the newspapers and fallen in love with him. I suppose he must have called in a whole lot of favors because he got the dog.
Kangals are intimidating monsters, capable of warding off wolves, bears and jackals, but the only photos I have seen of his dog are those where he is standing on his hind legs and resting his great big front paws on Cash’s shoulders while he licks his master’s face like some great big puppy.
I’m about to agree to go see him when Cash speaks up.
‘No, you go on ahead. Let Tori stay here and say hello to me.’
‘All right,’ she agrees and moves away.
I take a deep breath and look up at Cash.
He lets his smoldering eyes slowly travel down my body. I think I manage to keep a version of a too-cool-for-school expression going on my face, or maybe not, since my skin gets so hot my eyebrows feel like they are on fire.
Baring icy white teeth, he drawls, ‘You look ravishing, but … Zebra prints? That’s false advertising surely.’
I frown. ‘What are you trying to imply now?’
‘I’m not trying to imply anything. Just sayin’ it might have been more truthful to go with wildcat prints, but I guess we both know you’re not very honest.’
‘And what the hell is that supposed to mean?’ I demand, getting more and more annoyed.
‘You want some of this,’ he flicks his hand down his annoyingly hunky body, ‘but you pretend not to.’
‘God, you sure have an extraordinarily big head, don’t you?’ I mutter, irritated that he is 101% right in his assessment of the situation.
His eyes gleam. ‘That’s me. Big head, big mouth, big cock …’
I roll my eyes so hard it hurts my head. ‘Oh, here we go again.’
‘Why are you so mad at me? I’m just trying to be helpful. You know, reading out the label so there are no surprises later.’ He drops his head, looks down at his feet so his wet eyelashes are almost sweeping his cheeks, then looks at me through the spiky curtain.
God, damn him, even though I know it’s all callous manipulation and technique, it still stirs my heart. It’s so freaking difficult to keep pretending and saying no, when all I want to do is fall into his fantastic arms and let him sweep me off to his lovely bed. I desperately need to put some distance between us.
‘You’re not that cute, and I will never fall for that tired, old stunt,’ I say, pulling together my scattered wits.
‘Never?’ he asks.
‘Never,’ I say firmly.
‘You could crush a guy saying things like that,’ he murmurs.
‘It doesn’t seem to be doing you any harm,’ I retort.
‘I’m worried about the drip, drip effect,’ he says softly, his eyes twinkling with mischief. ‘Over time even very hard things can be worn down.’
I ignore the sexual innuendo. ‘Don’t worry, I don’t think I’ll be around long enough for you to notice such an effect.’
‘I don’t know. After a mind-blowing climax with a side of wow, you might want to stay around. Maybe even stalk me.’
If only he knew. I was already stalking him. ‘Men like you badly need to slip on a banana skin and fall flat on your butt.’
‘I’d love to see you eat a banana. I bet you kill it,’ he says huskily.
I open my mouth to reply and nothing comes out. God help me. I have a vision of myself running kisses along his jaw.
Without warning he moves in for the kill, his mouth inches from mine, his arm brushing mine, the clean male smell of him making my senses reel. Horrified, I lean back.
‘By the way,’ he whispers seriously. ‘That’s not pussy you’re smelling. I just ate a tuna fish sandwich.’
There’s no fishy smell. Gross bastard. He knows I want him and he’s just keeping me in the sexual prey zone. An image of his head between my legs slips into my mind and something inside me lurches. I should shove him away, or say something cutting.
‘I hate to break it to you, but you’re a very shallow person,’ I croak.
His breath is hot against my cheek. ‘For a very shallow person I can go very deep.’
‘You’re unbelievable,’ I breathe shakily. It’s clear I should push him away and I do want to. Really, I do.
‘I’m hoping you’ll be keeping to that storyline later,’ he says with a chuckle.
‘You’re so full of shit there can’t be much room left to house your brain.’
‘I’m a simple man. I keep my brain in my dick.’
‘Cash,’ a hard voice raps.
Shocked by the sudden intrusion, I stumble away from him, and snap my head towards the voice. Octavia Harding. In real life she looks like she lives on low fat, no sugar, gluten free toasted wheat crackers with lettuce and half a slice of tomato, and sucked out whatever little bum fat she had and injected it into her lips. She is everything I am not. The contempt in her eyes is calculated to try and make me feel worse than a used condom. Completely ignoring me after that first dismissive glance, she fixes her attention on Cash. She flashes an insincere smile.
‘I need to speak to you privately.’ Her voice is professional with a tinge of sexy.
Cash takes his own sweet time answering her. ‘Relax, Octavia. It’s a fucking party.’
‘EMI has sent three executives out. I’ll relax once you’ve met them.’
Not taking his eyes off me he says, ‘Say hello to Tori Diamond first.’
Something dismissive and resentful flashes in her eyes. ‘I’m not paid to say hello to every bimbo you fuck, Cash.’
My back prickles. Wow! First time for me. I’ve never come face-to-face with a twenty-four carat bitch before.
‘Don’t mind her, Tori, she’s been digging into her stash of bitch crisps again,’ he mocks, before turning back towards her, his eyes hard. ‘Tori is Britney’s new PA. You could be seeing a lot of her, so it might be a good idea to play nice.’
Octavia’s lips stretch into a malignant smile. ‘Hello.’
‘Hey,’ I say, unsmiling.
Her eyes narrow. ‘Are you an American?’
‘Yes.’
Her eyes glitter. ‘Hmmm. Do you have a permit to work in
this country? They don’t usually hand out work visas for lowly PA jobs.’
Don’t sock her. Don’t sock her. I take a deep calming breath and open my mouth.
‘Tori is allowed to work here. Her mother’s English, so she holds a British passport as well as an American one,’ Britney explains cheerfully, having come back from seeing Prince.
‘Hello, Britney. You look wonderful,’ Octavia says, her voice one degree warmer.
‘Thanks, so do you,’ Britney says unenthusiastically.
‘I’m afraid I’m going to have to steal your brother away. He has very important people waiting for him.’
‘They can wait. Nobody asked them to come,’ Cash says coolly.
‘I did,’ Octavia says. She appears to take stock and realizes she is going about this the wrong way. She softens her tone. ‘Come on, Cash. It will only take a minute. Gavin and Joseph are already there. You can party after you finish with them. How about that, hmmm?’
‘Go ahead, Cash,’ Britney says. ‘Tori and I will go help ourselves to the fruit punch. I’m dying of thirst.’
He turns his eyes away from Octavia and looks down sternly at his sister. ‘Go easy, you.’
‘Stop worrying. I’m not a bloody child. I’ll be eighteen soon, and anyway, dad said I could have a couple of drinks.’
‘Right.’ He turns to me, his expression warming up. ‘Don’t lose your head until I get back.’
I flush to the roots of my hair. He’s like a safety pin to the bubble I have spent so long blowing.
Cash
‘Got the hots for your little sister’s PA, have you?’ Octavia says as we walk through the party.
‘Since when have you cared who I had the hots for?’
‘Excuse me. You’re talking to me, Octavia, the mug who is constantly getting you out of trouble.’
That pisses me off. I hate it when she treats me like I’m still sixteen. ‘Bullshit,’ I snarl.
‘Oh yeah? Two DUIs?’ she reminds sweetly.
One of these days Octavia will go too far. ‘I was fucking seventeen.’
‘I broke the law for you.’
‘And still holding it over my head like the sword of Damocles. You did what you did and got handsomely paid for it.’
‘And the pregnancy?’
‘Oh, for fuck’s sake. It wasn’t even mine,’ I grit.
‘What about the girl I had to pay off?’
Is she kidding me? ‘That was Gavin,’ I say in a bored voice.
She laughs. ‘True. He hasn’t got the sense God gave a goose so he goes around laying his eggs in every woman he meets.’
I don’t say anything. No point. In her eyes I’m still whacking off in socks.
‘That doesn’t change the fact that I don’t trust that girl. I’ve been in this business a long time and I know when something’s not right, and there’s something very wrong about her. She might have designs on you.’
‘Designs? I’m the one doing all the chasing here.’
She shakes her head as if I have just said the stupidest thing on earth. ‘I can’t believe how gullible men are. Of course she wants you. It’s just a technique. Playing hard to get.’
‘In that case, well done to her. Her technique is definitely working. I can’t wait to get into her pants.’ I’m actually sick and tired of people treating me as if I’m only good enough to jump around on a stage and sing the words they ask me to.
‘I’d be careful if I were you,’ she warns
I bite back the nasty retort. One day. One day, she’ll hang herself on her own rope. ‘Just chill, will ya?’
‘Just remember you’re worth millions. Don’t get caught in a gold digger’s claws. You could ruin your entire future with one stupid move. We talked about this before. Stay single. Play the field. Lots of girls. Often. That way your fans think they have a chance with you. They can keep warm with the fantasy that they’ll be the one who ties you down.’
I stop walking and look at her. Sometimes I think it is Octavia who has her claws in my flesh. The older I get the more irritated I am by her constant meddling in my affairs.
‘I’m just doing my job,’ she says.
‘Thanks a bunch, but I think I have this one covered,’ I say. When we get to the studio, I hold open the door and she sails in, her grotesque lips stretched into a smile. I walk in after her and catch Gavin’s eyes. He looks bored out of his skull. He raises his eyebrows at me and I shrug. Joseph is staring into a glass of whiskey as if he’s just found the meaning of life at the bottom of it. The other band members have had a lucky escape. Robbie and Steve are already in Milan getting ready for our upcoming concert.
At the other end of the room, Octavia is saying, 'So glad you could make it, Tony.'
She is in her element.
Tori
The punch is too sweet so I settle for a bottle of beer. Carrying our drinks, Britney and I walk into the grounds towards the pit where the meat is being cooked.
Britney tells me that the meat and the men preparing it have been flown in from Argentina. This method of slow cooking in the ground to allow the fats to infuse through the meat while using lots of coarse barbeque salt is called Asado. It makes the meat so tender you can eat it with a spoon.
As we get closer, the smell of sizzling meat makes my stomach rumble. The men are wizened and burnt brown, their faces greasy. They joke and laugh in Spanish as they unload large chunks of short ribs, rib-eye steaks, blood sausages, and sweetbreads on metal racks. Another man expertly cuts them into more manageable sizes and arranges them into large trays.
I fill my plate up with steak, grilled provolone cheese, garlic bread and salad. Britney has a bit of salad and a tiny portion of ribs. We take a seat on one of the chairs laid out on the lawn and start to eat. The meat melts in my mouth and the cheese is delicious, but I find I can’t eat a lot. I keep thinking of Cash, wondering where he is and what he is doing. As soon as Britney finishes pecking at her food we go back to join the party.
Britney sees someone she knows and goes to say hello. I stand by the bar, drinking my beer and looking around me. Secretly I am searching for Cash. You’re dreaming. He might change. He might change. He won’t change. He’ll just freaking break your heart. A dull ache starts somewhere in the region of my chest.
‘Looking for me?’ his voice asks from behind me.
‘No,’ I lie, my eyes flicking from his delectable dimple all the way down to his totally suckable toes. The man is a powerhouse of raw sex and testosterone. It puts my nerves on edge. I feel amped and nervous.
‘You’re just saying that to get a rise out of me,’ he parries.
‘If I wanted to get a rise out of you I’d just take my bra off.’ Hot, lion’s teeth! I can’t believe I just said that. What the hell was I thinking of? I feel the burn rush up my neck and face.
His eyes gleam wickedly. ‘Finally, an idea we can both enjoy.’
‘Please, I’m trying to enjoy my drink here.’ I raise the cold bottle to my lips and take a sip.
His eyes drop to my mouth. ‘You’re gonna suck my cock like that bottle?’
‘Ugh,’ I cry, pretending to be exasperated. Any more of this and I’m going to crumble. I glare at him. ‘I swear I’ve never met a man more happy to be classed under young, dumb and full of cum.’
He chuckles. ‘That’s the best you can do? I’m more offended by the interest rate my bank pays out.’
In spite of myself a small reluctant smile tugs at my mouth. I know it looks like I’ve got the self-restraint of a puppy, but it’s very, very, very hard to even pretend to stay mad with a guy who looks like he ate a whole fridge full of gorgeous.
He cocks his head. ‘Come on, you know you want me,’ he says persuasively.
I actually feel breathless. I really should walk away, but I just can’t. He’s like a magnet. The more I try to push him away, the more he pulls me towards him. ‘You should quit while you’re ahead,’ I advise.
He crosses his arms. ‘Ahead?
How do you figure that? You’ve still got your dress on.’
My stomach twists with sexual tension. Leah is right. This is a game I can never win. ‘Back off. You’ve got zero chance of getting my dress off.’
‘Is that a challenge or an invitation?’
‘Neither. It’s a statement of fact.’
‘Let’s test it, shall we?’ he says, and in a flash he plucks my beer from my hand, puts it on the bar top, and picks me up in his strong arms. For a few precious seconds I am too embarrassed and humiliated to do anything. Then I realize where we are heading and it’s too late.
‘Don’t you dare,’ I shout.
Seconds later I’m flying through the air, a scream tearing through my throat. Next moment I hit the water with a great splash, and sink like a sack of potatoes. Vaguely I hear clapping and cheering. I emerge spluttering. Treading water, I look around. He is standing at the edge, a smirk on his face. I am so furious I can’t even think straight. Bastard. I turn and swim to the opposite side of the pool. As I reach the edge a hand reaches down, grabs my hand, and hauls me out of the water.
Cash
What the fuck? I watch Gavin’s hands linger around her wet body and a ball of fire rushes up my spine and explodes inside my skull. My blood boils as I see his arm go around her. Fucking shitbag is trying to move in on my territory! Look at him with the stupid spit curl that he spent an hour getting into shape.
Yeah, sure, we’ve shared girls before. But Tori? Not even if hell freezes over. I’ll rip his throat out before I let him lay a finger on her.
She is mine.
Striding around the pool, my brain slowly melting in my skull, I see her put her hand on the smarmy bastard’s chest. Fucking fool has a tattoo on it in Moulin Rouge font that reads I’m The Greatest. Yeah, sure, Gavin. Next time just send out a fucking Twitter message. Idiot. You know what I’m sayin’?
As I come up to them I hear a snippet of their conversation. Puke fest.
‘I ain’t gonna lie I don’t wake up looking this good. There’s about twelve products that have gone into this look,’ he says proudly.
Dear Neighbor Page 24
