He tried to swallow but there was something blocking his throat as he stared at this beautiful, amazing woman. Nolan disappeared, the other guests disappeared, the room disappeared, as he gazed at her, at the way her skin glowed, the way her eyes sparkled, the way her hair tumbled to her shoulders. Her mask was slightly askew, her thigh highs were sagging, and her panties were in tatters on the floor by the Plexiglas wall, but she was still utterly divine. “Let’s go home.”
She gave him a sheepish smile and leaned towards him without getting off the table. Bending closer to her, he heard her whisper, “I can’t seem to get my legs to obey me, Beast. You’ve well and truly fucked me to within an inch of my life and my body is still recovering.”
Laughing, he scooped her back up into his arms and carried her home.
Chapter 17
On Friday night, she had made love to a man dressed as a beast while the world watched. Well, not the world but there had been an audience and it had been debauched and dirty and absolutely incredible. Watching Winter come undone was almost as exhilarating as the orgasm he had given her, letting her know he had enjoyed himself as much as she had. She still couldn’t believe her boldness nor how hot it had been to be fucked in front of Nolan Mars. Of course, he could have been anyone because when Winter was in the room no one else existed. And when Winter was doing all of those naughty, wicked things to her, the world ceased to exist and all that there was, was Winter.
When she had stood before him in nothing but her undergarments, she had been terrified and strangely euphoric, and it had nothing to do with the champagne she had consumed. There was an entire room of people below who could have looked up at any moment and seen her standing there but that had only heightened her excitement. There had also been Nolan Mars, an actor she had thought was attractive before she met Winter. It had been disconcerting when Winter had been making love to her and told her to turn her head and watch the other man.
Nolan’s slate gray eyes had watched her with naked craving, moving over her face and devouring her where she lay. It had felt strange and kind of exciting to be so desired by a virtual stranger while Winter fucked her with punishing force. But it had made her uneasy as well because it felt wrong to be looking at anyone other than Winter. When Winter finally relented and let her look at him, she saw the savage intensity burning in his eyes and she finally understood. He was claiming her in the way primal man claimed their mate eons before. He had become the Beast, the mask a representation of the man beneath, and it had thrilled her to the bone.
Afterwards, she felt different somehow, as if they had crossed some invisible line and now there was no going back.
After the intensity of their coupling at the club, they had returned home and gotten cleaned up. In bed, he had simply held her as they drifted in and out of consciousness, neither one wanting to lose a moment of their time together to something as annoying as sleep. They clung to one another until exhaustion claimed them and they slept for a few hours. As grateful as she was for the brief time they managed to steal from the world around them, it was getting harder and harder to let him go.
When Winter climbed out of her bed at the crack ass of dawn the next morning so his driver could take him to the airport and he could fly back to Georgia, he had given her the sweetest goodbye kiss and told her he’d be back before she’d know it. Only this time when he left he took Fallon with him, since the director decided to expand her part to include some action on the field.
She hadn’t wanted him to go and once the two of them left, she actually crawled back into bed and cried. Maybe because a part of her knew their fate was in Winter’s hands. He could either return home and take their relationship to the next level or he could turn his back on the entire thing, leaving her to pine away like poor Addison. Not that she'd pine away for an entire year. She hoped he wanted her as much as she wanted him but, for now, there was nothing she could do. Either he loved her, or could love her, or he didn’t. Couldn’t.
Even though she knew it was pointless to dwell on what ifs and possibilities and doubts, she did so anyway, spending all day Sunday going over all of the nuances of their strange relationship. He had so much power over her and if he didn’t have the amount of self-control that he had, her ass would have been his Friday night and the thought terrified her. It wasn’t that his finger had hurt; in fact, it had felt sinfully good. But there was a level of trust in letting a guy penetrate that most delicate part of the body and she would have given in without a second thought.
It was that restraint on his part, when she knew he was aching to unleash his beast, that made her love him all that much more. He hadn’t said the words to her but his actions told her he had some strong feelings for her. It might not be love, not yet, but it could be, if he chose to let it become love, if he chose to delve deeper into the binds that tied them together.
On Monday, she drove the rust bucket to work, not looking forward to another day of dealing with the likes of Gwyn. But it was better than being at the apartment all alone, Fallon’s absence made painfully obvious when she went into the bathroom to get ready and was actually able to see the counter. Even though there were days when they barely saw one another, Flynn missed her sister.
Parking behind the store in the employee parking lot, she meandered inside, clutching her tablet and her purse in her arms. She probably should have gone next door to grab donuts and coffee for the girls but she just wasn’t feeling it. While her sister should be returning in a week or so, it was going to be at least three or four weeks until Winter was going to be able to make it back, possibly longer. The shooting schedule was insane and since she had already watched all four seasons of Midnight Kiss and all of the movies he was in, she was out of Winter material.
“Hey, Flynn,” Julianna called out as she walked through the door. “You look like you had a rough weekend.”
Flynn nodded, setting her stuff down before flopping into the chair. “It was rough in a good way. Just over too soon.”
Julianna smiled knowingly, shaking her head in understanding, “Gotcha.”
“What about you?” Flynn asked, waggling her eyebrows at her friend. “Did you do anything exciting to celebrate Halloween?”
“A group of us girls went to a club,” she started and Flynn’s heart seized up in her chest at the possibility that she had been seen, even though she had been in a disguise. “Club Forester, over on Ninth?”
Flynn pulled in a ragged breath and released it, berating herself for thinking the world revolved around her. She wouldn’t have to worry if she hadn’t acted like such a trollop, though if she was honest with herself she knew that she wouldn’t have changed a thing and she had no regrets. Pasting a smile to her frozen face, she shook her head, “I’m not really familiar with the club scene. I like going out to places where I can talk.”
“Oh, for sure,” Julianna readily agreed. “I mean, the dancing is fun and all but afterwards you have such a pounding headache and your vocal chords are raw from just ordering drinks.”
They chatted for a few more minutes until Diane strolled into the room, looking elegant in a grey cotton suit. “Girls, back to work. Flynn, a moment?”
Exchanging a smile with Julianna, Flynn dragged herself to her feet and followed Diane back to her office. As the woman seated herself behind the desk, Flynn fidgeted in her seat, not knowing what to expect. But Diane offered a friendly smile and started off with, “I’m very pleased with your progress on the Irish party.”
It took her a moment to figure out what Diane was talking about, even though she only had the one account and Melissa’s last name was Irish. She had just equated the party with Storm and Winter. Nodding her head, she murmured, “Thank you.”
“I was wondering if you’d like to take on another event.” Her boss must have seen the panic in Flynn’s eyes because she smiled reassuringly, “It’s just a small gathering for a friend of a friend of mine. They are on a budget but my friend asked me to help out so I thought of
you, since you seem to have a more… budget-conscious mind than my other girls.”
“Why do you think that?”
Diane looked at her and a hint of color crept into her cheeks. “Well, the money I gave you to buy a few foundation pieces seems to have been stretched quite a bit further and while your clothes are very professional, they aren’t exactly name brand.”
This time Flynn blushed. She was proud of her wardrobe and how much she had gotten with the money Diane had given her. Diane shook her head and dismissed the veiled complaint, “Anyway, I thought you might be perfect.”
“When is the event?” she asked but before Diane could answer, she added, “What is the event?”
“A fiftieth wedding anniversary in two weeks.” Diane rolled her eyes, grumbling, “Some people don’t understand the work that goes into planning these things.”
Before Diane could go into any detail, Flynn held up her hand to stop her, “You do know that I’m not a party planner, right? That I’m only here until Fallon makes it big or we go back home in a few months.”
Her words trailed off as she thought about that. If Fallon didn’t make it in the next six or seven months, they had planned on returning home, since that was the deal they had made with their parents. A year had seemed like an eternity when they had made their plans and now their year was almost half over. Suddenly, there wasn’t enough oxygen in the entire world and she wanted to get out of there.
“Flynn?”
“I’m okay,” she gasped, stumbling to her feet. “Just give me a moment and I’ll be fine.”
“What is it?” Diane asked, panic in her voice. Half-standing, she looked ready to cry out for help if need be.
“I just realized how quickly the year has gone by,” she managed to choke out, trying not to think about Winter. If she thought about Winter she’d start to bawl like a baby because she couldn’t bear the thought of leaving him behind. If he said he loved her, there would be no reason to leave and every reason to stay. But if it turned out he didn’t love her….
No, she wasn’t going to invite trouble. Smiling for Diane’s benefit, she said, “I’m okay, just a little panic attack.”
“Was it something I said?” When Flynn shook her head no, Diane sighed in relief and asked, “Well, do you want the party?’
Considering her options, she thought. She could either have too much time thinking about and missing Winter or she could busy herself with a party that celebrated fifty years of marriage. Flynn chuckled, “Sure, why not?”
♥~♥~♥
Winter was going mad on the set of his latest film. Luckily, he was able to transfer the longing and lust for Flynn into his performance, doing some of his best work ever. Missy had spent a lot more time than usual on the set with him and unlike in the past her presence actually annoyed him. He found himself bristling at the little comments she made, even though they weren’t meant in earnest. Before Flynn, he had always joined in on the good natured fun but since Flynn it seemed… cold. The two of them had fame and fortune and it wasn’t right to tease the gripper or the gaffer or the extras or any of the other dozens of hard workers on the shoot.
His one bright spot was spending time with Storm, who was looking more and more like him every day. One of these days, a paparazzo was going to get lucky and snap a picture of the little boy and the secret would be out. And he found himself dreading and anticipating that day in equal measure because he was sick to death of living a lie. He wanted to walk beneath the sun with Flynn and Storm.
Four more months.
Closing the door to his trailer, he scrubbed his hands through his hair and took a deep breath, ignoring the dull ache that seemed to follow him everywhere, an ache the size of Flynn that only felt better in her presence. Falling onto the couch, he kicked his feet up and grabbed his phone, sitting up as quickly as he had sat down when he saw he had missed a call from Flynn. Without a second thought, or a first one really, he called her back immediately.
“Winter.” Her voice was a balm to his parched soul, something he knew he needed but hadn’t realized how desperately.
“Sweetheart, what is it? What’s wrong?”
Her light, airy laugh filled all of the hollow parts inside of him and he found himself smiling in return, even if he couldn’t shake the feeling that something was bothering her. “Nothing’s wrong. Today I had a minor panic attack and I just needed to hear your voice, even if it was to hear you say, ‘Leave a message.’”
“What happened?”
“Nothing,” she repeated and he knew she was lying because she was an abysmal liar.
“Flynn,” he warned. But then her breath hitched and she sniffed. He could tell that she was trying not to cry and was failing miserably. His ribs squeezed around his chest as his entire body tensed. “Ah, Flynn, don’t cry. Please don’t cry.”
“It’s just that I miss you so damn much,” she sniffed. “I know that it’s only been two days but if feels like an eternity and I know that I’m being a big baby but I miss you.”
He wanted to tell her that he missed her, too, but she continued talking, “And then I saw a magazine with pictures of you and Melissa on the cover and I know what they write isn’t true but it’s still hard.”
“What did it say?” He was going to have to send one of the assistants out to pick up all of the magazines so he could do a better job of keeping on top of the gossip and reassuring Flynn before she had to read anything that she might find troubling.
“Oh the usual,” she said lightly, though he could still hear the misery. “You and Melissa are moving up your wedding date or you’ve eloped or you’re expecting a baby or you were seen at some exclusive event looking cozy.”
“What was today’s article?”
“The second and third,” she answered softly. And in a lower voice, added, “And a little bit of the fourth, with a picture of the two of you with your heads together in a romantic pose.”
He racked his brain to figure out what picture she could have been talking about and almost laughed when he remembered. “Flynn, the picture was taken when we were having dinner with Storm. The moment we saw the photographer, we both moved to hide Storm under the table, which was not an ideal solution but the only option at the time. Shortly after the picture was shot, the man was… escorted out of the restaurant. As for the baby, well, she hasn’t had sex with a turkey baster so she can’t be pregnant.”
Flynn was quiet for a moment and then a snort of laughter burst out and he took a breath and relaxed. He relaxed further when she sighed, “Thank you, Winter.”
Amazed by her thanks, he asked, “For what?”
“For making me laugh, for being you,” she murmured. “I still miss you, though.”
“Join me,” he blurted without thought, realizing he wanted her there, damn the consequences.
“God, I wish I could,” she said with tangible longing. “But I just agreed to plan a fiftieth anniversary and I’m already regretting it. What if I screw it up?”
“Congratulations, Flynn, you’ll do great,” he told her, proud of her even though he would have liked to have her close by. A knock at the trailer door let him know that it was time to go. “Don’t worry, Flynn, we’ll make this work.”
“I know,” she said in a soft voice. “I love you too much to let distance keep us apart.”
He chuckled, “I’ll be home before you know it and then shortly after that we’ll be able to be together without having to hide it.”
“God, I can’t wait,” she said. “Love you.”
“Bye, Flynn,” he said, hanging up the phone and getting up to answer the door. Fallon was on the other side, smiling up at him and looking so much like Flynn, he almost forgot how to breathe. But she wasn’t Flynn because Fallon didn’t have that something that made Flynn Flynn.
“Ready to go?” she beamed at him.
Nodding, he stepped out of the trailer and forced his lips into a friendly smile. Pulling on a baseball cap and a pair of sunglass
es, he held his arm out for her and led her to his rental car. Fallon was helping him with something very important, something he wanted to give Flynn for her birthday. The little stinker never told him her birthday was three days after Storm’s, three days after the official end of his relationship with Melissa. Three days and all of the difference in the world.
With a genuine smile, he drove Fallon to the jewelers.
Chapter 18
The next two and a half months flew by whenever she was with Winter, which was not often enough, and then dragged by so slowly when he was gone, which was too often. The director decided he wanted to film three movies back to back, or maybe that had always been his plan but she hadn’t known, so Winter’s schedule was unbelievably full and he was rarely home. He tried to make it home for long weekends every couple of weeks and she lived for those weekends, when they’d spend all day in bed laughing and talking about nothing consequential and having lots of sex. Lots of sex. As well as pushing increasingly bigger plugs into her ass. It was uncomfortable but Winter’s harsh breathing made it all worthwhile. When Mondays rolled around and he returned to filming, she’d barely be able to walk. Saying goodbye never got any easier.
Hell, they had spent one of the two weeks he had over the holidays holed up in his chalet in Aspen. Sex in the hot tub, sex on the balcony looking out at the world below while they froze their bits and pieces off, sex up against the wall, sex bent over the table…. There hadn’t been a lot of words because they had been apart for nearly an entire month prior. While they had been lying naked and sated in each other’s arms in the chalet, he had almost had her convinced to join him at his parents’ house for Christmas but in the end, she had stayed in L.A. and had a quiet but delicious meal with Fallon and Harry.
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