“Don’t you have a broken leg and fractured collar bone to be mending? Or isn’t there someone you should be ordering around? Maybe you’re just trying to milk this bed-rest thing for as long as you can.” Viva grinned while delivering the playful jibe.
Throaty laughter traveled through the line before an equally rich voice followed. “You know me so well. I just sent Winnie to bring me a box of those cheese Danish from Reardon’s.”
“You should be ashamed.” Viva shook her head while laughter tickled her throat. “Reardon’s is on the other side of town from the hospital. What the hell time is it there anyway?”
“Hey! She wanted to!” Bevy Ward’s attempt at whining came across instead as a wicked laugh. “Besides...” Her tone mellowed as she seemed to sober. “I needed some alone time to talk to you. Winnie was the only one still hovering and I needed her out.”
“How are you, Bev? I know about the injuries.”
“Yeah... I’m gonna be out of commission for a while.” Hints of stress seeped into Bev’s strong voice then. “Anyway... I guess there’s a lot to be said for being in fair shape. Doctors are hopeful that the recovery won’t be too agonizing. I’m fine though, trying to figure out who I’ve got to sleep with to keep a steady supply of these painkillers they’re giving me. Those things are the ultimate.”
Viva had to laugh over her friend’s ability to apply comic relief in the direst of situations. “Good to know you’ve got goals.”
“Exactly.” Bevy grunted a laugh.
“So what’s up?” Viva pushed up on the sofa and switched the phone to her other ear.
“Is it true, V?” Bevy wasted no more time getting to the point of her call. “What they’re saying about Murray? Not that the cops are telling us anything,” she continued, not noticing that Viva had yet to answer her questions.
“Arty told me they came to Murray’s office,” Bevy went on. “She said they came with a warrant after what happened to Fee.”
“Fee?” Viva sat all the way up on the sofa then as the image of Fee Fee Spikes began to form inside her head.
“You didn’t hear about it yet?” The Southern accent Bevy worked doggedly to mask grew a little more noticeable as concern mounted. “Looks like Fee surprised a burglar and got a broken nose and a few cracked ribs out of the ordeal,” she explained.
Viva muttered an oath. The bubbly redhead was a client of Murray Dean’s.
“Anyway...” Bev grunted, as though she were moving to a more comfortable spot in her hospital bed. “They say she’ll recover. Her manager and agent are screaming bloody murder though after what happened to Reynolds Henry and then me. They—they think someone could be targeting Murray’s clients and the cops are hoping someone got a good look at the guy. We won’t know till Fee wakes.”
“The guy?” Viva gripped the slender mobile in a vise hold. “Not Murray?”
“Well...” Uncertainty filtered Bevy’s reply. “I mean... I don’t know what they think but—well...hell, V, it’s Murray.”
“Yeah...” Viva left the sofa, tugging at the hem of the T-shirt she’d sported with the hot-pink yoga shorts she’d worn that day. The apparel had pretty much become her primary wardrobe during her unexpected vacation abroad. “Yeah, it’s Murray,” she sighed.
“V? You don’t think Murray—”
“No. No... I don’t.” Viva pushed back a few locks of her hair and then pressed a finger to the corner of her eye to relieve the pressure building there. “My sister and Rook, on the other hand—”
“Rook?” The weary uncertainty that had gripped Bevy’s voice made way for happy curiosity. “Well, well. So for once the gossip rags have it right? Talk about running off with an old flame... Is he as amazing looking as I’ve heard?”
The turn of conversation had heightened the pressure behind Viva’s eyes and she was then massaging a sudden throb at the bridge of her nose. “Yes, he is.”
“Weird.” Bevy sighed. “Nothing popped off between you guys before as much as I’ve heard he works with folks in the business.”
“Yeah.” Viva gave up with the massage, realizing that it was useless. “Weird.”
“So? What’s it like? Talk to me.”
Viva opened her mouth, then closed it. She could honestly offer nothing more to the conversation at that point.
“Ugghh...” Bevy noted from her end of the line. “That bad, huh? Or maybe that good?”
“Too much has happened, Bev. We can’t go back to what we were.”
“But you want to.”
“It’s too late.”
“And is that what he thinks?”
“Our lives are crazy, Bev.”
“Lives are always crazy, girl. Love though, real love? That shit only comes by once—or maybe twice—if you’re lucky.”
Viva had to smile then. “Are you biting off Pam’s advice?”
Bevy sounded as though she were chuckling over the mention of her on-screen character. Apparently, she’d taken no offense to the accusation. “Hell, I don’t see why not,” she admitted. “It’s damn good advice. Wouldn’t hurt you to take it, you know.”
“It’s more than just a leap of faith here, Bev. He knows things that...they could change things...”
“Things that happened once you split, right?”
“He told me I’d get in over my head back then, Bev. I did.”
“And you’ll let that stop you from digging your way out?”
“He’s made a life, Bev. A good one that’s on its way to being a great one.” Viva eyed the cozy room with a mix of envy and sadness. “I just had to go and open up all this old drama. It wasn’t a good idea and it’ll only distract him from what he has to do.” She closed her eyes to the distant, snowy mountain view. “When all is said and done, he’ll regret all the time he wasted and I’ll still be who I am. Nothing there will have changed.”
“Boy, you’ve really thought this through, huh?” Bev’s voice held a hint of the playful. “You sound really sure of yourself.”
Viva took a refreshing breath and managed a smile. “Nothing here to do but think.”
“Well, Winnie should be back with those Danish soon and I think... I think your opinion is bullshit, V.”
“Bev—”
“I’m gonna leave you to your thoughts. I think you should take more time with them. Just call me if you have any more news from your end, okay?”
“All right and you do the same. And, Bev? Thanks.”
“Love you, sweets.”
“Love you too.”
Viva didn’t set aside the phone once the connection ended. Instead, she studied it, debating before she dialed out. Her lips thinned with resolve when she heard the voice mail chime through. “Soap? It’s me. I need you to call me back when you get this.”
* * *
“Catch you at a bad time?”
Rook barked a laugh when he heard Linus’s query through the phone line. “That’s one of those trick questions, right?”
“Ah, no...” Linus groaned, “please don’t ruin my fantasies of what it must be like to have a Hollywood starlet all to yourself.”
“All right, then.” Rook let his silence do the talking.
Again, Linus groaned. “Are you serious here? You guys are a million miles away from everything.”
Rook forced a smile, albeit a grim one. “I guess you can never outrun the past.”
“Can’t you at least set it aside to make room for better stuff?”
“Hell, man, do you think I don’t want to? It’s all I want. She’s all I want.” Tired of pretending his mind was on work, Rook hurled a pen across the desk. “Hollywood starlet or not, she’s all I’ve ever wanted.”
“So?” Linus let the challenge hold for a moment. “She’s there, isn’t she? My guess i
s she wouldn’t have gone so quietly, or as quietly as she did, if part of her didn’t want to. To hell with what Sophia dictated. Viva’s got the means to disappear like that.”
Rook heard the man’s fingers snapping on the other end of the line.
“She came back for you, kid.” Linus’s voice was almost a whisper. “You should make use of that. You may not get another chance.”
Rook left his desk to stare unseeingly beyond the office picture window that opened to a sea of white. “Maybe I don’t think I deserve another chance.”
“Bullshit.”
“Oh, I get it.” Rook turned his back on the snowy scene of the Belluno business park and evaluated his friend’s assumption. “Is that what you tell yourself, Line? That all the crap you pulled in the name of having a reaction still means you get another chance? Is it so easy for you to forget that part of the past?” He pushed hard against the back of his desk chair when he passed and sent the furnishing spinning.
“You’re right, it’s all crap, but I’d take another chance again without hesitation if I had the opportunity to make it right. There’s only one thing I regret enough to make the effort, you know? I believe Viva’s that one thing for you and I believe you know that.” When he only received silence as a response, Linus asked, “You should be getting home now, shouldn’t you?”
Home. Rook turned the word over in his head. “Yeah, Line, home sound good.”
* * *
Rook had been on his way out the door, with intentions to head home, when Linus’s call had come through. The call had done a lot of good, despite his reluctance to hear much of his friend’s insights. All he’d wanted was to forget; he didn’t want to remember the man he’d been back then. The animal he’d been.
His fingers flexed over the steering wheel and he tried to give rising, unsettling memories a mental shove. Useless. There was no real forgetting them. Maybe the trick was to own the past. Viva had owned hers, hadn’t she?
What mistakes had she really made though? He wondered. She’d gone after a dream and met up with some nightmares along the way. It wasn’t an impossible occurrence. Such was often the case when one chased after the future.
The true mistakes had come in his reaction to what he’d learned. Now, the question was whether telling her about them was really necessary. He’d figured that was a yes, considering how poorly he’d dealt with it all since she’d come back into his life. That had roused her questions and she deserved answers—she deserved the truth.
Home appeared around the road’s bend in all its welcoming splendor. As per usual when he got there, Rook took the time to just enjoy the view and gather the courage to face his demons. He parked, headed inside and was closing the door seconds before the sense of déjà vu washed over him.
“It’s too much...I understand why you suggested it, but we need to find another way...No...No, it only went back to more drama...Don’t worry about it, I’ll figure something. I’ve got a costar in the hospital. Remember we told you about Bevy? I should spend time with her anyway. I need you with me on this, Soap. Being here with him is killing me...”
Rook eased the door locks quietly into place and then rested back against the wall as reality hit that this was no instance of déjà vu. He hadn’t walked in on Viva rehearsing her script, but into the midst of a scene that was all too true to life. He waited just outside the den until Viva finished the call to her sister.
“Has my hospitality worn thin?”
She turned at the sound of Rook’s voice when he entered the room.
“Don’t bother using the injured costar excuse,” he advised before she could answer. “I’d love to hear the reason you gave to Sophia.”
Bowing her head, Viva pressed the tips of her fingers against eyes closed wearily in defeat. “I just don’t know what we’re doing here.”
“I thought it was to save your life.”
Her brows lifted as she smiled wistfully. “And does the ‘save your life’ rate include dynamic sex?”
He was, for a moment, silenced by the unexpected approval that surged in response to her backhanded compliment. He recovered soon enough. “You didn’t seem to have a problem accepting the service.”
The soft reminder prompted more than the nod she gave. “I hoped we were on our way back to each other.”
The admission stopped him again. “You want that?”
She fixed him with a look that was as exasperated as it was accusing. “Of course I want that, you idiot. I—” She squeezed her eyes shut once more, her cheeks burning over the unintended confession.
“Fortunately, dynamic sex isn’t our problem,” she professed once a sliver of cool had reasserted itself. “Unfortunately, we can’t spend all our time in bed, which means at some point, we’ll have to talk to each other.” She extended her arms, let her hands fall to thighs bared by her shorts. “I don’t think there’s an argument on how bad we’ve been doing on that end.”
“What does ‘on our way back to each other’ mean?” Rook was clearly still somewhat dazed by Viva’s earlier admission. His rich voice sounded deeper given the soft-spoken manner it had adopted. His striking features were still sharp as he fixated upon her.
“Rook, you—you know what I meant—”
“I want to hear you say it.” He closed what distance remained between them.
“Rook, I—I love you,” she said quietly, helplessly, as though that single confession was all she was capable of. “I never stopped.” She shook her head to put emphasis on the claim. “I want back what we had—what we could’ve had. I’m sorry I—” She blinked suddenly as though some part of her psyche were reconnecting to reality. “I didn’t mean to put all that on you. I know things have changed and you—you can’t...want me after I slept with—”
He’d gripped her so suddenly, she gave a tiny shriek before panting out a breath.
“Look at me, V.”
For her, the effort was massive. She was close to paralyzed by uncertainty and...fear. Not fear of him, but fear of what she’d see in his eyes.
“Viva? Look at me.” He squeezed the bend of her elbow and waited.
Drawing on practiced courage, she met his stunning eyes and gasped over what she saw there. There was no anger—not even a hint of frustration. What she saw instead was awe mingling with the brilliance of hope.
“Not wanting you isn’t possible for me Viva. I don’t know if it ever will be and I don’t much care to find out.”
Her lips parted, but Viva had no notion of what she was about to say. That wasn’t a problem for Rook as he’d already found a task to occupy her mouth quite thoroughly.
The kiss was as needed as it was seeking. Rook’s delivery was a hungry, possessive assault that had Viva instantly moaning and sobbing for more. She could scarcely curve her fingers into the lapels of the leather jacket he wore. No matter, for he kept her high against his chest in the most secure hold.
Needing to feel more of him, Viva wrapped her legs around his waist. Eagerly, she presented her mouth to be explored.
Rook felt as if he were roasting inside the wool lining of his jacket but he refused to relinquish his hold on Viva’s bottom to get out of it. He had her flush between himself and the closest wall, in the span of two long strides.
“I’m sorry, sorry...” he groaned, while driving his tongue deep to savor the honeysuckle flavor of her mouth. His kiss drove her head back into the wall.
Viva didn’t require apologies. She answered the rough treatment by stripping Rook, none too gently, of his brown jacket before she went to work on the dark shirt he wore beneath it. Silently, she warned herself not to rip the buttons free. Her fingers tingled with the need to stroke his bare flesh.
Those intentions took a backseat when his fingers slipped inside the snug crotch of her shorts. Simultaneous moans echoed in the roo
m. Hers stimulated by his fingers inside her shorts. His by the fact that she wore nothing beneath them.
Rook let his forehead rest on her shoulder. He absorbed the shudders rippling through her curvy frame—a response to the erotic torment that stimulated moisture and held his fingers in the tight clench of her intimate muscles.
Viva found no need to hold on to his breathtaking shoulders. This, despite the fact that he only supported her with the forearm that cradled her bottom. She felt completely secure and she took advantage of that fact by focusing her efforts on the buttons yet to be undone. Once she had his shirt open, she splayed her hands upon the thick slabs of his muscular chest. Her lips were gliding down the chiseled length of his neck, across collarbone and sternum, until she was taking a pebbled male nipple into her mouth.
Rook grunted as sensation slammed into him. For several seconds he endured the pleasurable assault, then he was cursing viciously and bringing an end to the spectacular attention she was giving his chest.
“What?”
Her hushed query stirred his laughter and then he was kissing the corner of her mouth. “Come with me,” he said.
* * *
Protection hadn’t occurred to her. Viva wondered whether she’d have called attention to its absence if it had. Sure, there was lots more she wanted to do before she said goodbye to her career. Having Rook Lourdess’s child was a choice she would have made her career work around.
“We could’ve stayed downstairs, you know?” She purred the words while tracking the end of her nose along his collarbone.
“We were missing some things,” he said as he sheathed himself. Then he took her in his arms. A low sound of animalistic male pleasure thrummed from his throat as he took her with deliberate purpose.
Viva knew there was no need to muffle the sounds of her delight, yet she turned her face into a pillow anyway. She eased her hands beneath its cool cotton texture as her hips dipped and rolled to a rhythm honed by instinct, by want.
Another of Rook’s quiet, satisfied rumbles emerged and his slow strokes were moments of pure bliss for Viva. She let out a choked sob when his beautifully shaped mouth took one nipple hostage in an achingly sweet suckle that sent need pooling between her thighs. Somehow, she held back the final barrier on her release.
Provocative Attraction Page 13
