"You want some of this?" I growled and wrestled with him playfully.
"Cole! Help, you bastard. He's stronger than me." Liam pushed at me as best he could, but I had a good hold on him.
"Really guys? What are we, ten again?"
"You guys might be ten, but that would make me two. I'm still young and beautiful, you decrepit old bitches." I laughed and pushed Liam under again.
"Oh, hell no." Cole pulled off his t-shirt and ran for the pool.
I might not have been in trouble before, but I sure as fuck was now.
Chapter 7
Riley
"Your family is hoping that we can go over to the luncheon in a couple of hours. Do you think you'll feel up to it?" Charlotte brushed her hand down my back as I stood in the kitchen with my hands on the counter and eyes focused on the view of the street below.
"Hmm? No, I'm good. I don't want to go over there. I can't." I shrugged, not really caring what anyone thought about me not making an appearance. My family was weird at best and now that I had found some semblance of success, they were a little too loving. It was fucked up, and I wasn't in the mood to pretend like it wasn't.
"No problem. I'll let your Aunt Debbie know." She rubbed my back for another few seconds before walking out of the kitchen and leaving me in my numbness.
I couldn't seem to shake the image of Ethan watching me in the foyer of the funeral home. The longing on his face showed me the part of him that I wanted to pretend didn't exist. It made things easier. We were supposed to make movies together, not fall in love. Or lust, or whatever the fuck we were in.
"Hey baby. I got the sheets changed on your bed. Come lay down with me." Jace wrapped his arms around my waist and pressed his lips to the side of my neck.
I relaxed against him and whimpered softly as desire resurrected. I needed to feel anything but the clammy cold I was experiencing. "Can you take the tray in the fridge over to my aunt’s hotel first, and then we can go to bed."
"Anything you want." He slid one of his hands up to cup my throat and the other down to rest on my sex as he squeezed both softly. "I want to take care of you this afternoon, make you forget everything."
Lust burned through the center of my body and pooled between my thighs as I rolled my hips and rubbed myself against his erection.
"I need that." I closed my eyes, forcing myself to see him and no one else. He was my lover, not Ethan. I'd let him take care of me for years, and that wasn't changing now just because I was having trouble keeping myself grounded in reality. Ethan Lewis was the biggest man-whore in all of the universe. He wasn't interested in me, and I wasn't willing to sustain another loss. The bastard hadn't even called since Rio.
He was at the funeral today. He caught you when you fell.
"Good. I'll run this over to the hotel your family is staying at and be back in an hour. No going to bed though. I want you to wait for me." He licked the side of my throat and growled softly against my ear. "I wanna lick every part of you."
"Please?" I whimpered again and cupped my hand over his, pressing him to hold my mound tighter. Delight danced in my stomach and I knew without a doubt that I was going to give myself over to him for the day. Whatever he wanted to do... I just wanted to feel warmth. Pleasure. Acceptance. Hope.
"Fuck yeah." He bit the skin under my ear and growled softly. "I'm going to take my time and remind you why you belong to me."
"Do I? Belong to you?" I turned in his arms, breaking his sensual hold on my body and sliding my arms up his thick chest.
"Do you want to?" He leaned down and brushed his lips by mine. "I know you have something going on with Ethan. Do I want to know what?"
"Are you asking?" I lifted to my toes and kissed him softly a few times. He was so familiar. His smell, his strength, his voice. It was the blanket I'd carried with me from my teenage years. I wasn't sure anything could force me to give him up.
"Yeah, I am." He nipped at my lips as desire filled his dark blue eyes.
"There's nothing between us. Acting together has us lusting after each other a little, but nothing has happened, nor will it." I wrapped my arms around his neck and lifted, pulling him down for a long, hot kiss as he gripped my ass and forced me to wrap my legs around him.
"Okay. There's that." Charlotte's voice in the background forced me to pull back a little.
"Sorry, Char," I called after her as we stood by the sink, my dress pushed up over my thighs, my legs wrapped around him as he dry humped me and kissed me with a passion most women would die for. Why was I trying to get Ethan's attention? His heart?
"I'll be right back." Jace glanced down the length of my body and smiled. "Why don't you get naked and get in the bed for me?"
"You don't wanna undress me?" I let my legs drop and slid down the front of his strong body.
"I might tear something today. It's been awhile." He leaned down and kissed me. "I can't seem to sleep with another woman without wishing she were you."
"Don't you go falling in love with me, Jace Dillon. I don't wanna break your heart." I patted his chest and forced a smile.
"Too late, baby girl." He kissed me again and released me, grabbing the tray from the fridge, the address from Charlotte and leaving.
"Sorry about that," I mumbled as I walked into the living room and dropped down on the couch beside her. My pretenses were down and my lust cold.
"It's all right." She reached over and took my hand. "I'm worried about you. I know you don't love Jace. Why are you acting like you do?"
"I do love Jace. He's my guy best friend." I let my head drop back and turned to watch her. She was so much better put together than me, both in her looks and her personality. Jealously reared its ugly head, but I pushed it back down. She would think I was stupid for even mentioning it. The grass was always greener on the other side for sure.
"Right, but he's not your romantic interest, Riley." She squeezed my hand and let out a soft sigh. "I told Jeff I couldn't see him anymore."
"I thought you did that weeks ago."
"I did, but I reneged on it. I thought maybe I could get past the fact that he's horrible in bed, but I can't. I love passion, and sex is part of that. I like the guy, but I could never really fall head over heels in love with him."
"How about Jace?" I gave her a cheeky smile. "He's killer in bed."
"And the fact that you're offering him up tells me once again... he's not your man. You don't care if he sleeps around, but here's the problem... he cares if you do. I overheard you guys in the kitchen. He's finally growing up, not that I ever thought that would happen, but he's going to want you to settle down. Are you really wanting to do that with him?"
"Do I have a better option?" I wanted to feel something - anything - but the same numbness that had been wrapped around my insides still sat there. The only moment of warmth I'd had in three days was in the kitchen moments before.
"The fact that you're unsure means you need to wait on all of this."
"I'm fucking Jace today. I need a release - badly." I lifted my eyebrow at her as if challenging me would leave one of us bloody.
"Fine. Fuck him all you like, but you need to take a step back because of what's happened, Riley. You have a little bit more left of school and your spring production. Get through that before you try and make any big decisions. That's enough stress with losing your mom too."
"You're right." I closed my eyes and tried not to think about Ethan. "I'm just going to have to take things moment by moment until I figure out where I'm headed."
"With your career, or with your love interest?"
"Both." I sat up and pulled my hand from hers. "Maybe I should ask for some coaching too. I feel like Ethan is years ahead of me in acting, which leaves my confidence a little on the fritz. Do you think Deza would get me someone?"
"Oh, no doubt. Ask her while it's still on your mind." She moved up closer and pressed her shoulder next to mine. "I'm here for you. You know that, right?"
I smiled and glanced toward
her. "Yeah. I'm glad too. I couldn't do it without you."
"Go call Deza and get some rest. I'll kick Jace out."
"No, let him come back when he gets here. I need him." I got up and stretched.
"You sure?"
"Yep." I picked up my phone and texted Deza, thanking her for coming to the funeral and asking if they would consider bringing in a coach for me. Someone other than Ethan. He had enough on his shoulders without us trying to carve more time out for him to help me get up to speed on various aspects of acting.
She responded immediately that she would get someone and was there if I needed her.
I tossed the phone on the bed and crawled in it, exhausted by everything. A nap would do me good, but for some reason, I couldn't get the memories from my childhood to stop playing behind my eyes. Every good and bad moment I could remember moved through my mind's eye like it was stuck on an old picture reel.
An hour must have passed as I lay there in the darkened room, because the door opened, and Jace whispered softly into the emptiness, pulling me from my thoughts.
"You awake?"
"Yeah, but I'm not naked." I meant to sound cheeky or cute, but my voice was a hollowed whisper.
"That's all right." He closed the door and pulled his shirt over his head before moving up to lie beside me in the bed.
I moved into his arms and brushed my lips by his neck. "I don't think I can commit to anything more than sex right now. I don't know why, but the world feels like it's turned upside down, like maybe I'm headed in the wrong direction. Maybe I need to stop moving altogether until I figure it out."
"I'm good with that." He moved down my body and traced a line through my center with the tip of his nose. I groaned in delight as my body reacted to his nearness. "How about you hush and just let me take care of you tonight?"
"Yeah," I whispered and spread my legs as he rested between them. I pulled at my dress, forcing it up around my waist and pushed at my panties as he gripped my hands.
"Relax and let me do what I want. Stop trying to be in charge. You know I don't allow that." He pressed his mouth to my center over my panties and breathed in deeply. "Let me fuck you, Ri."
Pleasure danced along my nerve endings as he pulled my panties to the side and ran his tongue over my sensitive skin.
I moaned loudly, almost embarrassed by how badly I needed him to be exactly where he was.
"You like that, baby?" he whispered before sucking my clit into his mouth.
"More," I groaned and reached down to sink my fingers into his hair. All I could see was Ethan when I closed my eyes, so I didn't close them. Not once throughout the hour of Jace making me come over and over again.
"So delicious, Ri." He moved up my body and pressed himself against me. "Let me hold you while you sleep, yeah?"
I mumbled something incoherent and sighed with relief. I wanted him to press me to the bed and fuck me until I couldn't move, and yet I knew I wasn't going to be able to let him. My eyes were too heavy to keep them open anymore, and damn if I was going to let him be Ethan.
I couldn't. I wouldn't survive the guilt.
Chapter 8
Ethan
The night of acting like a goof with my brother was exactly what I needed. Where my heart ached for Riley's loss, I was still suffocating in the fact that I'd missed out on the opportunity to take care of her. She'd chosen Jace which was a good thing for both of us. I kept telling myself that as I piddled around my large trailer at the back of the set the next morning. Frank wanted to run a few scenes that would need to happen in L.A., and I was grateful for the distraction. Getting up at eight in the morning was a bitch after drinking a little too much with my brother and Cole, but I was managing somehow.
The sound of arguing just outside my trailer pulled me from my mental rehearsal of my lines and had me moving toward the window closest to me. I couldn't make out exactly what the couple was saying, but I could tell they were pissed.
"Deza?" I mumbled and moved the curtain back a little to peek out.
The pretty Hispanic woman with caramel-colored skin, who usually looked calm no matter what was going on, was sporting anger in dark red blotches all over her face and neck. She had her finger in some tall guy's chest and wasn't backing down.
I crooned my neck to see if I could get a better view of him. All I could tell was that he was big and black. Darren. Shit.
Grabbing my shirt, I slipped it over my head and jogged toward the front of the trailer. I didn't have too many concerns about him hitting or hurting her, but better safe than sorry. Some other cock was protecting Riley, but Deza was all mine to care for.
"Hey," I called out as I jogged down the stairs and made a sharp right to head toward them.
"And if you think for one mother fucking second that you have the right to tell me who I can and can't date... you're out of your goddamn mind," Deza spat her words at him.
"Fine, then don't butt into my business either, D. You're a fucking hypocrite and you know it." He took a few steps toward her and towered over her, but God love her, she didn't budge.
"Hey. Back up, asshole." I reached out and pushed at his shoulder, forcing him to stumble backward.
"Ethan, stay out of it." She popped me in the chest and moved toward Darren as anger burned in his eyes.
"I knew it. You're sleeping with this bastard, aren't you? All those years of making me think he was just a client... a little brother... fucking liar." Darren moved toward me as Deza yelled for us to stop.
I didn't give two shits what the big guy thought about my relationship with Deza. He could think I was fucking her ten ways to Sunday while they were married and he still wasn't going to get away with bullying her.
Not sure Deza was capable of being bullied. My thoughts forced me to lose my train of thought as I barreled toward him, ready to get out some of my aggression, though it was stupid on multiple levels. The guy had arms the size of my legs, and while I was making out, he was working out.
"Darren!" Deza cried out as he grabbed the front of my shirt and popped me in the eye - hard.
I hammered him with punches, forcing him back as a growl ripped from my chest.
"Don't touch her ever again. She belongs to me." I gritted my teeth and head-butted him, not thinking twice about keeping my pretty face looking pretty. Deza was the only woman I had in my life that I was willing to take a bullet for. No matter what she and Darren were fighting over, I was getting involved.
"Hey! Stop it! What the fuck-" Frank ran toward us and pulled us apart with the help of a few of the sound guys.
He got in my face as the guys muscled Darren toward the parking lot and scowled. "Son of a bitch. I was coming over here to tell you we were flying out to Rio on Monday for a little more work, but that shit isn't happening now. You're going to have a shiner." He touched the side of my face and glared at Deza as she moved up beside me.
"What were you thinking? He's three times as big as you?" She had tears in her eyes and her voice shook from what I had to assume was fear.
"And? He was fucking with you," I barked at her, still pumped up on my adrenaline. The pain hadn't hit me yet, but I was sure it was coming.
"Get him to Nancy and see if she can carefully cover up the redness around his eye and his forehead. Let's at least try to get in a few hours this morning before he bruises." Frank reached up and pressed at the side of my eye. "Does that hurt?"
"No, Frank. It's not that big of a deal." I turned and walked toward my trailer. "I'll change and get over to Nancy."
"I'll take care of him," Deza mumbled and followed me into the trailer.
"You and I are talking later, Deza. This is getting ridiculous." Frank's words followed us into the trailer as Deza closed the door behind her.
"What the fuck happened? What were you arguing over? For a couple that is done (I lifted my hands and exaggerated using quotes), you guys sure as hell are still giving each other massive amounts of drama to deal with." I pulled my shirt off my head and p
ushed my shorts over my hips. She hated seeing me naked, but I didn't care. She shouldn't have followed me.
"I know." She sat down and pressed her face to her hand. "I'm sorry you got involved. He was coming by to give me the copy of his mother’s eulogy that I'd asked for before we left for Rio. Things just spun out of control."
I got dressed quickly as she hid her face. "Why did the conversation turn to you dating someone?"
"He thinks you and I are together. You dressed? I don't need any more trauma in my life today."
I snorted and buttoned up my shirt. "And seeing me naked is traumatic because you just can't stop thinking of how to fit something so big inside-"
"That's good." She stood up and let her hands drop to her sides. "He's always been jealous of me being around anyone, Ethan. He's just one of those guys."
"You guys haven't been together in years. Tell him to fuck off and mean it."
"I can't." She crossed her arms over her chest as her eyes filled with tears.
In all the years I'd been beside Deza, and it had been a lot of fucking years, I'd only seen her tear up a few times.
"Hey. No crying." I crossed the room and pulled her into a hug. "There's no reason to get upset."
"Yeah, there is." She pressed her face to my chest and wrapped her arms around me.
To deny that it felt good to be held or to hold someone I loved would have been stupid, but I wanted to. I was too close to cracking and racing after my sexy co-star no matter what the world or anyone else thought about it. I felt like a fucking yo-yo, changing my mind every three seconds on what I wanted to do versus what I was expected to do.
"Why? He's a part of your past, D. You're a beautiful woman. Find someone else."
"I can't." She pulled back and wiped at her tears. "Why am I crying over this idiot? He's not worth it."
"Exactly." She needed me to dig into her pain, but I couldn't. I was still tripping over my own from seeing Jace be exactly who Riley needed him to be the day before.
Debt Collector_A Billionaire Bad Boy Novel Page 57
