Exposure

by Morgan

  She wanted to know that he would respond to her.

  Shaunna shifted underneath him, and David rolled from on top of her. As soon as she was free, she straddled him and sat down deliberately. David reached up and cupped her breasts as Shaunna began to rise and fall with a sweet and steady rhythm. She leaned her head back and felt her long, wet hair tickle her upturned feet.

  David was feasting with his senses. The feel of her hard nipples against his palms and her warm tight body surrounding him; the sight of her naked figure deliciously looming overhead; the sound of the ocean, like distant applause; the scent of her soft skin and the taste of her silk that lingered in his mouth and memory.

  Shaunna enjoyed his hands on her, and she seductively swiveled her hips and closed her wide eyes as he filled her over and over again. Her body and her heart were full of his love.

  The light of the setting sun drifted over the couple twenty minutes later, peeking under the eaves of the house and brightening the room through the hazy curtained filter. Glistening with sweat, David was once more over Shaunna and thrusting into her. His strong hands were gripping her hips and pulling her toward him hard enough to cause her hair to flare wildly across the bed.

  Shaunna treasured every movement, and the harder he pushed, the harder she came. She had never felt so cherished and yet so savagely desired in her entire life. She raptly listened to David, a passionate animal with an unyielding hunger.

  He looked down and watched how his length disappeared inside her. He knew she must be growing tired, but he also recognized that she was stronger than she knew. He was completely focused on her pleasure. It was only when she begged him to come again that he obliged with as much haste as he could safely control. When his orgasm overtook him, he halted his movements so they could both feel him pulsing inside her.

  It had never been like this.

  She felt triumphant and exhausted.

  David felt exactly the same way.

  It was simply one of the many reasons the two had connected so quickly and so closely. Their minds, their hearts, and their bodies were tuned to the same frequency.

  In the minutes after they made love for the first time, they held each other tightly and felt the sun heat the room all around them.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  KYLE HAD NO REAL REASON to go to Malibu. He’d already gotten the stuff out of the mansion that he absolutely didn’t want Michelle to lay claim to, and he could take or leave the rest when the divorce all shook out with the lawyers. He might’ve had no reason to go, but he was going anyway. Just to prove that he still could.

  He did intend to give Michelle the house, or rather allow her to buy him out of his half, but she would have to sell everything else she got in the divorce to do it.

  A studio car was provided for Kyle. He thought of how Shaunna would usually ride home with him on trips like this, to help him settle back into California life. He wasn’t ready to admit, even to himself, that he wanted her back.

  Heather was fine, but didn’t problem solve like Shaunna could. She wasn’t ugly, either, but having Shaunna around was like having a vase of fresh-cut flowers in the room, something small and vibrant. Fragrant, even, but subtle. Kyle had misjudged her loyalty to him, and although he was still angry at what he considered a betrayal, he knew he’d lost a lot more than his wife that miserable day in Houston.

  It crossed his mind that Shaunna could be at the house. She and Michelle were inseparable now, when David wasn’t around anyway. He grimaced tightly at the thought of dealing with both of them after the long flight from Houston. He almost asked his driver to turn around and take him back to Los Angeles, but then he remembered that his car was still in Malibu. He could have gotten anyone to pick up the car for him, but this was just the kind of the excuse he needed. Besides, he couldn’t pass up the chance to intimidate Michelle if he could get her alone.

  He laughed as the gate responded to his personal code. If Michelle had vacated the premises, he would have changed the code immediately; then again, he was the only one who knew how. He quickly spotted Shaunna’s car, but decided to consider himself lucky that he didn’t see some stupid Beemer or whatever the hell David might be driving.

  There were a few photographers on the street outside his house, and they strolled casually over to the closing gate. Even they knew not to trespass on private property, but they readied their cameras for the only shot they could get: the driveway.

  When Kyle got out of the car, his journey to the front door was recorded by snapshots. As soon as the photographers moved into action, the actor fully accommodated them. His posture was confident, his stride was slow, and his expression was smoldering and smug.

  He looked down at Shaunna’s Jaguar as he passed by. He imagined that she was probably up in her room clacking away at her computer and would no doubt wish to avoid him as much as he wished to avoid her. It wasn’t that he was scared of her, exactly, but if anyone in that house could rattle him in any way, it was that girl.

  The excited photographers hooted as he closed the door behind him. They had quite the interesting story in the making, even if they didn’t know what it was. Ironically, at that moment, they knew more than anyone else.

  Shaunna was in bed, lying on her back, trying to recover both her breath and her swirling emotions. Next to her and within reach was David, resting casually on his side.

  She turned her head to look at him, if just to confirm that she wasn’t imagining the whole evening. She even reached out tentatively with her fingers to trail them along his toned stomach. When she brought her brown eyes up to meet his, his face lit up brilliantly. She couldn’t help herself and giggled in response.

  David leaned forward and tenderly pressed his lips to Shaunna’s forehead. “How are you feeling?” He asked the question without pulling away from her. The warm words deliciously tickled her skin.

  “Loved.” It was the only honest response she could offer.

  David moved his body even closer to hers and fully enveloped her in his arms. He grew still, and as the moments passed, she realized he wasn’t merely resting; he was contemplating something.

  “What are you thinking about?”

  David began tracing his fingers along her skin as he spoke, and Shaunna was instantly soothed by his movements.

  “I was thinking about how I was done with California.” He let the words rest on the sheets between them. “I remember how happy I was to get the hell out of here. I didn’t know what life I was going back to in Chicago, but at the time, all that mattered was that I wouldn’t have to come back to LA.” David’s fingers had drifted up Shaunna’s body and now rested on her chin. He gently pulled her face toward his and looked deeply into her eyes. “I never saw any of this coming. I never expected to go to Texas and find you. You’ve changed everything for me.”

  Shaunna swallowed and leaned forward to kiss him softly, reveling in the luxury of their chests pressed together once again. David continued to hold her tightly as their lips remained content in their featherlight exploration. When he did pull back, there was a look of mild curiosity in his eyes.

  “I’m thirsty. How are you?”

  “Yeah. I guess I could use some water.” She began to stir in his arms, but David’s grip held her securely against his body.

  “Let me. You wait here and rest up.” He was out of the bed before she had a chance to blink.

  Shaunna smirked. “You say that like you have more plans for us.”

  David merely winked. After he put his borrowed lime green robe back on and left the room, Shaunna sat up and pulled the covers over the lower half of her body.

  The orange glow of the setting sunlight fell over her breasts like the warm breath of her departed lover.

  The house was completely silent. Shaunna’s purse was sitting on the table next to the front door. Kyle noticed it, but did not disturb it despite multiple thoughts of vengeance. He walked briskly to his master bedroom, hoping to catch Michelle undressed enough
to upset her…and to please him.

  She was fully dressed, unfortunately, and drinking white wine while she read her mail.

  When she looked up at the doorway, Michelle wasn’t startled, but she was surprised. “Kyle! What are you doing here?”

  “I don’t need a reason to be in my own house!” He wanted to begin things aggressively. It usually broke her down faster.

  “Fine,” Michelle said as she turned her eyes back to her correspondence. “But get the fuck out of my room.”

  Kyle blinked. “I came here to get my—”

  Michelle stood up. “I said get the fuck out of my room! You’re not going to sleep here, and you aren’t going to stand there lying to me, either. Get out! Right now!”

  He turned to leave, then turned back with determination. He wasn’t going to lose to her.

  Ever.

  David walked downstairs and into the large kitchen with wooden floors and polished marble countertops. The rustic feel of the design was off-set by the very modern living room into which it opened.

  The white leather sofa was temporarily made the color of orange sherbet by the setting sun, and the black glass coffee table reflected light onto the ceiling. It shimmered like water.

  As David peered into the refrigerator in search of something other than soda to drink, he heard Michelle’s muffled, but agitated voice carry into the room.

  He stood up and cocked his head to the side like a curious puppy. He heard it again, but it was followed by something else.

  A man’s voice. Kyle’s voice.

  David looked like a green streak as he flew down the hallway toward Michelle’s bedroom.

  “I think you’re forgetting yourself, Michelle. That new boyfriend may have filled your head with the notion that you’re some strong, empowered woman, but he doesn’t know you like I do. You will never speak to me like that again! Do you hear me? I will come and go as I please as long as this place is still in my name, and you will show me some respect!”

  Michelle took a step toward him, and he flinched. It was instinctual, and she was amused when she saw it. “You’re a worm, Kyle. And if you ever speak to me like that again, I will have Thomas draw up a restraining order so fast that you’ll be served with it on your way out the door!”

  “Thomas? You would bring that prick up. You hired him on purpose just to—”

  “Of course I hired him on purpose! He’s going to nail your ass to the wall and let me throw darts at your nards!”

  “God damn it, Michelle! You shut your mouth!” He went to take a step toward her, but a strong hand on his shoulder stopped his progress.

  Kyle turned around and found himself face-to-face with David.

  “You heard the lady, Kyle. Time to go,” David demanded. He was out of breath, and Michelle noticed his cheeks were flushed with anger.

  “You!” Kyle snarled. “You dare to stand there in my bathrobe and tell me what to do in my own house!”

  “Actually”—David was a stickler for details—“it was Michelle who told you what to do. I’ll just be enforcing her wishes.”

  “You think you can take me?”

  “I could take you like a free mint in a Chinese restaurant, Kyle. But let’s not let it come to that, shall we? Get what you came here for and leave. We can handle everything else tomorrow.”

  “Or I could have you arrested,” Kyle offered instead. “Then you could have something in common with Shaunna. I think Michelle must have a thing for felons.”

  David shook his head. “You really shouldn’t have said that.”

  Kyle let him get close and then swung his fist with all his might.

  Fortunately, he was such a bad actor that he gave something away in his face, and David managed to turn his head just as the balled-up fist came in like a baseball pitch.

  Michelle heard the loud crack as Kyle’s fist made contact with the side of David’s hard head. David went sprawling to the floor, but it was Kyle who began howling in pain.

  David was going to have a headache, but he was on his feet and grinning before Kyle had even torn his eyes away from his already-swelling knuckles.

  “I’d say that you are at a disadvantage for the remainder of the fight.”

  David stepped forward and reached for Kyle’s injured hand. Kyle jerked it back instinctively and smashed it into the closet door.

  He closed his eyes in painful rage as he brought it back to his chest.

  Michelle put a hand over her mouth. It looked like she was horrified, but her fingers barely covered the broad grin that desperately wanted to give voice to her laughter.

  “Kyle.” David spoke loudly and clearly. “If you go right now, I’ll let you.”

  “I should call the police,” Michelle said.

  “No,” David suggested. “Kyle wants to leave. Don’t you, Kyle?”

  With snot sneaking down his lip, Kyle cradled his wounded hand like he was Luke Skywalker in The Empire Strikes Back. “I need my car keys.” He spoke with deflated simplicity.

  “Shaunna left them in your car,” Michelle seethed, her hand falling to the table. “Where she always does!”

  Kyle walked to the door and disappeared down the hall without a word.

  “I’m filing a restraining order with Thomas tomorrow morning!” Michelle called after him. “If you come back here, I’ll have you thrown in jail!”

  David walked behind Kyle, but kept his distance. The enraged actor left the front door wide open as he left, and David didn’t immediately hear the distant cameras clicking. When he was standing in the doorway, however, he could see the flashes and heard the catcalls from the paparazzi on the other side of the gate. David projected a sense of calm, but inwardly, he was already worrying about the new mess Shaunna would be forced to clean up.

  David closed the door and instantly went back to check on Michelle. Once he was satisfied that she was doing okay, he retrieved Shaunna’s water from the kitchen. Then he went upstairs to apologize for his unexpected delay from having to take out the trash.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  THOMAS HARPER LISTENED to Michelle’s recounting of the previous day’s events with his thick fingers laced together on top of his cherry leather briefcase. He shifted his gaze from his current client over to her publicist.

  “Under the circumstances,” he began, “I’m sure we can have a restraining order filed, but it will have to go through the police department. That means police reports, and that will include David’s involvement, which, I imagine, you would like left out of all this?”

  The two women looked at each other.

  “Actually, it couldn’t hurt,” Shaunna said. “But it would complicate things, for sure.”

  “I just have to know that Kyle won’t show up there ever again,” Michelle told Thomas. “I don’t care how.”

  “And you’re sure David doesn’t want to press assault charges?” Thomas asked.

  “Not unless he has to,” Shaunna responded.

  Thomas nodded back at her. “Well then, I’m fairly confident that we will be able to handle this with his attorney.”

  “Does it make a difference that his attorney was my attorney until he filed for divorce?” Michelle had been struggling with the injustice of it since Kyle had her served with papers bearing a familiar letterhead.

  “Actually…I love it when that happens. You see, your relationship with your former lawyer is already in his head and on his conscience. He will be predisposed to do something for you to make up for the fact that he took his pen and stabbed you in the back.”

  “Well, I wouldn’t say that he stabbed me in the back…” Michelle looked at her hands.

  “Ha! You see! You won’t even let me call a backstabber a backstabber. Imagine how guilty he feels when he’s the one who did the stabbing. He owes you one, and I’ll make sure he pays retail.” Thomas winked playfully at Michelle, who tilted her head to the side and smiled gratefully in return.

  “You think instructions from his lawyer w
ill keep Kyle away?” Shaunna’s words were blunt, but necessary. David was meeting with his new agent, and she was relieved to have him away from the house while she sought reassurance from Thomas. Kyle’s invasive visit had upset her more than it had David or Michelle. Kyle could’ve easily discovered her in bed with David, and the thought greatly unsettled her. She was anxious about the possibility of it happening again.

  “We’ll come to an agreement that will compel their side to hold up their end of any bargain we make.” Thomas then opened his briefcase and spent the better part of the next two hours going through the assets and holdings the couple had amassed.

  No doubt, Kyle hoped that his wife had forgotten the many money management options he took when his cash started flowing in. In truth, Michelle did not pay much attention at the time, but since Kyle always talked about himself, she heard about the assets over and over. He himself had imprinted the information in her brain.

  Thomas asked all the right questions, and by the time he stood up to walk the two women out to the elevators, he had enough information to make Kyle think that they’d placed a bug in his phone.

  “I’m sending over my everything guy, Sly, to change your gate code. Just to make us all feel a bit more at ease,” Thomas told them as they waited for one of six pairs of shiny steel elevator doors to open. “He’ll be the gray-haired fellow in the little Italian car. He’ll get you set up.”

  “That’s great,” Michelle said. “But I still feel like Kyle will make another scene at the house.”

  “Well,” Thomas elaborated, “Sly might have a few more tricks up his sleeve if that happens. But I’ll make it part of the negotiations first thing, and I plan on putting it into terms that will scare the shit out of them if they fail to comply. Would you like me to send you the transcript?”

  “No, thank you,” Michelle told him. “Just…let me know how it goes.”

  “Will do,” Thomas said as the doors behind him opened. He stood aside, and the two women stepped into the otherwise empty car. “I’ll call around six thirty this evening, if that suits you.”