by MK Meredith
Addi finished clearing the meal, then pulled the French doors closed behind her. “Have that list for me?”
“Sent it to your email.”
“I’ll get started making calls. Good thing Hollywood never sleeps.” She disappeared down the hall.
Jimmy and Roque watched after her, and Jimmy whistled.
Roque pushed back from the table, too restless to sit. When Jimmy’s low whistle agitated him, it was time to move. He paced the back patio, enjoying the cool breeze tailing the rhythmic crashing of the ocean waves. The sound calmed him, and the breeze helped steady him.
Letting his head fall back, absorbing the rays of the setting sun, he wished his stress and misgivings would go out with the tide. Fuck.
“You okay, boss?”
Roque snapped his head up as Jimmy approached from the kitchen, two beers in his hands. Roque eyed the bottles.
“Looks like you could use one.”
Roque dipped his chin. “Shit.” Accepting a bottle, he twisted off the cap and tossed it into the trash. He pulled a long swallow and turned to look out over the Pacific.
Jimmy stood at his side and took in the blue horizon as well. The two accepted the silence that went hand in hand with the first few drafts of a cold beer, relaxing in the absence of the constant chatter on a film set.
“I have a few angles I can work. Give me a few days?”
Roque took another long swallow, finishing off the bottle. “I don’t have any choice, do I?” He glanced at his friend then back out across the waters below. “I have to make this work, man.”
“Then make it work.”
Roque dipped his chin. Fuck. Make it work. Those three words had never seemed so impossible.
Jimmy tossed his empty bottle into the trash. “As far as tonight goes, I’ll secure the lot and set up for tomorrow.”
“Yeah. Good.”
“Anything else?”
Roque stilled. “You into Addi?” What the fuck was wrong with him? The stress of the project was screwing with his head.
His friend laughed. “You are into Addi.”
Roque cut a look at his amused and unflinching friend. That was the problem with having friends on the payroll; they had no respect for his intimidation. “I’m not into Addi. Fuck. Ever want to do something but knew it probably wasn’t good for you?”
Jimmy nodded. “Every day.”
He had a passion for film, wanted to act, but found out he was more comfortable on the other side of the camera, discovering an eye for photography. What a lot of people didn’t know was Jimmy had faced more loss than most. Made him want to help every stray puppy that crossed his path. He’d lost his brother, and since, his sister-in-law was in and out of prison more times than Charlie Sheen. The man battled a constant war against himself with each phone call he received, begging him for help. One more time. Just one more time. All the while leaving his young niece alone and scared.
Shaking his head, Jimmy took the empty bottle from Roque and tossed it into the trash. “You need to get laid.” He stretched out his tattoo-sleeved arm. “As far as Addi goes, a man my size and with all the tattoos? Most women don’t throw their arms around my neck like I’m a damn kitten. Usually they run or pretend I’m not there. Not Addi. From the first day, she accepted me. That’s a good girl right there. She sees people.”
Roque continued to stare at the waves rushing to the shore below and released a gust of air, then swung his gaze around to find his friend grinning ear to ear.
“Night, boss.”
Jimmy took the stairs that led around the side of the house to the front drive. Roque watched him until he disappeared around the corner.
He needed to be thinking about the film, not Addi. But damned if he wasn’t tired of thinking. Period.
Addi made it through the entire list, setting up appointments where she could, promising callbacks to others. The industry was like the capital with all the back-patting and favors and games. How the hell did they ever get anything done?
Walking into the kitchen, she found Roque staring through the window over the sink.
“Hey, boss. I set up a few meetings. Put them on your calendar.”
Sighing, he turned and leaned back against the counter. “Thanks.”
She stepped up to him and tilted her head to the side with a grin. Her fingers itched to soothe his brow and her lips wanted to ease the firm line of his own, but instead she loosened the top button of his shirt and teased. “You need to lighten up, or you’re never going to make it through the weekend. No one’s going to want to sign on with a tight-ass producer. No matter how fine said ass might be.”
His lips twitched.
She placed her hands on her hips. “It’s going to work out. Something will come from these meetings; if not a direct link, then they’ll know someone who knows someone.” He continued to watch, making her neck itch under the collar. She considered jumping on him just to shake him out of his mood, but even she knew there were appropriate times to act inappropriately. “Let me ask you something.”
“What?” His voice was low and skittered over her skin with the awareness that the house was empty besides the two of them.
“When have you ever failed to accomplish what you set your mind to?”
“Remember when you stopped me out on the beach?”
She nodded slowly. “You were hurting. I—”
“I was going to thank you for keeping a clear head. That you were right…about putting a stop to it all, but I changed my mind. Clear head be damned.”
Confused, she opened her mouth to speak, but before a single word came out, Roque’s hand palmed the back of her head, and he pulled her in tight with his other hand at her lower back. As soon as her chest pressed into him, his lips crashed down and took the words right out of her mouth.
The same white heat from that night blinded her. She couldn’t fight the desire to get closer even if she wanted to. And she didn’t want to fight it. Not anymore. Chase was right. They were both single and adults. Maybe if she quit trying so hard to ignore her attraction to him, she could concentrate once again on getting her home back.
One hand dove into the silky waves of his hair while the other wrapped around his waist, pulling him in. The length of his insistent arousal pressed into her belly, and she pressed back.
Roque’s low growl incited a thousand butterflies in her core, and she reveled in the encouragement. She swept her tongue against his possessively.
Sliding his hands down her body, he gripped her hips and set her up on the counter. She naturally opened her legs to make room for him. He didn’t just step close but also pulled her to the very edge of the counter top so the center of her heat cradled him. He moved against her as his tongue swept into her mouth again and again.
Addi’s body tightened. He tasted like Malibu sunsets, pure brawn, and spice. A combination she’d never experienced before but would rather starve than go without again.
Out of nowhere, Addi remembered where they were and, sliding her hands to either side of Roque’s face, tried to still the building storm. She spoke against his mouth. “Wait. Wait a second.”
With a growl of warning that Addi was coming to love, Roque pulled back slowly. “You’re trying to kill me, aren’t you?”
Chuckling at the pained expression on his face, she shook her head and whispered, “No, I…I just remembered we’re in the kitchen.”
“So what? Does it remind you of flirting with Jimmy?”
Addi snorted. “I have never flirted with Jimmy.”
Roque raised a brow and in a high-pitched voice teased, “Oh, Jimmy, shut up.”
With that, Addi slapped him gently on the chest. “Oh my God, you’re ridiculous.” There was no way in hell she’d tell him the real conversation. The man had a big enough head as it was. Besides, she was a healthy, sexual woman who happened to find this man attractive. That’s the understatement of the century. And if she wanted to play, she could play. No emotion to muddy the w
aters, no expectations, simple, consenting, safe fun.
Making a face, she stuck out her tongue at Roque.
Without warning, he grabbed her around the waist and hoisted her over his shoulder.
She slapped at his ass and laughed. “Put me down right now.”
His chuckle trailed them through the living room and along the back hallway to her bedroom. He shoved the door open with a hip.
Addi tensed against the impending upending onto the bed, but when he leveraged her off, he didn’t toss her but rather slid her down his body until they pressed chest to breast. She tightened her legs about his waist, fitting herself snug against his hard heat.
Roque held her gaze. She held her breath. Questions seemed to pass through his eyes, but he shuttered them and then took her mouth, this time with tender, feather-like caresses, his tongue sliding along her lower lip to the corner where he played until rounding up and over her top lip.
She needed more, wanted more.
No more words, no more teasing. The early evening sun lost its strength as it settled into the horizon, basking the room in a warm, subtle glow.
Roque stepped to the edge of the bed and, bracing himself with one knee and one hand on the mattress, lowered Addi to her back. “You are so fucking beautiful.”
“No.”
As he settled his body between her legs, he frowned down at her. “No? I’m over that word.”
She laughed. “I’m cute. I’m not beautiful.”
“Whoever told you that was a damned moron.”
Addi knew it was silly. She knew that in moments of heat like this, people said things, but hearing the word beautiful slide from between Roque’s lips was the strongest of aphrodisiacs.
Women were beautiful. She was a woman—not a toddler that needed to be coddled and taken care of. She was XX all the way, baby, and the thought spread a smile across her face so wide her cheeks ached.
He dipped his head and took her still smiling lips.
Enough of this—she wanted to feel his naked skin against her own and compare the experience to her unbidden but persistent dreams.
Kissing him back with every ounce of desire that pumped through her from head to toe, she trailed her fingers down his abdomen until she reached the buckle of his belt. Making quick work of the offending accessory, she reveled in the sexy-sounding whisk as it snapped loose of his belt loops, then let it fly.
Pulling at his dress shirt, she didn’t wait for him to work the buttons but yanked it up and over his head, frustrated when his bulk hindered the fabric’s disappearance.
He sat back on his haunches with a low chuckle, soothing her like a damn filly. “Whoa, hold on a second.”
She was tired of waiting. “Don’t tell me what to do.”
Simply staring at her, he worked the cufflinks and finished pulling his shirt free.
She didn’t waste any time. The sight of all that smooth skin stretched so deliciously over broad shoulders and a well-filled-out chest turned her mouth to dust. She tried to swallow, but one couldn’t squeeze a drop from the Sahara—and she was parched.
As he tossed his shirt to the side, Addi made quick work of the button and zipper on his slacks.
“Off.”
“Now who’s getting bossy?” he teased but didn’t hesitate to slide off the end of the bed and drop his drawers to the ground.
Hard lines and sharp edges. Rounded masses of muscle and dense, thick flesh as smooth as the surface of a perfectly worn river rock.
Addi opened her arms.
She was answered by a grin pulled up only at one corner. Mischief and promise shone from his eyes and played tag with her senses.
Bare and open to the world, he placed one knee on the bed. Oh, and what that did for her view. His heavy balls settled into the barest of a back and forth momentum, and she wanted to feel their weight. Anticipation sent her insides to liquid, and she pulled her legs together to ease the sensation.
“Oh, I don’t think so,” Roque’s voice broke through the haze in her mind, and she watched, transfixed, as he removed one nude strappy heel followed by the other. Both fell to the floor with a satisfying thunk. The heat of his fingertips on the top of one foot sent shivers up her leg. With slow circular motions, Roque slid his fingers up her ankle and traced the bones on both sides. She’d scream if he didn’t get to work. Now.
As if he had all the time in the world, he repeated the action to the other foot and ankle, then ran the base of his hands with firm pressure up the insides of her calves, up the insides of her thighs until the heel of both palms massaged firmly into the apex between her thighs. Addi arched into his touch and closed her eyes. It still wasn’t nearly enough.
Splaying his fingers wide, he gently slid his thumbs up and down atop her cleft over her white skinny capris. She whimpered as heat built to an inferno inside her.
Roque lowered his head and pressed his lips where his thumbs had created a storm of sensations. His hot breath penetrated the thick denim, and she arched once more, this time against his mouth. Visions of his silky lips and tongue exploring her with no barrier taunted and teased.
“Roque. Now. Please. I can’t wait.”
“Yes, you can. And you will.”
Sliding his hands under her cream fitted tank, he massaged and kneaded until reaching the edge of the built-in elastic that supported her breasts. He slid one finger under the edge and growled in appreciation. Then in one swift glide of both hands, he’d found his way under the elastic until his hands cupped her breasts. She arched into his touch, the rough scrape of his calluses over her sensitive nipples wrenching a cry from her lips.
“Damn it, Roque. This is too much.” She whimpered. She begged. She didn’t care.
In one fluid motion, he supported her upper body and rid her of her top then. Resting her back, he dragged his hands down over her breasts, over her belly, until he reached the button of her jeans. A quick flick and zip followed by the slide of denim over her heated, overly sensitive skin, and she thought she’d lose it then and there.
He raised a brow. “No panties?”
“Roque.” Her patience had fled her days ago.
His eyes feasted on her form as he slid on a condom. There was no denying the lust and appreciation in his heated gaze. Two could play at this game. If she couldn’t get what she wanted with words, she’d get it by tempting him beyond all reason. She smiled the smile of the all-knowing and pulling her knees up and open until the outside of her thighs rested against the cool sheets of her bed.
His eyes slid from her breasts to the juncture between her thighs, spread open in invitation, and stilled. So still she feared he’d quit breathing.
“Now…no more games.”
Intense blue eyes held her own for a beat. “I don’t play games.” He slid back between her legs, rubbing his hot length between her slick folds.
Her breath seized, and she gripped the bedding between tight fists.
“I don’t rush, either. I savor.” He dipped his head and circled one nipple with his tongue, ending with a suckle, then a gentle nip with his teeth. Again to the other side.
Addi deserted the bedsheets and gripped his head with her hands, pressing his face into her swollen breasts and arching her lower body into his promise of release. Dragging his face up to hers she captured his lips and plunged her tongue deep into his mouth, desperate for him to repeat the action with a whole different region of his body.
“I want it, too. Fuck, I want it, too. But I want to learn you.” He spoke against her mouth. “Each and every valley, each and every curve.”
Sliding down her torso, he splayed her legs wide to his gaze and then slowly lowered his head.
She couldn’t take any more.
When the tip of his tongue flicked gently, lightly against her, her hips hurtled off the mattress, and she cried out. “Later, learn me later. I need you now.” Her voice ripped from her, ragged and wanting.
With a growl, he lapped his tongue from bottom to
top, once, twice; then just as she thought she’d surely explode from the tension building to painful heights, he slid up her body, his cock filling her and his tongue filling her mouth in one synchronized motion.
He groaned from so deep in his chest it vibrated against her breasts, and she returned it with a cry into his mouth. Wrapping her legs around his waist, she tilted her pelvis to take his length deeper, harder. Pulling him tighter with her legs, she encouraged more.
His hands found every sensitive bit of flesh, and his tongue fulfilled its promise to her mouth. As the tension in her core twisted tighter and tighter, she held on for dear life. Roque drove deeper and faster, his gasps for air wrapping around her own. Slick flesh upon slick flesh, the heated aroma of desire, all man and all woman, filled her senses, clouding her brain. She shot off her precipice with a cry.
And he followed.
With one last pleasure-blinding thrust, he shouted out his release, straining, pushing, gathering her within his embrace so tightly she felt completely surrounded by him.
She held firm as both their bodies ebbed and flowed with the pulsing waves of release. He dropped his forehead to the pillow, pressing his lips into the side of her neck by her birthmark. Sensations feathered out from the velvet of his lips against her skin.
How could there be any left?
She was spent but energized. Satiated but hungry. Cleansed of every thought she’d ever had, but full of new, intriguing, and terrifying ones.
Ignore her attraction?
Who had she been kidding?
Now she feared she’d think of nothing but.
Chapter 12
Roque lay stunned.
Addi dozed, her head tucked under his chin, a hand on his chest, fingers splayed wide. The setting sun offered the slightest glimmer of light to the darkening room, bouncing shadows off the walls.
What the hell was that? A deep sense of contentment at having Addi in his arms settled him deeper into the mattress. Now wasn’t that a surprise?
