by Alice Raine
After getting a grip on myself, I changed into my pyjamas and sat on the sofa for a few minutes, but I was worried I might fall asleep and miss Sean if he called out, so I ended up back in his room standing at the foot of the bed watching him sleep.
His trademark intense look was absent for a change, replaced with complete relaxation as he slept. He was so handsome, with his dark eyelashes fanning over his cheeks, lips slightly parted, jaw dark with stubble, and a chunk of his hair fallen messily across one eye. He looked like sexiness on a plate.
The ultimate temptation.
After staring for several minutes, I couldn’t resist going closer and gently brushing the hair back from his eyes. His skin was cool beneath my fingers, a good sign that he was over the worst of his heatstroke, and I nodded in satisfaction.
Settling in the only armchair the room had, I tried to get comfy as I watched him sleep, but the chair was too small and boxy. Clearly finding out that your boyfriend – ex-boyfriend – was missing, and then suspecting him of being with another woman in Vegas was tiring stuff, because even in my stiff position I soon found my eyes pulling closed with exhaustion.
Luckily, every time I drifted off, my head lolled forward and woke me up by cranking my neck uncomfortably, until after the fourth or fifth time, I stood up with an annoyed grumble. Chewing on my lip, I briefly debated my options, and after a short pause, decided to crawl into the bed beside Sean. We were broken up, but it wasn’t exactly like we’d never shared a bed before, and I knew he wouldn’t want me to be uncomfortable all night. Besides, this bed was easily a super-king size, so I was miles away from touching him as I rolled onto my side and fell asleep almost immediately.
Sean
A lovely floral scent filled my nose as I woke up, and I felt my lips pull into a smile. Allie. That was definitely her perfume. She must be here. My eyes flew open and the smile on my lips grew even broader when I found her curled next to me fast asleep.
As much as I wanted to fill my vision with her, my throat was parched, so I took a long drink from the water on my bedside table and did a quick survey of how I was. Surprisingly, I felt fine apart from my raging thirst. I could remember the golf tournament, and the doctor telling me I had heatstroke, but everything after that was pretty fuzzy. I’d had mild heatstroke before, but it had been nothing compared to this. Finishing the entire glass of water, I placed it down and turned back to Allie with a grin.
My gorgeous girl. I’d thought she was here earlier, but my mind had been so foggy that I’d half suspected I’d conjured her up in my imagination.
My head was clear now though, and there was no doubt that she was real, and here. More than just being here, she was in my bed. Back where she belonged. I could only assume from her presence that she’d relented on her decision for us to be split up, and that realisation made me so bloody happy that I couldn’t wait to get reacquainted with her properly.
Allie
The sharp, delicious rasp of stubble brushed across my inner thigh, and then, before I was barely even awake enough to know what was going on, the rubbing moved across to my clit and I found myself arching off the bed with a gasp of surprise. Sean often went a few days without shaving so he had a bit of a rough and ready look, but this was definitely longer and scratchier than usual, tickling and arousing in all the right places, just on the pleasurable side of painful, and it was hot as hell.
A chuckle from between my legs sent his warm breath fanning across my sensitive skin, and then the stubbly teasing was replaced with a hot mouth as he tongued urgently at my opening and sucked my clit into his mouth.
‘Oh, fuck!’ I couldn’t help the curse that exploded from my lips, because he had used far more force than usual, and had nearly sent me spiralling straight into an orgasm. One of his hands pressed into my inner thigh to part my legs wider, and the other snaked up my belly, over my ribs, and then cupped my left breast before rolling the nipple between his fingers and tugging. Hard. Another curse left my mouth, along with a further jerky hip thrust, as my core clenched and eyes squeezed shut from the sudden onslaught of pleasure.
It felt so good I could hardly decide if I was awake or just dreaming. Either way, one thing was clear; Sean was on a mission. I was barely even conscious and that was twice he’d nearly made me come already!
The mattress shifted below his weight as he began to crawl up my body, his lips leaving a scolding trail across my skin as he went, my hands digging into his hair and urging him to hurry up. His head had only just emerged from beneath the duvet when I felt the solid, silky tip of his cock pressing against my opening, and a second later he surged upwards, his arms falling on either side of my head as he plunged into me in one long, hard stroke.
A garbled, nonsensical yell left my throat as I desperately struggled to accommodate him. I was turned on, but not quite ready enough for his size, and it took several shifts of my hips and some shallow grinding until if I felt my body give the extra lubrication we needed to allow him fully inside me.
As he slid in to the hilt, he gave a heated curse and paused for a second while he breathed raggedly by my ear. Now we were fully joined, I parted my thighs as much as I could to allow him the depth I knew he would want with his coming thrusts, a move that earned me a grumble of appreciation. My man liked his sex primal, hard, and as intimate – deep – as physically possible. I didn’t know if it was a possessive thing or if he just liked to try and get as far inside me as possible, but over the next several seconds he followed tradition by repeatedly burying himself in a series of hard, fast, and deep thrusts of his beautiful cock.
This was full on and frantic, even by Sean’s standards; there was none of his usual tenderness. Instead, his hips were pumping out an incredible rhythm as if attempting to charge us towards our orgasms in record speed. Gripping his shoulders and raising my hips in time with his thrusts was about the only thing I could manage to do, and then, barely a minute or so after we’d started, I felt my body flare with a rush of heat and fly into a huge climax, my muscles gripping him as I threw my head back and dug my nails into his back to ride out my orgasm.
Sean growled above me, his cock thickening as he continued to drive deep inside of me, and then he yelled, his hips bucking as I felt him come inside me in a series of hot, flooding spurts.
Holy hell. What a way to wake up.
We were both panting and sweating as Sean rested his head on my shoulder and nuzzled into my neck, placing a string of kisses along my raging pulse. ‘I’m so glad you’ve come back to me, my gorgeous girl.’
‘Mmmm,’ I murmured, lifting my hips into his lazy thrusts and still dazed by the suddenness of that speedy sexing.
Wait a second. Back? He was glad I’d come back?
Hold on …
My sleepy, lusty fog began to clear, and my sated relaxation quickly started to turn into panic.
Oh crap … crap, crap, crap.
It felt so natural being with Sean, and I’d been so warm, sleepy, and comfortable that when he’d woken me with sex I’d completely forgotten everything going on between us. Blinking several times, I willed my drowsy brain to catch up with events, and then sucked in a breath and pushed at his chest in a panic. I couldn’t believe I’d just let him have sex with me when we were supposed to be broken up!
‘Sean, no, wait …’ Wincing, I realised just how belated my request was. I should have shouted it at the top of my lungs five minutes ago before I’d clawed his back raw with my nails. Fuck, I was such an idiot.
‘What is it, baby?’
His soft endearments weren’t helping ease my guilt at all and I winced as my heart clenched with worry. Sean sounded so ecstatic because of my appearance in his bed that I was tempted to crumble, stay with him, and just demand that we hole up in this hotel room until Savannah went to the press and admitted her lies. But I knew that couldn’t happen. He had to pretend to split up with her, and that would mean going back to LA and facing the journalists with her. Together. As a supposed cou
ple.
If I gave in now he might not rush to clear things up, and for the sake of my sanity, I really needed him to clear things up. The last few weeks had been hell. I wasn’t cut out for so much drama in my life. He needed to be with me, or not; I couldn’t handle some secret in between relationship any more. I could be stuck as ‘the other woman’ for months on end.
‘I’m not back with you, I just … shit …’ Pushing at his chest again, I finally managed to shift his weight enough so I could scramble from the bed. Running my hands through my hair, I looked down and realised that while I was still wearing my vest top, my panties and pyjama shorts were gone and were nowhere to be seen.
How the hell did Sean always manage to undress me as I slept? He was like the flipping Houdini of sex. God, this was all such an incredible mess.
Sean pushed himself to a kneeling position on the bed, completely unashamed of his nakedness, or his semi hard cock, which was laid on his thigh glistening with a mixture of our climaxes as if goading me about what I’d just done.
‘What do you mean you’re not back with me?’ he asked in shock, his tone causing my gaze to leave the sight of his manhood and raise to his eyes. ‘What the heck was that then?’ His voice rose as his hand gesticulated around the bed.
‘You pounced on me when I was asleep, it’s hardly my fault!’ I shot back defensively, guilt flooding my system and causing me to panic. It didn’t help that I suddenly became hyper aware of the fact that I could feel moisture escaping my body and wetting the tops of my thighs. Goddamn it, where were my bloody shorts? It was hardly appropriate to ask, but Sean’s post-sex cleansing routine would have been pretty welcome right about now.
‘You were in my bed! What was I supposed to think?’ His eyes darkened as anger replaced his shock.
His words were so justified I could hardly stand it. ‘I didn’t want to be far away in case you were still poorly and needed me in the night, but I was tired so I lay down for a while.’ Stupid girl. I should have toughed it out on the uncomfortable armchair.
Thinking of the chair behind me, I sighed heavily and allowed my legs to give way as I collapsed my naked arse onto it, not even caring if I made a mess of the fancy fabric.
Dropping my head into my hands, I stared at the floor and tried to reel in my skittering emotions, but it was a battle I swiftly lost. ‘I should have stopped you earlier, but I was sleepy. I wasn’t thinking straight … I’m sorry.’
‘Sorry?’ he choked out. ‘That sex was incredible. I felt so close to you, so connected, didn’t that mean anything to you?’
‘Of course it did. But it still shouldn’t have happened,’ I muttered. He was angry, but what else could I say? Nothing would make things better. I had seriously screwed up. Tears burnt at my eyes and began to run down my cheeks, dripping from the end of my nose and onto the carpet in a steady, seemingly endless stream of hopelessness.
‘This is all messed up,’ I murmured through my clogged throat. ‘I came to Vegas because I thought you were with another woman, and I stayed because you were sick, but I still can’t be with you until you can be properly mine.’
Sean let out a muttered growl of frustration that caused me to look up and meet his gaze. His eyes softened slightly when he saw my tear-streaked face and his shoulders slumped. ‘It might sound dramatic to you, Sean, but I wasn’t kidding when I said that a little piece of me dies every time I see you with Savannah. Just knowing that you’re going to work with her where everyone thinks you’re engaged is just … just … too much for me to handle. I need to distance myself from it until it’s sorted.’
Standing up, I tried to ignore the incriminating wetness on my thighs and began to search for my shorts. ‘I know it’s not enough, but I really am sorry. I shouldn’t have come here in the first place. Just forget this happened.’ Finally spotting my knickers and shorts on the floor by the side table, I pulled them on and risked a glance at Sean. He was still frozen in the bed, but his expression had now morphed into weary resignation.
‘Never, I won’t forget this. It was too incredible to forget.’ He stated with a defiant glance. ‘And I’m glad you came. Thank you. I’m sorry I yelled, I just really miss you.’ My heart broke a little at his words. I missed him too. So much, but it was a screamingly obvious fact so I didn’t bother to say it out loud.
Shaking his head again, he raised both hands and ran them through his hair. ‘Is there anything I can say to make you change your mind?’ he murmured, his dark-ringed eyes looking so hopeful that I hated to be the one causing him pain.
‘As soon as you’re officially single, I’ll be all yours,’ I vowed softly.
He let out a long, low breath and closed his eyes on a slow blink. ‘But not before then?’
As awful as it made me feel, especially after what had just occurred, I had to stay resolute, so I shook my head sadly. Sean’s eyes flickered shut, but then eventually he nodded reluctantly. ‘OK. I understand. I’d be the same if things were reversed. I will sort it, Allie. You’re going to be mine again, that’s a promise.’
A small, sad smile curled my lips as my tears continued to flow down my cheeks. ‘I like that promise,’ I whispered thickly. ‘A lot.’ Grabbing my handbag from the dresser, I slung it over my shoulder, trying to remember where the heck I’d left my clothes when I undressed. ‘I need to go, my return flight leaves soon.’
Sean’s face fell at my words, but then he nodded. ‘OK. Thank you for coming, my gorgeous girl.’
I winced. It was amazing how painful it was to hear his nickname for me when all this tension lay between us.
Seeing me flinch, Sean’s shoulders slumped. ‘Sorry. I’ll stick to my earlier promises. No calling you until everything’s sorted. Just know that I will be missing you and thinking of you every single second, regardless of where I am or who I’m with.’
His words were low and rough and so full of emotion that my throat closed up, rendering me completely unable to answer verbally. Giving him one final nod and a loaded glance, I turned on my heel and walked away from him again, hoping with everything in me that he would be true to his word and sort things with Savannah sooner rather than later. Perhaps then we could get on the straight and narrow and I wouldn’t ever have to do the walk of shame away from him again.
FORTY-THREE
Cait
My plan for the afternoon was to finish work and immediately meet with Allie and see how things had gone with Sean. I’d had a text from her this morning saying she was getting on a flight back and would be in LA just after lunchtime, and I’d been itching to get out of work ever since. I had five minutes left of my shift, and I knew exactly what I’d do when that time was up … run to the house to see if she was back.
Her text had been brief, so I’d assumed she didn’t really want to talk about what had happened with Sean, but for once I wasn’t going to be the quiet friend. This time I was going to push her for details about Sean’s disappearance and make sure she was definitely OK.
Finally, my shift was over and I made my way towards the lockers so I could grab my bag and head off. I veered as far away from my manager’s office as possible just in case she tried to grab me for some overtime, and then felt my shoulders slump with relief when I made it to my locker.
I tensed again almost immediately however, when I overheard a conversation taking place between two crew members beside me. ‘Yeah, so apparently the fire closed down the entire stage. They’ve only just managed to put it out.’
That was a slightly alarming statement to overhear, so I marginally slowed my movements and fiddled with my bag so I could listen for a little longer.
‘I bet it was dodgy wiring, that stage has needed work for years. There was bound to be an accident at some point.’
‘Yep. I heard a rumour they’ll be moving the filming of Fire Lab to stage six, right next door to us.’
‘Really? Just think, Johanna Stram within just a few feet of me … God, she is so hot. Those legs of hers drive me insane.�
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‘Not appropriate, dude, some of them are in hospital at the moment.’
‘Sorry, but I’m just saying, she’s got a decent pair of legs on her.’
As I absorbed their words, my stomach twisted with apprehension and I had to grip the locker to steady myself. Just a few weeks ago, the news that Jack’s show might be moving right next door would have terrified me beyond belief, but now, that news paled into insignificance when coupled with the fact that there had been a fire on his set.
That must have been terrifying. As I processed the thought, a more alarming one sprung to my mind. What if Jack was one of the injured?
Studios were busy places and always packed with people, so the chances of it being him were quite small, but I found my breathing turning a little ragged. I couldn’t allow myself to dwell. I turned to the two men beside me and cleared my throat.
‘Did you say a fire? Who was hurt?’
The man who had been practically drooling over thoughts of Johanna Stram, who I happened to know was Jack’s leading lady in the show, suddenly flushed bright red and averted his gaze as he realised I had overheard them.
‘Yep, the Fire Lab stage went up in smoke about two hours ago. Ironic, huh, the stage of an arson drama burning down to the ground?’
Burning to the ground? Holy shit. I barely took a breath as I waited for him to elaborate. ‘I don’t exactly know about the extent of the injuries, but my pal is a gaffer over there and said that Brent, one of the cameramen, got trapped in a corner of the studio when the fire started. Luckily, Fiona, the line editor, and Jack Felton were nearby and quick to grab extinguishers. They managed to douse enough of it to get the guy out. I heard they’ve all got burns and smoke inhalation, but I don’t know how bad.’ He gave a shrug and slammed his locker shut. ‘But I saw at least three ambulances arrive. Apparently, everyone else was evacuated safely. They’ve shut off the entire corner of the studio site at the moment.’
