Fire and Honor

by M. S. Parker

  It was quieter out here. No one milling around, looking for drinks or kissing ass. This was nice. The breeze was still warm and I knew back in New York, the nights would be starting to cool off as autumn approached. I'd never been anywhere that didn't have definite seasons. Being warm in LA when it was snowing back east was going to be strange.

  “Everything okay?” Taylor asked.

  I smiled at him. “Fine. I was just thinking about how different LA is than New York or Chicago.”

  Taylor nodded. “I get it. My first winter out here, I kept waiting to wake up to snow covering the ground.”

  “Does it ever stop being weird?” I asked.

  He grinned. “This is Hollywood, what do you think?”

  I laughed, a genuine one instead of the mostly fake ones I'd been using all night.

  “I'm really glad you invited me tonight,” Taylor said, his tone becoming serious. “And not just because it annoyed DeVon to see me here after he's been trying to ignore me.”

  “Well, I'm really glad you came.” The corners of my mouth tipped up in a half-smile. “And not just because bringing you was a good way to get back at DeVon for using you against me.”

  “So,” Taylor said slowly. “We're both glad to be together because we actually like being together?”

  I nodded, feeling the air between us shift. I had a choice to make here. I could diffuse the tension and friend-zone him, or I could give in to the physical attraction I'd had towards him from the first moment I saw him.

  He stepped in front of me and slid his hand around the back of my neck, and I knew if I was going to pull away, this was the time to do it.

  I let him pull me forward to meet his mouth. I pushed aside any doubts or questions I had and let myself lean into the kiss. My hands slid under his jacket to feel his hard chest and stomach beneath his thin dress shirt as his tongue teased at my mouth. I parted my lips, expecting him to immediately plunge inside, but he surprised me, letting his tongue trace my lips, first the outside, then the inside. I could feel his restraint, his muscles flexing and twitching beneath my palms as he forced himself to keep it slow.

  I ran my hands up to his neck, my fingers playing with the short hair at the base. I slid my tongue alongside his, drawing it deeper into my mouth. He groaned, and the hand on the back of my neck slid down to my ass. I pressed myself closer to him, enjoying the feel of his hard body against mine.

  The hand not on my ass slid up my hip to the side of my breast and I reluctantly pulled back. Taylor's face was flushed and we were both panting as we took a step back.

  “I think we should call it a night,” I said when I finally got back enough breath to speak. “I'll take you home.”

  Taylor's eyes were a much deeper blue when he looked at me, full of the desire I'd felt in his kiss. He nodded. “That's probably a good idea.”

  19

  Devon

  The petite blonde in front of me with the baby blue eyes and tiny dress was one of Mirage's most promising stars. Or at least that's how Kelsee Hawkey had been trying to sell it to me all night. She'd also made it very clear that she was willing to do anything to get ahead.

  Granted, she was a little younger than my usual conquests, barely over twenty, but she was smoking hot and willing as hell. I should've been setting her up for the kill, but instead, I was barely paying attention to what she was saying and kept stealing glances at Krissy and Jake.

  I told myself it was because I was her boss and I needed to make sure she was doing her job. The only problem with that was the better she did her job, the more it annoyed me. I was pleased she was capturing his attention, giving just enough to keep Jake interested but not so much that she was throwing herself at him. She was as good as I'd hoped.

  When she'd first shown up with Taylor – just the thought of him made me clench my jaw – I was pissed. I knew why she'd done it. He'd obviously told her a sob story about how I'd been avoiding his calls and she'd decided to bring him as payback for how I'd deceived her. Once I'd gotten over the initial annoyance at seeing the two of them together, I'd seen the good in it. I could respect her trying to show me up. She certainly knew how to play the game. The fact that she'd been willing to pretend to overlook Taylor's part in the whole thing just to get back at me showed so much promise. Between that and her skillful maneuvering of Jake, I could see that she was going to be a huge asset to my company.

  As Krissy moved into her second hour of laughing at Jake's jokes, I tried to focus my attention on Kelsee. I ran my gaze over her, undressing her with my eyes, though there wasn't much to take off. Her nipples were visible through her thin dress, confirming my previous suspicions that she wasn't wearing a bra. I approved of her choice. Her tits were smaller than...some other women's, but they were firm and high, perky enough that she didn't need any extra support. I hadn't noticed a pantyline and wondered if she'd forgone those as well.

  I entertained myself for a few minutes thinking about Kelsee and her lack of undergarments. How would she react, I wondered, if I pressed her up against a wall and slid my hand beneath her dress? Fingered her into an orgasm right here in the middle of the party? Or, better yet, led her over to a chair and had her sit on my lap, unbuckled my pants and slid right inside her? Of course, I'd never do the latter. It didn't matter if a woman said she'd been tested and gotten a clean bill of health, and was on the pill. I didn't trust them. One time was all it took to get some STD or get a woman pregnant, all because I trusted her.

  “So I told Marcie that if she thought I was going to back down just because she wanted the part, too, she could forget it.”

  Kelsee's voice drew me back from the unappealing route my thoughts had taken. She had a nice voice. It was sugary sweet, the kind that went with the plaid skirt and white blouse of a schoolgirl's uniform.

  I turned my attention away from Kelsee, searching again for Krissy. Kelsee was hot, no doubt, but I couldn't quite focus. Maybe that was a good thing. This was a business engagement, after all. Granted, I often mixed business with pleasure. Despite my strict rules for my employees regarding dating clients, quite a few of my...conquests came from the pool of actresses who paraded through Mirage's doors. I excused my hypocrisy by telling myself that it was different. Other people, no matter how much they denied it, rarely did the whole sex-only thing. There were always emotions involved. Not with me. I never wanted to date these women. It was fucking, pure and simple. Okay, maybe pure wasn't the right word, but it was the right idea.

  “Who's she?” Kelsee asked.

  “Krissy Jensen,” I answered, knowing she'd followed my gaze to find out why I wasn't mesmerized with her. “She's a new employee at Mirage.”

  “Oh.” Kelsee sounded relieved, then impressed. “Is that Jake Morris she's with? Like Universal Pictures Jake Morris?”

  “Mm-hm.” I made a non-committal noise as I watched Krissy lead Jake to the dance floor.

  They headed straight for Taylor who was dancing with some blonde. Krissy was definitely putting effort into her time with Jake. As she started to move, my chest tightened and I couldn't look away. I'd seen hundreds, thousands, of women dance. Some without clothes, some with. Some had even had professional training. But there was something about the way Krissy moved that made me wonder what she would look like in my bed, her naked body against my black silk sheets, her will totally under my control...

  “You have an amazing house, Mr. Ricci.” Kelsee pressed her body closer to mine, managing to pull my attention from Krissy. Her hand brushed my thigh.

  “Thank you,” I said. The heat I'd felt when I'd looked at Krissy was fanning into a flame as Kelsee's hand moved from brushing 'accidentally' against me to actually stroking my leg, her fingers moving closer and closer to my groin.

  “I'd love a private tour.” Kelsee was practically purring.

  I smiled at her and took her hand. If she kept up that rubbing, I wasn't going to be able to mingle with the rest of my guests. I pressed my lips to the back of her hand before
releasing it. “It's DeVon, and right now I have to go talk to other guests, but if you stay, I promise I'll give you a very special private tour later.”

  “I won't go anywhere,” she promised.

  I nodded and then turned to make my way through the crowd. I hated the schmoozing part of my job, but the thought of Kelsee and everything I could do to her kept a smile on my face as I made small talk. I was going to take my time with her, make sure she was writhing and begging for everything.

  “DeVon!”

  I turned and saw Jake coming towards me. I didn't see Krissy. Where the hell had she gone? I hadn't told her how long she needed to stay and she'd been keeping Jake occupied for a while, but it bothered me that I didn't know where she was.

  “You are one lucky son of a bitch,” Jake said. “How do you do it? Find someone so smoking hot with so much talent.”

  I saw a brunette trying to squeeze in beside Jake, the smile on her face telling me exactly what she was going to offer him. I thought she was a fairly new client, maybe one Penny was handling, but I couldn't say for sure.

  “Yes, she's very talented.” I gave the brunette a polite smile.

  Jake looked over at her, then shook his head. He ignored the woman and said, “No, Krissy. She's amazing.”

  I would've felt bad for the brunette being dismissed like that, but I knew she'd just set her sights on someone else. Sure enough, before I could finish agreeing with Jake, the brunette was heading towards the bar where several other studio people and casting directors were lingering.

  “Do you mind if I take a shot at her?” Jake asked. “I mean, she didn't say she was dating anyone.”

  My stomach churned at the thought of Jake asking Krissy out on a date. Him kissing her. Her naked body beneath him... “Knock yourself out,” I said. I didn't know what was wrong with me today. There wasn't a chance in hell that Krissy would go for Jake. He was so not her type.

  Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted Krissy heading for the back patio, Taylor following behind her. I quickly excused myself and made my way through the crowd. I told myself I just wanted to speak with her about how things were going with Jake, but I couldn't deny that I was curious about why Taylor was with her. She'd already gotten her little dig in earlier and then they'd gone their separate ways. True, they'd danced together, but she'd also danced with Jake and a blonde actress I thought was named Hannah.

  I slipped outside, careful not to make any noise as I ducked into the shadows. I wasn't close enough to hear what they were saying, but I could see that they were standing close together. That surprised me. She had to be angry at him for his part in my deception, so why was she acting like she was enjoying being here with him when there wasn't anyone around to see?

  His hand went around the back of her neck and I waited for her to pull back, maybe even slap him, but she didn't. Instead, she let him kiss her. And it wasn't just some little peck, meant to convey friendship. When he grabbed her ass, I turned around and went inside. I didn't want to see any more. What I wanted was to find Kelsee and make sure she was staying because I'd lost any doubts I'd had about fucking her tonight.

  20

  Krissy

  There was definitely an advantage to the bigger car, I decided. It made what Taylor and I were doing so much easier.

  He was a good kisser, using just enough tongue but not so much that I felt like I was going to choke on it. Not sloppy like some guys I'd been with. He was a bit hesitant with his hands, which surprised me, but that could've been because I'd shot him down so many times before. I could see how that'd mess with a guy's head.

  I definitely wasn't going to shoot him down now. The last time I'd had sex, there hadn't been any of this, so it had been a while since I'd made out with someone. Now that he knew I wasn't going to slap his hands away, he was taking full advantage of me half-laying on top of him as we leaned against the door.

  His hands slid up over my hips and squeezed my ass before moving up to my breasts. He wasn't touching skin, but I could feel the heat of his palms through my dress and I could only imagine what they would feel like through the even thinner fabric of my panties and bra.

  His lips moved down my jaw to my neck and I tipped my head back to give him easier access. An impish part of me wanted to tell him to give me a hickey, just so DeVon could see it, but I didn't. As much as I wanted to annoy my boss, I didn't want to get the reputation of office slut. Enough people were already assuming I was sleeping with DeVon. I didn't need to add fuel to the fire.

  I pressed my hips more firmly against his and he moaned against my neck. I could feel him hardening against me and wondered what it would look like. Thick and short? Long and thin? Would it curve up towards the firm abs I was currently running my hands over? Did he shave? Wax? Was his chest as smooth as DeVon's?

  I gave my head a little shake. I was definitely thinking too much. I just wanted to enjoy the pleasurable heat that was building between us.

  “Are you okay?” Taylor asked, apparently distracted by my head shake.

  I smiled at him. “Very okay.”

  He shifted, glancing through the fogged-up window at the little house behind him. It wasn't anything fancy, but it wasn't run-down either. I liked it. Maybe I'd get a house with roommates instead of an apartment.

  “Do you want to come in for a drink?” Taylor asked, his tone suggesting that he'd be interested in more than a drink if I was so inclined.

  I sighed and pushed myself up. “I don't think I'm ready to meet the roommates.”

  “They're out of town.”

  I gave him a skeptical look and he raised both of his hands, palms out.

  “I swear. Some kind of poker tournament in Vegas.” He gave me a shy smile. “We'd have the place to ourselves.”

  The space between my legs throbbed. It had definitely been too long and Taylor was hot. I could either go home and get myself off or I could go inside for a drink and see where things went from there.

  I went with option two.

  I hadn't drank much at the party since I'd known I had to make sure Jake didn't take things too far, so the drink he offered me was welcomed.

  “One of my roommates, Kyle, he's auditioning for a part of a bartender, so he went out and got all of this.” Taylor waved his hand over the plethora of bottles on the kitchen counter.

  I smiled, but I didn't want to hear about his roommate. I drained my glass and grabbed the front of his shirt, pulling him towards the living room. He followed without complaint, his arms going around my waist as I turned towards him.

  His mouth found mine and I could taste the shot of vodka he'd taken. I moved my hands between us, working open the buttons to his dress shirt until I could slip my hand inside. I wasn't sure when he'd taken off his jacket. I think around the time I'd abandoned my shoes.

  He caught his breath when my nails raked over his nipple and I felt the flesh harden as I ran my fingers over it. The hands on my waist flexed. I pulled us backwards until we tumbled onto the couch, Taylor landing on top of me. He was bigger than me, but not so much that his weight was too much.

  Our lips moved together as I tugged his shirt out of his pants and finished unbuttoning it. If he'd been rich, I would've just torn it off, but I knew Taylor didn't have an overabundance of money to buy dress shirts, so I made myself go slow and not tear anything. I did, however, throw it onto the floor without a second thought. I ran my hands all over his back and shoulders, enjoying the way his muscles bunched and flexed under my touch.

  He shifted so that he could kiss my jaw, then throat. I made a pleased sound, but I wanted him lower. I took his hand and put it on my bare thigh, hoping he'd take that hint. When he didn't, I moved my body so that his fingers slid under my dress and his mouth met my collarbone.

  Almost hesitantly, he nudged the strap of my dress with his nose. I rolled my shoulder, letting the strap fall. He kissed his way across my shoulder and then down along my neckline. I moaned when he finally reached the top of my breasts. The
hand on my thigh moved up to my hip, his fingertips brushing against the part of my ass that wasn't covered by my panties.

  I sighed. While I liked his touch, he was taking far too long with this. At this rate, we'd both fall asleep before we got to the good stuff. I pressed my lips to his ear and said the magic words.

  “Show me your bedroom.”

  21

  Devon

  Kelsee was waiting right where I'd left her. A handful of men were around her, flirting and laughing, but as soon as her eyes met mine, I knew she was mine for the night. The men all looked up at me when I approached, parting so that I could get close enough to Kelsee to whisper in her ear.

  “Are you staying?”

  She nodded, her eyes glowing. She knew exactly what I was asking.

  “Good.” I took a few steps back and let the ring of men close around her again. It didn't matter what they said to her. She wouldn't be leaving with any of them.

  I was tempted to cut the party short. Every muscle in my body was tense and I couldn't quit seeing Krissy and Taylor kissing. His hand on her ass. Her body leaning into his.

  I made small talk with all the important people and blew off Jake's question about where Krissy had disappeared to by saying that she'd had a long week and probably wanted to call it a night. I didn't know if he believed me, but I was having a hard time caring. I wanted to believe my lie. It was feasible enough. I knew she still hadn't found an apartment, which meant she was probably going to spend the weekend looking. That could be exhausting. She probably had taken Taylor home, then went back to the hotel, showered and gone to bed.

  I could almost picture her in the shower, the water caressing her body...