Acting Lessons (Off Guard)

by Katie Allen

  “But you didn’t like the new pony.”

  She shot him a guilty, sideways look. “No. Isn’t that awful? I sound like the biggest spoiled brat in the kingdom of spoiled brats, don’t I? My stepdad gives me an expensive, ribbon-winning pony, and I just want my naughty, cranky Sprinkles back.”

  “It’s not awful.”

  Wrinkling her nose, she sighed. “I felt awful. Every time I was at the barn I felt guilty and sad and terrible. I hated showing, too. I’d get so nervous that I’d throw up beforehand.”

  “Did you quit riding?”

  Her laugh didn’t hold much humor. “I wish. It was important to Ben, though, so I kept riding and showing and puking until I went to college. Every couple of years, he’d get me a new horse. He wanted me to go to a school with an equestrian team, but I managed to wiggle out of that.” She realized that she’d completely dropped her Tophie role and winced inwardly. Now that the plan had gone completely sideways, though, it didn’t really matter whether James liked her or not. The thought was a relief, since she really, really did not want him to think she was an idiot.

  Silence stretched between them, making her tense enough that Popcorn must have felt it, since he hurried his stride. Topher laughed.

  “What?” James asked, one side of his mouth already curling, as if he was ready to be amused at whatever she said. It was a heady sensation to be able to melt James’s hard exterior and get him to relax enough to smile.

  “Popcorn reminds me of a mall walker when he’s chugging along like this,” she explained. “All he needs are some pink hand weights.”

  Looking bemused, James regarded the pony. “I’m not seeing it.”

  Topher opened her mouth to respond, but closed it when she saw a couple of people at the pasture gate. Apparently, their private ride was done. “We have company.”

  As soon as he spotted the two figures—Danny and Barb by the looks of it—outside the fence, all amusement disappeared from his face. “So I see.”

  After witnessing his relaxed, happy mien just minutes earlier, Topher hated to see the stiff, humorless James return. “If we turn around now, we could pretend we don’t see them.”

  His expression lightened slightly, although he shook his head. “The pasture’s not that big. They’d find us eventually.”

  “I suppose,” she sighed. “Oh well, I was getting hungry anyway.”

  They continued heading toward the gate, although both of them kept their horses at a slow, plodding pace.

  “Are you going to return to bimbo mode?” he asked casually.

  Giving him a sharp glance, Topher debated denying everything. James was too smart to not have noticed her sudden use of words over two syllables, though, so she just shrugged. “Probably. It helps deflect the bitchy ginger’s insults.”

  That drew a bark of actual laughter from him. “Good. It’s entertaining.” There was a short silence before he added, “Besides, I like being the only person to see the real you.”

  Her cheeks, already flushed from the cold, heated even more. She wasn’t sure how to respond, so she kept her mouth shut until they were within speaking distance of Danny and Barb.

  “Dan-Dan! Barbie Doll! We just had the funnest ride! I won our race, even though Jamie-Bear cheated.” Swinging her leg over her mount’s back, she slid to the ground. “Popcorn is the sweetest pony ever!” She hugged his thick neck and then released him with a final pat. He trotted over to one of the feeders, flattening his ears and snaking his neck at the two horses already there eating hay.

  “Barbie Doll?” Barb repeated, her lip curled.

  “I did not cheat.” Dismounting the bay with a gracefulness that made Topher’s mouth water, James stroked the horse’s neck and then stalked over to her side. “And you did not win.”

  “I didn’t know you guys were riding this morning,” Danny said, frowning. “We would’ve gone with you if we’d known. Barb’s a great rider.”

  “Oh, we didn’t plan it or anything.” Taking advantage of James’s proximity, she leaned against his side. He circled an arm around her shoulders. “It was sponsorious.”

  “Spontaneous?” Danny corrected, his pout fading into amusement.

  “Exactly! We didn’t plan it or anything. I hopped on Popcorn and Jamie-Bear got on...what’s his name, sweetie-plum?”

  James’s mouth flattened into a hard line, an expression that Topher was pretty sure was hiding his urge to laugh. “Endeavor. And we’ll do a planned ride later this week. There are some nice trails around the property.”

  “Oh! Oh!” Topher hopped up and down, despite the heavy weight of James’s arm holding her earthbound. “Can I ride Popcorn again? Please?”

  “Are you sure you want him?” Danny asked. “Have you experienced his trot?”

  “Yes. It’s very bumpy but strangely fun.”

  “If you want to ride Popcorn, then you can ride Popcorn.” James was using his crooning voice again, which made her melt into his side. Turning a little so she could wrap both of her arms around him, she gave him a besotted smile that required no acting skills.

  “Aww, Jamie-wamie. You spoil me.”

  “You deserve to be spoiled, baby girl.” His eye was warm with what looked like real affection as he looked down at her. She tightened her grip around his middle, warmth spreading through her stomach and chest.

  “What horse will I be riding?” Of course, the ginger had to spoil the moment. Topher had to work to plaster her happy smile into place, rather than glaring at the other woman like she was dying to do. Barb’s tone had been flirtatious, so Topher thought she’d directed the question at Danny. Instead, the skinny witch had her gaze and syrupy smile fixed on James. There was even some eyelash fluttering happening. Topher repressed a growl. The ginger had already stolen her first pretend boyfriend. Topher wasn’t about to let her steal a second—especially not her Jamie-Bear.

  James seemed oblivious to Barb’s attempted eye-humping as he scanned the scattered horses, frowning in thought. “Maybe Ghost. Or Willie. Diamond’s a possibility, if your hands and seat are quiet.” He pointed out each one as he named them.

  By her pursed lips, Barb wasn’t impressed by the options. “What about that one?” she asked, pointing.

  “Nessie? No.”

  “Why not?” Barb pouted. “She’s pretty.”

  “Pretty or not, she’s a handful,” Danny chimed in. “Last time I visited, I came off of her three times. She’ll be going along just fine and then boom! I’m flying through the air.” The leggy chestnut mare raised her head and eyed them warily, as if she knew she was the topic of conversation.

  Turning a sultry smile on Danny, Barb walked her fingers up the front of his coat. “Please can I ride her? Don’t you want to spoil me like your uncle spoils his girlfriend?”

  “No,” James said flatly before Danny could answer. “Riding Nessie is not an option. Letting you break your neck is not spoiling you.”

  Topher choked back a giggle. From the scathing look Barb sent in her direction, she obviously did not suppress it well enough. Deciding to change the subject before the ginger exploded, she disentangled herself from James’s hold and moved to the gate.

  “Did Leigh cook breakfast this morning? If she made cinnamon rolls, I’m going to eat ten, and then I’m going to run away with her to live happily ever after.” Turning to pat James on the chest, she gave him a consoling smile. “Sorry, honeybee.”

  He rewarded her teasing with a wicked half smile. “I could run away with you two. Make it a threesome—you, me and Leigh’s cooking.”

  Her eyes rounded at the thought. “Oh, boo-boo, would you? That would be awesome! If you come along, I’d get food and Jamie-Bear loving.”

  His eyelid lowered, giving him a sleepy, toe-curling-ly sexy appearance. “Or you could just stay here with me, Leigh
and Leigh’s food.”

  “Okay,” Topher breathed, leaning toward him, so caught up in his hotness that she had no idea to what she was agreeing.

  “Get a room,” Barb snarled.

  Looking at the other woman, Topher didn’t even have to pretend to be dazed. She was still enveloped in a fog of lust. “A room? You mean, like at a hotel? Why? I’m staying in Jamie-Bear’s room.”

  With her eyes squinted and her mouth pulled tight with irritation, Barb looked almost unattractive. It made the small, nasty-gremlin part of Topher gleeful.

  Barb made an angry sound that was almost a growl. “Daniel,” she snapped, whirling around and stomping toward the barn. “Come.”

  Shooting Topher an irritated look that she didn’t think she deserved, Danny followed her. Topher had to shove her face into James’s chest to muffle her giggles. When his arms went around her, pulling her even tighter against him, she didn’t even attempt to keep from melting. James was warm and solid and as delicious as Leigh’s food.

  “What’s so funny?” he murmured, his mouth close enough to her ear for Topher to feel the heated air of his breath.

  After lifting her head just far enough to make sure that the other two were out of hearing range, she explained, “The witchy carrot might as well strap a choke-chain and leash on Danny. Look! He even follows four steps behind her like a good little pet.”

  Although he gave an amused huff, James quickly lost his smile. Looking down at her, the gravity of his expression alarmed Topher a little. “You and Dan really weren’t serious, then?”

  She swallowed back a Hell, no! I’d rather have dated a yeti and pretended to consider the question. “Really, really not serious. He was fun and not all clingy and needy and jealous like guys can get, you know?”

  Clearing his throat, he said dryly, “I don’t have any personal experience with clingy, needy, jealous boyfriends, so no. I don’t know.”

  “Good,” she said, petting his chest and making her tone sound as earnest as she could while trying not to laugh. “I’m glad you haven’t had to go through that. It’s not fun having a guy who follows you around everywhere, even after you’ve broken up with him. I couldn’t even go to the gas station without him lurking behind the pumps. Ugh. He actually broke into my car so he could put a little teddy bear on my dashboard. What a major creeper.” A muscle twitched in James’s cheek, and Topher realized that her teasing had morphed into a rant. She tried to play it off with a sunny smile. “I’m surprised you don’t have a whole crowd of clingers trailing after you like a herd of lovesick goats.”

  “Like a...what?” He shook his head. “Never mind that. Is this asshole still bothering you?”

  “Nope.” Topher grinned with unfeigned relief. “Not for months. I asked this guy I know from auditions, Brady, to pretend like he was dating me for a while. He’s a total gym rat and always gets roles like Thug Number Three or Nightclub Bouncer, so he’s a pretty scary-looking dude. When you get to know him, though, he’s a total marshmallow on the inside, so I told him what was happening with Garrett—he was the freaky stalker guy—and Brady came up with the fake meathead-boyfriend idea.”

  Since James was looking grimmer with each babbling word that came out of her mouth, Topher paused, not wanting to finish the tale. He waited her out, though, the tense position of his jaw demanding that she speak. Topher had never met anyone with such commanding facial muscles.

  “That didn’t work exactly as we planned,” she continued reluctantly when it became clear that they were going to stand silently in the pasture until she completed the story. “In fact, it kind of made things worse. Garrett the dick-face creeper got really jealous and sort of kidnapped me. I got away, of course, but it was a totally sucky thing for him to do. When Papa Ben found out about it, he had some of his security guys fly into LA to ‘talk’ to Garrett, and I haven’t seen him lurking in the bushes since. Part of me hopes that he’s not in the bottom of the Pacific wearing concrete shoes, but another part of me—the vengeful, semi-evil part—is just glad he’s not breaking into my apartment to pull my panties out of the clothes hamper anymore.”

  James had gone silent and tense. Topher looked up at him and saw his expression was so fierce she had to fight not to flinch. She forced a smile. “The whole annoying Garrett situation is over, and I’m fine—well, I’m hungry for breakfast, but otherwise I’m fine. Do you think we can mosey over to the house before everyone else eats all the cinnamon rolls?”

  His expression eased slightly—very slightly—but it was enough to encourage Topher.

  “Please, Jamie-Bear?” She gave him her best big eyes and hopeful smile combination. “I’m cold.”

  That did the trick. Releasing her, James opened the gate and ushered her through before heading back to pick up the stack of empty buckets. She checked behind them before latching the gate to make sure none of the horses was attempting an escape, but they were all happily occupied at the hay feeders.

  They were halfway to the barn when James asked, “What’s his last name?”

  Her laugh contained a snort, but she was too amused by his attempt at casualness to care. “Nice try, Jay-bear, but you don’t get to kill him.” After a pause, she added, “Especially if he’s already dead.”

  “I wasn’t—”

  “Were, too,” she interrupted, bumping him in the ribs with her elbow.

  “Was...” This time, he cut off his own words. “I’m not going to argue like a five-year-old.”

  “Good.” She smirked up at him. “Because I’m not going to tell you anyway. I’m better at arguing like a five-year-old than you are.”

  His mouth curved into a smug grin, which she eyed uneasily.

  “Why are you smiling like a super-villain before he takes over the world in an evil way?”

  “I’m not—” Mashing his lips together, he took an audible breath. Topher was rather pleased that she’d managed to turn his self-satisfaction into exasperation. Taking advantage of his distraction from his murder plot, she ran ahead a few steps.

  “James,” she barked over her shoulder, imitating Barb’s haughty tone. “Come.”

  Just like that, his expression went from bemused annoyance to flat-out lust. Pretending to ignore his burning stare, she flipped her hair over her shoulder and faced front. She’d only made it two more steps before an iron bar of an arm caught her around the waist and lifted her off her feet.

  She shrieked with laughter as he yanked her against him and spun around a couple of times. Still holding her off the ground, he stopped and nipped her earlobe sharply. Her moan was thick with want, and he gave a raspy laugh, his mouth close to her ear.

  “Who’s in charge here, baby girl?” His words were low with a hint of teasing, but there was a rough edge that made her heart beat faster.

  “Me?” The word was breathy and high-pitched, but Topher was too caught up in the moment to be embarrassed by how juvenile she sounded.

  Her answer brought another sharp nip to her earlobe. The pinch of his teeth made her jump before she melted back against him. Just that tiny bite had raised goosebumps all over her body.

  “Wrong.” His voice was so low that she felt the bass rumble more than she heard it. “I think you need a reminder.” He slid his hand between them, palming her ass cheek and giving it a sharp squeeze. If she thought the earlobe bite was intense, it was nothing compared to the molten heat that coursed through her from the feel of his fingers biting into the flesh of her butt.

  Her brain was blank. All she could focus on was how amazing it felt when he touched her. “Okay.”

  She could almost feel his husky laughter as it rippled over her. “Later.” The word was so rough it was almost a growl. “It’s too cold out here. Besides, I need to feed you.”

  His last sentence made her stomach clench with a surge of unexpected heat. She’d gon
e from complaining about her ex-boyfriend’s obsessive behavior to creaming over her pretend boyfriend’s insistence on taking care of her. Although the responsible-adult part of her was demanding that she tell James that she was fully capable of feeding herself—and brushing her own teeth—that grown-up section of her brain was drowned out by the little girl in her who loved James’s close attention and care. His stern commands pushed a lust-button she didn’t even know she had, too.

  It was both exhilarating and terrifying. A steamroller of lust was flattening her into the pavement, and that desire was for a guy who was just pretending to be her boyfriend. He was also the uncle of her other fake boyfriend. Topher’s head started to hurt, and she forced herself to stop dwelling on it. It’s two weeks. Just enjoy whatever happens, but don’t expect anything to last. She shot James a sideways glance. It was easy to tell herself not to get involved, but harder to follow her own advice.

  With a final pat on her ass—one hard enough to make her squeal and hop forward out of his reach—James steered her through the barn, dropping off the grain buckets and closing both sliding doors as they went.

  Once the house was in sight, Topher’s stomach snarled. The impromptu ride had exacerbated her usual morning hunger, making her hurry through the snow toward Leigh and her magical kitchen. James kept up with her easily.

  “After stuffing myself like a piggy last night, I thought I’d never be hungry again.” She rested her hands on her demanding stomach as they climbed the front steps. “But I was wrong.”

  James started to comment, but the rumble of a truck engine caught their attention. A plow truck was making an initial sweep of the driveway, and James raised his hand in greeting. In response, the driver tapped the horn lightly a few times and then resumed clearing snow.

  “Maybe the Golfinis will leave now,” Topher said hopefully.

  With a snort that was part amusement and a greater part cynicism, James reached to open the door. “They’ll stay the full two weeks just to torture us.”