by Sahara Kelly
Stress related, no doubt, but real all the same.
She managed most of her salad and half the fish. It was an awesome meal, but Toni couldn’t do it justice. She even passed on dessert, a sacrifice she regretted since it was cheesecake. But for a woman who had to think about getting naked the next day, scarfing down a huge hunk of anything-but-lo-cal sweetness smothered in strawberries and whipped cream was probably a bad idea.
Her attention was caught late in the meal as Bud made a comment.
“Nick’ll be here tomorrow morning.”
Suze groaned. “Nick Long? Oh swell. Did you have to, Bud?”
He shrugged. “He lives up to his name. He comes on cue. He’s got a following, Suze.”
“I know.” She grimaced. “It’s just he’s also a grade-A asshole.”
Sam chuckled. “You’re spoiled, Suze.” He waved his wine glass at her across the table. “We’re all such incredibly wonderful and talented people here.”
She wrinkled her nose. “No you’re not. You can be assholes too, every once in a while. But Nick? He never stops being one. If he blocks me out of the shot again when he’s fucking me like he did last time I worked with him, I swear I’ll change his name to Stumpy.”
Under cover of the laughter, Suze leaned over to Toni. “Remind me to talk to you before you hit the sack. There’s something you need to know about Nick.”
“Uh, okay.” Toni nodded.
The meal was winding down and Toni barely stifled a yawn. “Sorry. You’d better make it soon. I’m beat.”
“Let’s take a walk before you turn in.”
Everybody seemed to have the same idea, since chairs were pushed back and the lure of the cool night air beckoned. Toni breathed it in, loving the salt-water tang and the quiet of the evening as she stepped through the French doors onto the patio.
The lights were on around the house now, illuminating the pool and the steam coming from the built-in hot tub that was neatly landscaped at one end. A small waterfall tinkled its way over the rocks into the bubbling whirlpool beneath.
It was really lovely and Toni realized she could get seriously used to living like this. She grinned at Suze who stood beside her. “Not hard to take, is it?”
“Nope.” Suze sighed too. “Of course, this is top of the line. Bud’s got a lot of lean years under his belt before he had to let the buckle out.”
“I know.” Toni leaned against the stone balustrade. “It’s nice that we get to share a few of his perks though.”
“I’m glad you’re here. I knew they’d pick you up as soon as they saw you.”
Toni turned. “I haven’t had chance to thank you, Suze.”
Suze waved it aside. “Don’t thank me. It hasn’t really begun yet. You may not like it. Who knows?”
“True. But I reckon I can handle it.”
“I think you can too, or I wouldn’t have recommended you. But that’s not what I want to talk to you about.” She gestured toward a quiet spot in one corner. “Come over here a minute.”
Toni followed obediently, sitting on a pedestal and leaning against a flower-filled urn as Suze turned to stare at her. “Nick Long.”
“Um. Helluva name for a porn star.” Toni kept her face straight.
“Or someone who thinks he’s a porn star.” Suze sounded skeptical. “He’s got a following, sure. Bud’s right about that. And he’ll probably do pretty good in this film. But you gotta watch yourself around him.”
“Me?”
“Yeah. Nick likes to say his bedposts are carved with rookie notches.”
“Uh oh.” Toni gulped.
“You’re a rookie. He’s gonna figure he’s the one to set you on the right road by fucking your brains out as soon as he gets the chance. Showing you what a real porn star can do.” She snorted. “He’s about as real as my hair color.”
“Sounds like a charmer.”
“He’s very good looking, in a dark sort of way. Got that fierce black haired pirate sort of thing going for him. But he tends to fuck first and ask later.”
Toni frowned. “Ouch.”
“You’re fresh meat to him, Toni. Watch yourself, okay? If he’s around, try and keep your distance. Don’t be alone with him if you can avoid it.” Suze waved a finger at her in emphasis. “His idea of a fun time isn’t always what his partner enjoys. But it’s kinda kept quiet, since he picks on newcomers who don’t want to rock the boat or lose their jobs by bitching about him.”
“Shit. That sucks.” Toni paused, thinking. “Suze? He ever…um did you ever—“
“Fuck him?” Suze nodded. “Professionally, yes. Personally, no. I took one look and knew that was a no-go. And I happened to back up my refusal with a can of pepper-spray I was carrying at the time. I don’t think he’s forgiven me for that, which is why he’ll cram me out of the shot if he gets the chance.”
Toni stood and squared her shoulders. “Okay. Thanks for the heads up. I don’t have pepper spray, but now you’ve filled me in I reckon I can deal with one asshole. Everybody else is so nice, I’m not gonna let one jerk spoil this for me.”
Suze smiled. “Good girl.” She glanced over Toni’s shoulder. “And here’s one of the nice guys.”
“My ears were burning. Figured you girls were talking about me.” Paul strolled across the flagstones toward them.
Toni almost wished they had been talking about him. He was certainly a lot nicer topic than some sex-crazed idiot. Her ears didn’t burn, but there was a definite heat several feet lower in her body.
“You heading up, Toni? I’m done for the night. It’ll be a long day tomorrow. Figured I’d better walk up with you so I don’t get lost.” He looked as sweetly innocent as a wickedly handsome man could look.
Suze giggled. “Sure. Right, Paul.”
He looked hurt. “I have only the purest of motives, babe.”
Suze leaned over and tapped his cheek lightly with her fingers. “You are the best cameraman and the worst liar, Paul Whittaker. Go get some rest and make sure Toni gets some too. Alone, okay?”
“You wound me.” He clutched his shirtfront over his heart.
Toni shook her head. “Enough, children. I’m so tired I’m gonna fall asleep in the flowerbed if somebody doesn’t point me in the right direction.”
Paul slipped her arm through his. “C’mon, sleeping beauty. Time to call it a night.”
Suze waved at them as they walked away.
“She’s so nice.” Toni glanced at Paul. “Everybody’s been very kind.”
Including you. Especially you.
His arm felt deliciously warm, intertwined with hers. She had the strongest urge to rest her head on his shoulder and just float away into a little paradise that strongly resembled Bud’s garden of colorful blooms.
“We’re sort of a family in some ways.” Paul spoke quietly as he led Toni back into the house. “We look out for each other. This crew’s been together for several years—a long time in the industry.” He steered her to the stairs. “You’ve found yourself a good spot to start your career, Toni.”
“Career?” She yawned, trying to hide it but failing. “Dunno if I’ve thought about a career doing this.”
“Why are you doing this?” Paul’s question seeped through the tired fog in Toni’s brain.
Why was she doing this? Honesty won out over political correctness. “I’m flat broke. I need the money or I’ll be turning tricks before I know it.”
“That bad, huh?”
They reached the top of the stairs and Toni turned toward her door. “Yep. That bad.”
“It’s a solid reason for being here, Toni. There’s been people who’ve gotten into the business for a lot less than that.” He squeezed her arm and let her go as she stopped in front of her room. “And for future reference…”
He leaned over and dropped a light kiss on her cheek. “I can’t see you turning tricks. You’re not the type. But if you ever do, I’ll be your first john, no matter what you charge. Good night.”
She tumbled into bed and dreamed—of gardens, mansions, swimming pools as wide as the Pacific—and Paul Whittaker.
* * * * *
The following morning, Paul found his way to Bud’s mammoth kitchen in search of something to start the day. He could have joined the other early risers in one of the smaller dining rooms and mingled over fancy dishes. But he wasn’t much of a morning person and breakfast to him meant something solid that didn’t have a French name he couldn’t pronounce until he’d had coffee.
So he avoided the voices and headed for the quiet of the kitchen. Of course, being that this was Bud’s house, it wasn’t what anybody would call an ordinary kitchen. It was massive, for a start, probably bigger than Paul’s first apartment from end to end.
There were appliances gleaming on marble counters, some looking vaguely familiar—like the coffee pot. With, thank God, coffee in it. Looking through the glass-fronted cabinets, Paul found himself a mug and swigged down his daily cup of stimulant. Now, perhaps, his brain could get itself kick-started. He looked around the rest of the place.
The enormous twin black steel doors facing him were either the portals to hell or the refrigerator. Taking the risk, Paul opened one and found that yes, it was actually the fridge. And there was even normal food inside.
Within minutes, he’d made his favorite snack and was looking forward to a bit of quiet while he savored it. There was nothing better than a peanut butter and banana sandwich to start the day. The fridge yielded personal-sized cartons of orange juice, so as a nod to his health, Paul grabbed one of those as well.
At the far end of the kitchen was a fireplace. And above it, a massive plasma television screen. He could sit in one of the nice padded chairs, enjoy his breakfast and check out last night’s game scores at the same time. He’d never had chance to watch his team play on a state of the art HD flat screen the size of a Jumbotron.
With an air of reverence, Paul sat down with breakfast and the remote. It was like visiting a shrine. He clicked through the channels looking for the latest sports news. It would be too much to hope that his team had won last night. But perhaps they’d made it through more than three innings with the same pitcher. Even better, they might have avoided getting their asses seriously kicked, only losing by one or two runs.
He could always hope.
He found a sports channel and settled back to enjoy himself when a rumbling sound came from outside and distracted him, making him glance out the picture window over the sink.
“Shit.” His perfect morning was about to go down the tubes. Nick “the Dick” had arrived.
He watched as Nick pulled up in his red Corvette, spitting gravel all over the place as he braked hard. He got out wearing black slacks and a white tank top that showed tanned arms decorated with tribal tattoos. His black hair was perfectly tousled from riding with the top down and the black leather suitcases he took from the tiny trunk screamed designer. This guy was all Hollywood, all the time.
Shaking his head Paul turned back to try and catch a score or two before he’d have to go film other people scoring.
“Well, well. If it isn’t my favorite cameraman.” A bellowing voice interrupted Paul’s desperate attempt to read the tiny crawl at the bottom of the screen and Nick himself strode in through the kitchen door.
“Hey Nick.” Paul kept the sentences short so he wouldn’t confuse the guy.
“You all set? I got some new tattoos I want seen up close when we film. The babes love the body art, so make sure you keep them in focus.” He might think he had flair, but Paul knew that Nick was a consummate asshole, managing to be both insulting and rude in the same breath.
There wasn’t much point in answering or moving, so Paul kept his seat and simply opened the carton of juice. He didn’t need to be polite to Nick or even like him. All he had to do was film him.
“So who do I get to fuck this time? I hope I get some new meat. I’m dying to fuck some fresh pussy. Those cum pills have made my money shots gold, dude. I can cum in buckets all day. You’ll see.” Nick leaned over and took Paul’s juice from the table beside him, downing it in one swallow.
Paul glared at him. “I can’t wait. Just don’t shoot on the camera lens like last time.” It had stopped production for more than half an hour just cleaning the shit off his expensive equipment. “You’ll be filming with Suze this morning. Suze and a new girl, name of Toni Sinclair. She’s just for looks in this scene.”
“New girl? Cool. I got fifty bucks says I fuck her before the weekend’s over. One look at my monster cock and she’ll be begging me for it.”
Paul smirked. “I’ll take that bet. She’s not like some of the other girls you’ve been with lately. This one has a brain.”
“Who cares about her brain? It’s her pussy I’m more interested in. Where’s my room? I need to lift some weights and oil up before getting naked and fucking.”
“Go talk to Fran. She’s got the details.” Paul pointed toward front hall. “They’re all out there someplace.”
He watched Nick wander off to find Fran, carrying at least a grand’s worth of fancy leather suitcases.
What an asshole. He didn’t envy Suze having to deal with Nick’s ego. And he was pretty sure there was some steroid action going on as well, which would help the muscles and hinder the brain. It reinforced his opinion of Nick Long.
What an asshole.
~~~~~
Toni’s nerves coiled into a knot inside her stomach and shook their heads at the thought of breakfast. This was the day, her debut in front of the cameras—nude. She could do it, she told herself. She could absolutely completely do it.
After all, her sweaty palms weren’t what the camera would be focused on.
Her “costume” for the morning’s scene was half a bathing suit. Or two shoelaces, depending on how you looked at it. Along with a pair of spiked heels. As she struggled into it, Toni wondered yet again which brilliant wizard had come up with the idea of a thong.
Which man—and for sure it was a man—had decided that a woman would look fabulous with a tiny strip of fabric cutting up between her butt cheeks like a wire on a cheese slicer. Sure, on her it wasn’t appalling…it just felt frickin’ uncomfortable. Wedgies weren’t good at the best of times. When one was already sweating from nerves, they were a torture device that the Spanish Inquisition could have used to great effect.
Toni stared at herself in the mirror. Her breasts were…well, they were there. Two of ‘em. Full and tipped with dusky nipples, she supposed they were okay. At least they weren’t sagging. Yet.
She was blessed with a torso in proportion to the rest of her, so the tiny black strip of thong didn’t look like an underline to her belly or a dash joining her hipbones to each other. Turning around, she noted that the back didn’t exactly look awful either, since her butt was pretty firm and other than a tiny beauty spot just north of one ass cheek she’d pass inspection.
Maybe they’d powder her. God, she hadn’t had her ass powdered since she was a baby. And maybe not even then, since her mother might have forgotten to do it if she’d had a few drinks under her belt.
Pushing the unwelcome thought aside, Toni reached for her robe and knew it was time to head downstairs. The others might be comfortable wandering around like this was a high-end nudist colony with cameras, but Toni still needed the security of the blue silk.
She’d strip when told to, not before.
Following the noise of voices, Toni headed for the room where the first scheduled scene was to be filmed. It was a massive guest room with double doors that opened out onto the ocean side of the house.
It seemed filled with people.
She blinked as one very tall, dark and tattooed man strode over to her as soon as she walked in the door.
“Hello beautiful. I’m Nick. Nick Long.” He f
lashed improbably white teeth at her. “And you’re the new shining star, I hear.”
Toni swallowed, remembering Suze’s warning of the night before. “Hi.” She held out her hand politely. “Nice to meet you. I’m Toni Sinclair.”
“Mmm.” Nick took the hand, lifted it to his lips—and licked it. “You look good enough to eat, baby.” He nipped her fingers and moved closer. “So how about you and me, later, together? I’ll teach you what hung like a horse really means.”
“Back off, Seabiscuit.” Suze’s acid tones cut through Nick’s line of bullshit. “We’ve got work to do.”
“Suze darling. Looking good. Got some work done, huh?” Nick squinted at her.
“Nick darling. Did they tattoo any brain cells into you yet?” Suze’s smile was something a coyote would have envied. A lot of teeth framed by a vicious snarl.
Toni carefully backed away with a polite murmur. This could get nasty and she wanted to avoid blood spatter on her robe.
“Hey.” Paul’s voice came from behind her. “How you doing?”
“So far, so good.” She turned and smiled. “Didn’t wanna get hit when the chairs start flying.”
Paul chuckled. “Yeah, those two do get a bit heated. But they’re professionals. Most of the time. They won’t damage each other.” He paused dramatically. “Much.”
Toni laughed. “Good to know.”
Paul nodded at the bed. “Are you ready?”
She met his gaze. “Honestly? I don’t know.”
He stared back at her, his expression strangely blank. “What do you mean?”
Toni tugged on the collar of her robe, trying to find the right words. “How can I know if I’m ready for this? I’ve never done this, never even imagined this. I’m going to have a woman’s mouth on me, Paul. In places I couldn’t have dreamed of less than a week ago. I’m going to be stark naked on a bed with two other naked people who are having sex while I’m getting—“ She choked a little but then fought down the dryness in her throat. “While I’m getting my pussy sucked.” She sighed. “How on earth does someone get ready for that?”
She glanced at him again. He was looking at her, eyes dark and intense, studying her features.
