Illusions of Love

by Michelle Betham

  ***

  India threw the paper down in front of Dominic and slid onto the stool next to him at the bar, ordering herself a champagne cocktail. She was in the mood for a little more than beer tonight.

  Dominic picked up the paper and looked at the image of him kissing India, there in The Terrace Restaurant of The Amber Palace. Such a brief, fleeting kiss in reality but quite obviously a kiss that had carried quite a lot of impact. Just the way Dominic had intended it to.

  ‘Don’t tell me you didn’t think this would happen,’ Dominic smiled, turning round on his stool, taking in the extraordinarily beautiful woman by his side.

  ‘Of course I knew it would happen. Just hanging around with you was going to cause the rumour-mill to kick into action. Especially with your reputation.’

  He laughed, unable to take his eyes off her as she smiled at the bartender, taking her drink and accepting a compliment.

  She was dressed in a simple short strapless black dress and high-heeled ankle boots, her loose and tousled blond hair hanging lightly over her tanned shoulders, black leather cuffs and bands covering both wrists. He was fascinated by her. Or should that be intrigued? He didn’t know. All he knew was that he could look at her forever, and that wasn’t the way he’d planned this.

  ‘What’s up with you?’ India asked, turning to look at him, but he didn’t break the stare, just continued to look at her, smiling that movie star smile.

  ‘My reputation?’

  She took a sip of her drink, fixing him with a stare back, looking right into his incredibly beautiful, almost piercing blue eyes. ‘Yeah. And you know the one I’m talking about.’

  ‘You’re very straight talking, aren’t you?’

  ‘I haven’t got time to play games anymore, Dominic. So, let’s get it out of the way, okay? We’re gonna have sex, aren’t we? I mean, that’s why you followed me here to L.A. Because I’m sure as hell convinced you didn’t come here just to say hi.’

  He was speechless, for the first time in years. This amazing looking woman with the English accent and the damaged past, she’d all but knocked him sideways. Mainly because she was right. He hadn’t followed her here for no reason – what would have been the point in that? So, yeah. Of course they were going to have sex. She knew that, he knew that, and a hell of a lot of time had just been saved.

  ‘What can I say?’ he said, holding his hands up in mock surrender. ‘Busted!’

  She couldn’t help laughing, despite herself. ‘Well and truly.’ Oh, God. She really wanted this man. She really wanted to be touched by him, to feel his hands on her skin, to kiss him again. She really wanted that, and she didn’t know when this had happened, or even why. She just knew that the minute she’d mentioned sex, she wanted him more than she’d first thought she did.

  His eyes moved down to her incredible legs as she uncrossed and crossed them again in a way that made him think she almost wanted him to look. But they both knew where they were eventually heading so why wouldn’t she try and turn him on? And she didn’t really have to try all that hard. As far as Dominic was concerned, this was the fun part of the game. Before the serious stuff began.

  ‘You know, we could be starting off a whole new set of rumours here.’

  She uncrossed her legs again, slowly, making sure he was watching. ‘Look, I know exactly what I’m getting into, okay? We’ve made it obvious now, anyway. The second we kissed back in Vegas we made it obvious. In fact, we might as well just have sex right here on the bar and give them all a front row seat at the show they know we’re about to put on.’

  He ran a hand along the back of his neck, his eyes fixed on hers as they bored into him with an intensity that actually unsettled him because it was kicking off feelings he’d never really wanted to bring to the surface. But now he realised that everything he’d heard about India Walsh was true – she was a woman who got under your skin, she took you over; and she did all of that without you even realising it was happening.

  Taking the drink out of her hand and placing it on the bar, he moved closer, leaning in towards her. ‘You have no idea… you have no fucking idea what you do to people, do you?’

  ‘Are you paying me a compliment, Mr MacDonald?’

  The movie star smile took over once again as he reached out and took her hand, stroking her fingers with his thumb. ‘I want to do things to you that you haven’t even dreamed of yet.’

  ‘Oh, I’ve dreamed of plenty, mister, and if you think you’re gonna get little-miss-innocent in your bed then you might really, really want to think again. Because I’ve done things that would make you blush – fact.’

  Jesus! He wanted her so bad now, so bad it hurt. No wonder every man in her life couldn’t let her go. She was a walking fucking fantasy!

  ‘We need to get out of here,’ he said quietly, his mouth so close to hers he could feel her breath on his face, her perfume filling the air, the whole atmosphere heady with the anticipation of whatever was coming next. Him, hopefully. He was fucking close to it now. ‘Yeah… we really need to get out of here. Come on.’

  He grabbed her hand and she clung onto him tightly as they almost ran to the elevator, not caring that every head was turning, every eye was on them, but what had they expected? Two high-profile movie stars, both with reputations of their own, bringing that on-set chemistry into their real lives. It was Hollywood gossip at its best, and they’d probably be headline Showbiz news before they’d even got undressed.

  Slamming the door of Dominic’s suite shut behind them, India let go of his hand and turned to face him, a momentary feeling of doubt washing over her as those blue eyes of his stayed fixed on hers. What was it with those eyes? And why did looking into them suddenly make her feel slightly uncomfortable?

  ‘Dominic, I…’ She looked down at the ground, aware that he was walking over to her, gently tilting up her chin so she had no choice but to look at him again.

  ‘If this isn’t what you want… If you don’t want to do this, if you want to go…’

  She shook her head, wrapping her fingers around his as she looked back into those blue eyes, mentally shaking any feeling of doubt from her mind. It wasn’t like they were getting into anything heavy and meaningful here; this was nothing more than escapist sex, that was all. So what was she worried about? Where was the harm?

  Closing her eyes she leant forward, reaching up to gently kiss him, a tiny spark of electricity shooting right through her for the briefest of seconds as his mouth touched hers.

  ‘So, I’m taking this as a sign that you’re not gonna bolt out the door and leave me with nothing but my fantasies and one hell of a hard-on?’

  She smiled, pulling away from him, walking backwards towards the open bedroom door. ‘What the hell, huh? I’m almost forty-three-years-old, about to be divorced for the third time, and I’ve got more baggage than any woman should have. I’m nothing but a mixed-up movie star who’s made so many mistakes in the past… so many fucking mistakes…’

  ‘You put yourself down, India, and you shouldn’t do that.’

  ‘I get tired of fighting sometimes, Dominic. Of trying to work out why I did the things I’ve done, of regretting so much and wishing I’d done everything differently…’

  ‘Everything?’

  She nodded, unable to take her eyes off him. ‘Everything.’ She stopped by the side of the bed, slipping off her watch, laying it gently down on the bedside table, looking back at him. ‘Sometimes I just want to forget and do something that doesn’t involve me having to think, or hope that something comes out of it…’

  He walked over to her, gently pushing her hair back off her shoulder, the urge to lean over and kiss it almost overwhelming. ‘Don’t you want anything to come out of this?’

  She looked right into those eyes again. ‘Do you?’

  He didn’t know anymore. It had never been his intention, to get involved. It hadn’t been part of the plan. If anything it could only serve to mess everything up. But now he was here, now he’d
spent time with her, he felt almost guilty about the way he’d intended to use her as nothing more than a pawn in a game against Michael Walsh. But the goalposts had shifted now, and Dominic didn’t know when it had happened, but it had. And the more he thought about it, the more he began to realise that this game could hurt more people than he’d originally intended. And the one person he really didn’t want to hurt was India.

  ‘I want to be close to you, that’s all I know right now,’ he said, moving his mouth closer to hers. ‘I want to touch you, feel you; I want to come inside you and hold you until it’s over. What happens after that…’

  ‘… is anyone’s guess,’ she smiled, stepping back slightly, slowly slipping her dress down and he watched it fall to the floor, watched as she kicked it away, leaving her standing there in front of him, naked, except for those heels. ‘But who needs certainty anymore, huh?’

  ‘Jesus Christ!’ he whispered, looking her up and down. She was perfect in every way, with a body women twenty years her junior would kill for. Her photos were stunning, no doubt about that – and what man hadn’t seen that ‘Viper’ shoot she’d done almost fifteen years ago? But in real-life, and even after all those years, she was still one of the sexiest women around. Still a woman Dominic knew most men would kill to get close to. And he was about to get as close as any man could get.

  He reached out and circled her waist with one arm, pulling her against him and just feeling her there, her body naked and warm against his still-clothed one, it was driving him crazy!

  ‘I’m ready to play, Mr Movie Star. Are you?’

  He couldn’t help but groan out loud as she slid her hands underneath his shirt, stroking his skin, her fingers sliding down until she was touching him where it really mattered and it was all he could do to hold on, but she wasn’t making it easy.

  ‘I couldn’t be more fucking ready,’ he moaned, undressing faster than he’d ever thought humanly possible, watching as she lay back on the bed, throwing her arms up above her head and stretching out, drawing one incredible leg up as she arched her back. This woman knew exactly what to do when it came to making men want her, and it was certainly working on him. In fact, if things didn’t get moving soon he was gonna come before he’d even got the chance to be anywhere close to getting inside her – and he wanted to be inside her, like he’d never wanted anything before. But if she wanted to play first…

  ‘Two seconds,’ he smiled, quickly going into the living room, coming back with an opened bottle of champagne.

  She was resting up on her elbows, still with one leg drawn up as she looked at him, unable to take her eyes off his tall, toned, tanned body. He was one incredible-looking guy, seven years her junior – just like JJ. Her soon-to-be-ex-husband JJ.

  It took less than a second for her to shake those memories from her mind as Dominic came closer, those eyes of his taking in every inch of her and it felt good, having this brand new, younger man want her so bad, because she wanted him too. For whatever reason she wasn’t yet sure but, right now, she wanted him too.

  ‘I don’t really fancy a drink,’ she smiled, suddenly aching to feel him close to her.

  ‘I wasn’t suggesting we drink it,’ he smiled back. ‘Not in the… conventional sense, anyway.’

  She reached out and slid a hand round the back of his neck, pulling him down for a kiss that signalled the start of something neither of them were sure of, but which both of them were going to enjoy.

  Pushing her gently back on the bed he was desperate to do the inevitable, but for just a few seconds longer he’d hang on in there, see how far she was willing to go because, after all, she’d told him she was far from innocent. She was here for the ride, and he’d give her one hell of a journey, if she’d let him.

  ‘You wanna get down and dirty then, Ms Walsh?’ he smiled, holding her arms up above her head, taking in her enhanced but beautiful breasts as they rose and fell in rhythm with her heavy breathing, her legs open, inviting him in. And he’d get there. Eventually. He was learning to hold on now. He was okay, for the time being.

  ‘As dirty as you like, Mr Movie Star.’ She knew what was coming. She’d guessed the second he’d walked in with the champagne; she knew exactly where it was going. And a tiny shiver of excitement ran through her as he reached for the bottle, raising an eyebrow as he looked at her again, causing her to laugh out loud, arching her back as he slowly poured the champagne over her perfectly rounded breasts.

  He watched as it ran between them, trickling over her flat stomach, running down between her open legs, this tiny river of sparkling liquid.

  ‘Jesus fucking Christ, I can’t do this anymore,’ Dominic groaned, throwing the champagne bottle aside as he moved over her, leaning forward to cover one of her breasts with his mouth; the taste of her mixed with the champagne was like some incredible erotic cocktail that he needed to have, the whole idea of it was addictive.

  She arched her back even more, moaning out loud as he moved his mouth down, over her stomach, his hands now on her hips, holding her there, keeping her steady as he headed towards heaven.

  It was the most incredible feeling ever. The ice cold liquid sending shivers right through her followed by the warmth of his mouth as he touched her in places it was probably way too soon for him to be going anywhere near, but the days of over-thinking were over for India. If she wanted fun she was sure as hell going to have it, and this was fun like nothing she’d experienced in a long time. And it was nice, it felt good. He was an incredibly talented guy in that department, but she wanted to feel the full force of him now. She wanted everything he had; she wanted to feel him pushing into her, taking her over. Because she was more than ready.

  And Dominic sensed that, moving back up as she smiled at him, running her thumb over his mouth, staring into those almost penetrating blue eyes of his, giving him the silent signal that she wanted him to go where he’d always been heading.

  Permission given, he wasn’t one to hang around and he pushed his way into her incredible body with a force he knew she wanted, his fingers entwining with hers as he pushed so hard it rocked her back into the mattress, her legs wrapping around him, pulling him in deeper and deeper, holding him there. She was gripping him like a vice, keeping him firmly inside her and he wasn’t complaining. He was in the midst of many a man’s fantasy here, the sweat starting to drip down his face as he watched her breasts heaving, her head thrown back as one last push sent both of them crashing to a climax he’d certainly never experienced before. It took over his entire body, shaking it to its core as she gripped him even tighter, her body jolting as she screamed out loud, squeezing his fingers so hard but it was a pain he could take because he was inside one of the most beautiful women in the world and nothing else mattered. Not even this game he was playing with Michael Walsh. It didn’t matter anymore, and it didn’t matter because he’d already won.

  Whether he chose to take it any further, whether he even chose to end the game at all now, he didn’t know. But whatever happened, in one respect, Dominic had won. And that was all he cared about.

  CHAPTER 15

  ‘This isn’t really going anywhere, is it?’ Layla said as Kenny looked up from his coffee. Coffee that had now gone cold because all he’d been doing was staring into it, lost in his thoughts.

  ‘Sorry, did you say something?’

  ‘This… relationship, if that’s what you can call it. It isn’t going anywhere, is it?’

  Kenny looked at her, so pretty in her floral dress and sandals, her blond hair pulled back into a ponytail. ‘It’s… it’s early days, Layla. We haven’t really given it a chance, have we? We haven’t even talked about it…’

  ‘I’m talking about it now,’ she said, sitting down opposite him, pouring herself a coffee. ‘And I’m telling you, it isn’t going anywhere. It never could.’

  Kenny wasn’t really sure he was in the mood for this conversation, but it looked like any choice he had in the matter had been taken away from him.

 
; ‘Isn’t it what you want?’ he asked, pushing the cold coffee away. He didn’t much feel like it now.

  Layla looked at him. Right at him. ‘I don’t think it really matters what I want, Kenny. Because I don’t think it’s what you want, it never has been. Not really. Like I said, it could never work.’

  He leant forward, clasping his hands together in front of him. ‘Why not? Why are you saying that when you have no idea…’

  ‘Because you’re just as much in love with India as Michael is, Kenny.’

  Kenny sat back, pushing a hand through his hair. ‘I… I don’t know… I can’t…’

  ‘You can’t deny it, Kenny. That’s what you can’t do. Your head’s all over the place, even more so since she arrived in L.A., and Christ knows you’ve almost been off this planet since she spent the night with Dominic MacDonald…’

  ‘Nobody knows she actually spent the night with him, Layla.’

  ‘She was seen leaving his hotel at 6.30 in the morning, Kenny. She was wearing the same clothes she’d been wearing when she was seen meeting him the night before. She didn’t care who knew, can’t you see that? Grow up, Kenny! She slept with him, she’s moving onto some other poor guy who’ll no doubt get caught up in whatever web it is she fucking weaves…’

  ‘Are you jealous of her?’

  Layla stood up, walking over to the window, looking out at the view of the ocean, focusing on the tiny waves in the distance, the only thing the almost-still sea could conjure up today.

  She swung round to face him. ‘Yes, Kenny, I’m jealous of her. And I’m tired of getting involved with her cast-offs, with men who can only ever think of me as second best because they can’t stop this obsession they have with her. It’s exhausting, and I’m not doing it anymore. So that’s why it could never work – with you, or Michael. Because neither of you can leave her alone, even when it’s quite obvious she’s never going back to either of you.’