“And you? How do you put up with … him?” Gerry glanced at her. “I thought it was all fake, for the show. Does he wear those red contacts all the time?”
“Looks that way. I don’t even know what show he’s on,” she admitted.
“He’s on two. It started with Secrets of a Vampire, which is some soap opera show about a family of vampires. He has a cooking show, too.”
“Cooking?” She laughed. “He can’t even make coffee.”
“From what I read, the cooking show was an accident. He was a guest on a show, and the ratings were so high, they nudged out the original host and put him in there.”
“Figures,” Jessi muttered. “So far, he’s an absolute jackass.”
Gerry grimaced. “A lot of these sudden celebrities are. Toni’s dad is Antonio Porter. The Antonio Porter. She’s done nothing but ride his coattails.”
“Wow. He was one of my favorite action heroes growing up,” Jessi said. She crossed to the railing of the loft area overlooking the formal living room with its two-story hearth. “She’s totally sitting in Xander’s lap.”
“All she talked about earlier was nailing him. She collects men like this.”
“Seriously?”
“Oh, yeah. Every photo shoot, this happens.” Gerry joined her, watching the four below.
“Xander can keep up with her,” she said. “He sleeps with a different woman every night.”
“I’m so jealous.”
“Really?” she asked, considering. “I mean, he’s got an incredible body, but … Oh, you’re talking about sleeping with a different woman every night.”
He winked. “I see where your mind is.”
“He offered to make me Ms. Tuesday.”
“And you said …” There was an odd edge in Gerry’s voice.
She studied him, noticing the sharpness of his gaze for the first time. He was taking in everything around him with eyes that were never still. Almost like Xander did. Or the goon Jonny sent after her. Or Jonny.
“I told him to go to hell,” she said. “Do you …” How did she ask what she wanted? If he was some sort of vampire freak? “…know him?”
“We’ve crossed paths. I know him well enough to think he didn’t take your rejection well.” Gerry’s smile was guarded.
“He laughed,” she said with a shrug. “He’s almost always an ass. I don’t want anything to do with him.”
“I thought women were drawn to jackasses. I keep telling myself that’s my problem. I’m too nice,” he said.
Jessi started to laugh then realized the handsome man was serious.
“Gerry, bring me something to drink,” Toni called.
They looked down to find all four of those on the lower level staring up.
Jessi ducked back from the railing and retrieved a cup of coffee. She placed it on a tray with the creamer and sugars then handed it to Gerry.
“Coffee, Jessi,” Xander echoed.
“We’re fresh out of everything, Xander,” she replied.
Gerry winked. “You’re messing with a tiger. Just be careful with him.”
“I’ve met scarier animals.”
Gerry appeared interested in her words, until Toni whinnied at him again. He left.
Jessi made her own cup of coffee and went to the railing. She watched him walk into the room, appreciative of his athletic frame. Xander glanced up at her then followed her gaze. He seemed amused, but she had no idea why. Gerry catered to Toni, whose chest was thrust even farther out than before.
Xander stood and disappeared from Jessi’s view while Toni fussed. Toni was lecturing Gerry on how she took her coffee. Jessi’s attention was on Gerry, who was smiling politely while his jaw ticked. She wanted to commiserate with the horse’s assistant, who seemed as awkward in his role as Jessi felt in hers.
She didn’t notice Xander approach. He reached the railing and leaned beside her. Jessi was caught in his strange spell for a moment. He handed the iPad to her.
The calendar was completely blank.
“Really?” she demanded quietly enough that those in the nearby living area couldn’t hear. “That’s so juvenile!”
“Coffee.” He handed her his mug.
She snatched it and went to the kitchen, still rattled by their earlier interaction.
“I’m guessing Toni is Monday, which is why you offered me the Tuesday slot?” she grumbled.
“My calendar fills up quickly. I can’t guarantee I’ll have time for you the rest of the week.”
“Alas. I think I’ve got plans,” she replied with an exaggerated sigh. She poured him coffee.
“Not with a man.”
Jessi glared at him. “I’m not a model, like your women, but I don’t have a problem getting a date, if I want to. Some men want more than looks.”
“Right.” He was amused. “Who is it?”
“Gerry.”
He crossed his arms, and his gaze darkened.
“He said you don’t deal with rejection well,” she said sweetly. “Does that bother you?” She had him off guard again, the way he was yesterday and the way she’d been all morning so far. “By the way, Xander, you can get your own damn coffee.”
She moved to the sink and dumped his out. Mirroring his pose, she crossed her arms and leaned back against the counter.
“Maybe we can stop toying with each other now?” she asked in a tone she used with her cousins.
He entered the kitchen, stopping too close for her comfort. Jessi gazed up at him, goose-bumps forming on her arms as she recalled what she’d felt with his hands on her hips earlier. Unlike her cousins, he knew when she was bluffing.
“We just have to survive the week, and I’m out of your hair,” she added nervously, trying not to inch away.
“You started this.”
“I did?” she asked, surprised.
“Fine if you don’t want to be Tuesday. But don’t fuck with my coffee.”
He reached past her, his heat and scent stirring her senses once more. He was watching her closely, and she willed her body not to respond to him as it had earlier. She was too aware of that body, of the open offer to sleep with him. How incredible would he be? The dazed woman Jessi led out of his bed in the morning had murmured about what he did. Jessi tried not to listen but wasn’t able to shake the vision of the dreamy look on the woman’s face as she relived the night.
He took her mug of coffee but remained in her space.
“You’ve got a nice ass,” Xander said. “Real women have something back there to grab.”
“You’re like a junior high jock trapped in a Redwood tree,” she replied and planted her hands in the middle of his chest to push him away. He didn’t move.
“It was a compliment. It’s clear Toni makes you uncomfortable about yourself.”
“Telling me I have a nice ass is supposed to make me feel better?”
“I’ll do better. I’ll show you. You want Monday? I’ll move Toni to Tuesday,” he said, a glow in his gaze.
“Hell no!”
Xander turned his head to the side. “Gerry, off limits.”
“Got it,” Gerry replied promptly from somewhere behind Xander.
Satisfied, Xander winked. His eerie red eyes swept over her again before he slid away, out of the kitchen.
“This is the worst job ever,” she muttered.
“Wow. He is an asshole,” Gerry said.
“I told you!” Jessi poured herself more coffee, eyes going to the blank iPad calendar.
“You’re not going to last.”
“I’m ready to quit already.”
Gerry gazed at her sympathetically. She sighed.
“Tell you what. I’ll give you my cell number. When you feel like venting, call,” Gerry said and picked up her cell. “Oh, and tell Xander I’m not hitting on you.”
“You’re afraid of him?” she asked in agitation.
“You’ve got balls. I wouldn’t throw down the gauntlet with him,” Gerry said with gravity.
> “I want him to back off. I’m here for a week then gone.” Hopefully not dead.
“You don’t seem to fit this line of work. Why take this job?”
Jessi sighed, uncertain how to answer. Her thoughts went to her cousins. She was doing her damndest not to think about what happened if she failed. Pretending this was a normal job was draining.
She went to the railing again to watch Toni throw herself all over Xander under the guise of conducting an interview.
“I didn’t really have a choice,” Jessi said when Gerry joined her. “Anyway, thanks for the offer to talk. I’ll probably be texting you this week.”
“Anytime.”
“They’re perfect for each other,” Jessi said, glimpsing Toni posing provocatively for Xander while Laurencio snapped pics.
“Ger, we’re going to do some photos on the beach. I need my other shoes,” Toni called.
“Fetch, Ger,” Jessi whispered to him. She added a snap of her fingers that pulled a quiet laugh from him.
“Come on, we’ll talk more,” he said and waved for her to follow as he went to the stairs. She trotted down the steps behind him. Gerry stopped to grab a satchel that was by the door then took it to Toni.
The clicking of the camera drew Jessi’s attention. Laurencio was taking her picture.
“No, none of that,” she said and held up her hand. “I’m a temp.”
“You’ve got a glowing aura. He’s trying to capture it,” Xander said from across the living area.
“You’ve got a glowing aura. I’m trying to capture it,” Laurencio repeated.
How bizarre. “Um, thanks. But, no.” She kept her hand up.
“Don’t waste good film on someone who buys her clothes at an outlet mall,” Toni said to Laurencio. “Come on. I’m wearing my bikini under this.” These words were addressed to Xander.
I’m not going to last two days, Jessi grated to herself. She tried to hang back, but Xander motioned for her to follow them. Grudgingly, she went to the opened doors opposite her that led directly onto the beach.
Gerry waited for her. Toni was hanging off Xander while Laurencio snapped a flurry of pictures. Jessi stopped to take off her sandals as she trailed them onto the beach. Gerry walked beside her.
“So, where you from?” he asked.
“Northern California. It’s like a whole different country.”
“I bet! I’m from Nebraska originally. Moved here to pursue my acting career.”
“You’re an actor?”
“Someday. I’ve had a few bit parts and been in a rut for awhile.”
“How is that possible?” she exclaimed. “You have problems dating and can’t get an acting job?”
“It takes connections for both around here,” he said. “I’m a dime a dozen. The girls all want to date people with money or family who can get them places.”
“That’s stupid,” she replied. “If you need a short, fat date for something, call me.”
“You’re not short or fat!”
Her eyes went to Toni, who had stripped off her shirt. “Um, yeah, I am.”
She was feeling insecure, and for good reason. Xander’s comments about her rear end did nothing to help, though she gave him credit for trying.
Jessi and Gerry stopped to watch as Laurencio’s assistant set up a tripod. The photographer coached Xander how to stand. When happy, he snapped pics. Toni watched, her hungry gaze taking in every part of Xander. It got worse when Xander removed his shirt. Toni was almost prancing with her excitement to get close to him.
Jessi saw what Toni saw, but she wasn’t going to drop at Xander’s feet. She exchanged a look with Gerry before her eyes went past him to the group of three women watching nearby. All wore similar dreamy expressions to Toni’s.
“Am I the only one with any sort of self-respect?” Jessi asked.
“Or maybe you’re immune to his … charm,” Gerry said with a grin. “I haven’t known him long, but I see this happen wherever he goes.”
“You’re saying I’m the weird one, not these girls?” She raised an eyebrow at him.
“Unfortunately. It might not be that good of a thing,” he said. “From that exchange in the kitchen I overheard, I’d say you drew his attention.”
“He’s interested in every woman. Just because I’m the only one who doesn’t …oh. Oh.” She frowned fiercely. “So because I don’t act like everyone else, he noticed me.”
“No one else talks to him like you do and lives to walk away.” The words seemed to be meant as a joke, but there was an edge in Gerry’s tone that made her think he knew Xander much better than he let on. “Maybe if you were like everyone else, he’d let you go after your week is up.”
Let you go. Fear slid through her. She never considered she was getting into something she wasn’t going to escape. She assumed Jonny was the only danger. Her instincts warned her that she didn’t want Xander’s attention.
Whatever was going on, Gerry was somehow involved. Jessi wasn’t able to figure out how Jonny, Xander and Gerry were connected, except that they had to be. They just weren’t normal.
“You’re saying that, instead of treating him like I do my teenage cousins, I should pretend I’m dealing with a five-year-old who’s convinced his stick figure drawing is a masterpiece.”
Gerry laughed.
“Okay. I’ll play along. I’ll try anyway. I don’t think I can look that desperate if I tried,” she said, amazed at Toni’s brazen attempts to flash Xander.
Jessi studied Xander’s body once more, forced to admit that the man had the perfect combination of rugged beauty and flawless form. Even the muscles along his back were roped, defined. They rippled with his controlled movements.
Laurencio finally motioned a preening Toni into the shot. The woman lost no time in running her hands over Xander’s body. She unsnapped the button of his jeans with one flick of her fingers and plunged her hand down his pants. She gave another high-pitched whinny and posed beside him. Laurencio was encouraging her.
“Omigod!” Jessi stifled a laugh.
“Yeah. Wow.” Gerry rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. “This is getting awkward, isn’t it?”
She’d hoped to see Toni drive Xander crazy. He seemed at ease with the female attention or at least, unconcerned with where Toni’s hands went. The photographer issued them a few directions, with his assistant helping them pose. Toni was almost shimmying up and down Xander’s body in her excitement.
Jessi’s mouth was agape at the erotic poses Laurencio called for them to do. Xander pretending to bite her neck while she lay on top of him, the two of them spooning, even one where the massive man straddled her and pretended to hold her down.
Toni’s face was glowing. Xander looked bored.
“How about a beauty and the beast shot,” Xander said. “Innocence and danger.”
“Toni, this last one might work better if you’re wearing a shirt,” Laurencio said. “Sort of a beauty and the beast, innocence and danger.”
Jessi was perplexed by the verbatim repetition of Laurencio. Gerry muttered something. She glanced at him.
“Toni isn’t innocent looking,” Xander added. “How about Jessi?”
Laurencio copied him again. Jessi wondered if she was the only one who heard Xander, which made no sense, considering the photographer stood between her and the massive man.
“Or Toni could put on her clothes,” Gerry suggested. The edge was back to him again. He tossed the model her shirt. She pulled it on with a dirty look at her assistant.
Jessi covered her mouth but ended up faking an outburst of coughs to keep from laughing out loud. Xander looked at her again, a flicker of something she thought might be cunning crossing his features.
The photographer seemed to be considering.
“Jessi’s got that look,” Xander prompted.
“Jessi’s got that look.”
“Absolutely not,” she replied.
“I can be innocent looking!” Toni replied.
“I’m an actress.”
Laurencio, however, was looking at Jessi. “You’re right, Xander. Tell your assistant to come down for a shot.”
“Tell your photographer no,” Jessi shot back.
“She does need to lose double-digit pounds,” Laurencio said.
“Sorry, Ingrid. I’ve got the number to the best weight loss doctor in town.” Toni gave Jessi a triumphant look.
Gerry caught Jessi’s eye. He shook his head.
What a bitch. Jessi bit back her words. She knew very well she had some physical assets that drew men, even if her body wasn’t ideal like Toni’s.
“She has a sweet aura,” Xander said.
“Toni, I think he’s right,” Laurencio said. “She has that very sweet aura. Will make for a great Bella and the Beast photo.”
Play along. Gerry mouthed the words to Jessi then added for her ears only, “I’ll take you to lunch tomorrow, if you do it.”
“Really?” she asked, surprised the handsome man wanted anything to do with her after Xander’s warning.
“Date?”
“Yeah,” she said, unable to help the smile that crossed her face. “Date.” Her first date in five years was with someone who looked like Gerry. She was unusually pleased by the idea.
“Give Xander what he wants. Figuratively, not literally. Pretend like you’re an actress, like Toni.” He rolled his eyes.
She choked back another laugh then turned her attention to the photographer.
“I’d love to do this, Laurencio!” she exclaimed with all the enthusiasm she could. “Xander is my all-time fave. I’m his biggest fan girl!”
Toni looked her over in irritation as Jessi walked towards Laurencio. The photographer was pleased, Xander suspicious.
“All time fave,” she repeated and batted her eyelashes at him the same way Toni did.
“We’ll have to do some post-photo work,” Laurencio said, looking her over.
Jessi forced herself to keep smiling. He’d just called her ugly after insisting she participate in this stupid photo shoot.
“Quite a bit, I’d say,” Toni added. “You may want to focus on a headshot.”
“I got an idea,” Xander said. “Similar to the last shot but a bit more … provocative. I’ve got my fangs.”
Jessi refused to flinch. “Omigod, that would be awesome!” She pretended to fan herself.
Lizzy Ford Page 11
