by Alice Raine
Sean grinned from ear to ear, his eyes twinkling with happiness. ‘It’s a pretty fancy theatre, so we’ll need to dress up. Oh yeah, don’t forget that Jack’s on the sofa.’ Leaning in, Sean lowered his voice and gave me an intense look. ‘And from what I saw when I dropped his clothes in, he’s got company.’
‘Cait’s with him?’ I asked, my voice rising in shock.
‘I didn’t exactly hang around to perv on them, but let’s just say I could definitely see two sets of feet poking out from under the covers.’
Sean pulled open the bedroom door and wiggled his eyebrows. ‘See you later for our date, gorgeous.’
Our date.
Oh my gosh.
Thirty-four
Jack
After Caitlin’s confessions, we had stumbled back inside and made out on the sofa like a couple of randy teenagers until I’d had to practically peel her off of me.
After our heated kisses and some mild fondling, we had tried to settle down for sleep, but it hadn’t been particularly successful. The sofa wasn’t long enough for me, and I’d been tempted to steer her towards the spare bedroom, but with the way Caitlin affected me I was seriously concerned that I might not be able to hold myself back if I’d got to lay beside her in a bed.
So we stayed on the lumpy sofa. Don’t get me wrong, it was a high quality leather suite, but definitely not designed to be slept on. Especially not by somebody of my height. Not that it really mattered, because I’d barely slept a wink, instead spending the entire night with images of her mouth and body running around my brain, and a rock hard groin as a result.
And now, at 4.56 a.m., I was still awake, and waiting for the 5 a.m. alarm on my watch. I could have got up and showered, but I was enjoying the sensation of having Caitlin in my arms far too much.
She was sound asleep, and during the night she had snuggled up against me, one arm thrown across my belly and clutching at my hip as if I was all that mattered in the entire world. At least that’s what I’d like to believe.
And yes, I still had a throbbing erection. I’d been hard for so long that I was surprised I wasn’t light-headed. I probably would be when I stood up.
As if weirdly in sync with me, Caitlin began to stir, making a cute moan and raising one hand to rub at her face and push her hair back from her eyes before giving such a sweet smile that my heart actually ached.
‘Morning, sweetheart.’ My voice was embarrassingly gruff, but I didn’t care. We’d both laid our cards on the table–she knew how into her I was.
‘Morning. Do you have to get up?’
Grimacing at the thought of not only today’s early start but the rest of my hectic week, I nodded, and couldn’t resist burying my nose in her hair to inhale the floral scent of her shampoo.
‘Unfortunately, yes.’ I kissed her temple and sighed. ‘The timing is really shitty, but I’ve got a really busy few weeks coming up so I might not be able to see you that much.’ This was partly true, work was busy, but I was also going to be occupied working with Flynn to try and track down Lambert. I wasn’t going to tell Caitlin , but that fucker wasn’t going to get away with threatening my girl or fucking up her life any longer.
Caitlin made a small noise of protest and snuggled closer to me, burying her face in my chest.
‘Sorry. We’re still trying to make up for the days we missed when I was in hospital. I should still be able to see you on our coffee breaks, though.’
‘OK.’ Caitlin gave me a smile, but I could see it was forced, and I felt horribly guilty as a result.
Sitting up, I spotted a pile of clothes by the doorway and realised someone had left my dried clothes for me at some point. So either Sean or Allie had seen Caitlin and I curled up together. No doubt we’d face a curious interrogation later.
‘I guess I should let you get ready for work.’ She rolled from the sofa and stood in the nightdress that had acted as a barrier between full skin-on-skin contact all night.
Standing up, I saw Caitlin’s eyes widen as her gaze ran up and down my still aroused body, clad only in the briefs, so I quickly walked to the doorway and pulled on my T-shirt and jeans to hide what I couldn’t seem to get control over.
Worried that Caitlin would be freaked out by my inability to control my cock, I glanced at her, but instead of seeing fear in her gaze, I found her smiling at me, looking utterly thrilled by my predicament. The little minx.
As I grinned sheepishly back at her, I noticed that what I had thought was a cotton nightdress was, in fact, a Metallica T-shirt. ‘Is that Allie’s?’
Looking down, Caitlin fingered the faded material and shrugged. ‘Nah, it’s massive. Must be Sean’s.’
Sean’s. As stupid as it was, I really disliked the idea of her wearing his clothes. If she was going to sleep in anyone’s T-shirt, then I wanted it to be mine. Keeping my face as neutral as possible, I peeled off the T-shirt that I had only just put on, and then held it out to her.
‘Wear this one tonight.’ I didn’t word it as a question, because in my mind there was no other option. If she was wearing a man’s clothes against her naked skin, then they would damn well be my clothes.
Turning away from her, I collected my watch, wallet, and phone from the table and pulled on the checked shirt that Sean had lent me. I was already running late so I’d have to grab a shower at the studio. Shoving my phone into my back pocket, I rotated back to Caitlin, and to my surprise, found her clad in my T-shirt, with Sean’s discarded one lying on the sofa.
She’d been naked and I’d missed it. Damn it!
My mild irritation was quickly lost when I saw she had the collar held in her fingers and was sniffing it with a soft smile on her face.
I couldn’t help myself from stepping toward her and easing her into my arms. There was no tenseness in her body, or gasp of shock as I touched her this time. Caitlin simply seemed to melt into my embrace until we were touching from our heads to our toes, leaving me feeling like I was on top of the frigging world.
‘That’s far better. You make my T-shirt look better than I do.’
Caitlin hummed her approval into my chest. ‘I doubt that. But I like wearing it. It smells like you. You can think of me tonight, wearing it in bed...and nothing else.’
My eyes flew open and I definitely grasped her against me more firmly. Jeez. For a virgin she had a real way with words. And just like that, my cock was solid as a rock again and trying to push its way out of my jeans.
Marvellous.
‘Tease,’ I muttered, because quite frankly I couldn’t think of one useful thing to say or do apart from go against all of my promises to be good and drag her back to the sofa with me.
‘Because I won’t be around much in the next few days, I’d really rather you stay here with Allie. Please don’t go back to your apartment while...while he’s still out there somewhere. OK?’
The teasing smile on Caitlin’s face faded to tension as she swallowed hard and then nodded stiffly. ‘OK.’
‘Also, I talked to Flynn and he’s recommended a bodyguard for you.’ I tried to drop it in casually, but my words caused Caitlin to fly back and gawk at me in the early morning sun. Even gawking, she was still beautiful. God, I had it so bad.
‘What? A bodyguard? No!’ Caitlin’s mouth opened and closed several times like a goldfish. ‘No!’
‘She’ll just trail you, you won’t even know she’s there. I promise.’
‘But...but...I’m a no one. I’ll be fine, Jack, I don’t need a bodyguard. The police said they’d keep an eye on me.’ Yeah, but I knew for sure that ‘keeping an eye on her’ meant a phone call every day or so, which was nowhere near good enough for me.
‘Sweetheart ... it’s for me, really. I seriously won’t be able to concentrate if I don’t know you’re safe. Please?’
Caitlin absorbed my words, and I could see her processing them as she blinked and chewed on her lip. ‘Fine. But she’ll be bored senseless following me around. You did say “she”, didn’t you?’
<
br /> ‘Thank you, Caitlin. And yes, it’s a woman. Her name is Tanya, apparently she’s ex-special forces, and holds a sixth dan in karate. She’ll come along to meet you and Allie at breakfast, and then once you’ve done the introductions she’ll melt into the background. You’ll have her phone number. Program it into your phone and call her if you ever see Greg or feel unsafe, OK?’
Caitlin sighed again, giving the elastic bands on her wrist a ping before nodding. ‘OK.’
‘Come here, let’s wipe that miserable look off your face.’
I’m proud to say that after five minutes of kissing, Caitlin did indeed look far perkier when I finally pried myself away from Sean’s house.
Thirty-five
Cait
I couldn’t resist crawling back under the covers on the sofa and snuggling into them. I could smell his scent all over the cotton, and it brought a huge goofy smile to my face.
We’d kissed for what felt like hours, and we’d even had a tentative exploration of each other’s bodies, and although I had very much enjoyed tracing the muscles on his chest with my fingers, I hadn’t been quite brave enough to lower my hand and stroke over the bulge in his shorts. The impressive bulge in his shorts.
Maybe I’d do that next time. The thought had my cheeks heating, because surely once I started down that route, things would inevitably move to the next level. Funnily enough, now he knew I was still a virgin, the thought of progressing with Jack didn’t scare me. I trusted him implicitly, and I knew he wouldn’t hurt me, which made me think my V status would soon become a thing of the past.
Excitement tumbled in my belly at the idea of sex with Jack, and I had giddily buried my face in his pillow when I heard a giggle behind me. ‘Cait? What are you doing?’
I nearly jumped out of my skin at the sound of Allie’s voice and, leaping upright, I spun round and found her stood in the doorway with her hands on her hips and a knowing grin on her face.
Horrifically embarrassed to have been caught mid sniff, I fidgeted and tried to avoid her gaze. ‘Uh...nothing...’ I couldn’t help it if I loved the way Jack smelt, but getting caught was certainly a little humiliating.
‘Yeah, right. You were sniffing his pillow, I saw you,’ she announced smugly as she came into the lounge, pushed the duvet back, and sat down. ‘Don’t worry, I do that with Sean’s stuff too,’ she added, apparently looking to reassure me. It worked to some degree, so with a self-conscious shrug I smiled and plopped down next to her.
‘So ... you stayed here last night then...’ she ventured carefully, her tone laden with curiosity.
‘Yep.’ I tried to keep my reply light, but a vision of Jack’s lips locked with mine as his hand dug into my hair had me swallowing hard, so my reply came out all high and breathy.
Allie was staring at me as if she was trying to look right through me, and under such intense scrutiny I felt my cheeks heat further. ‘And from that blush I take it there was more than just sleep going on, huh?’
‘We mostly just snuggled,’ I mumbled.
‘Just snuggled? Come on, I wasn’t born yesterday! I want more deets!’ she exclaimed with a grin, and slightly reluctantly I explained how I’d come to share the sofa with Jack and that we’d then spent several hours talking, cuddling, and sharing some fairly heated kisses.
Beside me, Allie let out a wistful sigh. ‘I kind of miss nights like that. Sean is great at sex, but sometimes it’s nice to connect with talking, kissing, and a bit of a grope.’ I couldn’t compare, but I certainly hadn’t had any complaints about the way our night had panned out, that was for sure.
‘I told him I was a virgin,’ I confessed, self-consciously averting my eyes even though Allie already knew my secret.
‘Blimey. I bet he was totally cool about it too, huh?’ she asked gently.
A giggle bubbled in my throat as I recalled the stunned look on Jack’s face when I’d told him. ‘Actually, he was pretty shocked at first.’ I grinned at Allie. ‘Then he said it made me even more special, and that he found it...’ I paused, my cheeks flushing again, ‘...he found it rather arousing.’
My bestie drew in a gasp and grabbed my arm in excitement. ‘God, Cait, he is like the perfect man. I’m almost a bit jealous!’
‘Yeah right, you’re not exactly hard done by dating Sean, are you?’
Allie’s expression softened in that love-struck way it often did when we discussed anything to do with Sean. ‘We’re going public tonight,’ she confessed, chewing her lip nervously.
That was big news. ‘Wow. Are you making an official statement or anything?’
‘Sean said he wants to go to the movies, so I guess we’re just going to start going out in public and let the press make of it what they will.’
Nodding my head, I wondered if I’d be so cool and calm when the time came for me and Jack to venture out in public together. The spotlight was far more up Allie’s street than mine.
‘Sean suggested you could invite Mel and Lisa over for a girly night if you’d like some company,’ Allie offered, and I immediately felt myself relax a little. Not that I needed babysitting, but company would certainly be nice.
‘That sounds great. Actually, I got a text from Mel last night asking if I was OK. She heard what happened,’ I grimaced, imagining what the rumour mill was making of my meltdown. ‘I bet everyone thinks I’m a complete weirdo,’ I mumbled, my eyes dropping. ‘Anyway, I’ll call her and invite them over.’
‘Are you going to tell them about Jack?’ she asked.
I gave a non-committal shrug. ‘I don’t know, maybe. Things are still pretty new, so I might keep it quiet for a while longer.’
‘Fair enough,’ Allie agreed with a nod, before bursting into a broad grin. ‘So, looks like we’ve got a busy day ahead of us!’
Perking up, I wrapped my arms around my knees. ‘Why? What are we doing?’
‘I need to prep for tonight, and I need you to help. It’s only a trip to the cinema, but seeing as he’s a pretty famous actor and I’m an ex-primary school teacher, I think I should at least make some effort.’ Allie scrunched her nose and gave me a funny look. ‘I don’t want people to see us together and wonder why the hell he’s with me.’
Rolling my eyes, I flopped back on the sofa. ‘Like that would ever happen. Besides, he’s with you because he loves you. But I get what you mean. So what are you thinking? New outfit and a trip to the hairdresser’s?’
‘Yeah, I guess that sounds about right,’ Allie paused and flashed me a look as she chewed frantically on a fingernail.
Raising a hand, I slapped the back of her wrist with a tut. ‘Enough of that, you’ll need those nails if you get a manicure.’
‘Sorry, you’re right. I just feel really nervous.’
Just as I was about to reassure her that everything would be fine, a knock at the front door interrupted us.
Frowning, I looked at my watch and saw it was still really early, just after 7 a.m., and then looked at Allie to see a matching frown on her face. ‘Bit early for house guests, isn’t it?’ she murmured warily, standing up.
‘Check the peep hole before you open it,’ I warned, jumping up with her as a shot of anxiety sped through my veins.
Allie nodded as we approached the door. ‘This estate is really safe, I doubt anyone could get in.’
Glancing through the peep hole, I let out a relieved breath when I saw Flynn standing on the steps with a woman beside him. ‘Ah. It’s Flynn, and I’m guessing the woman must be Tanya, my new bodyguard.’
‘You said yes to that?’ Allie queried in surprise.
‘You knew about it?’ I retorted, my voice equally as stunned.
Heat rushed to her cheeks and she gave a small nod. ‘Jack mentioned the idea last night when you were in the loo.’
‘I’m not massively keen on the idea, and I think it’s unnecessary, but if it makes Jack happier then I’ll indulge him.’
Pulling open the door, I watched as Flynn raised an eyebrow. It might have been my
stunning case of bed hair that was entertaining him, or perhaps he had spotted that I was wearing Jack’s T-shirt, because he certainly looked mildly amused, which was at odds to his usual stern expression.
After nodding a greeting at us, he promptly made the introductions. Tanya was almost as tall and broad as Flynn, and her manner was professional: calm and aloof, which was fine by me.
‘You won’t know I’m here most of the time. Just let me know in advance if you plan on going anywhere so I can make sure to accompany you,’ she said, turning for the steps to leave.
‘Actually, I’m going out with Allie today.’
Both Flynn and Tanya turned back with matching frowns. ‘After yesterday’s run-in with Lambert, I would strongly advise against that for now, Miss Byrne,’ Flynn said, pulling out his mobile. ‘Save going out and let the police track him down.’ After giving me my dressing down, he called someone on his phone and turned away again.
I shared a look with Allie. I understood their concerns, but what was the point of having a bodyguard if I wasn’t even allowed to leave the frigging house?
‘Mr Felton would like to speak to you,’ Flynn bit out, holding his phone toward me with a strict expression. Wow, talk about arsey. He’d gotten hold of Jack awfully speedily too. Normally I had to leave a message and wait for him to have a break in filming.
Walking a few steps away from my audience, I lifted the phone to my ear. ‘Hey.’
Skipping his usual pleasantries, Jack got straight to the point. ‘Caitlin, please don’t go out. What’s so desperate that you need a shopping trip today?’
‘Allie and Sean are having their first public date tonight. She’s nervous about the press so she wanted me to help her pick a new outfit.’
After a pause, I heard a heavy sigh down the line. ‘OK, I understand, but after yesterday I just don’t think it’s safe for you to go out yet.’ There was a brief silence down the phone and then a deep breath. ‘I have an idea ... Allie’s the same size as you, right?’
