Stripped Love #3 (BBW Alpha Male Romance)

by Taylor, Alycia

  STRIPPED LOVE #3

  BOOK 3

  By Alycia Taylor

  Copyright 2015. All rights reserved.

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  Chapter One

  Well, it turned out that all my newfound hope and enthusiasm was completely misplaced. I called my agent every day for the next two weeks straight and he didn't have one job offer for me. He did send me out on several casting calls, but they were no better than anything I could have found by myself looking through the papers.

  I had met countless celebrities at the party I attended with Dimitri and many of them had said I should try calling them sometime, but of course none of them had actually given me their phone numbers. At one point, I considered trying to look them up, but I realized that even if I could get ahold of anyone’s number, the chances of them actually remembering who I was or bothering to take my call were extremely small. After all, as wonderful and exciting as it was for me to meet them, I'm sure I was just another faceless woman in the crowd to them, and they were only being polite to me because I was with Dimitri. My only hope was that my brief fifteen minutes of fame caused one of the directors I’d already auditioned for to give my resume a second look and call my agent.

  As the days went by and no job offers came my way, I began to get depressed. I had been so sure that something wonderful was going to come from the exposure of the interviews or my charming banter with celebrities. Why wasn’t anyone asking for me? I’d been very careful to mention my agent’s name in nearly every conversation I had. I remember because several of the stars I’d talked to said they knew him and it made me so excited I nearly pissed myself. Even if no one remembered who my agent was, everyone knew Dimitri and that I was at the party with him, so they could have at least found a way to reach me through him, but I hadn’t heard a word from him in the past two weeks either.

  That was the part that hurt most of all. I knew I had publically dumped him in front of all his friends in a horribly humiliating scene, but I thought he would have tried calling me by now. Didn’t he know that just because a girl yells at you and runs away doesn’t mean she doesn’t want to be pursued? Well fuck him! If he hadn’t called me or come over by now, he clearly wasn’t going to; and the same went for Hollywood. It was time I faced the facts; my acting career wasn’t going anywhere and neither was I. Once the harsh reality sunk in, all I wanted to do was sit on the couch, eating junk food and watching bad television until my shift at the club started. Then I would dance my choreographed routines on autopilot as if in some sort of sad daze, collect my pitiful tips, go home, crash into bed and start the cycle again the next day.

  "Come on!” Shawnee tried to encourage me one particularly sunny morning around eleven o’clock. “It's not healthy just to lie around the apartment like this every day. You're going to get fat and then you won't get decent tips.”

  “I don't get decent tips anyway,” I retorted with more hostility and rudeness then Shawnee deserved. She was just trying to help, but at that moment I didn't want to hear it.

  “How did that audition go that you had yesterday?” Shawnee tried switching the subject to one that usually perked me up, but not that day.

  “Shitty,” I pouted. I was in no mood to be cheered up and I wanted her to know it. “There were a hundred girls in line ahead of me who were prettier, skinnier, and probably better actresses too.”

  “I doubt that,” Shawnee said. “I've seen you rehearsing scenes and you're pretty damn good. Don't let those skinny bitches get you down.”

  “They're not the ones that have me down,” I said wryly.

  “Well then, don't let Hollywood Heartbreakers get you down either.” Shawnee said, forcing me to crack a smile despite my horrible mood. It gave her a glimmer of hope that I might still be alive. Grabbing her purse, she held open the door and said enticingly, “I'm going to get my nails done and go out to lunch with some of the girls. Come with me! It'll be fun and the fresh air will do you some good.”

  “Thanks, but you go ahead without me. I've been up at the crack of dawn every day the past week standing in line at walk-in auditions and then up all night dancing. This week I just want to relax right here on the couch.”

  “Alright…suit yourself.”

  Shawnee was obviously disappointed, but she left me to my moping.

  She hadn't even been gone half an hour when suddenly there came a knock on the door. I took a quick survey of myself to make sure I was decent and didn’t have Cheetos in my hair or stains on my shirt. Just because I was depressed didn’t mean I wanted the neighborhood to think I was a slob.

  Luckily, my appearance wasn’t half bad. I was wearing my black yoga pants, which gave my hips and thighs a slimmer appearance and highlighted my buttocks in a particularly appealing way. Above the yoga pants I had on my most comfortable black sports bra with a baggy hot-pink tank top draped loosely over the top. The low scoop neckline and wide armholes of the tank gave a clear view of the black sports bra underneath, highlighting my full breasts and making me look sexy and fit. It wasn’t the dressiest outfit in my closet, but for a day of lounging on the couch it was quite presentable and might even fool whoever was at the door into thinking I was exercising instead of being a couch potato. My golden hair was pulled back into a high ponytail and my face was devoid of makeup, giving me a fresh appearance.

  Expecting the mailman, a neighbor, or maybe even a salesman, I opened the door to my apartment without even bothering to check the peephole. My mistake. There was Dimitri standing on my doorstep, carrying a huge bouquet of tiger lilies. That's what I get for not checking the peephole! My daddy always taught me that just because it was the middle of the day didn't mean there wasn't a snake out there! I should have listened better. Oh well, it was too late to pretend like I wasn't home, so I might as well talk to him.

  “What do you want?” I asked in as rude a tone as I could muster, even though inside my heart was doing flip-flops just at the sight of him. God damn it! I hated it that he still had that effect on me even after all the bullshit he had pulled. Why couldn't I just hate him like I wanted to?

  "These are for you," Dimitri handed me the tropical flowers. They were beautiful and I could tell they must have cost him a fortune. “They're to say I'm sorry about what happened at the party.”

  “Take your sorry and take your flowers and go fuck yourself!”

  I glared at him. I started to close the door in his face, but he was fast and shoved his boot in the doorway, stopping me before I could get it shut.

  “Please, Avery. Just give me a chance to explain. I never meant to offend you that night. I thought it was what you wanted. It was stupid of me, I know that now. I can't tell you how sorry I am. I was an idiot and a jerk and I don't blame you for being mad at me.”

  “Well thank you so much for giving me permission to be angry,” I said and he smiled that damn sexy smile that I loved so much.

  “It’s why I thought I’d better give you some time to cool down, but I just couldn’t wait to see you another day, so here I am to beg your forgiveness. I give you my vow that it will never happen again. Please say you forgive me for being such an ass.”

  “I did that once before; why should I do it again.”

  “Because we’re so right together. I was having the best time with you at that party, before I fucked it up. I have the best time every time we're together. You're not like other girls Avery; you're different,
you're special. If I had been thinking for even half a second at that party I would have known that you weren't like all those other stupid girls who think they can sleep their way to fame. I know it's no excuse, but I'd been drinking too much and I just wasn't thinking. I was an idiot and I'll apologize to you every day until you believe how sorry I am and are willing to forgive me.”

  To my surprise, Dimitri down on his knees and was literally groveling on my doorstep. It was impossible for me not to smile at the sight of the country’s hottest actor begging on his hands and knees for forgiveness from someone like me. Unable to maintain my anger, I swung the door open wide and waved him in with hurried gestures of my hand.

  “Okay I believe you're sorry, now get in here before anybody sees you.”

  “Thank you.”

  Dimitri entered quickly before I changed my mind. By the time I finished closing the door and locking it, he had propped himself comfortably on my couch, and had his feet up on my coffee table. With a cocky grin, he said, “I knew you couldn’t stay mad at me forever.”

  “Oh, shut up!” I laughed and gave his feet a hard shove, so they fell from the table onto the floor with a jarring thud. “How do you know I didn’t lie about forgiving you? Maybe I just said it so you’d stop making a spectacle in front of all my neighbors.”

  “You are one of the most talented actresses I’ve seen; maybe you were faking.” Dimitri arched his left brow and pressed his fingers to his temple in an exaggerated expression of thoughtfulness. “I guess I’ll just have to keep bringing you flowers every day until you forgive me for real.”

  “No! Don’t do that!”

  A laugh escaped my lips, and I surrendered all remaining pretense of being mad. “All right, damn it! I’m not mad at you anymore; but how did you know I would forgive you?”

  “I already told you; it’s because we’re so right for each other. Nobody makes me feel as comfortable as you do. I feel the most free to be myself when I’m with you because you’re always real with me. When you’re talking to me, and telling me about your life growing up with your sisters and how you feel about dancing, I know it’s the real Avery Phillips and it makes me feel safe enough to show you the real Dimitri Morrison.”

  “What are you saying; that some people lie about their lives when they talk to you?” I couldn’t believe anyone would do something so outrageous, but Dimitri nodded his head.

  “You wouldn’t believe the bullshit stories people will make up trying to fit in at parties, or get remembered at auditions. They want to stand out, fit in, or make you believe they like the same things as you do, or have had similar experiences. It’s a joke, but it’s not funny; it’s sad.”

  “What’s the most outrageous lie anybody has told you?” I was captivated by the idea, and leaned in closer to hear. His cologne smelled heavenly, and I breathed him in deeply.

  “Oh, that’s a hard one. I don’t know if I could pick just one that was the most outrageous, but I’ll give you an example of the kind of bullshit stories people tell.”

  I listened in complete awe as Dimitri dished dirt on many of the young stars in Hollywood that he had worked with, sharing the outlandish lies they’d told just to get movie roles or to try and fit in at parties. He never used any names, but sometimes I could guess; and I’d never laughed so much in my life.

  “That’s awful! Didn’t she think anyone would notice the scar from her surgery?” Tears were running down my cheeks, I was laughing so hard and my stomach hurt.

  “I guess not,” Dimitri laughed along with me. I loved the way his eyes crinkled around the edges when he was truly amused by something, as opposed to the not so sincere Hollywood laugh I’d come to recognized as being not his authentic self. It made me feel good that he felt comfortable enough with me to show his true emotions and mused how strange it was that I could say I knew him well enough to tell the difference.

  His cell phone chimed and he glanced at it before turning the caller over to voicemail. Then he looked back at me and said, “So tell me, have you had any secret surgeries I should know about?”

  “Me? Definitely not, these are all natural,” I said playfully, running my hands over my breasts with mocking sexuality.

  “I knew that,” Dimitri said, and the appreciation in his eyes was obvious.

  Feeling suddenly awkward, I got back to the subject of his question and said, “Seriously though, I’ve never had surgery. Not even a broken bone; although I did sprain my ankle really bad in gym class once in the eighth grade. It was awful. How about you?”

  “Me? I broke a couple of ribs thinking I could perform my own stunts when I was a kid and tried to jump my bike over the backyard water fountain. That was dumb as shit.”

  “Oh my God!”

  I laughed as he told the story. It was so much fun listening to Dimitri talk about his life growing up, his famous parents, and the amazing life he had lived. Through it all, however, he was just plain Dimitri. He got lonely, he got scared, he got his heart broken, and tried too hard to impress people. He even made stupid mistakes like thinking his bike could fly when it couldn’t. For years I had idolized him from afar as a larger-than-life movie star and I would have given anything to have gotten to act in a movie with him, but getting to know him as a real human being was even better and I suddenly felt like the luckiest girl in the world.

  His phone chimed again, and he apologized to me before retreating down my short hallway to take the call. While he was gone, my stomach suddenly growled with hunger. I looked at the clock on my wall and was surprised to see that over an hour had passed and it was after one o’clock in the afternoon.

  “Sorry about that,” Dimitri apologized again when he returned a few minutes later.

  “No problem. I’m getting hungry. Do you want some lunch?” I asked, and headed casually for the kitchen. It was like we were already old friends and I started to rummage through my fridge looking for something decent to feed him.

  Dimitri followed me into the kitchen and leaned in the doorway, watching my ass I leaned forward at the waist to get some vegetables out of the crisper on the bottom shelf of the fridge. Setting the lettuce and tomatoes on the counter, I grinned at him flirtatiously and said, “I make an unbelievable turkey sandwich.”

  “I bet you do, but I really can’t stay.”

  Dimitri looked as disappointed as I felt, but he suddenly seemed in a hurry. “I have to be someplace soon, but I came by because I have some terrific news for you.”

  “What?” I asked, feeling a tingling of excitement that started in my gut and radiated out to my toes. Something in the way Dimitri stood and the twinkle in his eyes told me this was going to be something really good, but nothing prepared me for his next words.

  “You’ve got an acting job.”

  “Are you teasing me?” I could hardly believe his words could be true. Balling up my fists, I said, “If you’re messing with me about this I’ll beat the shit out of you!”

  Dimitri held up his hands in mock surrender and said, “No, it’s true. It’s for a commercial; a national commercial for a new brand of men’s cologne. They wanted a fresh face that was sultry yet sweet and you fit the bill perfectly. It’s a speaking part, with multiple lines…plus photo shoots for magazine spreads and the billboard campaign. Are you interested?”

  Dimitri’s eyes danced with merriment as he handed me a letter on official letterhead from a well known commercial production company

  “Are you serious?”

  I snatched the letter from his hand and read it quickly. It was from the director himself formally offering me the job. I would be the star of an actual national commercial and the salary they were offering me was more than I’d made dancing so far this year. I could hardly breathe and for a moment I thought I might faint. This was the big break I’d been waiting for these past two years. This was what I’d been working my ass off to achieve; my dream was finally coming true. I cried out, “Yes! I’m very interested! I’ll take it!”

 
“Good, because I told them you’d be there bright and early next Wednesday morning.”

  “Thank you so much!”

  Without thinking I flung myself at Dimitri, wrapped my arms around his chest, and started hugging and kissing him. I was just so happy and excited, I wasn’t thinking and by the time I realized what I was doing it was too late and my lips were on his. He tasted incredible, and his lips were the perfect combination of soft yet firm. His arms circled around my body, hugging me back as he returned the kiss with equal passion and our tongues intertwined.

  “I’m sorry.”

  I blushed as we broke apart. “I didn’t mean to attack you like that.”

  “It’s okay; I didn’t mind,” he said with a boyish grin.

  “Yeah, I know; but I don’t want to seem like one of those girls who exchanges sexual favors for roles.”

  “I would never think that about you,” Dimitri insisted. “Not since I’ve gotten to really know you. You’ve got integrity, determination, and real courage and spirit. You’ve also got real talent and the director of this commercial recognized that. It’s why you got the job.”

  “You really think so?” I asked, feeling inexplicably shy. I didn’t know why Dimitri’s opinion of me held so much weight, but for some reason his approval meant more to me than anything.

  “I do,” Dimitri said and the look in his blue eyes told me it was true. He closed his mouth over mine, drinking me in, and I gave myself up to the passion of his kiss. My nipples hardened as my breasts crushed against his chest and a soft moan of pleasure escaped my throat and I curled my fingers in his dark wavy hair. He said, “You are such an incredible woman, Avery. I wish you could see yourself the way I see you and then you’d never doubt your talent again.”

  He brought his lips down on my neck, kissing his way to my cleavage. My breathing grew faster and I hoped he would peel away my shirt and sports bra and take my tits into his wonderful mouth, but he stopped himself. “I have to go; but I’ll be back first thing tomorrow morning to pick you up.”