The Scene Stealer: A Hollywood Romance

by Renee Harless

  Guess I’ll need to take care of that before I head toward the diner.

  I show up at the main hub of Shady Pines about an hour later. Trying to rid my mind of thoughts of Larsen, my cock, and any combo of all of the above takes a lot longer than I anticipated. But finally I was able to focus on my upcoming script and the read through I have scheduled.

  Arriving here in this town seems like forever ago, not just a couple days.

  “Hey,” I say to Joanne as I walk through the front door and watch her juggle a pitcher of water and several glasses on a tray like an old pro.

  “Hey,” she calls out, passing me by without a second glance.

  As I focus around the large room, I notice that no one is looking in my direction, a complete contrast to the salacious gazes I received yesterday. One sweep of the room and I have to do a double take when I notice the woman with the long curly hair sitting alone at the counter. Dressed as if she came from a high-end business meeting, she’s clad in designer duds, no department store finds for this one.

  Her head is twisted to the side and I realize that her gaze is pinned on the beautiful woman standing in the kitchen hiding away from the world again.

  Knowing I have no choice, I slip onto the stool beside my cousin and pull my face into her line of sight, blocking her view of Larsen.

  “Hey, Tessa.”

  Her appearance here should shock me, but it doesn’t. I’m more surprised that it’s taken her this long to track me down. Not only can she trace me with her phone, but her father has complete control over my financials, so he can see where I’m making purchases.

  “Devyn, good of you to finally join me.”

  “Finally?” I ask.

  “Ah, yes. I’ve been waiting here for about an hour.” She’s been here since Larsen arrived.

  My mute friend steps up to the counter and sets a steaming cup of coffee in front of me before retreating back into the kitchen. My eyes follow her every movement, I can’t stop them even if I wanted to. I’m pulled to her by some invisible magnetic force that I can’t describe.

  “Well, that explains things.”

  Tessa’s claim pulls my attention back to her and I twist on the stool to face my cousin. “What does?”

  “That there is a girl involved.”

  “Tessa,” I growl defensively. Larsen is nothing like the women with whom I usually associate. She’s different than all of them.

  “Don’t worry. I actually like this one.”

  Skeptically I raise an eyebrow at my cousin, she dislikes everyone. I silently beg her to explain more.

  “Well, it’s obvious, despite the fact that she’s beautiful, she has been nothing but kind since I came in and asked for you. And when I showed her the social media posts of you and her in this place yesterday, she seemed scared out of her wits. I actually watched her turn this horrible shade of gray. Plus, I figure that she isn’t some bimbo using you to increase their social status.”

  “I know she’s not a bimbo. She’s studying to be a nurse.”

  “Admirable profession.”

  I grunt as I take a sip of my coffee, turning around to watch Larsen take a few orders from some older men that take a seat at the counter.

  “She could be good for you and your image.”

  I don’t want to talk with Tessa about whatever relationship I am having with Larsen at the moment. The woman doesn’t even have a cell phone, nor does she want one. I’m not even sure how we’d stay in touch since I don’t go anywhere near an email address or social media messenger, I leave those to Tessa. All she has is that ancient landline without an answering machine.

  Chugging back the rest of my coffee I turn to my assistant with a fear spiking me right in the chest. The blade sharp and deadly as it wedges between my bones and muscles. “Tessa, why are you here?”

  “There is a production meeting Quinn wants you to attend. That means I need you in Chicago.”

  “When?”

  “Tomorrow.”

  And there it is, that drop of the hat that I knew was coming but hadn’t prepared for yet. Quickly turning my eyes back to Larsen as she leans over a counter in the kitchen reading a textbook, I’m not sure how I can say goodbye to her. I’m not sure I’ll ever be ready to say goodbye to her.

  “Now, can you show me where I’ll be staying the night?”

  Solemnly I tilt my head back toward Tessa and try my best to smile at her warmly. I fail miserably. I am glad to see my cousin, she’s my best friend, but I thought I had a few more days with Larsen.

  “Yeah, I’ll show you where I’m staying. Follow me.”

  I guide Tessa from the counter, but just as I’m about to pass through the doors I turn to look back toward the kitchen and I find Larsen staring at me as well. I can’t read the expression on her face and I think that part hurts the most, that I don’t know what she’s feeling about this situation. Her mind isn’t something I can get a read on, but she wears her emotions on her sleeve.

  I mouth I’m sorry to her but she turns her attention back to her nursing textbook propped up on the counter.

  “Devyn?” Tessa calls out as she patiently waits for me to escort her to the apartment.

  “Yeah, I’m coming.”

  As if she’s been here before, Tessa settles in the apartment. Like me, she is impressed at the furnishings the moment we cross the doorstep. Strangely, after going into Larsen’s apartment the other day, I much prefer her style, a bit more eclectic and warm, filled with antiques over this cool modern style.

  Tessa goes through my schedule for the next three months of filming and she tries to press me for information on Larsen, but I don’t give anything away. I can’t even if I wanted to. I have no idea what she and I are. We agreed on friendship, but I feel like something else could have blossomed had we been given time. But time has never been on my side.

  She also arranges for a towing service to pick up the Porsche when it’s finished and take it back to our home. Surprisingly she doesn’t berate me for running off and not keeping in touch. Maybe it’s because she’s able to track me, or perhaps it’s because she knew what telling me about my parents would do to me. Every time they’re mentioned I revert back to the hurt seven-year old wishing for their love and affection instead of the fake family I had onscreen.

  “Flight leaves at 8 a.m. sharp. I need to get the rental back so be prepared for an early departure.”

  “Yeah, okay,” I say mindlessly.

  “Hey, Devyn.” My head pops up at the tone of her voice; it’s not one I’ve heard before. Pity and anger, sure I’m used to those, but this one is more of true unhappiness. “I am sorry. I wish that I could give you more time, but we need to stay focused. This picture could be the best thing for you. Don’t let all of your hard work go to waste.”

  “I know, Tessa. I knew what I was giving up when I signed on for the role. The alcohol hasn’t been a problem. I can move on past this place too,” I tell her.

  “What about the girl?”

  The girl. The way she says it almost makes me want to fight or justify my need to stay a while longer, but I know better.

  “Yeah. Don’t worry about her,” I lie and it burns like acid all the way to my stomach.

  Tessa’s eyes narrow and I know that she doesn’t believe me. But as long as I keep my head in the game, she has no reason to think otherwise.

  Together we head to the market to grab fixings for lunch and dinner. Between the two meals Tessa reads over the script with me, helping me get into character. I forgot how much I love this part, setting yourself aside and stepping into someone else’s world.

  We read through the script twice before Tessa calls it a night.

  A few minutes later, Tessa heads to the bedroom, and I settle on the couch watching the black screen. The streetlights from outside begin to flick on and they glimmer within the blackness like a motion picture. Ironic.

  Unable to sit still, I walk around the apartment, doing nothing to keep my stomps on t
he quieter side of the noise spectrum. I’m restless, edgy, impatient. The door to the apartment beckons me and I don’t hesitate to slip past the barrier.

  I make it to the top of the stairwell then stop short. I remember how easily Larsen turned away earlier. She must know that I’m leaving. She must know that my trip has been cut short. And she made no indication that she wants me to stay. The way her attention went back to her book cut deep.

  Of course, who am I fooling? I chose my career overstaying as well.

  Temporary. This was all temporary, I tell myself. Then why does it feel like I’m going to miss out on something?

  My feet falter as I stand at the peak of the stairs. Instead, they move me backward, closer to the door I just exited. My back collides with the wall and I slip down its grainy surface, not caring about the cleanliness as I settle on the floor. My knees bend toward the sky and I rest my elbows on top, leaning my head in my hands. I close my eyes and let the black abyss draw me in.

  “Devyn?” a melodic voice calls out in worry and I lift my head, my neck aching as a testament to how long I’ve sat out here in the hall. “You know the last time I found someone in the hallway it was my uncle covered in vomit.”

  “No, vomit here.”

  “I can see that. And like you, he took a conversation about using alcohol as a crutch and did something about it.” Larsen crouches down to my level. Her large brown eyes take everything in, all of my secrets, all of my hatred. Sweeping her hand through the strands of my hair hanging in front of my face, I revel in her touch.

  “Want to come inside?” she asks, never lifting from her squat, patiently waiting for me to reply. I nod.

  She stands and holds out her hand to help me off the floor. It’s her right hand, the one she tries to hide because of the scars. And I know it’s not just by accident. She’s instilling a trust in me that she rarely gives others.

  “Did you eat yet?” I ask as I follow her grimly into her apartment.

  From the corner of my eye, I watch her set her purse on her kitchen counter, flick her name badge free from her shirt, then turn to me. I barely have a chance to acknowledge that there are tears pooling in the corner of her eyes before Larsen launches herself at me and I easily welcome her into my embrace. Our lips collide at the same time her arms and legs wrap around my neck and waist. My hands instinctively reach out to hold her in place, my palms lying underneath her thighs as they clench my hips.

  We crash into the wall, then her kitchen counter, causing her purse to stumble onto the floor, the contents spilling around my feet.

  “Larsen,” I groan, wishing I could bottle up her flavor to take with me. A talisman to remember our time. She’s more potent than any drug I’ve ever had in my system.

  A fierceness grows in her eyes and she slides herself down my body and takes a step away from me. It happens before the moment fully registers in my brain. Larsen reaches for the hem of her shirt and yanks it up and over her head, tossing the yellow mess onto a chair on the other side of the room, baring her bra-covered chest to me.

  God, those breasts are magnificent to see with my own eyes.

  The pale purple lace and silk barely contain her lush and full breasts in their confines. My breath catches in my throat as I take her in. She’s perfection and I want to memorize the way she looks right now – confident, strong, willful, all of the things I wanted to give her before I left.

  “Devyn,” she beckons, her voice never wavering, no vibration of fear in her call. “Make love to me. Please. If all I have is tonight with you, then I want a memory that will last forever.” Her chest heaves up and down, but my eyes stay pinned to hers. My silence must send a spike of fear through her because I watch the fire in her eyes dim.

  I’m not sure when we decided to cross that line from friends to lovers, but I’m too lost in the moment to take the time to analyze it. I’ll have plenty of time for that in the upcoming days, weeks, months.

  She glances down at her body and then back up to me. “I realize that I’m not like other women. That I don’t look like a supermodel, but I thought that maybe-”

  My feet carry me toward her and with a giant swoop, I bend down and lift her body over my shoulder in a fireman’s hold. Her answering giggle is all I need to hear as I follow the hallway toward her bedroom. She falls onto the bed and bounces twice before settling on top of her duvet.

  My body reacts without a second thought and I pull my own shirt off my body. I need to feel her skin against mine more than I need my next breath. I reach down and unbuckle my pants but leave them in place as I kneel onto the bed and crawl over her body.

  As I come to rest between her legs, she glides her hands up my back in a slow and unhurried movement. My body shivers at her touch and I force my lids to close as I take in the feel of her hands on my skin. The warmth of her palm ignites a fire beneath my skin.

  Like the bastard that he is, my cock is already at full attention and I know that the only way to relieve him is to bury myself deep inside her body.

  I know that I should take this slow, make love to her the way she deserves, but I’m too fired up to take into account how inexperienced she probably is.

  With her hands back on the bed, Larsen leans up on her elbows and brushes her lips against mine. By her movements, I hope that she is as lost in the moment as I am. Reaching behind her back, I unclasp her bra and she falls back against the bed to slide the straps down her arms. She slings the bra away and extends her hand to comb her fingers through my hair. I moan at her touch, at the gentle way she’s fingering my hair. The newly exposed treasures are as glorious as I imagined. Pale pink nipples placed perfectly in the middle of her lush mounds. Not even the scars distract from their perfection.

  I bend down and kiss her, slipping my tongue between her lips, exploring the depths of her mouth with each brush. My chest rubs against hers and the feel of her soft peaks set off a new wave of desire.

  “I want you so much, Larsen.”

  “I want you too,” she tells me, mimicking the movements of my tongue with her own. I feel the brush of her hand between our bodies then I realize that she’s trying to unbutton her own pants.

  “Here, let me.” I sweep her hand away and make quick work of unbuttoning her pants and sliding them and her panties down her body in one motion.

  “Fuck, you’re gorgeous,” I tell her, taking in her complete form. The pale breasts, flat stomach, wet folds beckoning forward, the entire picture is better than anything I have ever laid my eyes on.

  I watch as a blush rises from the tips of her breasts crawling its way up to her cheeks.

  “Can I taste you here?” I ask, circling my finger around the nipple of one breast. “And then here?” My finger trails down across her stomach and ends as a soft caress at the apex of her thighs. Her answering moan is the only response that I need.

  My body arches over hers as I seal my lips around her dusky pink nipple, the skin tasting as sweet as her kiss. Flicking the bud with my tongue, I’m hypnotized at the way her body jerks and bows with each pass.

  Against my hips, I can feel her legs begin to quiver. Triumph surges through me. Knowing that it won’t take much to send her into oblivion I leave a trail of kisses down her abdomen, taking an extra second to pay attention to the sensitive skin around her navel, and bring my lips to her soft and silky folds.

  “Yes,” she cries out as I lick her sex from the supple skin underneath to the top of her hood. Unable to control my desire to touch her, I slide my hand around her thigh and part her folds to rub small circles around her clit. “Oh my God, Devyn.”

  Her body shakes uncontrollably now, an earthquake of its own making, and I wonder how long it’s been since she’s had an orgasm, or if she’s ever had one.

  Needing to feel her explode by my mouth, I increase the speed and pressure of my thumb as I lick around the entrance of her slit. I don’t normally go down on the women I bed, but Larsen is the exception and the new rule.

  She’s so
close now, her body strung tight and muscles rigid as she climbs higher. Knowing what she needs, I close my mouth around her bundle of nerves and suck on the bud at the same time my fingers slip into her sex.

  As I expect, her body grows stiff and I can feel the waves of her inner muscles grip my fingers as her release goes off. It lasts just a minute, the waves dying as her body turns languid.

  “Wow,” she whispers as I move over her body, hovering just above. I answer her blissful grin with a kiss on her lips, letting her taste herself. “I need to be in you, Larsen.”

  She nods against my lips and then turns toward her nightstand, digging into the drawer to retrieve an unopened box of condoms. I want to ask why she has them in her nightstand, but I can tell that they are a recent purchase based on the box’s design and unopened shrink wrap.

  “It was just in case. . .” That damn blush grows on her pale cheeks and my aching cock stiffens further.

  Taking the box from her hand, I open it and tear off a single packet. “I’m glad that you picked these up because I don’t have anything and I will always want to protect you, Larsen.”

  Sitting up on my knees, I begin to tug down my pants only to halt when Larsen’s hands settle on top of mine. She silently asks me to allow her the honor, her eyes pleading with hunger. She continues my movements and watching her slender hands slide the material down my thighs, exposing my aching cock, is one of the sexiest things I’ve ever seen.

  “Fuck, I need to be in you. Now.”

  I gently push her back onto the bed, loving the way she laughs at my alpha move, and kick my pants off the rest of the way. With the condom still in my hand, I slither up her body, leaving a path of kisses from the arch of her delicate foot up to the concave indentation where her collarbone resides under the skin. I make sure to stay on her left side, afraid she may tense up if I pay attention to the scars on the other side. But I have plans for those later.

  My cock glides against her slick center and I suppress every urge to take her like this. To make her mine without any barrier. I rock my hips back and forth, coating myself in her heat, loving the way her eyes gloss over with each pass of my cock against her clit.