“Brian is back here,” Ellis spoke, breaking the silence between them. “He asked me to take you to your dressing room.”
She smiled, and the feeling that crept into his stomach was unfamiliar and not entirely welcome. Putting her small hand into his, she allowed him to help her down the stairs. As she came down the last step, she fumbled on her heels and he reached out automatically, catching her in his arms.
Her face was mere inches from his, and he swore he could hear her heart pounding. Maybe it was his heart pounding. He could smell the flowery scent of her perfume, and see every speck in her beautiful eyes.
“You okay?” He cleared his throat, standing her upright. God, he needed this night to be over.
Sam laughed. “I’m such a klutz. Thank goodness I didn’t do that on stage. Thanks, Ellis.” She linked her arm with his and they walked silently down the dark hallway to her dressing room. He was hyper aware of every single movement she made. Her arm brushing against his ribs; her small hand resting on his forearm, and his arm gently touching the glitter on her dress. He was a good six inches taller than her, but with her heels on she was much closer to him.
They reached the door and Ellis opened it, letting her arm go. He knew she was watching him, but he had to get away from her, and fast. He scanned the room, not noticing anything out of the ordinary.
“Ellis?” Sam had stepped out of her shoes, and he looked at her bare feet. Her toes were painted red, and he wanted to groan. Everything about her was killing him.
He looked her in the eyes. “Yes, Sam?”
“Thanks for being here. I already feel so much safer with you here. Even with the crazy flowers today, I know that you will figure it out. I have faith in you.” She laid her hand on his arm, and it took every single shred of self-decency he had to not shove her against the door and devour her. But he knew he never could. God, he needed a cold shower.
He smiled thinly at her. “I’m going to get whoever this is. I promise you that.”
Sam stepped closer, and Ellis wished he could move back further, but he was against the door. It felt like the air was sucked out of the room. What was she doing?
“I want you to be my security,” she said, so softly he barely heard her.
“I-I am your security,” he stammered, wanting to crawl under the floor. What was wrong with him? He had never acted like such a fool before. Get your shit together, Ellis Warner!
“No,” Sam said, closing the last few inches of space between them. “I want you to be my own private security. Brian is still the boss, but I want you.”
Ellis tried to swallow, but it felt like there was cotton in his mouth. She was coming on to him, right? She was so close to him that he could see the lines in her full lips and feel her breath against his chin.
Just then, the door opened, hitting him in the backside. She scrambled backwards, and he grabbed onto her, afraid she was going to fall. He stepped out of the way to see Sam’s mom standing there.
“I’m so sorry!” Ella touched Ellis’ arm, and he couldn’t help but notice that her touch wasn’t electric like her daughter’s.
He held up his hands, a nervous laugh escaping him. “No problem. I’m sure I needed that. I’ll give you two some privacy. I’m going to go check in with Brian, see if they are ready for you out there.”
Sam looked at him, then at her mom. “Okay. Thanks, Ellis.” He stepped out of the room, closing the door behind him, then leaning against it. His heart was pounding a million miles an hour. This week needed to hurry up and pass. He was a gentleman, but only for so long. And he knew that if she ever put those sweet lips on his, all bets were going to be off.
Ellis flopped on his bed, his nerves frazzled. Here he thought he was going to stressing over finding a stalker, but the main thing he was worried about was the beautiful woman in the room next to him. Of course his room had to be here. It made sense of course. Except knowing she was changing her clothes with a thin wall in between them didn’t help him get his head straight.
After her mom had completely saved him from whatever was going on in that room, he had beelined it for Brian. He had her after party all set up, with the fans that had won backstage party passes. Thankfully that had meant that she was tied up for another hour, talking to her fans. Unfortunately for him, that left him an hour to just watch her. Brian told him in no uncertain terms that she couldn’t be left alone for a second, so he stood in the corner of the room, his eyes watching her every move. He watched her tuck her hair behind her ear repeatedly, wrinkle up her nose when she laughed out of obligation, throw her head back when she was genuinely tickled, and listen intently to every fan that was there. Every person in that room loved her, and he knew exactly why.
Kicking off his boots and flinging his shirt on the floor, he rolled over and stared at the ceiling, thinking about what Carl had told him. Let yourself feel something for someone, Ellis. I love you. He wondered what would’ve happened to him had Carl never come into his life. He knew for sure he wouldn’t have this job. For all he knew, he would’ve ended up like his mother. Overdosed and gone. He owed everything to Carl, yet he couldn’t admit that he loved the man.
Love. Such a small word for a huge commitment of feelings. Had he ever heard those words before he met Mandy? He couldn’t remember his mother ever telling him that she loved him. That she hated him, yes. That he was a bastard and was just like his father, absolutely. But love? No. And then there had been Mandy. The girl that had said she loved him. Until she ripped the only thing he knew he would love forever away from him. He couldn’t blame her, not really. He probably would’ve done the same thing had he been her. He was messed up, and had nothing and no one but his drug addicted mother to support him.
By the time Carl came into his life, Ellis had shut down every part of himself that could ever feel again. And though he got to him in many ways, there was so much of him that would never be alive again. Hell, he wasn’t sure it had ever truly been alive.
A small knock on the door made him jump, and he stood and opened the door without thinking that he was only half-dressed. As soon as he saw Sam’s face, he sucked in his breath. Her eyes traveled immediately down his bare chest, to his unbuttoned jeans and bare feet, then back up to his eyes.
“Sam,” Ellis finally said. “Are you okay?”
“Oh, um, yes,” she answered. “I just wanted to go for a walk on the beach. We don’t have beaches in Nashville, and it seems like it would be pretty safe with it being so late.”
Walking with Sam on a dark beach. He could do this. “Should we ask Brian?” He indicated down the hall where Brian’s room was.
A smirk played on her lips. “No.”
“No?”
“He may be the boss, but you’re my security now. Like it or not, 24/7, for the next week at least.”
Ellis fought the urge to tuck a piece of hair behind her ear that had come out from her ponytail. He couldn’t touch her. “What did Brian have to say about that?”
She shrugged. “Nothing he can say. I sign the checks around here. Well, okay, my dad does. But he was okay with it.”
Ellis turned and grabbed his shirt, slipping it back on his head. He didn’t bother with shoes and noticed she was barefoot as well. She had changed into a pair of jeans and a cotton t-shirt, and he noticed that she looked much younger dressed that way than when she was on stage.
“Your dad is your manager then?” Ellis asked as they made their way out the back door and down to the cool sand.
Sam sighed. “Yes. He’s been a business owner in the Nashville area since before I was born, and has done really well. Once I won the record deal, he decided I was his next business venture.”
“You don’t sound okay with that,” Ellis observed.
She shrugged. Even though it was dark, the moon was full, so he could still see her features perfectly. “It’s fine. He knows a lot about business, and I just want to sing. But, that also means he’s in control of everything that I do. I’m not a k
id anymore, but he doesn’t seem to remember that sometimes.”
They walked in silence for a moment. “I don’t want to sound like an ungrateful princess,” she said. “I know you just met me. I love my parents and they have always wanted what was best for me. Sometimes I just feel…”
“Suffocated?” Ellis offered, and she stopped, smiling up at him. His heart tripped and then started pounding so loud he thought she would hear it. The moonlight shone off her beautiful eyes, illuminating her angelic face.
“Exactly,” she said softly. “Can I say something?”
Ellis took a deep breath, looking back at the house. They hadn’t walked too far. “Let’s sit,” he said. She took his hand as she lowered herself to the sand. He had never believed that you could be physically magnetic to someone else, but touching her, he thought just maybe there was something to it. The current that passed between them was palpable.
She seemed to have forgotten whatever she wanted to say as they watched the waves crash against the shore in silence. He was glad, because whatever she was going to say he wasn’t sure he wanted to hear. After a few moments, he felt her turn to face him again.
“Ellis?”
He knew he should stand up and get them back to the house, but he couldn’t make himself get up. He also knew that looking at her wasn’t going to be the best choice, given how close they were sitting, but like a magnetic force field, he couldn’t stop himself.
When his eyes connected to hers, he was hyper aware of everything. The sound the waves were making against the shore, the whisper of the palm fronds blowing in the wind, the heat of her leg next to his. Looking into her eyes was like looking into an entrancing abyss.
“I feel like, when you look at me, you see me,” she started. “So many people, when they first meet me, they see the part of me they want to see. The singer, the celebrity. It’s hard to know who is part of your life because they want to be or because they feel like they can get something out of you. I don’t know why it seems that you’re different, but you don’t look at me like this star, this fake person.”
“You’re very talented,” he began. “And signing, entertaining is an important part of you. But I know just by looking at you that there’s so much more there, Sam. It’s sad that not everyone takes the time to see that in you, but I get it.”
“You feel this, right?” She took her hand and placed it on his chest, and he wasn’t sure if the feeling inside him was one of panic or arousal.
He wanted to play stupid. He wanted to push her away like he had done every other time a woman wanted something from him. But when he opened his mouth, the only thing that came out was, “Sammi.”
He could see the surprise on her face. “Sammi? No one has ever called me that before.” She took her hand that was on his chest and moved it to his face. Tracing his scruff, she then outlined his lips with her fingers. He was frozen, and completely turned on. He had met plenty of forward women in his twenty-nine years, but none that were like her.
“You look like Sammi to me,” he answered. He had no idea what had gotten into him. It was like she just found a key and opened up the lock box that was buried deep inside him.
“I like it,” she breathed. Before he knew it, she had shifted so that her face was mere centimeters from his. “Ellis.” His name coming off her tongue sounded like a song.
He couldn’t meet her the rest of the way. He knew what she wanted. Hell, he wanted to lay her down in the sand, and that was saying something. But those nagging feelings were back. As if she felt his resistance, she smiled, licking her lips. His eyes flicked to the motion, and she leaned her forehead against his, her eyes closed.
“This isn’t me,” she whispered, her breath tickling his nose. “I want you to know that. I don’t throw myself at people, especially my team. But, I just can’t stop myself, Ellis. I feel this connection with you I can’t explain. Tell me that what I feel isn’t the same thing you feel, and we stop this right now.”
Ellis paused, shifting unconsciously to be closer to her. “Sammi,” he breathed, reaching up and cupping her face. “You’re so beautiful.”
She closed her eyes, leaning into his hand. When she opened them, her eyes shimmered. Leaning forward, she pressed her lips to his before he could even understand what was happening. He swore fireworks were shooting behind his eyes as her soft lips moved on his. She tasted like strawberries and something he couldn’t quite put his finger on. She shifted and put both hands on his face, opening her mouth to deepen the kiss. He was powerless to stop what she was doing, as his tongue met hers with a mind of its own.
When he heard a small sound come from her, he wrapped both arms around her and pulled her so she was sitting on his lap. His head was spinning out of control with need and desire. As their kiss intensified, he couldn’t stop the guttural noise that escaped him. Never in his life had he had a kiss like that. Her hands roamed up and down his chest and arms, while he cupped her face with his hands, afraid to touch her any further than he was.
He had no idea how much time passed, but when they finally pulled back, he could barely catch his breath. She looked into his eyes unabashedly.
Ellis felt foolish. Why had he let that happen? So she was beautiful, and he felt a connection with her. She was so out of his league it was ridiculous. Not only would he only be with her for a week, but she definitely didn’t want to get involved with someone like him.
“I’m sorry,” he said, tucking that piece of hair behind her ear that he had wanted touch earlier.
“Sorry? You’re sorry that we kissed?” Hurt laced her voice. Shit.
“I work for you, Sam. I shouldn’t have let that happen.”
“So it’s Sam again? What happened to Sammi? And so what, you work for me? I wasn’t alone in that kiss, Ellis. You felt that connection between us. I didn’t make that up.”
Damn, she was upset. He helped her stand up, and he couldn’t help it, he smiled. “Sammi,” he said, and she smiled at the name. Before he could stop himself, he leaned over and pressed his lips to hers again, pulling her flush to his body. “I’m not sorry.”
She laughed, tilting her head back to look at him in the moonlight. “I could stay out here all night.”
“But you can’t,” Ellis reminded her. “You have a video shoot all day tomorrow. Your parents will kill me if I keep you up late.” He looked over at her as they began walking back. “They would kill me anyway if they saw me right now wouldn’t they?”
Sam giggled, lacing he fingers through his as they walked. “Well, I’m an adult. They can’t tell me everything.”
Ellis swung his legs over the side of the bed and stood up, stretching his back from side to side. He looked outside the window to the white sandy beach and blue waves, his mind replaying that kiss over and over again. He wasn’t sure how much sleep he actually got after they came back in, but he knew it wasn’t much. He had switched from berating himself for allowing it to happen, to thinking about every aspect of it like it was the best damn thing that ever happened to him.
It was just a kiss, he told himself for what seemed like the millionth time. It didn’t mean anything. So she’s a pretty girl, and we have chemistry. It’s not going to go anywhere. It can’t.
Today would be a test of his willpower, but that was okay. He could do it. Slipping on a light cotton shirt and khaki shorts, he made his way for the kitchen to start some coffee. The house was quiet, and he was glad. He needed to get his mind around what was happening today. He was going to have to watch Sam in her music video for the majority of the day. Not only was he going to have to listen to her voice, but he would have to see her in whatever outfits they came up with. He knew already they would show off her amazing body.
Starting the coffee maker, he looked out again at the beach. Workers were already out there, marking off their section of the beach to the public and setting up sound equipment and props. When he really stopped to think about it, he was a little starstruck. Here was this celebrity s
inger, and she wanted to kiss him. Not if she knew anything about you, that nasty little voice reminded him. But he knew that was true, and that was exactly why he could never let it go on past just an infatuation, a crush. She didn’t need to be associated with the likes of him. Even if she did feel like he saw her for who she really was.
“Morning,” her sultry voice came from behind. Ellis turned from the window and watched Sam walk to the coffee pot. She was wearing a pair of running shorts and a tank top, her dark hair piled on top of her head.
“Morning,” he finally repeated. “You’re up early.”
She smiled. “So are you.”
“I’m an early riser,” Ellis explained.
“Me too,” Sam sipped the hot coffee and made a small moan of approval. Ellis watched her, unable to turn away. “Hey, I need to go for a run. Can you come with me?” When Ellis didn’t respond, she continued. “Brian usually goes with me, but since I…”
“No problem,” Ellis finally found his voice. He needed to call Dev later, get him to straighten him out. He was becoming just plain stupid over this woman. “Let me just change.” Now he was going to have to go running with her?
Ellis thought he was in good shape from his hours spent in the gym, but after running three miles with Sam, he was tired. The girl could run! Maybe the problem was he wasn’t focused at all while they were running and his mind was all over the place, and he had to fight with himself over wanting to watch her body move the whole time. Whatever it was, it wasn’t helping his resolve to stay away from her.
“So you live here, right, in the Sunset Beach area?” Sam sat on the step of the stairs to the beach house.
Ellis nodded, downing his water. “I just moved here a few months ago from Miami.”
Guarding Hearts (Living Again #3) Page 6
