Wicked Heart

by Leisa Rayven

  “Sure. No problem.”

  “And have you seen Liam? I thought I heard him arrive a few minutes ago, but now I can’t find him.”

  A warm, giant hand closes over my left boob, which is thankfully hidden by the door. My eyelids flutter as Liam gently kneads my nipple. “Uh … um … no. I haven’t. Seen him, I mean. He’s here. I saw him arrive. But I don’t know where he is now.” Liam’s other hand cups my ass. A breath gushes out of me.

  Anthony looks at me with concern. “Elissa, is everything all right? I hope the phone call isn’t bad news.”

  Liam slides the hand that was on my boob down between my legs and massages me in the most arousing way possible.

  “No,” I say, and my voice breaks. “Everything’s great. Down there. Uh…” I wave the piece of paper he gave me. “So, I’ll photocopy this for you and see you in the meeting in a couple of minutes, okay? K, bye.”

  I close the door, then lean back against it as Liam continues to work his magic.

  “At least not everything you said was a lie,” he whispers, and his lips brush the shell of my ear. “Everything is great down there. So fucking great I want to rip these jeans off you and bend you over your desk.”

  “You’ve evil,” I moan.

  He presses harder, and I stop breathing. “Then it seems you have a thing for evil.”

  “I do. Oh, God. I really, really do.”

  I’m squeezing my eyes closed and waiting for my orgasm to hit when suddenly Liam takes his hands off me and steps back. I open my eyes and stare at him in shock.

  “But here’s what true evil looks like: You need to do your photocopies and then we need to go. Anthony will be pissed if we’re late.”

  I take a moment to realize he’s serious about depriving me of my orgasm, then I shove him in the chest. “You’re mean!”

  He chuckles as I turn away and run off copies of Anthony’s meeting agenda.

  “God, you’re hot when you’re angry,” he murmurs as he lays soft kisses along my neck. “Remind me to piss you off more often.”

  A few minutes later, Mary and Anthony call everyone into the conference room. The meeting begins with Mary giving an update on how everything’s tracking with the Angeliam “crisis.” As she predicted, presales for the show have gone through the roof thanks to the massive amount of publicity.

  “With numbers like these,” she says with a smile, “we could extend the run by weeks. Even months. Imagine, we might run so long, we could hold the wedding on the stage. How beautiful would that be?”

  Liam’s face darkens. “No.”

  Mary frowns. “I beg your pardon?”

  I shoot Liam a look, and he drops his scowl to give Mary a dazzling smile. “Sorry, Mary. That was rude. I meant ‘Fuck no.’ Thank you.”

  Angel puts her hand over Liam’s. “What my beloved is trying to say is that we already know what we’d like to happen over the next few months, Mary, and getting married in a theater isn’t really part of the plan.”

  “Of course,” Mary says, chastised. “I understand. I’m sure you have it all worked out.”

  Liam glances at me. “Not quite. But we’re very close to getting exactly what we want.”

  When we get into the rehearsal room, I do my best to not look at Liam. Since our reconciliation, this is how I have to play it. I’m not an actor, so I don’t know how to stop every emotion he brings out in me from showing on my face. Thank God I have Josh on my side. Whenever he finds me staring for an obvious amount of time, he gives me a gentle nudge. Hopefully the rest of the cast can’t tell how often I end up in fantasy land.

  At the end of rehearsal, Angel comes over to the production desk as Josh and I are packing up.

  “Hey,” she says quietly. “I have an idea. If you want to spend time with Liam without ending up in a suitcase, follow my lead.”

  “What?”

  She looks around before saying in a loud voice, “Hey, Josh and Elissa. I can’t believe you guys finally gave in and started dating. That’s awesome! Why don’t you come over to our place tonight and party with me and Liam? We’ve always wanted another couple to double-date with.”

  Liam looks at us in shock for a few seconds before catching Angel’s drift. “Oh … uh, yeah. Come over. Both of you. We’d love to … hang out. With both of you.”

  Josh is more than happy to play along. He puts his arm around me. “Aw, thanks, guys. That’d be great. Since Elissa gave in to her overwhelming attraction to me, she’s been very demanding. Sexually. It’ll be nice to leave the bedroom for once.”

  The rest of the cast seems perplexed. Marco couldn’t look more confused if he tried. “I have no idea why you’re all acting like you’re in a Victorian melodrama, but please stop. It’s off-putting and wrong.”

  Wrong or not, Angel has just given me and Josh a perfect excuse to be seen entering and leaving their apartment building whenever we like. No suitcase or paparazzi chase required.

  Thank God.

  * * *

  “See you in a couple of hours,” Josh says as he and Angel exit the elevator at her floor.

  “Have fun!” I say, hoping against hope that tonight is the night Josh mans up and kisses Angel for the first time. Thanks to Angel’s smoke screen, we’ve spent the last few nights coming here after rehearsals. It’s clear Angel and Josh have the hots for each other, and yet they both seem incapable of making the first move. They’ve been dancing awkwardly around each other like freshman at a prom, and the sexual tension has reached such epic levels, I don’t know how they stand it. Probably the same way Liam and I coped with being in close proximity before we started seeing each other naked. Which is to say, not at all.

  I look over at Liam. He’s staring at the floor with a deep frown on his face.

  I put my hand on his arm as the elevator moves again.

  For the past few days, our nightly routine has been blissful. Liam’s assistant is still in England caring for his sick dad, so I help Liam with his e-mails and correspondence, in addition to running lines when necessary. I also help him with orgasms. Many, many orgasms in lots of different positions.

  Most nights, after we get our filthy lust out of the way, we order in food and eat it naked. We watch movies, or talk, or I read to him. It’s the best time of my life. I never realized I could be so happy. I’m so crazy in love with this man, it makes me giddy.

  But tonight is different. Because of the punishing schedule of the upcoming tech week, this is the last time we’ll see each other for six days, and the thought of going back to not seeing him every day makes me want to punch things.

  “It’s only a week,” I say, trying to convince myself as much as him.

  He lets out a short laugh. “You say that like it’s possible. Six years? No problem. Six days? No fucking way. Tell me again why this has to happen?”

  “You know what tech weeks are like. Josh and I are going to be locked in the theater all day and night. We have to oversee sets, costumes, props, lighting, sound. Basically, we’re going to work our asses off so that when you and Angel swan in like the Hollywood brats you are, everything goes off without a hitch.”

  He slips his hands in my hair and grips it hard enough to make me moan. “I’d rather a whole damn set fall on my head than be without you.”

  “Yeah, but Marco doesn’t see it like that. He’d like a complete lack of sets falling on his stars’ heads. He’s old-fashioned that way.”

  The elevator doors open, and Liam grabs my hand before striding down the hallway.

  “Hey, short legs here,” I say, scrambling to keep up. “Slow down.”

  “Can’t. Need to get you inside. And get inside you. Immediately. Sooner if possible.”

  He doesn’t slow down, and his dark determination makes my thighs tingle.

  When he reaches the door, he presses me up against it as he fumbles with his keys.

  “Fine,” he says, irritated. “A week. I’ll deal with it. But as soon as Anthony gets back from L.A., we’re
sorting out when to burn that damn contract. As soon as the show opens, it’s done.” He cups my face with both hands and kisses me deeply. As usual, the feel and taste of him leaves me breathless and high.

  “Great. Now, open the damn door. And your pants.”

  He shoves the door open so hard, it slams into the wall. Neither of us cares. He walks me backward and kisses me again. His leather jacket is warm in my hands as I grip him. I think my body has already started missing him, because now it blazes to life with fresh intensity.

  As soon as we’re inside, he kicks the door closed and presses me back against it. I’m dizzy and breathless, turned around by his desperation, as well as my own. I want to fold time around us and live in these long moments of him pulling at my clothes. I love how feral he becomes when he roughly unbuttons and unzips until his fingers are able to push into places that make me gasp.

  “Oh, Liam…” By now he knows every single secret my body has been hiding. Each sweet spot and erogenous zone. He makes all of them scream for his touch.

  The spinning tension inside me makes me moan. I tug at his jacket, his shirt, his pants. He joins me, desperate to get everything but naked flesh the hell out of the road.

  “I love you,” he says in a tight voice with short breaths. “I can’t wait until everyone knows that. Until I can take you out in public and show you off.” He yanks down my panties, then his jeans and boxers. “I need to show everyone you’re mine. And I’m yours. Finally.”

  He presses my back into the wall and pulls my left leg up to his hip. When he bends his knees and pushes inside me, everything I’m feeling becomes too much. I cling to his shoulders as his hot kisses smother my moans.

  “God, Elissa. A week without this? Impossible.”

  He moves in and out in slow, strong strokes. Every thrust pulls me tighter, and for the longest time, I just hover, impossibly high, just stretching and stretching and squeezing my eyes shut as I fight to get enough breath.

  “You know you ruined me the first time we made love, right?” Liam says as he increases his pace. “Look at me.”

  I can’t. I really can’t. He has me flying so high I’m terrified to crash back down to earth.

  “Liss. Look at me.”

  With effort I lift my head away from the wall and look at him. His face is magnificent. Flushed and glorious.

  “Look what you do to me.” He clenches his jaw, and it’s like he’s trying to show me how I affect him while trying to hide it from himself. “You’re everything to me. You always have been.”

  He kisses me again, then he moves so fast and hard I can’t hold off any longer. I cry out as the coiled tension snaps, and the most intense orgasm I’ve ever had crashes through me.

  “Fuck, yes,” Liam murmurs. He grunts as he thrusts a few more times, then he freezes, and groans against the hot skin of my neck.

  We stand there for a few minutes until our breaths become less harsh and shallow. When we can move again, we untangle ourselves from our mess of half-removed clothing.

  “Are you hungry?” he asks before pressing soft kisses against my lips.

  I run my fingers through his hair, just enjoying having him close. “Only for you.”

  “Bed, then?”

  “Yep.”

  We head into the bedroom, and feast on each other until Josh texts me that it’s time to go. After cleaning up and reluctantly getting dressed, I head to the door. Liam follows, dressed only in his boxers. He opens the door just as Josh is about to knock.

  Josh drops his hand and turns to me. “Are you trying to give me an inferiority complex? He can’t ever say good-bye to you with clothes on?”

  I slap his arm. “Shut your filthy mouth. If I had my way, he’d never wear clothes.” I turn to a bemused Liam and stretch up on my toes to kiss him. “See you next week. I miss you already.”

  He shrugs. “Eh, I’ve decided not to miss you. It’s not convenient for me. Sorry.”

  I laugh and kiss him again, then head to the elevator with Josh. Liam watches from his doorway, and yells, “I’ll call you,” just before the doors close and deprive me of his half-naked glory.

  * * *

  Good to his word, Liam calls me several times a day while I’m imprisoned in the theater. He leaves me a ridiculous amount of messages, and each one makes me miss him a little more.

  As for Josh and me, we spend every waking moment working: overseeing set construction, cleaning and outfitting dressing rooms, labeling and organizing props, and of course, sitting in the auditorium for hours taking endless notes as Marco and the lighting designer plot every cue in the show.

  By Sunday night, I’m exhausted. I’ve just collapsed onto my bed when my phone rings.

  I check caller ID and smile. “Hey, handsome man.”

  He exhales in relief. “Hey. God, I miss you.”

  “Me, too.”

  “How’s everything going at the theater?”

  “Fine. Long hours, but we’re all set up and ready for tech runs tomorrow. How was your day?”

  “Good. Kind of. I finally convinced Anthony to have lunch with me. I broke it to him about Angel and me wanting out of the contract after the show opens.”

  A flutter of nerves hits me. “And?”

  He sighs. “He was shocked. A bit pissed, I guess. He’s been orchestrating our love affair for so long, I think he’s actually going to miss it.”

  “But he agreed to talk to the producers about the contract?”

  “He did, but he thinks it’s a mistake to break the contract. He said we’ll have our asses handed to us because the agreement is watertight. I told him I don’t care, that I want out and I’ll do anything to make that happen.”

  The sound of his voice soothes me so much, I can’t stop my eyes from drifting closed. “So how did things end up?”

  “He said he’d figure something out. After all, he still works for me. He has to act in my best interests, right?”

  “Right.”

  I try to stifle a yawn, but it happens anyway.

  “You should sleep,” he says, and even though I want to talk more, I can’t deny I’m barely conscious.

  “Okay. I’ll see you tomorrow, yes?”

  “Yep. I’ll be there at nine. Probably salivating at the sight of you. You in early again?”

  “Uh-huh. Seven a.m.”

  “Okay, get some rest. I love you.”

  “Love you, too.”

  I hang up and start to tell myself to get up and brush my teeth, but I’m asleep before I even finish the thought.

  NINETEEN

  ONE SMALL PROBLEM

  The next morning, Josh and I have just arrived at the theater when Marco finds me backstage and takes my arm.

  “Elissa, you need to come with me.” His expression is grave. I tense up, because I get the impression something is very wrong, and I don’t have time for screwups today.

  I follow Marco into the production office, where Ava and Mary are waiting. Ava gestures to the chair opposite her at the small meeting table.

  “Elissa, have a seat.”

  I do as she asks, and Marco sits beside me. Now I’m really worried. Ava and Mary look even more stressed than Marco.

  “Elissa, I’ve had a disturbing e-mail this morning from an anonymous source, and I need you to clarify some things.”

  “Okay.”

  “An accusation has been made against you regarding your level of professionalism on this show. Now, as you know, we’ve already been plagued by scandal, so the last thing we need is for any other indiscretions to be made public. You understand what I’m saying?”

  The question takes me by surprise. As soon I fully comprehend what she’s said, a thick knot of dread coils in my stomach.

  I look from Ava to Marco, and then to Mary. “Ava, I’m not sure what you’re referring to.”

  Ava links her fingers together. “Is it true that you’ve been visiting Liam Quinn in his apartment every night after rehearsals?”

  Adrena
line shoots through every vein. I’m lost for words. I’m always super-careful to be strictly professional on my shows, so I’ve never had reason to be questioned like this.

  Well, now there’s reason. And if it got out, it would be the scandal that echoed around the world.

  “Josh and I have been socializing after rehearsals with Angel and Liam,” I say, being selectively truthful.

  “That’s not what I’m taking about. I mean you and Liam alone in his apartment. Has that been happening?”

  I’m careful to keep eye contact. “Yes.”

  “Why?” Mary asks. It’s clear she’s nervous about my answer.

  I take a deep breath. I can’t tell them about the PR contract, or Liam’s dyslexia, or that he and I are in love. None of those things are my secrets to tell, and I don’t want them to think our stars are anything but what they appear to be. “In our second week of rehearsals, Mr. Quinn admitted he was having trouble learning his lines. He requested I run lines with him each night to prepare for the following day. I agreed.”

  Marco nods. “I can attest that Liam was having trouble with his lines. After Elissa intervened, he seemed much more at ease.”

  “Why would he need you to run lines?” Ava asks. “Surely he has an assistant for that sort of thing.”

  I clasp my hands together so hard, my knuckles crack. “His assistant had to return to England unexpectedly. Sick father. Mr. Quinn asked me to help in David’s absence.”

  Mary breathes a sigh of relief. “Oh, thank God. I thought for a minute we were in trouble. I’m sorry, Elissa. I should have known better than to doubt you.”

  Ava cocks her head. “I still don’t understand why you had to undertake a task that any number of people could have done.”

  “Mr. Quinn has worked with me before. I guess he felt comfortable around me. I was hesitant to agree because I knew it would look bad, but Marco advised us to keep our stars happy at all costs, so I didn’t feel refusing would be appropriate.”

  “And that’s all you did? Worked on lines? There was nothing else going on?” I feel like Ava is trying to see into my soul.

  I keep my face passive. “I tried very hard to keep our sessions as short and professional as possible.”