The next several minutes were a lesson in anxiety management as I felt him looking my way over and over again. Even when Gloria’s win was announced, and the entire room got to their feet to applaud for her, he was still watching me. I ignored him about as well as I had the rest of the night, which meant I was painfully aware of everything he did.
When the show was finally over, and people stood to start leaving, I saw Gage heading my way with great purpose. He was about halfway to me when Angelina Jolie grabbed his arm, stopping him for a conversation. I yanked Allie’s hand as I stood and grabbed my purse.
“We have to go,” I hissed. “Now.”
Her brow furrowed as she nodded but complied. When we turned to walk away, my traitorous eyes went right back to Gage. The frustration in his eyes was apparent even though he was nodding and pretending to pay attention to Angelina and the other two actors who had now joined them. My pulse skittered when he gave me a look that damn near commanded me to wait. Rather than comply, I shook my head once, grabbed Allie’s hand in mine, and started hurrying us through the ballroom.
I managed to lose Gage in the swarm of people heading to the after-parties. I panicked every time I got stopped by someone wanting to congratulate me, but somehow, I managed to avoid running into Gage again.
I let out a silent thank you to my fairy godmother when we got into an elevator and headed to the first after-party. Luck was with me as we traveled from ballroom to ballroom for the Fox Studios, Amazon Studios, Paramount, and Warner Brothers parties.
After three hours without running across him, I saw him at the Amazon soiree. He spotted me immediately as though we were connected by an invisible thread, and I lost my breath when he started making his way toward me.
Anxious to get away, I grabbed Allie by the elbow and hustled us out of there right quick. I didn’t stop until we were out at the car line, and I was an anxious mess the entire time as I paced and prayed he wouldn’t walk out. I let out a long sigh of relief when our car arrived.
“Any specific reason we just ran out of there like it was on fire?” Allie asked after we’d gotten in and the door closed behind us.
In the quiet darkness of the limo, my concerns about Gage suddenly seemed preposterous.
“Headache,” I answered. “I need an Advil and some water before it blows up into a migraine.”
Allie was silent as she opened her purse to extract a travel-size pack of ibuprofen, which she opened before she passed it over to me. I took it gratefully, grabbing a bottle of water and cracking it open before tossing the two pills into my mouth. Only when I’d twisted the lid onto the bottle and set it down did Allie speak again.
“Want to tell me how much of this headache can be attributed to Gage Ryan eye-fucking you for the past four and a half hours?”
I groaned as I dropped my head back onto the plush leather. “You saw that?”
“Well, I’ve got two working eyes, and I was sitting right next to you. It would’ve been hard not to notice. At first, I thought maybe you’d poisoned his Cheerios or something because he seemed annoyed. But then he started looking at you like you’re the cure for boner dysfunction.”
“Allie,” I groaned, “that’s gross!”
“Is it? Because I’ve never, ever seen you as keyed up about a man as you are by Gage. You just ran from him like he was trying to serve you a subpoena.”
I covered my face with my hands as I laughed. “Shit. I really did, didn’t I?”
“Babe, I’m pretty sure they’re going to need to redo the carpet in that ballroom because you definitely left burnt rubber in your wake.”
“I just . . . something about him unsettles me.”
“Unsettles something in your nether regions,” she snorted.
“That too,” I admitted.
“You know if he wants to find you, he will. This is Hollywood. We all have only six degrees of separation from each other at the most.”
I waved her comment off. “Out of sight, out of mind,” I said confidently. “By tomorrow morning, he’ll have forgotten all about me.”
Four
Gage
When I woke up the morning after the Golden Globes, my first thoughts were about Morgan Kelly. It wasn’t a surprise, though, considering I’d spent the entire night dreaming about her. Fantasizing about stripping her out of the purple gown she’d worn to the award ceremony. Kissing every inch of her creamy skin. Sucking her pebbled nipples into my mouth. Nibbling my way down her belly. Licking her pussy while she gripped my hair in her hands. And then fucking her until we were both so exhausted that we’d barely have enough energy to flop back onto rumpled sheets and pass out.
The dreams were so vivid that I’d found myself reaching out to the other side of the bed several times and expecting to find her there. Each time I’d come up empty-handed, I’d felt a surge of wrongness that pissed me off. But my anger didn’t stop me from dreaming about her; it only made me determined to track her down and turn them into reality.
The fierceness of my reaction to her was unusual, and the way she’d disappeared was unheard of. Women usually couldn’t throw themselves at me fast enough, but Morgan had basically run from me and from the undeniable chemistry between us. And it only made me want her more.
Rolling out of bed, I grabbed my cell and called my assistant, Shawn. “I need you to hunt down Morgan Kelly’s contact information. Phone number and home address.”
“No problem. I’m sure I can get it from someone in Mario’s office.”
“No,” I barked out. The last thing I wanted was for my agent to know about my interest in Morgan. He’d look at it as a possible opportunity, and even though I’d allowed him to leverage my social life in the past, I wasn’t going to let him do the same with my relationship with Morgan. While I wasn’t completely certain what I wanted to develop with her, I knew enough that I needed to protect it from the games my agent would play. “Figure out another way.”
“Ooookay,” he drawled. “I’m assuming Howard’s office isn’t an option either?”
Considering my publicist was just as ruthless as my agent, he was spot-on. “You know the people who say there aren’t any dumb questions? They’re wrong.”
“That’s what I thought.”
I could practically see him nudging his glasses down to squeeze the bridge of his nose as he usually did when he was stressing out about something. “Relax, Shawn. There’s nothing to worry about. Get me the information, and I’ll take it from there.”
“Will do, boss.” He sighed deeply before continuing, “You know that you’re being super weird, right?”
“Yup.” I should probably be a little worried about the fact that I was hiding shit from my agent and publicist when I’d always kept them in the loop so they could protect my image and brand, but I couldn’t seem to make myself give a damn.
“I guess I can’t blame you, considering that Morgan Kelly is an anomaly in Hollywood. A woman who’s supposed to be as nice as she is beautiful.” His tone dropped an octave, masculine approval thick in his voice. “And there’s no denying that she’s smoking hot.”
Shawn had made similar comments about other women I’d dated in the years since I’d hired him, and it had never bothered me. But this time, it had me seeing red. “Don’t talk about her like that.”
“Like what?” Shawn sounded confused.
Since I didn’t understand my reaction any better than he did, I didn’t try to explain it to him. “Just do us both a favor and just don’t talk about Morgan at all.”
“If this is going where I think it’s going, that’ll be hard to do. But whatever you say, boss.”
He hung up before I could ask what he meant, but that was probably a good thing since I was fairly certain I didn’t want to know. I chose not to waste my time wondering about it. Instead, I headed into the shower to get ready for my day. Twenty-four hours ago, I didn’t have a busy Monday planned. I’d learned long ago to give myself plenty of time to recover after award ce
remonies—or, more accurately, the after-parties. But since I’d spent last night hunting Morgan, I didn’t have a hangover to worry about today. I’d barely had anything to drink because I wanted to have my wits about me once I’d found her. Fat lot of good it had done me when she scurried off like the hounds of hell were chasing her out of the Amazon party. But at least it had left me clear-headed this morning . . . and ready to continue my hunt.
Less than two hours later, I was in my Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead with the top down and my sunglasses shading my eyes. I’d added a baseball cap in a half-assed attempt at a disguise. Anyone with a sharp eye would notice the car, but nobody was around when I pulled into a visitor’s spot in front of her condo. Tugging my hat low and ducking my head, I made my way up the steps and knocked on her door. When it opened, I recognized the blonde standing in front of me with an oddly smug grin on her face. She was the woman who’d been with Morgan the night before.
“Well, aren’t you just full of surprises? So much for out of sight, out of mind.”
My brow wrinkled in confusion. “What?”
“Don’t you worry your pretty little head over it.” She opened the door wider and stepped back as she shouted over her shoulder. “It’s for you!”
Any curiosity I had over what she was talking about melted away the moment I spotted Morgan. Her dark hair was down, her face was free of makeup, and her eyes were puffy—but she looked more beautiful than she had the night before. Sexier, too. Like she’d just rolled out of bed except she was dressed in skintight jeans and a slouchy sweater.
I lifted my gaze from her bare feet to find blue eyes spitting fire at me. “What are you doing here?”
“Looking for you, obviously.” I shrugged my shoulders and flashed her a wink. “Why else would I be here?”
“There’s nothing obvious about it,” she huffed, crossing her arms. Although she probably meant it as a protective posture, all it did was emphasize the plump swell of her tits. “Not when you blow hot and cold with me.”
I stalked toward her, chuckling low when she took a couple of steps backward. “There’s nowhere for you to run this time.”
“I think that’s my cue to give you two some privacy.”
I’d forgotten the blonde was still in the room with us until she spoke up. I looked at her over my shoulder and smiled. “What’s your name?”
“Allie.” She narrowed her green eyes in suspicion as she stared at me. “Why?”
“Because I like to know who my friends are.”
“She’s not your friend, she’s mine!” Morgan huffed, stomping toward us.
“That I am,” Allie agreed. “And it’s my responsibility as your best friend to make sure the Hollywood hottie understands there’ll be hell to pay if he hurts you.”
I couldn’t remember the last time someone had tried to warn me off a woman because they were looking out for her instead of themselves. It was a refreshing experience. “Message received.”
“Good.” She hugged Morgan, whispered something in her ear that I couldn’t hear, and gave me a quick wave as she walked out the door.
“I’m not up to dealing with you yet. Not until I’ve at least had some caffeine,” Morgan grumbled, glaring at me again before she stomped into her kitchen to pour herself a cup of coffee. While she added cream and sugar to hers, I snagged an empty mug and poured myself a cup. “Yes, please, feel free to make yourself at home.”
Leaning a hip against the counter, I did exactly that. “I’m not sure how you manage it, but you’re cute and sexy when you’re grouchy.”
“Oh, for Pete’s sake,” she groaned. “Do me a favor and flip that switch back to cold before I do something I’m sure I’ll regret later.”
I’d learned long ago to play my cards close to my chest, but I felt compelled to be more open with Morgan than I’d normally be. “I don’t think that’s an option when it comes to you.”
“It didn’t seem to be a problem last night when you gave me the cold shoulder.”
Confusion was clear on her gorgeous face, and damn if it didn’t make me feel like shit. She deserved better. I set my mug to the side, pulled hers out of her hand to do the same with it, and tugged her close. “Only because I thought you belonged to someone else.” I swiped my thumb across her cheek as her blue eyes widened in surprise. “And even then, before Jasper explained that you two are only friends, I had to utilize all my considerable acting skills to make it seem like I wasn’t burning hot as fire for a woman I thought was untouchable.”
Five
Morgan
I wiggled away from him while cursing under my breath. “So thinking that I had a boyfriend made it okay to glare at me like I was a criminal for two and a half hours?” I asked stiffly.
His eyes widened as he looked me over and realized I was well and truly annoyed. “Of course not, but—”
“There’s no but, Gage. I barely remember anything that happened last night because I was too busy trying not to freak out about your visible annoyance with me. And now you just prance into my condo and announce that you’re interested in me! What am I, an idiot?” I gestured at myself angrily, glaring at him as I did. “Is this your play? Maybe every other girl in Hollywood would fall for this, but I am not that girl, buddy! I bet you burn hot for a lot of girls—”
My words faded away when he reached out and took my left hand in his. “No, beautiful. You’re right, I behaved like a damn fool, and I won’t make excuses—you put me on my ass from minute one, and I’ve never felt like that before. I only burn this hot for you, Morgan. I came to see you because I want us to explore this. You have to know that whatever this is, it’s different.”
He was right. It was. A part of me wanted to stay angry and continue pouting, but my hand tingled from his touch, and my heart galloped a mile a minute because of the way he looked at me. I searched his face for any tells that would indicate he was lying. I’d been acting for years—I knew when people were selling falsehoods, and as far as I could tell, Gage was being honest. Still, the truth of the matter was that I was just as much on my ass as he said he was on his. Nothing about my reaction to him made sense, mostly because I had nothing to compare it to. I swallowed past the nervous lump in my throat and pulled my hand away. The way his expression fell touched something inside me.
“I can’t—I won’t—just ignore what went on last night,” I said softly. When he opened his mouth to respond, I held up my hand to stop him. “I don’t make rash decisions, but I do know how to compromise. The question is, do you know how to do the work? I sense that you’ve barely had to blink an invitation before to get a beautiful woman on your arm, and I’ll never be the flavor of the week. I will never be like those girls, Gage. I won’t pretend to like things to gain your favor. If arm candy is your thing, I am not the woman for that.”
“Jesus, and you’re not even trying to do it,” he murmured.
I wrinkled my nose in confusion. “Huh?”
My eyes followed his when he glanced down. Immediately, I saw the issue. The outline of his hardened length was very visible through his jeans. My eyes flew back up as I gulped down air, the sound of my swallow ridiculously loud in the otherwise quiet room. There was a certain amount of pride in Gage’s smile. Damn him; I could tell he had a lot to be proud of.
“You can’t just wave that thing around and get me to come down with spontaneous amnesia,” I said. Of course, I was lying. I’d probably forget my name if he started waving it around.
“You’re half tornado, half angel,” he chuckled huskily. “What I was trying to say was that you’re incandescent when you’re passionate about something. I’ll go ahead and add it to the list of things I find attractive about you.”
“That’s grade A smooth talking deflection,” I said dryly.
Instead of being put off, my straight talk seemed to intrigue him more. “I wasn’t deflecting,” he corrected. “I was merely pointing out a truth. I’m fascinated by you.”
Needing a moment I
reached out, picked up my coffee cup, and took a drink. I didn’t look at him while I did, but his eyes tracked my every action.
I used the opportunity to collect my thoughts and only after I’d taken two sips did I dare to look back at him. “I’m not saying that I’m not attracted to you,” I said. The way his eyes lit up as I spoke almost weakened my resolve—but I got myself back on track right away.
“Don’t get excited just yet,” I cautioned. “You need to prove to me that I’m not fascinating to you simply because I’m not on the floor pulling your zipper down right now. I’m not easy, Gage.”
When he opened his mouth to respond, I shook my head and plowed on. “Before you answer, you need to think about it. Don’t blow sunshine up my skirt because you think wearing me down is a challenge. I know how you Hollywood types are.”
His beautiful lips quirked as he stared down at me. “I have a past, that’s a given, and I can’t do a damn thing to change it. But you need to know that I’m not some sniveling little shit who runs with a random idea simply because I need to be challenged. I’m here, beautiful, and I’m not going anywhere unless you force me to. If it’s romance you want, I can do that.”
He said it with such conviction, but absolutely nothing I’d ever read or heard about Gage indicated that wooing women was in his wheelhouse. To say I was dubious was an understatement. “You can?” I asked.
“For you I can,” he answered. “The question right now is—are you going to let me?”
I bit my lip and looked up at him from beneath my lashes. “If you’re really going to do it, I’m in. Just . . . please, don’t make me regret this decision.”
He looked me straight in the eye. “I won’t,” he said firmly.
My stomach felt like it had about seventy-five trillion butterflies in it simply because of the intensity in his expression. It was almost surreal to have Gage Ryan looking at me as if I was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen.
Gage: A Love Under the Lights Novel Page 3
