16. Summer
16
SUMMER
“T ell me I’m not making a mistake.”
“You’re not making a mistake.” Claudia’s quiet, deadpan response surprised me. I stopped halfway between the bathroom and my bedroom with a handful of toiletries waiting to be tossed into my overnight bag. She was lying on her bed with the door open, scrolling through her phone while wearing a face mask.
“Did you mean that?” I asked as I approached the doorway. “Or are you just saying it?”
“Babe.” She lowered the phone to her chest, folding her hands on her stomach. “You’re driving me crazy. I’m sorry. I love you, but you are.”
“I’m just nervous. I don’t know where he’s taking me. I don’t know whether it’s safe for us to even be seen together.”
Groaning, she turned her head my way. “And you think he hasn’t considered that?”
“That’s the thing. I don’t know what goes on in his head half the time.” I still hadn’t figured it out in the four days since he sent that cryptic, bossy text telling me to be ready at eight tonight. For once, he hadn’t asked for more than I was ready to give.
The only time we’d spent together the rest of the week was in brief meetings or crossing paths at the studio. He had given me no answers about tonight.
“Maybe you shouldn’t go,” she suggested with a shrug. “If you think it’s dangerous, you need to take care of yourself.”
She had a point. On the other hand… “It might be fun. Lord knows I could use some before everything gets nuts in these final weeks.”
Just the thought made me feel shaky and uneasy. It was almost time for the world to judge my work. It was one thing for me to know everybody at Cannes had watched our movie, but my name wasn’t on it. If they had hated it, I could’ve sat back and pretended to have nothing to do with it. It wouldn’t be my reputation on the line.
This time, there was no such luck. I had to believe they’d love it, and not only because I had put so much of myself into it, but because if it didn’t work out, I would also be really and truly screwed.
“Do what you think is right,” Claudia concluded, returning to her phone. “If you don’t mind, I’m engaging in a little self-care because my boss has been running me ragged.”
“Your boss loves you,” I reminded her.
“Which is why I’m still here,” she fired back, and it looked like she was almost smiling under her sheet mask.
In the end, I was ready for Lex’s driver at exactly eight. This time, instead of picking me up at a seedy motel, he carried my bag through the courtyard of the apartment complex, where a handful of my temporary neighbors stopped and watched. Maybe they were wondering who I was and why I was so important. The idea had me biting back a smile by the time we reached the sidewalk, and he opened the back door for me.
“What is your name?” I asked as I slid in.
“Carl,” he replied, closing the door and looking surprised I would ask.
“Thank you, Carl.” I always told myself if I were ever in a situation like this, I would acknowledge and thank the people helping me by their first name to make sure they knew they were seen and appreciated.
Once he was in the driver’s seat, I asked, “I guess you wouldn’t be able to tell me where we’re going, huh?”
“Mr. Landry only gave me the address. I’m sure if he didn’t tell you, he wants it to remain a surprise.”
I settled in and tried my best not to let nerves get the better of me. It would be fine. He knew what he was doing and wouldn’t take risks. Still, this was the first time we’d be anywhere that didn’t involve the studio or his house. Where could we go where nobody would know we were there?
My question was sort of answered as Carl pulled into the parking garage underneath what looked like a hotel high-rise. An empty garage, I realized, as we rolled through. It was sort of eerie, the rows and rows of empty spaces. Why were we here?
He pulled to a stop in front of a pair of elevator doors and got out to open my door. “Is this place closed?” I whispered, and even that echoed in the empty concrete space.
“Mr. Landry asked me to give you this.” He handed me an envelope, grinning. “And to wait until you get on the elevator. Then, I’m allowed to leave.”
“This is all very confusing,” I admitted as I opened the envelope, pulling out the note card inside. A brief message was scrawled on it.
Press P.
“That’s it?” I stared down at the handwriting. “P? I don’t get it.”
“Maybe P for Penthouse?” He nodded toward the elevator. “Go ahead.”
Well, the poor guy probably wanted to go home. I had to trust Lex wasn’t leading me into some weird, twisted game as I stepped onto the elevator. Sure enough, there was a button marked P. With my overnight bag in one hand, I pressed the button, then waved to Carl as the doors slid shut with a soft whoosh.
This was crazy. I was riding an elevator in what looked like an abandoned building, all because Lex told me to. The absurdity made me laugh, which was a small miracle considering how nervous I was. It helped ease some of the tension, so I felt more comfortable by the time the doors opened onto a spacious suite.
The top floor was definitely not abandoned the way the empty garage made it look. It was stunning, warmly lit, and lavishly furnished, with windows directly across from where I stood overlooking downtown Los Angeles. The Hollywood sign glowed in the distance like a beacon, drawing me closerandpulling me through the living room until I stood in front of the glass.
“Hello.”
I spun on my heel, gasping in surprise. I was too busy drooling over the view to hear Lex come in. The sight of him in a white linen suit took my breath away. It made his tanned skin gleam, while the open buttons at the top of his blue shirt hinted at the broad chest underneath. I was glad I had gone all out on a new black dress, silver sandals, and the lacy thong I was wearing underneath.
“Okay, this is beautiful,” I admitted. “But what is it? I would have guessed it was abandoned from the looks of it.”
“When you’re involved in a project, that’s all you pay attention to.” He wasn’t chiding me. It wasn’t criticism. He was chuckling as he approached, holding out a hand to take my bag. “Let me show you around.”
“But where are we?”
He took my hand and led the way. “My good friend, Clayton Manning, is around a month from opening this hotel to the public. It’s been in the news lately. They’re going to have a huge party to celebrate the grand opening.”
“So no one else is staying here right now? We have the entire hotel to ourselves?”
“That’s right. It’s us and the security team I hired for the night.” When I gasped, he shrugged. “Just in case. I want to be sure you’re safe.”
It was hard to believe. Not only was he ridiculously wealthy, but he had friends who could set him up like this. He also had the ability tohire a security team for the night. “It’s amazing,” I concluded as he continued leading me through the enormous suite.
“You haven’t seen the best part.” It was no surprise when we ended up in the bedroom, where there were views just as stunning as the ones I admired in the living room. He left my bag on the floor at the foot of the king-size bed, then continued leading me to a door in the far corner of the room.
“You’re going to show me the closet?” I asked, arching a brow.
“Not exactly.” He opened it to reveal a staircase leading up. There was a second door at the top, and when he opened it, I could barely breathe from the anticipation leading here.
“What do you think?” he asked. “It’s all ours for the night.”
I let go of his hand in a slow circle to admire everything. A sparkling pool right there on the roof. A canopy draped over the top of it, the underside strung from end to end with twinkling lights. The night was beautiful, clear and warm, and a gentle breeze created ripples on the water that sent light dancing everywhere. Lit torches added to the ambiance, along with soft music piped in through some invisible source. It was magical.
“I called in a favor, and Clay had the pool filled and prepared for us. I ordered dinner, too,” Lex added, gesturing toward a candlelit table surrounded by potted palms and lush, fragrant tropical flowers.
It was like stepping into a garden in a world of our own. Nobody could see us. We were on top of the world. I walked over to the waist-high wall edging the roof on all sides, standing on tiptoe to look over the edge and down at the traffic below.
“Like it?” His soft question tore my attention away from the twinkling lights stretching out below us. The light playing off the pool’s ripples washed over his face and made his dark eyes glow. Or maybe that was a trick of my mind, buzzing, excited, and overwhelmed.
My heart swelled as I said, “I love it. I can’t believe you went to all this trouble to make sure we were safe.”
He stepped up behind me, and I smiled when his lips found my neck. “You smell fantastic,” he whispered, growling softly before burying his nose in my hair.
“Isn’t this beautiful?” I asked, overwhelmed, leaning against him while the breeze rustled my hair and his hands slid over my hips.
“I was going to say the same thing, but not about the view.” His arms wound around my waist, and one hand slid up over my stomach, finally cupping my breast. “You could rule this town. You know that?”
“You’re just saying that,” I whispered, caught between the sizzling sensations his touch brought about and the breathtaking future he was creating in my imagination. It was one thing for me to believe I could make it, but for him to say it?
“Why would I say that if it wasn’t true? What, you think I’m trying to seduce you?” His thumb brushed my nipple and made it tighten before he moved back down to my hips. “I think we both know that’s not necessary at this point.”
“It’s what I want… more than anything.” I stared at the sign in the distance. There was a premiere going on downtown, and crisscrossing beams of light flashed and danced across the sky. It could be me down there, having my picture taken, waving to fans.
His kisses were slower now, more sensual, his breath deeper. The fire he always lit in me burned bright already, hotter with every caress, every touch of his lips. “You have what it takes to be one of the greats. You have the instincts, and you’re sure as hell stubborn enough.”
My laughter ended on a gasp when his hands slid up under my dress and stroked my thighs. The pressure of his erection against my ass was impossible to ignore, and instinct made me push back and grind against it. There was nothing like the sound of his needy, breathless groans. Power surged in me when I heard it, knowing I drove him to that. I could make him lose his grip on himself.
“Imagine it.” He probed between my thighs, so I parted them to give him room. The first touch against my moist lips was electric and mind-blowing. I didn’t know if it was the excitement of being with him or imagining myself down there running the town, making it mine. Either way, my slit was a river he eagerly dipped into, sliding his fingers through my wetness before easing them deep inside me.
“Imagine having everything you want,” he murmured, breathing hard while his fingers moved in and out. I reached behind me and found his bulge, rubbing it in time with his strokes. “Calling the shots. Signing your own checks. Choosing your projects, your dream casts.” I squeezed him gently, and his teeth grazed my earlobe. “Fuck, you’re so hot. I want to fuck you so badly,” he growled out, making me shiver. “All day, no matter where I am, I’d always rather be like this, with you.”
I had to be dreaming. But no, this was very real—the sound and smell of him, the pressure of his thick digits working me into a frenzy.
“I want you here,” he rasped. “I need you. I’m going to fuck you out here in the open where no one can see.”
That was the best idea I’d heard all night. He reached into his pocket, and I lowered my thong to my knees, bending over a little. He had turned me into a brazen hussy, and I loved every second of it, especially now with the hint of danger and wickedness.
The opening of the foil packet was quickly followed by familiar pressure against my pussy. I held my breath, waiting, then moaned out my approval when he sank himself deep. “Fuck, so wet,” he said through gritted teeth, taking me by the hips andholding me in place. He leaned down, breathing in my ear. “So wet for me. Look at you. Getting fucked forty stories above Beverly Hills. You love it, don’t you? You wouldn’t be so wet if you didn’t.”
“Y-yesss,” I moaned out, turning my head to find his mouth. His tongue touched mine, playful, teasing, stroking in time with his impossibly thick cock. I couldn’t take it. It was all too much. Too good.
“And are you gonna come for me while all those people are down there?” he asked, covering my mouth, plunging his tongue inside, making it so I could only moan my response.
I was going to come, and it was going to be massive. The tension built, tightening my muscles, tightening me around him.
“Shit… you’re gonna make me come…” he whispered, moving faster, harder, our bodies slapping together until there was nothing for me to do but howl, lost in release, lost in sensation, lost in him. I was lost in everything about him and the world he was showing me—a world I wanted so much to be part of.
I shouted it all out, my head tilted back, my eyes open to stare up at the night sky. By the time he finished and pulled out, I was weak, spent. Happy. Genuinely happy.
What if this was it? What if we could be something together? Because I wasn’t sure I would be able to give him up when this was all over.
“I’d suggest we take a swim to cool off now,” he murmured, kissing my cheek and stepping back. “But I’m fucking starving. How about we test the food?”
Like I would’ve said no to anything he suggested at a moment like that. “We have all night, right?” I reminded him with a grin.