Chapter 14 The Circus
The Circus
LOTHAIR
After the insane day we’d had, the silence in my bedroom felt eerie. The late afternoon sun cast long shadows on the white wall opposite my bed. One of Terry’s legs bathed in the sunlight, the soft curly hair on his shin shimmering. Had it truly been only this morning that I found out he was mine?
I opened my mouth over Terry’s collarbone and licked his skin.
My hard, ridged cock rubbed against his hip as I moved closer to him.
I was wearing my softest underwear, but even so, the fabric chafed.
The bonding made my cock hypersensitive, and I just wanted to be naked twenty-four seven.
Preferably with Terry’s mouth on me. Or his dick in me… I wasn’t picky.
I was calling him Terry in my head now, and it felt right. Terrance had been my bodyguard—a stuck-up, infuriatingly hot alpha whom I enjoyed annoying even as he frustrated me no end.
But Terry… Terry was my mate, warm and sweet, cuddling me to his chest and humming contentedly when I kissed around his nipple.
One day, he might let me fuck him. I wouldn’t push—I was kinda hoping that he’d get there by himself and ask me. Then I would tease him until he begged me.
Right now, though, I was primed and ready to beg him myself.
“Terry.”
“Mmm?” He skimmed his hand over my shoulder and pressed his lips to my forehead.
Fuck, he was perfect. All those hard muscles, his long body, his voice, the scent of him…
I reached for his erection and ran my thumb over the distinct bumps under his cockhead.
There were five of them, and a sixth one seemed to be forming, getting more pronounced by the hour.
Terry hissed when I teased the hard bumps, making the satiny skin of his erection slide over them.
“Terry, would you—”
My phone rang, pulling me out of this blissful moment.
“For fuck’s sake. What now?”
I grabbed the offensive device only to spot my manager’s name on the screen. I groaned.
“I’m turning it off.”
“Take it. It could be important.”
I scowled.
Terry sat up. “Take it, Lothair.” His tone didn’t allow for any argument.
And I’d promised to be good.
I sighed.
I barked into the phone. “What?”
“Hi, Lothair. We have a problem.” I could hear it in Carlos’s tone. This was serious.
“Spit it out.”
“The tabloids picked up the story of your traffic accident. They’re spinning it so that it was your fault.”
With his shifter hearing, Terry could easily follow the conversation. His face turned stony, eyes flashing.
“How? I was literally attacked.”
Carlos burped softly before continuing. “Sorry.” He’d probably consumed one pack of Tums already.
“An article is being shared all over social media right now saying that you were speeding recklessly through Brentwood in your bright-orange convertible while cute dogs and innocent children jumped out of your way. Allan Caspian has already called to tell me we need to take care of this, or he will, and I quote, consider the impact of your changing public image on our upcoming projects.”
Meaning my grand movie career would go up in smoke, and I might as well join the circus.
“What the fuck?” Terry mouthed.
I clutched the phone a little too hard, and the plastic case made a tiny cracking noise. It wouldn’t be the first time I crushed a phone in my hand. Fucking toys. I’d need some kind of heavy-duty military casing if people kept bugging me with shit like this.
“I adhered to the speed limit despite being followed by a lunatic,” I enunciated, barely withholding a proper dragon snarl.
“I know that, but the public doesn’t,” Carlos said slowly, as if explaining something to a child. My phone cracked a bit louder, so I hit speaker mode and dropped it on the bed. “We need to take control of the narrative, or you’ll go from hero to villain so fast your head will spin.”
I could feel my anger seething, my blood turning to lava. With my jaw clenched, I glanced at Terry.
And as easy as that, I could breathe again.
My life was a shit show, and now he was stuck in it with me.
But my brilliant mate brushed a few strands of hair from my forehead.
He looked determined and focused. Could I have this man on my side?
No way did I deserve that, but I wasn’t foolish enough to throw a tantrum and jeopardize my luck.
I blew out a heavy breath. I needed to deal with this bullshit like an adult so I could bond with Terry in peace and show him we could be good together.
“Okay. What do I do?”
Carlos paused for a heartbeat. He wasn’t used to me cooperating this fast. “Do you have any visible bruises?” he asked cautiously. “A cut on your eyebrow? Anything.”
“A few scratches on my arms.” Which were healing a bit too fast for a mere human.
“I’ll invite the press onto your lawn this evening.
Wear short sleeves. I’ll write you a neat little speech about how you were attacked.
Instead of showing the asshole what you’re made of, you drove like a grandpa, making sure nobody was hurt even as you were in danger yourself.
Don’t you have footage from your bodyguard’s dashboard camera? ”
“The police have it.”
“Awesome. I’m getting an official statement from them. Basically, you were a saint but got pushed off the road. That’s the story we’re sticking to.”
“That’s not the story. That’s what actually happened.”
I heard banging and rustling noises in the background, then the beep of an opening car. “Great. Then you don’t even have to lie.”
I rolled my eyes toward the ceiling, defeated. “When?”
“I’m on my way with our team and can have a crowd at your place in an hour. Gotta go now. I have people I need to call.”
“Wonderful.” My voice dripped with sarcasm, but Carlos was used to it.
I flopped on the bed, closing my eyes.
“Sorry,” I mumbled.
“What are you apologizing for now?” Terry asked quietly. His fingers combed through my hair. Nope. I did not deserve this man.
I blinked up at him. “I was about to ask you to use my body however you wanted.”
The corners of his mouth curved up. “Later. We’ll deal with this nonsense first.”
He grabbed my hand and squeezed.
TERRANCE
Carlos, Lothair’s manager, arrived with a couple of frazzled assistants and a hands-free device in his ear, making one call after another. He issued his commands by signing and pointing, his facial expressions completely detached from what he was saying on the phone.
Scowling murderously, he directed one assistant to rearrange the patio furniture.
Simultaneously, he all but sang in a syrupy voice, “Liam, darling, how are you? I’m not disturbing you, am I?
And how’s my favorite puppy? Listen, sweetie, I have a fantastic story for you.
You’re gonna lose your shit over this, but you need to be in Brentwood in thirty… ”
I’d been bubbling with fury since the moment I heard Carlos on the phone, but I tried not to let my anger show now, for Lothair’s sake.
The other assistant was still fussing with his hair, having spent fifteen minutes making it look as if Lothair had just been in a life-threatening traffic collision.
Surprisingly, it was starting to appear realistic.
Then he applied some cream to Lothair’s face instead of makeup, which created a sickly, pale sheen on his skin.
The first cars stood parked in the driveway, the visitors getting rigorously vetted by our security.
Lothair waited, dressed in a short-sleeved light-blue shirt that seemed like something he threw on in a hurry but had been carefully chosen and compared to five others.
He looked haggard, which was more the effect of the show Carlos was staging than due to the stress from the car crash, but it was believable and appropriate, and that was what mattered today.
The small crowd gathered with their cameras and microphones on the lawn in front of the patio.
Lothair said all the right things, appearing grave and composed.
I loomed behind him in my dark shades and a suit, keeping my expression neutral.
My attention was on the group of strangers.
The mess of devices could make it difficult to spot a weapon—not that I didn’t trust our security.
Just standing behind Lothair with people in front of him made me antsy as fuck.
As soon as Lothair finished his short statement, one reporter asked, “What do you say about the accusations online?”
Lothair didn’t hesitate. “They are so obviously false that I’m not worried.
The official police statement says exactly what happened and how.
My security was following me during the attack, and the entire incident was recorded by their dashboard camera.
Even if I had a reason to lie, I wouldn’t be able to. ”
“Do you have any idea who it was?”
“None. It’s in the hands of the police now. Thank you for coming today.”
When Lothair moved away from the microphone, the reporters began shouting questions over each other.
“Have you been attacked before? Is that why you have your bodyguard with you all the time? Are you dating Paris Olivier? Is it true Paris was in the car with you?”
“My apologies, gentlemen,” Carlos shouted.
That was my cue. I stepped forward and hugged Lothair around his shoulders, leading him away.
Carlos’s voice carried into the house after us.
“Mr. Courtemanche has had a rough day, and he needs rest. I’ve spoken to his doctor and physiotherapist, and his injuries are miraculously minor.
However, he’ll be taking a few days off from his grueling schedule.
I’m here to answer any further questions you might have. ”
One assistant closed the sliding door behind us, and the noise dulled. We walked through the atrium and out toward the pool house. The sauna was on.