Chapter 14
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Zita felt…off. She was usually completely focused on her job.
On making sure the people on set were being safe, and watching for signs or symptoms of any kind of illness, or if an actor or actress was trying to hide a physical injury.
They did that a lot, not wanting to be taken off set or, God forbid, replaced.
But today, all she could concentrate on was Sage.
The man looked and smelled amazing. She had no idea what kind of body wash he used, but it wasn’t the complementary soap from the motel.
It was kind of musky, and with every deep inhale as he drove them to the set, her nipples got harder.
It took everything within her not to squirm in her seat, even though she was desperate for some friction between her legs.
She was soaking wet, which wasn’t something she’d ever had to deal with on the job.
In fact, this morning as she was showering, thoughts of Sage popped into her head, as they did more and more frequently these days, and she found her hand between her legs, stroking her clit to thoughts of him.
In her mind, it was his finger on her clit.
She’d imagined him kneeling in front of her in the shower, holding her hip with one hand, staring at her pussy with that intense gaze he had, and teasing the shit out of her by flicking her clit but not letting her come.
She exploded after imagining herself begging him. In her fantasy, he’d looked up at her with a smirk on his face before lowering his head and licking her to a monster orgasm.
She’d felt weak in the knees after she’d come, and it had taken all her energy to finish her shower and dry herself after turning off the water. The man was lethal, and so far he hadn’t done more than simply kiss her.
Although she wouldn’t describe his kisses as simple…not even close.
Feeling unsettled about her extreme attraction to Sage, she kind of blew him off once they’d arrived on set.
The hour drive to get there had been almost excruciating, since all Zita wanted to do was touch him.
Slide over the console, straddle him, rip her shirt off, and beg him to touch her.
All of which would’ve been not only extremely dangerous, considering he was driving on some pretty bumpy and back roads through the woods, but potentially embarrassing if he looked at her in shock and pushed her away.
So to try to put some space between them, and to get her raging hormones under control, she’d bolted the second they’d arrived in the small parking area near where filming was taking place.
She’d grabbed her pack from the backseat and made a beeline for the assistant director, asking about the best vantage point for the filming that morning.
Luckily—or unluckily, for her—everything was going extremely smoothly. No one was sick, no one had gotten hurt so far, so Zita had nothing to do but stand around with too much time to think.
She was being a coward, and she knew it.
Yesterday had been awesome. Sage was a blast to be around.
He didn’t make fun of her excitement over the smallest things, or her enthusiasm for the small town she’d read so much about.
He hadn’t even teased her about buying that bigfoot T-shirt she couldn’t pass up.
Not only that, she felt safe with him. Safe from anyone who might want to do her harm, for sure—although that wasn’t exactly something she worried about on a regular basis—but mostly safe to be herself.
To say what she was thinking. To laugh at things other people would roll their eyes at.
To eat whatever she wanted in front of him, to tell him her hopes and dreams.
And that was what scared her. What had her freaking out this morning pretty much since the moment she’d seen him.
They’d eaten breakfast at Sunny Side Up, where they’d been joined by a few of the other crew members.
A welcome reprieve for Zita, because the fantasy she’d had in her shower was still too fresh in her mind for her comfort, at that point.
He’d stopped at Grinders on the way out of town and insisted on paying for her coffee.
It was a thoughtful gesture…and strangely, one that had irritated Zita, though he’d bought her a dozen coffees by now.
The man was just too good to be true. He didn’t complain about driving her around, about the expense of a daily specialty coffee… about anything, really.
She shouldn’t be running from him, but doing everything in her power to draw him closer. And yet, here she was, avoiding him.
Suddenly, she felt terrible about that. He didn’t deserve her cold shoulder. He hadn’t done anything wrong. This was all on her. She’d panicked over her growing feelings for the man.
Glancing over toward Sage—she might’ve been avoiding him, but she had an innate sense of where he was on set at all times—she saw him talking to one of the costume directors, all his attention focused on what the man was saying.
And that was another thing Zita liked about Sage.
How she always felt as if she was the center of his world when she was with him.
He looked her in the eye when she talked and wasn’t constantly glancing at his phone or at everything else around him.
Oh, she noticed that he was aware of his surroundings, especially when they were inside a restaurant or something, but figured that was ingrained in him because of his job, and not because he didn’t want to hear what she had to say.
Zita decided she was going to go over and apologize to Sage the second he was done with his conversation.
But of course, right after she’d made the decision, one of the grips yelled out in pain after getting his fingers pinched in some of the lighting equipment.
After that, one of the extras had some sort of insect bite that needed tending.
Then someone else felt dizzy and almost passed out.
And so it went. Her quiet morning turned into a very busy day.
No one had any life-threatening injuries but over the next several hours, various cast and crew needed tending to and reassuring.
By the end of the day’s filming, which was after eight at night—because Henry wanted to continue filming as the sun set, since Logan was nailing scene after scene and he figured he might as well try to get some of the night shots in while he could—Zita was exhausted.
She’d managed to grab food here and there from the catering trailer, but her belly was still growling, she was dirty and sweaty, and she still hadn’t gotten a chance to talk to Sage.
He’d been busy most of the day too, doing the consulting work he was actually paid for, lending a hand to the film crew when they needed it…
actually helping anyone and everyone. Being in the woods had thrown everyone’s normal routine out the window, and since there weren’t nearly as many staff on hand as there was on a closed set, his help was appreciated.
Tomorrow would be another long day, but Zita was impressed with how quickly filming was going.
Logan was doing an exceptional job. He was in every scene, but he didn’t look tired in the least. He was grinning at everyone and thanking them for their hard work.
He even took the time to speak to the extras who were playing the soldiers hunting for him.
He was one of the good guys in the industry, and Zita was pleased there was at least one famous actor on this shoot who wasn’t a conceited asshole.
It took a bit of time to get the equipment locked into the trailers brought to the location specifically to store cameras, lights, and other props overnight.
And of course, there had to be one more person who needed her attention because he’d stepped on a rock the wrong way and twisted his ankle.
By the time she’d finished with the man, sending him on his way with instructions to ice his sore ankle overnight, and a promise she’d get with him in the morning to see if the swelling had gone down, most of the crew had left.
Logan, Silas, and Henry had been the first ones to leave, with the driver who’d been hired to shuttle them to and from the shoots.
Looking around, Zita saw Sage leaning against his Jeep.
Feeling bad that he’d had to wait for her, she walked toward him, going over in her head what she wanted to say.
Except when she approached him, her carefully crafted words went out the window. Instead, she blurted, “I’m sorry I was a bitch this morning.”
She winced. That wasn’t quite how she’d wanted to apologize.
Sage frowned. “What are you talking about? You weren’t a bitch. Not even close.”
“You bought me breakfast, and then my coffee, and I leapt out of your Jeep as if it was on fire. I didn’t even say thank you.”
“You did. When I paid the check at Sunny Side Up and when I handed you your coffee.”
“Sage, I’m trying to apologize here,” she said in exasperation.
“And I’m telling you that you have nothing to apologize for,” he returned.
Then he shocked the hell out of her by stepping into her personal space and taking her medical bag from her hand. He dropped it on the ground at their feet and pulled her into his arms.
His hug felt amazing, and even though she wasn’t sure she deserved it, she closed her eyes and leaned into him, soaking in the affection he was freely giving her.
“You’ve had a hard day,” he said softly into her hair.
“No more than usual,” she replied, still not letting go of him.
The strong clean scent he’d had that morning was gone, but she could still smell the faint traces of his soap. Now, he also smelled like he’d been working out. Sweating. But it wasn’t bad. Actually, Lord help her, Zita liked it. A lot.
Taking a deep breath, she pulled back, but he didn’t let her go. His arms stayed around her waist. Zita put her hands on his chest and licked her lips. “Did you have a good day?”