Chapter 33
Chapter
Thirty-Three
“Do you think no one sees it?”
Angelica paused her step on her way to the restroom.
She hadn’t seen Josef cowering in the corner, but sure enough, he’d stepped right into her space to garner her full attention.
At least he wasn’t shouting at her. His voice was barely above a whisper actually, which meant at the moment, no one could hear him except her.
“I don’t know what you’re referring to.” Angelica clenched her jaw tight, every muscle in her body telling her that she needed to shore up her defenses and prepare for what may be the very last battle she had to fight.
“You’re fucking her.” That accusation rolled off his tongue the same way it had the first time he’d said it.
Angelica tightened even more. She couldn’t deny it outright. That’d only give him more fuel, and it was true. Though what difference did it make now, because Hope was finally single?
“I told you that if you pulled something like this, I’d have you out on your ass in two seconds flat.” Josef bent down, his face in hers. “And here you are, doing exactly that. Are you so perverted that you can’t keep your hands to yourself?”
Angelica’s heart hammered. She’d never seen Josef this unhinged before. For the first time, she was genuinely afraid of what he would do.
“Josef…” Angelica’s mind spun looking for a way to get out of this, with some excuse or reason for what he was seeing that would save her from the fall out. “Whatever you think is happening, isn’t.”
He snorted at her, a puff of hot air brushing against her face. “When did it start? Season one? Is that why Rex and Hope got divorced?”
“Rex and Hope have had problems for years, and working together on set only amplified those problems.” Angelica clenched her jaw, ready to hold her ground on this.
She’d defend herself and Hope for as long as it took.
“If you want to know more about their divorce, I suggest you ask them instead of me. I wasn’t a part of it.
” That much was true at least. While she’d been around when it was initiated, she’d had very little to do with anything beyond that.
And she’d kept her distance, for good reason.
“How did it start? Hmm?” Josef moved in even closer.
The hairs on the back of Angelica’s neck went up in an instant. He was going to attack her into submission this time, wasn’t he? Angelica pursed her lips tightly. The more directly he asked her, the harder it was for her to skirt an answer.
“How did you start fucking her?”
“What makes you think that I am?” Angelica bolstered herself for whatever was going to come next. It was time to stop defending and start on the information mining. That way, if needed, she’d use the information to her advantage to get him the hell off her set.
Because this was her set. And she was damn tired of fighting this beast of a man who tried to consume everything within his sight that he didn’t like.
“The way you look at her. The way she looks at you.” Josef’s nose wrinkled. “The way you touch her.”
Angelica furrowed her brow and lifted her chin at that. “What do you mean touch?”
They’d been so careful, and while they did physically touch on set, that wasn’t abnormal.
They were two women. While on set, Angelica didn’t touch Hope any more than she touched Cadence.
Although the same couldn’t be said in reverse.
Hope had a sneaky way of sliding her hand along Angelica’s skin when no one was looking and when the cameras weren’t watching.
“I’ve seen it!”
“So you’re telling me that you’ve seen Hope touching me? When?” Angelica straightened her spine, ready to fight this.
“During meetings. When she brings you lunch every single day. Come on, Ange, you know she’s doing it.”
She knows? Angelica bit her cheek as she held her words back. He didn’t actually know anything, did he? All of this was speculation. He had no hard physical proof, which changed the tactics Angelica needed to use.
“So you’re telling me that you can see Hope physically touching me every day, but you can’t see it when a creep of a hotel owner does it on camera and right in front of you?” Angelica leaned forward slightly, getting into his face as much as he was in hers. “Seems you’re making up stories Josef.”
“I’m not!” He pushed in, and Angelica had to pull back her shoulders, hitting the wall she was being pushed against. “You’re the one who’s crossing boundaries.”
He wasn’t wrong, but he didn’t even know what boundaries she was crossing.
“Josef.” Logan’s voice cut through the thick air, the scolding loud enough that Angelica nearly let out a breath of relief.
But Josef didn’t back up, his face still pressed close to Angelica’s.
“Josef, step back immediately.” Logan scolded again, sharply.
Angelica held her breath, clenching her jaw as she just waited to see what Josef would do. It took longer than she would have liked, but eventually, Josef pulled away slowly. He looked over his shoulder to Logan, who stood only five feet away with a glower on his face.
“Something had to be said about her behavior.” Josef straightened his clothes as if he’d just gotten out of a brawl.
Logan flicked a look to Angelica but then focused squarely on Josef. “No, it didn’t. Your behavior, however, is a different thing entirely.”
“I’ve done nothing wrong.” Josef put his hands down to his sides.
Angelica moved away from the wall slightly, righting herself as she looked at both men, debating on what to do or not do in this case. The last thing she wanted was to add fuel to the fire, but she wasn’t going to play victim either.
“How can you tell me you’ve done nothing wrong when you’ve had Ange pushed up against a wall while you threaten her?
” Logan lowered his voice into a threat, stepping closer and putting himself fully into the situation.
“I’ve watched you for half a week, Josef, and all I can see is that you’re the problem on this set.
Not Ange. Not Hope. Not Rex. Not anyone else. You.”
“You’re seeing things.”
Angelica’s lips parted in surprise. Here Logan was tearing Josef down step-by-step, and all Josef could do was deny it and pretend Logan hadn’t seen anything? Jesus, this man was a menace.
“No, Josef, I’m not.” Logan looked directly at Angelica before nodding at her. “Your behavior is obnoxious.”
“She’s fucking Hope.”
“So what?” Logan shook his head at Josef, hands out at his sides.
“You think even if she is that gives you the right to treat her like this? To act like she’s ruining this show?
From what I’ve seen, Angelica is one of the few people holding this entire production together no matter how many times you try to tear it apart.
You can either shut up and walk away now, Josef, or I’m going to forcibly remove you from this hotel. ”
“Forcibly?” Josef repeated the word.
“Yes.” Logan clenched his jaw.
Angelica’s heart raced. Was this actually happening?
“Before you decide to respond to that,” Logan started before anyone else said anything, “I suggest you take a minute to step back and think about what I just walked in on. A large man pushing a beautiful and still-injured woman against the wall on the way to the restroom and making threats against her. It doesn’t look good for you no matter what way you spin it. ”
Josef tossed a look back at Angelica, scowling. The tension thickened. Josef turned to stare at Logan before shaking his head. “You’ll both pay for this.”
He stomped away.
Angelica released a breath she hadn’t known she was holding, her fingers unwinding from the fists she’d clenched, and her shoulders easing just slightly.
“Ange…” Logan took another step closer. “Are you okay?”
What the hell was she supposed to say to that? Angelica shook her head, her heart still racing so hard that she wasn’t sure it’d calm down any time soon.
“No,” Angelica replied honestly, overwhelmed by the emotions rushing through, the threat that wasn’t quite extinguished, and the fact that for once, she wasn’t standing here alone. “No, I’m not.”
“Then take the rest of the day.” Logan brushed his hand up and down her upper arm. “Please.”
Angelica nodded at him and started to move down the hallway toward the lobby. As soon as she entered the large room, she stilled. Josef stood by the reception desk, anger written all over his face. She said nothing as she walked to the elevator and hit the button.
Once she was in her room, she pressed her fingers to her mouth and drew in a breath of safety.
Each and every day they’d been on set this season, Josef had only gotten worse, as if he’d been pushed to the brink of what he could control and just couldn’t stop himself.
She wasn’t sure what she would have done had Logan not stepped in.
And too many times in the last two weeks, something like that had happened.
What if she was genuinely alone with Josef? She wasn’t sure how far he’d take it.
The knock on the door jarred her.
Angelica bit her lip and turned around quietly. She didn’t want anyone to know she was in there unless it was someone she trusted. Pushing her face against the door to look out of the peephole, she sighed in relief. Taking one more second to compose herself, Angelica opened the door.
“Lyric.”
“Ms. Shields.” Lyric stood there quietly. “Logan said you were done filming for the day. I thought I’d check to see if you needed something.”
“I…” Angelica trailed off, her gaze dropping down to the floor between them before she looked back up and met Lyric’s eyes. “Will you get Hope for me?”
“Yes, ma’am.” Lyric nodded. “Anything else?”
“That’ll be it.”
“Your replacement iPad is set to arrive tomorrow.”
“Thank you, Lyric.” Angelica’s shoulders were still tense, and her heart still raced. She took another moment to look at Lyric before shutting the door.
Angelica walked to the bed and immediately started dragging her clothes off, needing to rid herself of everything that was pressing down on her.
She stripped her jacket, her blouse, her skirt.
She turned off the microphone pack and put it on the desk.
She took off her earrings and her necklaces.
She curled her fingers around the edge of the desk and just breathed.
Naked and untethered to the world around her, Angelica let the fear she’d avoided for so long rush through her in an instant. Tears built in her eyes, spilling over and down her cheeks. She wasn’t sure she could do this any longer. She wasn’t sure—
The knock was precise.
“It’s me,” Hope said though the door.
“Come in.” Angelica sniffled, wiping her nose and clearing her cheeks as she listened for the tell-tale sign of the click from the lock and the door opening.
“Lyric said…” Hope trailed off, her eyes locking on Angelica’s body and trailing down it and back up. “What happened?”
Angelica shook her head, unable to find words. They were the last thing that she wanted. “Just fuck me.”
“What?” Hope breathed out that word.
“I don’t want to think right now.” Angelica wetted her lips, looking directly at Hope. “I want you to fuck me.”
Hope slid the keycard onto the top of the desk as she moved to stand inches away from Angelica. “Are you sure?”
“Yes.” Angelica tensed, brushing her fingers down the front of Hope’s chef’s coat. Then she slowly started to undo the snaps, pulling them apart. “I don’t want to think.” She pushed the coat off Hope’s shoulders and let it drop to the ground. “I just want to feel.”
Taking Hope’s hand, Angelica pressed Hope’s fingers between her legs and held them there.
Moving forward, she gripped the back of Hope’s neck and pressed their mouths together in a brutal kiss.
Angelica parted her lips, nipping Hope’s before she dove back in.
She pulled Hope against her as she sat on the edge of the desk and parted her legs.
It took Hope longer than Angelica wanted, but she finally started to move her fingers, to ply Angelica’s body with touches and caresses.
Angelica hummed and leaned back as Hope plunged two fingers inside her.
Her mind spun, the conversations of the day and the week vying for her attention.
But with the touch, with Hope’s breath and kisses on her skin, Hope’s tongue against her nipple, Angelica could focus on just this.
She gasped, Hope teasing her nipple into a point as she brushed her thumb across Angelica’s clit.
Angelica put her hands behind her, watching everything that Hope did, the way her fingers moved, the way her face pressed against Angelica’s skin with each kiss, the concern that still filled her gaze, mixed with arousal and understanding.
Angelica listened to the sound of her breath, to the way it increased and intensified.
She closed her eyes, feeling the sensations roll through her body as her muscles reacted exactly like they were supposed to.
Hope’s mouth against her clit sent fire racing through her body.
Groaning, Angelica dug her fingers into Hope’s hair, tightening her grasp as Hope’s fingers and mouth worked her higher and higher.
“I love you,” Angelica whispered, those tears she’d fought so hard against crashing down her cheeks again. “I love you.”
Hope didn’t move. Angelica wasn’t even sure if she heard the words. But ringing hit her ears just before the orgasm slammed into her body. She cried out loudly. Hope kissed her way back up Angelica’s body, cradling her. Hands brushed up and down Angelica’s back, kisses pressed into her hair.
Angelica shuddered. She wrapped her arms around Hope’s back and just held on tightly, eyes clenched and heart still racing.
She had no idea how long they stayed there, wrapped in each other, the lingering tendrils of pleasure already faded into the background, because it wasn’t pleasure Angelica had been seeking.
It was comfort.
Familiarity.
Trust knowing that Hope could do this for her, and trust that Angelica would allow it.
“Let’s get you to bed,” Hope murmured finally, again kissing Angelica’s head.
“Stay.” The single word left Angelica’s lips before she could stop it, and she knew she would never take it back. “Stay tonight, please.”
“Of course.” Hope tilted Angelica’s chin up and kissed her sweetly. “Anything you need. I’m here.”
Closing her eyes, Angelica nodded. When she opened them again, she was consumed by the crystalline colors of Hope’s gaze, the concern and love reflecting back at her.
“I love you, Hope.”