Chapter 32
LUKE
“How did it go?” Aspen asked when I came through the front door.
She climbed off the couch and ran to me, wrapped her arms around me.
Usually, when I had big news to share, I called my parents.
They were my biggest cheerleaders and they helped me share in my successes.
This time, when I came out of the studio lot, all I wanted to do was tell Aspen. To be with her and share my happiness.
I lifted her up and kissed her. “Not sure, but I think I got it.”
Her eyes widened and she grinned. “Yeah?”
I nodded. Fuck, I wanted that role. It would change the trajectory of my career, pull me out of the Dr. Dark and Dangerous moniker and I would hopefully be seen for my acting skills instead of my hair or the ability to perform emergency surgery with a pen.
“They’ve seen me act, so this was a little bit of a formality.”
“Did they ask about rehab?” She looked a little worried because that was the clincher… and the reason she was here. Shit. I broke every speed law between Burbank and here to share my good news with my fake girlfriend. I set her back on her feet and took a small step back.
I huffed, ran a hand through my hair. “Yeah, and I told them the truth, that the tabloids like a good story.”
“That’s it?”
It did seem a little anticlimactic. There’d been no drama like on TV. I showed up, I read some lines from a scene. They took some photos. They asked me about rehab, and I even got a back slap for finding love outside of the LA rat race.
Except I fed them one lie to negate another. Was I any better than Lacey, who used me to get what she wanted? I’d used Aspen.
“They saw the photos of us I posted, even saw the one with Lacey. The timeline’s there to prove I wasn’t in rehab. They’ll negotiate with Sam, and I’ll hear back. In the meantime, we have a party to go to tonight.”
“We?”
“Yeah. It’s at some mansion in Beverly Hills. The producer will be there, and it’ll give me one more networking opportunity. Lots of industry people, community activists.”
“And you’re going because…”
“We’re going because they–hopefully–want to show off their new star. Your boyfriend’s gonna be a movie star. What do you think about that?” I winked.
She studied me, then shrugged. “I’m proud of you. But to me, you’re just Luke.”
My smile slipped and I leaned in and kissed her to hide it. I was just Luke? I didn’t know what that meant. Who just Luke was. Could that be enough or someone as amazing as Aspen?
“I didn’t really pack anything for a party,” she said, pulling me from my thoughts.
That was her concern? “I’ll call my stylist.”
She stared at me. “Stylist? You?”
“I’m a hick from Nebraska. Of course, I have a stylist.”
“Fine.” She cocked her head and bit her lip. “Until then, I think we should celebrate.”
“Oh yeah?”
She set her hand on my chest and slid it down. Lower and lower until she got to the button of my dark pants. Between that sexy gleam in her eye and how close her fingers were getting to my dick, I got hard.
When she got the zipper down and reached into my boxers to grip my length, I growled.
“You want something, tiger?”
She nodded, then leaned in close, tipped her head up and nibbled my jaw. “So bad.”
Fuck. Me.
“Where?” My eyes fell closed at one hard stroke.
“My mouth.”
Pre-cum spurted onto her hand and I grabbed her wrist. “You do that, and this will be over way too fast.”
“But–”
I leaned down and tossed her over my shoulder.
Aspen laughed as I carried her toward my bedroom. “Luke!”
I spanked her upturned ass. She was in another pair of her snug leggings, and I started to tug them down as I went. By the time I tossed her onto my bed, all I had to do was yank the stretchy fabric the rest of the way from her knees.
I could see how wet her pussy was.
My dick was hard.
What we shared wasn’t fake.
Her orgasms I brought her to, first on my mouth and then around my dick, weren’t fake.
When I came buried deep, going blind for a few seconds… that wasn’t fake either.
When I tucked her into my arms and held her after, running my fingers over her soft skin, I knew that asking her to be my fake anything was wrong.
Because how I felt for her was real. All of it. I couldn’t let it go on any further without her knowing. “Aspen,” I murmured. “This… us. It’s real. There’s nothing fake about how I feel for you.”
She didn’t respond. Didn’t move. Because she was asleep.