Chapter 9 #2
“However long it takes. They want hunter content, especially. The fans eat that shit up.” Parker’s eyes landed on me. “Jude, you and Ash are up first. Finish getting dressed, look good, and glare pretty for the camera.”
My stomach dropped.
I glanced across the room without meaning to. Ash sat on the opposite bench, already pulling on his tactical pants, and for a split second, our gazes locked. I looked away.
Fantastic.
***
Twenty minutes later, I stood in full costume, trying not to sweat through the face paint while the social media coordinator adjusted lighting.
The storm outside had turned violent. Thunder cracked loudly enough to feel in my chest, and the rain came down so hard it sounded like gravel hitting the roof.
“Let’s do this!” The coordinator, a preppy girl named Mia, circled us with her phone. “Jude, stand behind Ash. Hand on his shoulder. Use your height. Be threatening.”
I placed my hand where she indicated and raised up on my tiptoes to play into the tall creature looming concept. Ash’s shoulder was warm under my palm, solid and real, and I felt the slight hitch in his breathing.
Don’t think about it.
“Good. Now, Ash, turn your head. Look at him like you’re about to start a fight.”
He did. Those dark eyes met mine, and the look he gave me was pure challenge. Heat pooled low in my gut despite the setting and the cameras, and every logical reason this should mean nothing. I just couldn’t help myself.
“Beautiful. Hold that.” Mia moved closer, snapping shots. “This is exactly what the fans want. The tension, the rivalry. You two are great at this.”
If she only knew what that tension actually was, what it felt like when we stopped performing and let it consume us.
“Switch. Ash, behind Jude now. Hand on his throat. Not tight, just resting there.”
My pulse jumped. Ash moved into position, and I felt the heat of him at my back before his hand came up to rest against my neck. His fingers spread across my throat, gentle but unmistakable, and I had to force myself not to react.
Just professional touching. It means nothing.
Except it didn’t feel like nothing. It felt like the corridor outside the breakroom, like the backseat of his car, like every moment we’d touched without cameras and scripts to hide behind.
“Jude, tilt your head back slightly. Give us that dangerous smile you do.”
I did, and it only made things worse. I felt Ash’s breath against my temple, the way his thumb brushed the hollow of my throat. His index finger pressed on the edge of my jaw. The touch was careful and gentle, but my body remembered different touches. Rougher ones. Desperate ones.
The type of touch that I craved.
“Gorgeous. Now face each other. Get close.”
Ash turned me around, and suddenly we were inches apart, and I could see the slight smudge at the corner of his eyeliner, the way his pupils had dilated despite the bright lights.
“Closer.”
We stepped together. My chest almost touched his, and I caught the scent of whatever soap he used mixed with the chemical bite of greasepaint. His breathing quickened. So did mine.
Just a photoshoot. Nothing else.
“Oh, come on, boys,” Mia sighed. “Where’s the passion? Jude, grab Ash’s holster. Like you’re about to throw him.”
I reached out, fingers closing around the strap across his chest. I yanked hard. Ash stumbled forward, hands slamming against my shoulders, and we froze like that, locked together, his weight pressed into me, my fist twisted in his gear.
The room disappeared. The cameras. The people. Everything except the wild look in his eyes and the rapid rise and fall of his ribs under my knuckles.
“Perfect. Ash, now you.”
His grip tightened on my shoulders, and then he shoved me back with enough force that I actually stumbled. Ash’s right hand twisted into my shirt, both stopping me from falling while hauling me back towards him at a disadvantage.
Smooth bastard.
“Oh, yeah.” I’d never heard such quick shutter sounds in my life.
Ash’s jaw clenched as he stepped closer. I had to trust his grip and lean back to keep distance.
Fuck.
“Both of you, scream. Give me that rage.”
My lips pulled back, mouth open in soundless fury, but the performance crumbled the moment our eyes locked. All I could see was the fantasy of those lips wrapped around my cock or the way he’d looked when I’d made him fall apart in his car.
Ash’s expression mirrored mine. Raw and wanting and barely controlled and my mind raced through memories of his hand twisted in my hair while he fucked me against the wall.
“One of you grab the other’s jaw. Like you’re about to break their neck.”
Ash’s hand came up before I could move. His fingers curled around my jaw, thumb pressing hard against my cheekbone, and he used his weight to force my head back. The touch burned through the makeup, electric and possessive. It made my knees go weak.
Not here. Not now.
I grabbed his wrist, tried to wrench it away, but he held firm.
We scuffled back a few steps, his fingers digging in, my hand locked around his forearm.
His muscles flexed under my palm. He was shorter but built thicker, using leverage and mass to keep control despite my height advantage.
I could feel his pulse hammering against my fingertips, and when he yanked me back towards him by my shirt, I had to bite my bottom lip to stop from moaning.
His thumb brushed over my mouth, pulling my lip from between my teeth.
Thunder crashed overhead. The lights flickered.
And I was a panting fucking mess.
“Perfect. Hold that.” Mia was in heaven, capturing every angle while I struggled not to suck that thumb into my mouth. “The fans are going to lose their minds over this.”
Probably. We looked good together. Dark and dangerous and exactly the aesthetic the park marketed. Enemies locked in eternal conflict, never quite crossing the line.
Except we already crossed it. Multiple times. In multiple positions.
Thunder shook the building again, and this time the lights went out.
Emergency lighting kicked in immediately, bathing everything in dim red. Mia swore, and I stepped away from Ash so fast that I almost fell.
“It’s alright. I think we’ve got enough.
You two—” Mia’s phone buzzed. She paused, checking the message.
“Yeah, okay. We’ll wrap up.” She looked at us, and in the emergency lighting, she looked like a demon.
One who ruled over the online hellscape that was social media.
“Park’s closing early. The storm’s getting worse. ”
I’d never been so relieved in my life.
“Good session,” Ash said, voice neutral. I was jealous of how well he was keeping his shit together. Clearly, he hadn’t been half as affected as I had been.
“Yeah.”
He’s fine. I’m the one falling apart.
That should’ve told me everything. I was getting in too deep, wanting things I had no business wanting.
Looking for strings for things I’d explicitly said I didn’t need.
Dylan had accused me of being emotionally unavailable, and he’d been right.
I’d watched him walk away rather than risk letting someone see the broken parts.
This thing with Ash was supposed to be nothing. Or at least supposed to be simple. Physical release without complications.
So why did I want to chase after him? Why did seeing him unaffected make my chest ache?
We stood there in the red emergency lighting while chaos swirled around us as the other performers headed through to the change rooms. I wanted to say something. Do something. Pull him back, or push him away, or figure out what the hell this had become.
Riley skated past, full of pent-up energy. She’d already changed into street clothes, though her hair was still in crazy space buns and she had fake blood on her throat. “Hey, a bunch of us are hitting Murphy’s. You coming?”
“I don’t know.” I started unbuckling my vest. “It’s pretty bad out there.”
“Exactly. No better time to get drunk.” She looked at Ash. “You in?”
He hesitated, then nodded. “Yeah, sure. Sounds good.”
What the fuck? Ash had never said yes to an invitation. Not that my crew were lining up to invite the new kid anywhere, but on the rare occasion they did, he always shot them down.
Something hot flared through me. Jealousy? Disappointment? I didn’t want to examine it.
“Come on, Jude. You can’t be outdone by the new kid!” Riley teased. I had the feeling she knew exactly what she was doing.
I should say no and go home where I could spend the night not thinking about Ash in regular clothes or his hand on my throat. Or the fact that I was starting to suspect I wanted more than just quick fucks in dark places.
“Yeah. I’ll come.”
I was so a fucking idiot.