Chapter 17 #3
Mace went through the door before me. I let my hand caress over the globe of his ass, another regular move for me.
“I have time off during the holidays. I can easily spend it here. Also, long weekends. I plan to look closer at my schedule to free up time.”
Mace tossed a skeptical glance over his shoulder as if he were doubting me.
“Bedroom or livin’ room?” he asked.
“Living room. I have my movies ready to go. I need to impress you with my work because not much else has helped,” I explained, chuckling as I moved around my guy, taking the lead to the living room.
The room was pre-set with everything needed to get through the movies.
Wine chilled, two crystal glasses were nearby, and a bottle of lube if I somehow got lucky before going to bed.
Oh yeah, and popcorn. “My agent received a call about a possible James Bond remake, me playing Bond.” I shrugged, playing it off as if it weren’t the honor of my career so far.
“I’ve never seen a James Bond movie,” Mace confessed, easily falling back against the sofa that absorbed his weight like he was meant to be there. I was shit to do anything more than take the seat next to him.
At Mace’s words, I gave an exaggerated playful wince while running my fingertip down his strong forearm when his hand landed on my thigh.
I couldn’t stop touching him. “You need to pay closer attention to some of my roles so maybe you’ll be more impressed and I won’t have to work so hard to get to spend time with you.
I get lonely waiting for you to finally get here. ”
“Yeah right! How many people throw themselves all over you every day?” Mace asked, positioning his body to better see me.
Based on the look of disbelief on his face, he meant the question in earnest. “I bet there’s no shortage of men and women always all over you.
” Mace shook his head as if I were silly to feel lonely because of those options and settled back into the seat.
“Okay, well, I’ll admit it’s usually not a problem to find some company.” I chuckled at my simple words, clasping his hand with mine as I reached for the remote control.
“Huh,” Mace grunted. “Before you, it had been a pretty long time.” As if that were a measure of lacking for Mace. It wasn’t.
“My problem comes with the size of the asshole I’ve become.
I can’t stand many of the practices of my industry.
” While I said the words, I leaned in to place a soft kiss on Mace’s knuckles.
“Maybe that’s why I crave our intimacy. You make me fight for even the smallest of smiles. I’m really tender on the inside.”
“You’ve mentioned your industry quite a bit, and I’ve thought about it a lot.
I don’t see you bein’ a jerk, ever. You’re the most attentive, considerate guy I’ve ever known.
How can you pretend to be the polar opposite of what I’ve seen?
” he asked, turning to stare me in the eyes.
The doubt was clear in Mace’s tone, but all I could focus on was the way his lips moved while giving me an earnest compliment. I was into it.
“That’s because you appeared out of nowhere like a dream. Those stunning eyes and hard fucking body just did it for me like never before. I decided pretty quickly that the universe gave me a chance, and I better man up,” I answered, my grin growing, proud of stating my truth.
“Omigod, that’s ridiculous!” Mace said, grabbing the remote control from my hand and pushing play. The movie was locked and loaded. A psychological thriller that I received an Oscar nod for my role in. Mace now knew that fact because it was included in the previews.
I didn’t budge as I stared straight at him. “Everything I said was the truth.”
“Okay.” Mace used a tone that said he still didn’t believe me. “You know I’m a sure thing. I don’t need all that convincing to get me into the bed.”
“I can tell when someone puts up a mask,” I said, listening to the beginning of my movie, uninterested in watching. That was Mace’s job. “You do it a lot. I do with everyone else.”
“What happens if Austin offers you a role? Do you leave your show?” he asked, still staring at the screen.
“It’s hard to say. In theory, I’ll be around here more often, but production’s at least a year out. The complication comes in the fact that I hired a staff full of extremely ambitious professionals. They certainly don’t like words like downtime or semi-retired.”
“Those are words you’ve used?” Mace asked, pausing the television in the opening credits. Finally, a topic of conversation Mace was interested in.
“Yeah, of course. If I weren’t so young, with no other marketable skills, I’d probably cut the cord. I liked modeling. I liked the travel,” I said.
Mace lifted the remote control and pushed play again without responding. He turned the volume up which caused me to laugh again and settle next to Mace.
I usually cringed seeing myself on the big screen, but not tonight. I was my own worst critic. Like right this minute, I cringed at the opening scene. If I had to suffer through this, it better work.