Chapter 5
Chapter Five
SIENNA
August held my hand, leading me out of the car as we pulled up outside my building. He walked with purpose, like he knew exactly where he was going, and the confidence of his movements did funny things to my insides.
I hid my smile as he paused in the lobby and I nudged him in the direction of the elevator.
The silver doors slid closed behind us and instantly his mouth was on mine, exploring and tasting me like he wanted to savor me.
Our harsh breaths were loud as he pulled back, auburn hair mussed and eyes wild with glazed desire.
The ding of the elevator made me jump and he cupped my jaw, stroking one thumb over my cheekbone in question. I kissed him once, quick and breathless, and this time it was me who led him out of the doors and into the solo hallway that housed only my door.
A quick glance over my shoulder found his eyes locked on me, not even a cursory glance spared on the luxe interior of our surroundings.
This was one of several properties my dad had left me, and it was fancy as all out.
It made me wonder if August was used to this kind of casual wealth.
How had he grown up? What was his childhood like?
They were stupid, errant thoughts that had no place in what tonight was about to be: fun, casual. Hot, hopefully, if those kisses were anything to go by.
August took my long look as an invitation, crowding behind me so his front was pressed against my back. I relaxed against him, letting my head fall back against his chest as I looked up.
The quiet groan that left him had my breasts tightening with anticipation as he pressed rough kisses up and down my throat, his stubble burning in the best way.
"Sienna," his voice was a low growl that made me shudder. "If you don't get that door open now, I'm going to fuck you right here."
I gasped, the words sending a rush of wetness between my legs and desire spearing through me.
My keys jingled cheerfully as I fumbled with them, trying to find the correct fob for the door.
A calloused palm ran over the back of my thigh and my stance widened instinctively as that hand trailed higher, leaving a scorching path of want in its wake.
"Fuck. You're so wet, Sienna. You've made a mess between your thighs. Is this all for me?"
The door whirred as it unlocked and I trembled as I glanced behind me in time to see August raise two glistening fingers to his mouth and suck.
His shirt crumpled in my fist as I yanked him inside my apartment and shoved the door closed behind us.
Buttons flew as I grappled with the soft material of his shirt and he laughed before lifting the remains up and over his head.
His throat was warm under my mouth as I licked a path from his neck to his chest, shifting to open mouthed kisses as I tasted each ridge of his abs.
My name was a plea in his mouth and I drew back to let him unzip my mini dress, the dark fabric falling to the ground in a puddle that his jeans quickly joined.
I left my heels on and he didn't seem to mind, parting my lips with his, and when we separated I drank in the sight of him, shoulder muscles rippling and stomach flexing as his dick twitched inside his gray boxers.
Normally I might have thought a guy with muscles like his might be overcompensating, but I could see from the sizable outline of him that it wasn't the case with August.
His knees had just met the carpet, the molten look in his eyes etching itself into my brain permanently as he licked his lips, when a banging at the door made both our heads whip in its direction.
"Ignore it," I mumbled, inhaling sharply when he obeyed, his breath ghosting over my soaked underwear and making my nerve endings come alive.
Then the hammering at the door resumed, followed by raised voices. I was pretty sure I recognised Cade's, but the other man was unfamiliar.
"Um." August stood, running a hand through his tousled hair. "I think that's my brother?"
We stood and made our way to the door, taking it in turns to peer out of the peephole cautiously. Sure enough, I could see the back of Cade's head as he stood with his arms crossed, blocking the way of the pissed off looking dark-haired guy that I recognised from the party.
"Why would your brother be here?" I hissed and August shook his head, eyebrows furrowed like he was as confused as me.
A scuffle sounded behind the door and I stepped back, alarmed, when the banging started up again. This time it was accompanied by a voice.
"August! This is the exact opposite of what we talked about! Have you checked your phone?" The voice cut off and I approached the door again to see Cade restraining the other guy with difficulty. Then the elevator dinged and Louise stepped out, making her way past the guys and towards the door.
"Shit," I muttered, backing away and bumping into August's bare chest as the door handle turned. If Louise was here right now, it had to mean we had a problem. And what was it August's brother had said about checking his phone?
I squealed as the door swung open and Louise's eyes flew wide as she took in my near-nakedness and then August's disheveled state.
Cade lost his battle with August's brother and the two of them joined Louise in the doorway as August hooked a hand around my waist and pulled my mostly-naked form behind him.
"Have you heard of knocking?" His words were a growl and, despite the circumstances, I couldn't help but move closer, enjoying the protective edge to the tone.
"I did," the guy said, his voice a shade too loud for August's liking apparently, as he made to take a step toward his brother.
I gripped his shoulder, his bulk the only thing providing me any semblance of modesty.
He halted immediately but I could feel the tension in his back muscles, which shouldn't have been as distracting as it was.
"What the hell are you doing here, River?"
"Me? What are you doing making out in full view with Sienna Slade? This is the opposite of keeping a low profile."
"One kiss is hardly a scandal, River. But regardless, my private life has nothing to do with the team or its sponsors."
“That’s naive and you know it—”
I cleared my throat. "As nice as this conversation is, I'm super naked right now. So how about a little privacy so that we can all be clothed while we chat?"
River had the grace to look embarrassed, pale cheeks flushing red as I shuffled behind August to where our clothes were. He turned, placing his back to our audience so he could slip my dress back over my head with more tenderness than I expected.
"I'm sorry about this," he murmured and I just smiled.
Yeah, it was annoying in the extreme that his brother had come and interrupted us, but I had no doubt that River was looking out for his brother, based on his protective stance and the muscle ticking in his jaw.
He wasn't as broad as August, but he was still tall and relatively built.
Objectively, he wasn't unattractive, but my eyes were having trouble straying far from August's shoulders or the way his auburn hair curled slightly at the back of his head against his neck.
Only now that I was covered did August bother reaching for his own clothes and Louise shot me a wide-eyed look that made me grin.
I know right, I mouthed back.
"Well, this is better." I motioned for Cade to close the door and he nodded, eyes staying on River even as he pushed the door shut. "Now, what's the problem?"
"The problem—"
"Watch your tone," August interrupted, cutting his brother's words off. Then, presumably for the benefit of Louise and Cade, he continued, "I'm August Ashford and this is my brother, River. He's also my manager."
Louise nodded and I could practically see her brain working overtime from where I was standing.
I raised an eyebrow and she cleared her throat.
"I'm Louise, Sienna's agent, and this is Cade, Sienna's bodyguard.
" River looked poised to continue talking but Louise silenced him with a look and I coughed to hide my chuckle.
"I believe River rushed over here for the same reason I did. "
Louise crossed the room, pausing to stroke Muffin under her chin from where she'd appeared next to the sofa, and picked up my phone before handing it to me.
I took it cautiously, grimacing at the flood of notifications on my home screen and stopping short at the tiny photo preview of something I'd been tagged in on my socials.
Breath held, I clicked and found my own face staring up at me, chin tilted to look at the man folding me into a waiting black car. I swiped and the image changed. My teeth sank into my bottom lip as I held the phone out to August so he could see too.
Fuck, the press worked fast.
"Damn," he said, letting out a small whistle and my stomach dropped, ready for him to run. I couldn't blame him, he'd come here to have fun, not have his personal life scrutinized. "We look good."
I choked on air as he smirked and handed the phone back to me, the photo of us kissing still displayed. It wasn’t the response I’d been anticipating at all.
"Did you see the hashtag?" Louise was watching August out of the corner of her eye with something like respect and I shook my head. I'd been too focused on the photos to even read their caption, but I frowned as I looked it over. It was just one word, a hashtag.
#SAUGUST
"I don't get it. What does it mean?"
"The internet is shipping you two."
Shipping? I flopped back onto the sofa, careful to keep my dress from riding up. "As in—"
"As in, relationshipping. Sienna and August. Saugust."
"That's... I don't know. Am I the only one who thinks that's really fucking weird?"
Louise shrugged. "Our plan worked. You wanted to send the label a message of independence, this helps with that. We could use the publicity to help launch your new image. Maybe you guys go on a couple dates… I’m sure we can make this mutually beneficial."
River span, face hard as he stared Louise down. "Are you saying you used my brother for a publicity stunt tonight?"
I wasn’t sure what was worse, the accusation or the fact that publicity had been the last thing on my mind when I’d agreed to take August home.
Louise frowned. "Nobody was using anybody—"
"Come on, August. We're out of here." River stomped to the door and hesitated only when he realized his brother wasn't following. "August?"
"Calm down, Riv," he sighed in response. "We knew the press were there. It doesn't bother me that they photographed us unless it bothers Sienna."
I swallowed, meeting his eyes and holding his gaze until I felt a blush working its way across my cheeks. "It’s fine. I'm used to it."
August frowned, like that wasn't the response he'd wanted.
"We have an opportunity here," Louise continued as if River had never interrupted her.
"The press we could generate would be significant.
There's nothing people love more than a romance, especially between two people with high profiles like yours.
We could draw up a contract if it makes you feel better? Say, six months of public dating?"
I grimaced and gave Louise a minute shake of the head. This wasn’t why I’d brought him here, I couldn’t expect anyone to give up half a year on something that had no future, just another pretty facade.
"And what about you?" River said, scrubbing a hand over his eyes as he looked at Cade. "You got an opinion on my brother's life too?"
Cade stayed silent, just raising a casual eyebrow and reaching down to pick up Muffin from where she twined around his feet.
"Look, why don't you take some time to think about it?" Louise handed River her business card, tucking it into the pocket of his shirt when he didn't reach for it. "Just don't take too long, otherwise the internet will lose interest."
A beat of tension passed as the two managers glared at each other and I sighed as August pressed a kiss to my cheek before following his brother as he stormed out of my apartment.
Louise winced at whatever expression was on my face.
"You couldn't have waited til tomorrow morning to tell me all of this?"
Louise shrugged. "Cade told me the brother was here, so I figured I wasn’t interrupting anything. Besides, wasn’t the ‘getting caught’ the most important part of bringing him home?" I stayed silent and Louise’s eyes widened. “Oh. Sorry.”
I waved away her apology, sinking back against the couch cushions and smiling softly when Muffin abandoned Cade to come and sit on my stomach.
It was a strange end to what had seemed like such a promising evening.
Worse, I was pretty sure that was the hottest sex I'd ever had… and we hadn't even done the deed.