TWENTY
THE WARMTH OF HIS mouth roused her from sleep.
“Mmm,” she moaned, tipping her lips higher.
He could have all the access he wanted.
“Go back to sleep, Fawn.”
Another kiss.
When he scooted away an inch, she grabbed his arm. “Where are you going?” she mumbled, eyes open to slits.
“I’m getting up.”
“Getting up? It’s still dark out.” Eyes closing again, she wriggled closer. “You’re not getting up.” Still half asleep, she frowned. “Are you sneaking away? Did I ask too much? Am I being clingy and in—”
His kiss silenced her. “I get up at four thirty every day, babe.”
She heard but didn’t understand. “Why would anyone do that on purpose?”
“It’s my job.”
In the face of his amusement, she was just confused.
“Your job to get up and—” She blinked, seeking his gaze in the shadow. “You’re going to the gym?”
“Basement fitness suite, but, yeah.”
“You’re getting up out of bed at four thirty in the morning to go get shredded?” The angle of his brow didn’t seem certain how to respond. “Man, you’re dedicated.” Laying a hand on his cheek, she rose to kiss him. “Come lay down with me again when you’re done. If you have time; if you want.”
“I’ll be around when you wake up.”
“Good.” She pulled the covers to her chin. “I’ll dream about you getting pumped and sweaty.”
His next kiss proceeded a snicker. “You do that, B.”
Ah, bed. Yes, the man was incredible, but the gym at four thirty? Talk about stamina. Hmm, nice, another nuance for her dream.
***
UNFORTUNATELY, THOUGH THE dream had a happy ending, her bed was empty when she woke. Well, the guy had been there when it counted last night, she’d forgive him his dedication.
And it wasn’t so disappointing to go downstairs because he was in the kitchen, chopping, dicing, blender on the counter, back to her.
She crept over, given cover by him hitting the blender button. Darting closer, she smacked his ass and leaped to the side. With barely enough time to register her, he whipped around, scooping her up with one arm to dump her on the counter.
Her laugh was lost in the depth of his kiss. Right there, in the middle of the kitchen, she wound her legs around him, clamping him tight to her. Not that he was going anywhere, he held her head when his lips teased hers, but those hands descended to her ass as their passion grew.
“I want to taste your parsnip,” she breathed.
His head rose in a tilt. “That’s a new one.”
On a laugh, she socked his arm. “Your smoothie.”
Was that really better?
“Ah,” he said, admiring her lips. “You’ve got to share yours first.”
He kissed her mouth, her chin, and bent his knees to—ah, no, she wouldn’t let him sneak down on her again.
“I need you here, beau.”
Clasping his jaw, she joined their mouths, once again basking in the divine and devouring.
“What the hell!” Magnus came stomping in. “Are you two insane? What if I was someone else?”
“Someone else who?” Struan asked without releasing her or changing their position. Wow, he really was happy to own her. “Mieux’s the only other person who might stumble in and it won’t be a shock to her.”
Magnus blustered. “You told her?”
“No. But Mieux is Mieux, she divines things. And don’t kid yourself she’s not walked in on clients doing worse than this.”
“You are not her client and shouldn’t be doing anything with anyone. Aren’t you due on set?”
“Not for a while.”
Finger-combing her hair, Struan matched their gazes again. She could sit there all day and be satisfied. And damn, she wanted to kiss him. Why did Magnus have to interrupt?
“No more private dates,” Struan said, proving what concern was on his mind: her. “Roman got too handsy last night.”
“Too handsy?” Magnus squawked. “They’re engaged! There’s no such thing as too handsy.”
She laid a hand on Struan’s arm for support as she leaned back to take in the man at the perpendicular side of the counter.
“Whoa, okay,” she said. “Let’s unpack everything that’s wrong with that statement.”
“I just meant—”
“I know what you just meant, Magnus. You’re lucky you’re responsible for raising this guy too.” Her eyes smiled on his. “Because you got him just perfect.”
“Whatever this is, you two have to cool it. If the media—”
“The media are not what you’re worried about,” Struan said. “And what did you think would happen locking the two of us up under one roof?”
They weren’t prisoners, but the man had a point. This started because they couldn’t resist each other, now they lived together.
“I thought you would respect your brother’s—”
“Let’s talk about my brother and respect.” That was the catalyst for separating them; Struan went around to confront his uncle. “He put his hands on B without consent last night. He’s lucky he’s not in the ground.”
“He’s your brother—”
“Doesn’t give him the right. He’s got to know where the lines are. If he can’t respect those lines—”
“You think you can spout this shit? How is it any of your business?”
She sensed Struan biting his tongue. He did have a right. She’d said he was the man when he held her last night and meant it. Except they’d never talked about them, maybe he didn’t want the role long-term. That wasn’t the moment to define their future. Everyone was due elsewhere.
“It’s my place,” she said. “This isn’t exactly the most hospitable environment, and there’s a lot of politicking I don’t understand. Yeah, I’m a small-town girl, and everyone smiles and pats me on the head, but I’m not actually disposable. I am a human being. And if Roman chooses to forget that, or thinks about violating any boundaries—”
“I get it,” Magnus said, proving he didn’t just by interrupting.
The flat hand he held up screamed of dismissal.
“She won’t be paid off or hushed up, if I have to stand with her—”
“Okay,” Magnus said. “Geez, what wound the pair of you up this morning? Roman’s Roman, he’s just the way he is, and—”
“Excusing him like that has caused this whole situation. You’re not doing him any favors,” she said. “You have to understand that doing it now with me, in the privacy of his own home, is one thing. If he’s allowed away with it once, predators escalate—
“Predators?” Magnus barked. “Where did that word come from? No. No. No. No. We’re not using that word. Don’t use that word.”
Why did she bother? What a waste of words. Yes, she was outraged and affronted, but what she was saying was true, and it would cover their ass too. But, no, Magnus didn’t see that she was actually doing him a favor by bringing it to him.
“What’s the situation with his sobriety?”
“Situation?”
“When we go out, he drinks.”
“He’s not an alcoholic.”
“You know he shouldn’t be drinking,” Struan backed her up, “it’s part of his recovery. One step leads to—”
“So what’s the guy supposed to do? Take out a double page ad declaring to the world he’s no longer capable of socializing?”
“It’s possible to socialize without consuming alcohol.” Okay, that came off a little bitchy. “If refraining from it helps him, I’m willing to do it too.”
She wasn’t a big drinker. Though the wine did take the edge off her irritation, she assumed. Perhaps it didn’t, perhaps alcohol inflamed her negative feelings. Going sober a few nights might cast Roman in a new light.
“If the booze causes shit like last night,” Struan said, “it’s trouble waiting to happen.”
“I’ll talk to him.” She sealed her lips and silently sighed. Everyone seemed to proclaim how ready they were to talk to Roman like it made the damnedest bit of difference. “There’s nothing on tonight. Everyone can relax, take a breather, reboot. Let’s just get through today.”
Another day on set. Providing no one pushed her in the direction of her bullshit beloved, she may just get through it.
“Are you ready to go, B?” Struan asked. “It’ll take me two minutes to mix this and there’s a car—”
“No,” Magnus interrupted. “I’ll take her, you travel with Roman.” Did that mean even their uncle, their guardian, didn’t want to spend time with Roman? “We can’t afford getting mixed up in any more sordid stories, so like I said, you two kill it, here, out there, everywhere.”
She got assaulted and still got a talking to the next day? Nice. Clutching the edge of the counter, she threw one leg up then the other, boosting herself onto her feet again.
Okay. She’d rather travel with Struan, but Magnus did have cause for suspicion. She conceded privately, like super privately, only in her own brain privately, that if she and Struan got into a car together, she couldn’t guarantee hands and mouths wouldn’t wander.
Struan approached like he intended to say goodbye, but Magnus hurried past him and shoveled an arm around her to rush them out into the car.
“How do you do it?”
They’d been on the road maybe five minutes. She’d been quite happy with the silent agreement to avoid discussion, although apparently that agreement only existed in her head.
“How do I do what?” she asked Magnus.
“Struan. I’ve never seen him with anyone else the way he is with you. Roman’s always been his priority and somehow you have Struan threatening to ruin him. His own blood.”
“I don’t do anything. All I heard was a man saying he’d do the right thing, any decent person would do the same.”
“They need each other. Struan gets strength from taking care of his brother, supporting him.”
“You don’t know what Struan needs. This has been his life for so long, sometimes I wonder if it’s just muscle memory. You’ve conditioned them both and orchestrated this life… Roman likes the attention, Struan doesn’t, he was the natural choice for stardom, I get that. Can’t you see you’ve wrapped everything Struan is up into his brother? It maybe works for a while, but Roman’s inherent volatility doesn’t make him the surest bet. You’re in this web too. Everyone’s livelihoods teeter on the thread of Roman’s mood. I know he went to rehab—”
“He did, and he worked hard.”
“That’s great. He deserves a second chance. If you believe in him I’m sure he’ll prove you right. I don’t have that same faith. I don’t know him well enough.”
And what she did know scared her a little.
“But you know Struan well enough?”
“They’re different. There’s sincerity in Struan. It’s who he is. He isn’t always honest, I get that, he protects his brother. Who protects him? You have to figure out how to get tighter control, or find out what Roman needs to get that control for himself. Is it about Sway?”
“Don’t bring her name into it.” With an elbow on the door, Magnus cradled his brow, covering his eyes. “Forget you even know it. Forget you heard it.”
“Why are you afraid of her?”
“Because, as you’ve seen, any mention of her affects Roman’s mood, which affects his ability to do his job. He needs to get into the swing of UO, to find the track, to set himself on the rails, and, it’s like magic when he does what he does. When he’s engrossed in a part and focused on the art… he deserves to do this, he’s good at this.”
“At what cost?”
Magnus’s hand dropped to his lap, his expression of forlorn wonderment tracked outside.
If he wanted what was best for them, if he truly believed it was this job, and that their lives were the way they were supposed to be, she didn’t envy him what lay ahead.
Her fear for Struan could be blinkered because he was the one she cared about. Maybe she shouldn’t be so hard on Magnus. What was the uncle’s alternative? Struan wouldn’t want to walk away from his brother, and, she hoped, Magnus wouldn’t want to walk away from either of them. Though if it came down to a 50/50, choice, he’d bet on the payday, he just had that aura about him.
They could agree to disagree while it was intellectual, she just wished Roman showed a little more gratitude. If he understood and valued what his blood family did for him, she wouldn’t necessarily judge him so harshly.
Neither said another word, even when they reached the set. Magnus hurried away and she was quickly waylaid by Renata rushing up at her side.
“This is a big day!”
“A big day?” she asked, her eyes still on Magnus as he disappeared around a corner. “Why is it a big day?”
“They want to interview you and take another second—”
Wait, what? What did she say?
“What was that?”
“The guys, our Making of… guys, they want to interview you!”
“For what? I’m not part of the show.”
“You’re the biggest part of the lead actor’s life!”
Shit, those kinds of questions? About their every intimate moment? Given the watershed last night, this wasn’t the best day to spout opinions about her fake lover.
“No, I don’t want to talk to them.”
“You have to.” Renata caught hold of her to stop her walking past. “It’ll help, see, humanize him and answer some of the questions everyone’s desperate to ask.”
“What questions?”
“How you feel about his work, and how you support him. How you supported him getting this role, when he told you about UO, when you met, when you fell in love.”
Yeah, that was exactly the path she didn’t want to walk down. They still hadn’t come up with a backstory for their relationship. Really showed how much everyone cared about her being put on the spot.
“I’d prefer to keep running back and forth doing errands, helping out, like I have been. I barely know my way around—”
“That doesn’t matter.” Renata scoffed. “You can’t get lost. Everyone knows who you are. You don’t even need a security card. The rest of us can’t go pee without six guards stopping us. You can go wherever you want.”
That was almost awe. Renata had five, maybe ten years on her. She looked fantastic, no matter her age. Fantastic in the LA way. Perry loitered in the background of the moment, smiling at this person and that, she was a woman who knew how to seize opportunities. They hadn’t spent time getting to know each other. How could everyone know her? Everyone?
When Mieux suddenly appeared, Bambi brightened up, gesturing her over while extricating herself from Renata’s grip.
“Let’s go over those interviews and appearances,” she exclaimed. “That important list. You know, the things they wanted me to do?”
Her colleague wasn’t on the same page. “We covered that the other day.”
“I want to look again,” she said, taking Mieux’s arm to tug her away from the silently begging Renata. “Let’s look at that list and see if there’s anything we can organize today to get, you know, to get, to get the wheels in motion.” Her smile didn’t move, even when they were out of earshot. “Let’s just walk away, please.”
Mieux laughed. “Oh, we’re avoiding something.”
“A curse,” Bambi said. “I’m pretty sure as soon as I got to LA some ancient Hollywood starlet I insulted in a past life put a curse on me.”
“Everyone in LA feels that way. There’s no in between, you’re on top or yesterday’s news.”
“Let’s find a corner to talk about yesterday’s news, because I want to stay out of tomorrow’s.”