21. Sierra
SIERRA
I didn’t know how in the hell I was supposed to sleep with Finn lying there next to me. Even if I ignored the caffeine zipping through my veins, my skin was on fire. And the only thing that would put out the flames was an arm’s length away.
All I had to do was reach out again and touch him.
My heart pounded, heat thrumming in my veins, blood rushing by my ears.
For a moment there, it really felt like something more might happen.
That Finn might just roll over in the dark and drag me into his arms the way I’d been imagining for far too many nights now.
But nope .
He was either being a gentleman or this desire I felt—this attraction—was completely one-sided. And yet I remembered that day in his sculpture studio so clearly.
I remembered the intensity of that kiss. I remembered the way he’d held me. The way he’d cradled my face.
I remembered the way his tongue had slipped between my lips, deepening the kiss into something…more. That wasn’t the way you kissed your fake fiancée. That wasn’t the way you rehearsed for a date.
I might not be the world’s greatest actor, but I knew that much.
I wanted to scream. No, first I wanted to roll over and straddle Finn and demand to know if his heart was attempting to punch through his chest like mine was.
And then I wanted to scream. Because even if it was…
even if he felt the way I did…we couldn’t actually do this.
There was too much at stake. If it all went horribly wrong, it could put everything in jeopardy—the movie, my job, Ro’s directorial debut!
I couldn’t risk it.
And anyway, I was probably being silly still thinking there was something more to that kiss we’d shared.
That Finn wanted more with me . This man wanted one thing: Every Day Is Sunday as Best Picture winner.
To think that Finn Lockhart, perfection personified, would muddy the waters between us and risk his Oscar winner was pure foolishness.
I needed to stop reading into every touch, every glance. And I definitely needed that throbbing pulse between my legs to get the memo. Finn and I were never going to happen. So I needed to stop wanting him.
Buzzzzz! Buzzzzz! Buzzzzz!
I bolted upright like I’d been shocked to attention, the sound of Finn’s phone breaking me out of my spiral.
And thank the Lord for that! I needed a distraction from this only-one-bed nightmare.
The jolt of adrenaline felt a lot like relief as I turned my thoughts back to what really mattered here: the arrival of the fabric.
“Is that about the delivery?” I croaked in the dark. The light flicked on, and I squinted at him. God, what a sight it was to stare down at sleep-mussed Finn, his pants low on his hips, his shirt riding up just enough to reveal swaths of the muscle I’d glimpsed that day in the costume warehouse.
“Hello?” Finn said, answering the call. He nodded and hummed. “Security has already been authorized to let you through. Get the package to the costume shop ASAP. We’ll be right there.”
He hung up, glancing at me, the shadow of stubble on his face making him even more handsome than usual. “Fabric is here. Guess that’s our cue.”
We scrambled out of bed and back into our clothes with minimal chat, managing to get checked out and over to the costume shop within ten minutes of Finn hanging up, which felt like some kind of Olympic record.
Walking in to find the correct bolt of fabric on the cutting table sent my heart soaring.
I got right to work, unraveling the material and laying out the pattern Trin and Paisley had helped me prepare.
“Here,” Finn said, handing me a piece of fruit and a granola bar from the kitchenette.
In the good light of the costume shop, he looked as exhausted as I felt, the dark circles under his eyes telling me he likely hadn’t slept either.
I didn’t know how either of us were going to get through this day.
I was already dreaming about the moment I got to climb into my comfy guest bed tonight. “I know once you get sucked in, you’re not going to think to eat anything for hours.”
“Thanks,” I said, touched by the gesture. I reached for the can of RevX on the cutting table to wash the granola bar down, but Finn snagged it before I could grab it.
“I will brew you a coffee,” he growled at me, walking away with my RevX. “If you have any more of this shit, your heart’s going to explode. ”
I couldn’t help the laugh that shot up my throat. It was ridiculous, and yet there I went, lusting over that grumpy, fabric-finding miracle-worker all over again.
No, this was worse than lust. I was feeling fond . And that was way more dangerous.
There was no time for second guessing or second fittings or second anything today. Shaw was needed on set at ten o’clock sharp, in costume, and Paisley, Trin, Carter, and I were still threading in the last stitches needed to hold the dress together at nine fifty-five.
“There!” Paisley announced, stepping away from the mannequin. “We’re done!”
Trin clasped her hands together, pressing them to her lips as she took a step back. “Thank God! I was about to have to stitch my eyelids open.”
I wanted to stand back, to take in the moment, to congratulate everyone on an insanely awesome job, but there was literally no time.
“Carter, grab the garment bag.”
He raced away.
“Paisley, Trin, help me get this thing down.” Together, we unzipped the dress from the mannequin, getting it into the garment bag.
I needed to get the dress to set yesterday.
Shaw had already been through hair and makeup, and X had already been to the shop three times in the last hour, breathing down my neck, only leaving when I’d sworn on my unborn children that the dress would be there on time.
“Go, go!” Paisley said, practically shoving the bag into my arms. “Go! ”
“I’m taking you all out for drinks tonight!
” I yelled over my shoulder as I raced from the room, linking up with the driver Finn had ordered to stand outside the costume shop until I was ready to go.
I got into his golf cart, which might as well have been a racecar given the way we zoomed across the lot to the set, skidding to a stop outside the studio door.
I hopped out of the golf cart, feeling a little windswept as I ran inside. “It’s here!” I cried the moment X turned my way. “It’s done.”
Shaw, who was nervously pacing next to a dapperly dressed Kaiden, lit up when she spotted me. I rushed over as the crew threw the pop-up changing room into place around us.
“You did it!” she said, amazed. “Thank God. Again, I’m so sorry, Sierra.”
“It’s all okay. Crisis averted,” I said as Shaw shrugged out of her robe. She looked at me with watery eyes. “No tears. Not for this scene.” She laughed a bit as I helped her into the dress, zipping and clipping before pushing her out onto the soundstage.
I stepped out of the changing room to watch the scene, folding my hands together in front of me.
Please, please, please look okay.
There’d been something freeing about not having a spare second to doubt myself before. But now that the dress was on camera for the world to see, my nerves threatened to strangle me.
My eyes danced over Shaw, in character as Evelyn, taking in the work the costume team had pulled off. The light underlayer made the fabric move a bit differently during the dance scene in a way that looked pretty amazing, actually, adding extra dimension.
Shaw was beautiful. And the dress was perfect. Or, at the very least, close enough that the casual viewer would never have the slightest idea there’d been a costume swap.
I sighed in relief.
We’d done it.
When X called cut, I felt like a dang superhero, glancing across the set to find Finn waiting in the wings. His expression was unreadable. I didn’t have long to wonder about his look though, because a moment later, my phone buzzed.
Meet me in my office , he’d written.
My stomach sank. I looked up again, but he’d disappeared. Oh, no . Was something wrong with the dress? Had X complained? But that couldn’t be it. The costume looked fabulous, and the scene had gone off without a hitch and without us having to delay production by even a minute.
I texted Paisley and asked her to come to set to take over as wardrobe assistant.
Once I’d handed over my duties, I made my way down to Finn’s office with my head held high.
I didn’t care if he was unhappy with the result.
We’d crushed this fix, and if he wanted to say otherwise, I was more than ready to put up a fight.
I refused to let him frame this as anything other than a win. I was buzzing with victory.
I knocked, slipping through the door as his voice echoed, telling me to come in.
“Sierra, you’re a goddamn miracle worker!” he said, taking me by surprise. He shook his head in disbelief. “I really don’t know how you pulled that off in a matter of hours.”
I laughed, a little uncertain myself. “With a whole lotta help and caffeine,” I said. “But don’t discredit yourself. Without you, there’d be no material. ”
He waved that off. “X texted me.”
“He thought it was okay?”
“More than okay.” He showed me his phone and the message from X. It read: And this is exactly why I told you to hire her.
Elation burst in my chest, and I just couldn’t hold back anymore. As far as I was concerned, Finn and I had just saved the friggin’ day.
I grabbed him by the lapels of his suit jacket and hauled him toward me, kissing him the way I’d wanted to last night, pouring all of my adrenaline-laced desire into the moment. If he rejected me after this, so be it. I was going to celebrate my win.
But Finn didn’t hesitate to return the kiss, immediately tossing his phone aside and threading his fingers into my hair, tugging my clip out. I pulled back, a little breathless.
He looked me in the eyes, his expression so intense I forgot to breathe. “Are you sure?” he growled, his words warm against my lower lip. “Once we do this, there’s no going back.”
“Yes,” I said, consequences be damned. I wanted him. Here. Now. “ Yes .”
And then he devoured my mouth hungrily, the two of us stumbling until the backs of my legs hit one of the armchairs.
Finn’s hands roamed beneath my shirt, searching out skin, and I let him. I was starving for that touch. Desperate. Needy. And I made that known, moaning into his mouth as his hands sank lower, cupping the heat between my thighs. It felt like a jolt of electricity.
“Sit down.”
I arched one eyebrow at the intensity of his voice. Was that an order?
“Now,” he said, and there was no mistaking his tone .
I sank down in the chair, my legs turning to jelly as I did.
Finn sank to the floor between my legs, and I helped him maneuver my pants off.
He ran kisses up my thighs, nipping at the bared skin, rubbing the scruff of his jaw against delicate flesh until he finally settled in the place I wanted him most.
“Oh, fuck,” I hissed under my breath as he started eating me out right there in his office. I worried momentarily about whether the door was locked, but that thought slipped away as I jerked against his face, my hands curling into the fabric on the arms of the chair.
His tongue flicked over my clit, driving me to the edge and back repeatedly. I needed more, moaning his name as I sank my hand into his hair. He lifted a finger, running it around my clit in circles before dipping lower.
His eyes flicked to mine, and I nodded wordlessly, aching for him. Finn slipped one finger inside me, then a second, and as he pumped them, he latched his lips onto my clit, sucking rhythmically. With a sudden groan, I came hard, my thoughts blacking out.
When I surfaced from the orgasm, all of Ro’s ridiculous fantasy scenarios raced through my mind. They all paled in comparison. I opened my eyes, finding Finn with his head against my thigh, smirking.
“Have you rejoined the land of the living?”
I grinned, tugging at him. He got to his feet and leaned down to kiss me. As he did, I reached out, palming his cock through his pants. His erection was hard, straining, and he groaned as I squeezed it. He stepped away long enough to rifle through his desk, returning with a condom.
“You keep condoms in your desk?” I asked.
“In my wallet,” he said .
That made me feel a little better. He pulled me to my feet and kissed me again.
Then he sat down and tugged me onto his lap.
His erection pressed against me, and I almost gasped at the size of him as he freed his cock from his pants, sliding on the condom.
I really shouldn’t have been surprised. Everything about Finn was perfect.
Once the condom was on, I placed my hands on his shoulders, grinding against him, my desire reigniting as I throbbed for him.
“What do you want?” he asked, one hand sliding beneath my shirt to squeeze my breast, the other dropping lower to tease my clit again.
“You…” I moaned, my eyes closing. “More of that.”
“Me how?” he asked, finding my nipple and pinching it between his fingers.
I sucked in a sharp breath. “Inside me, Finn. I want you to fuck me.”
“As you wish,” he growled, giving me a cheeky smile.
I almost rolled my eyes at him, but then he lined up and I sank down on him, ending all rational thought. I moaned as he filled me, the stretch intoxicating.
“Fuck,” he hissed, his eyes raking over me as I adjusted to him. I could feel his stare, and goosebumps prickled across my skin. His hands held my waist, tightening as he started to glide me up and down his cock.
“Do you know how often I’ve thought about this?” he growled. “How often I’ve thought about filling you like this?”
I groaned again at his words as he fucked up into me, making me feel so deliciously full.
“You’re perfect,” he said, nipping at my earlobe before latching onto my neck with his lips and sucking .
“Don’t leave marks,” I bit out, my head starting to spin with pleasure.
“I need to remind people whose fiancée you are,” he muttered against my neck.
Oh fuck . PR plan be damned. This man could do whatever he pleased as long as he kept making my head spin like that.
“That’s it,” he said as my movements grew uncoordinated. Jerky. “Take what you want, Sierra.”
Sparks of pleasure swirled somewhere deep, somewhere even Finn couldn’t reach, and suddenly they were shooting out of me, and I was trembling around him, my walls contracting so hard Finn groaned, thrusting up into me a few more times before growing still, latching onto my thighs as he came undone.
I slumped against him, my arms looped around his neck.
Holy fuck , I thought as we came back to our senses. Ro was never going to believe this.