Chapter 30 Easton
Easton
I memorize the expression of unadulterated happiness on Nova’s face as she looks up at me with awe and love.
“Easton,” she whispers, her voice filled with emotion. “Thank you for choosing to love me.”
I shake my head. “I didn’t have much of a choice. You walked back into my life and laid claim to my heart with your shy smiles and selfless nature. Loving you is the easiest thing I’ve ever done in my life. It feels natural and right, like you’ve always belonged with me.”
“Always and forever.” She says the words Rachel loved to use.
Lifting herself onto her tiptoes, she kisses me tenderly before pulling back to stare into my eyes again.
“You’ve owned my heart since I was fourteen, and it will only beat for you until the day I die.
I’ve never loved another man. It’s only ever been you. ”
Hearing that she’s only loved me and not the other bastards she dated fills me with great satisfaction.
“The selfish asshole in me likes hearing that,” I admit. I let out a sigh as I step back. “Let’s head out before Amy comes looking for me again.”
“Amy?”
“The set manager.” My eyes glide over Nova, and I struggle to keep the anger from flaring up inside me because some fucker hurt her right in front of me. I take a calming breath, then ask, “Are you ready to meet everyone?”
When she nods, I hold out my hand to her, and the moment she places her palm in mine, I link our fingers together.
Opening the door, we barely have time to step out of my trailer before Amy hurries closer.
With an apologetic smile on her face, she holds out her hand to my girlfriend.
“Hi, Nova. I’m Amy, the set manager. I’m so sorry about what happened.
I can assure you the problem has been dealt with. Again, please accept my apology.”
As Nova shakes her hand, she says, “I’m totally okay. Please don’t worry. I should apologize for keeping you all out of work.”
“We were due to take a break. Can I get you anything to drink or eat?”
Nova shakes her head, then glances up at me. “I dropped your smoothie.”
“Don’t worry about that. I already had it cleaned up,” Amy replies. “Should I have them prepare a smoothie for you, Easton?”
“No, I’m good,” I decline the offer. “Let’s introduce Nova to everyone.”
Keeping a tight hold of her hand, I pull her toward the set where everyone is working to prepare things for the next scene.
Sean, who’s playing the main villain, notices us first. Even though most of the roles he acts in are bad guys, he’s a jokester at heart, and everyone loves working with him.
He’s actually the closest thing I have to a friend and a total work addict like me.
“Holy shit, Easton wasn’t lying,” he shouts for all to hear as he saunters toward us. “Hot damn.” He gives Nova a cocky grin before winking at her. “When you grow tired of Easton, I’m available.”
When it looks like he’s going in for a hug, there’s an instant surge of possessiveness in my chest. Like a fucking caveman, I let go of Nova’s hand, and wrapping my arm around her shoulders, I yank her into my side. Giving Sean a look of warning, I mutter, “No hugging.”
He lets out a bark of laughter. “Okay.”
I gesture at him. “This is Sean Russell.”
“Hi,” Nova says, her tone filled with nervousness. “It’s so nice to meet you.”
“The pleasure is all mine,” he replies while giving her his signature smirk that usually has women falling all over themselves for him.
Jealousy surges through my body, making me tighten my hold on Nova.
Steering her away from Sean, I spend the next hour introducing her to everyone.
She slowly relaxes and even jokes with a few of my costars.
When it’s time to get back to work, Robert, our producer, has her sit beside him while Amy hands her an iced latte.
Seeing the happy smile on Nova’s face eases the tension in my body left over from the incident earlier.
I walk to the safety team and wait patiently while they connect a harness to me. Checking all the clips, I make sure they’re secure before giving the team a thumbs-up.
My body is hauled into the air, and when I reach the roof, I climb onto it and jog to the side where I have to start running from.
Sean’s waiting down below to join the scene.
“Ready?” Martin, the new director, asks via the loudspeaker.
I give him a thumbs-up and roll my shoulders as I set my face in a grim expression.
“Action!”
I lunge forward and run to the marker before leaping off the roof. My heart pounds in my chest as I grab hold of the fire escape railing on the side of the other building before swinging my body over the steel rail and jumping down the flight of stairs.
“Motherfucker,” Sean shouts, and when he opens fire on me with blanks, I pretend to dodge live rounds while jumping to the ground and rolling behind a trash can.
“Cut!” Martin shouts. “Sean, we need more rage in your voice. Easton, let’s take it from where you’re about to jump down the stairs.”
I brush dust from my pants before I grab hold of the ladder to climb back up. While I get ready, I glance at Nova, and seeing the look of awe on her face has my chest filling with pride.
I’ll never get enough of her looking at me like that.
We go through the scene again, and when Martin gives the thumbs-up, I walk to a table to grab a bottle of water.
“Easton, Sylvia’s on the line for you,” Amy says, bringing my phone, which she usually holds while I’m filming.
“Thanks.” I take the device and say, “Hey. What’s up?”
“I’m calling to let you know a date has been set for the convention. I think it will be a good time to announce your relationship with Nova.”
“When?”
“The last Saturday of the month. I’ll email you all the details.”
I think for a few seconds, then reply, “Okay. It gives us two to three weeks.”
“Enjoy them.” She lets out a chuckle. “Once everyone finds out about you and Nova, it’s going to unleash a shitstorm of attention.”
“I know,” I sigh. “Talk to you later.”
Ending the call, I hand the device back to Amy and head to where Nova is sitting. Crouching beside her chair, I say, “Sylvia just let me know that we’re announcing our relationship at the convention to promote The Eradicator. You’ll need to be there.”
Her eyes widen. “What will be expected of me?”
“They’ll take a few photos of us, but I’ll answer all the questions so you don’t have to.”
“Okay.” She rubs her hands together before fisting them on her lap. “I might have a nervous breakdown before they get to take the first photo.”
Shaking my head, I lock eyes with her. “You’re going to be fine because I’ll be there with you.”
She nods and lets out a deep breath. “I have a few weeks to prepare.” When she gets up, I rise to my full height. “I’m going to pick up Lainey from school.”
“Give her a hug from me,” I say before I press a kiss to her mouth. “I’ll be home around ten.”
“I’ll miss you until then.”
I watch as she walks away, and only when she’s out of my sight do I turn my attention back to work.
Nova
Holding the smoothie Easton texted me to bring, I walk to where they’re filming.
After spending some time with Lainey this afternoon, I decided to bring Easton a smoothie and a plate of the delicious pot roast Frances made for dinner.
If he’s going to work late, I’m going to make sure he at least has something nice to eat.
This time, nothing goes wrong, and when I reach the set manager, I say, “Hi, Amy. I don’t want to bother Easton. I just brought him something to eat.”
“Hey, Nova. They have one scene to shoot, then Easton will be with you. Take a seat over there.”
I sit down in the chair and rest the Tupperware on my lap. I see Easton where he’s standing with Milla Hamilton, who’s not much older than Lainey. They’re both in makeup, looking like they’ve been through a war, with their clothes ripped and soot covering their arms and faces.
In the movie, Easton’s character has to protect Milla from the villain who wants her dead because she knows something she shouldn’t.
“Ready?” the director calls out.
When Easton and Milla nod, Amy shouts, “Silence on set.”
I watch as Easton closes his eyes for a few seconds before he picks up Milla. He stares at her face as she goes limp in his arms.
“Action!”
Easton takes a few stumbling steps forward, and when intense sadness and shock wash over his features, I hold my breath. He drops to his knees, gripping Milla tightly to him, then he lets out a harrowing shout, “No!”
The raw sound in his voice sends goose bumps over my skin, and I lift a hand to cover my mouth.
“No,” he cries, and it sounds so real my heart beats faster. “Don’t die on me. Don’t you dare leave me.”
When he breaks down and tears leave tracks through the dirt on his face, I begin to get worried because this time, it doesn’t feel like he’s acting.
I stand up, gripping the smoothie and Tupperware tightly while I watch Easton let out a shuddering breath before whispering, “Open your eyes, Bella.”
“Cut!” the director shouts. “Perfect!”
Easton helps Milla back onto her feet before turning around and walking away. Not wasting a second, I rush after him as he stalks toward his trailer.
I follow him inside and quickly pull the door shut before setting his smoothie and Tupperware down on the counter. He walks to the middle of the sitting area, and keeping his back to me, I hear him suck in a sharp breath.
Coming up behind him, I whisper, “Easton?”
Suddenly, he spins around and grabs me to him, and then my heart breaks all over again when he lets out a broken cry.
I hold him as tight as I can to me, brushing my hand over his back. “I’ve got you. Shh, I’m here.”
It takes a few minutes before he’s able to regain control over his emotions, but even after he calms down, he still clings to me.
“Better?” I murmur.
He nods, then admits, “I thought of Rachel to make the scene as realistic as possible.”
“Oh, Easton.” I keep rubbing my hand over his back and press a kiss to his hair and neck. “I could feel it.”
“I’m so fucking glad you’re here,” he whispers before taking a deep breath.
I keep holding him as long as he needs me to, then he mutters, “That take better be perfect because I’m not doing it again.”
“The director said it’s perfect, so you don’t have to worry.” When I pull a little back and see the tear tracks on his face, I ask, “Can I clean your face, or do you have to keep the makeup on?”
“You can remove it.”
After he takes a seat at the dressing table, I grab a pack of facial wipes and carefully clean his skin.
“Why did you come back?”
“I brought you a smoothie and dinner,” I explain while focusing on getting all the makeup off.
He stares at me for a few minutes, then whispers, “You’re so good to me.”
My lips curve up. “Yeah?”
He lifts his hand, and wrapping his fingers around the back of my neck, he tugs my face closer to his. “Yeah.” He presses his mouth to mine and kisses me with so much passion I swear my toes curl.
Easton doesn’t break the kiss as he stands up. As we make our way to the back of the trailer, where a double bed is located, we strip off our clothes.
Needing him as much as he needs me, I push him to sit down on the edge of the bed before I climb onto his lap. Not wasting time with foreplay, I take his thick, hard length inside me, and we both groan in unison.
“So fucking good.” His tone is rough with satisfaction.
Grabbing hold of my hips, he thrusts up every time I push down on him, and together, we set a wild pace. With my arms wrapped around his neck, I kiss him while relishing in the incredible feel of him moving deep inside me.
I get to comfort him.
I get to pleasure him.
I get to love him.
God, my life is becoming something straight out of a fairy tale.