Touching the Billionaire (Bad Boy Desires Book 1)

by Holly Jaymes

  “Your plan seems to be working,” Corrine said, coming to stand next to me.

  “Plan?”

  “The one where you’re charming and attentive so you can keep her on her toes and all that sexual chemistry will keep crackling between you two and onto the film.”

  Oh yeah, I forgot about that. Of course, that wasn’t what I was doing. But I didn’t need the director to know that all my reactions were authentic. “Well, I’m glad it’s working.”

  “You can thank me now if you want,” she said with a smirk on her face.

  “For what?” I asked.

  “For hiring her. For knowing that she’d be perfect.”

  I supposed she had a point. Madeline was bringing everything I wanted and maybe even more to the role of Nicolette Vane. This movie felt like the most important thing in the world to me right now, and so the fact that she was doing such a good job did alleviate some of the stress I had over the project. “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  Shooting in the morning went well. Fortunately, we decided to do the more rigorous activities earlier in the day to beat the heat and humidity that was growing in early summer. When we broke for lunch, I went to take care of a few business details for the production company, and then went and found a caterer to grab some food. There were tables set up for us to eat but Madeline wasn’t sitting at any of them.

  I scanned the parklike area and saw her sitting alone on a tarp near a tree eating her lunch. Perhaps she wanted a moment to herself to prepare for the next scene, which meant that maybe I should have just left her in her solitude. But of course, I was compelled to go sit with her.

  As I sat down, I had a moment to wonder if I was being too forward again, like when I nearly grabbed her ass or kissed her after the director yelled cut. Maybe I should’ve asked her if I could join her before I sat down.

  So, I decided to do it as an afterthought. “Mind if I join you?"

  “There's plenty of room.”

  Then I wondered if maybe I should apologize for continuing the kiss yesterday after Corrine said “cut”. The woman was making me crazy, second-guessing myself and my actions.

  “You know, movies like this really do an injustice for women,” she said, balling up her sandwich wrapper.

  I frowned, wondering what kind of complaint she was going to lodge now about misogyny in the movie. Before, I was irked when she’d complain. Now I was sort of amused. “Really, how's that?”

  “For one, when I’m doing all the running, I’m not really wearing those high-heeled boots. I switch to sneakers. Women get the idea that running in heels is a thing.”

  “Your body double is a woman and can run in them,” I pointed out. “We don’t want you to break an ankle because you’re the star of the show.”

  She smirked at me. “Well, she also does an injustice to women. It can’t be comfortable to run like that. And of course she’s a trained stuntwoman, so she would know how to do it. If the average woman tried it, she’d probably break her neck.”

  “Perhaps that’s why they call it the magic of movies.” I leaned to the side, nudging her shoulder as I popped the last bit of my sandwich in my mouth.

  “It’s not much better for men. Only a little bit better but not much,” she said.

  “How so?”

  “Well, I don’t know how you come out at the end of the scenes looking so wrinkle-free and clean. Any other man could have their shirttails out, sweat stains in the pits, and their hair out of place.”

  I laughed. “You’re right.”

  “See, that’s the problem, because men want to be you. Handsome, strong, suave, never getting dirty or wrinkled, and of course, women want to have you.”

  I bit my lip to keep from asking if she was one of those women.

  “Then of course, women want to be like me, or at least like Nicolette. Glamorous, sophisticated, worldly, strong, intelligent, put together”

  “Beautiful?” I asked.

  She looked away, but not before I noticed a pink hue to her cheeks. The lovely Miss Fox was blushing. I considered calling her out on it, but then decided that was exactly the kind of thing a douchey guy would do, and I was improving my ways, so I kept my mouth shut.

  We finished our lunch and were chatting amicably, when Corrine showed up, telling us it was time to get back to work. Madeline rose from the tarp and headed down back to makeup and hair to get ready to start shooting again.

  “You know to be careful with all that, right?” Corrine said.

  “What are you talking about?”

  “Theo Wolfe, I don’t think you know the power of your appeal. You don’t want to get into a situation in which she thinks your interest is real, since all this is just an act to get a performance out of her.”

  I stared at Corrine, wanting to correct her. I wasn’t trying to use some sort of super charm to get a performance out of Madeline. Everything that I was doing was genuine and authentic. On the other hand, she was right; authentic or not, I couldn’t have Madeline thinking that my attention was more than being friendly on set.

  Still, I hadn’t seen Madeline show any indication that she was attracted to me, at least not anything that wasn’t supposed to be Nicolette. The only times she looked at me like maybe there was something there, we were in the scene together. Sure, she blushed when I suggested she was beautiful, but that was a natural response, wasn’t it?

  “We’re just being friendly on set. I don’t see any indication that she is at risk of falling for my charms.”

  Corrine rolled her eyes. “As strong and independent as Madeline is, no one, not even her is immune to you, Wolfe.”

  There was a time in my life I would’ve responded to that with some sort of cocky, arrogant, comeback, such as I was indeed God’s gift to women. It was maturity or maybe just being tired of being a cocky and arrogant asshole that I didn’t respond at all.

  We filmed another two scenes on location and then we took a break, and Madeline was done for the day, so she left the set. I had a little bit more work to do and by the time I left the set, it was close to seven in the evening. I was looking forward to getting home and making dinner, reading my lines for the next day, and going to bed.

  As I exited the car to head into my building, it occurred to me that Madeline had it right when she said it was nice to have limited-time projects like a movie because when in the middle of it, it was all-consuming. Get up early, work all day, come home, eat, prepare for the next day and then go to bed. There was only a finite time one could do that without losing it.

  Not that I was complaining. As careers went, none were any better than being an actor. And now that I had my own production company, the things that had always irked me about the business could be reduced. I could choose the projects I wanted to do. I could decide if I was going to act or produce the movie. I could even direct.

  I entered my building and noted that the elevator doors were open, so I hurried in, and then stopped up short when I saw Madeline pressing the button for the eighth floor.

  She startled for a moment when she saw me, but then she smiled. “Twenty?”

  “Yes, please.” I stood in the opposite corner, resting my hands on the handrails. She’d changed into a flowy summer dress and strappy sandals that allowed me to see her toes painted in a pink hue. My insides started heating up all over again. What the hell was wrong with me? How was it that pink-colored toenails were doing it for me?

  She stepped back into the opposite corner, leaning against the wall. She looked me up and down and I took a moment to see what I was wearing. How ridiculous was that? I was concerned that I didn’t look as good as her. I wore a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. Not as nice as that pretty dress but didn't women like men in jeans and a t-shirt?

  “Are you just getting in?” she asked.

  “Yes.” I gave a nod to her new look for the evening. “You look like you’ve been out doing something important.” I had a thought that perhaps she’d been on a
date and that didn’t sit very well in my gut.

  “I had dinner with my sister. She has to work late so we went to a place near where she works.”

  “You know, I don't think I’ve ever seen or met your sister.”

  “Actually, she’s not here very often. She leaves early in the morning to go to work and gets back late at night. She says she’s working late, but I have this weird feeling she’s having an affair with someone at the office.”

  At least someone’s getting some, I thought. Or some-two.

  “How are you feeling about the work so far?” I asked, although not sure why. This elevator ride wasn’t long enough to have an in-depth conversation about work. But if I was talking to her or listening to her, I wasn’t thinking about fucking her against the elevator wall.

  “I was really nervous to come back at first, but I’m really enjoying it. I’m sure you think I'm a pain in the ass though.”

  “Nah, not really..”

  She arched a brow like she didn’t believe me.

  “I did at first but now I recognize that you have valuable input. I always appreciate it when a director takes in my ideas and at least considers them. I know Corrine is open to your input..”

  She smiled wide and full. I realized that it was the first time I’d seen her smile like that. It was unguarded and free. Watching her, something in my chest shifted.

  “I’m glad. Based on how we got off on the wrong foot, and my constantly pushing, I was concerned that maybe you didn't think so. Maybe you thought I was difficult to work with.”

  I shook my head. “Getting off on the wrong foot was mostly my doing. Which I feel bad about and I’m trying really hard to behave.” I gave her a sheepish grin.

  “Is it hard for you to behave?” She gave me a knowing smile.

  Was she flirting with me? Or was that a real question? The fact that I couldn’t tell meant there was something about her that made my brain go haywire.

  “I suppose it is. But mostly it’s that I tend to act on instinct before I think, and only afterward, upon reflection, do I think maybe that was the wrong thing to do. Like continuing that kiss after Corrine called ‘cut’.”

  “Well, I didn’t think you overstepped at that point. To be honest, I was kind of irked that she was stopping there. It seemed like we had good chemistry going at the time.” She looked down for a moment. “I was really nervous about it because as I told you, I’ve never kissed on screen before, and I wanted to make sure that I got it right.”

  In my head, I had all kinds of cocky comebacks, but I held my tongue, although I couldn’t hold back the snicker that I had at my own nutty thoughts.

  “What?”

  I waved my hand and shook my head. “It’s nothing, it’s me trying to keep and control my baser, immature urges.”

  “Baser urges?”

  Oh crap, did she want to know what I was thinking? Should I tell her? I decided instead to reassure her. “It went fine. I saw the dailies and we pulled off exactly what we needed to do.”

  “Oh, good.” She gnawed a little bit on her lower lip and it was so fucking sexy. “All of them?”

  “All of them. Even at first when I stole that kiss.” Thinking of that kiss, hell, of all the kisses, I desperately wanted to know what a real kiss from Madeline, not Nicolette, would be like. Danger, danger rang through my head as I slid from the corner to the middle of the elevator next to her. I had only a few floors left to find out what kissing Madeline Fox was really like.

  The Real Theo

  Madeline

  It had been a long time since I’d run into Theo in the elevator. In fact, I hadn’t run into him since the night he showed up at my place with a bottle of wine and I was sure he was vetting me for the role again. For a time after that, I wished I would run into him and then I’d chastise myself for hoping for that. I needed to be careful about how much I enjoyed spending time with him and talking to him. Yes, he could be a little bit arrogant and annoying, but he was also sweet and I appreciated how patient he was with me as I re-acclimated to the atmosphere on a set and how he was willing to help me and even listen to my ideas.

  I was reminded of it today when he came to sit with me for lunch. I supposed, in some ways, going off and sitting by myself made it seem like I was the new kid on the block who had no friends. But in truth, I wanted to sit and enjoy the park and have a moment to collect myself as we got ready for the next part of the day’s filming.

  As a kid on a set, it always felt a little bit like a playground. Acting was fun, a game. Now as an adult on the set, I was enjoying myself and enjoying the work, but I was also immensely aware of how much pressure Theo put on himself for this movie to go well, which in turn put additional pressure on me. Not only did I need to make this work for me, but also, I needed to live up to his expectations.

  In many ways, the chemistry between us made working together easier. In other ways, it was harder. Not all actors who had great chemistry wanted to take it off-screen. I was certain that Theo wasn’t interested in me like that outside of work. In all those intense scenes with snap, crackle, and pop between us, he was acting just like I was, except my reaction to him had nothing to do with acting and everything to do with my body responding to the sexy Theo Wolfe bantering with me and kissing me.

  Today, at least, there wasn’t any kissing or intense sensual situations. Mostly there was arguing and running. But that didn’t mean there wasn’t an intensity in being around Theo Wolfe. And so, I was taking a moment eating by myself to gather my wits about me again.

  When he showed up and sat with me though, I wasn’t about to send him away. As it turned out, our conversation was light and fun, and it took my mind away from the work so I didn’t get overly stressed out about it. As a result, the work we did that afternoon went fairly smoothly.

  I finished before him and headed home to shower and change, and then I met my sister for dinner at a restaurant near her office. Like any other woman, she was very much interested in knowing about Theo Wolfe. Was he nice? Was he as handsome up close and personal? Was his charm real or just something for show? Yes, yes and yes.

  I asked her about her work and what was keeping her late so many nights. She was vague and while I knew she couldn’t give me details of her law clients, I couldn’t get past the idea that she wasn’t really working. I was dying to know what lawyer she was spending her evenings with at the office.

  After dinner, I went to a little wine bar and read through my lines for the next day. I wasn’t with Theo tomorrow, which was probably good. I needed my hormones to settle down before we shot the sex scene. Just thinking about it sent a sizzle through my blood.

  When I finished my wine, I headed back to the condo building. Theo surprised me when he rushed into the elevator just as the doors were about to close. When I realized it was him though, I was pleasantly surprised. We were in a place now where we could be friendly to each other. I was certain he was happy with my work and so I wasn’t worried about keeping my job, and that made talking with them all the more pleasant.

  He leaned against the corner of the elevator, crossing his ankles and his hands holding the rails, showing off strong tan forearms. I was sure I wasn’t the only woman in the world who thought a man in well-worn jeans and a t-shirt pulled tight across a broad, chiseled chest was the epitome of a hot-blooded male. It was a reminder that Theo looked good in everything he wore. And he wore jeans and a t-shirt very well.

  As we got to talking and the kissing scene came up, I got self-conscious about it. I was dying to know how it looked on film. And at the same time, I was worried that everyone would see it and know that I was swooning over Theo Wolfe and not acting as Nicolette Vane being kissed by Jack Cole.

  He stepped closer, leaning against the wall next to me as he told me that all the takes of the kissing scenes had gone well, at least that was what I thought he said because his nearness made my nerves go haywire.

  I really should have accepted what he said, but of course,
my low self-confidence got away from me and I asked, “I suppose, though, it’s not as good as some of the other women you’ve kissed in a movie. You and Jolene White really heated up the screen in the movie you did with her.”

  “Did we?” he said with a shrug.

  “You know you did. It was the talk of the tabloids. I think everyone had you and Jolene heating up the sheets, getting married, having a few kids…” It was weird how much I didn’t like the idea of him and Jolene White getting married and having kids. It wasn’t just a little normal female jealousy that another woman could get for a catch like Theo Wolfe. It was a full-blown I hated that idea.

  “It wasn’t like that with Jolene and me. We had chemistry, yes, but there was nothing beyond that. I think she was seeing Tate Mason at the time.”

  “So, you’re saying you’ve never been with your leading ladies? All the tabloids are liars?”

  “They’re not always liars.”

  I looked down, watching the toe of my sandal draw an imaginary line in front of me because I was unable to look at him as I asked my next question. “So sometimes you took all that chemistry off-screen too?”

  “On one or two occasions.” He shifted his body, so now he was facing me, leaning his shoulder against the wall of the elevator. “I haven’t wanted to do that in a while, and then I kissed you.”

  My head snapped up to look at him, wondering if he was saying what I thought he was saying.

  “I know what it’s like to kiss Nicolette Vane. But I’m dying to know what it would be like to kiss Madeline Fox.”

  It took me a moment to find my voice. A part of me wondered if maybe I’d gone to bed and I was dreaming this. After all, I was having all kinds of erotic dreams about Theo Wolfe since the first day I met him.

  I sucked in a breath, and then said, “Funny, I’ve been wondering what it would be like to kiss Theo Wolfe.”

  That sexy, cocky smile spread on his face, and I hoped to hell it meant what I thought it meant.