by Holly Jaymes
“Well then,” he said as he stepped closer in front of me, his hands holding the railing on either side of me as he leaned in. “Let’s find out, shall we?”
Almost as soon as Theo’s lips came down on mine, the elevator bell dinged, the car came to a stop, and the doors slid open. I was about to curse my luck, but Theo gripped my hips, holding me tight, and it was clear he didn’t intend to heed the bell. Instead, he turned me and walked me out the door, his lips still sliding along mine, creating the most delicious sensations.
With our lips fused together, he began to walk me to my door, but apparently it was a little too awkward and cumbersome because he wrapped his arms around me, lifted and carried me step by step, his lips sliding and gliding until they parted, and his tongue slipped into mine. I wrapped my arms around his neck, holding on as his kiss heated every neuron in my body.
I’d been kissed before but never like this and it wasn’t just because he was carrying me and kissing me as he brought me to my door. Theo’s lips were soft against mine and yet at the same time were firm as he sought what he wanted. His tongue was also soft and hot as it tangled against mine, making me moan with sweet pleasure.
When he reached my door, we bumped into it with a small oomph but our lips held. He lowered me to the floor, and his hands slid around just above my backside as he slanted his mouth and took the kiss even deeper. A low rumbling growl sounded in his chest.
I wanted to tell him that it would be okay if he wanted to grab my ass now. But my mouth was too busy drinking him in. Finally, by slow degrees, he turned the heat down until finally he lifted his head and stepped back.
I wanted to open my door and invite him and at the same time I knew that it wasn’t a wise move. After all, I didn’t want it to appear that I had slept with him to get my job. So it was best not to take things any further.
I looked up at him, my breath heaving in and out. His breath was harsh as well, and he stared at me with a mixture of frustration and confusion.
“I should probably get back to the elevator and up to my floor,” he said, jerking his thumb toward the elevator as he took a step back.
My heart fell. “That bad, huh?”
“Not at all. It was fucking awesome.” He let out another harsh breath. “But if I’m standing this close to you when you open that door, odds are good that I’m going to push you in and want to take this to the next level. As much as I really want to do that, it’s not a good idea.”
At least we were in agreement about that. I nodded. “Yes. I’d hate for it to get out, then everybody would think that I slept with you to get the job. It’s important to me that I get work on my own merits, and not because of my parents and certainly not by sleeping with somebody.”
He nodded his understanding. “I’m making a real effort to change my reputation. It’s important to me that people don’t think I’m just a Lothario always fucking his leading ladies. Of all my leading ladies, you’re going to be the hardest one to walk away from.”
I couldn’t stop the smile widening from ear to ear from his words. They certainly did my ego good.
“So I’m going to head up to my place and take a cold shower.” He gave me one of his lopsided grins that made him look charming and endearing all at once.
“I think I might have to do that as well.”
“You think? I’m not alone in feeling like I’m about to spontaneously combust?”
I could feel the heat of a blush on my cheek. “I know I will.”
The truth was that I’d probably get into my tub, and replay this whole moment in my mind and then imagine what would’ve happened if I opened the door and he did just as he said, push me in and take it to the next step.
“I guess I’ll see you on set in a couple of days," he said, taking another step back.
“See you in a couple of days.”
Taking a couple more steps back, he said, “Unless of course, I run into you in the elevator again.”
I grinned at the idea. “Unless we see each other in the elevator again.”
“I sure wish I started kissing you down on the first floor,” he said.
I laughed. “Me too.”
Bad Ideas
Theo
Kissing Madeline seemed like a good idea at the time. And while now I knew I was wrong about that, it was hard to regret it. I wasn’t sure if it was because it had been some time since I kissed a woman or something about her, but that kiss rocked my world. It was just my luck that when I finally got the cue that it was okay to kiss her, the elevator arrived at her floor. Undaunted, I kept my lips fused to hers and guided her out and down toward her condo. It felt a little bit desperate and clumsy, but once my lips touched hers, I wasn’t stopping for anything, not even the elevator bell.
But once I arrived at her door, and it was clear that I wanted much more than just a kiss, I knew I had to break away. It was nearly impossible to do because she felt divine in my arms. The swells of her breasts against my chest were driving me mad with a desire to pull her dress down so I could touch and suck them. My dick was so hard and elongated, it was a wonder it wasn’t peering out of the top of my waistband.
I’d allowed myself this one kiss, but I absolutely couldn’t take it any further. So, mustering every bit of strength I had, I tore away from her. I hated that my action caused her to question the quality of that kiss, because in truth, that kiss was spectacular. Thankfully I was able to find the right words to explain the situation. Even better, she seemed to agree, and shared her own concerns. I hadn’t even considered how a fling could look for her. It was a reminder that I still had work to do in improving my relations with women.
When I finally reached the elevator and pressed the button for the twentieth floor, I had a moment to rethink how wrong kissing her was. I had thought that having just one kiss would be enough to satisfy my curiosity. I hadn’t anticipated that kissing her would make me want to kiss her more. How was I going to face her and not have the overwhelming desire to kiss her again?
I reached my apartment and made a beeline straight to the shower, shedding my clothes along the way. I’d told her I was going to take a cold shower, but I was pretty sure that wouldn't work. So I turned the water on hot and then, stepping in the stall, I took matters into my own hands, literally. Compared to the last time I jacked off to her, I had more to work with as I conjured her up in my imagination. I had the taste of her lips and the wet warmth of her mouth. I had the feel of her tits against my chest, her nipples hard as they pressed against me. There was the feel of her arms wrapped around me, holding onto me as desperately as I was holding onto her. Armed with all that, it didn’t take long for me to release all the pent-up sexual tension.
Once out of the shower, I tossed on lounge pants and a t-shirt and padded out to my kitchen to make myself something for dinner. I opted for something quick; a basic pasta with some oil and herbs, a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese. As I ate, I went over the script and then opened my laptop to deal with business. My goal was to distract myself from the memory of kissing Madeline, but it was no easy feat. Especially as I went through the script and could picture her each time I read the lines from her character.
At ten, I headed to bed, and again, my dreams were filled with images of Madeline, which meant the next morning I did an encore production of taking care of the raging woody she left me with.
I was off the filming schedule for the day and so I headed down to my production company office to see how the staff were doing. I spent the first part of the morning going through reports from the various departments. Mid-morning, I met with my development team to see what projects they might have come up with while I’d been busy shooting the film.
“How do you feel about vampires?” Lauren Biggs, the assistant to Blaine Maxwell who was my head of development, asked.
“Are they the rip-your-neck-out kind of vampires or the sparkly kind of vampires?” I asked, taking a seat at the conference room table.
Lauren shrugged an
d tossed the script aside. “It’s somewhere in between. I’m not sure it’s unique enough.”
“We have a lot of space monsters, a couple romcoms, a spy thriller and one suspense,” Blaine said, sitting across from me as he went through the pile of possible projects.
“Do any of them look promising? Something that is unique and interesting, not cheesy or hokey?” I asked.
“A couple of them have potential.” Blaine looked over at Lauren, who nodded in agreement. “Even the vampire one could work.”
I rolled my eyes. “I’m not sure I want to go down that path.”
“I’ve been reading this book that is sort of an alternative history, dystopian type thing that I think might work,” Lauren said. She pulled the book from her bag and slid it over to me.
I picked it up, looking at the cover. “This is for me to read?”
“Well, I haven’t quite finished it yet, but so far it’s pretty good and I’ve already made inquiries to find out who the author’s agent is.”
“Can you arrange to get me another copy and I will take some time to read it,” I said, sliding the book back to her.
“Sure thing,” Lauren replied. “So, how’s filming going? We’ve seen some of the dailies," She fanned her face. “Whew, you and Madeline Fox have some serious chemistry going on.”
“Who would have thought that spunky little Maddie Fox would turn out to be so hot?” Blaine quipped.
I frowned, not liking the idea that Blaine was ogling Madeline. “How did you see those?”
“We are part of the production company, Theo, so we know a few people who know a few people and we were able to arrange to see a few of the dailies,” Blain said with a shrug.
“Aside from thinking Madeline Fox is hot, what do you think so far? Does it seem to be coming together?”
“Yeah, it looks pretty good. All we’ve seen is raw footage, but it looks pretty good. I figure you’ll have a hit out coming out of the gate on your first production,” Blaine said.
“You know, like you, I wasn’t sure if Maddie Fox could pull it off, but Blaine’s right, she looks hot and she really seems to embody the character of Nicolette Vane. She’s giving Jack Cole a run for his money,” Lauren observed.
Nicolette Vane wasn't the only one giving me a run for my money.
Over the next few days, my filming schedule didn’t involve Madeline. We had multiple crews and so while she was working in one location, I was off working in another. Or I was here at the company offices dealing with business. Somehow, Madeline and I also managed to not run into each other in the elevator or anywhere. Initially, I kept anticipating, even hoping that I would, but as time went on, I recognized that maybe it was for the best that we didn’t. Not seeing her would give me time to come down from that phenomenal kiss.
A week later, when I was reviewing our schedule, I noted that the sex scene was coming up the following week. Remembering that Madeline hadn’t had any experience in filming that type of thing, I wondered if maybe we should talk over how we’d perform it. Not that she wouldn’t be able to do it because I knew from the kissing scene that she absolutely knew what to do. But she also had admitted to being worried about the kissing scene. And that day in the elevator when I kissed her, she’d shown some vulnerability and concern that perhaps it hadn’t come through on film.
This particular sex scene was going to be fairly graphic for the R rating it would receive. While there would’'t be any nudity, there certainly would be a lot sensual, erotic elements. And it was a fairly long scene that would take some time to film because it covered a variety of locations starting against the door until finally ending in a bed.
The next day, I headed down to the location where Madeline would be filming a scene with her Interpol team. I stood out of sight and watched as she worked with the other cast and crew, doing a scene where her team was challenging her on her commitment to catching Jack Cole. By this time in the movie, things between Jack and Nicolette were heating up, and she was beginning to recognize that he wasn’t just a thrill thief, but that he was in some ways like a Robin Hood. But instead of stealing from the rich and giving to the poor, he was stealing from people who had goods that were stolen from other people, seventy-five to one hundred years before.
As I watched her, I could see that she had raw talent. I wondered if that was something that came naturally to her or something that she learned from her parents who were both great actors in their own rights. In some ways she and I were alike. I was trying to forge a new path, one in which I’d have more respect and control in the industry. She was also forging a new path coming back in, not as the spunky kid she was, but as an adult, wanting to take on serious adult roles. We both were highly invested in the success of this movie. Not that the others involved in the project weren’t invested, but Madeline and I had a whole lot more to gain or lose depending on the success of it.
When the crew broke for lunch, I stepped out from the shadows, greeting the staff and crew, and then I motioned to Madeline that I wanted to talk to her. She looked a little surprised to see me and then concerned when I waved her over.
Wanting to make sure she wasn’t worried that I was going to fire her, I said, “I just wanted to talk to you about some upcoming scenes.”
“Are there changes?”
“No.” I guided her to an area away from the location they were filming so we could talk in private. “The intimate scene between Nicolette and Jack is coming up soon.”
She swallowed and had a look like maybe she felt nauseous, which affirmed my idea that we needed to talk about it in advance.
“It’s a long scene with a lot going on and I was thinking that maybe we should get together and talk it through a little bit.”
“Talk it through?”
All of a sudden, I was concerned that she thought I was implying that we should actually play it out. Like I was using it as a ploy to get her in the sack.
I held my hands up in surrender to let her know that my suggestion was completely innocent. “I was just thinking you had some concerns about the kissing scene, and so thought that perhaps if we sat down together and talked through the sex scene and came up with some ideas on how it would play out, you might feel more confident and comfortable.”
She nodded. “Actually, it might be nice. To be honest, I am a little bit nervous about it.”
“If you’d like, you can come up to my place. We can have some dinner and go through the script to block out how it will work.”
Corrine probably had her own ideas, but having done a few love scenes, I felt confident we’d come up with ideas that she’d be okay with. Hopefully, just talking through it and how it would work would be enough to settle Madeline’s nerves, so if Corrine did change something, it wouldn’t be a big deal.
“You cook?”
I hadn’t been expecting that question. “I’m no gourmet but I do all right in the kitchen.”
“That’s good, because I can’t cook at all.”
“Can I assume you live on crackers and cheese then?” I asked.
She laughed. “That and takeout.”
“Well, not only will we get the scene blocked out, but you’ll have a home-cooked meal.”
“A win-win,” she said with a smile.
Once again, the radiance of her smile made my brain hiccup. I had a moment to wonder if inviting her up to my place was a bad idea. Especially since we were going to be going over some very intimate and erotic details of the scene. But I couldn’t back out now so I’d have to be on my best behavior. “So, see you sometime tonight?”
She nodded. “I can be there around seven, seven-fifteen.”
“I’ll see you then.” I left the location and immediately began to wonder what I should cook for her. A wave of nerves slid up my spine, which was unsettling. It was just a business dinner. And yet, I had a growing need to make sure it went well to impress her. Perhaps instead of worrying about what we should eat, I needed to focus more on how to control these
crazy urges and feelings I had when I was around her.
Rehearsal
Madeline
Seeing Theo on the set threw me for a loop. The insecure part of me automatically thought maybe something was wrong with my work. In fact, he seemed to have that same effect on the cast and crew when they realized he was there. They all stood a little straighter, their behavior becoming a little bit more stilted and professional than the relaxed atmosphere that we had prior to his arriving.
If he noticed, he didn’t say anything. He was friendly as he greeted everyone, but then ushered me to a private area and invited me to dinner. Well, not to dinner like on a date. It was a working dinner. I appreciated that he was concerned about my comfort and confidence in doing the upcoming sex scene for the film. Even so, I was sure it was going to be awkward to sit over dinner with him and talk about the logistics of a sex scene. I wondered how detailed he would get. Would he walk me through each hand placement? A tingle ran through my body as I imagined his hands on me.
After he left, it took me a few minutes to get my bearings straight again. Fortunately, we were having a lunch break so I was able to distract myself with lunch and talking with my coworkers. Then it was back on the set, completing the filming schedule for the day.
When we were finished, I headed back to the condo. As I stepped into the elevator, I wished I told them I’d be there at seven-thirty or eight. I would’ve liked to have time to go home and get cleaned up. I was back in my civilian clothes, but since I left home at four-thirty that morning, I’d just pulled on a pair of jeans, a loose-fitting peasant top, and a pair of flats. I’d washed off my makeup before I left the studio, but I still had my hair up in a ponytail as my character generally wore when she was working. As I rode up to the twentieth floor, I had to remind myself that this wasn’t a date and it didn’t matter what I looked like.
When I got to Theo’s condo door, I took a breath and knocked. He answered the door wearing jeans and a t-shirt. In some ways I was relieved. At least I wasn’t underdressed.