Affinity: A Salvation Society Novel

by Harlow Layne

  Jenner let out a low groan that sent tingles through my body. “These are so fucking good. They’re so warm and . . . damn, I want these every day for the rest of my life. Do you think there’s a possibility you baked me some cookies the night we got married?”

  Why couldn’t he always be like this? I loved it when he was sweet and endearing. Too bad his asshole side won out more often than not.

  “I doubt it, but maybe I told you of my baking prowess, making you fall into lust with me.”

  “That must be it,” he said around a bite of cookie. Crumbs tumbled from his lips and onto the counter. “I’m not sure I’m going to be able to stop eating these until they’re gone.”

  “I probably shouldn’t mention there’s another batch in the oven, then should I?” It was a good thing he had a double oven. I had a feeling I was going to be baking quite a bit in my foreseeable future.

  He patted his rock-hard abs. “I’m definitely going to need to up my workouts.”

  I wasn’t going to complain if I got to see him come home a hot, sweaty mess to then dive into the pool. Or maybe I’d work up the nerve to take a peek at him while he was in the shower.

  Jenner moved closer to where I stood. A cocky smirk on his face. “Maybe you’d like to help me with my workouts and other things.” We both looked down at the bulge in his shorts at the same time. I guess I was correct on what other things he was talking about.

  Clearing my throat, I took a step back and then another and another until I was on the other side of the counter and couldn’t see how hard he was. “I know it might come as a shock to you, but I’m not one to have sex with someone until I know them. Our wedding night was a one-off.”

  He shoved the rest of his cookie in his mouth before he placed his palms on the counter and leaned toward me. “I don’t see what the problem is. We’re both attracted to each other.”

  “I need more than an attraction. I’m not going to lie and say I’m not attracted to you because I am.” Along with at least half the female population, but I wasn’t going to tell him that. He already knew. “But I need more, something I’m sure you’re not willing to give me.”

  Standing up, he crossed his arms over his chest, making every muscle bulge and ripple. “What do you need?”

  Here we go. Once he found out what it would take for me to have sex with him, he’d finally drop the subject and leave me alone.

  “A committed relationship.”

  “How much more committed do I need to be than saying I won’t have sex with anyone for the next year?”

  Okay, he did have a point, but that’s not all I wanted.

  “Yes, you’re correct, that’s a commitment. I should have made myself clearer. I need an emotional connection with the man I’m having sex with.” He started to open his mouth, so I interrupted him. “And no, hating someone doesn’t count.”

  I thought he’d laugh in my face. What I wasn’t expecting was for Jenner to turn in his spot and stalk out of the room. If I didn’t have an emotional connection with him, why did it hurt to watch him walk away without a word?

  Chapter Fourteen

  Jenner

  Abbi wanted an emotional connection to me, but I wasn’t sure I could give it to her. Since Poppy, I had carefully constructed walls around my heart to make sure I never got hurt again. Was it worth trying to break them down just to get my dick wet? What if I let her in and somehow developed feelings for her? I couldn’t risk spiraling again after our time was up.

  Because I knew if I let that beautiful brunette in, she’d wreck me. I was already drawn to her, unlike any woman I’d ever encountered. She was dangerous to me and my career, and yet I couldn’t stop thinking about her. It wasn’t just her banging body that she didn’t seem to know she had or the innocence that reflected back at me when I looked into her eyes. There was something else I couldn’t quite put my finger on. Something that had me leaving the room before I could figure it out and holing myself in my bedroom like I was a pre-pubescent boy. I wouldn’t let her continue affecting me the way she was, but I also didn’t know how to stop it either.

  A soft knock came to my door before I heard her timid voice. “Dinner is going to be done in about five minutes if you want to join me, or I can eat in my room.”

  Fuck, I was an asshole. Now she was trying to escape me. From what I knew, Sophie was her only friend in LA, and she’d lost her because of me. Not only that, but she hadn’t been able to start her new job or leave the house because of our mess.

  “Thanks,” I called out. “I’ll be out in a minute.” I could do this. I hadn’t always been an asshole, but I could barely remember my life before Poppy destroyed me.

  The second I opened my bedroom door, the aroma of the chicken parmesan and cookies she’d made had my stomach growling louder than it ever had and my heart picking up speed. Was I going to try and explain to her what was going on in my head? Even if I didn’t understand it myself? Maybe she could make me see what was happening.

  She’d set up all the food outside on the table, had light music playing, and somehow had twinkling lights turned on. How had I never noticed them before?

  We stayed silent as we piled food on our plates. The tang of tomatoes from the sauce combined with the melted cheese filled my senses.

  Was this what it was like to live a normal life? It felt good to have someone here after a shitty day like today. To have someone treat me like I mattered.

  After a few delicious bites, I got the nerve to speak what had been on my mind since I left the kitchen earlier. “Thank you for this. Every meal you make is better than the last. It makes me look forward to my next meal instead of having to figure out where I’m going to order from,” I swallowed the lump in my throat. “Abbi, I don’t know if I know how to be in a healthy relationship. It wasn’t until Poppy was out of my life that I realized how messed up our entire relationship was. I . . . if I try, I want you to know I’m going to mess up. Probably more than once.” More like over a thousand times, but that would only scare her off.

  “Are you saying all of this only because you want to be able to have sex during our arrangement?” She averted her eyes to land on anything that wasn’t me.

  It was strange how I didn’t like thinking of how our time together would end when at first, I had hated the idea of her infiltrating my life.

  “It’s not about sex. While I won’t deny how much I want you underneath my body writhing in pleasure, there’s something about you I can’t describe. It feels good to talk to you. To open up to you,” I confessed.

  Her eyes darted up to mine and widened with each word I spoke. “That . . . was surprising. You’re surprising, Jenner.” The small tip of her lips did something funny to the inside of my chest. “I like it when you talk to me, and you’re not an asshole.”

  “I like it when you’re not glaring at me and not being a bitch.”

  “Touché. Do you want to um . . .” She forked a bite of pasta and held it in front of her mouth.

  “Do I want what?” I encouraged.

  “Want to talk about what happened today at work? You seemed . . . it seemed like it upset you.”

  This would be the true test on whether or not I could open up to her. “I’m making it out to be a bigger deal than what it was.”

  “Hey,” she reached across the table and held my hand, “it’s a big deal to you. Maybe if you talk about whatever happened, it will make you feel better.”

  “We’d filmed one scene that took forever and took lunch while the next scene was being set up. I was called on-set, but I was a couple of minutes late getting back. When I got there, one of the crew members was standing on my mark as they adjusted the lighting. It all happened so fast. One second I was stepping up to where I was supposed to be, and the next,” I closed my eyes as the image flashed in my mind, “a light came loose and hit Jim, the man who was standing in my place. He was on the ground holding his arm while blood poured out of a head wound. He was rushed to the ER, and since
everyone was visibly shaken after watching it all happen, they sent us all home. Like I said, I’m probably making it a bigger deal than it should be.”

  After saying it out loud, I felt like such a pussy.

  “Oh my God, Jenner, you could have gotten hurt or worse.” Her hand gripped mine tighter. “You have the right to feel any way you want. I’d be shaken up if it had happened to me.”

  I loved that Abbi had stopped calling me Reeves. Every time she called me by my first name, it made me think of my father and the way he’d controlled my life since I was a toddler. If I ever had children, they were never getting into acting.

  “I’ve been on more sets than I can count, and nothing like that has ever happened. The odds of it ever happening again have to be zero.”

  “True, but I’m sure it was scary. And the thought that it could have happened to you is horrible. Did you send flowers or well wishes to the crew member?”

  Flowers? Who the hell did she think I was?

  “I don’t even know what hospital they took him too. I swear this set is cursed. One thing after another keeps happening, but only when I’m on set. Not one single bad thing happened while I’d been off and they shot without me.”

  “Maybe you were too much of an asshole to somebody, and now they’re trying to teach you a lesson.”

  I scoffed but humored her. “What kind of lesson?”

  “The one where you inquire about a fellow employee’s well-being after they get hurt. Especially when it could have been you that got injured instead.”

  Dear God, I had a feeling she wasn’t going to let this go.

  “Do you seriously think I have the contact info for everyone who works on a show with me?” If she did, Abbi was more naïve than I thought.

  She chewed on her bottom lip while moving her pasta around on her plate before her laser-like focus was trained on me. “I guess not, but you need to do something. After dinner, I’m going to contact Catherine and see if she can get me the info. I’ll send him a fruit basket or something to let him know we’re thinking about him. Maybe then karma will be on your side, and bad things will stop happening to you while on set.”

  If it made all the weird things stop, I was all for it.

  Abbi set down her fork and then proceeded to drain half her glass of water. “What else has happened to you on set?”

  Was she nervous on my behalf?

  “One time, I was supposed to go back to my trailer in between scenes to eat, but I ended up going to the craft service table for lunch. My phone was in my trailer, and I sent Levi to retrieve it for me. There was some oil at the base of the stairs leading up to the door, and he was on his phone, not paying attention. His feet slipped out from underneath him, causing him to hit his head on the metal stairs. He got a big gash on the side of his face.” I cringed just thinking about it. There had been blood everywhere.

  “Even though he was a bigger asshole than you, I can’t help but feel bad for him, and to think it could have been you.” A shudder ran through her body.

  Every incident that happened was supposed to be me, but I seemed to be in the right place at the right time, unlike the others. It was like I had someone looking out for me, while on the other hand, I had someone out to get me. Only today, after the light nearly took me out, did I connect it all.

  Was it all just a coincidence, or was someone out to hurt me?

  “Maybe it is a good idea to reach out to Jim and send him something. You’ll do that?”

  “Of course. Do you have to go back tomorrow?”

  I perked up at her question. Maybe she wanted to spend the rest of the night underneath me.

  “Unfortunately, but maybe you can come on set with me and make it more tolerable.”

  “I could do that as long as I have access to Wi-Fi so I can work when you’re busy. I’d love to see what happens on a set.” Her eyes lit up, and I loved seeing her excited about my work even if I wasn’t. I had to remember I was paying my dues for all my fuck ups and eventually I’d be back on a movie set for my next blockbuster.

  “Can I ask you a question?”

  “Hit me.”

  “When we were at the grocery store the other day, were you touching and kissing me because we were out in public or . . . ”

  “Abbi,” I frowned, “I don’t think you see how beautiful you truly are. I touched you then because I knew you would let me since it was part of the agreement. It was my one chance where I knew you wouldn’t push me away.”

  A small smile spread across her face at my answer. I helped her take our dishes into the kitchen and watched as she rinsed them.

  “What do you say we go skinny dipping and see where that leads?”

  Her face turned to stone. To lighten the moment, I waggled my eyebrows at her.

  Abbi let out a frustrated sigh. “Just because you said a few right words doesn’t make for an emotional connection. It takes time, but I understand if you don’t want to do the work. You never have before,” she murmured the last under her breath.

  “I don’t know how well I’ll do at trying to win your affection, but I’m willing to give it a shot.” I only hoped she wouldn’t play too hard to get. “How about tomorrow night, once we leave the set, we go out to dinner? I’ll even let you pick the place.”

  “You want me to go with you in the morning?” she squeaked.

  “Did you want to drive yourself? Deal with the paparazzi on your own?” I hated the thought of her driving around with those vultures following her every move. Another scandal needed to hit, so they’d forget about us and leave us to live our lives.

  “I didn’t think about that. Would you think less of me if I told you I hate driving in LA?”

  “You’re not the only one.”

  “And the thought of . . . I’m not looking forward to being out on the road with all those paps . . . I’ll probably run someone over.”

  There were times when I thought I might run over someone with a camera, and half the time, I thought they wanted me to so they could sue me. “That’s why you should come in with me tomorrow. When it’s time for you to go to work, if you’re still feeling unsure, I’ll hire a driver to take you anywhere you want to go if I can’t drive you.”

  Abbi stepped up to me with her hands on my chest. “That’s really sweet of you, but I can’t inconvenience you like that. The cost—”

  “The amount of money it takes for you to feel safe doesn’t matter. I have more money than I know what to do with.”

  “You, Reeves Jenner, are much better at wooing a woman than you give yourself credit for.” She patted my chest before taking a step back. “If you keep this up, you’ll have me . . . well, you get the picture.”

  She’d be eating out of the palm of my hand, or more like she’d have her pretty plump lips sliding up and down my cock.

  “It’s a picture I like. Very much so.”

  I took a step toward her, only for her to take two steps back.

  “What time do we have to leave in the morning?”

  “Luckily for you, it’s not an early day; we’ll leave at seven. No later.” We had to leave early; otherwise we’d hit the mother of all traffic, and it would take an insane amount of time to get to the set.

  “I can deal with that. I have some work to do before I head to bed, so I’ll see you in the morning.”

  Wait? What? I obviously hadn’t done that great of a job if she wanted to work and go to bed rather than be with me.

  “Do I at least get a kiss goodnight?” I was prepared for her rejection, so imagine my surprise when her lips quirked up, and she slowly moved toward me. Her hips swayed the few steps it took for her to walk to me. All wanted to do was grip her curves in my hands, pull her against me, and crash my mouth to hers.

  Leaning up, she placed her hands over my rapidly beating heart and kissed the corner of my mouth. She was retreating before I could turn my head, and I had a feeling that was her intention.

  Soon I’d have her mouth on mine.
<
br />   I headed back to my bedroom to relieve myself for the second time that day when I heard her call out a soft and breathy goodnight.

  “Goodnight, Abbi.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Abbi

  I fidgeted in the passenger seat of Jenner’s SUV. I was grateful he had chosen this vehicle to drive to work today. Being down low in his little sports car, I would have felt like the cameras were aimed right in my face, taking in my sleepy, disheveled form. No matter what I tried, I couldn’t fall asleep last night for the life of me. My mind played on repeat the feel of Jenner’s stubble beneath my lips. The bang of his heart against the tips of my fingers, and the dilation of his brown eyes when they’d zeroed in on my mouth.

  Keeping his gaze on the road, Jenner looked at me from the corner of his eye. “Are you nervous?”

  “Kind of, but not for the reason you think. It’s the cameras. I think once we get on set, I’ll be good, but I can’t make any promises.” I giggled nervously.

  I didn’t mention how hot and bothered I also was from thinking about how much I wanted to give into him last night and how wet I became as I played everything in a loop until the wee hours of the morning.

  “If you’re uncomfortable, you can hang out in my trailer, or we’ll figure some way to get you home. If I had an assistant, I’d have him drive you. Catherine called me last night . . . ” He glanced over at me quickly. “She thinks you’re a great influence on me. Did you tell her it was all my idea to see how Jim was doing?”

  Catherine had been surprised by the notion that Jenner wanted to see how his crew member was, and she was shocked when I told her about everything that had happened on set. I was going to keep my eye out for anyone giving off any bad vibes toward my husband.

  “No, but I may have played it up a little,” I admitted.

  “She thinks you’re good for me.”

  I liked hearing that.