by J Darcy
He took a moment to study her playful face—that delicious red tongue—and decided enough was enough. He’d probably regret it in the morning, but at that moment, he had one overwhelming urge—to make purple.
So, he did, pressing a petal soft kiss to her lips. For a few seconds—but what felt like eternity—he waited in agony, wondering if she’d kiss him with the same fervor or shove him away and declare that she’d never work with him again.
But to his delight—and relief—she kissed him back, one hand sliding into his hair, the other resting on his knee. It was a soft kiss, a slow entanglement of her plush lips against his, their tongues just barely getting involved. It was sugary sweet—both literally and figuratively—and Cade found himself losing control.
When he felt her tongue press hungrily against his, he knew he was a goner. Any logical portion of his brain had just short circuited. There was no going back.
He brought both his hands to her cheeks, cupping them delicately as he kissed her passionately—this time with the intensity he was used to. Closing his eyes, he allowed himself to savor the moment, focusing only on the soft skin under his hands and the push and pull of their tongues and lips. Behind his eyes were a kaleidoscope of colors, of the reds and blues and purples that they created and embodied—a teasing of the sugar still dancing on his tongue.
It was only when he felt her hands leave him that he had the mind to open his eyes—to figure out if this dream of his was ending far too soon. Instead, with hazy green eyes, Kellie smiled bashfully and tugged at the tiny zipper running down her side. When the pool of pink fabric dropped to the ground, she stepped out of the dress, standing before him in just a pair of white panties.
He couldn’t speak, let alone comprehend that she was standing in front of him, practically nude. His eyes dropped to her perfect chest, dusky pink nipples atop a pair of perky breasts, and further down her body, tracing across her flat stomach and the tiny tattoo of a heart that he noticed above her right hip. He simply had to stop before went crazy picturing what laid beneath the remaining scrap of white on her body.
“Kellie…” He began, his voice rumbling deep within his throat, “Are you…”
“Am I what?” She asked softly, interrupting him as she took a step forward, “Drunk? Crazy? Stupid?”
Cade cleared his throat. “I was going to say ‘sure’.”
She just smiled, her beautiful face making him dizzy. “Yes.”
Well, fuck him. He didn’t need to be told twice. He pressed a bruising kiss to her lips and began to frantically work at the buttons of his shirt. When a pair of soft hands joined the task, he nearly cried out to the lord above to thank him for such a perfect evening. With four hands at task, the shirt was quickly abandoned, followed by the expensive material of whatever designer pants he was wearing.
Then, he could finally feel the bliss of skin on skin. He tugged her into his arms and kissed her again, this time allowing his hands to explore. They traced up and down her bare back, her lush hips, her perfect ass, and up to fist in her wavy hair, all while he practically ate at her face. Kellie seemed just as excited, but her focus stayed on his chest, her nails gently scratching up and down each abdominal muscle that he spent hundreds of hours at the gym to painstakingly carve.
With expert movements, he had her in his arms and spread across the hotel bed in seconds flat. Before she could even reach for him again or make some delicious moan that would probably be etched into his memory forever, he had her tiny little white panties sliding down a set of long legs. When they fell to the ground, long forgotten, they were quickly joined by his black briefs.
It meant he was finally naked. Touching Kellie Allen.
Cade couldn’t waste this opportunity. So, he didn’t. He went to work, pressing hot kisses down a toned stomach and thighs, only stopping when he reached his first destination between her legs. She was so fucking warm and soft and pink and wet that he struggled to find words or to get himself to move when presented with such gorgeous imagery.
But when she made a little whine, one leg wrapping around his back to egg him forward, he knew to act. Starting with a soft kiss, he buried his face in the crux of her legs. That soft kiss turned into a frantic dance of his tongue, each flick and twist of the artificially blue organ setting Kellie into a fit of squeals and cries. He paid special attention to her clit, pressing one hard thumb against the little bud, playing with it until she sung like a songbird.
And as those cries danced around him, he pressed one long, thick finger into her, her heat so tight around him that he wondered how he was going to fit his cock inside her. Ever the one for challenges, he started to fuck into her with a finger—and then another—his tongue never slowing its form against her quivering core.
It only took a few moments before she was shaking beneath him, letting out a sweet cry as he continued to pump his fingers into her wet heat. He didn’t stop his ministrations as she rode through her orgasm, her lips parted in delight. Only when she stopped quivering and panting did he stop, instead kissing his way back up her body until their mouths met yet again.
Kellie pressed a kiss to his mouth and leaned back, her green eyes alit with mischief. She just watched him, a grin growing on her lips. “You’re good at that.”
He settled on his knees, his hands already moving to her hips. He was ready for what came next. “I’m good at a lot of things.”
She bit her lip. “Prove it.”
That was all he needed to hear. With another kiss to those luscious lips, he grabbed his cock and positioned it between her legs, letting the head of it dance across her sensitive skin. She cried out as her wet heat coated his member and toyed at her entrance, offering just a sneak peek of what was to come. He met her gaze, again seeking approval for what came next. When she offered a delicious smile and a soft nod, he pushed forward.
When he pictured that moment before—and he had, many times—he knew it would be incredible. He knew Kellie would make the most delicious sounds, that those emerald eyes would widen in surprise, that those plush pink lips would mash against his own…
But the real experience put his dreams to shame. As he rocked into her, his cock moving deeper into her willing body with every thrust, he held her wide gaze. Those beautiful eyes were a sight too—her pupils were so wide that he could barely see the green of her iris.
Apparently, she was just as hypnotized by their fucking as he was. He carefully drew one leg upwards, letting her dainty ankle rest on his shoulder, before speeding up his desperate thrusts into her perfect body. The squeals that echoed his movements made it all the better.
“Cade!” She cried, her head tossed back into the fluffy white pillow of the hotel bed, “Oh my god! Faster, please!”
He pressed a rough kiss to her lips and increased his pace, one hand sliding between her legs to prod at her heated skin, the other moving to grip the ankle pressed against his shoulder. When his lips moved down her cheeks and to her neck, he couldn’t help but pull away to survey the scene before him. With a crown of auburn hair circling her resting head, she looked like a fucking princess.
It was honestly too much for him to handle. Not when he had wanted her for so long. Not when she looked so fucking beautiful.
“You feel so fucking good, Kel,” He cried out, his thrusts speeding up as he relentlessly chased the high he was so close to hitting, “So fucking tight. So fucking good.”
He pressed his thumb into her clit, twisting it gently under his fingertip, as he picked up the pace. Every drag of his cock within her internal walls had him seeing stars.
But what sent him into full fucking ecstasy was the feeling of her walls constructing around him, her lithe body shaking below him.
“CADE!”
Her cries had him seeing black. Despite the unworldly orgasm, he didn’t stop his movements until it felt like all the oxygen had left the room. Only then did he press a kiss to her lips and fall beside her, his heart hammering in his chest.
; It wasn’t difficult to fall asleep.
◆◆◆
When he woke up what seemed like hours later, the soft sunlight of the early morning hours streaming through the hotel window, he knew he was in trouble. Gingerly sitting up, he glanced at the woman sprawled across the bed beside him, one leg strewn across his hip, her face resting angelically atop a plush white pillow.
He greedily took in his fill of smooth, very bare porcelain skin, and of messy auburn hair, and of the soft whimpers of sleep escaping her mouth with every breath she took. Kellie Allen was hands down the most beautiful woman he had seen—both inside and out—and it scared the ever living shit out of him.
Usually when he woke up beside a woman, his thoughts were consumed with either round two or getting rid of her. And while he most certainly wanted round two with Kellie, he was just as focused on what they’d have for breakfast, or what market they could visit in town, or if they could get lost on the tube together.
He was fucked.
So utterly fucked.
In a panic, he rose off the bed and began to collect his clothes, his heart hammering in his chest. What the fuck was he thinking? He was looking at the next two months away from her as a way to get over his childish little infatuation with her, and instead, he let himself indulge in sleeping with her. There was simply no way he’d be able to get her out of his head now.
Not when he knew what she looked like when she came.
Not when he knew what she sounded like when she cried out his name.
With shaky fingers he haphazardly buttoned up his shirt, followed by his wrinkled pants. He grabbed his jacket and his shoes and looked back to the bed, his eyes traveling over her delicious skin and peaceful face.
He was a fucking coward. Should he wake her up? Should they talk this through? What the fuck would he even say?
“I think you’re fucking stunning, but I don’t date and if I did it certainly wouldn’t be my co-star because things get messy so can we have sex again but then pretend this never happened”?
He didn’t know what to do next. So in typical Campbell fashion, he did what he did best, and ran without looking back.
Chapter 1
To most people, Cade was living the dream. The red-carpet premieres, the massive payouts, the fancy restaurants and five-star hotels and luxury sportscars and exotic vacations and—
“Cade!”
And they were more or less right. He did live a life that many wanted and few could have. But that didn’t mean he didn’t deal with some of the same bullshit that the average Joe did. His bosses sucked. His family was dysfunctional. He hated waking up early.
“Can you please come over here?”
Or, in the case of today, he was forced to attend shit he had no interest in. Like a luncheon for the Actors Guild of America, or AGA. In fact, he was a panelist. His agent had roped him into answering questions for high schoolers or college kids or foster dogs or something.
He wasn’t sure.
Apparently, he needed the good press.
“Why is it that Kellie can do what she’s told but you always have to put up a fight?”
Cade clenched his fists at the mention of Kellie’s name. He really couldn’t deal with the organizer of the event. She was pushy, she was loud, and apparently, had no knowledge of his fragile relationship with Kellie.
Kellie Allen was many things. An incredible actress. A celebrated philanthropist. His co-star for three separate movies. Stunningly beautiful.
But, perhaps most importantly, the only woman who had managed to infiltrate his heart.
Now, he hated her.
Or so he liked to believe he did.
He also liked to pretend he had nothing to do with their falling out, but that was the Campbell man specialty—never taking responsibility for your own actions.
“Fuck off, I’m coming!” Cade spat, strolling towards the luncheon organizer with a plastic water bottle crunching in his clenching hands, “I was doing shit.”
Which he was. Like calling his agent and complaining about how desperately he hated being forced to attend these events. Why should he sit in a room and be forced to answer questions about his life? Yeah, he was getting good press, but it didn’t make it worth it.
Not when he still had to sit next to Kellie’s frustratingly beautiful face.
Fuck, he hated her.
He stormed over to the panel table, ignoring the yapping from the organizer, and stopped by the stack of his headshots. He couldn’t help it. A pair of green eyes and auburn hair captivated his space. For a moment, it was like he couldn’t breathe.
“Hi Cade,” Kellie said, her sweet voice lingering in the air, “We meet again.” Her long lashes kissed her dimpled cheeks every time she blinked, and those bubblegum pink lips were proving to already be a worthy distraction. “I didn’t think you had it in you to show up.”
Ah, there was her snark. He loved to hated it.
Almost as much as he hated to love it.
With one more look at those bright green eyes and knowing smile, he knew he was absolutely fucked.
How could he possibly ever work with her again? Things were already tense enough as it was. About a month ago, they finished their press tour for A Fiery Heart, their third film together. It was an…unpleasant experience, to say the least. Kellie never wanted to interview with him. Or be photographed with him. Or even to be asked about him.
He couldn’t blame her. The press loved them together. The public already created a couple name for their imaginary relationship—Cadllie. Of course, the opinions of the press and the public were of no consequence. They were, in fact, very far from the truth.
Because neither knew that a year and a half ago, him and Kellie slept together. Neither knew that a year and a half ago, Cade was a coward and disappeared like a phantom at the rise of the morning sun. Neither knew that any friendship he and Kellie created before then was destroyed because Cade was unable to form words or apologize for his pathetic actions.
Now, Kellie rightfully hated him, and told him as much. She was very vocal about her dislike of everything he was, and very clearly told him that she wanted nothing to do with him. In fact, despite three movies under their belt—despite moving towards playing a couple at the same frequency as Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan or Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio, she had no interest in ever working with him again.
Which hurt him. A lot. A personal attack he could accept—he deserved it, in fact. But to lose the opportunity to work with someone as talented as her? Well, he’d kick himself forever.
But he knew it was probably best for her. Especially since the press seemed to think he was a neurotic alcoholic with anger problems.
They weren’t exactly wrong.
“I do what George and Madeline thinks is best.” He replied casually as he slid into the empty seat besides Kellie. “Both thought this was a good opportunity for me.”
He was being honest. Except it wasn’t really like he had a choice. When his agent, George, and his personal publicist Madeline put their heads together, Cade wasn’t one to argue. Both were very clear about what he needed to do to repair his image.
Especially since people were still cutting amateur footage of Cade arguing with some British teenager and turning it into memes.
Kellie just shook her head and looked towards the arriving crowd of people. He could tell she was tense. After working with her so long—and developing a friendship before he so expertly destroyed it—it was easy to see her tells. Like the way she’d play with the ends of her wavy, auburn hair, or nibble nervously on one of those perfectly plump lips. Apparently, Cade’s presence alone had her on edge, despite nearly a month away from each other.
Maybe it was a saving grace that with his training and filming for his new movie—he was playing a superhero in the most iconic franchise in the world, and George frequently reminded him of that—and Kellie going off for a short stint on Broadway, he probably wouldn’t see her again until award season st
arted. Of course, assuming A Fiery Heart was nominated for anything.
The press, the studio, and George seemed to think it would be.
As someone who tried not to care too much about anything, Cade ignored the attention. But as an actor constantly desperate for validation, the thought made him slightly sick.
“Cade Campbell, ever the opportunistic one,” Kellie muttered darkly, despite her sweet face still maintaining an air of happiness to anyone watching from the slowly-settling crowd, “It was silly of me to think you’d actually be here to get under-privileged youth excited about the arts.”
So that’s what the luncheon was for. He glanced at the arriving crowd, before looking back to Kellie. “All of these people look old.”
She rolled her eyes. “Yes, because the kids are touring the facilities and don’t arrive for another thirty minutes. We have a press Q&A first.” She sighed and crossed her arms, her once peaceful façade crumbling, “Honestly, do you ever pay attention to anything besides yourself?”
He clenched the flimsy water bottle in his hand. “That’s not fair. George roped me into this. My apologies for not having a press release and a timetable in front of me.”
When she didn’t respond, he took a deep breath and watched as the last members of the press seemed to trickle in, filling up only the first two rows of the event space that had been transformed for the luncheon. He took a moment to glance back at Kellie, allowing himself a few seconds of watching as she typed away on her phone.
He started filming his new movie in three months. The couple of months before then would be spent training and spending hundreds of hours learning different fighting techniques and chorography for the many action scenes in the film. But even with the knowledge of the intensity of his upcoming schedule, he still couldn’t wrap his head about not seeing Kellie every day.