“Is that so?” I raise a brow at him, my lips fighting a smile.
“Yeah. Save water. I do care about the environment, you know. I’m not just a hot face and body.”
I can’t help it; laughter sputters out of me.
“You are priceless!” I climb off his lap. I hold a hand out to him. “Come on then, Mr. Environmentally Friendly. Let’s go save the planet and shower together.”
“I still prefer Makes Me Wet West, just so you know.”
“Jerk.” I laugh as he gets to his feet, taking hold of my hand.
The sheet slips away, and I’m treated to a view of naked Vaughn again.
Nice.
We walk to the bathroom, hand in hand. I let go to turn on the shower to warm it up, as this shower takes ages to get hot.
Realizing that Vaughn doesn’t have a toothbrush, I offer him mine. “You wanna use my toothbrush? I don’t have cooties.”
He smiles and takes it from me. “Thanks.” He rinses it under the faucet and puts some toothpaste on before he starts brushing his teeth.
Vaughn West is using my toothbrush. He has my toothbrush in his mouth. And he’s had that mouth elsewhere, too. On some pretty awesome places, doing epic things with his tongue.
I know I sound like a teenage fangirl, but it’s hard not to have those what-the-fuck moments every now and then.
“Pins, you’re staring, and you have a weird look on your face.”
“What?” I come to, realizing that I’ve actually been staring at him in the mirror while he’s been brushing his teeth.
“Sorry,” I mutter.
He chuckles softly.
I grab one of my hair ties off the bathroom counter and tie my hair up into a messy bun. I peel off Vaughn’s sweater and hang it on the hook on the back of the door. Then, I grab my shower cap and put it on because it’s not hair-wash day today.
I test the shower with my hand to see if it’s ready.
Perfect temperature.
I climb in, getting under the spray.
“Um…what the fuck is that?”
“What?” I turn to him getting in behind me.
I move to the side to give him space under the water.
“This.” He tugs on my shower cap.
“It’s a shower cap,” I say slowly. “My hair doesn’t need washing, so I use this to keep it dry.”
And then I realize that I’m in the shower with Vaughn West, and I have a fucking shower cap on my head.
God, I’m so lame.
“Yeah, Pins, I got that it was a shower cap, but is it supposed to be”—he peers closer—“a crown?”
I die a little inside.
“Uh…yeah. It’s my Queen of the Shower cap,” I mutter quietly.
Why did I tell him that? God, I’m a fucking moron.
I blame Nick. He bought it for me.
“It’s, uh…pretty.”
He’s fighting laughter. I can see it in the tightness of his eyes and the pinch of his mouth.
Bastard.
He picks up my shower gel and flips up the cap. “So, can you get King of the Shower caps, too?”
“Ugh.” I roll my eyes and take the shower gel from him.
“What? I’m being serious. I was thinking we could get matching ones.”
“You’re such an asshole.” I shove him.
“Aw, Pins! I’m just playing.” He catches my chin with his hand. “You’re pretty…and sexy and hot. So hot.”
His eyes darken, and his breathing changes. So has my own.
“Even with the shower cap crown?”
He grazes his teeth over his lower lip. “Even with the shower cap crown. No one but you could pull it off.”
“Now, I know you’re taking the piss.” I pull my face from his hand.
“I’m serious. You look hot as fuck.” His hands grab my waist, and he yanks me closer, my stomach pressing to his hips.
Oh. He’s hard.
“Yeah”—his eyes glitter down at me—“this is all you. You could wear a trash bag, and I’d be hard for you. I’ve been hard since the day I met you.”
Oh, wow.
I turn him on even when I’m wearing a ridiculous shower cap. Go me!
“So, now that you’ve made me hard with your sexy shower cap crown, I think it’s only fair you service your King, Princess.”
“Queen. Get it right. And I don’t see you wearing a crown. Real royalty outranks Hollywood royalty. So, get down on your knees, King of Hollywood.” I smirk, totally teasing him.
His tongue sweeps over his bottom lip, his eyes flaring with something hot and dirty, making my thighs clench.
“As you wish, my Queen.” Then, he drops to his knees, lifts my leg, hooks it over his shoulder, and puts his mouth on me.
“God,” I moan, dropping the shower gel, my hands going straight to his head.
“King, baby, and don’t you forget it. And, if you’re a really good girl, after I make you come with my mouth, I’ll let you sit on my throne.” He flashes me a grin and then puts his mouth back on me.
Cocky bastard.
But he can be because he’s that good.
And the King of Hollywood spends the next thirty minutes making me come with his mouth and then fucking me from behind like I’m a whore, but the whole time, he still manages to make me feel like a queen.
Chapter 16
Vaughn
I watch Charly as she brushes her hair in front of the mirror above the dresser. I love the colors in her hair. So different. So her.
She’s wearing this white sweater that stops halfway down her thighs. I think it’s supposed to be a dress. But the killer is the boots…black and over the knees…destined to be wrapped around my waist.
God, she’s so fucking sexy. I want her again already, and I only just had her.
She finishes up with brushing her hair and puts the brush in her bag. “Right. I’m ready.” She turns to me, swinging her bag over her shoulder, the ton of bangles on her wrist clanging together. “Do you want me to leave first? Or you?”
My brows draw together. “Um, neither. We’re going together. I texted Aiden. He’s on his way to pick us up and take us to the studio. Alex is bringing me some fresh clothes from the hotel, so I’ll get changed when we get there.”
“Um”—her eyes practically bug out of her head—“Aiden knows where you’ve been? And Alex, too?”
“Yeah.” I give an easy laugh. “How do you think I got here last night? And how do you think I knew which room you were in? Aiden brought me, told me your room number. And of course Alex knows where I am. He’s my PA.”
“I thought you didn’t want people knowing about this.” She gestures a hand between us.
“I don’t,” I say softly, still feeling like a monumental dick that I’m hiding her like I’m ashamed of her when it couldn’t be further from the truth. “But they’re my inner circle, Pins. They work for me. I can’t not tell them where I am. And I trust them. They’ve both been with me for years.”
“Okay,” she says easily. “But I can’t drive in with you.”
“Why not?” I frown.
She rubs her forehead with her fingers and pins me with a look. “Because nothing says we’re fucking like your driver bringing me to the set.”
Okay, she makes a good point.
“How do you normally get to the set?” I ask.
“I walk.”
“You walk?” I say, aghast, not feeling particularly great about that.
“Yeah, I was born with those amazing things called legs. I use them every day to get there.”
“Funny. You could get mugged, Pins.”
“It’s broad daylight, West. And it’s only two blocks away.”
“It’s Hollywood.”
“Yeah, the land of dreams.” She gives me jazz hands.
I laugh. It’s impossible not to laugh at her.
“You’re crazy. And I think you mean, the land of opportunists. Just because it’s Hollywood doesn’t mea
n it’s glamorous, Pins. West Hollywood has the highest crime rate in the nation. Rape, murder, robbery.” I tick off on my fingers.
“Okay, Mr. Statistics, take it easy.” She holds her hands up. “I live in New York. I do know how to take care of myself.”
“I don’t care. You’re not walking around here alone again. And, hang on, you live in New York?” I didn’t know that, which is weird, considering I spent most of last night and this morning inside her.
“I do.”
“City girl, huh?” I grin, liking the idea for some reason.
“What’s with the grin?” she asks, suspiciously eyeing me.
“Nothing.” I shrug, still smiling as I walk toward her. “You living in the city is just kinda hot, is all.”
“Seriously? I’m starting to think that you find most things hot.”
Reaching her, I slide my hands around her tiny waist. “When it comes to you, that’s true.”
I kiss her glossy pink lips. They taste like strawberries.
When I pull back, her eyes are all soft—just like I like her.
“So, where’s home for you?” she asks me, fingers curling into the collar of my sweater, which now smells like her. I also like that a lot.
“Oregon.”
“Oregon?”
“Yeah. Why do you look so surprised?”
“I just figured all you celebs lived in the Hills. So, why Oregon?”
“Because that’s where my house is.”
“Funny.” She lightly jabs me in the arm.
“Hey! Careful with the merchandise. This makes me my living.” I gesture to my body, playing with her.
She rolls her eyes, and I just have to kiss her again.
“Oregon is home. I grew up there,” I tell her.
“Sounds nice.” She smiles.
“It is. So, what was it like, growing up in New York?”
Her eyes change, hardening, and her body tenses in my arms. “I didn’t grow up in New York. I moved there when I was eighteen.”
“Okay. So, where is home?”
“New York is home.” She looks past me. “But I grew up in Philadelphia.”
Okay…
So, I’m taking it, home wasn’t the best place for her.
And that pisses me off, making my gut tighten.
“Is your family still back in Philly?” I ask carefully.
She shakes her head. “I was raised by my grandma, and she died when I was thirteen. I went into foster care. My foster parents weren’t bad people, but they didn’t give a shit either. They were just in it for the money. They had a bunch of us kids living with them. So, when I turned eighteen, I was out of there. I applied to an art college in New York; it was where I had always wanted to go. I got accepted and moved there. Then, I met Nick.”
She smiles fondly, and jealousy lances through me.
“Nick?”
“He’s my best friend,” she says. “He’s my family. We have an apartment together.”
“Okay, so not to sound like a jerk…but Nick…have you and he ever…”
She laughs. “No. For one, I’m not his type. You are.”
Ah.
“And, even if he were straight…I don’t see him like that. He’s like my brother.”
“Good.” I move my hands to her ass and squeeze, pressing a kiss to the tip of her nose. “So, what about your parents?” I ask.
Then, I wish I hadn’t because she freezes in my arms.
I lean back, looking her in the face.
“My mother died when I was two. She was murdered…by my father.”
“Jesus, Charly.”
She shrugs her shoulders like it doesn’t hurt her, but I can tell it does. Of course it would.
“Shit happens, right? And it’s not like I remember her. Or my father. He’s still in prison. He will be for the rest of his life. After my mother died, I went to live with my grandma. She was the only living relative I had. She did her best, but she was old. I think it was hard for her, seeing me every day. I look a lot like my mother. She never hurt me. I was always well cared for, but she wasn’t exactly the loving type.”
I wrap my arms around her, hugging her, and she stiffens, but then she slowly relaxes in my arms, her arms sliding around my back, holding on to me.
I can’t even imagine what her life has been like. My family is amazing. I grew up knowing I was loved. There wasn’t a day my mom and dad didn’t tell me that I was loved with either words or actions.
My cell starts to ring in my back pocket.
I sigh. Loosening an arm from around her, I slip it out and glance at the screen. It’s Aiden.
Charly steps away from me. I frown. I don’t want her going anywhere.
“Yeah?” I answer.
“I’m outside,” Aiden says.
“Okay. I’ll be down in a few.” I hang up and slide the phone back in my pocket.
She’s standing over on the other side of the room, her butt resting against the dresser, fingers curled around the edge of it.
“Aiden’s here,” I tell her.
“Okay. We should probably leave separately.”
I don’t see the point, but I don’t argue.
“So, I’ll see you later?”
“Yeah.” She smiles, but it doesn’t quite reach her eyes.
I don’t like this. I don’t like her like this. Distant.
She’s only a few feet away, but right now, she looks like she’s thousands of miles from me.
I feel like a dick. And I really don’t want to leave with her feeling like this.
I shouldn’t have probed about her family. It’s not like me to be so fucking nosy, but I guess I just wanted to know her.
And, now that I do know a little, it’s made me want to know more.
Knowing how hard her life has been makes me want to take care of her.
It’s not a feeling I’ve ever known with a woman, especially not one I’ve known for such a short space of time, but it’s there.
I walk over to her. I take her face in my hands and kiss her.
Her body goes lax against me, and she opens up her mouth for me, moaning softly.
Forcing myself to break away, I press a kiss to the tip of her nose.
Crossing the room, I pick up my ball cap and pull it onto my head.
Hand on the door handle, I look back at her. “Don’t make any plans for tonight that don’t include me, Pins, because you’ll definitely be seeing me later.” I wink, and then I disappear out the door.
Chapter 17
Charly
“Drinks tonight?”
“What?” I look up from the shirt I’m sewing, my thoughts not actually on what I’m doing but on something else.
Someone else.
Vaughn.
I can’t seem to get the man off my mind…and what he did to me last night and this morning…
“I said, drinks tonight?” Ava repeats, cutting into my sex thoughts. “You, me, and Logan. I thought we could go to that new bar on Sunset Boulevard.”
“Oh, I can’t. I already have plans.”
“Don’t make any plans for tonight that don’t include me, Pins, because you’ll definitely be seeing me later.”
I get shivers, just thinking about his departing words. And I do really want to see him. And it’s not like I can exactly bring Vaughn along for drinks. Surefire way to blow our cover.
Blow.
I want to giggle.
I’m such a pervert.
I’ll just have to make it another night for drinks with them. Tomorrow night.
“Ooh, what are you up to?” she asks before I can suggest tomorrow night.
Looking at her, I see a gleam in her eyes, and I instantly know what she’s thinking.
She thinks I have a date. And she’s not far off. I do have a date, a sex date with Vaughn. And I can’t freaking wait.
“Oh, I, er…” Think, Charly. “I said I’d call Nick. Then, I was going to wash my hair.”
Tha
t’s the best you could come up with?
I give myself a mental slap.
She laughs. “So, call Nick early. Then, wash your hair, get dressed up, and come out with us.” She rests her elbows on the table, her chin in her hands. “I’m not taking no for an answer, Charly. You need to go out and have some fun.”
From the look in her eyes, I know she means she needs to have some fun, and then it makes me wonder what that jackass Jeremy has done to upset her this time.
And I know I can’t say no. I’ll have to put Vaughn off.
My vagina cries out in protest.
Sorry, girl. Hos before bros.
“Count me in,” I say.
She smiles big.
And I feel good that I’ve made her happy…even if my vagina is in pain right now.
“You want a coffee?” she asks.
“Homemade or Starbucks?” There’s one just across the street from the studio. And Ava’s coffee is like mud.
“Starbucks.”
“Then, yes.”
She sticks her tongue out at me, and I laugh.
“Can you grab me a sandwich as well?”
It’s way past lunchtime, and I haven’t eaten anything. I reach for my bag, but she waves me off.
“It’s on me. What do you want?”
“Anything with turkey in it and a caramel latte.”
“Turkey. Caramel. Got it. I’ll be ten.” She waves and disappears out the door.
My phone chimes, so I grab it out of my bag, expecting it to be Nick. We’ve been texting all morning about you-know-who.
When I check the screen, Vaughn’s name is lighting it up.
Butterflies swoop in my stomach, and I feel like a giddy schoolgirl with a crush.
I guess I am, except I’m no schoolgirl.
I swipe the screen, opening the message.
Vaughn: I was serious about tonight. I need to see you.
Need. And the butterflies go mental. Then, they drop at the remembrance that I can’t see him tonight.
Me: I can’t do tonight. Ava has corralled me into going for drinks with her and Logan. I think she’s feeling a little down. I couldn’t say no. Sorry. I’ll make it up to you.
I press Send and set my cell on the table, waiting for his reply.
It comes immediately. I pick my phone back up.
Vaughn: Unacceptable, Pins. My cock desperately needs your attention.
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