One Wild Ride: A Hollywood Chronicles Novel

by Jackson, A. L.

  “I love you,” I whisper into Elle’s ear before pressing another kiss to her cheek.

  “I love you too, Kas.”

  And in a matter of minutes, my life has fallen back together, and I couldn’t be happier. This last week has been nothing short of one wild ride, but it’s a ride I’d take over and over as long as I have Elle by my side.

  Epilogue

  “You are so goddamned sexy.” The warm voice slipped over me from the side.

  A shiver raced down my spine, and I pulled my attention from staring out the window to the man who was sitting beside me.

  “Me? Sexy? I hope you looked in the mirror before we left today.”

  Or turned on the television.

  Or scrolled through Facebook.

  Or maybe glanced at one of the huge billboards that littered the city we’d just passed through.

  Oh, wait, and then there was the bus with his gorgeous face plastered all over the side of it that we’d just passed.

  God, the man was the hottest thing I’d ever seen.

  And he was mine.

  One of those big hands came out to cup my face. “Do you want to know what makes me feel sexy?” He was brushing his thumb along my cheek, and I pretty much lost my train of thought.

  “What’s that?” I barely got out the breathy whisper.

  He leaned in closer, Kas stealing the breath from my lungs when he ran his lips along my jaw. “You . . . standing at my side. That I get to stand at yours. Makes me feel like a fucking king.”

  Desire rushed me, and I had the urge to climb onto his lap. So I did. His big body under me as I wrapped my arms around his neck and he wrapped his arms around my waist.

  I leaned in, kissing him hard. I wanted to strip him right out of this tux.

  Yep, I’d totally forgotten where we were, so much so that when the back door of the limo suddenly swung open I was disoriented.

  Lights flashed and people screamed.

  Right.

  Right.

  We’d come to a stop on Hollywood Boulevard in front of the theater.

  At Kas’s big debut premiere.

  The man the star of my father’s latest movie.

  Oops.

  Embarrassed, I pulled back and chewed at my bottom lip while the people crowded behind the ropes on the red carpet cheered and shouted and begged for Kas, desperate to get a glimpse of the man who I couldn’t look away from.

  Kas cracked a wicked grin, holding me tight on my sides. “As much as I like you on my lap, I think we have an audience.”

  I couldn’t stop the smile from spreading on my face. “I think you always have an audience.”

  He leaned forward and nuzzled his face in my neck, his voice a rough murmur. “Good thing I only have eyes for you.”

  I hummed. Body and soul. “And I’ll always be your biggest fan.”

  “Is that so?”

  “Mm-hmm.”

  “Well, we’d better get to it then.”

  Almost reluctantly, I crawled off his lap, swiveling around and accepting the hand of the driver who was waiting to help me out.

  I was wearing a dress that was to die for. Sapphire blue, shimmery and short, a puff of fabric coming off the back to make a train. It made me feel like a queen.

  Oh, but the look wasn’t even close to being complete without the man who ducked out of the back of the car and pushed to standing at my side.

  The crowd went wild, screams and shouts. You could feel the energy radiating off Kas when he gave me his elbow, as I hooked my arm under it and tucked myself up tight against his gorgeous body.

  He owned that red carpet, so perfect where he stopped to chat with reporters, answering questions, posing for pictures.

  “It’s about time you got here.” I whirled around, the biggest smile hitting my face when I saw my best friend Kaylee standing next to her man, the woman both shy and stunning in her red dress. “I thought you were going to ditch me again,” she teased.

  “Never.”

  She lifted a brow, a clear Really? written on her expression.

  I laughed. “Oh, come on Kay-Kay, you totally owe me for that wild night you shared with Paxton. Who knows where you would be right now if I hadn’t.”

  Who knew where I would be.

  It was funny how life worked.

  How a simple accident had started a chain of events that had change our lives.

  Paxton and Kaylee’s.

  Kas’s and mine.

  Sometimes it only took one moment to change everything.

  An arm looped around my waist from behind as Kas finished answering questions for another reporter who had stopped him. He kissed the back of my neck. Chills flashed. Kas grinned at Kaylee from over my shoulder. “What are you two over here whispering about?”

  I glanced up at him. “I was just thinking about the night I met you. It was the same night she met Paxton.”

  A warm chuckle radiated from his chest. “You mean ran me over.”

  “It was only a tiny bump,” I defended with a teasing smile, which he returned.

  “You broke my leg.”

  “What? I wasn’t worth it?” It was all a soft prodding, that feeling inside my chest so full as I sparred with my man.

  He tightened his hold. “I’d gladly break every bone in my body if it meant I got to be with you.”

  Soft laughter fell from my tongue. “I think one broken bone is enough. The last thing I need to do is listen to you whine.”

  “Hey,” he said, all feigned offense and needy hands.

  More camera flashes went off.

  Yeah, we weren’t exactly two who played coy for the camera.

  But this was the life.

  People knew who we were. We were always under their scrutiny. Their judgment. A part of the news.

  But none of that mattered to us. We were just living for us. Not caring what others had to say. The only thing that mattered was that we trusted each other. That every time Kas left, he always came back to me.

  We were all finally ushered into the theater. My mother and father were already inside. We went right for them, my mother sending me a secret smile as I approached on Kas’s arm, my father holding his arms out to welcome both of us. “There are my stars.”

  I leaned in and kissed his cheek. “Hey, Daddy. I’m so proud of you. I can’t wait to see this on the big screen.”

  He hugged me tight before he turned his attention on Kas. “It wouldn’t be what it is without Kas on the camera. He gave this film life.”

  Kas shook his head. “It was your direction and vision that made it unforgettable. I’m just honored I got to be the face of it.”

  We were introduced to Daniel and Melanie Montgomery who were the inspiration of the movie, Pulled.

  “Kas Cowan . . . it’s so nice to meet you.” Daniel shook his head.

  “The pleasure is all mine. It was quite the experience getting the opportunity to take part in bringing you and your wife’s story to the big screen. I can only pray I did it justice.”

  “I’m sure it’s incredible.”

  He gestured to the gorgeous woman standing at his side. The two of them had to have been in their early forties, their love and devotion for each other so clear in the way they seemed to orbit the other. “This is my beautiful wife, Melanie, although I’m sure she needs no introduction after the role you just played.”

  Daniel winked at his wife and she blushed.

  I pressed my hand to my mouth.

  It was adorable.

  Kas had talked all during production about their love story, how intense and tragic that it was before they found where their hearts had always belonged.

  Kas kissed the back of her hand. I’m pretty sure every woman in a hundred-mile radius swooned. “You are lovelier than the script could ever make you out to be.”

  “Oh, you really are quite the actor, aren’t you?”

  “No acting required.”

  I was introduced, and Kas thanked everyone aga
in, telling them how honored he was to be a part of this project.

  It was kind of crazy, how arrogant and cocky Kas could be when it came to me, confident in our attraction and our love. But at the heart of it, he was a humble man. Grateful that he’d found a name in this great big city and cut-throat world.

  We found our seats, Kas’s hand wrapped in mine. I grinned as Kaylee sat beside me. She leaned in and whispered in my ear. “Did you ever imagine the two of us would be sitting here this way? Both of us tied to two of the biggest names in Hollywood.”

  “Never.”

  “It’s wild, isn’t it?” she mused, shaking her head in awe as she glanced at Paxton, who folded himself into the chair next to her.

  “Completely, utterly wild,” I agreed, squeezing Kas’s hand. He clutched my fingers, holding on tight as my father went to the front and made his introductions, thanking everyone for being there for the premiere.

  Then the lights dimmed and the screen came to life.

  The first time I saw Kassius Cowen, he’d stopped me in my tracks. It didn’t matter that he’d been plastered to a billboard, his arms over his head and his body stretched tight, those abs so delicious in their display that my mouth had watered.

  I guessed I should have known I would never be the same when I’d stood staring down at the man on the ground behind my car, the way he’d looked the first time he’d crawled into my bed.

  I should have known he was immediately whittling his way into my heart.

  But watching him on the big screen was unlike anything I’d ever experienced. The pride that bloomed in my chest . . . for him and my father and for Paxton, who appeared for a smaller role was unreal. All three of them shining with their own incredible talents.

  But Kas on the screen? It made my knees weak and my insides quake. My love so intense that I was sure it was going to explode.

  Pulse racing, everything hinged on the story that unfolded in these magnificent, unforgettable scenes.

  The man was a true star.

  So talented I watched wide-eyed. Enraptured and in awe.

  He tightened his hold on my hand, as if his own emotion was close to overflowing. Pride and devotion and love coming off him in waves.

  His own dreams coming to fruition on the screen.

  The credits began to play, and I could barely breathe there was so much emotion clogged at the base of my throat. The lights came on, and Kas looked over at me, eyes glimmering as he studied me. “So . . . what did you think?”

  “I think it was brilliant.”

  “Really?”

  “Really. This is what you’re supposed to do, Kas. You were made for this.”

  Just as much as he was made for me.

  He grabbed me by both sides of the face and kissed me hard. It was one of those life-altering kisses. The kind that made my head spin and my heart fill so full I was sure it might shatter.

  Then he pulled back and stood, stretching his hand out for me. “Come on.”

  Confused, I took his hand while looking up at him. “Where are we going?”

  His eyes gleamed. “I have a surprise for you.”

  I glanced around at everyone, all who were smiling, my mother and my father, Paxton and Kaylee. All the people who meant the most to us were watching with wide grins on their faces.

  There was something in their expressions that made my spirit flutter and churn, butterflies flapping their way to life in my belly, excitement streaking free.

  What was going on?

  I stumbled along behind Kas as he rushed up the aisle, the man barely nodding at people who called his name, ignoring their requests for interviews and pictures, grinning and saying, “Next time.”

  “What is going on, Kas? Where are we going?”

  I mean, I could rock some heels, but the man was on a mission, and I was basically stumbling along, trying to keep up with him.

  He squeezed my hand, one of those cocky grins riding to his sexy mouth. “You’ll see.”

  “Kas . . . it’s your big night,” I almost begged, wondering what was happening.

  “You’re right, it is,” he said, and then he was stealing my breath again when he stopped outside under the city lights that blinked and flashed all around us, kissing me again, tipping me backward as he did.

  Fans shouted and cheered where they remained behind the ropes, and my heart was racing, a thrum in my veins that threatened to make me lightheaded.

  He released me, and he swiped his thumb over my bottom lip before he was once again dragging me the rest of the way back down the red carpet.

  Only this time, our limo wasn’t waiting.

  It was his bike sitting at the curb, a driver standing off to the side with two helmets.

  The same bike that had changed our lives.

  What in the world was happening.

  Kas grabbed a helmet and lifted it to help me get it on. “I know you spent about five hours getting your hair done this afternoon. You’re going to have to forgive me for messing it up.”

  Right then, I’d forgive him for anything.

  Especially when the man straddled his bike, wearing a tux.

  Good God, could anything be sexier than that? Lust swirled and love spun.

  I was in so deep.

  So deep that I didn’t even care I was climbing onto the back in my dress and heels, my senses completely consumed by him as I wrapped my arms around his waist and hugged him tight. He tucked me even closer, a hand over my hands in a show of support, the man waving a hand into the air as what seemed like a blaze of a million blinding flashes went off.

  Kas gunned the throttle, winding us onto the road, the night wrapping us whole.

  We rode.

  People all around us when it felt like the only people who existed was just him and me.

  My dress whipped around behind us, and my nerves fluttered free, and the grin plastered to my face had to be the biggest that I had ever worn.

  He wound through the city, carefully, though there was something about his ascent as he started up the same hill he’d taken me on the night he’d met my father. Anticipation in each mile that we flew over, the winding of the curvy road spinning us up.

  Twining us together.

  He pulled off at the same spot as he had before.

  Again, he helped me from the bike and unsnapped the helmet from my head.

  But tonight, there didn’t feel as if there were questions.

  We just . . . knew.

  I guessed I knew it even more when he took my hand and led me back down the same trail, helping me along the path in my heels, which were definitely going to be ruined.

  It was worth it.

  Oh, was the man worth it. Every second.

  He angled me so we were facing each other, the city nothing less than an endless expanse of glittering lights that blazed with life and opportunity.

  “I told you I came up here the first day I got to Hollywood. I wanted to see what it was I was going to have to tackle. All the obstacles that might be laid out in front of me. All that I would have to overcome to reach my dreams.”

  He touched my face, his hand so soft as he cupped my jaw and tilted my face up to his.

  My heart stuttered, the man so stunning I didn’t know how I remained standing. A heavy breeze blew through, my hair whipping around us as he stared down at me.

  “I knew I would love it here. That I was meant to be here. That I would do everything it took to make it. Little did I know, all those dreams would pale in comparison to my love for you.”

  Kas dropped to a knee, and I pressed my hand to my mouth as a gasp wretched free and moisture gathered in my eyes. He looked up at me, his tongue darting out to rush across his bottom lip. “You are my dream, Elle. You are this city. You are the screen. You are the words that come from my mouth when I’m acting a scene. You are the epitome of beauty. You are the story of my life.”

  He dug into his pocket and pulled out a ring. “Live it with me.”

  Tears
streaked down my face, and I threw myself into his arms. “Yes. Oh my God, yes. So much yes.”

  It was crazy how we never knew what direction we were traveling. When a little bump in the road might change everything.

  But I knew I wanted to experience every mile with him.

  And I knew it was going to be one wild ride.

  The End

  Love the writing duo of A.L. Jackson and Rebecca Shea?

  Read the first in the Hollywood Chronicles, One Wild Night

  Download Here

  * * *

  Read the latest stand-alone from A.L. Jackson, More of You

  Download Here

  OR

  Read the latest stand-alone from Rebecca Shea, Fault Lines

  Download Here

  About A.L. Jackson

  A.L. Jackson is the New York Times & USA Today Bestselling author of contemporary romance. She writes emotional, sexy, heart-filled stories about boys who usually like to be a little bit bad.

  If she’s not writing, you can find her hanging out by the pool with her family, sipping cocktails with her friends, or of course with her nose buried in a book.

  Watch for ALL OF ME, her upcoming novel in the CONFESSIONS OF THE HEART series, coming early 2019.

  About Rebecca Shea

  Rebecca Shea is the USA Today Bestselling author of the Unbreakable series (Unbreakable, Undone, and Unforgiven), the Bound & Broken series (Broken by Lies and Bound by Lies), and Dare Me . She lives in Phoenix, Arizona with her family. From the time Rebecca could read she has had a passion for books. Rebecca spends her days working full-time and her nights writing, bringing stories to life. Born and raised in Minnesota, Rebecca moved to Arizona in 1999 to escape the bitter winters. When not working or writing, she can be found on the sidelines of her sons football games, or watching her daughter at ballet class. Rebecca is fueled by insane amounts of coffee, margaritas, Laffy Taffy (except the banana ones), and happily ever afters.

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