“Oh,” she seemed to relax, even though her enormous breasts were still fully on display. “Sorry… this was just supposed to be a little surprise for Josh.”
My stomach bottomed out in my gut as tears filled my eyes. I wasn’t quite sure what sort of misunderstanding I was hoping for… but I had been desperate for this to be a misunderstanding of some sort. Any sort.
I cleared my throat, willing away my stupid tears. Do not cry. Not over him… not over this. “And… he knows you’re here?”
“Well, he knew this was happening sometime soon. But the fact that it’s today was the surprise.”
My heart. It felt like there was a searing hot knife stabbing my heart. I pressed my palm to my chest because the pain was so real, so visceral, I needed the confirmation that I wasn’t in fact bleeding. I sniffed. “So—”
“I’m sorry,” the woman said, suddenly cross with me. “Do you mind giving me some privacy here?”
“I… uh… yeah. Of course.” A sob stuttered in my chest, cracking my voice, and I set the coffee cups down on the counter, leaving them both there. If I tried to drink anything, I was certain it would come right back up.
And with that, I left Josh’s trailer—and life—forever.
Chapter 8
Josh
My brothers and I stood outside, filming my favorite comedy sketch of the year. Partly because it involved Cola. And partly because it was so fucking funny my ribs actually hurt from laughing so hard.
I watched my brother Cal—who is not an animal person, let alone a dog person—walking Cola in the park. The crew had placed dog poop beside Cola and put a fake cast on Cal’s arm. In order to win his challenge, he had to get a stranger to pick up the poop for him. And if he couldn’t convince someone to do that, he lost.
“Oh, God,” Cal said into the microphone. “He stinks. Your dog freaking stinks.”
I held up the microphone to my mouth, sitting with my other brothers in a hidden spot, out of sight from any other pedestrians. “Don’t hate on Cola,” I said. “Besides, more likely what stinks is that heaping pile of shit you need to get someone to clean up.”
Dom and Sam burst out laughing as Cal flagged down a passerby, giving him a sob story about his broken arm. The guy didn’t even stop walking. Just adjusted his ear pods and pushed passed Cal. He tried again, stopping a cute girl, probably around Chelsea’s age. She was wearing a short skirt and heels and after one look at the pile, she squealed, “Ew!” and ran away, teetering on those heels and barely staying vertical.
“I think your technique needs some work, bro,” Dom said into the microphone.
“You guys, this is impossible. It’s fucking impossible.”
“It’s not impossible,” Sam laughed. “You just need to find a dog person, you idiot.”
“Right,” Cal said, glancing around. “A dog person.”
I unplugged the microphone and looked at the camera. “What Cal doesn’t know is that this park doesn’t allow dogs.” We all cracked up, and Dom fell against my shoulder, laughing so hard he started coughing.
Another hour passed when we finally finished with Cal’s turn and decided to take our lunch break. I walked Cola back to set so that she could have a longer break in my trailer. We tried to switch out between mine and Sam’s dog for challenges like this to give them breaks as well.
I reached down and scratched Cola behind the ears. “You were a good girl today,” I praised and tossed her a treat from my pocket. I was close to my trailer when I pulled out my phone, checking to see if Chelsea answered my text.
My bed was lonely without you last night.
I had texted her that message this morning while we were shooting, and still… no answer. Which was weird. For the last few days, it was never more than 30 minutes that either of us would go without answering a text. Even when I was filming and when she was in class.
Something was wrong.
I pushed open the door to my trailer, eyes still cast down on my phone.
“There he is…” a low voice came from within my trailer. Before I could even react, Cola started barking, and thank God I was holding onto her leash because she charged at a woman on my daybed.
Correction… a naked woman. “What the fuck!” I cried as she screamed at my barking dog. “Who are you?!”
“I’m Trish!”
“Who?” My first thought was that this was some juvenile prank my brothers were pulling on me, and I immediately started searching my room for hidden cameras. Then again, even for our adult network, I don’t think we could get away with this level of nudity.
Then, I glanced at her again, still wrangling my barking dog. “Cola, relax!” I didn’t know her face… but I recognized those fake tits. And the lightning bolt shaved into her pubic hair. Oh, fuck. It’s the girl from all that fan mail I’ve received. The naked fan mail that was hand delivered to this trailer more than once. “What are you doing in my trailer!? How’d you get in here?” I had my phone in hand and was already texting security to get down here asap.
“I-I work on the lot,” she said. “Giving studio tours.” Then, she spread her legs giving me the full x-rated view that I never asked for. “Why don’t you put your dog somewhere she won’t bother us.”
I rolled my eyes feeling awfully grateful she had opted to handcuff herself. Then again, if she managed to get herself into those handcuffs, I didn’t doubt she could also get herself out of them. I needed to keep her occupied until security got here… and hopefully they didn’t take their fucking time.
“Sure…” I said carefully and tugged Cola into the bathroom. My stomach flipped as I thought of Chelsea… there on my sink, wiggling and writhing as I brought her to climax with one single finger.
Chelsea.
I shut Cola into the bathroom and spun around, searching my trailer, when my eyes fell onto two paper coffee cups with her name scribbled on them in black marker. The same coffee shop Chelsea always stopped at on her way into the studio. I crossed to them, wrapping my hand around one. Warm. It wasn’t hot, but it wasn’t ice cold either, so there was no way we had accidentally forgotten to throw them out from yesterday.
“There we go,” Trish said arching her back in a ludicrous attempt to be sexy. That was the beauty of Chelsea. She didn’t have to try to be sexy. She just was. “All alone… finally.”
I took a cautious step forward, my eyes shifting to the door. “These cups,” I said. “Did someone come in and see you?”
“Why?” Trish asked, pouting. “Are you embarrassed by me?”
Embarrassed? I don’t even fucking know you! I wanted to shout. Why people thought that all famous men are simply horndogs who will be happy to fuck any pair of tits was beyond me. Like, somehow, they think we don’t have standards… or maybe their reality is just that skewed.
“Of course not,” I answered carefully, and as I edged closer to her, I noticed a latch on the edge of the handcuffs. She could get out of those any time she wanted. I couldn’t just leave her here in the trailer without risking her getting away and not being arrested. “I just need to know who may have seen you in case… in case this gets leaked to the press. I’ll know who to blame.”
She licked her lips with long slide of her tongue. “Not that I mind this leaking to the press.” I seriously could have eye-rolled myself into a coma right then. Of course you don’t mind, I thought.
“But if it does happen, I need to know who to fire.”
I took another step closer and put on my Dominant voice. “A good girl would tell me,” I demanded.
“Fine,” she huffed. “Your little dog walker came in here about thirty minutes ago.” Then, she snorted a laugh. “She’s a bit of a prude. You’d think she’s never seen a pussy by the way she reacted.”
Goddammit. It had taken a whole week of dating and reassuring Chelsea my life was normal. A whole week, and even with that, I could still sense her hesitation about being with me. This? This might just be the nail in the coffin of our relationship
. I pressed the heels of my hands into my eyes as heat filled my face. I hated this woman. I absolutely hated her.
Just then, the door slammed open and three security guards came rushing in.
Trish screamed. From the bathroom, Cola barked. And I sighed in relief. “Took you guys long enough. Any slower and I would have had to fuck her just to keep her here.”
“Sorry, Josh,” Dave, our head of security said.
Just as predicted, Trish hit the button on the handcuffs, unlatching herself, and tried to make a run for it. If I wasn’t so pissed, it would have been comical—this naked bombshell desperately trying to crawl out the window of my trailer to escape the security guards.
“Josh!” she cried. “What are you doing? I told you I was coming! I sent you notes and pictures. You smiled at me the other day on the tram from the parking lot! We’re meant to be together!”
“Jesus Christ,” I threw my hands into the air and they landed against my thighs with a satisfying clap. “Lady, I will never fuck you… let alone love you. You need serious help.”
“Are you planning to press charges?” Dave asked.
“Charges?!” she squeaked.
“I—I don’t know,” I grumbled and grabbed Cola out from the bathroom. I was pissed and hated this woman, but pressing charges could ruin her life. She’d be arrested and booked. “She’s delusional and needs help, but I don’t know if that means an arrest.”
“It helps if you’re going to need a restraining order.”
I swiped my hand down my face. Fuck. “Fine. Yes, let’s get this on file that she broke in and … did … this.” I gestured at her, naked and now restrained by the two other security guards. I rolled my eyes and grabbed a spare robe I had in my dressing room. “For God’s sake, let the girl cover up.”
Dave nodded. “We’ll do that, Josh.”
I leaned in and lowered my voice. “But also call my lawyer. If we can get her help and not put her in jail, that’s better.” I handed him my lawyer’s business card.
“Yes, sir.”
With Cola’s leash still in hand, I headed toward the door, Dave’s voice interrupting me. “You’re not waiting for the police?”
“I’ll be back to give my statement. But first I need to find my girlfriend.”
Dave’s face registered surprise. “Girlfriend?”
“Yes,” I grumbled. “But we’ll see if she still is after this whole mess.”
Dave winced. “Good luck. If you need someone to vouch for what happened here, you know where to find me.”
I rushed out my door in search of Chelsea.
Chapter 9
Chelsea
I was elbow deep in a pint of mint chocolate chip ice cream, tears streaming silently down my face as I watched Cinderella.
I filled my spoon with a bite of ice cream just as Prince Charming slipped the glass slipper on Cinderella’s foot. Heat filled my chest and a spiking anger tore through my belly. Without thinking, I flung the spoonful of ice cream at my television. “Yeah, it’s all fun and games at the ball until you find Voluptuous Barbie in Prince Charming’s pumpkin! Think of that, Cinderella!” I screamed at the TV.
“Uh… Chelsea?” My roommate, Greta, said from the doorway of our TV room. “You have a visitor.”
Standing behind her was Josh. Josh and his stupid swollen muscles and stupid chiseled face and stupid cheating body. I glared hard at him. “I don’t want to see you—”
Unfortunately, Cola didn’t speak human well and she bounded toward me, jumping on my couch and snuggling into my lap, licking the ice cream that I was certain was caked on my face. Just the sight of Cola cracked any emotions that I’d been managing to hold back, and I buried my face in her neck, crying.
Beside me, I felt the couch dip and smelled Josh’s crisp scent. “Geez,” he said quietly. “What did Cinderella do to deserve ice cream to the face?”
“She fell for a lying asshole,” I said, lifting my gaze from Cola’s fur and delivered a pointed glare at Josh.
“I thought she fell for Prince Charming.”
“Prince Charming doesn’t exist.” I looked down, cupping Cola’s face in my hands. “And he’s certainly not your daddy.”
Josh sighed and slid his phone across the coffee table for me to see. “I’m sorry you saw… what you saw this morning. That woman is a crazy fan. Here are photos of the letters she’s sent me over the last few weeks. They’re insane… talking about how we’re going to get married and have babies. And she sends naked photos of herself in every letter. Look—”
“I think I saw quite enough of her, thank you.”
I pushed his phone away, but morbid curiosity won over and I snuck a peek. It looked like the same woman, even though her face wasn’t visible in the pictures. A fragment of hope pulsed through me. Maybe my Prince Charming wasn’t a lying, cheating asshole after all.
“Do you really think I’m capable of cheating on you, Chelsea?” Josh whispered, his hand draping gently over mine. “I’m absolutely crazy about you. I love you.”
“I love you, too,” I whispered. “Or… at least, I thought I did.”
He winced. “I don’t love your use of the past tense. But I’m willing to try everything to make this up to you. Seriously, name it. I will move heaven and earth if I can prove to you how much I need you in my life.”
A sloppy noise came from the paused TV as the melting ice cream slid off the screen and splatted on the floor. Josh’s eyebrow arched. “Maybe I should start with a new TV?”
I laughed, covering my mouth because it was the first time I’d laughed since running out of his trailer. Josh’s finger hooked under my chin, lifting my dropped head. “There she is,” he said. “There’s my girl.”
“What about when this happens again?” I asked.
A scowl twisted his gorgeous face. “I promise you, this has never happened before. I’ve literally never come into my trailer to find a naked woman—”
“Not just that,” I said. “You’re famous. You’re going to be attending all kinds of red carpet events, and fans and other actresses are going to flirt with you. I-I don’t know that I can handle that,” I admitted. “And I don’t know that I can handle being looked at again like that woman looked at me. Like she couldn’t believe someone like me could be with someone like you. You should have seen her face when I told her I was the dog walker. All of a sudden, the world made sense to her again—”
“Yes,” Josh interrupted me, “Because she was a crazy person. You can’t use her as a barometer!”
“She’s not the only one who looks at us that way.” I sniffed, and through my sheen of tears, his beautiful face was distorted. “And you don’t have to be crazy to see that you’re out of my league.”
Josh’s face cracked and he looked pained to hear me say that. He cupped either side of my jaw and brought my face close to his. “How can you possibly think that, Chelsea? You are gorgeous and smart—”
I rolled my eyes. “I know, I know. I’ve heard your list before.”
“You may have heard it, but you clearly didn’t listen to it.”
“I do love you,” my voice cracked. My heart lurched in my chest. I loved him so much.
“Then don’t let the vindictive, mean, crazy people of the world win. Don’t let them take this from either of us. Love can be enough… if we let it be.”
Was that true? Could love be enough?
“Don’t give up on us, Chelsea. Don’t give up on me.”
I lunged at Josh, kissing him hard, sucking his bottom lip into my mouth and opening as his tongue dove into mine. His hands raked into my hair, and he tugged on the strands, pulling my neck back farther for better access.
When the kiss ended, I was breathless. Panting. Wanting.
And I watched as Josh’s chest heaved, my desire mirrored in him, too.
A bark came from beside us on the couch, and I laughed, tugging Cola into my lap. “Let me be perfectly clear,” Josh said. “I. Want. You. More than anyt
hing. You and me… forever. Let’s do this, Chelsea.”
I blinked as joy bloomed in my chest. “Are you… are you proposing?”
He squeezed my hand. “No, baby. When I’m proposing, trust me… you’ll know it.”
Epilogue
Josh
A Little Over One Year Later…
I turned onto the entrance road of the beautiful gated community with Spanish style architecture, my hand linked with Chelsea’s across the divider. I’d learned to drive one-handed with ease since she came into my life. If I could go every minute of the day touching her, I would do it.
Putting the car in park, I lifted the back of Chelsea’s hand to my lips and gave her a kiss. She seemed… different today. Nervous maybe? She looked gorgeous as always and her hair had more shine and curl than I remembered it having when we met. She was supermodel gorgeous, even if she looked a little pale today.
I brushed my knuckles over her forehead, feeling for a temperature. “You feeling okay?” I asked.
Chelsea sighed and turned those fawn colored eyes to me. “I’m just tired. And open houses are always exhausting. Especially a house like this. It’s just per—”
“Perfect,” I finished for her, grinning. “I know. You’ve told me a million times. It’s the perfect home with a beautiful blend of Spanish style architecture and modern renovation, with top of the line granite and appliances. Not to mention, it’s in the best school system.”
Her eyes went wide. “Wow, I knew you listened when I rambled about real estate… I didn’t know you paid that much attention.”
Oh, baby. If you only knew.
“Well,” she continued, opening her door and beginning to gather things for the open house out of my trunk. “Thank you for offering to help today. I don’t mind doing open houses alone, I just hate when they fall on your only day off.”
Her Alpha Dog: An Age Gap, Alpha Man Romance Page 4