Unravelled (Revealed #2)

by Alice Raine

  Jack upped his half smile to a grin, and in response I became slightly light-headed. Wow … when it was turned up to full power, his smile really was something else. Like a 4D, surround sound, all-singing, all-dancing, out-of-body experience. I'd seen it enough times on television, but in the flesh it really was quite breath-taking.

  I knew he was still talking to me, but I was finding myself rather distracted by his smile and the way the corners of his eyes crinkled so appealingly.

  ‘I’m not, by the way,’ Jack added as he carefully peeled the paper back from the plaster. I didn’t understand, and started to panic that maybe he had said something important I had completely missed while I was lost in my ridiculous swoon. Pocketing the papers from the plaster, he glanced up with his captivating eyes again.

  ‘Gay. I’m not gay,’ he clarified with another grin. Actually, the reason I chose drama club was because I fancied Miss Bright something rotten … now that woman had great legs …’ He grinned wickedly at me, and I was horrified to feel my heart react by attempting to kick its way out of my rib cage like a wild kangaroo. ‘That plus my interest in acting, of course,’ he added with a charming quirk of his eyebrows.

  Struggling not to sigh out loud like a pathetic teenager, it suddenly occurred to me that Jack might be mildly flirting with me. The warm glances, smiles, and attention seemed to imply so, or perhaps he was always this friendly and charming with everyone he met (and collided with) while running in the park.

  As I gazed down at him, I felt that peculiar feeling niggling at my stomach again; a heavy, warm sensation, making me suddenly acutely aware of a growing dampness between my legs. A flush bloomed on my already heated cheeks as I just about died from embarrassment. Bloody hell, I was actually aroused – and all he was doing was touching my arm.

  What the heck was going on? I’d shut myself down so strictly since Greg that I literally couldn’t remember the last time I had felt properly sexually attracted to anyone, but long-forgotten emotions were now flooding my system and making it abundantly clear that that was definitely what I felt.

  Shaking my head, I blinked wildly. I’d never reacted to a man like this, not even with Greg at the start when he’d been a total charmer and seemingly lovely. As Jack continued to clean my elbow with a tissue, I made a huge effort to shake it off, and instead of focusing on the chemical reaction happening in my body I drew in several long breaths and stared intently at the beautiful park until my composure began to settle again.

  Finally feeling in control enough to risk a glance at Jack, I looked down at the top of his head where he was still tending to my arm. I was standing there like an idiot staring at the parting in his hair when Jack glanced up and caught me looking at him. Guiltily, I flushed immediately, but Jack merely flashed me another stupendous grin, winked at me, and then continued with his task.

  A wink? Raising my eyebrows in surprise I sucked in a shocked breath … surely that counted as flirtatious? I thought I’d been imagining it earlier, but after that, I was becoming more and more certain that the glances Jack had been giving me over the last five minutes were, in fact, appreciative ones. The odd thing was, I wasn’t entirely sure how I felt about it. History had taught me to run as soon as a man showed even the remotest interest in me, and I usually did, and yet here I was allowing this virtual stranger to flirt with me.

  There was no way someone like Jack would be interested in me. I knew I was pretty – my friends always told me so, anyway – but I had some serious issues, some of which he had witnessed first-hand, so really the chances of him looking at me that way were slim.

  I very nearly laughed out loud at the wandering direction of my thoughts. How ironic that I avoided even considering romantic attachments to men and yet here I was, openly weighing up the possibility that he might find me attractive. Smiling wryly, I decided that even if I was in the market for a boyfriend – which I most definitely wasn’t – then I wouldn’t even be in Jack’s league. In fact, I was probably so many rungs below his league that I almost snorted out a dry laugh, putting his glances down to nothing more than him being friendly.

  Even with my dismissal of his attention, I couldn’t help but notice that the sensuous, curling heat was still settled in my stomach. But before I could consider it further, my thoughts were distracted as Jack finished tending to my elbow and stood up.

  With a satisfied nod, he smoothed the plaster down carefully with warm fingers, sending a shudder of pleasure running through my body that I desperately tried to disguise as a stretch. God, I was pathetic.

  My unprecedented reaction was leaving me floundering and making a mockery out of my supposed self-security and the rigid defences I’d built up over the years. I had no idea how I could be so ridiculously attracted to a man I had literally only met five minutes ago, but that certainly appeared to be the case.

  Jack’s fingers seemed to linger on my elbow for a touch longer than was necessary as his eyes observed me intently and a thick silence fell between us, making me feel incredibly exposed. His silent, curious gaze was unnerving, but when it dropped to my lips and remained there I very nearly whimpered.

  Actually, it was worse than a whimper, because I suddenly realised to my horror that I was panting so hard that I was wheezing. Quite audibly, actually. Which was incredibly embarrassing, but hopefully could be passed off as a side-effect of my fall. Jerking my arm away, I raised my eyes to his and was immediately hit with his penetrating gaze again.

  Before my poor confused brain could make too much of it, Jack’s expression cleared as he ran a hand rakishly through his ruffled hair, a gesture which proved to be totally pointless because no sooner had he lowered his arm that his brown mop of hair tumbled haphazardly across his forehead again.

  ‘Not bad, eh?’ he said, tipping his fur-covered chin towards my elbow and smiling proudly at his first aid skills. I nodded weakly as I tried to recover a grip on my shredded composure and decided that now was an ideal chance to make a swift exit.

  ‘I can’t run now that I’ve cooled down. I’d probably pull a muscle,’ Jack joked. ‘Shall we walk together for a while?’ His voice sounded pleasant and light but I could have sworn that he looked just a tiny bit hopeful.

  I think I was officially delusional. I felt my forefinger begin to slide up my wrist and I gave one of the elastic bands a ping. I saw Jack’s eyes follow the movement with interest, his gaze narrowing briefly as he looked at my reddening skin.

  With my nerve endings completely frazzled from Jack’s closeness, I tilted my head trying to commit the image of his handsome face to memory before I left, then shook my head with far more force than necessary.

  ‘Uhhh, actually, I think I’ll keep running.’ I had found that meeting Jack in the flesh had done nothing to cool my stupid crush on him. Quite the opposite, in fact, so in my nervous state I spoke hurriedly, knowing as the words left my tongue that they sounded abrupt and rude.

  My confused emotions suddenly made me feel really defensive and irritable. Why was he flirting with me anyway? Was he so used to women literally throwing themselves at him that he didn’t care if they were sweaty and red as long as he stood a chance of getting laid? My lip curled in annoyance as flashes of Greg skimmed through my mind again.

  Was Jack just as shallow and narrow-minded as Greg had been? Were all men completely obsessed with nothing but sex? I wasn’t experienced enough to know, but unfortunately my only encounters with the opposite sex so far had certainly suggested so.

  Jack was famous and astonishingly good-looking – and clearly knew it. He probably had this effect on most women. Perhaps it was a game to him, fun to see how flustered he could make us. Tensing my jaw, I cursed myself, my finger pinging the elastic band almost relentlessly and making me wince. How could I have got so carried away? I never let my guard down around men. Least of all handsome ones. I felt hot annoyance coursing up through my veins at my own naïvety.

  Definitely time to leave. Not to mention forget the crush I had on h
im and avoid all future urges to even think about him. Giving one last look toward Jack, I scowled at my own stupidity before spinning on my heels and walking away from him without another word.

  Chapter Five

  Allie

  The tourist SIM cards were easy enough to locate – there was an entire rack of them just inside the door under the cool breeze from the shop’s air conditioner. Selecting the cheapest one that did what I needed (pay-as-you-go with unlimited international calls and texts) I darted across to the till, keen to get back to Sean and see exactly what naughtiness he had planned for us this afternoon.

  As I stood in the queue daydreaming, I conjured up images involving me, him, lots of sweaty skin slapping, and a king-sized bed. A filthy grin spread on my lips, but whatever it was he had up his sleeve I knew that I would enjoy it because I would be with him.

  As the queue shuffled forward, I was trying to work out which of the American notes and coins I needed when my eye caught the headline of a newspaper stacked to my right. Picking up a copy I read the headline again and my brain stalled, unable to digest the words no matter how many times I went over them. Quickly skimming the rest of the article I suddenly felt sick to my stomach, my blood turning cold in my veins and my head spinning as I tried to work out what I was seeing.

  It couldn’t be true. Could it?

  My brain was too caught up in the sudden confusion to notice that the cashier was now free. Someone behind me gave a cough, and then politely nudged me forward, where I blinked out of my trance and realised it was my turn to pay. Handing over a note to pay for both my items I didn’t even bother to wait for my change as I stepped away from the busy counter in a complete daze.

  Tucking the paper under my arm with trembling fingers, I stumbled towards the exit, barely knowing what to do next. My head couldn’t process what I’d just read, but that didn’t stop me replaying the headline over and over in my mind.

  What should I do? I could hardly stay hidden away in the shop all afternoon. Eventually Sean would send David in to check where I was and I’d look like a complete idiot. Working on autopilot I made my way towards the exit and back towards the waiting limo, barely noticing how my skin instantly dampened from the humid day.

  Surely the headline was just a load of rubbish. People always said you should never believe what was printed in the papers, didn’t they? But my mind flicked back to Sean’s twitchy behaviour earlier and I felt concern settle heavily in my stomach. Did this explain why I was suddenly being placed in a hotel? I shook my spinning head, feeling utterly confused, because he’d been all over me in the car, and inside me, so it didn’t make any sense whatsoever.

  By the time I had crossed the pavement David was holding open the car door for me and I slid in, automatically looking towards Sean as my heart seemed to cramp in my chest, with a pain so sharp that I almost had to reach up and rub at it.

  ‘Get a SIM card?’ he asked, obviously completely unaware of my inner turmoil. Somehow I nodded and pretended that nothing was wrong, even managing to return his smile, albeit weakly, and deciding that I needed to test the water to see if this headline held any truth, or if it was just made up tat only worthy of the bin.

  If I were less enthusiastic in my return to the car than he’d been expecting, Sean didn’t say anything, but he did pull me across the seat and tug me in for another breath-taking kiss. At first I was about to push away and question him about what I’d read in the paper, but his lips were like a magic balm and I found myself instantly dragged under his spell and helpless to resist.

  Knowing that we had some serious issues to discuss I gave myself two minutes reprieve to soak up his delicious attention, just in case it would be the last time I ever got to do so. Caving to his persuasive mouth I parted my lips as his tongue massaged against mine, exploring leisurely as his hands dug through my hair.

  ‘You kept it long,’ he growled appreciatively as his fingers threaded through the long tresses he had always adored. He was right, I had deliberately avoided having it cut for six weeks just so it would be as he liked it, but with the headline still floating around my mind I had to wonder if it had been a wasted effort on my part.

  If the newspaper article was true, then it made a complete mockery of his warm welcome – or perhaps that should be scorching welcome, because the car sex had been smoking hot and right up there on my list of top ten Sean shags. To be honest, all my best sexual experiences had been with Sean. Previous boyfriends just paled into non-existence in comparison.

  As much as I wanted to dismiss what I’d just read and give myself over to his seduction, the photographs that accompanied the article seemed to be imprinted on my brain like a singed, smoking brand and were endlessly taunting me, making it impossible to fall completely under his spell.

  I needed to find out the truth, and I needed to find it out now. Puffing out a sigh I untangled myself from his arms with some difficultly and sat up straighter, only to be met by Sean’s desire-flushed face and a questioning look. It was all so incredibly perplexing that I wanted to scowl at the confusing mess, but trying to keep my wits about me I faked a smile that hopefully looked convincing.

  ‘Sorry, I just needed to come up for air for a second.’ That lie should easily pass unquestioned, because we had both been getting well and truly carried away yet again. Sean smiled, licking his lips and nodding as he raised a hand to brush some stray hairs from my cheek.

  Keeping myself alert I dodged his hand and swept my hair back myself, earning a small frown of disapproval from him. ‘So the film company are picky enough to stop you having any guests at the house? That seems a bit tight,’ I said lightly, scrutinising his reaction carefully and hoping that I would see nothing to make me doubt his honesty with me.

  Unfortunately, I saw the complete opposite: his eyes widened at my words, brows dropping in concern, and he definitely shifted uncomfortably in his seat, all causing my heart to sink even lower in my chest.

  We might not have been together very long, but I always had a sense for when someone was lying. I put it down to being a good reader of people – although Cait called it my ‘bullshit detector’ – and right now I was sensing some seriously fresh, steaming bullshit, because I could spot Sean’s nervous tics a mile off. He was shifting in the seat repeatedly, pursing his lips nervously, and had a twitch in his eye that was impossible to miss.

  Any one of these alone made it screamingly obvious that Sean was anxious about something, but add all three together and it seemed to scream ‘guilty’. It definitely didn’t make me any more confident about the way this conversation was going to go.

  ‘Um … yeah … they are,’ he stuttered, completely avoiding eye contact, at which I nodded, deciding to just confront him head-on.

  Pulling in a deep breath I tried my best to strengthen myself for what was coming as I tugged the newspaper out from under my handbag. ‘So it has nothing to do with this?’ I said blandly, a horrible suffocating feeling spreading in my chest as I opened the paper to show him the front page headline.

  ‘Sean Phillips and co-star Savannah Hilton turn fictional love into reality with their new engagement.’

  Sean might be an actor capable of faking expressions to make a living, but as he ran his eyes over the paper there was no disguising that he looked as shocked as I felt. No, actually, shocked is the wrong word. Shock would indicate that he was unaware and had just found out, but it was clear that he knew all about the story. ‘Horrified’ would be a more accurate description. He was more horrified to be caught out.

  Suddenly he was doing a very good impersonation of a puffer fish – eyes bulging, mouth opening and closing several times, and a vein popping up on his left temple as his wide eyes flicked to mine.

  ‘Fuck!’ His hand scraped through his hair so violently that he must surely have ripped several chunks out from the roots before he flung his arm back down onto the seat in defeat. ‘I didn’t want you to find out this way, Allie … I was going to tell you …’ His w
ords petered off as he shook his head, shoulders practically deflating before my eyes, but all I could focus on was the fact that he hadn’t even attempted to deny it.

  So it was true?

  Shit. Even though I’d been worried, I hadn’t actually thought that Sean would really deceive me like this. I’d half expected him to laugh it off as a bluff of some kind. But no. What the hell did I do now? I was so stunned that I ended up just sitting there in silence as my heart quietly began to break apart inside my chest.

  ‘It’s not real,’ he blurted suddenly, snapping into the shell of my shocked thoughts. Blinking, I flailed the paper at him, pictures and all, just barely missing his head and then proceeded to have a complete meltdown.

  ‘It looks pretty bloody real to me, Sean!’ I snarled. Shocked at how aggressive I had sounded, I ran a shaky hand through my hair as I tried to get a grip on myself. I’m not sure I’d ever snarled before in my entire life, but my throat was so tight from the anger, hurt, and confusion roiling inside me that it had been the only tone I’d been capable of forming.

  ‘No! Allie, no. I swear to God, it’s just hype set up by the PR people to encourage the fans and get higher viewing figures.’

  My breaths were shallow and wheezy as I felt on the verge of breaking down. If it was just a PR stunt, why hadn’t he told me about it? Staring at the face of the man I loved, the man I thought had loved me too, I tried to work out if I actually knew him at all.

  Ignoring the anxiety in his voice and face, I squared off my glare with his eyes again. ‘It’s not real? So you and I can still be together?’ I questioned feebly, not knowing what else to say.

  Cringing slightly, Sean winced and I felt another piece of my heart wither. ‘It’s not real, but it needs to appear genuine for the public. You and I will need to keep things quiet until I can straighten it all out.’