by Alice Raine
‘I know I’m not your mother, Cait, but I take on a guardian role at the hostel. You scared the life out of me tonight, the least you could have done was to answer your phone.’
My phone hadn’t rung, had it? Digging it out of my bag I realised guiltily that the battery had gone flat. Oops. ‘The battery’s dead.’ Looking back to Julie’s irate expression, I prepared to beg forgiveness. ‘I’m really, really sorry.’
After another extended pause she tutted, but finally smiled thinly. Thankfully, my grovelling seemed to have worked, because Julie’s tone then grew softer. ‘You’re OK, that’s the main thing.’ With that, Julie pulled me to her for a tight hug, but leant back after a few moments. ‘I need to call the hostel and tell them you’re OK,’ she murmured, dialling a number on her phone and walking towards the far side of the balcony.
Plonking myself into a bean bag chair, Allie followed suit and then leant in towards me keenly. ‘What the heck is going on?’ she hissed as soon as Julie was out of earshot. Wasn’t that just the question? Chewing on my lip I looked at her expectant face, completely clueless about what to say. Tonight had been so crazy I didn’t even know where to start, but shrugging, I blew out a breath. ‘Too much to tell you now. Later, OK?’
‘Your wrist is really red and your cheeks are flushed …’ Suddenly she squinted at me, as if trying to read my thoughts. ‘Were you … were you with a guy?’ she asked tentatively, her eyebrows drawing into a frown as she watched me frantically chewing on my lip as I tried desperately not to pick at my bloody elastic bands again.
Glancing across at Julie, I saw her still talking, her hands waving around as she spoke.
‘Sort of.’ In a split second Allie was sitting up, reaching out to touch my forearm supportively. Instead of the curiosity and eagerness for gossip that normal girls would have at news like this, Allie’s face was simply full of concern. Bless her, she knew full well what a big deal this would be to me.
‘Are you OK?’ she asked urgently, understanding how unlike me this was.
I thought back to my near kiss with Jack and found my skin warming at the memory, my lips tingling at what could have been, until I had to purse them to stop the tickly sensation. Swallowing hard, I nodded and gave her hand a squeeze. ‘I am.’ Before I could elaborate further and tell her about Jack, or the fact that he had been a complete gentleman, Julie had finished her call and was turning back to us with a wry grin on her face. ‘After the stress of tonight, this old gal needs a drink. Don’t suppose you have anything handy?’
Hiding a smirk I obediently got to my feet and fetched three small beers from the fridge before popping the caps off and handing them around.
Taking a long slug, Julie sat back in one of the bean bag chairs and finally began to look more like her usual, relaxed self.
‘There are some leftovers inside if you’re hungry?’ Allie suggested, but I didn’t need to answer verbally because a loud growl from my stomach did all the talking for me.
Chuckling, Julie tipped her bottle back and downed half of its contents before smiling. ‘I’ve got an early start tomorrow so I’m going to head off and leave you girls to it.’
‘OK. Again, I’m sorry for being so thoughtless tonight Julie.’
‘I’m just glad you’re safe.’ Giving me a brief hug she finished the rest of her beer, stepped back, and grinned at me. ‘See you both tomorrow. Cait, you’re on cupcake duty, so get there nice and early.’
Giving a grin, I pretended to salute as she waved us one final goodbye and left.
‘She’s really nice. I think this social event tomorrow could be quite fun,’ Allie commented as we headed back inside and she popped a bowl of food in the small microwave located under the bar.
I was just about to tell Allie about my run-in with Jack Felton, but as I took a seat at the bar I got distracted when I saw notepads, pencils, and Allie’s laptop strewn across the surface. Evidence of her evening of writing, which made me recall why she had stayed in. Sean, and his lack of contact.
As Allie placed a bowl of delicious-smelling pasta in front of me, thoughts of Jack faded away as concern for my best friend grew. ‘So … how did the writing go? Did you get much done?’ It was my discreet way of asking if she’d heard from Sean, and from the small, sad, knowing smile on her face, Allie knew it too.
Nodding, she gave a shrug, her face looking almost painfully unhappy. ‘I did a new chapter. A big fight scene between the two vampire clans, so there was lots of blood and gore.’ Flicking at a loose thread in her shorts, I saw a flicker of sorrow cross her eyes. ‘Violence was perfect for taking my mind off of Sean,’ she finished quietly.
My stomach plummeted at her look. ‘He hasn’t called?’ I enquired softly.
‘Nope. Arsehole,’ she mumbled before rolling her eyes dismissively. ‘Anyway, enough of my depressing day, I have some good news.’
Watching her carefully, I could see Allie was keen to avoid further discussions of Sean for the time being, so I turned my attention to the food before me. As soon as the first spoonful hit my tongue I realised that I was, in fact, ravenously hungry and I greedily wolfed down the meal as Allie fished in her back pocket and pulled out a leaflet.
‘So, when I got back to the hotel tonight there was this guy near the gates handing out these …’ Allie dropped a glossy leaflet on the table next to me, where I promptly splashed it with pasta sauce as I enthusiastically scooped up another spoonful.
With a chiding tut, Allie rescued the leaflet and wiped it clean with a tissue. ‘You can look at it later … anyway, he works for a television company that are doing some long-term filming at Dynamic Studios and was offering some temporary work as a runner. I knew you were looking for a job, so I grabbed a flyer. The pay’s pretty good for casual labour. Do you think you might be interested?’
Wiping the last of the pasta from my bowl with a chunk of bread, I finally felt replete and sat back to look at Allie with interest. A job at a film studio certainly sounded better than the other options of bar work that I’d got this week. ‘A runner, huh?’ I’d heard of that job; they were basically the dogsbody who would do errands needed around the set. ‘It certainly sounds intriguing,’ I said thoughtfully.
Across from me, Allie gave me a hopeful smile. ‘If you got the job you could stay here for a bit longer. I’d … well, I’d really appreciate it if you were here while I sort this stuff out with Sean.’ She grimaced as she chewed on a fingernail and I briefly wondered if she’d like to borrow one of my elastic bands. ‘If it can be sorted out,’ she added softly, her face creasing as if she might be about to cry.
‘I’m sure you can, babe, just stick with it until you’ve spoken to him, OK?’ I advised, giving a sober nod and feeling my poor friend’s anxiousness.
Briefly weighing it up, I didn’t really see any negatives to trying out for the job. I did need to work, being around the television studios sounded pretty fun, and it would be good to support Allie when she needed me the most. ‘OK, I’ll go for it,’ I decided. ‘It sounds exciting. Imagine being behind the scenes of a real live television show or film in the making!’
Allie gave me a beaming smile filled with relief and then flashed me a wink. ‘I’m glad you said that, because I already put your name down for an interview!’
Chapter Twenty
Sean
It was just gone one in the morning by the time the lights finally went off. About bloody time. My calves were cramping from the awkward position I’d been crouched in for the best part of two hours, but as I looked around me again I felt my lips twitch with dry humour. I was hidden away between a palm tree and a stack of sun-loungers, staring at the windows of Allie’s bungalow hoping for a brief glimpse of her. Forget film star, this week I was acting like a stalking nut-job.
Shaking my head, I blew out a long, frustrated breath. The things this woman did to me! I couldn’t believe I had been driven to such extreme measures just to satisfy my need to see her. All the effort had been worth it thoug
h, because I had managed to see her, even if it had only been from a distance, so at least I knew she was home and safe, which fulfilled the compulsive need within me to protect her.
It was difficult for me to admit just how deep my need for her was. I hated to think that I was obsessed with Allie; it didn’t seem healthy, but then all this shit with Savannah had happened and it’d become glaringly obvious that I was. Obsessed. Possessive. Needy. Shit, it made me feel decidedly emasculated to think just how much power she had over me. Enough that I had found myself here, outside her bungalow for the past two nights, just so I could see that she was safe.
Much to my vague amusement, it seemed that my girl was using the bungalow that I was paying through the nose for to socialise with her friends. Cait had been around every night, and earlier I’d watched as Allie and an older woman I didn’t recognise had sat on the balcony chatting. Cait had then joined them and to my astonishment, the three of them even shared some beers. Beers? I was so stressed out over our issues that I’d struggled to even eat for the past few days, but my girl was happily chugging back a brew. Jesus. She was either stronger than I’d given her credit for, incredibly skilled at hiding her true feelings, or simply not bothered by the events occurring between us.
Gritting my teeth, I rolled my neck to try and ease the burning tension resting there. Clearly while Allie was up for socialising with her mates, she couldn’t be bothered to answer any of the calls I’d made to her today. I must have called at least thirty times, and left messages, but she’d staunchly ignored them all. Like I didn’t exist to her. That fact sat in my stomach like a lead weight and pissed me off to the point where dark annoyance welled in my chest, but I closed my eyes and pulled in several deep breaths in an attempt to calm myself.
I knew why she was hurt and pissed off. The situation with Savannah and the fake engagement was insane, and I could understand her need for space to a certain degree, but I’d given her the time she’d asked for, and was now at the point where we needed to sit down and start to work through our issues.
Standing up, I stretched my stiff muscles and began my walk back to the car. Ramming my hands in the pockets of my jeans in frustration I came to a sudden halt as my fingers touched on something flat and smooth. Pulling out the key card I stared at it for a second, and then glanced back at Allie’s bungalow as my mind began to speed up.
It hadn’t been hard too persuade the woman on reception to give me a spare key card for the bungalow. After all, I’d booked the room and paid an astronomical amount for it. But I hadn’t had use for the key. Yet.
Chewing on my lower lip, I stood there for a second, illuminated by the light of the full moon before I made my decision and started toward the bungalow.
Watching her from a distance was no longer enough for me. I needed to see Allie close up. I needed to touch her. Reassure myself that she was OK, and that she was still mine.
As messed up as it was, I’d been in her room before without her knowledge, back when she was snowed in with me in my house in England. I’d even curled up with her in bed that night, and I’d gotten away with it, so there was no reason that I couldn’t again. God, I was aching to hold her again. The rational part of my brain knew this was akin to breaking and entering, and was taking my stalking to a whole other level, but rationality flew out of the window where Allie was concerned, and I crept up the porch steps unperturbed.
Pausing for a second, I tried to calm my hammering pulse rate and removed my shoes, hoping my sock-clad feet would be quieter. Gently sliding the key card into the lock I pushed the door open with a soft click and entered the lounge area, engaging my best ninja stealth skills. The room was lit by the light of the moon, making my progress easy, and within three seconds I was across the space and by the bar. Allie’s computer and writing notes were scattered across the counter and I paused for a second and rested my hand on the laptop keys. I knew Allie often wrote to escape from stress, so perhaps she wasn’t as calm and unbothered about our issues as I’d assumed. The thought pleased me far more than it should have.
Marginally reassured, I turned away from the laptop and padded my way silently down the corridor. Earlier I’d watched as the older woman had made her departure, but I hadn’t seen Cait leave, so I could only assume that she had opted to stay the night. The last thing I wanted to do was terrify Allie’s sensitive best friend, so I needed to ensure I went into the correct bedroom.
Arriving at the door to the master suite, the one where I’d left the note and rose on my first visit, I was relieved to find the door open just a crack. Phew. No creaky door handles to deal with.
Pulling in a slow breath, I gently eased the door open and stepped into the room.
It was just as well that I had taken the deep breath before entering because the sight before me briefly paralysed my lungs. Allie was asleep, her body naked and sprawled beneath a thin sheet that had rucked up to expose one of her pert, soft breasts and the long, tempting skin of her right leg. The sheet fell across her stomach and thigh so that I could just about see the shadows of the nest of soft hair between her legs.
Fuck. I was instantly solid, my cock throbbing desperately in my jeans.
Closing my eyes for a second, I tried to convince myself to leave, repeatedly telling my brain how wrong I knew this was, but I couldn’t seem to help it, and a second later I was pushing the door closed behind me and advancing into the room, seemingly unable to hold back from getting close to her.
She was so fucking beautiful that it made my chest hurt. Allie’s hair was spread around her head like a halo, her golden eyelashes fanning onto her cheeks like delicate feathers. There was a small crease between her eyebrows, as if she slept with troubles on her mind, and the possessive part of my nature hoped that it was me she was dreaming of.
Lifting a hand I wiped a small sheen of sweat from my brow. It was really bloody hot in here, and the heat had nothing to do with the mild guilt I felt for invading her privacy. Technically the room was paid for by me, so I was allowed in here. Besides, we might be having a few issues at the moment, but Allie was mine, just as I was hers, so I wouldn’t let myself dwell on any potential wrongness in what I was doing.
Looking down to my feet, I saw some discarded pyjamas on the floor, which was unsurprising giving tonight’s humidity, so stepping away from the bed I pressed the switch to activate the air conditioning, hoping it might make Allie more comfortable.
Coming back beside my girl I leant over her to absorb her features. Even just lying there as still as she was she drove me crazy with lust. My cock was still pulsating in my jeans and my fingers were itching to touch her.
Willpower had never been a strong point of mine, so giving in to my twisted desires I leant over her and allowed my fingers to gently run across the soft skin of her cheek. Allie didn’t wake up, and before I knew it my fingers were exploring her more thoroughly, gently roaming across her collarbone, down the column of her neck until I came to the swell of her breast. A dark, satisfied smile curved my lips as I watched her nipple peak from my touch, and I repeated the motion again, circling the pad of my index finger around the hard nub and loving how soft the skin felt beneath my fingers.
Giving a soft moan, Allie suddenly shifted slightly below me, the sheet slipping from her body as her legs parted in apparent invitation. Christ. She was fast asleep but sopping wet. I could see her juices shining in the moonlight, and without even thinking I found my palms resting on her thighs to further part her legs. Bending down like a starving man, I ran one soft, greedy lick of my tongue up the delicate skin.
The taste of her, salty and floral and deliciously Allie, drove me over the edge and I was suddenly desperately ripping my jeans open and palming the heavy weight of my cock as it fell into my hand, throbbing and ready. Working my palm up and down my shaft with several hard, fast strokes I saw some pre-come coating the tip and knew I was already close. Dropping onto the bed I positioned myself between her parted thighs and brushed the tip of my cock
against her swollen clit, the mixture of my moisture and her silky wetness sending tingles of delight up into my balls. The small movement caused Allie to lift her hips and groan below me, but the low, lusty note to her sleep-drenched voice suddenly broke through the crazed fog that seemed to have descended on my brain.
She was asleep.
And I had been on the verge of taking her.
Jesus Christ. What the fuck was I doing? Shooting back from the bed, I ran a trembling hand through my hair as my heart galloped in my chest and my cock instantly softened.
Shock coursed through my system and my legs gave way as I fell onto my arse in the middle of the floor. Had I seriously just been about to plunge into her while she was sleeping? Fucking hell. I might be obsessive and desperate to claim Allie back, but I wasn’t a fucking monster.
Shoving my cock back into my jeans I ran my hands over my face to try and bring myself back to reality as my body twitched and jerked with the enormity of my loss of control. I had stopped, though. Thank God.
This had all just been a momentary lapse in my sanity, brought around by my insatiable lust for this woman. That’s what I told myself, anyway. I completely lost my mind when she was around, as the last five minutes had demonstrated. It was hardly her fault, but ever since she’d entered my life Allie had driven me crazy in the best of ways.
Standing up, I gently covered her body with the sheet again and lowered my face next to hers to brush a gentle kiss on her cheek. I wanted to wake her up, tell her how much I loved her and needed her to trust me, and then make soft, gentle love to her all night long. But I didn’t trust myself. I was so wound up that if she rejected me I would probably have a complete meltdown and end up begging her not to leave me. Allie deserved better than that. She needed a strong, confident man, not a pathetic, snivelling loser with compulsion issues, so I needed to back off, get my shit together, and speak to her when I was more level-headed.