by C. J. Thomas
It was from my realtor.
I found you an apartment. Let’s meet tomorrow.
My legs quickened my pace.
Like my life couldn’t get any worse, I was reminded that I had to also patch up that part of my life before I could move on.
Fuck my life.
Fuck my bitch of a roommate.
And fuck Nash for thinking that he could get away with this.
BOOK 4
On My Knees
The Hollywood Nights Series Vol. 4
CJ Thomas
31
Alex
KENDRA’S EYES told me everything.
She approved.
I followed closely behind my realtor. I nodded when she pointed, and I opened cabinets and gazed out windows to make it seem that my head was here and not stuck on Nash.
All night I’d tossed and turned, never finding sound sleep. My body was as tense as my mind. Ever since seeing him at the boutique, I wrestled with him in my head in a desperate attempt to find reason inside what only could be him with another girlfriend.
Despite what my eyes saw, I didn’t want to believe it.
He’d stolen my panties and left me a hot mess after fucking me inside his beast of an SUV.
“And let me not forget to mention,” the realtor spun around and grinned, “your monthly rent also goes toward our own private spa and salon downstairs.” Her brows raised before she added, “Including a tanning bed for if the weather isn’t suitable to be outside.”
“You have to get this place.” Kendra tilted her chin to the ceiling and twirled around.
“It’s important that our tenants have the opportunity to feel beautiful all the time.” The realtor clutched her notepad to her chest and smiled.
It seemed absurd to me. “How much is all this?” My fingers brushed over the stainless steel refrigerator, placed at one end of the chef’s gourmet kitchen.
“It doesn’t matter.” Kendra’s eyes sparkled and gleamed. “Whatever it is, I’ll pay what you can’t.”
I rolled my eyes and shook my head at the realtor.
“Four thousand five hundred,” the realtor said in an even tone. “No hidden fees. All inclusive. It’s really everything a young woman wanting to live in the city could want.”
My mouth snapped shut. It was $3,000 more per month than what I was paying to live with a roommate.
I continued perusing the opened floor plan, one bedroom apartment that took up a corner of the building’s twelfth floor. Could I really justify paying so much for all these amenities that I didn’t really need?
My thoughts drifted away from the present and back to Nash.
The rumors that swirled around Nash—even before I came to be his new conquest—had been there from the beginning. It wasn’t a secret who he was. And it sure didn’t seem like he bothered trying to keep it under the rug and out of sight either. What I knew about him was what everyone knew about him.
He was a playboy and liked to live in extravagance.
My eyes raked the modern living quarters I was now considering moving into.
Nash would want me to live here. This was his type of place.
When I found myself standing in front the large, double-paned windows overlooking the city, I glanced over my shoulder and saw Kendra chatting up the realtor.
The media loved Nash Brooks. And for good reason.
He was successful, made amazing movies that hit all sorts of industry records. But, beyond that, he also wasn’t afraid to be the bad boy that naturally served reporters their weekly gossip.
I twisted my head back around and stared out over the skyline.
And journalists loved him for it. They treated Nash like Hollywood royalty, including having the nerve to disclose to the world his astonishing length.
My cheeks flushed just thinking about it.
They also didn’t have a problem reminding the world how many women he had notoriously been with, either.
And that was what made my heart ache the most.
I was just another notch on his bedpost.
It was shameful to think I had given him everything sacred when he was used to taking it from so many.
And, even worse, apparently what I had still wasn’t enough to cure his unquenchable thirst—he had to find something new only hours after being with me.
“Alex?” Kendra walked in my direction.
What did it matter anyway? It wasn’t like we were exclusive or anything like that. There was no reason for me to be as upset as I was.
Right?
Because he certainly wasn’t worth crying over.
Kendra’s hand landed softly on my shoulder. “Hey. Snap out of it,” she whispered in my ear.
I blinked.
Kendra returned my soft smile.
“What do you need from me to get started?” I looked across the room to the realtor.
“That’s the spirit!” Kendra threw her arm across my shoulders.
The realtor’s face lit up. “Fill out this application.” She moved across the room and met me halfway. “Let’s see if I can’t speed up the background check to get you in here by the end of today.”
I pinched the form between my fingers and quickly glanced over it. “And if anything goes wrong, who will be my point of contact?”
“No need to worry, hun. This place is in immaculate condition.” The realtor looked over my shoulder at Kendra before coming back to give me her unassuming gaze. “But just in case, the place has a property manager on call 24/7.”
My eyes scanned more of the paperwork. It was all standard, contractual agreements. “And what about the landlord? I can safely assume that the building isn’t getting sold anytime soon?”
“Don’t worry about that.” She chuckled.
I lifted my brows and locked eyes on her.
“The owner is a very successful Hollywood director.”
My eyes widened.
“And he isn’t the least bit interested in selling this majestic piece of property.” Her eyes sparkled like the fourth of July.
The knot in my belly looped around itself and tightened.
Did she say, Hollywood director?
This had to be Nash.
32
Nash
MY FINGERS WEAVED through the black lace panties I stole from Alex.
Just holding them, feeling the coarse fabric glide between the pads of each of my digits, had me rock solid.
A type of agony I was really starting to enjoy.
It was impossible for me to concentrate. All I could think about was her.
I closed my eyes, and there was her slick softness, silky smooth and bare. Her taste lingered on my tongue, her smell imprinted on my brain.
My groin twitched and heated painfully.
The way she fit over my cock—so tightly fit, like we were meant to be—was incredible. She was young, eager, and full of energy that only I knew how to properly exploit.
And I wanted more.
When my eyes opened and I cast my gaze down at her sexy lingerie, I knew that she wouldn’t be like the last intern.
Ted was wrong and had nothing to worry about.
Alex was different.
I stretched the lace wide between both my hands, and when I let go, the hem snapped back into place.
She could handle whatever I tossed her way. My heart knew she could. And with her telling me she liked it rough, it was the green light I needed to get me one foot closer to where I wanted to take her.
My grin spread across my face.
She hasn’t seen rough, I laughed. But if that’s what she wants . . .
Soon, she would know what it was truly like to explode through the most earth-shattering orgasm known to womankind.
Once I had her trained up, it would be call and response. I would give the okay, and she would squirt and squirm just by hearing the words roll off my tongue.
She was mine.
I owned her in so many ways.
My b
alls tightened, feeling heavy.
Now that I had her committed to going inside Ricky’s trailer, looking for possible clues to where—and who—had the missing money Wes was looking for, she wasn’t just an intern or the girl I wanted to constantly fuck.
No.
She was more than that.
We were in this tangled mess together.
Whether she liked it or not.
Heavy footsteps stopped outside my door, just before a ravenous knock vibrated the hard wood.
“Come in.” I scrunched the panties into a tight ball, hiding them inside my fist.
A member of the costume crew stepped inside. “They’re all here.”
“Good. I’ll be over in two minutes.”
He nodded, shut the door, and left.
I spread out her panties on my lap. I couldn’t wait to see her again. Slip off whatever new panties she had to replace these.
My feet hit the floor as I stood, opening my desk drawer. I tossed them inside and moved swiftly across set.
I gave the writers— with whom I spent most of my morning—a quick nod and continued heading in the direction of the costume crew, waiting for me.
“Listen up.” I clapped my hands loud enough to round up the entire crew. “Line up.”
They all stood shoulder to shoulder in front of me.
“I seem to have misplaced something quite valuable.”
With their eyes locked on me, I took a minute to search for unease that may reveal the hidden secrets they hoped I wouldn’t uncover.
“Your crew was on set first. Ahead of everyone else. And what went missing of mine was here, somewhere inside the mess, before we started filming.” I took two long strides and closed the gap between me and the crew members. “Now, I know this studio resembled a nuclear war zone when we arrived. But—” My finger wagged.
A crew member held his hand over his mouth and chuckled.
I pointed at him. “Even though you did a fantastic job of getting it ready—” I paused and held my hands behind my back as I paced. “That’s when it went missing. And now I want it back.”
The room seemed to hold its breath.
Every single gaze that was on me dropped to their feet.
No one said a word.
Not a peep.
Complete silence.
I glanced to the side at Mike. He crossed his arms over his chest and clenched his jaw like, Why the hell are you even bothering to waste my crew’s time with this bullshit?
“Now. What I want to know is, who among you was here first? And did you happen to come across something you know didn’t belong?” My hands dropped inside my pockets.
It was so quiet I could hear myself breathe.
I paced and watched as the crew members started stealing glances at each other, sniffing out the culprit.
“No? Nothing?” I got in a few people’s faces. “Nothing unusual you’d care to share?” I turned on a heel and looked down the line.
A young man stepped forward. “We did find a duffel bag the other day that seemed odd.”
I marched straight for him. “And what was inside?”
“I didn’t open it.” He held his chest out.
“Well, did anybody open it?” My shoulders squared with his and I quirked a brow.
He dropped his chin and shook his head.
“And what happened to this duffel bag?” My neck craned. “Do you still have it?”
His eyes held steady and I swore his forehead started to glisten with tiny pellets of sweat.
“What is it, boy?” My head angled to the side. “You have something you’d like to say?”
“Dex Ross came by the same day.” He sighed. “Not too long after we found it.”
I took a step back.
“We tossed it to the side to make room for what we knew did belong.”
“And?”
“He took it with him.”
I ran my fingers through my hair.
Fuck.
Wes was right.
There was missing money here.
No doubt about it.
And, of course, Dex Ross would know. He was working alongside Blake Stone just before it all went to shit.
My mind raced and my heart pounded like a war drum ready for battle.
The boy was still staring at me like there was more.
I waved him to come closer.
He leaned close to my ear and said, “But he wasn’t the only one who came looking for it.”
33
Alex
KENDRA COULDN’T STOP STEALING glances in my direction.
I turned to look at her and she’d quickly look away.
Then she’d do it again.
“What?” I narrowed my eyes, growing annoyed.
“Okay.” Her body leaped off the couch as she spun to face me. “I’m just so happy for you. That apartment is auh-mazing.”
“If I get it.” I tucked my feet underneath me and slipped a strand of hair behind my ear.
“You’ll get it.” She looked to the ceiling, beaming from ear to ear. “And I’ll remain totally jelly of it, too. Your own private tanning bed? Get. Out.”
“But you’ll be over all the time anyway.” My hands cupped my tea as I took a sip. “And I’m sure you’ll be able to use it, too.”
“I will. You’re right.” She nodded with her contagious enthusiasm I loved so much. “I already asked the realtor when you weren’t listening.”
I laughed.
“I figured I’d bought you enough drinks these last few months to cover the cost of how much I’ll use it.” Her lips curled up with her eyes. “Like. Every. Day.”
We both burst out laughing. “Thank you. Really.”
She tightened her brows. “Don’t thank me for that. You’re my friend. I’d do anything for you.”
“You can use my tanning bed however much you want.” I smiled before lifting my mug to my lips.
Kendra sat in silence for a minute before asking, “So, do you think the landlord could be him?”
I followed the steam rising off my hot tea and watched it swirl into tight spirals before disappearing into thin air.
“Just what I thought.” She leaped off the couch and marched across the room. “I thought so, too.” She glanced over her shoulder and gave me a reassuring smile. “Nash totally owns the building.”
My scalp prickled as I watched Kendra pull her laptop free from the power cord. “What are you doing?”
“Searching the internet.” She pranced back to her seat on the couch and fell heavily into the plush pillows that swallowed her small frame. “I’m sure we can find out if he does or doesn’t own it.”
The computer powered up, and not a minute later she was typing keywords into the search query. “I’m not sure I want to know,” I admitted.
She scrolled through her results. “What are you talking about?” She shot me a quick glance. “Of course you want to know.”
I rolled my head from side to side and drummed my fingers on the mug.
“Girl, please don’t tell me this is about last night.” She stopped her search and gave me a disapproving look.
I stared at her without flinching.
“Fuck me deep.” Her eyes widened. “It is.”
I nodded. “So what?”
“Baby, you can’t get jealous when it comes to someone like Nash.” She wrinkled her brow.
My breath caught in my chest.
I knew she would do this. Tell me that I needed to keep my emotions locked inside a chest rather than remembering the feel of skin-on-skin contact with someone as cut and sexy as Nash Brooks.
But it was impossible for me to do anything other than what I was already doing. I was really starting to like him.
“Except you already let it go there . . .” Her chin dropped to her chest.
When she looked back in my direction, I nodded.
“You gotta stop doing that.”
She typed in a new search and I watched the sc
reen fill with new images. “What are you doing?”
“Seeing if I can find her face,” she said, like it was no big deal. “He’s been photographed with nearly everyone in this town. I’m sure she’ll be here somewhere.”
The longer she scrolled through the results, the less worried I became. I didn’t want her to find the woman. I just wanted it to not be what I thought it was.
It could be nothing.
“Oh, look at that.” Kendra glanced at me while she pointed to the screen. “He fucked her good and hard.” She laughed. I peeked around her shoulder and saw a beautiful women with her arm around Nash’s shoulders. “It was on every tabloid last week, and social media had a heyday with that one.”
My shoulders curled over. I didn’t want to hear it.
“In fact,” her finger wagged at the screen, “that’s when I really started to believe he was as big as, well . . .” She turned to look at me. “Well, how big you now know he is.”
I swallowed the knot forming in my throat. “Stop it.”
She surrendered long enough for me to know she meant no harm. “Do you think seeing them together could have been what we thought it was?”
Kendra gave me a questioning look.
“Because maybe we jumped to conclusions before actually uncovering the truth.”
She turned her attention back to the computer screen. “It’s okay to want to believe that he wants more from you than to just drill you good and hard.”
“But?” I couldn’t take my eyes off her.
She turned her face and met my stare with one of her own. “You can’t allow your heart to know what’s happening. I know you really like this guy. And what woman wouldn’t? Especially with a stick as long as his.”
I bit the inside of my cheek.
“Fuck this.” She slammed the laptop shut and handed it over to me. “I’m not finding anything. She’s not here. She’s nobody. It’s nothing.”
I watched as she marched, heavy-footed, across the room as I opened the computer back up.
“What are we doing tonight?”
I shrugged and continued my search, determined to find that face that would tell me she was the nobody I needed her to be.
“Should we call Andy?”
My eyes lifted over the screen. “You like him?