I think if I would have met her before Chad and I got together, I might not have been so accepting. It was always just my dad and me. I’d sworn off men and anyone who turned his eye would have just been an intrusion. But now . . . Now I think if Denise can bring him even a fraction of the happiness Chad brings me, my dad deserves that.
Before I know it, I’ve not only made Chad’s cookies, but I’ve whipped up one of his favorite dinners as well. Chicken casserole with broccoli and rice. We didn’t get a chance to eat anything healthy today while traveling from L.A., and it would be a shame to let any of the food they provided go to waste.
Chad and Cole come home just as I’m taking dinner out of the oven. I turn to see Chad leaning against the doorway to the kitchen, staring at me in awe. He closes his eyes, drawing in the aromas of my labor. “Are you for real, Mallory Kate?” he asks, not moving from where he stands.
“What?” I say. “I just feel bad that you have to travel so much and work such long hours. I wanted it to seem like you were at home for a change.”
He pushes off the wall, taking long, purposeful strides over to me. His hand comes around me, pressing into my lower back as he pulls me against him. He puts his forehead on mine. “Wherever you are, that is home to me,” he says.
~ ~ ~
I’m not sure which would be harder, watching my boyfriend do scenes with the queen bitch of Hollywood, or the sweet, nice woman she’s transformed into after rehab. I mean, Courtney is someone I could see hanging out with Mel and me. If she hadn’t been in Chad’s bed, that is.
Funny thing, I had never met her before they started filming a few weeks ago in L.A. I’d only heard what Chad and Hayden and the others would tell me about her; and then there was everything I had seen on TV and read in magazines. But it’s hard for me to picture this Courtney as that horrible person. She’s nothing like the stories they would tell me. Stories about the diva who would throw a tantrum if her very specific kind of bottled water wasn’t in her dressing room.
She wasn’t always that way, though. Chad said before she started doing drugs, she was much more like she is now. Nice. Accommodating. Breathtakingly beautiful.
It makes me wonder if they would still be together if she hadn’t gone rogue. What would have happened if she were still that person? Would she have been with him at the club the night of the premiere? Would he have even seen me that night; and if so, would he have bothered to look me up after?
Thoughts such as these plague me as I watch them have casual conversation between takes. As I see them laugh and banter the way Chad and I have always done.
Yesterday, after they wrapped up early due to technical issues, he invited her to go climbing with us. When we were in L.A., Chad took me to the place he trained for the movie. He taught me to rock climb so we could spend some quality time together on his days off in Sedona.
Well, I shouldn’t say he invited her per se. More like she found out what we were going to do and showed such an interest it would have been rude not to ask her along. Still—rock climbing was supposed to be our thing. And since she hadn’t been properly trained, Chad pretty much had to spend the entire time teaching her what to do even though he chose the easiest climb. It had me wondering if her nice-girl act is all for show. Is it some elaborate scheme to win him back?
“Whatever it is that you’re thinking, stop it.”
I turn around to see Noreen has snuck up behind me. “What is it that I’m thinking?” I ask.
“I see the way you’re looking at them, Mallory. They are the leads in this movie, it behooves them to get along. Believe me, them hating each other would make this so much worse.”
“For whom?” I ask, looking back at them.
She touches my shoulder, bringing my attention from them back to her. “I’m telling you, that man only has eyes for you.”
I nod as if I agree with her. Sweat trickles down my cleavage as the sun beats down on me on this sweltering day. We walk over and sit down in chairs under a tent.
“Hayden tells me you’re all Thad talks about when they are together,” Noreen says. Then she laughs. “He says it’s starting to get pretty disgusting. He calls Thad a love-sick puppy.”
I try not to smile, but don’t do a very good job of it. “Thanks, Noreen.”
I look back to try and find Chad, wondering when they’re going to do the cave scene. I saw it on his call sheet, and I could tell this morning at breakfast that he was nervous. In Defcon One, they spent so much time in a cave that he became claustrophobic.
“I’m worried about him,” I tell Noreen. “You were there last time, right? When he freaked out in the cave? What if it happens again?”
She nods. “Hayden and I tried to convince the studio to make a set so he wouldn’t have to actually film in a cave again. But when Thad found out about it, he told them not to. Said it would cost too much and take too much time. He said he was fine and he could do it.”
“You didn’t see him this morning,” I say. “He’s trying to be all big and brave about it, but I think it’s a real issue for him.”
“He’ll be fine, Mallory. He’s an actor. He can act like he’s not claustrophobic.”
“I hope so.” The words are barely out of my mouth when John, one of the ADs, comes running over. I don’t like the way he’s looking at me. I don’t like it at all.
“Ms. Schaffer, please come quickly.”
I jump up out of my chair. “What is it? Is he okay?”
John pulls me along by my elbow, guiding me through the maze of trailers, tents, and cameras. “I think he’s having a panic attack,” he says. “He ran out of the cave and won’t go back in. This could set us back days; weeks if we have to build a set. So if you think there is anything you can do, please help him.”
I find Chad sitting on the ground next to a boulder, head slumped, elbows on his knees. The back of his shirt is drenched with sweat. It’s hot here, yes, but this kind of sweat, it’s from stress.
Everyone else is standing back. Nobody seems to know what to do. David, the director, looks pissed. He looks at me and then waves his arm at Chad as if to say ‘deal with him, would you?’
As I walk over to him, Hayden, who is also in the cave scene, asks everyone to give us some privacy. I nod at him in thanks as the crew all back away and keep their distance.
I sit down next to Chad. I don’t say anything, I just put my hand out to see if he wants to hold it. When he grabs onto it and squeezes it as if it’s his lifeline, I’m not sure whether to be happy that he holds me in such regard, or sad that my man is in such distress that he even needs one.
“Hey,” I finally say when I hear his breathing slow down.
He sighs so hard some dirt on the ground beneath his knees becomes displaced. “I’m a fucking joke, Mal. I thought I could do it. But once I got inside, it’s like a goddamn tomb and I swear the walls started closing in on me. I don’t know how they even got the camera in there. There’s barely room in there to turn around let alone fit two grown men plus a cameraman.”
“You are not a joke, Chad. Claustrophobia is a very real fear. Nobody is going to fault you if you can’t do it. They’ll just have to think of something else.”
“Not fault me?” He motions behind me. “Did you see the look on David’s face? He thinks I’m a pussy. I have to do this, Mal. I have to.”
I think back on my teacher training. They gave us all kinds of tips and tricks to help kids get through difficult situations. “Okay. Um, can you remember a time when you were in an enclosed space where you weren’t scared?”
Chad shoots me a look of annoyance. “Don’t psychoanalyze me.”
“Just humor me, okay? Was there ever a time like that?”
He takes a few deep breaths and I can feel his hand starting to relax in mine. Then he nods and his lips twitch with a half-smile.
“What?” I ask. “You thought of one?”
“Do you remember when we had that huge snowstorm when we were in middle sc
hool? School got canceled for a whole week and we had snow drifts as tall as your basketball hoop?”
How could I ever forget that? It’s one of my favorite memories of him. But I don’t want to recall the story for him; he needs to tell it. “Um, I guess so,” I say, goading him on.
“Every time the snow plows would come by, more snow would pile up along the front yard. It must have been ten feet high out near the curb. Kyle, Ethan, Julian and I built something resembling an igloo. We just picked a spot by the driveway and started digging. We must have dug about fifty pounds of snow out and then someone suggested spraying cold water along the inside walls to solidify them as it froze. It was epic. You couldn’t stand up in there, but two or three people could fit in at a time. We took blankets and snacks in there. We even had a lantern.” He squeezes my hand. “You really don’t remember?”
“I’m starting to,” I say. “Didn’t we get stuck in there or something?”
“Or something?” He laughs at the memory. “Mallory, we were stuck in there for like three hours one day. Kyle was pissed at me because I brought a girl into our fort, so when you and I were in there, he shoveled a ton of snow into the opening, giving us no way out. When I realized what he’d done, I didn’t even care. I was happy, in fact, because we were forced to spend more time together. Man, was my mom mad at him. She said we could have frozen to death, but there was no way. When you got too cold, you let me put my arm around you. And believe me, I had a lot of body heat going on just thinking about how much I wanted to kiss you.”
I look at him with wide eyes. “You wanted to kiss me? I was only eleven, Chad.”
“And I was twelve,” he says. “Hell yeah, I wanted to kiss you. I wanted to kiss you every time I was with you, Mal.”
Chad closes his eyes and shakes his head. “Damn,” he says. “You’re one hell of a teacher, Mallory Kate. I think I’m ready to do this now.”
I stand up and reach my hand out to him to help him up. Then when he goes to say something to Hayden, I walk over to the director. “Get everything set up in there and then give us a few minutes alone in the cave.”
He looks at me like I’m crazy. “Who the hell is directing this film?” he asks, arching a mocking brow.
“Do you want the shot or not?” I ask, staring him down even though he towers over me by a good foot.
He scoffs, rolling his eyes at me before he calls John over and tells him what to do.
I watch Chad eye the mouth of the cave, taking a deep breath before he walks in. I hurry behind him, following him into the dark chamber that is illuminated by dim set lights. When he sees me coming in behind him, he balks at me. “Mal, you can’t be in here.” He looks at the entrance nervously as if David is going to reach in and pull me out by my collar.
“I can and I am.” I put my hand against his chest, forcefully pushing him back into the cave wall. “I remember every single detail of that day,” I tell him. “You’re going to finally get that kiss, Chad Stone. The one you wanted in that igloo when you were twelve.”
I press myself against him, reaching up to run my hands through the back of his hair, taking care not to ruin it for the shot. I trace my fingers across his broad shoulders, teasing him through his shirt. His gaze moves to my lips as my tongue comes out to wet them. His mouth moves closer to mine, pausing only to say, “I fucking love you,” before bonding his lips to mine.
The heat of the cave only heightens my senses. I’m hyper-aware of how he tastes of mint and soda, how we both smell of sweat mingled with cologne and perfume, how the sounds of our kisses echo off the walls, and how his touch sends messages of want and desire straight to my center.
I don’t know how much time passes. Seconds, minutes. But it doesn’t matter because he’s perfectly fine in this moment, making a new memory to add to his older one. He’s perfectly fine being in this tomb of a cave. And when I pull away from him and hear someone clear their throat as they walk in behind me, I whisper to him, “Do this once, babe. Make it count. And when we go home, we’ll finish the fantasy.”
Hayden salutes me on my way out. Then I quickly go over to the monitor on the outside of the cave and huddle around it with five or six crew as we watch Chad and Hayden nail it in one take, Chad giving the performance of a lifetime in that one Oscar-worthy scene.
Chapter Twenty-five
Chad
“I think you just might be David’s favorite person in the whole world right now,” I say to Mal in the car on the way home. “He thinks you walk on water, you know. And David doesn’t like anybody.”
She shrugs as if it’s no big deal.
“Seriously, nobody stands up to the guy,” I say. “You just earned the respect of every person on the crew.”
“He was a little terrifying,” she admits with a smile.
“Do you know how good you are for me? I don’t think an entire team of high-priced shrinks could have accomplished in a hundred hours of therapy what it took you ten minutes to do.” I wrap my arm around her, pulling her close in the back seat. “You saved my ass today, Mallory.”
She nuzzles her head into me. “It’s nothing you wouldn’t have done for me.”
“And that’s why we’re perfect for each other.” I look at Cole in the front, his eyes fully seated on the road in front of him. I take the opportunity to run my hand up Mallory’s thigh. It’s hot in Sedona in the summer, so she’s always wearing these short shorts and tank tops, making it damn hard for me to concentrate.
“Chad!” she whispers, scolding me with her stare.
“Just trying to make sure you don’t renege on that promise you made in the cave.” I plant my hand on her inner thigh and rub my thumb across her soft skin, repeating a pattern that sends goosebumps up and down her arms on this warm evening.
Her eyes are glued to the rearview mirror, making sure Cole isn’t watching us. My eyes are glued to hers. And every once in a while she closes them, taking in a breath as her body quivers under my touch. The ride back home is too long. There are so many things I want to do to her right now, but can’t. I remove my hand from her leg and she protests with silent, pouty lips, making me chuckle.
I pull out my phone and tap out a text.
Mallory stares at me, clearly annoyed. “You’re sending a text? Now?” she whines.
I smile as her phone pings in her back pocket. I nod my head at it and watch as she pulls it out and reads the text.
Me: Do you know what I want to do to that tight, sweaty little body of yours?
She laughs when she reads it. Then she smiles a deviant smile and texts me back.
Mal: Why don’t you tell me?
Damn. What did I ever do to deserve this girl? I stare at her and tell her with my eyes what I want to do. We don’t need words. She knows what I’m saying without them. But what’s the fun in that? She wants to play this game, so I go all in. Good thing I’m a fast texter.
Me: I was watching you all day. Every chance I got, my eyes were glued to you. You didn’t know because you were busy making everyone on set fall in love with you. But you want to know my favorite thing about watching you today? It was when you took a drink of water and then someone made you laugh. A bead of water trickled out of your mouth and rolled down your chin. You tossed your head back, laughing, and that bead of water traced a line down your neck, across your collarbone, and into your cleavage, finally disappearing into your shirt. It was the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen. And I was jealous of a damn drop of water. I wanted to BE that drop of water. And tonight, when we get home, I’m going to follow the same path that bead of water followed. I’m going to kiss your beautiful lips and trace my tongue down your neck. I’m going to lick your salty skin and savor the sweet taste of you. But I won’t stop there . . .
I press send and then I watch her react as she reads the text. The more she reads, the faster her breathing gets. I’m already hard. Writing her the text was like reliving that moment. Her reaction makes me even harder. Her eyes close briefly before she
taps out her reply.
Mal: How can you seduce me simply by talking about a drop of water? I want that. I want that and more. Every time your lips are on me, I’m in heaven. Every time you touch me, another memory gets added to my vault that chronicles my life’s most cherished moments.
God. This girl.
Me: Oh, I plan to put my lips ALL over you. After my mouth gets its fill of your incredible breasts, I’m going to lick my way down your stomach. I’m going to kiss that sexy little scar of yours. And while my mouth is busy there, my fingers are going to explore how wet I’ve made you . . .
She squirms around in her seat as she reads my text. Her mouth hangs open slightly. I watch as she taps out a few short words with shaky fingers. I laugh when I read them.
Mal: Yes, please.
Me: God, Mal, you’re going to be so wet for me that my fingers slide easily inside your tight walls. I move them around, massaging that little area that makes you groan every time I find it. Then my tongue is going to join the party and I’m going to taste how hungry you are for me. I’m going to flick your clit with my tongue and then I’ll run it in circles, making you squirm so hard under me you’ll want to explode. My fingers will start to work faster because I feel your thighs start to tighten around my shoulders. God, I love that moment right before you come, when I know it’s going to happen and I’m the one who’s going to take you there. I suck your hard nub into my mouth as your hands grip my shoulders so fiercely that your fingernails dig into me. They dig in so deeply it hurts a bit. But I love it because it means you are mine in every way, and while I’m making you come, you are marking me as yours. Your hips buck under me as I continue to rub that spot inside you, drawing every moan and shout out of your pretty pink lips. And when you cry my name, it’s a prayer I want you to say every fucking day of our lives.
The Stone Brothers: A Complete Romance Series (3-Book Box Set) Page 54