Scorpio

by Lauren Landish

  When I let go, I pull her to her feet, kissing her again tenderly, not even caring because I’m so worked up.

  We’re adjusting our clothes when there’s a knock on the door. “Go away!”

  “It’s Brad,” a familiar voice says from the other side of the door. “Open up, please?”

  I glance back at Emily, who gives me a nod as she smooths out her skirt. I open the door to see a smirking Brad, looking me up and down. “What do you need, Brad? We were about to come back out there.”

  “Yeah . . . everyone knows,” Brad says, reaching forward and plucking the tiny wireless mic off my shirt.

  I can’t help it. I don’t know what the hell to say so I just laugh. “Uhh, so everyone heard?”

  “The producers cut the feed, but we could hear it at the sound board. You guys fuck like jackrabbits, you know. Now get out of here, out the back before someone wants you to do a special-edition episode or something.”

  Emily grabs my hand, entwining our fingers and grinning. “Thanks, Karma Fairy.”

  Emily

  I wake up in the hotel bed, feeling Hayden’s warmth behind me. It’s been awhile since we’ve been out to Los Angeles again, but I’ve gotta admit, I love the feeling of having a five-star bed and Egyptian cotton sheets. I wiggle my ass back against him, feeling him stiffen already. Hayden stirs, putting a strong arm around me and pulling me closer, nuzzling at my neck. “Woman, I was trying to sleep a little more. You waking me up for a reason?”

  I take his hand and bring him up to cup my breast, sighing happily when his fingers start stroking my nipple to full stiffness. “Definitely waking you up for a reason. We’ve got to get ready. But not for a bit longer.”

  Turning over, I look him in his soulful eyes that are full of lust and bite my lip. Reaching down, my hand still trembles as I find his cock and wrap my hand around him as he grows rock hard and throbbing. Hayden grins wolfishly, cupping my ass and squeezing. “Sleep is so overrated.”

  Pulling me on top of him, he kisses my neck, nibbling and licking my skin as his fingers stroke my back before working his way down to wrap his lips around my nipple, tugging at it with his teeth and making my body tremble with need. I grab the headboard, glad we’re in a hotel room because after last night, I want more than my poor bed back home could handle. Hayden’s tongue and lips tease my nipple until I’m wet and aching between my legs before switching to the other side, stars shooting across my vision as I hold myself still for him.

  “Hayden,” I moan, reaching down and running my fingers through his hair. “Oh, my love.”

  Hayden pulls back, looking up at me with a naughty twinkle in his eyes. “My love. That reminds me, I had an idea.”

  “What’s that?” I ask, loving the feeling of his hands on my back as they stroke down to cup my ass. “Let me guess, you want me to tie you up and then find my favorite sex toy?”

  Hayden stops, then laughs. “McKayla’s been a bad influence on you. No, actually, I was just thinking that I wanted to taste you.”

  “Hmm, well my favorite number is sixty-nine,” I purr, climbing off Hayden just long enough to let him slide down the bed before I climb over his face, lowering my pussy slowly toward him as I reach out and take his cock in my hand. “Now promise me—”

  Words are wiped from my mind as the tip of Hayden’s tongue starts stroking my pussy lips, making me gasp and pleasure shoot up my spine. I lean forward, pulling his cock to my hungry mouth and engulfing as much as I can, desperate to give him the same feelings he’s giving me. Unfortunately, Hayden’s so much taller that I can’t swallow him fully, but still I bathe the head of his cock with my tongue, sucking and licking it until Hayden arcs his hips, driving more of it into my hungry mouth.

  I nearly scream in ecstasy when Hayden finds my clit and nibbles on it, overwhelmed at how good it feels. I moan around his cock until I can’t take any more and sit up, grinding my pussy down onto his hungry lips and begging for him to make me come. Hayden reaches around and grabs my ass, not letting me have even an inch of breathing room as he buries his tongue deep inside me, tongue fucking me as his lower lip strokes against my clit over and over. I reach down, planting my hands on his rock hard stomach as the first tremors roll through me. I let myself go, riding and bucking on his tongue until I come, throwing my head back and crying out his name, the most perfect word I can think of.

  “Your turn,” I tell him when I can speak again, getting off his glistening face, but Hayden doesn’t move, instead reaching down and positioning his cock so that it points straight up. “Oh, really?”

  “Ride me, cowgirl,” Hayden teases. “You know I love it when you do.”

  Grinning, I turn and climb on top of Hayden, letting my pussy lips tease the head of his cock for a moment as we look into each other’s eyes before I sink down slowly, moaning as I feel him stretch me open.

  Hayden lets out a deep moan as I envelop him, rolling my hips as I ride him. He reaches up, and we entwine our fingers as I look into his eyes, bouncing up and down before rolling my pussy back and forth, squeezing and moaning as his cock thrusts deep inside me. “You’re so fucking perfect, Emily.”

  “You keep saying that,” I reply, smiling as I squeeze his cock again before doing a new little move that Cassie told me about, twerking my hips up and down in bed and making Hayden whimper. It feels so good for us both. “Keep doing it.”

  I ride him faster and faster, letting go of his hands to put my hand over his heart as he does the same to me, both of us panting. Sweat trickles down my skin, and Hayden starts thrusting up to meet me, our hips slapping together in the early morning light until I feel him swell. “Babe . . .”

  “Do it!” I gasp, squeezing him. We’ve just started it, and I love the feeling as Hayden shudders before his eyes roll up and he comes deep inside me. The sensation pushes me over and I come again, biting my lip hard as I tremble and squeeze him, not wanting a single drop of his precious seed to escape me. Sure, I might be on the pill still, but it doesn’t really matter. We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.

  I collapse onto Hayden’s chest, letting him wrap his arms around me and hold me close as our hearts slow down. After a few minutes, I kiss his chest, looking up at him. “Are you sure we’re doing the right thing? I’m scared they’re gonna trick us somehow.”

  Hayden strokes my back, kissing the top of my head before replying, “I know, babe, and maybe someone will try to trick us. I mean, it’s been four months and the press is still hounding us. The best way to get everyone off our backs is to do one special interview, answer their questions, and then tell them to leave us alone. We can do this . . . together. No tricks, just answer and get it over with, and then we can get on with our lives.”

  He’s right, and I know it. I’m just nervous and don’t trust Meredith or anyone from the media. The way the producers and some of the media tried to drag us through the mud was really shitty in the aftermath of the reunion show, and I’ve been called a wishy-washy slut on the cover of more tabloids than I can count. For a while, I had to stop shopping at one of my favorite local stores because of the number of magazines with my name and face plastered on the front of them.

  But the fans have been great, mostly telling me that I should’ve picked Hayden all along and blasting the production for playing favorites for ratings. Still, the Season Two premiere numbers don’t lie, and all of those same fans telling me they hate how I got played are totally watching.

  Yeah, Season Two . . . a full season pickup this time, although not with Hayden. And not with Lee either, which apparently pissed him off enough to post a rant on his YouTube channel that went viral. He went full nutso as he tried to play the jilted lover, but most folks now see him as the conniving player who almost manipulated his way to a win. The last time I cared to check, he’d lost half of his Instagram followers, and most of those who left seem to enjoy flaming the hell out of anything he posts.

  The Season Two Match is actually Cody, and I wish him wel
l. Maybe he’ll find someone. I just hope he’s careful. That big body with all those muscles and Southern drawl is one thing, but I got the feeling, watching the premiere episode, that there are more than a few gold diggers in the bunch.

  With a sigh and crossed fingers, we get up and get ready, arriving at the studio just a few minutes before call time. McKayla and Brad are there to do my hair and makeup. I’d planned to just use the studio team, but Brad had acted completely offended that I would dare let someone else touch my face, telling me that they’d be here with bells on . . . quite possibly, literally, knowing him.

  The first thing McKayla does when she sees me is give me a big hug, squeezing me so tightly I think my damn ribs are going to crack. “Damn, girl, we do still talk on the phone, you know. I ain’t a stranger!”

  “Yeah, well, I haven’t seen you in months and you’re the most normal friend I have. Brad doesn’t count.”

  I laugh, giving Brad a hug too. “You behaving yourself?”

  Brad laughs, giving me a kiss on each cheek. “Now you know better than that.”

  “I guess I should know that,” I tease back, sitting down.

  “All right, my little chickadee . . . time to make you fabulous!” McKayla says with a grin, grabbing her tools. As they work their magic, we catch up, with me telling them about how I returned home and to my nanny gig. The kids didn’t see the show, but I had some interesting conversations with my bosses. Mindy especially wanted all the dirty details . . . and I do mean dirty.

  “I really didn’t know that she had such a naughty streak to her!” I remark, making Brad chuckle. “What?”

  “Honey, I hate to tell you, but me and Mindy’s sister Roxy go waaaaay back. I know all about Mindy’s naughty side. Next time you see her, ask her if she’s taken any dogs for walks on the beach recently.”

  I raise an eyebrow at the mysterious comment, but I just wave it off. I probably don’t even want to know what that means. “Anyway, I took the opportunity, and the little bit of money I’ve made from the show, to return to school. It’s a few nights per week, but I’m making great grades and should graduate with my teaching degree in less than two years since my previous classes counted. It’s weird being the oldest in the class and having some level of recognition. Although with Season Two premiering, the other students have finally stopped asking me questions about the show.”

  “I bet,” McKayla says. “By the way, I’ve got some news too. Well, we both do.” She looks at Brad as they grab hands.

  I laugh, holding up my hands “Please don’t tell me you’ve fallen in love, because I’m not sure that’s how this works. Although you would be the two most fabulous brides I’ve ever seen.”

  Brad grins and gives me a wink. “Oh, hell no, I am never marrying this salacious slut. No, girl, McKayla’s my bitch and all, but she’s not exactly sporting the right parts for me, if you know what I mean.”

  McKayla laughs and pats Brad on the butt. “Yeah, I think we get what you mean. You’re not very subtle at all. But no . . . that’s not what I was gonna say.”

  McKayla takes a big breath, then gushes out, “We’re leaving the show. Brad and I, we’re opening our own studio, be our own bosses and all. Some weddings, some contracts for fashion week or photo shoots, regular clientele of bottle blondes, and whoever else rolls in the door. Just striking out on our own.” She smiles warmly at Brad. “Figured there was nobody else in the world I wanted to throw insults at all day.”

  I grin, getting out of my chair to hug them both again. “That’s awesome! I’m so happy for you!” We hug as I thank them again for everything they did. “You know, I never really thanked you two lunatics for helping Hayden and me sneak around, holding me when I broke down, and helping me get back up again. I really hope you know that I love you both.”

  “Right back atcha, chica,” McKayla says.

  Hayden

  Emily and I sit down across the interviewer, the audience still applauding like crazy. The second episode of Matchmaker: Season Two just finished showing, and we’re live in the studio. I know Emily’s a little nervous, but that’s okay. I saw Meredith as I walked onto set. As long as she’s getting ratings ,she’s not upset, and from what I’ve seen after two episodes, Cody’s gonna do just fine. If anything, the scenes of his workout routine are probably going to be a hit with the ladies.

  “Well, guys, it’s so good to see you again,” the host says, giving us a warm smile. “Last time you were here, you certainly surprised me.”

  “WE LOVE YOU GUYS!”

  The host chuckles as Emily blushes and I grin. “Seems you have some fans.”

  We just smile. I mean, honestly, what do you say to that? The interview starts, with the host asking all the same questions about the Matchmaker show, and we recap the same answers we’ve always given. Maybe they’re just doing it for the people who missed the first season—“Out now on streaming services!” the host reminds everyone—but in some ways, it feels like they’re trying to catch us messing up. But our story is simply the truth. We fell in love in the midst of craziness, even with people engaged in heartless manipulation all around us.

  “I know that the situation isn’t quite what the show started off as,” Emily says, downplaying that a bit now because the show doesn’t want us to ruin the next season. Honestly, we just want them to stop calling us, so it’s fine. “But I don’t think it has anything to do with the show itself. I bet that Cody is going to have a great chance to find a beautiful young woman who’s going to become to him what Hayden means to me.”

  “Speaking of becoming, what have you two been up to individually? Now, Hayden, I know you like to focus on Emily, but what about you? What have you been up to?”

  I reach out and take Emily’s hand. “Well, I was invited to Paris Fashion Week. We Skyped every night, but it was fun. Mostly, just me exhausted from the stress of backstage and her yawning from a full day with the kids and class notes.” The audience chuckles. “But really, it’s the best time of my life.”

  Emily grins. She knows that I’ve adjusted just fine to being a ‘small town’ sort of guy. “He’s doing New York week too, and it’s this summer, so I’ll get to go with him. It’ll be fun to sit in the audience and watch him. Show them your Zoolander Blue Steel look . . .”

  I can’t help it, I laugh and then give a serious look at the camera. It was a total joke, growing from a night playing poker, but I can see some of the ladies give their approval. Even the host melodramatically fans herself. They don’t know the half of it though. That’s just my ‘working’ face. I much prefer the personal photos, the ones we’ve snapped around town when I’m able to visit Emily and live with her, the ones where we go out to dinner or play with the kids as she takes care of them. Relaxing, I lean back, giving Emily’s hand a squeeze. “Yeah, and while I’m in New York, I’ve got a big campaign to shoot for Diesel Jeans and then we’ll see from there.”

  The host turns to Emily. “And you? So you’re back to being a nanny?”

  Emily shakes her head. “No, not exactly. The couple I work for, Mindy and Oliver, have practically made me part of their family. So I still look after their adorable children when they need me. Fewer hours than before, but it lets me complete my schooling, hopefully ready to teach in a couple of years when the kids are old enough to not really need me anymore. But they’ll always be my heart.”

  “How about wedding bells and children of your own? Is that on the horizon at all?” the host asks, but before I can answer, Emily speaks up.

  “It’s still a little early for that. I need to finish school first for sure.” Emily laughs, and I know she’s trying to put the host off politely, but she’s on my side. I pulled Meredith aside earlier today. I think it’ll get me off Meredith’s kill list, not that I really care.

  I play along. “Yeah, maybe some day, like maybe . . .” I rise off the couch, dropping to one knee and holding out a ring. “Emily, no tricks, no surprises. Just you and me against the world. I love you. T
hrough it all, that’s always been true. I love you and I want to spend forever with you. Will you be my wife?”

  The collective gasp from the audience almost sucks the air out of the room, and I know at least a million people are wondering if I’ve lost my damn mind. I mean, after all, the last time Emily was proposed to on live TV, things went . . . strangely.

  I don’t have a single doubt, though, as Emily looks in my eyes. “Hayden, um, for real? Yes, yes! Of course I’ll marry you!”

  The audience erupts with applause, rising to give us a standing ovation as we hug and kiss. After a moment, the host interrupts. “So does that mean we’ll have a Matchmaker wedding special after all?”

  I don’t even look at the host, shaking my head as I look into my fiancé’s eyes. “Absolutely not. This is all you get. Our wedding day is for us, family, and friends—no one else.”

  With another kiss overtaking us both, the host calls for a commercial break. Finally.

  Emily

  I feel nervous as we wait by the limo—a gift from Oliver—for Hayden’s parents to arrive here at the airport. “When are they supposed to land?” I ask for what’s probably the five hundredth time. “Is their flight late?”

  Hayden, who’s been the world’s best fiancé this whole time, grins. “No, they’re not late. Their Delta flight is supposed to have landed just five minutes ago. You know it takes a while to de-plane.”

  I sigh, rubbing at my arms. Since our very public and very unexpected engagement moment, I haven’t really talked with Hayden’s mom and dad, who’ve tried to give their son the space needed to do what needs done without being overbearing. “Hayden, are you sure that—”

  “Stop,” Hayden says, coming close and giving me a hug. “You’re freaking out. Don’t. You’ve talked to Mom and Dad over Skype a few times now. Besides, they don’t allow torches and pitchforks on airplanes anymore.”