Her cheek nestled more into the dip between his neck and collarbone. One hand came up to rest on his chest. “Your heart’s racing.”
“Yeah, well, I’m pretty damned nervous that you won’t say what I’m hoping to hear.”
Anda pulled his right hand around to rest where her pulse galloped underneath the thin skin of her neck. “I’m nervous, too. About admitting what I’ve been feeling for so long. What I felt embarrassed, ashamed, to admit once I was certain we had no future. That didn’t stop the feelings, though. I never found a way to turn them off.”
This was all kinds of good. But Chance knew the riskiest thing you could do in a stunt was relax. Assume it was all going well before you finished. You had to stay focused the entire time. So, he couldn’t relax until Anda said the words.
“Tell me. Tell me now,” he rasped out.
***
Anda had held what was in her heart under lock and key for so long. Letting it out was as scary as…well, as this blackout. But with God knew what happening outside, this dark cabana felt safe, with Chance in it. With Chance literally and figuratively propping her up as they stretched out on the sofa.
She was well aware he was the only thing keeping her from sinking into total panic.
That surety, that comfort in his presence—that meant she had to tell him.
Funny, the blackout made it a little bit easier. She wouldn’t be second guessing every twitch and blink of his face. Anda just hoped he wasn’t mad at her for not admitting it sooner. Chance had been so brave to open up to her, after being convinced that she’d left him. That she didn’t care.
Thank goodness he didn’t know about her evil plan for revenge sex, to humiliate him.
It didn’t matter. That had been a dumb decision based in hurt and bitterness. The blackout wiped all of that away. He never had to know how thoughtless she’d almost been, how mean.
She’d make it up to him, starting right now. By telling him everything. By being the best possible girlfriend. By never again hiding how she truly felt.
Anda curled her fingers in, tunneling in between the buttons to rest against his warm skin. Then she licked her lips. And smiled—even though he couldn’t see it—in sheer relief at finally sharing with Chance.
“It wasn’t supposed to happen. The odds were against it. All my friends rolled their eyes when I said I was going on Man of Her Dreams to fall in love. But I thought, why not try? And it turns out that I started falling in love with you on the group dates. Things only got better when it was just the two of us. The night we finally made love? I had to fight against letting the words spill out. I was so happy. I was truly with the man of my dreams.”
It only took seven months of torturous heartbreak, a trip to the desert, and a total blackout to get it out of her.
In one of those displays of his amazing strength that always surprised her, Chance lifted her. For a moment, still stretched out, Anda felt like a flying superhero. And then he twisted, flipped her in the air to settle her on the sofa.
On his knees next to the sofa, he ran his hands up and down her torso, fingers catching in the macrame-esque open weave of her shirt. “I can’t touch you enough. I can’t touch enough of you.”
She knew exactly what he meant. Blindly she reached out, snagging his head down for a kiss. Anda missed his mouth on the first try in the overwhelming darkness. That was okay. She’d cover his cheek and jaw with teensy love bites until she got there.
A sort of half-laugh, half-moan rumbled up from deep in his chest. “You’re adorable.”
“Rats. I really ought to match you in the sexy as fuck department.”
“Thanks for the compliment.” His hands moved up to her cheeks to hold her still. Then Chance found her mouth—on the first try—and gave her a kiss that was devastating in its slowness and thoroughness. “But all I want is you, Anda. Equal parts adorable, vulnerable, brave, and yeah, so sexy that I could eat you up in three big bites.”
“I wouldn’t object. Oh, but…crap. Do you think these cabanas are so well-stocked that they’ve got a jar of condoms?”
“We’re not on the show anymore, so I doubt it. No need, though. Christ, Anda, we started tonight on a date. So, my wallet is stuffed with a strip of six condoms. I had high hopes for how the night would end.”
So had she. But with a completely different outcome.
This was better.
Even with an end-of-the-world blackout going on around them.
“If you’ve got six, then we don’t have to wait. We can be fast now, and then take our time all the way to sunrise.”
“See? We’re completely on the same page.” There was rustling and zippers and a few thuds as Chance undressed swiftly. Anda sat up to pull off her cowboy boots. And her jeans. Because without any light, she didn’t want to put any tricky barriers between her and Chance and their orgasms.
But before she could remove her shirt, Chance’s knees straddled her thighs. Thank goodness for oversized poolside sofas!
“You’ve been driving me crazy with this shirt. All these holes that make me want to rip it off.”
That was hot. “Except that there’s a nude camisole layer, too. Far harder to rip off.”
“Challenge accepted.” Chance laced his fingers through the open design, plucking at her nipples.
With the double shirt, she hadn’t bothered with a bra. And because yes, she’d wanted to drive him a little bit crazy. So, it only took a few soft pinches before Anda was gasping and arching up into his touch.
She’d been frantic with need from the moment he admitted his feelings.
Now she was desperate.
Chance tunneled his hands up from beneath the hem all the way to the top. Anda couldn’t see his smug smirk, but she knew it was there. Because then he ripped her shirt in two with one good yank. “I’ll buy you a new one tomorrow. I’ll buy you twenty.”
“Let’s not worry about tomorrow,” she said, as a tiny bit of dread and worry crept through the inky blackness back into her belly. “Let’s just enjoy tonight.”
“Nope. I’m not settling for that again. I need to know there will be a tomorrow with you, Anda. And another after that, and another.”
Screw worrying. They’d face whatever was happening, whatever would come, together. “Yes.”
As soon as the word left her lips, Chance buried himself inside her in one excruciatingly slow stroke.
Anda almost came right then and there.
He scraped his teeth together into a gentle tug at her nipple that bobbled between pleasure and pain…a.k.a. sheer pleasure. Then he laved his tongue in warm, wet circles as he pumped in and out.
Anda caressed his back, up and down, over the tightness of his ass, along his hips to his waist and then back to his impossibly broad shoulders. Because all of the touching wasn’t enough. Having the hair of his legs scratch against her thighs, one hand sliding up and down her side while the other gently knotted in her hair…it wasn’t enough.
All of her energy was gathered right between her legs, but there were so many sensations to enjoy that none of them could tip her over the edge. Her intense craving for more of everything kept her teetering on the outside of that bubble of pleasure.
Chance lifted his head to murmur, “I adore you, Anda.” He kissed her, tongue thrusting in the same rhythm as his ceaseless hips.
That was all it took. The bubble opened up, sucking her in to its pulsating shivers of satisfaction. Her whole body bowed beneath him. Chance increased his pace to four more sharp, fast strokes before letting out a groan that was almost a bellow.
Then there was only the silence and the darkness and their harsh pants.
It was glorious.
It wasn’t enough for her. “Well, it’s still completely dark. So….do you want to go again?”
“Right now?” He pushed the hair off her face with careful fingers. “Without a break for a drink or a snack?”
With five condoms left? “Mmm-hmm.”
“You bet I do.”
CHAPTER 11
Something startled Chance out of his sleep. More than the dawn filtering through the cabana slats. A noise? Normally he’d be pissed at whatever, whoever, woke him up early. With the blackout, though, his eyes flew open. If there were a person coming by to explain what the fuck had happened, he was all for it.
The blackout was the only excuse for not instantly noticing the awesomeness of waking up spooned around Anda. They’d put their jeans back on for warmth. He’d insisted she wear his shirt, too. But it wasn’t buttoned.
His hand cupped the soft weight of her breast. The slow, steady beat of her heart thrummed against his thumb. Chance could’ve lain like that for hours more. Instead, he pressed a kiss onto her temple.
“You need to wake up. I think someone’s coming.” He withdrew his hand and managed to get two buttons done up before she blinked up at him with a smile.
“Good morning. No, a great morning,” she mumbled sleepily, half-hidden behind the thick cloud of her dark hair. “Great to be with you.”
“Agreed.” Hell, he hadn’t heard anymore voices. There was time to say what he’d wanted to every morning for seven months. Chance swept his eyes from her sexed-up hair past where the shirt gaped open to reveal the dark shadow of her nipple to the tangle of their feet beneath the blanket. “You’re so beautiful in my bed.”
One corner of her mouth tugged upwards. “It’s a sofa.”
“Whatever. I wanted to say that to you, when we woke up in Colorado. Together. I’ve regretted not getting the chance to say it. So indulge me now.”
The back of her hand brushed against his stubbled cheek. “That’s so sweet. You can call me beautiful anytime you like.”
“Can I wake up with you anytime I want?” Chance propped himself up on one elbow. He needed to fully see her face while they talked, now that the sun cast dim light. He’d missed out on seeing her reaction last night when he’d admitted he loved her. Chance didn’t want to miss anything else. “God, Anda, we’ve wasted so much time being apart.”
“Not by choice.” She sat up to button the shirt the rest of the way.
“True. But I’ve learned that life has a way of keeping people apart, especially in L.A. They get busy, like we both will chasing down new careers. I don’t want this week to be it for us.” Chance paused. How did it seem like he’d taken more risks in these few days with Anda than on his last five movies? This one was the biggest, for sure. “Move in with me.”
Those melted chocolate eyes widened, and her mouth dropped open a little. “What?”
He gripped her arm with both hands. “We talked about it when we were in Colorado. How it was the next step. How it was stupid to wait a couple of months when everything clicked so well between us. Let’s start these new journeys fully together. Waking up together. As much as we can.”
Just like last night, Anda didn’t react in a good or bad way. “Stunned” pretty much covered it. Which didn’t give Chance anything to work off of.
Should he keep talking? Sell her on the idea? Tell her again how much he cared? Give her a minute to absorb it?
The curtains of their cabana abruptly parted. A man in the resort staff uniform of a logoed polo and khakis got elbowed aside by…a man holding a video camera. And another guy holding the boom mic.
Not any random guys. But Jeremy and Don. He recognized the crew from Man of Her Dreams, even seeing them out of context. Hard to forget the faces of the people who followed you around 24-7 for two solid months. What the hell?
“Are you Mr. DiMarco and Miss Weiss?” the staffer asked.
“It’s them,” Jenny answered shortly. “Anda, we were so worried about you.”
Jenny was here, too? Why would the whole team from the show be back together?
Especially here, at their cabana? And, from the blinking red light on the camera, taping this whole thing? His mind raced, trying to fit the puzzle pieces together.
Pointing at Jeremy, Chance asked, “Are you recording? Is the power back on?”
Don sliced a hand across this throat in the classic “shut up” gesture. “Dude, you know the rules. You can’t talk to us while filming.”
Rules? Like they were still on the show? What the fuck?
Almost speaking over him, the staffer rubbed his hands together nervously. “Mr. DiMarco, my name is Ronaldo. And the power is not back on. Communication is still down. We’d like to get you inside to safety.”
“Safety from what?” Chance pushed up off the sofa and planted his feet wide, bracing for what revelation might be coming. “What happened? What’s going on?”
“We don’t know.”
Shit. Not what he’d hoped to hear. Although it was a step up from war or alien invasion, so that was something.
“It was decided that sheltering in place was smarter than running off to look for answers. So, we put all the guests and staff in the ballroom overnight. Now that it’s light, we’re finally able to safely search the entire property for the guests who were unaccounted for last night. And we’re allowing people to roam about the hotel to get comfortable. We can’t get you into your rooms, though, because the locking system is electronic.”
“You two look like you made it through okay, though,” Jenny said. With a smirk.
A smirk like she knew something. Not just that she’d put two and two together with Chance standing there bare-chested and a rumpled blanket behind him. And why was a reality TV producer here filming him?
Filming them.
Chance looked over at Anda.
Anda, who had done up his shirt completely right before the camera appeared. Anda, who’d made it very clear that she honestly believed he’d shamed her, humiliated her by going back on his promise to not have sex and then cut her from the show.
Anda, who’d been nursing a broken heart and that humiliation for half a year. Was it possible she’d taken that hurt to the next level and decided to get revenge? To get him back in bed and then…what? What would even the score?
Dumping him on camera? All the pieces certainly lined up that way.
“Did you sleep with me this time for revenge?” When she gaped at him, wordlessly, Chance shook his head. “Answer me, damn it.”
“I…it’s complicated. I mean, I won’t lie to you. But there’s more than one layer to the answer.”
Well, if her goal was to break his heart—again—then mission accomplished. Chance sealed up the pain to deal with later. Right now, all he’d show her—and America—was his righteous anger and betrayal.
“That’s some twisted shit right there, Anda. Filming me? Without my consent?” he added, facing the camera. No way would the show’s legal team allow that.
“No, I didn’t know there’d be cameras.”
There it was. Her non-confession admittance that she’d known something. Which meant he was right. He’d bared his heart, made himself vulnerable for the first time in his life, and Anda had been hell-bent on revenge.
Revenge for something it turned out he hadn’t even done. Wasn’t that a kick to the balls?
Jenny circled her finger, indicating for Jeremy to keep rolling. “We have your consent, Chance. Your original contract covered not only the initial show, but any follow-up programs to be determined at a later date.”
“This whole week was filmed for another show? How many cameras did you hide around this place? How did you even know I’d be here?” Chance marched over to Ronaldo, grabbed him by the collar and shook once. “Did your resort snitch on me? Call Hollywood the moment I checked in to say it was time to start taping? Was this the plan all along for giving us those damned gift certificates?”
“Mr. DiMarco, I don’t know anything. I’ve started here for three weeks. I just need to get you inside the main building.”
Guess he’d let a little too much of his anger out. “Sorry, man.” Chance let go and took a step back. “How this got pulled off doesn’t matter. The low-down, skeevy actions of a reality show don’t mat
ter, either.” He turned a slow, half-circle to face the lying, backstabbing woman who had mattered to him. “I feel like an idiot. No wonder I spent my whole life dodging relationships. Turns out, they suck.”
“Chance, you have to let me explain. Please.” Two tears tracked down Anda’s pale cheeks.
He still loved her enough to feel pain at hurting her. But she’d brought it on herself. She’d planned this fucking stunt without thinking through all the possible dangers and consequences.
And when you did that? You always ended up hurt.
“I don’t, actually. I explained everything about how I felt to you last night. And this is what I get in return.” He waved a hand at Don and Jeremy. “It was a risk. Looks like I calculated the odds wrong on it. I won’t make that mistake again.”
“Chance, I’m sorry.”
“So am I. We had a shot, a do-over at this whole thing. You blew it up. Did you even have those two job interviews you told me about? Or did you sign up for another season of Man of Her Dreams to pay the rent? Fuck. I’m leaving.” He picked up his shoes. He didn’t want the shirt back. Didn’t even want to see it again.
Ronaldo cut him off before he made it to the edge of the pool. “You can’t, sir.”
“Why not? Are the cars not working?”
“We’re requesting that everyone stay here until we discover what is going on with the blackout. Until we get answers. Driving away could be dangerous. We can’t let you chance it.”
Great. So, he was stuck here with a crew that wanted to film his every move, and a woman who’d lied to him. There was only one obvious place to relocate. “Is the bar open?”
“Yes.”
“Good enough.” Chance angled toward the hotel door, propped open with a chair. And he didn’t look back once at Anda. Because he was done with her.
Blackout: A Romance Anthology Page 22