“We drugged Jack and hauled him off to his trailer when he was looking for a place to lie down. We staged the pictures and left him to pass out."
"Did you or Miss Fisher sexually assault Mr. Steele?"
"No." Jack looked pale. "I didn't...I didn't do anything. We just took the pictures and left. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Jack. She said she'd tell everyone...about me. My family wouldn't accept me if they found out what I am. They’d destroy my job, my life. But I can't do this anymore. I can't keep lying like this. Jack is innocent, Your Honor. He doesn't deserve this."
My heart raced so hard it could have won a NASCAR race. I knew Jack was innocent, and now we had proof! But god…this didn’t go the way I thought it would. This whole time, I honestly believed Josh was the one who put Holly up to doing something this awful. But it was her.
I hoped to god that little harlot was going to have everything in the world thrown at her, because how dare she not only do this to Jack, but make real sexual assault victims all across the country look like lying whores. She may have only been sixteen, but she was a terrible, spiteful little thing. Someone needed to spank her ass, and not in the fun way.
I wanted to climb over the pews and wrap my arms about Jack, but the judge was busy hammering his gavel against the desk and the place was in chaos. All that was left to do was to cross my fingers and hope the judge would set my Jack free, where he belonged.
Free and with me.
Chapter 19
ALISON
I paced in my living room, checking my watch every thirty seconds because the world was not spinning fast enough. I'd changed my outfit six times and checked my hair a million other times. Sarah reapplied my lipstick three different times because I was licking it off and she was annoyed.
But I couldn't wait. Ever since Jack was released, he'd been swept off by Bobby to run a series of interviews discussing his side of the events to vindicate him in the eyes of the public. We’d barely been able to see each other, and I was dying in a million different ways.
Sarah had left for a hot date twenty minutes earlier, leaving me alone in this apartment with nothing but my thoughts and a burning desire to jump Jack as soon as he walked through the door. As such, I nearly ripped the handle off the door as soon as he knocked.
"Wow," he breathed, standing before me in black jeans and a tight button down that featured the muscles I loved so much. He hadn't had a haircut in months, leaving little brown curls hanging out around his ears. He'd shaved, though, letting his square jaw tempt me with naughty thoughts. "You look absolutely stunning, Alison."
I was wearing the same red dress I danced for him in the night we met. "I thought you might like it."
He swept me up in his arms and claimed me with his mouth, fumbling to shut the door behind him. Heat spread through me like a forest fire just from the nearness of him, but now? Finally able to wrap my legs around his waist after two months? Pure ecstasy.
"I was going to take you to dinner," Jack murmured in my ear. His hands held tight to my ass, supporting me as I clung to him, and his fingers were starting to wander. "But I think I just want to eat you tonight."
A moan escaped my lips. It had been so long since we'd last been together and he had consumed my every waking thought. I didn't need dinner either.
He braced me against a wall and kicked off his shoes, his hungry mouth seeking out mine. "Is there a table open at the Alison Cafe?"
"Only one seat tonight," I gasped against him. I could feel his hardness pressing against my center and it consumed me. "I think I can fit you in."
"Fuck, I missed you," Jack groaned against me. Our hands were frantic, peeling off layers between kisses while our hands claimed the skin we'd missed for so long. "I don't think you understand how badly I missed you."
"I have a few ideas."
He set me on the ground to pull my dress off in one fluid motion. I was again in lingerie and heels, only this time on purpose.
"I dreamed of tearing that dress off you from the moment I met you." He stepped back to take me in. I offered a few silly poses, relishing in the feeling of his want. "I dreamed of you every night, Alison."
He had me backed up against the wall, my waist lifted to his. He kissed up my collarbone and across my neck while gently thrusting against me, making me dizzy from the nearness of him.
"Did you touch yourself?" I whispered, my hands in his curls. "When you thought of me?"
"Every goddamn night." Jack bit down on my shoulder. "My hand doesn't feel as good as yours, but just the thought of you drove me crazy. I couldn't help myself."
"I want you to act out every fantasy you had." I made him look at me, though he was venturing towards my breasts and the thought of my nipples in his mouth sent sharp waves of lust through me. "Everything you wanted to do to me, I want you to do it."
"That's a dangerous request." Jack sucked on one my fingers, his lips pursing, his tongue flicking against me the way it used to flick across my clit. "You don't know what kind of fantasies jail can put in your head."
"I want all of them," I whispered.
He braced his head against mine and groaned. "You won't be able to walk tomorrow."
"Is that a promise?"
"You better fucking believe it."
He carried me to bed with my body still wrapped around him like a koala. The first thing he did was finish stripping me naked before laying me down, his warm hands roaming my body with a desperate hunger. His smooth face slipped down my body, stopping to caress my nipples with his tongue for a moment, sending electricity straight to my center, and then continuing south.
I tried to pull him back up to my nipples, but he stayed my hand. "This is my fantasy, remember?"
"I thought I had perfect tits?" I breathed back at him as his jaw grazed against my inner thigh.
"I love hearing you talk dirty." He placed a kiss against my other thigh. "But I'm terribly hungry right now."
He carefully spread my lower lips and blew against my waiting wetness. He stole my breath, tangled my nerves into a knot and pulled tight. His mouth made love to my sex so beautifully I would have cried had I not been moaning his name.
His tongue teased my opening and his teeth scraped my clit. My center was church and he was offering praise. Strong hands softly grazed across my skin until he found my breasts and rolled my nipples between his fingers. My body felt like it was under attack and all I could do was roll myself against him for more, more, more.
I wasn't allowed to come. Not yet. He came back to my breasts and dragged his hardness against my throbbing center, teasing me endlessly. Even the tickle of his hair against my chest sent shivers through me. I was a live wire and he was playing with my voltage in such delicious ways.
He tore open a condom wrapper with his teeth and braced himself on one arm so he could roll it across his cock while still making love to my nipples. It only took two thrusts and he was buried within me, my legs wrapped around his waist, our lips pressed together like we were the only oxygen we needed.
This wasn't the wild sex we had in the trailer, fucking on the arms of the couch or braced on a countertop. This was sensual, powerful, slow even. He framed me between his arms and covered me in kisses that sang of passion and sex. Every thrust into me was another bridge and our moans were the unending chorus.
"I will never let anyone take you away from me again," Jack breathed in my ear. His voice was tight and he was starting to grunt with each thrust, a delicious sound that told me just how bad he wanted me. "I'm going to make love to you every day my dick allows."
"Even when it stops, you can use your tongue," I purred, arching my back into him, deepening his thrusts. I wanted to feel all of him in me, to have his cock branded inside my wetness.
We fucked for hours. I lay on the bed and took his cock deep into my throat, and his grunts bordered on wild while he fucked my mouth and I fingered myself. I worried I'd drown, but it was one of the sexiest things I'd ever witnessed, watching him come apart
at my hand.
Then he entered me from behind, sitting against the headboard, so he could keep me in his lap, one hand on my breasts, the other stroking my clit. I was fucking his hand and his cock at the same time, overwhelmed by the sensations of him. He sucked on my earlobe as I came to a crying climax, and it felt like I would fly right off the face of the earth.
It was perfection, this man inside me, on top of me, underneath me. It was where I felt powerful and loved and aroused. Everywhere his hands touched seared within me something almost impossibly strong.
He draped his body over mine, pressed a sweet kiss to my lips, and whispered, "I love you."
The words bubbled out of my body with an almost identical sensation to the many orgasms he'd gifted me that evening.
"I love you, too."
Chapter 20
JACK
SIX MONTHS LATER
“Jack! Jack! Over here!”
“Over here!”
A dozen flashbulbs went off at once, like a tiny firework display. Alison stiffened beside me, but I kept a firm hand on her back and pressed a kiss to her cheek. Oh, those reporters ate that up like crack candy. I felt Alison giggle a little next to me, still not used to the chaos of the cameras and the red carpet.
“You look beautiful, don’t worry about it,” I murmured in her ear, turning us slightly to the left. “They’re all just jealous they don’t have you next to them.”
She bit her lip and ducked her head, like the beautifully coy woman she pretended to be when surrounded by cameras. We’d only gone public with our relationship about a month ago, after a fuck-ton of speculation and dipshits hiding in the bushes of my apartment. I loved being able to show her off to everyone but she still had her freak-out moments. I couldn’t blame her. It could get overwhelming fast.
We moved on to the next phase of the crowd to do interviews. Lena was just ahead of us, Brianna as her date. Brianna waved with a huge grin on her face and I gave her a thumbs up. This was her first red carpet event, too.
“Jack! How does it feel to be back in the same space with Josh Bowen, given what happened in the courts earlier this summer?” some twit in glasses asked me, shoving a camera in my face. Alison, to her great credit, looked calm despite grabbing my hand and digging in her nails.
We knew this was going to happen, and even rehearsed it a few times, but it was another thing to live it. This, like everything else, I knew we’d get past.
“You know, Josh was also used in this situation. Holding someone’s sexuality as blackmail is a really terrifying thing, no matter how much progress we think we’ve made as a society. He and I have talked a lot since that day in court over the phone, and there’s not a care between us. He’s actually become a good friend. Seeing him tonight is something I’ve been looking forward to.”
“Are you nervous to watch this movie knowing one of the cast members tried to put you in prison?”
“Guys, that’s super old news.” I flashed a signature smile and kissed Alison’s cheek again. “We’re out here to have a good time and are really looking forward to getting the gang back together. Denver’s really knocked it out of the park with this film and my wonderful girlfriend, Alison, did a stellar job casting it. You guys are going to love it. That’s a promise.”
We moved down to the next set. Alison whispered in my ear, “I hope that guy chokes on a bag of dicks later.” I laughed for a solid ten seconds. “What? He deserves it,” she added.
“Jack! How is it to take your girlfriend out for her first movie premiere; one that happens to be a movie she cast?”
“I don’t know, darling.” I winked at Alison. “What do you think?”
“It’s…overwhelming.” She laughed, gracious and beautiful and fierce as ever. “But it’s so exciting to see it all come together and to see everyone’s beautiful faces again. We’ve been looking forward to this for weeks.”
“Let me tell you guys, she’s good, too. You’re going to have your socks knocked off.”
“What’s in the future?” the reporter asked. This is the moment I’d been waiting for. “What do you have coming up?”
“Denver Latmini and I are actually working together on another film right now,” Alison answered smoothly, probably grateful they asked a question we’d already rehearsed. “We’re hoping to convince Jack to come audition.”
The reporter chuckled along good-naturedly. “What do you think, Jack? Do you see another Denver and Alison production for you in the future?”
I smiled so hard my cheeks hurt. “You know, I would love to work with Denver for the rest of my career. He’s a great director, he really is. Hollywood couldn’t do any better. As for this pretty lady?” I dropped to one knee and pulled a box out of my jacket pocket. The shock written over Alison’s face was louder and more brilliant than all the screams erupting from the crowd around us.
Every single eye was on us. Every camera was flashing endlessly. But there was no one else in the world at that moment besides my beautiful woman. Just her and me in the middle of this chaos, the eye of the storm.
I took her hand and pressed it to my lips. “Alison Coleman, you are one hell of a woman. You are the funniest, bravest, most beautiful, most ridiculous, fiercest woman I know. The sun rises and sets around you. There has never been anything in my life I’ve been more certain of than my intense, undying love for you. I could not act again for the rest of my life and be happier than ever if you were by my side. Every minute away from you is colorless. The world we’ve created is so vibrant that I never want to leave. Please, love me as much as I love you for the rest of my life. Spend forever with me, making ridiculous movies and never having to be my babysitter ever again.”
Alison, who’d been hiding behind her hand, laughed. Her face glistened with tears, but she had never been more beautiful.
“Marry me?” I asked.
All of us, the crowds of fans and the camera guys and the reporters and my co-stars and even little Brianna, we all held our breaths together.
Finally, finally, this amazing woman nodded her head and cried, “Yes! Of course!”
I leaped up, scooped her into my arms, and spun her around until we were dizzy and laughing. The kiss that followed? The most explosive, sensual, intense kiss of my life. The first kiss from the future Mrs. Jack Steele. The last kiss from Alison Coleman Who Dates Jack Steele. The start of our future.
Forget all the lights and cameras. We were the brightest things in the room.
The End
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Notorious (Hollywood Bad Boys) Page 11