by Morgan
“I think that if this movie doesn’t put you onto the A-list, my father’s show will do the trick.” Shaunna meant it. David was gifted and gorgeous, two things most of the actors vying for a place in the industry wished they were.
“Thanks. I’m glad you were there.” David looked over at her and liked how a strand of wet hair clung greedily to her cheek.
“I usually don’t negotiate deals. I just write press releases and coordinate schedules, stuff like that. But I liked it, even though Gus is tough to deal with. He really did like you.”
Shaunna thought she was babbling. David thought she was adorable.
“He really loves you.”
David’s words froze her tongue, but not her eyes. She looked at him and nodded her head.
“I know,” she answered earnestly. “But he’s not happy with what I did. I think you softened him up, so I owed you one anyway.”
“Oh, so I guess we’re even, then.” David swam out into the pool, and Shaunna watched his powerful strokes.
She didn’t wait long before following him.
“Nice try, David, but we’re not even.” She was surprised by how familiar it felt to talk with and be near him as they swam in the warm, soothing water.
“What do you mean?”
“For sending Michelle to rescue me. Thomas is her lawyer.”
“I didn’t. You asked Nathan to do that.”
“Oh? Well, you’re right, then. We’re even.” She watched him carefully, which wasn’t hard because their faces were so close that they could see water droplets on each other’s eyelashes.
They swam around the pool a few times discussing the progress of the movie while she was away, and when the other couple eventually vacated the hot tub, Shaunna sprang from the pool and walked toward it.
David watched her and sighed in appreciation of her stunning beauty, but quickly looked away, knowing an erection in those shorts would be about as subtle as a hockey punch.
He soon followed her, and she watched as he gingerly lowered himself into the steaming, churning water. His shorts clung to him in such a way that she was treated to a nice tableau of his manly treasures, and he noticed her nipples had begun to poke at the fabric of her bikini.
“Have you ever been in a hot tub while it was snowing?” David asked.
Shaunna answered with a smile that he was sure was capable of melting all the snow in the world. “I was in Idaho with some family friends, and one night, we went out while it was snowing. I loved it…until I got out.”
David laughed. “I know. That’s the worst. I used to surf, and on windy days, it was warmer in the water.”
“You surf?”
“Surfed,” he corrected. “I learned for a movie, and the only footage they got of me was wiping out. I’m horrible at it, but they let me keep the board, so I went out for a while to practice.”
“Why did you stop?”
David shrugged his shoulders. “It’s hard! Besides, surfers are very territorial, and just like George McFly, I’m not very good at confrontation.”
Shaunna laughed. She liked a man who took his wisdom from the movies. She herself lived mostly by rules set by a certain Mr. Ferris Bueller.
“I also broke my board on some rocks,” David confessed, looking down at how wrinkly his hands had already become from the water.
Shaunna’s eyes widened with the horrific mental picture of an injured David in the rough surf.
“Don’t worry,” he said, scooting so close to her that their hips touched. Suddenly, his blood felt warmer than the water. “I won’t ever break anything of yours.” David’s eyes were level with hers as they sat in the swirling basin, and he held her gaze.
“I believe you.” Her response was tinged with hope.
As they continued to open up to one another in conversation, they were each required to go through their childhoods in detail. By the time their mutual biographies were recited, it was late.
David walked Shaunna to her door like the gentleman he was. When her towel unexpectedly dropped to the floor while she slid her key card through the slot, he carefully picked it up for her.
“Thank you, for everything.” Before she could talk herself out of it, Shaunna leaned forward and kissed David on the mouth. She quickly lost herself in the delicious touch of his skin and moved in closer to his body. She felt her soft breasts press up against his hard chest. David kept his arms at his sides, but parted his lips and was rewarded with the brush of her tongue against his own. The kiss was short but succulent, and when Shaunna pulled away, she could see that David’s eyes were still closed.
“Good night,” she whispered as she stepped into her room.
“Good night,” was his tender reply.
Shaunna closed the door behind her and reached around to untie her bikini top. Once it was removed, she stepped out of her bottoms and walked naked to the bathroom. She planned on rinsing off in the shower before reading herself to sleep.
There was a knock at her door while she was testing the water.
“It’s David.” His voice was muffled but discernible. “I locked myself out of my room. Can I come in to use your phone?”
Shaunna opened the door with a towel wrapped around her body and her eyes already halfway through their roll. “Isn’t this how bad porn movies start?”
Chapter Fifteen
DAVID STOOD IN THE DOORWAY of Shaunna’s room and swallowed, too enraptured by her state of undress to do anything more. Her towel had slipped away from her backside, and the mirror on the bathroom door was tilted in his favor. He glimpsed her round rear and gulped more air before running first one hand, and then the other, through his hair.
His own towel dropped to the floor, and when he bent over to pick it up, David found himself looking directly at her tight, damp thighs. He enviously observed several shiny beads of water attached to her skin, and he experienced a hint of disappointment as the most alluring part of her legs disappeared up into the cruel shadow cast by her towel.
“Thanks,” he said as he stood up quickly. “I didn’t want to walk into the lobby like this.” He internally cringed as he spoke, knowing he sounded winded and nervous.
Shaunna couldn’t help it—she immediately thought he was referring to the possibility of being seen and photographed by any number of curious vultures. The paparazzi scum might have snuck into the hotel and could be down in the lobby playing checkers in Hawaiian shirts, just waiting for a good shot of somebody connected to her fiasco of a life. She waved him into her room without a second thought.
David went to the phone and called the front desk to provide a replacement key. Shaunna watched in frustration as he hung up the phone. David’s request had apparently been met with swift agreement, and that meant a hasty retreat on his part.
It was only because she was watching his slim, strong shoulders that she realized he was shivering. He wasn’t paranoid. He was freezing.
“You’re cold,” she remarked. “Wait right here.” Shaunna went into the bathroom with a motherly grin on her face. Prior to their pool date, she’d hung several towels over the shower rack, where they could be warmed by the heat lamp. It was a trick she’d learned from her father, and the result was a towel that felt like it had just come out of the dryer.
Shaunna walked back into the bedroom and right up to David. She plucked his damp towel from his shoulder and pushed the heavenly warm one right into his chest, wrapping him, arms and all, in a cocoon of relief.
In the process, her own towel fell completely off her body and slid to the floor.
They were standing very close to each other, and because David’s eyes had drifted closed, he hadn’t yet noticed the magnificent occurrence. Shaunna decided against running to the bathroom or, worse yet, squatting to retrieve her towel. She did the only thing she could think of. She threw herself into David’s warm, shrouded chest.
David’s eyes flew open. He didn’t know what had happened, but he was sure it wasn’t on purpose.
/> “My towel fell off,” she confessed between pleasant-sounding giggles. Her voice was a song in his ear, and all at once, he could feel her, every inch of her, pressed into him. He was so acutely aware of her body’s contours that the thin layer of cotton between them was easily forgotten.
“May I take this one back for a moment?” Her words were shy, slightly uncertain, and David was sure he could feel her heartbeat against his own.
“Of course.”
She slowly, carefully wrapped herself in his towel and backed away, grinning. “I want you to have the warm one, so you’ll have to let me walk you to the door, and I’ll hand it to you once you get into the hall.”
“Oh no, Shaunna,” David responded, waving his hand in protest. “That’s okay.” Not knowing what else to say or how else to act, he began walking to the door. “I’ll be fine. You really warmed me up.” He smirked playfully. “Thank you.”
She was hot on his heels. “I want you to have it. Don’t be silly. I already have yours.” She grasped the door when he walked through it. As soon as she could close it halfway, Shaunna removed the towel and handed it around the barrier.
“Good night, David.”
“G-Good n-night, Shaunna.”
David’s stammers made her beam brilliantly from behind the door. With the nightmare of the past few days finally receding, Shaunna found herself in a happy, celebratory mood and was nearly intoxicated by sheer joy. Had he offered to stay with her, she might have just given in to the actor’s charms. Instead, he was suddenly gone with one last sincere “thank you” and a smile that was just short of sublime, his blue eyes blinking slowly and his eyelashes briefly kissing his skin. She adored watching him while she was naked behind the door. It was thrilling to know that he knew she was naked too.
Shaunna drew a bubble bath, and when she recalled the moment of his sexy departure, she replayed the memory in slow motion. She thought about the way David’s damp hair spilled over his forehead in small wisps and the way his muscled thighs supported his weight so easily. She remembered his white teeth and his tender eyes as he looked into hers. Shaunna was beginning to feel like she could look into those eyes forever.
Back in his room, David was happy. As far as Shaunna knew, he’d kept his eyes up the entire time he was with her. She was a vision of artistic womanhood, but he sensed she wasn’t ready for a physical encounter with him.
He knew he would need to be patient, and he was a mountain of patience.
When David was lying in bed twenty minutes later, flipping past one TV channel after another, he found himself thinking about what it would feel like for Shaunna to join him.
He fell asleep with the remote on his stomach and his heart full of hope.
Chapter Sixteen
MICHELLE MET SHAUNNA for breakfast at a little bakery in a section of town that obviously didn’t come fully alive until dusk. The coffee was robust and the clientele was sparse, just the way Michelle liked it.
“How did you sleep?”
“Mmm.” Shaunna nodded, her mouth full of sugary coffee. “Good. It was so nice sleeping with more than one pillow.”
Michelle frowned.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. I’m just worried about you.” Michelle covered well.
“I’m going to be fine. The mess is over for the most part, and as long as you continue to be pleased with my work, I’ll be okay.”
Michelle rolled her eyes. “You are the world’s most gifted publicist and my best friend. If you say you’re fine, then I’ll believe it, but if you’re not…”
“I’m fine, really. You’re sweet, and believe me, if I thought I would have to move back in with Gus, I’d let you know.”
The reassurance was good enough for Michelle, but now she had to find a way to deliver the bad news. She couldn’t help but feel responsible for what happened to Shaunna.
“I want you to take the day off from me today and get in touch with your other clients.”
“Already done,” Shaunna chimed in cheerily. “I called everyone last night. Everything is in order. I have a layout to schedule with the EW photographer and a book signing to relocate in Minneapolis, but I can do both of those on the phone from the comfort of your trailer.”
“Oh, well, I’m sure you must be tired. Why don’t you just catch up on your sleep? And your, ah, reading.”
Shaunna eyed her friend like an accusatory little sister. “Why don’t you want me on-set?”
“Crap.” Michelle tried to collect her thoughts before she continued. She saw no sense in backpedaling. “Nathan held a meeting with me and Kyle to discuss whether or not we would carry on with the shoot, given the recent developments.
“Kyle not only agreed to improve his attitude on the set, but after a visit with Gus, he also agreed to drop his civil charges against you. And he really has been doing his best work, although it’s only been one short scene so far. But you’re out of jail now, and that’s all that truly matters.”
Michelle lost her train of thought. She was scared to tell Shaunna what Kyle had insisted upon in exchange for his future cooperation, knowing how his demand had infuriated Nathan.
“As you know, publicists rarely spend any time on-set at all,” Michelle tried again. “And in this case, you wouldn’t even be here if Kyle hadn’t insisted that you come. I just refuse to treat you like my servant.”
“Just say it.” Shaunna’s request was firm. Being reminded of her father’s involvement was enough to make her impatient for Michelle to cut to the chase.
Michelle swallowed and cast her eyes around the bakery before meeting Shaunna’s once again. “You’re not allowed on-set anymore.”
Shaunna nodded. “I thought so.” Among other things, this was going to make it harder for her to see David, a fact which instantly depressed her.
“Nathan refused, of course,” Michelle told her immediately. “But I just thought you wouldn’t really want to see Kyle anyway, and God knows I envy you. So I convinced him to let Kyle have his way.”
Michelle watched her friend somberly pick at a cinnamon roll.
“I hope you understand that I only wanted to salvage the film and would never have considered the idea unless I thought you would have done the same.”
Shaunna involuntarily nodded her head whenever she heard logical statements, and this time was no different. She reached across the table and took Michelle’s hand.
“You did the right thing,” Shaunna told her. She even believed it.
The knock came at David’s door just as he was stepping out of the shower. Like most men, he hadn’t bothered rinsing the chlorinated water from his body until the following morning.
Also like most men, he wrapped his towel around his waist but didn’t tuck it into itself very well, dooming it to last for about thirty seconds or thirty steps, whichever came first.
When he opened the door and Shaunna saw what she was being greeted with, she couldn’t help herself.
“How long have you been standing there waiting for me to come over?”
David played along. “My whole life.”
Shaunna smiled, but her eyes looked sad.
David tilted his head slightly to fully meet her gaze. “Are you all right?”
“Yes, it’s just…I found out from Michelle this morning that I’m barred from going on-set, but I just received a manuscript that she’s been waiting for. I took a look at the call sheet and saw you weren’t scheduled for makeup until noon. I wanted to catch you so you could give it to her.”
“You can’t be on-set?” David asked, holding out his hand for the script. His other was clamped firmly to the joined ends of his towel.
Shaunna shook her head and looked at his fingers as they grasped the white cotton towel.
“That’s not fair.” David was frankly surprised Nathan would allow such a thing.
“Well, like my daddy used to say, the fair only comes at the end of summer.” Shaunna was trying to sound relaxed, but the jok
e only made her look more vulnerable.
“But it is the end of summer.” David sounded hurt for her.
“Oh yeah, well, I guess I didn’t make it to the fair this year.” Her mouth was still smiling, but her eyes were hopeless and defeated.
“Well, I can certainly make sure Michelle gets this,” David said with tenderness. “I can also give you your towel back.” He let the towel fall into his fingers, which he kept laced together in front of him. She could now see his naked hips in addition to his abdomen, and it was a sculpture of temptation.
She played along and held her hand inside the door frame to receive the towel. David brought it up deliberately so that it was blocking her view of his completely naked body. If anyone had walked by in the hallway, however, they would have seen everything he had to offer. As she took the towel, willing herself not to whip it away like a magician’s tablecloth, David turned around quickly and nudged the door closed.
The mirror on his bathroom door, however, was tilted in her favor, and she saw something with girth swinging back and forth between his legs as he scampered away.
Chapter Seventeen
“ARE YOU THINKING OF TAKING THE PART, THEN?” David asked Michelle as he searched the craft services tables for the strawberries.
“Well, I have to read it first,” Michelle responded, waving the manuscript David had passed on from Shaunna. “But if Marty is attached, how could I say no?”
David shrugged. He found the strawberries and took a bite of one as big as an apple and as red as a beating heart. “You’ve played every type of character. Since you have nothing to prove, you should choose projects that make you feel good.”
“I should take that advice in choosing men, too,” she observed wryly.
David laughed.
“How was Shaunna when you saw her?” Michelle asked.
“Not too good,” he said honestly. “She feels useless, I think. Unneeded.”
“Well, that’s just ridiculous!” Michelle said.
“I know!” David agreed. “I wish I could do something for her.”