by Ally Blue
Nat sighed as he stuck his phone in his pocket. He hated for his father to be in pain, but he couldn’t enable his addiction. There had to be a better way. Sadly, Nat had never had any luck getting his dad to agree to talk to a psych doc about his addiction, or his depression. Hell, he refused to even admit those problems existed. Like they weren’t scrawled all over him for the whole world to see.
Nat laughed, low and sharp. “God, what a fucking mess.”
The door to the soundstage opened. Levi Pritchard emerged, his phone pressed to his ear. He nodded at Nat and strode past. Nat gave him an awkward wave. Did Levi Pritchard even know who he was? Or was he just being friendly?
Does it matter?
No, not really. And Nat needed to stop lingering outside and get on in there before somebody came looking for him.
He glanced around. Not ten feet away, Rafael stood rooted to the ground, staring at him.
Rafael wasn’t sure what exactly he’d halfway overheard, but whatever it was, it had lit a fire in Nat Horn’s pale eyes. Standing there statue-still, fury and frustration pulsing from him in near-visible waves, he seemed ready to attack. Rafael had to fight the urge to back up.
“What the hell are you staring at?” Nat’s voice was a growl. Coming from the werewolf prosthetics and makeup, it sent a hard chill down Rafael’s back.
He cleared his throat. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to, I was only—”
“It’s rude to eavesdrop. Didn’t anybody ever tell you that?”
Rafael’s heartbeat kicked into high gear. Was it wrong that he found angry Nat scary-hot? “I’m sorry. I didn’t intend to overhear. In fact, I really didn’t hear that much, but . . .” Curiosity and concern pushed through the mingled fear and attraction churning inside him. “Listen, I know it’s none of my business—” he seemed to be saying that a lot lately; his dad would tell him he should listen to himself “—but are you okay?”
Surprise widened Nat’s eyes for a second before the suspicion returned. “I’m fine. And I need to get on set.” With that, he swiveled and stalked into the soundstage.
Rafael watched until he was out of sight, then stood there for a few more minutes, thinking. Solari was going to kill him when she found out he’d told Nat her secret—well, part of it, anyway; he’d never out her without her permission—but he couldn’t be sorry about it. He hadn’t heard much besides “Dad” and “no,” but he couldn’t shake the helpless anger and sadness in Nat’s voice. Whatever was going on in Nat’s private life, it was obviously painful and difficult. Maybe he was really over his crush on Solari and maybe not. Hopefully he was. But if he wasn’t, he didn’t need the extra heartache of getting close to her and then finding out he couldn’t be with her the way he wanted.
Rafael smiled, imagining what his dad would say. You shouldn’t go around poking into other people’s business, RayRay. One day you’ll get nosy with the wrong person and end up getting hurt.
So far his dad’s dire predictions hadn’t come true. But he knew he got overly inquisitive sometimes. He couldn’t help it. People fascinated him. Always had. He wanted to know why one person smiled and hummed a song, while another sat hunched and silent, and a third fidgeted and darted nervous glances all around. While other children on his block growing up had wished for the power to fly, or for super strength, he’d longed to read minds. To sift through people’s innermost thoughts and learn what made them who they were.
His mother had told him once that his desire to know his fellow human beings on the deepest possible level was what made him a good director, because it gave him the drive to bring out the story inside each person. Maybe that was true. He liked to think it was.
“Rafael?”
Startled, he spun to face Solari, who’d walked right up to him while he was lost in thought. “Oh. Hi. Sorry, I was thinking.”
She arched one perfectly groomed brow. “I can see that. Is everything all right?”
“Oh, yeah. Fine.” He sucked his bottom lip into his mouth, then let it go with a pop. “I told Nat that you’re seeing someone.”
Shock drained the color from her cheeks. “You what?”
“Don’t worry, I didn’t tell him who. Only that you were seeing somebody.” He peered from side to side. A few of the crew members were milling around, but no one was close enough to hear their conversation. “The real secret is safe.”
She blew out a breath. Anger flashed in her eyes. “Still, that wasn’t for you to reveal. What the hell were you thinking?”
He lifted his chin and straightened his shoulders. “It wasn’t fair for him not to know. But he told me you guys were just friends anyhow.”
“Yes.” Unmistakable guilt settled over her features. “I wouldn’t have let it go far enough for Nat to get hurt, you know. I like him. He’s very sweet. And very good company too.”
That made Rafael feel better about the whole thing. He almost asked why Solari had asked Nat out in the first place, then stopped. He didn’t want to push his luck and end up getting fired. “Yeah. He is.”
A gust of damp wind moaned along the walkway, and Solari pulled her sweater tighter around herself. “Well. I need to be on set soon. Would you mind getting me a coffee?”
“Sure thing. I’ll meet you on the set.”
She gave him a halfhearted smile, turned, and strode toward the soundstage where Nat had gone a few minutes ago. Rafael headed for craft services, his mind whirling. Every time his thoughts settled, he found himself focusing on Nat’s face.
While Solari worked, Rafael waited in the shadows at the back and watched Nat. Studied the way his presence filled the set during the couple of minutes he was on camera. The man was born to be on film.
Rafael edged forward a few steps so he could see better. Nat was slouched on a sofa right now, but even in stillness he projected a sense of leashed energy that drew the attention of everyone around him.
He’s my lead. I need him in my film. He had no idea the true extent of Nat’s acting ability, since his character never spoke. But anyone who conveyed as much as he did with nothing but a glare and the curl of a lip under werewolf prosthetics could likely carry any role Rafael handed him. And Rafael’s gut said that the character at the center of Inside was practically tailor-made for Nat.
Rafael lost track of Nat when he left the set, but spotted him again—minus the makeup—in craft services a few hours later, hunched over his lunch tray at one of the handful of two-person tables in the huge room. He couldn’t have said leave me alone any more clearly if he’d hung a sign around his neck.
Because nobody ever got anywhere in Hollywood by respecting boundaries, Rafael carried his tray straight to Nat’s table and planted himself in the chair across from him. “Hi. Mind if I sit here?”
Nat’s slow, penetrating stare drilled holes in Rafael’s skull for seven long seconds. Finally, Nat shrugged and dropped his gaze to his half-eaten vegetables and rice. “Free country.”
So Nat was going to be a tough nut to crack. Fine. Rafael didn’t back down from challenges.
He flashed his widest, brightest grin as he stirred his vegan chili. “Look, I know you’re probably pretty busy. But I’ve been trying to find someone to show me the local sights, and—”
“The sights?” Nat snickered, pale eyes fixing on Rafael’s face with a strange blend of amusement and disdain. “C’mon, man. You’ve been here long enough to have seen our, like, two tourist attractions, other than the show. Wolf’s Landing is the sights.”
Rafael spooned chili into his mouth and reminded himself that Nat was having troubles he couldn’t even imagine. Literally, since he hadn’t been able to work out what the phone conversation he’d sort of overheard had been about. “See, that’s the thing. I’m not interested in the usual tourist stuff. I want to see the spots only the locals know about.” He planted his elbows on the plastic table and leaned forward, gazing deep into Nat’s strange, intense wolf eyes. “You said you’re from here.”
“Yep.” Nat s
peared a slice of squash on his fork, popped it into his mouth, and chewed, watching Rafael the whole time.
Since Nat didn’t seem likely to say anything else without a little help, Rafael decided to prod. “Okay. Great. So, would you be willing to show me around? I’d be really grateful if you would.” He smiled again, making sure his dimples showed. His mom always said no one could resist his dimples.
“If you’re looking for fancy shops or restaurants or stuff like that, ask somebody else.” Nat lifted his water bottle to his lips and drank. His throat worked with each swallow. He plunked the water bottle on the table and licked his lips, an unconsciously sexy movement that sent shockwaves through Rafael’s insides. “But I know the woods like the back of my hand. I can take you to places nobody else knows. If that’s what you really want.”
Rafael was a city kid. Hollywood ran like glitter in his blood. The sum total of his wilderness knowledge came from the shoots he’d been on with this show. Which made him wonder why he didn’t even hesitate to answer. “That sounds perfect. When’s your next day off? I’ll bring lunch, and you can show me your favorite out-of-the-way spot in the woods.”
For a few endless seconds, Nat stared at him like he’d offered to shove rusty nails up his nose. Rafael widened his eyes and tried to look like a harmless Hollywood transient. Which he was, when it came right down to it.
Finally, Nat turned his attention back to his lunch. “I’m off Sunday.”
“Solari’s got a night shoot, which means I’m working that night too, but I’m free during the day.”
Nat nodded and pushed his food around the plate with his fork. “Okay. We can meet up at Hobb’s Park. You know where that is?”
“Yeah.” He didn’t, actually, but he could Google it easily enough. “What time?”
“Ten in the morning work for you?”
“Sure.” It was a little early, considering how late he’d be up the night before working on his Kickstarter site for Inside, but he wasn’t about to say so. “Where’re we going? Anything I need to bring, other than the food?”
“A waterproof jacket with a hood, since it’ll probably rain at some point. And make sure you wear good hiking boots.” Nat grinned, softening his sharp features and turning his face from intriguingly attractive to downright handsome. “I hope you’re up for a few hours of off-trail exploring, Hollywood.”
When Rafael was twelve, he’d visited Muir Woods with his parents. That was the extent of his travels into the wild. But he’d never in his life backed down from a dare, and he wasn’t going to start now.
“Bring it on, Wolfman. I’m up for whatever you’ve got.” He tore open a packet of saltines and crumbled them into his chili, holding Nat’s gaze with deliberate challenge.
Nat’s grin twisted into a smirk, his eyes glittering with wicked glee. “This is gonna be fun.”
Struggling uphill in Nat’s wake five days later, Rafael finally understood the evil gleam he’d seen in Nat’s eyes during that fateful lunch. Evidently, Nat’s idea of fun involved inventing a path through the thickest part of the forest, winding up the steepest slope of the tallest available mountain.
Okay, so Bayside Ridge was more of a hill than an actual mountain. But it had looked so pretty and innocuous from town. He’d never have guessed the blanket of evergreens hid so many rocks, deep grooves, and various other obstacles blocking the barely visible path.
Rafael’s hiking boots—never used before today—slipped in the slick detritus on the forest floor for about the millionth time. Nat stopped and peered over his shoulder at Rafael. “Okay there, Hollywood?”
“Fine.” He forced a smile in spite of his hammering pulse and the urge to gasp for breath. “This place is absolutely gorgeous.” Which was true, even though the beauty was of the dangerous sort.
Nat raised his eyebrows as if he thought Rafael was lying, but he turned around without a word and resumed his breakneck pace.
Shit. At this rate, Rafael might have a heart attack before they got to wherever the hell it was they were headed. “Hey, Nat? Could we maybe slow down a little?”
“Sure.” Nat immediately slowed to something closer to a walk than a run. He shot Rafael an amused glance around the backpack full of food he’d insisted on carrying because, as he’d said, Rafael wouldn’t be able to do it. “Sorry, I should’ve figured you couldn’t keep up.”
Rafael ground his teeth together. He’s being annoying on purpose. Don’t take the bait. “Well, there’s that. But I’ve never been up here before, and you’re going so fast I can’t even look around. I want to take the time to see everything.”
Nat stopped again. He tilted his head up and sideways, peering into the treetops, his expression inscrutable. “Yeah. I get that.” He closed his eyes. His lips parted.
Watching him, a strange, tight sensation settled in Rafael’s chest. He felt almost as if he were spying on a private moment. Uncomfortable for no reason he could pinpoint, he turned and studied his surroundings. It really was an enchanting place—brilliantly green, quiet, smelling of damp earth and distant rain. Not a single sound other than birds, water dripping on the leaves and ground, and the mournful sigh of the wind through the branches. If he hadn’t known the town of Bluewater Bay lay only a few miles away, he’d have thought he had fallen into an untouched wilderness far from civilization.
He drew a deep breath of cool, misty air, and felt months of stress begin to crumble away. “I can see why you love it here. It’s incredibly peaceful. Like you’re the only person in the world, and no one else has ever set foot here.”
“Exactly.” Nat turned, a crooked smile on his face. “Wait till we get to the top. You can see forever.”
Rafael squinted upward. The slope climbed up, and up, and up some more, the trees marching on until they blurred together. Yikes. “Sounds awesome. How much farther?”
Nat laughed, the sound as low and measured as his speech. “Not as far as it looks.” He tromped the few steps back toward Rafael and clapped him on the shoulder. “C’mon, Hollywood. You can do it.”
Rafael laughed too, encouraged by the way Nat seemed to be loosening up in his company. “Damn right I can, Wolfman.”
Nat favored him with the big, bright grin that Rafael had come to realize over the past few days was a rare gift. His heart lodged in his throat. They stood there staring at each other for a long, breathless moment before Nat dropped his gaze and resumed the hike uphill.
This time, he kept his pace leisurely, even pointing out particular plants and birdcalls along the way. Rafael found himself getting lost in the serene beauty of the forest, and—somewhat to his surprise—the pleasure of Nat’s company. He and Solari had cornered Nat for lunch a couple of times over the past five days, but Rafael had been too tense on those occasions to really enjoy himself, worrying about Solari, about Nat, about what sort of gossip might crop up concerning them and how they—especially Nat—would handle it. Mostly, he’d worried about how he could best broach the subject of having Nat work on the film project with him.
Now, out here, his concerns seemed unimportant. He and Nat talked easily, like old friends. It was nice. Nat even forgot to call him Hollywood after a while.
When they walked out of the trees into a large, open field, Rafael was surprised. “We’re already at the top?”
“Yep.” Nat strode through the knee-high grass, yellow-green and rippling in the wind. “There’s a great view of the town and the harbor from the other side.”
Rafael followed him across the meadow. The day had turned warmer than he’d expected, even with the altitude and the stiff breeze. Insects jumped and buzzed around his legs, and the air smelled like grass. He lifted his face to the midday sunshine. God, what a perfect spot. He was going to have to come here again, if he could remember the way. Maybe Nat would be willing to give him directions.
They topped a slight rise and started down the other side. Rafael’s mouth fell open when he saw the town of Bluewater Bay spread out far below him
, its harbor sparkling sapphire in the sun. “Oh, wow. That’s incredible.” He pointed across the water at Vancouver Island. “You can see Canada from here. It’s so pretty.”
“Yeah.” Nat climbed onto a large stone sticking out of the ground and perched on the flat top. “I like to come up here. It’s a good place to get away from everything, you know? Sit and think.”
“For sure.” Rafael scrambled up the boulder to sit beside Nat. The ridge fell away below them in a steep tumble of rocks and evergreens. “It really does feel like you can see forever, doesn’t it?”
“We used to hike up here when I was a kid. Me, my parents, and my sister, Abby. It was my mom’s favorite spot.”
Wistfulness threaded through Nat’s voice. Rafael studied his profile. “Was?”
“She died when I was seven. Bone cancer.”
“Oh, God, Nat. I’m so sorry.” Rafael reached out and brushed his fingers over Nat’s arm. The thought of losing his mother terrified him. How had Nat endured it at such a young age?
The corners of Nat’s mouth turned up in a faint, sad smile. “Coming up here reminds me of her. Makes me think of the happy times, you know?”
“Yeah,” Rafael said, though he really didn’t know at all. He’d never lost anyone that close to him. Acting on instinct, wanting to comfort, he took Nat’s hand in his and squeezed.
The touch was hot. Electric. Rafael’s pulse raced. He met Nat’s gaze, and saw his own surprised attraction reflected there. The air hummed. Rafael couldn’t move, nailed in place by his own reaction to Nat’s palm against his.
Nat cleared his throat and pulled free, not looking at Rafael. “Don’t know about you, but I’m starved.” He shrugged out of the backpack containing their lunch. “What’d you bring?”
“Sandwiches and chips from the Sunrise Cafe.” His breath still coming short, Rafael reached for the backpack, unzipped it, and started pulling out food. “I’ve got roast beef, chicken, and hummus with sprouts.” His cheeks heated when Nat grinned at him. “I wasn’t sure what you’d like.”