Reno unconsciously tucked her shoulder-length brown hair behind her ear. The same way Chase did two days ago when he caught her alone out behind the sound stage. She thought he was going to kiss her then, and excitement warred with panic. But self-preservation kicked in and she’d used her preferred diversion, pulling her phone out of her pocket and pretending to take a call.
On the stage, Chase started singing a twangy ballad while picking the notes out on his guitar. “She’s the one I’ve been looking for, she’s the light behind that hidden door. Can’t figure out where she’s been all my life, but I don’t wanna be without her any more…”
The words were too romantic, and the implication too obvious. People turned to look at her, seeing if she’d react. She finished her beer and smiled back at them, purposefully displaying only calm, casual and unaffected. But she could feel Chase’s eyes on her, and her whole body tensed, thrumming with sensual anticipation.
Tracy purred, “New song. Huh. Wonder who he wrote it for?” She winked, and her bright green eyes twinkled.
Reno would love to deny it, but she was right. It was meant for her. The words were a running narration of their first meeting, and every interaction they’d shared since. Why wouldn’t he leave her alone?
Because she was fascinated with him, and he knew it. She should have said “no” the first time he asked to sit with her at the commissary. And she could have refused all those times he offered to drive her back to their hotel after a long day of shooting. But she enjoyed spending time with him.
The song ended and everyone applauded and cheered.
Risking a glance at the stage, she blushed when Chase tipped his hat to her. She turned away. Damn. She wasn’t looking for a quickie, and he wasn’t looking for a relationship. She’d seen the tabloids. He went through women faster than he went through guitar picks. She didn’t care how fantastic a lover he was. There were things she just didn’t do, and a sexual hookup was one of them.
Absolutely. Positively. No.
Beatrix took her cup. “Another beer?”
“Sure.”
Her friend smiled. “Then I want to hear what your reason is today for not pouncing on that big hunk of a man and sexing him into a coma.”
Reno grabbed her cup back. “Then I don’t want another beer, thank you.”
Beatrix laughed, took the cup, and walked off.
Chase’s band started playing his number-one hit, a song about a woman with an impressive backside. Reno smiled. This one could also have been written about her.
Chase set his guitar on a stand behind him and called, “Yee-ha!” People shouted back and lined up to do the dance made famous by his music video.
The song rocked, and she found herself wiggling to the beat.
Tracy asked, “How long are you staying in California?”
“Two more days. I have a few things to finish up.”
“Then you’re going back to South Dakota?”
She nodded. “I haven’t been home in six weeks. My brother plows me out once a week to water my plants, and make sure no one has broken in—”
Tracy’s mouth dropped opened. “Are you that remote?”
She had to smile. “Yes. It’s a long way from civilization.” She touched her friend’s arm. “I’d love for you to come and visit. Anytime you want to get away from LA. The house is on the edge of the woods, and overlooks miles of wheat fields that my family farms.” But now, in mid-winter, there would be three feet of snow on the ground, and no one around to bother her. Over the last few days, she’d been trying to finalize the curriculum for her adult ed class this spring, but her phone never stopped ringing.
She listened to the band for a minute, and watched the crowd acting wild. “I can’t wait to have a little peace and quiet.”
“You know, I’m going to miss you when…” Tracy’s eyes opened wide, looking over Reno’s shoulder.
Reno sensed his presence before he got close.
“She’s got the curves, and I got the nerve, to take her for my own,” Chase sang, coming up behind her.
She started to turn, but he grabbed her around the waist and pressed himself against her ample backside, swaying them both to the music. His chest felt rock-hard against her back, and his big arm pressed up against the bottom of her breast. His hips ground into her butt.
Too many people were staring, nudging each other, and grinning. Breathless from the embarrassment, her head started to spin. And, weak woman that she was, she shook with lust. God, how she wanted this man. He was pure temptation, and her hands itched to grab his thighs and give him a wicked grinding in return.
But she snapped back to reality just in time.
He was coming on strong. Strong enough to make her wish she could get her friggin’ moral compass to point another direction, just for one naughty night.
The band’s lead guitarist started a blaring, wailing solo on stage, which drew people’s attention away from her. Chase bent his head and said into her ear, “My trailer. Ten minutes,” then released her and walked away.
She nearly fell backward. His trailer. Alone with him. A chill of desire shuddered through her, puckering her nipples into tight points, and forcing blood down low to swell her tingling, needy lips. She wanted to lie on his bed and watch him kiss a path down her body, settling between her legs, his cowboy hat brushing her thighs as his tongue flicked…
“Oh, no you don’t,” she whispered. What was she thinking? If she had a car here, she’d leave the party now. How else could she avoid temptation?
Beatrix came back with their beer. “Your face is as red as this cup. What did I miss?”
Tracy beamed. “Chase stopped by for a visit.”
Beatrix squealed. “Oooh. What did he say?”
Reno shook her head and took her beer from Beatrix. “Nothing. He was just working the crowd.”
Tracy laughed. “Reno, I saw his lips moving. What did he say?”
She shot her a warning look. “He asked why I hung out with such annoying women.”
Beatrix and Tracy laughed, and Tracy asked, “Did he give you his room number?”
Reno rolled her eyes, anxious to end this conversation. She sipped her beer, looking at the stage where Chase finished the set with some wild gyrations and jumps.
“Thank you,” he said to the cheering crowd, and the band took a bow while their sound guy put in a CD.
Chase left the stage and disappeared through the door leading to the next soundstage, where the actors’ trailers were housed. Where he’d be waiting for her to join him.
She looked at her friends, desperately needing a distraction to keep her from thinking about him. But they were both grinning.
Beatrix sang, “You liiiiike him.”
Reno stared down into her light beer. Yeah, she did like him. Too much. She could easily fall for him and start dreaming of a happy ever after. But she was a farm-raised, small-town girl. A man like Chase would use her up and stomp on her self-esteem like a ton of Brahma bull.
Right then, she resolved to ignore him. And pretend she wasn’t horny for him. And convince herself she didn’t want to run after him, pin him to the bed in his trailer, and ride reverse cowgirl on him all night…And damn it, these two matchmakers weren’t going to help her get her mind off him.
She smiled. “I should say hello to James. I’ll see you later.” She walked away to join another group of partiers who were waving her over.
Standing in the circle of directors, producers, and studio executives, she gritted her teeth and set her backbone. She could do this. She could easily disregard her body’s cry to answer Chase’s summons. But at five minutes, she’d already checked her watch eight times. At ten minutes, her hands began to sweat, and people asked if she was okay. At twenty minutes, she started shaking, and someone brought her a bottle of water. When thirty minutes hit, her stomach felt hollow and her heart…Broken?
Reno imagined Chase sitting in his trailer, waiting for her. He would have taken th
ose first ten minutes and cleaned himself up a little, straightened his place, maybe lit a candle, or opened a bottle of wine. He’d check the door every few minutes, hoping to see her.
She sensed something good in him. All those long talks, sharing their life stories, discussing their plans for the future. She’d grown to appreciate him as a friend. Her lip quivered when she thought of him in his trailer, alone, waiting for a woman who would never show up.
She didn’t want to hurt him. “Crap!” she blurted, interrupting the director’s story. Everyone looked at her. “Sorry, um, my phone startled me. Excuse me.” She pulled her phone from her pocket and used it as an excuse to walk away.
Maybe she should call Mitzi, and get some moral support for her weakening resolve. What time was it in South Dakota? Late, but she dialed anyway. Mitzi didn’t mind late night calls if it involved Reno telling her stories about L.A. so Mitzi could ooh and aah over them.
The phone rang once, and her friend picked up. “Hi! What glamorous thing are you doing right now?”
Reno sighed, put a finger in her other ear, and said, “Trying to keep myself from doing something really stupid.”
“Hun, you’re only there for another couple days. Do something stupid. Do it twice!”
She laughed, but had a hard time hearing her friend over the noise. She walked to the door and pushed it open, but rain poured down and lightning zip-lined across the sky. She closed it, and slid through a door into the next studio. Where his trailer sat among a dozen others at the far end, only about a football field away, but a whole lot further than she was willing to go.
“How’s everything back there, Mitz?”
Reno heard a catch in her friend’s sigh. “I didn’t want to tell you this until you got home, but I guess you should know—Jane lost the baby.”
“Oh, no. What happened?” Reno strolled along the wall.
Mitzi went into detail about the miscarriage.
“I’m glad you told me, Mitz. I was going to call her tomorrow.” Reno stopped walking. She was too damn close to the trailers. She should turn around…
Was that smoke?
Chase’s trailer, fronted by lawn furniture set on a piece of artificial grass, glowed with a long string of tiki lights running along the top. The trailer door stood open and small puffs of smoke curled up out of the trailer.
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Her Cowboy Stud Page 8