by Sara Cate
“Do you want me to stop?” The smirk inching up his lips tells me he knows I don’t. “I asked room service to send up lube just for this.”
My eyes widen, suddenly very awake. “I really hope you’re joking, Dairen! People saw us last night. They saw us walking up here—”
His head bends down and licks me from clit to ass, cutting off my words with a strangled moan. “And those people know very well why I asked for lube to be delivered.” Daire withdraws his finger and kisses one cheek, then the other, and slaps my ass before getting off the bed. “I can’t wait to bury my cock inside that sweet ass of yours, but we’ll build up to it. Now that you’re awake, I have other plans.”
Before I can even ask what they are, he all but throws himself on top of me, holding himself up by flattening his hands on either side of my head. His nose nuzzles mine before he pecks my lips, nose, and jaw. I yelp when he yanks me up so I’m straddling his lap. He sits up and holds onto my hips, kneading the bare flesh before cupping my ass.
I drape my arms over his shoulders, both of us still naked with the scent of dried sweat and sex lingering on us from the hours we’ve spent exploring each other’s bodies. He hardens under me as I rub myself on him, my lips taking his slowly, my tongue tracing the outline of his mouth, then sneaking in to flick over his.
His rough, callused hands from years of his sport move up my spine, causing me to shiver. He deepens the kiss and reaches for something before his hand goes between us. I jump when cool liquid hits my clit as he rubs me, then my entrance as he swirls it around. My legs tighten around his hips from the sensation as I watch him fist some of the lube onto his shaft, stroking himself until he’s coated before guiding himself back to where I’ve wanted him for a long time.
I rise up on my knees and slowly sink down onto him, the sensation making my jaw drop from the fullness. He helps guide me, lowering me down onto his slippery cock at a slow pace and planting my hands onto his shoulders for balance.
“Feel good?” he asks, voice strained as I squeeze my pussy around him experimentally.
“So good.” I kiss him hard, our teeth clattering in fight for dominance.
This position takes him deeper, makes him feel so much bigger than he did last night. We find a steady rhythm as he lowers onto his back, pinning my hands to the coarse hair on his chest and grips my hips to encourage me to continue.
He watches as my boobs bounce every time I slam down on him, taking him hilt deep each time. Reaching up, he cups them in his hands and plays with the nipples, tweaking, pulling, and massaging them as a familiar tingling sensation fills the pit of my stomach.
Daire sits up enough to take one nipple into his mouth to suck while playing with the other, his teeth nipping and making me gargle out a noise from the bite of pain that goes straight to my core.
“Fuck,” he groans, jackknifing up the same time I bring my hips down to meet him. “You liked that, didn’t you?”
I nod breathlessly as he does it again, playing rough with my tits until they’re as sore as my pussy is from his teeth and hands. The overwhelming feeling taking over me makes me too far gone to hear the lock click or the door swing open.
I pin Daire to the bed and ride him faster as the orgasm tingling in my spine and tightening my stomach begins crashing over me.
“Daire, have you seen— Holy shit.” My eyes bolt up and lock with Noah’s as I slam down onto his brother’s cock one more time and come so hard I’m blinded for a second.
“Jesus Christ, Addy,” Dairen groans, his voice strained as he shoots up and fills me with his hot cum.
When I come back down from the high, I stare at my best friend who’s gaping at my bare chest covered in bite marks before he registers exactly what he’s seeing.
It’s Daire who looks over at the unexpected visitor and grabs the blanket we’d kicked to the side of the bed to cover me from the unexpected guest. Which is probably good, because when I stumble off him, his cum starts dripping down my leg.
My voice is hoarse as I wrap the blanket around myself, mortification taking over. “Noah, I—”
“What the fuck is going on?” he demands, voice cracking as he looks anywhere but at me. His fingers go to his hair as he watches his brother roll of the bed in his naked glory, unabashed even though his brother just caught us in a very compromising position.
Literally.
“I-I’m sorry. So sorry, Noah. I didn’t—”
“Haven’t you heard of knocking?” Daire asks Noah, pulling his black briefs on to cover himself while glaring at his little brother.
That’s what he’s going to start with?
Noah doesn’t take it well. “Are you serious right now? I just walked in on you fucking my girlfr—”
“Technically, she was fucking me,” Dairen corrects casually, sitting on the edge of the bed where I’m wrapped up. “If you want to get technical with positions. And based on the way she vice gripped my cock even after you walked in on us, I’m going to go ahead and say she liked when you watched us finish.”
My jaw drops at his brazen words, heat blasting across my face that matches the bright red color on Noah’s.
Noah manages to look at me, but it’s painted. “I knew you liked him, but really?”
“Noah…” Embarrassment turns me entire body hot. I let my hair shield me from his narrowed eyes. “I’m sorry. I just…I…”
I have no words. None. Not when I know where he was last night. Not when this wasn’t even real between us. Does it justify me sleeping with his brother? Probably not. But it’s the only thing I can cling onto to stop me from drowning from guilt.
“Let the girl at least get cleaned up,” Daire tells his brother with little care in his tone.
Noah’s teeth grind. “Excuse me for trying to process this. I was worried when Addy wasn’t returning my messages.” His eyes go between us before he shakes his head and pinches them closed. “Christ, no wonder. I didn’t ask you to pick her up so you could make her another one of your bunnies, Dairen. What the hell is wrong with you? You knew she liked you, so why would you lead her on like she actually means something?”
That stings way, way more than it should. So, I force myself to carefully climb out of the bed with the hotel comforter covering my body and slip into the bathroom before I hear whatever Daire’s response is.
Because I don’t think I’d be able to hear his confirmation that I’m just another notch on his bedpost.
I never hid my crush on him well. Everybody knew I had one. Most people just assumed I got over it because Daire was older and had his own life outside of New York City. He lived in Chicago, played for a big team, and was photographed with plenty of women in his short time with the Blackhawks. And I had Noah in a way. Not in the way that a majority of the public thinks, but enough to accept that what transpired in this hotel room should have never happened.
Turning on the shower to drown out the voices outside the locked door, I drop the dirtied comforter and stare at my reflection in the huge mirror above the double vanity.
I look…different.
But the same.
Womanly but young all at once.
The way I feel, though?
It’ll never be the same.
Ever.
I take my time in the shower, cleaning myself the best I can using the cheap shampoo, conditioner, and soap that the hotel provides and then dry myself off. It isn’t until after I use my fingers to brush out my wet hair that I realize I have no clean clothes here.
Only the ones I came in.
Before I can freak out, there’s a knock at the door. I expect Noah to be behind it, but it’s Daire’s voice that leaks through the wood. “I have something you can borrow. The clothes will be big on you, but it’s better than nothing.”
I stare at the wood for a solid thirty seconds before I force my feet forward to unlock and open it. When I peer out through the crack, I see the clothes in his hand and accept them with a shy but grateful smile.<
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We don’t say anything.
I close the door, change, and stare at myself wearing his rolled-up sweatpants and old Blackhawks’s sweatshirt. I’m drowning in the clothes, but they’re warm and smell like him and it’s oddly comforting.
Counting to three, I take a deep breath and head back out into the main room. Noah is rubbing his jaw, now red and swollen, by the window that he’s glaring out, and Daire is sitting on the edge of the bed.
Where there’s a blood stain in the sheets.
Oh my God.
He must know what I’m staring at because his lips kick up and one of his shoulders lifts. There aren’t any words attached to the casual gesture, so I force myself to look toward my best friend.
“What happened to your face?” I ask, stepping forward.
Noah shoots a deadly look at his brother when Daire happily declares, “I punched him.”
I gape. “You did what?”
Another shrug. “He tried punching me first.”
“You deserved it!” Noah blasts.
“Didn’t we already hash this out?” Dairen questions, head cocking to the side.
The boys only stare at each other, the tension in the room choking me.
“Noah, can I talk to you?” I ask him, hugging my arms around myself. “I think I need to explain—”
“Oh, don’t worry. I don’t think there’s much to explain.” His voice is hard, his eyes never moving from his brother perched at ease on the bed.
My eyebrows rise. “But I—”
“Addy.” He finally breaks his focus from Daire and swipes at his face, hefting out a heavy sigh. “I really need to process this right now because I don’t know if I trust what I have to say to you. I’ll hurt your feelings.”
I swallow my words and find myself nodding in understanding. Even though the look of betrayal has seemingly lessened on his face, it’s still there. A relationship may not have been there, but a friendship always has been. And I just implanted his brother, who he’s struggled connecting with since the accident, right in the middle of it.
Noah looks at the clothes I’m wearing and then at the other guy in the room before clenching his fists by his sides. “I really wish I could say I was surprised,” he murmurs, loosening his hands before glancing at me. “But I’m not.”
He doesn’t let anybody say another word before walking out of the room and closing the door behind him.
His words cling to my heart, making it deflate from the puncture wound. He expected me to do this sort of thing even though we made a deal. I know I shouldn’t feel bad considering who he was spending time with last night—aka not me—but I do. I can’t help it. Noah has been there for me through a lot, and I’m afraid I just threw it all away. And for what? A fling? A chance to see what it was like to sleep with Daire?
God. I’m an idiot.
“I should get going,” I rush out, clamoring to grab the discarded items of mine thrown about the room.
He’s in front of me before I can blink, halting my frantic movements and looking down at me with piercing eyes. “What’s the rush?”
I lick my lips. “Well, after that—”
“After my brother caught us fucking?” he reiterates for clarification.
Heat blossoms across my cheeks. “After my boyfriend—”
He laughs loudly. “How long are you going to keep that bullshit up?”
His question stuns me speechless.
Daire snorts, tugging me toward the bed and yanking the dress I managed to collect out of my hands and sending it sailing back behind him onto the floor. “He told me. How long are you and Noah planning on lying to everybody? To my parents? Letting the world believe you two are dating when you’re not?”
I try answering but can’t come up with a good enough response. He wouldn’t understand our reasoning because I’m not sure I even do. “I don’t get why you sound so mad about it.”
His nostrils flare. “You don’t?” The sarcasm isn’t lost on me.
I slowly shake my head, toying with the huge pocket of his hoodie. “No. I mean, shouldn’t this be a good thing? Or are you pissed off because you can’t really get back at him since we’re not together in the first place? That’s what this was about, wasn’t it? Revenge. Well, I’m sorry to break it to you, Dairen—” I stand, leveling him with a narrowed stare. “—but it won’t work. Noah isn’t going to give a shit if we slept together. Obviously.”
Another dry laugh bubbles from him as he watches me storm toward my phone and collect the half-dead device from the stand it was resting on all night. “If that’s true, why the fuck did he throw a punch?”
I turn on my heel and hiss, “Because we’re friends! And that’s what friends do.”
“Attempt to punch people?”
“If they’re using them, yes.”
He steps toward me with pinched lips. “I seem to recall you using me just the same, princess. And you didn’t mind one fucking second. While we’re on this little topic, how about you explain to me why you’re so angry over me being upset that our revenge fuck wasn’t more when you’re supposedly dating my brother? Before you judge me for my morals and reasons, take a good goddamn look in the mirror.”
I’m silent.
Because he’s right.
There’s no way I can deny it without being a hypocrite. I have no reason being mad at him when the world thinks I’m dating his brother.
He nods once. “Yeah. That’s what I thought.”
Staring down at the floor, I wiggle my toes into the carpet and feel an onslaught of heavy emotions rise up my throat. I knew what I was walking into when I agreed to come here, so I shouldn’t be surprised that something bad happened. It’s karma in its finest form.
“I’ll leave,” I croak, clearing my throat and avoiding his pointed stare.
He doesn’t tell me to stay.
He doesn’t tell me to go.
But when I pick up my dress and heels, he doesn’t stop me either. Not this time.
I stop at the door, hand wrapped around the handle in a daze. Then I say, “Merry Christmas Eve, Daire. I’m…I’m sorry.”
Chapter 7
Adelaide
* * *
My agent’s name flashes across the screen as I finish blow drying my hair. Sighing, I set down my hairdryer and pick up the cell to answer even though it’s the last thing I want to do.
“You answered,” Jill starts with, surprise in her tone. I can’t help but crack a grin as I examine my reflection in the mirror. “I just got the date for your first table read.”
My eyes widen. “Already?”
Her soft sigh is one of exasperation that I’ve heard many times before. “This isn’t Elemental High anymore, Adelaide. You scored the lead role in a blockbuster film. They’re not going to drag their feet on this project.”
Standing taller as I nibble my lip, I think to myself, No pressure. Except, obviously there is. I still have no idea how I got this part, not that I’m unhappy about it. Playing Elisa Carpenter is a dream come true. Noah helped me practice for my audition for weeks leading up to the big day. I’d like to think my blood relations aren’t part of the reason why the director and his affiliates chose me, but I’d be stupid not to think it was at least part of the influence I had on them.
“I know.” I grab my foundation and play with the top of the bottle. “When do the reads start?”
“A week from tomorrow.”
My eyes about bulge out of my head.
“Like I said,” she cuts in before I have time to freak out, “they want to get the ball rolling. Ever since production was announced, it’s been a whirlwind with the press. The world wants to see their favorite celebrities brought to life, and it’s going to be huge. ABC is talking about doing a documentary and interviewing the models that worked closely with Elisa to bring light to the biopic.”
Nausea rises in my stomach. Does that mean Mom will be asked to speak about her experiences in the industry? She hasn’t
wanted to talk about it before, least of all with me. She’s done everything possible to separate herself from that life. “Okay…” I take a deep breath and nod. “So, the main cast will be there. Cool.”
Cool. The understatement of the century. Some of the biggest names are starring alongside me. People I’ve admired for a long time and looked up to for years. The person playing Elisa’s father is none other than Braxton Malone.
Grandma Rose used to say he’s the one man who would make her break the no-man pact that she made with herself after Grandpa died.
Creepy but understandable. He’s a total silver fox. A stud.
“I’m emailing you over a few things now that way you’re prepared. The director has a reputation for being tough, so you’re going to need to bring you’re A-game. They can replace you at any point.”
I frown. “Thanks,” I murmur.
“You know I’m right, Adelaide.”
She is. It’s happened before with actors far more famous than me. The only real project I have under my belt is Elemental High. But if Daniel Radcliff could do Harry Potter than I could do this.
Easily.
Probably…
I feign confidence. “I know what I’m doing. You know how badly I wanted this and I’m not going to screw it up now that I have it.”
Truthfully, I don’t think Jill would have agreed to help me get this role if she didn’t think I could handle it. It’d reflect just as badly on her as it would me if I messed it up. Neither of us wants that.
“Good. I’ve added a new appointment into your schedule for two days from now to fix your hair. They want a serious actress, not a girl playing dress up.” I wince as I hear her typing something on her end. My fingers play with my colorful hair and feel my shoulders drop knowing it’ll go back to boring blonde soon. “You’re also going to need to do something about your wardrobe. I saw the photos of you in that Valentino dress from last night.”
When I searched online for pictures lingering of me and Daire from last night, I saw none. I’d checked three times before realizing there wasn’t any evidence of who I was with that could stir up rumors. It took a few hours, and a long bubble bath, before I could breathe a little easier knowing I’d be okay.