Dream Guy

by Dream Guy (lit)

  “Wow,” was all Matt could think to say as his gaze traveled over Annie’s amazing body. After seeing her in that bikini, if he died at that moment, he could truthfully say he died a happy man.

  She put her hands on her shapely hips, drawing his attention to her tiny waist and flat stomach. He swallowed, hard. He’d thought of nothing but her the entire day. And now that he finally had her here all to himself, he was overwhelmed at how much he wanted her.

  “I didn’t realize Betty Boop lived here in Atlanta,” she teased.

  Matt laughed. “Go figure. Who would believe a guy who could afford a place like this would collect posters of cartoon characters for a hobby?”

  She looked around, taking in the 360-degree view of the city at night. “Nice view,” she said. “Trying out a place like this to see if it fits with your big promotion?”

  “Nah,” Matt said. “Trying to impress you with extraordinary bing places.”

  “It’s working,” she said.

  “Prove it,” he told her.

  Matt put his wineglass down and held out his hand. After he’d helped Annie into the Jacuzzi and had her settled beside him, he leaned in for a long, slow kiss. It wasn’t enough. He pulled her close and kissed her again. Harder this time, and with much more urgency than before.

  She kissed him back. Her arms slid around his neck and she maneuvered her body so she was sitting astride him. Matt moaned. He could feel the delicious pressure of exactly what he wanted—pressing firmly against exactly what he couldn’t wait to give her.

  When their lips broke apart, she whispered, “Maybe we should slow down. Enjoy the spectacular view first.”

  “I’m already enjoying the spectacular view,” Matt said and sank his fingers into her long, sexy hair and pulled her head forward for another kiss.

  She was the one to break the kiss a few seconds later, slowly, and tease his lower lip between her teeth as she pulled her head back. “Nice touch,” she said, reaching for one of the plump strawberries he’d arranged on a silver tray and placed on the side of the Jacuzzi. “You even thought of chocolate.” She dipped the berry into the melted chocolate, then brought it to his lips to taste.

  To hell with berries and chocolate, Matt Jr. yelled.

  Matt reluctantly took a quick bite and swallowed. “I hate to bring this up,” he said when Annie put the berry to her own lips for a leisurely nibble. “But aren’t you the one who is always concerned about the chitchat rules?”

  You tell her, big guy! came another cry from down under.

  She shrugged and reached for another berry. More dipping. “I was concerned until you pointed out that as long as the chatting didn’t occur during or after sex, we weren’t really breaking the rules.”

  Way to go, big mouth!

  Matt pulled Annie closer, nuzzled her neck, and whispered into her hair, “I vote for us getting back to the during sex part.”

  She snuggled closer to him, her firm, wet breasts pressing against his chest and pushing his desire quickly to the boiling point. Their eyes met for a moment. And just when Matt thought he had Annie’s attention exactly where he wanted it, she smiled and said, “Remember when we were sharing silly teenage stories the other night?”

  See where getting in touch with your feminine side gets you, dumbass? Nothing but talk, talk, talk.

  Okay. It was obvious Annie was in the mood for one of those needing-to-be-validated-with-a-supportive-

  answer chats. He could do this. It wouldn’t kill him.

  “Of course I remember,” he said. Trying his best to feel all feminine, he threw in for good measure, “I enjoyed sharing my past with you.” It was even true.

  She smiled sweetly and offered him another bite of strawberry. Matt bit into the berry. But when Annie leaned forward and licked the chocolate from the corner of his mouth with her hot, pink tongue, Matt kicked his damn feminine side to the curb.

  “Come here, you,” he said and kissed her again.

  Again she pulled away after what barely passed for a playful kiss. Hell, I might as well be bobbing for apples here, Matt thought sadly.

  “I just thought of another bit of trivia from my childhood past that might amuse you,” she said, smiling at him so innocently that he felt ashamed of himself.

  He tried the truth again. “I’d love to hear it.”

  She grinned. “Eighth-grade swim team. I was the only kid on the team who could hold my breath underwater for four full minutes.”

  Matt gulped. “Really?”

  Her eyebrow came up in a provocative arch.

  When Annie’s head slid beneath the water to back up her statement, Matt held on tightly to each side of the Jacuzzi to keep from floating blissfully up to heaven and the stairway of brilliant stars twinkling above them.

  CHAPTER 16

  Mind-blowing evenings with Matt and hair-raising days keeping the peace between Gretchen and Rico were beginning to wear Annie out. Just two more days, she kept telling herself, and filming Joe Video would be over.

  As for Matt, he’d called in his last bing marker before she left the penthouse the night before. She’d be meeting him at his apartment tonight. The anticipation of another beyond-belief evening had her tingling with excitement, sighing in awe, and congratulating herself for finally realizing the only way to survive in this life was to maintain a no-strings-attached existence.

  She’d feel guilty about it later.

  When the magic between them ended.

  Then she’d do what she’d been doing from the moment she’d met him. She’d lie to her broken heart and say she wasn’t hopelessly in love with Matt and never had been.

  But for now, she was going to enjoy being happy.

  When Collin hurried over with his usual concerned look, Annie said, “Don’t bother me, Collin. I’m living happily ever after at the moment.”

  Her request didn’t stop Collin from saying, “Well, you’re the only one who’s happy around here. Rico is getting more impossible by the minute. And Gretchen is threatening to strangle him.”

  “I’ll have a talk with him,” Annie said, but she and Collin exchanged spare-me-please looks as Rico’s new shadow swished past them.

  Claire hurried across the set and eagerly handed Rico the glass of water he’d demanded before he would finish the last part of the aerobics segment.

  “How many times do you think we’d have to flush before Claire goes away?” Collin said.

  “Two more flushes,” Annie told him. “Today and tomorrow. Then we’ll be rid of her.”

  “And Rico, thank God,” Collin said. “I just hope your idea to sic Claire on him works soon. Helena is starting to second-guess her decision to go along with your plan. Which is why I’m leaving in a minute, if that’s okay with you. Maybe shopping will keep Helena pacified.”

  “Sure, go ahead,” Annie said. “Just be here bright and early in the morning. It’s going to be a madhouse around here tomorrow. You’ll need to help me keep the winning fans in line while they watch tomorrow’s filming.”

  “God, don’t remind me,” Collin said with a sigh. “See you in the morning.”

  He had no sooner walked away than Matt sidled up beside her. “It looks like your dream guy is turning out to be your worst nightmare.”

  Annie eased her hand behind his back and pinched him on the butt for making that smart remark.

  “Be careful,” he said, still looking straight ahead. “There’s a fine line between pain and pleasure.”

  “Then you’re about to have an orgasm, because I’m going to deck you if you keep ragging me about Rico.” She kept looking straight ahead herself. “I need your team support today, Matt. Not your ridicule.”

  He leaned sideways. “I am thinking that is not all you are needing from me, Ah-nee,” he said, mimicking Rico’s accent and manner of speaking to perfection.

  “Cute,” Annie said.

  Matt winked at her and walked away.

  The music started up again. The camera started roll
ing. And Rico, clad in nothing but his skimpy red briefs, did a few extremely seductive gyrations. But then he threw his hands up in the air and exclaimed, “Stop everything! I cannot do this.”

  Oh yes, by God, you can!

  Annie marched onto the set where Rico was standing. “We need to talk,” she told him. She pointed in the direction of the outside patio.

  Rico nodded curtly. Claire started to follow until one look from Annie stopped her in her tracks.

  Once they were outside and alone, Rico started pacing back and forth. “You are angry,” he said. “And I am sorry. But I cannot do this any longer.”

  Hands on her hips, Annie said, “I don’t want this to get ugly, Rico. But you did sign a contract. Paragon has invested a lot of money in this game. And J.B. Duncan will sue you if you don’t fulfill your contract.”

  He stopped pacing and glared at her. “You think I care about that? I do not. I do not want to be every woman’s dream guy. I do not want to be a big star. I want my old life back. My friends and my family, they make fun of me. Rico, the pretty boy, they call me. To them, I am nothing but a big joke. But I am no big joke.” He pounded his bare, muscled chest with his fist. “I am a man. A man who will not continue to let women boss me around!”

  You arrogant jerk! Annie thought, until Rico slumped onto one of the outdoor patio chairs and buried his head in his hands.

  “Helena is all I care about,” he said. “She has gone away with this other man. I cannot find her.”

  Annie couldn’t help it. She felt sorry for him. Even if Rico had brought the whole situation on himself, she could only hope someone would love her that much one day.

  “Maybe I can find Helena for you.”

  His head came up. “Find her? How could you do this?”

  You twerp. You thought I could make you a big Hollywood star? But you doubt I could find your girlfriend?

  “I have connections,” she told him. It wasn’t even a lie.

  A look of relief washed across his handsome face. “Please. I beg of you, Annie. Call up your connections. Find my Helena. Find her before she marries this other man and it is too late for me.”

  “Under one condition,” Annie said.

  Rico nodded without her having to say it. “I will finish the filming. All of it. You have my word.”

  Annie smiled. “Good. You have my word, too, Rico. When we finish filming tomorrow, I’ll do everything in my power to see that Helena will be waiting for you.”

  Thanks to Rico’s cooperation the remainder of Thursday afternoon, Annie had time to go home and take a long, relaxing bubble bath before she headed off to Matt’s apartment. She’d dressed casually, wearing a short and sexy white eyelet sundress with spaghetti straps, and her favorite sandals—a much-welcomed relief after dress clothes and heels all day.

  Underneath the sundress, the only thing she was wearing was a lacy white thong. She blushed slightly, realizing how eager she was for Matt to get her out of that thong. Then she took a deep breath, reached out, and rang Matt’s doorbell.

  The first thing she thought when he opened the door was that she should have given more thought to her attire. Matt was dressed fit to kill. Dress shirt. Dress slacks. Even dress shoes. She panicked for a moment. Surely he isn’t planning on us going out first. He knows I’d never agree to that.

  “You look gorgeous,” he said and pulled her close for a long delicious kiss as the deep voice of Barry White coming from inside the apartment kept insisting, “Give it up . . . ain’t no use . . . can’t help myself if I wanted to.”

  However.

  When Annie stepped into Matt’s apartment, she was so shocked that she walked back to the front door and peeped around it to look at the number. “Just checking,” she said, getting a little nervous. “I thought I was in the wrong apartment.”

  “Cute,” he said.

  He took her purse and placed it on the new rattan bench-style table that was so-not-him sitting by his front door. And that’s when Annie took her first long look around. The place looked like a Pier 1 display ad. She wasn’t sure she had ever seen that many candles in one room, but the candles were the least of it. Abstract floral paintings had taken the place of Matt’s cherished black-and-white framed autographed photos of famous baseball players. A giant urn sat in one corner of the living room, stuffed with multicolored feathery ferns. There were even pleated paisley fabric lampshades on the lamps on his end tables.

  Decorating for Dummies. I’ll find him a copy.

  Matt ushered her over to his leather sectional sofa—the one thing she did recognize, for a number of delicious reasons—where an ice bucket, a chilled bottle of champagne, and a spectacular array of hors d’oeuvres were waiting on his coffee table. When Annie glanced into his adjoining dining room, she saw that the table was set to perfection, complete with matching placemats and napkins.

  He followed her gaze. “I wanted us to celebrate privately tonight.” He took her hand. “Brace yourself, Annie. PlayStar is going to buy Joe Video. J.B. told me today. We did it, Annie. Paragon is going to make a bundle. And J.B. is going to announce our promotions tomorrow when we finish filming.”

  Matt could have knocked her over with one of his new feathery ferns.

  PlayStar? That would mean worldwide distribution of her idea. Annie lowered herself onto the sofa. They really had pulled it off. After tomorrow, Matt would be an executive vice president. And she would be Paragon’s new creative director.

  Matt moved a plush beaded pillow out of his way and sat down beside her. “Take a minute,” he said. “I was speechless myself after J.B. told me.”

  Wait a minute.

  Plush. Beaded. Pillow.

  Annie felt the hair stand up on the back of her neck.

  Matt reached over and took the champagne bottle from the ice bucket. He filled two champagne flutes and handed one to her. “To success,” he said and clinked his glass against hers.

  “To success,” Annie repeated, still slightly addled.

  When Matt took a fancy petit four from the tray and lifted the small tea cake to her mouth for her to taste, the fog began to lift and Annie’s mind screamed Tea cake? Are you freaking kidding me?

  She swallowed the bite in one unladylike gulp.

  “Okay, Matt. What’s going on?”

  He smiled. Facetiously. And they both knew it. “What do you mean?”

  “All of this so-not-you stuff,” Annie said, waving her arm around the room. She picked up the pillow and held it up in front of his face. “This.” She put it back down and pointed to the urn in the corner. “That.” She shook her head. “And where are your baseball pictures? You treasure those pictures.”

  Matt shrugged. “Is there some new law that says a guy can’t feminize his apartment?”

  Feminize? Annie stared at him for a moment. “Who are you?”

  Stay calm, Matt told himself. It made perfect sense that Annie would be a little overwhelmed. Hell, he was overwhelmed himself. About all of it. PlayStar. His promotion. His new feminized outlook. Being in love for the first time in his life.

  “Who am I?” He took her hand. “I—”

  She cut him off. “You’re scaring me, Matt.”

  She wasn’t kidding. Her palms were sweaty. Her breath was becoming short and raspy. Hyperventilation could be just around the corner. He put his finger under her chin, forcing her to look at him.

  “Why am I scaring you?”

  She stared him down. “Because . . . I can feel it. You’re going to ruin everything. Don’t do this, Matt. It wasn’t part of our deal.”

  You little dummy. Don’t you realize I love you?

  Matt leaned forward and kissed her lightly on the lips. “Don’t do what, Annie? Don’t tell you that I’m in love with you?” There, I said it. He leaned in and kissed her again. “That I want a new deal? The real deal. You. Me. Together.”

  Annie tried to get up, but Matt held on to both of her hands, forcing her to stay seated. Now he was getting scared. �
��I’m not trying to ruin anything, Annie. I’m trying to tell you how I feel. I want it all. Just like you said. The house. The dog. The kids. Even the minivan. All of it.”

  She wrestled away from him and stood up. “Please don’t do this, Matt. We’ve been getting along great just the way things are.”

  What? He’d just bared his soul to her? Told her he loved her? And all she could say was, “Don’t do this”?

  Anger rolled over Matt like a two-ton steamroller. He stood up and faced her. “Didn’t you hear a word I just said? I all but handed you my heart on a silver platter, Annie. What are you holding out for, the goddamn ear in the mail?”

  Her eyes narrowed. “Welcome back,” she said. “That’s the Matt I know.”

  She stomped across the room.

  Matt stomped across the room right behind her. “Well, excuse me. I’ve evidently fallen short of your dream guy expectations. Which I find pretty damn funny, since it was your made-to-order outline I was following.”

  She whirled around to face him. “Whose made-to-order outline did you think I was following when I came up with the idea for sex with no strings attached?”

  Matt glared at Annie.

  Annie glared back.

  She jerked her purse strap across her shoulder. “Can I leave now? Or do you have any other insults you want to hurl in my direction?”

  Fine!

  She wanted insults. He’d see what he could do.

  “I guess that means tonight’s bing is out of the question then.”

  She paled. Then she sent him a screw-you glare that made him step back just in case she decided to slap him. Which he certainly deserved for that comment. But that was beside the point.

  She opened the door, marched through it, and headed down the hallway, never looking back.

  Matt slammed his front door with a bang and stood there for a moment, seething. What in the hell have I been thinking? To hell with love and everything that went along with it. He was through trying to be everything he wasn’t. And for what? To have all of his efforts thrown back in his face? You’re ruining everything. Proving exactly what he’d known all along, dammit. No matter what a woman said she wanted, she’d change her damn mind when tomorrow rolled around.