by Sierra Rose
“I’ll give you five thousand dollars to tell me.”
I shook my head self-righteously. “I can’t be bribed.” He shot me a skeptical look and I conceded. “Past actions notwithstanding.”
“Come on, just tell me this one—”
“Didn’t anyone ever teach you it’s rude to talk while a television’s playing?”
“I could have my security come down and make you tell me.”
“Shh…” I cut him off, patting his head condescendingly. “Enjoy the suspense.”
He leaned back with a sullen pout, but was on the edge of the couch just a second later, tapping my arm anxiously. “What’s that guy coming through processing going to do?”
And so it was. We watched for seven hours.
Marcus—with mounting excitement. Me—with mounting exhaustion.
I don’t remember falling asleep. I opened my sleepy eyes and looked up to see him hovering over me. He didn’t see me watching. He was busy sliding a pillow behind my head and pulling up the comforter. Only when he reached up to brush back my hair did he see my eyes were open.
He pulled back his hand guiltily, and I could see his blush even in the darkness.
I don’t know what made me say it. Now, of all times. It just sort of came out. A soft whisper that held two people at complete attention.
“Why did you pay for Mrs. Diaz’s funeral?”
He froze in surprise. “How do you know about that?”
“Why did you do it?”
His face tightened for a moment before he dropped his eyes. “It was hurting you. I wanted to…fix it.”
I considered this for a second.
“And your mother? Why didn’t you tell me about that?”
There was a subtle shift as his whole body locked down. “Rebecca.”
He made to stand, but I reached up and caught his face in my hand. “I’m so sorry that happened to you,” I said simply, saving him a response. He gazed at me cautiously but stayed where he was, leaning subconsciously into my hand.
“I want to be a better man. It’s what my parents would’ve wanted.”
“You are a good man.”
“I got lost along the way. And it’s like you put me back on the right path.”
“I’ve gotten lost myself.”
“You’re like the sun in all the darkness surrounding my life.”
“And you’re my sunshine as well. You paid my rent,” I continued softly.
He tensed for a moment. “Yes.”
“And you kissed me. More than once.”
There it was. Finally, out in the open for all to see. The thing we were pretending never happened. I’d never forget how we were wrapped together on a moonlit shore.
His lips parted uncertainly as his eyes searched mine. “…yes.”
I stared up at him in honest curiosity, my face an open book. “Why?”
Without seeming to think about it, he reached down and stroked back a lock of my hair, twirling it between his fingers before smoothing it flat on the pillow.
“Rebecca…”
His face softened, and his eyes glowed as he remembered.
“How could I not kiss you?”
Chapter 10
We’d ended up going to sleep that morning sometime between five and six, so I felt no guilt when I stayed in bed until noon. After his startling confession, Marcus had walked me back to my room, kissed me, and left, leaving me to stew in his cryptic affections until sleep finally overtook me. I was still lazily stretching, gazing out at the afternoon sun, when there was a knock at the door.
“Just a minute,” I cried, racing to the mirror and doing my best to smash down my flyaway curls. Marcus might have somehow mastered cute bed-head, but me? I looked scary. After watching a renegade strand bounce cartoonishly back up three times after my efforts to stop it; I put my hair in a quick, stylish bun, one of those gigantic topknots that sat on top of your head. I then pulled open the door.
“Hi, Marcus.”
“Good morning.”
“I loved our movie marathon.”
“Me too. So what happens?”
I grinned. “They all get killed in the end, Marcus. Every single one of them. The escape doesn’t happen.”
For a split second he froze, but then he smiled easily. “Nah—my Rebecca doesn’t spoil endings, remember? She plays everything very close to the chest. And you look adorable, by the way.” He flashed a grin.
I shot him a smile. “So what’s on the docket for today? Sand-racing? Baton-twirling? What is it that our adoring public would like to see?”
“Actually,” he began, “I was thinking that after our long day yesterday wine-tasting and meeting the in-laws, maybe we’d just take it easy. Go out to one high society lunch but then come back here and chill?”
“Chill?” I raised my eyebrows doubtfully. “Are you just Googling words now to make you sound like one of the guys?”
He grinned and played along. “Give me a break, I heard it on the show last night.”
“Right.” I chuckled. “I’ll get dressed and meet you downstairs. How fancy are we talking about?” I called as he headed down the hall to his room.
“Fancy.”
* * *
Thanks to the well-stocked closet I found in my room, I could do fancy. After a painstaking deliberation, I ended up going with a little black lace number. While it had long sleeves and a modest neckline, it stopped a few inches below my thighs and the nude slip beneath it made it look like I’d simply spray-painted my body in lace. I swept up my curls off my shoulders and put on some dark red lipstick and a smoky eye.
Extremely fancy for lunch. Then again, the people Marcus ran with liked to live in the extremes. And with a bathroom stocked with powders, creams, and other goodies, I was more than willing to oblige.
“What would you say if we took Eduardo with us on a leash?” I asked as I descended the winding staircase. “Add a little flair. Instead of being the rich couple with the exotic tiger, we’d be the rich couple with the peacock.”
He laughed.
Marcus was waiting on the marble in the lobby but looked up in surprise that turned to scarcely concealed admiration as I swept across the room and joined him by the door. I smiled up coyly, guessing what was going on beneath those eyes, but he just gave me an impish shrug.
“You wait out on the lawn as bait, and I’ll go find some rope.”
I shuddered and took his arm as we made our way to the car. “That’s seriously one of my top ever nightmares. Playing human kibble to some exotic bird as you come at me with a noose.”
Marcus pointed to his pet bird perched on top of a wooden bench. His tail feathers weren’t spread out. “Does he really look like a killer?”
“He’s good when you’re around. If you weren’t here, he’d be attacking me for sure.”
Marcus laughed. “I highly doubt that.”
“He doesn’t like me.”
“Tomorrow, I want you to meet him. Give him another chance.”
I smiled. “As long as you’re with me.”
“Of course, babe.”
Marcus grinned as he slid into the limo after me. I caught him looking at my long legs. I slid onto the leather with the utmost care as the lace slipped even farther up my thighs.
I smiled. “You’re peeking.”
“Then don’t flash me.”
I laughed. “And what do you expect when you buy me a dress like this?”
He smiled unabashedly. “I hope that you’ll wear it.” I was about to make a biting retort when he knocked on the partition and gave the driver the name of the restaurant.
I had heard of the Chateau Marmont. It was one of the top restaurants for celebrity sightings. But I’d never actually gone inside. The prices were prohibitive, and the place was too rich for my blood. But nothing was prohibitive with Marcus, and after waiting only a second for the hostess to recover herself, we were shown inside to a table.
“Actually, something on t
he patio would be nice,” Marcus corrected her.
Her face blanched apologetically. “Oh, I’m sorry Mr. Taylor. Usually, you like something with a bit more privacy—”
“And today I’d like to be seen.” He gave her a cool smile and handed her a fifty. She accepted it with a stutter and showed us to a different table outside, front and center. “You ready to do this?” he asked the second she’d disappeared.
“Do what?” I said a little nervously, trying to ignore the curious looks we were getting from the other customers.
With a handsome smile, he took my hand across the table and brought it slowly up to his lips, hovering there for a second before giving it a soft kiss. “To put on a show.”
His eyes sparkled mischievously, and I shook my head. He was still messing with me. Still doing everything he could to unnerve me under the guise of our agreement. But like I said before, two could play that game. And while he may be a world-class businessman, I was something else entirely.
“Oh, honey.” With a graceful twist, I got up from my chair and wound along the curve of the table, running my fingers over the starched linen. “I think you’re forgetting something.”
“Oh yeah?” He gulped nervously as I delicately perched on his lap. “What’s that?”
“I’m an actress. I don’t just put on a show.” I smiled dangerously, leaning down so our lips were just an inch or so apart. “I give a performance.”
Then I kissed him. I kissed him as deeply as he’d kissed me that night on the beach, catching his head in my hands and taking control as I tilted his face back and raked my fingers through his hair. Twice he tried to come up for air, twice he gasped and tried to say something, but I wasn’t having it. I kept him there until I was finished, giving his lip a little bite before I hopped off his lap and sank gracefully back down in my chair.
The entire patio was dead quiet. The only noises were the sounds of the flashbulbs going crazy outside. Our server, who had been frozen ten paces behind, wondering when to make himself known, finally took a step forward and awkwardly cleared his throat.
“Can I…uh…can I get you two started with something to drink?”
“A mojito for me please, thanks, and…honey?”
I glanced up at Marcus like I was seeing him for the first time. He was still frozen in place, staring at me—stunned. Mouth ajar and hair sticking up in all different directions from my rather rough treatment of it. The waiter followed my gaze and I frowned disapprovingly.
“For the love of God, Marcus, fix your hair. This is a nice place.”
* * *
We left the restaurant about forty minutes later to the wild applause of the paparazzi. This time, it was me who pulled Marcus close as we smiled and posed before heading to the car. I did a bit of an awkward shimmy to get back inside, but he strategically ducked in right behind me, effectively shielding me from view.
“So that’s it, right?” I said happily as we sped away from the curb. “The rest of the day is just ours?”
“Um…yeah.” He discreetly avoided my gaze, just as he’d been doing since my little passionate outburst at lunch. “Do you want to, uh, talk first? About what just happened?”
“The paparazzi?” I asked, pointing behind me. “Surely, you should be used to them by now, darling.”
“No, I mean before. Your little showdown on the patio.”
I stared unabashedly back. “You said to put on a show, didn’t you? That’s why you picked the restaurant in the first place and sat us outside? So we could be seen?”
“Well yes, but…” He flashed me a smile. “I think you gave Karl Lagerfeld sitting behind us a small heart attack.”
My heart raced, but I was determined to play it as cool as him. “If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen, right? I mean, Marcus,” I leaned forward, and he fought to keep his eyes on my face, “you just proposed to me. This is how any newly engaged couple would be acting.” I sat back with a business-like frown. “Unless you want to play it down a little?”
“No,” he said, a little quicker than was necessary. “No, I mean…that’s fine.”
He stared out the window for the rest of the drive while I stifled a satisfied grin.
When we got back to the compound, I headed straight up to my room, stripping off my dress to the nude slip beneath as I rummaged through my drawers for the swimsuits I’d seen there earlier. It looked as though Marcus had brought back the entire shipment from the Caribbean, and I was thrilled to see some familiar hand-crafted numbers staring back at me.
I picked a bejeweled string bikini in deep purple and was just unhooking the straps on my slip when the door pushed suddenly open.
“Look, all I meant today about lunch was—oh shit! Sorry!” Marcus ducked back outside, clearly interpreting the nude slip to be…just nude.
I laughed and called him back in. “It’s a dress, Marcus. You can come inside. Actually,” I frowned as I tugged once more on the straps, “I might need a little help.”
He made his way cautiously forward, eyeing me like at any moment I might suddenly disrobe, and he would be held to blame.
“See?” I twisted and held it up before him. “It’s stuck.”
He started fiddling with it gently, knuckles grazing my bare shoulders, sending little chills running up and down my legs. After a second, he gave it a sharper tug and frowned.
“This is impossible,” he muttered. “I’m just going to rip it, okay?”
“No, it’s not okay,” I said quickly, taking a step away. “This is really nice. I don’t want to break it.”
He was still holding onto the straps and pulled me quickly back. “It’s fine. I’ll just get you another one. Now on the count of three. One…two…”
“No!” I swatted unsuccessfully at his hands. “Don’t, I’m serious. I’ll figure it out, just give it back.”
He weighed his options appraisingly for a second before shaking his head. “Three.”
With a mighty tug, the strap broke loose, and it was all I could do to keep the slip from tumbling off my body. I grabbed it in the nick of time, but if it didn’t look like I was naked before, it certainly did now.
“Out—out!” I demanded, swatting him with my free hand as I hid behind the gauzy curtains. “Shit! Why is everything in this house sheer?”
He raised his eyebrows knowingly. “That’s by design.”
“Get out!” I giggled, tossing a pillow at him.
“Fine.” He dodged it and edged out of the room.
Chapter 11
A few days passed. Marcus left at five a.m. for some important meeting with Japanese clients but came back around ten a.m. When he knocked on my bedroom door, I invited him inside.
“I was just coming in to see if you wanted to watch more Prison Break with me. I’ve downloaded all the seasons.”
It was tempting, but then, so was the sparkling pool outside. I glanced at my bikini hesitantly, biting my lip.
“I was going to go for a swim.”
He grinned winningly. “When you could be curled up inside with me?”
“I think I’ll swim,” I said. “You’ll just have to save that irresistible, entitled charm for the next girl.”
“You don’t know what you’re missing…” He flashed another grin.
I turned to the miniature bikini laid out on the comforter and smiled. “Neither do you.”
“You’re such a tease.”
“Bye, bye, Marcus.”
I took the long way to get the pool. One could say I got a little lost. You see, I was trying to find my way outside, but I ended up going through the home theater in the process. Marcus was glued to the screen, watching breathlessly as two men struggled to gain control of a sharpened toothbrush. That is…until I walked past.
His eyes shot up, and his mouth fell open as I breezed past, hair flowing out behind me in my new little suit. He recovered himself quickly, of course, but there was no hiding the way his body stiffened to attention or his
eyes dilated even in the dark.
“Enjoying the show?” I said lightly as I made my way into the bright sun.
He gave me the once-over, glancing up and down my body. “Hell yeah, I’m enjoying the show.”
I shot him a seductive look. “I hate swimming all by my lonesome self. Maybe you should join me. Then maybe we could curl up tonight with a pizza and finish watching these episodes.”
“Let me put on some trunks,” he said.
“Great!”
He smiled as I grinned.
“Don’t take too long.” I winked. “You might enjoy licking every inch of me.”
He met my gaze. “Damn, Rebecca. It drives me crazy when you look at me that way.”
I grinned. “That’s the plan.”
Once I was outside, I was instantly swept away by the sheer beauty of the view. Marcus’ villa was perched atop one of the tallest of the Hollywood Hills—a place so high that you could see all the way down to the ocean. I sucked in a breath and just stood there for a minute, soaking it all in. It wasn’t until I heard a sudden splash behind me that I jumped around to attention.
Marcus was already climbing out of the pool, little trickles of water running down his muscular chest. I bit my lip to try to play it off, but the word chiseled came to mind. His dark hair dripped in what felt like slow motion down his neck, and I followed the curve up to his angular jaw, his smiling lips, before getting lost in those damn ocean eyes. They were sparkling as much as the water. Whether from the sun or from my reaction, it was hard to say.
“Nice swim?” I asked with a flirty smile.
He grinned and swept back his wet hair. “I couldn’t let you go alone. With my luck, you’d probably drown and then your crazy brother would punch me again.”
It was a fair point.
I shrugged and wound my way around the pool to meet him. I loved how the water droplets rolled down his shoulders and chest, past his ripped abs. His wet, sexy body was turning me on.
“Not only that,” he continued, “but you’re pathetically unprepared. No towels…no sunblock.” He flashed a pearly grin and held up a bottle. “Not to worry, I come prepared.”