Diamonds

by K. A. Linde

  “No, I don’t think you’re listening! If you think that cornering me at school and dragging me to your house is going to change what I said, then you’re wrong. I told you, we are through. I don’t care if it was on the phone, where you were, what time it was. It’s over.”

  His hands slid down her arms and wrapped around her waist. “I shouldn’t have to fight this hard for you to want this.”

  “Just because you can’t get other pussy doesn’t mean I can’t get other cock,” she said, arching an eyebrow. It was a low dig, even for her. Hardly even true, but she couldn’t help herself.

  But he smirked insufferably. “Bri, cut the shit. You and I both know, pussy is easy to come by.”

  His hand went to the front of her skintight black jeans. He snapped the button, dragged the zipper down, and had his hand inside her panties before she could move away. A moan escaped her lips as he swirled his finger around her.

  “But you’re different,” he whispered into her ear. “I want you.”

  “Fuck, Gates.” She stumbled back a step and shook her head. “You’re not listening.”

  “No, I’m not fucking listening.” He easily cleared the distance and scooped her up into his arms.

  Christ, when did he get so strong? He’d been able to lift her before, but now, he carried her as if she weighed no more than a feather.

  He tossed her back on the bed, and as he stripped his shirt off, she really took notice.

  He looked like he had been in the gym every waking moment when he wasn’t filming. She knew that the film needed him to be bigger, but fuck, he had sculpted abs, built arms, and that wonderful V leading—

  No, she was not going to look lower.

  Okay. So, she looked lower. And damn.

  Fuck, he had always been good-looking, but now…he was off the charts.

  His eyes turned into molten lava when he caught her watching him. He was one cocky motherfucker. His pants followed his shirt, and then he was yanking her jeans off her body.

  She should have stopped him and made him reconsider. She had fucked Jude three weeks ago. She had wanted it. She still wanted it. But she had put the ball in his court, and he hadn’t called her. No one did that to Bryna Turner. Of course, he didn’t know who she really was. That didn’t matter though, because they’d had an amazing time, and she had put on a spectacular performance. Now, she was left wondering why the hell he wasn’t interested.

  “Wait,” she cried, realizing Gates’s lips were crawling up her leg. “I slept with someone else.”

  Gates sat back and fixed his gaze on her. “I gathered that, based on our conversation.”

  She glared at him. “Why don’t you care about that?”

  “Because I fucked some other girl after.” He shrugged. “Didn’t fucking mean anything, Bri. Just made me miss you. So, now, I’m home, and I want you. I want my girl.”

  Bryna slapped him across the face. “You said we never broke up!”

  He grabbed her hand and pushed it down. “And you fucking said we did.”

  “You can’t have it both ways, Gates! You can’t fuck some bitch and claim that she didn’t mean anything, and then come crawling back to me. That’s not how this fucking works, you prick!” She wriggled out of his grasp and sat up on the bed. What an arrogant ass!

  “What?” he growled, grabbing her wrists again. She tried to move away from him but he held her steady. “You think you can decide when we’re over and fuck someone, but as soon as I do, you decide to slap me? Fuck that, Bri. I’ve known you for too damn long not to know your games when I see one. I’m not a game. You break up with me to fuck some other dude, then you have to fucking know I’m going to do whatever the fuck I want.”

  She shook her head furiously. “Let me go, Gates. Let me go, and get the fuck off of me!”

  “You are never going to find anyone who gets your insanity as much as I do.” He wasn’t just angry. He was pissed. She could see him gaining momentum in his argument. “And I don’t just like it. It fucking turns me on. So, get it out of your head that this changes shit.”

  “I know exactly how much this changes things.” Her breathing was heavy, her chest heaving, as she pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes.

  He looked murderous. His eyes were blazing, and his hands were tightening around her small wrists.

  Then, as if the dam broke, his lips were on hers. Their bodies tangled together, and a heated fury seemed to sweep over them, pounding through their veins and overtaking their senses.

  Gates ripped her shirt over her head and then removed the remainder of their clothing. Suddenly, the air was thick in the room, and she had trouble breathing. The sexual tension was high. Thoughts shattered as desire took over.

  He surged into her, and there was only feeling.

  The feel of his body pressed against her, driving into her. The feel of their skin damp with sweat. The feel of him sliding in and out, bringing her to new heights, with the practiced ease of someone who knew her body.

  Then, the feel of release, and everything else came back.

  The sound of her screams and his grunts of ecstasy. The look of victory that shot across his face. The taste and smell of sex in the air.

  Gates rolled over next to her and sighed. “That’s my girl.”

  “I’M GLAD YOU FINALLY CAME TO YOUR SENSES,” Gates said.

  He sauntered into her bedroom in a tuxedo. His dark hair was perfectly tousled, and he was sporting some well-groomed scruff that he claimed was necessary since he had to be clean-shaven on set.

  “Just because I’m going to this party with you does not mean I’ve come to my senses,” Bryna said, rolling her eyes. She was going because Jude still hadn’t fucking called, and being around Gates was so easy.

  “Whatever you have to tell yourself.”

  She ignored him and twirled in place. “Well, how do I look?” She had picked out a floor-length white lace gown with a plunge neckline and a slit that ran up to her upper thigh on one side.

  “Perfect,” he murmured. “It’s just…”

  “What?”

  He sent her a bemused smile. “Virginal white?”

  “Well, I am so pure.” Bryna slid her hand up her exposed thigh.

  His eyes followed the movement, and he stepped toward her.

  “I could remind you just how pure you are,” he said, backing her up into the trifold mirror.

  Bryna held her head high and gave him a detached look. “Maybe later.”

  “I’m taking you up on that. I’ve been back for two weeks. This cat-and-mouse game has gone on long enough.”

  She batted her eyes lashes. “I’ve no idea what you mean.”

  She brushed past him and then dropped her seductive smile. She had been conflicted about things with Gates since he got back. They had slept together that first day, and even though they had been together a handful of times since then, she was still holding him back and making him work for it.

  She just couldn’t stop thinking about Jude. She knew it was ridiculous. He’d never called, which meant he wasn’t interested. Still, she felt like there had been a connection, one she was lacking with Gates. And she didn’t want to lead Gates on. She would always care about him, but she was starting to see more and more that the breakup hadn’t been just because she wanted to sleep with someone else.

  “I’m sure you don’t,” Gates said, grabbing her ass, before they walked through the door.

  Gates had rented a limo for the occasion, and they sipped champagne on the way into the city. Bryna was pleasantly buzzed by the time they reached the venue. Once they pulled up to the entrance, she stepped out of the limo and into a world of glitz and glamour.

  The club was a known celebrity hotspot, so paparazzi always staked out the entrance. A velvet rope held back a line full to bursting. Gates slid out of the car behind her, casually draping his arm around her waist. At a glance, the ushers opened the doors, and they were whisked inside.

  The lights were low, t
he music served as a seductive backbeat, and the people were more beautiful than ever.

  Gates guided her over to the bar where he ordered her a dirty martini and got himself a beer. She let her eyes wander the crowd. She knew the cast of Gates’s latest film, Broken Road, was planning to meet up here now that they were all back in Los Angeles. She had heard that, when they had completed the filming in Savannah, the production team had thrown an insane wrap party. She was surprised that Gates had returned so soon afterward. By the way he’d told the story, he should have had a three-day hangover.

  Her eyes landed on a brunette in the midst of an adoring crowd. Bryna smiled and pulled Gates over to toward his costar, Chloe Avana.

  “Chloe!” Bryna cried, wrapping her arms around the small girl.

  She was even shorter than Bryna with long luscious hair and big brown eyes. She had started acting at a young age, and after a successful stint on Disney, she had landed the lead across from Gates. Not only was she already a good actress, she could also belt out songs like Christina Aguilera.

  Bryna didn’t get along with many girls, so she had been shocked to find that she actually liked Chloe. They had hung out a bunch when she came into town to visit Gates and lounge around set.

  “Bri! It’s so good to see you,” Chloe said. “When did you get here?”

  “We just showed up.”

  “Good. I’m glad he got you to come out tonight.”

  Bryna shrugged. “Of course I came out. Why wouldn’t I?”

  No need for Chloe to know anything was different between her and Gates. She could put on a front for anyone.

  “Just glad you’re here. Let’s go somewhere, so we can catch up.” Chloe looped their arms together, and they walked into a private sitting room. “Tell me everything. How is life? How is Harmony? Sometimes, I wish I had stayed in school. I hate tutors.”

  “Life is great, and Harmony is even better,” Bryna lied. She doubted Chloe really wanted to hear about high school drama. She might wish she was in high school, but it wasn’t as if she didn’t already have her dream job. “What about you? How was filming?”

  Chloe sighed happily. “Grueling but the most amazing experience. I can’t wait to see the final cut. You should come with me to look at dresses for the premiere,” Chloe said eagerly. “By the way, your gown is so fabulous.”

  “Thank you. Are you going to model an original?”

  Chloe nodded. “I’m supposed to be getting samples in soon, so the designer can finalize the product based on my measurements, and then Gates and I will go on the first wave of the promotion tour.”

  Bryna’s gaze drifted to Gates questioningly. She hadn’t heard anything about a promotional tour. Of course, she knew that actors typically went on one, but still he hadn’t said anything.

  Gates shrugged. “We just got the itinerary today.”

  Right.

  Bryna’s phone buzzing in her clutch kept her from offering up some fake response. She doubted he had just gotten it in today, but she didn’t have the time at the moment to figure out why if he was being all lovey-dovey that he hadn’t told her when he was leaving town again.

  She pulled it out of her bag. She didn’t recognize the number, but she didn’t want to think about Gates leaving again. Even if they were in a weird place, it was still Gates.

  She held it up for Chloe to see. “I have to take this. I’ll catch up with you later.”

  “Bri,” Gates said, grabbing her arm.

  “I’ll talk to you when I get off the phone.”

  “I just got the itinerary,” he repeated.

  She arched an eyebrow. “You said as much. Can I take my call now?”

  “Fine.” He took a step back, but still looked disgruntled.

  Bryna stepped out of the room and found a corner near the restrooms where it was relatively quiet. “Hello?”

  “Hey, gorgeous. Did you miss me?”

  Bryna’s heart stopped. “Jude?”

  “GOOD TO HEAR YOUR VOICE, BRI. I’ve been thinking about you,” Jude responded.

  She ground her teeth together and tried to think of a reason not to lay into him for making her wait five fucking weeks without so much as a text message.

  But she couldn’t find one.

  “Oh, you’ve been thinking about me? That’s sweet,” she purred. “After five weeks without a call, I kind of forgot about you.”

  “I’m sure,” he said disbelievingly. “What are you doing tonight?”

  “I’m not some booty call,” she said defensively. “I’m hanging up now.” Hanging up was the last thing she wanted to do, but she wanted him to beg for it. “Good night, Jude.”

  “Bri, wait.”

  She shook her head. She should have just ended it. She didn’t need a guy who couldn’t be bothered to call her, who obviously didn’t feel the same way she did. “Give me one reason I shouldn’t hang up on you.”

  “If you wanted to, then you would have already hung up on me.”

  Point. But she didn’t want to concede it.

  “A real reason,” she said. Her voice was like ice.

  “I want to see you again.”

  She scoffed, “That’s cute.”

  “And you want to see me again, too.”

  “Do not presume to know what I do or do not want,” Bryna spat. “It’s been five weeks. I’m not interested.”

  “I have a job that takes me out of town for extended periods of time.”

  Bryna gasped mockingly. “A job that demands no cell phone use? Shocking.”

  She could almost feel his frustration through the phone.

  “I had access to a phone. I just didn’t call you.”

  “Obviously,” she snapped. At least he had finally admitted that he had just avoided calling her for all that time. “Now, excuse me, I can make better use of my time elsewhere.”

  “Bri,” he pleaded, “I’m only in town tonight. Come see me.”

  She shook her head in frustration. The nerve of this guy. She didn’t care what kind of connection she had thought they had. No one treated Bryna Turner like this.

  “Please. Don’t insult me. I’m not interested in another one-night stand.”

  “No one said anything about a one-night stand.”

  “Forgive me if I don’t believe you.”

  Five weeks had been long enough to realize he wasn’t going to call. Now that he had, he was only interested in a booty call. She didn’t know why this upset her so much. When she’d left the club with him, she had known that they were going to have sex, but she had fooled herself into believing there was more between them when there was nothing. She had thought that when she left her number, he would call, like every other guy she had ever been interested in had done. She didn’t like making herself vulnerable to people who would later throw it back in her face with their silence.

  And now this call…

  “No, Jude, I can’t think of a single reason to come see you tonight. Find someone else.”

  She ended the call before he could respond. She was finally getting back to her life and trying to forget the man who had made her feel different…the man who had seen the truth about her. She had lied on the phone when she said she hadn’t been thinking about him. It was even making her doubt Gates.

  Fucking idiot.

  Walking back to the room where she had left Gates, she found it empty. She scrunched her brows together. Where did he go?

  She asked the closest person if he had seen him and followed his directions up the stairs. Voices traveled down to her as she neared the landing.

  “But I hate lying,” Chloe said.

  “You’re not lying. You’re not saying anything. It’s just like we discussed.” Gates’s voice carried.

  Bryna crossed her arms. Lying about what?

  “Am I just supposed to be friends with her? When she’s being all friendly to me, I look at her and just burst at the seams, wanting to tell her,” Chloe admitted.

  “Chloe, you know we c
an’t tell anyone what happened.”

  Bryna couldn’t stand there and listen to this any longer. She’d heard enough. “Well, if you didn’t want anyone to hear, then you probably shouldn’t be having this conversation in a nightclub,” she said, walking up the last remaining stairs.

  Chloe covered her mouth. She looked frightened and pitifully young. “Bri, I am so sorry.”

  Gates frowned. “I don’t know what you think you heard, but—”

  “But what, Gates?” she asked. She didn’t want to hear any of his excuses or lies. She just wanted to have everything out in the open. “I’m assuming that the girl you slept with is Chloe—the one you swore to me meant nothing and just reminded you of how much you missed me.”

  “You said that?” Chloe whispered. She sounded horrified.

  “I couldn’t tell you who it was,” Gates said. He looked like a mouse caught in a trap.

  “Right. Because I’d rush to the media?” Bryna asked, rolling her eyes. “So, who should I call first? TMZ or People magazine?”

  Gates cringed. “You wouldn’t.”

  “Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.”

  Chloe reached out and grasped Bryna’s hand. “Bri, you have to know how sorry I am. I never would have come between you. Gates said that you broke up.”

  Bryna shook her hand off. She stared down at Chloe with the detached cold anger that always bubbled just under the surface, and Chloe shrank away. The girl didn’t know what Bryna was capable of. She wasn’t queen bee for nothing. She hadn’t survived in Hollywood for nothing either.

  She turned her focus back on Gates, and he levelly met her gaze.

  “We were broken up even though he tried to convince me that we weren’t. He’s been trying to convince me ever since he got home. Who knew it was just a guilty conscience?” She tapped her lips twice in disgust.

  He tilted his head down and looked at her in exasperation. “You slept with someone else, too,” Gates reminded her.

  “Don’t get me started,” Bryna snapped at him. “I called you in the middle of the night and told you the truth. I was going home with him. It was over. You were the one who came home, told me the girl meant nothing, and were doing everything to make us work. What were you so afraid of that you couldn’t tell me it was Chloe?”