by Ellen Lane
“Alice.” When he said her name, her knees went weak and she hated herself for it.
“Yes?” Running a hand through her hair, she gazed up at him expectantly.
“Alice, I…I came by to let you know about the change in filming location.”
Her eyes widened in surprise. What change in filming location? She’d been in contact with Lemmy several times since she came back, and he hadn’t mentioned anything to her.
“What are you talking about? Lemmy didn’t tell me anything about a location change.”
“I surmised that he hadn’t.” Russell answered quickly. “He’s been so busy trying to get everything organized that I’m surprised he even answered your e-mails.”
Alice’s eyes narrowed in suspicion as she leaned against the doorframe. It wasn’t that she believed that Russell would sink as low as to lie to get her to go somewhere with him, but she could think of no other reason a director would forget to tell his costume designer about such an important change.
“So, we’re not filming in LA anymore?”
“We’re going to Aruba for two weeks to film a series of scenes and then we’ll be back.”
Alice only continued to stare at him. Aruba, huh? She read the script for the film and she supposed that made sense. There were a few exotic location scenes in it. What she didn’t understand was why she specifically had to go. At this point, she had two assistants who she trusted with her work, provided that they kept in close correspondence to her. If the filming was only moving for two weeks, it would be much easier for her to remain in LA. She’d just come back from England for God’s sake.
“Aruba, is it? Well, I’m sure my assistants can handle all the important duties. I’ll make certain they have my direct contact and e-mail so that I can be reached if there are any emergencies.”, she arched a brow at his disappointed expression. “Was there anything else?”
For almost a full minute, silence stretched between them. Alice fully expected him to turn and leave now that his business was finished. Instead, Russell’s expression turned to one of determination. In a trice, he had stepped into her apartment and closed the door behind them, shutting them in together.
Alice immediately took a defensive step back, her heart in her throat.
“W-hat…I don’t want visitors right now, Russell. I have to ask you to leave!”
Why the hell was her heart beating so fast? She didn’t actually think that Russell would hurt her, did she? As much as he might have pissed her off, he wasn’t a violent man. She couldn’t picture it!
But then, his hands were on her shoulders – firm but not harsh- and he was yanking her forward into his embrace.
And then he was kissing her.
Alice froze, shocked beyond words. She should break away from him – slap him and shove him out of the apartment. But, somehow, she couldn’t. Instead, she found herself melting against him, her hands going to his shoulders after she reveled in the way he tasted after what seemed like an eternity. His arms kept her from collapsing completely, and as his tongue tangled with hers, Alice wondered if there was any better feeling in the entire cosmos.
Russell lifted her clear from the floor, his tongue sliding deftly against her lower lip before he tugged at it with his teeth, making her light-headed. By that juncture, she was all but clinging to him, drugged with his taste. God, nothing felt like kissing this man.
Despite the almost two weeks she’d taken to try and build her immunity to him, all of that faded away in a mere five minutes. By the time Russell broke away from her, Alice was on the cusp of dragging him into her bedroom and demanding that he assuage the fire he’d started.
She swallowed thickly, her thighs clenching at the obvious lust in the man’s eyes as he gazed down at her. Only a few minutes ago she’d been angry with him – furious, even. Now, try as she might, she could only barely cling to that irritation.
“Alice,” Russell breathed, visibly struggling to keep his composure, “Please allow me to apologize. I know I don’t deserve it, but I was an absolute arse and it wasn’t my intention. But if you let me see you again…if you come on this trip…I swear to you, you won’t regret it.” Alice didn’t think she’d ever heard the man speak with such intensity.
If she were sane, she’d refuse him. Tell him to piss off and get on with her life. After all, it was only inevitable that an unattainable man like Russell would hurt her again. She couldn’t stick around for that, could she? It would be the death of her.
Then why did she want so badly to say yes?
Taking a deep breath, Alice reached up to cup his face, stroking his chin, where she could feel a hint of rough stubble. She decided that she liked it. Despite Russell’s clean-cut exterior, she liked imagining that he was a bit of a bad boy underneath. She’d certainly seen that aspect of him when she inferred she’d be ready to sleep with him – and every time it came out, a thrill of nervous arousal shot through her. If she went on this trip, did that mean she would finally be able to see if he did, indeed, want to be that intimate with her? Would she let herself, considering how the man had ruined her pride?
“I’ll come.” She made the decision before she could really think about it, and hoped she wouldn’t come to regret the repercussions. “But I’m warning you, Russell, pull another stunt like that and I won’t hesitate to come back to LA –don’t think I won’t.”
His face lit to an extent that she’d never seen before and then he was kissing her again – sweetly and lingeringly. It was a wonder each and every one of those kisses didn’t make her lose her mind. It certainly wasn’t easy for her to keep her wits about her when Russell was so near.
By the time he finished, Alice wasn’t sure she could stand on her own two feet, a combination of her own exhaustion and the hunger coursing through her proved to make the feat very difficult indeed. When her face went pallid, however, Russell was immediately concerned.
“Are you alright? You’re a little pale.” Without asking her, he lifted her into his arms to carry over to the couch and Alice couldn’t help but be impressed by his obvious strength. Nonetheless, when he reached down to test the temperature of her forehead, she brushed him off embarrassedly.
“I’m fine. Just jet-lagged. I didn’t get much sleep last night.”
“Well then, you’ll have to sleep on the plane.” He cast her a winning smile before looking at the bag from England she had yet to unpack. “Is that the bag you’re taking?”
Alice made a face. “Oh God, no. Those all need to be laundered.”
“Ah. In that case,” Russell brought the bag close to her before setting it on the floor and unzipping it. “I’ll help you pack.” Alice immediately flushed deeply. The last thing she wanted at that particular moment was for Russell to go through her dirty clothes, but he seemed to have adopted a commanding air that she wasn’t too certain she disliked. So, she bore it while he extracted her dresses, shoes, and even her underwear, doing her best to keep a straight face.
“Where’s the bin?”
The designer glared at him. “What bin? Those need to be dry-cleaned – every single one of them.”
Realizing his mistake, Russell chuckled softly – good-naturedly. “My apologies. I should have known.” With that, he rose to spirit her pile of clothing down the hall and towards her bedroom. Alice only wondered how he knew where she slept a moment before remembering it was his bloody apartment.
Did that mean the man fantasized about her sleeping in the master suite every night?
It was a tantalizing thought.
Russell was gone for long enough that Alice wondered what on earth he was doing in her bedroom. It was only fatigue that kept her from following him in after a good twenty minutes had passed. When she finally sat up, ready to pursue the man, he reappeared, striding down the hall with a carefully arranged pile of clothing in hand.
Alice stared at him, dumbfounded, as he took a seat on the couch next to her, his expression tentative.
“I took th
e liberty of going through your wardrobe and selecting a few pieces. Of course, I won’t pack anything without your approval…” That said, he held up a deep crimson sundress that was one of her favorites along with a pair of Stuart Weitzman lace-up sandals that she absolutely adored.
“Yes.” She answered without any hesitation whatsoever. “Definitely yes.”
Russell smiled. “Lovely.” He folded the dress with the utmost care – care, Alice realized, that no other man had ever taken with her clothing. For the entire length of her career, men had been dismissing her. They didn’t think that fashion was really a job, or could be an actual passion. Most of them saw it as a frivolity, but as Russell went through the outfits he’d picked, Alice realized instantly how very different he was.
He had chosen a number of her favorite swimsuits – not that she would find the time to wear them, but she appreciated the sentiment. Out of her seven favorite sundresses, he picked three, along with an amalgamation of breezy tops, shorts and blouses. And the shoes…the man had amazing taste in shoes. Silently, Alice was awed by how similar their tastes seemed to be, but she couldn’t tell him that.
In just under half an hour, she was all packed, thanks to Russell, and Alice managed to drag herself to her feet for long enough to splash some water on her face and get cleaned up. Though she would never be seen in what most people referred to as “lounging clothes” she did have a pair of designer sweatpants along with a Celine T-shirt that she knew would be quite comfortable on another long plane ride.
She was surprised when she emerged from the bathroom to smell a tantalizing meal cooking, and she couldn’t help but arch a brow in surprise. The man could cook too? Was there nothing he couldn’t do?
Russell had to know how dangerous he was – she was certainly aware of it.
When she emerged into the kitchen, the man immediately pressed a cup of steaming coffee into her hands, and Alice was surprised to see its color already muddled with cream.
“Vanilla creamer and two sugars, right?” By now, she was all but gaping at him. How the hell did he know all of this? They had only seen one another a handful of times. He couldn’t have remembered all of this, could he?
How ridiculously adept of him.
“…yes.” She answered cautiously, taking a sip of the brew to find it delicious.
“Please, sit.” Russell pulled out a chair for her, his expression apologetic. “I don’t mean to rush you but I found out Lemmy didn’t tell you at the last possible moment. We have to be at the airport in the next two hours.”
Alice swallowed the curse that rose to her lips. She felt like strangling Lemmy at that particular moment, no matter how kind he might be. Even as Russell set a plate of decadent looking French toast before her, Alice felt she might collapse face down atop it.
“Damn him.”
Russell chuckled, sitting down next to her before digging into his breakfast. “I’m sure he feels the sentiment. A man like him can’t fail to realize how scatter-brained he is.”
Groaning very unbecomingly, Alice forced herself to take several bites of the first meal she’d had in several hours. Even though she expected it to be good, the fare was unexpectedly delicious. Closing her eyes, Alice let out a hum of pure satisfaction. When she opened them, Russell was watching her with rapt attention – so much so that Alice felt her cheeks warming.
What had happened? His behavior had changed quite a bit since the last time she saw him. It was almost as if he was in an all-fired rush to claim her when he’d been playing things incredibly safe before. This man confused the hell out of her, and Alice knew she had to be some sort of masochist to be so interested in him.
Though Alice wouldn’t have imagined she had such a hearty appetite, she ended up finishing everything on her plate. Her full belly, however, only made her more tired than she had been when Russell arrived. She was grateful that he took charge, cleaning up the kitchen before carrying her bag down to the car that was waiting for them.
The moment she was inside, Alice found herself snuggling up next to him, letting his scent and the heat of his body envelop her. Even if this man was bad for her, he smelled of heaven – and Alice felt so comfortable lying against him that she soon drifted off.
When she woke, they were outside the Los Angeles airport and Russell was shaking her gently. Groggily, the young woman forced herself from the car, and even managed to argue with Russell that she could handle her own bag. The protest only earned her a reproachful stare that quieted her, and she fell into step behind him, following him through security.
For Alice, it was almost like a dream – a dream in which Russell acted like the attentive, almost overbearing boyfriend she’d always wanted. He ushered her past the guards and took her purse while she went through security. When she drifted off again at the gate, he didn’t leave her side. Not even to make a trip to the men’s room.
The flight was much the same – not that she was conscious for most of it. Of course, Alice found herself slightly surprised to find that they were flying on Russell’s own private jet instead of a commercial airliner. She shouldn’t have been so shocked, she supposed. She knew the man was moneyed, but had almost never seen him flaunt it the way her family did.
“We’ve missed the crew commercial flights,” he provided, buckling her carefully into one of the plush chairs before sitting next to her. “It will be faster and more comfortable this way.” He wasn’t trying to impress her, she realized. He might actually be a bit embarrassed about having to use his own jet – for what reasons she didn’t know. The cabin was even more luxuriously appointed than her brother’s aircraft without being ostentatious. Alice wished she had more time to enjoy it before she drifted off, but she could hardly go against the will of her fatigued body.
Though she fell asleep in the seat as the plane was taxiing, Alice awoke in the bedroom of the lavish jet, tucked firmly beneath the blankets in her own small corner of heaven. The moment she was fully conscious, she immediately looked for Russell, but found he was nowhere in the room. A quick check of her watch told her she’d slept for a little over four hours – which meant they would only be aboard the plane for one or two hours more.
She was wondering if she should look for Russell when he suddenly emerged from the small bathroom adjoining the bedroom.
Wearing next to nothing.
Alice stared unabashedly.
A towel was slung around the man’s waist, and he was still damp from the shower he’d taken – further tantalizing her. Alice had suspected that Russell was very well built beneath his clothes, and she wasn’t wrong. The man was chiseled from his neck all the way down to his calves – deliciously toned in a way that could only come from frequent working out and the minutest bit of vanity that led all attractive people to stay healthy. Almost hungrily, Alice’s eyes devoured him from well-formed pectorals to the small sprinkling of hair that trailed down his sculpted abdomen to disappear beneath the towel.
He was magnificent – even more so than she’d imagined.
Alice was so absorbed in him that when he looked up to discover her staring, she still couldn’t tear her gaze away.
For a long beat, blue met blue and Alice was sure she was going to melt into a messy puddle on the bed spread. Sure, she remembered the time she’d been intoxicated and Russell saw her in her underwear, but that was completely different. He wasn’t wearing anything beneath that towel, and the fact was painfully obvious the longer he stared at her.
“I’m glad to see you’re awake.” He finally broke the silence, his gaze never leaving hers.
Alice, however, finally came to her senses. She looked away, her cheeks flaming. Bloody hell, she’d been all but devouring the man with her eyes. “I…yes, sorry. I’ll just go so you can get dressed.”
“Don’t bother.” He replied succinctly, without the slightest trace of embarrassment. “I’ll just throw something on and then we can get some lunch into you.”
Before Alice could protest, the man t
urned from her and dropped his towel, offering her a prime view of his glorious behind. Indeed, Alice didn’t think she’d ever seen one so fine. She watched, transfixed, as he bent over to retrieve a set of clothing from a set of drawers built into the wall.
As he pulled on a pair of jet black boxer briefs, he said something, but Alice didn’t hear a single word.
“Pardon?”
Russell smirked at her over his shoulder – actually smirked, damn him. He knew precisely what effect he was having on her, and it wasn’t gentlemanly at all.
But Alice adored it. “I asked if you wanted to change as well.”
If possible, Alice flushed even darker. Was that a thinly veiled invitation to get into bed with him? If so, it was unbelievably direct of him – but Alice hardly wanted to be in bed with him when she hadn’t showered in a good twenty-four hours. “I’ll change before we get to Aruba.”
“Of course.”
She tried not to watch as he tugged a pair of fitted cotton slacks up his legs, but could only think about how fine his bare arse had been. Then came a t-shirt and a short-sleeved silk shirt over that. Lastly, the man smoothed his dark hair back from his face and rubbed thoughtfully at the stubble on his chin. Alice spoke before she could stop herself.
“Don’t shave.”
Russell turned to face her, and for a moment, she was sorry she hadn’t taken him up on his probable offer. “Don’t shave?”
God, she was like some young, besotted ninny.
“I…I like your stubble,” she managed, somewhat embarrassedly. “I think it makes you look rather dashing.”
He arched a brow in surprise a moment before the man’s expression became rather mischievous. Alice let out a small squeak of terror as he rounded the bed to lean over her. Instead of kissing her, however, the man only scraped his bristly chin over the sensitive skin of her jaw and bosom, eliciting an almost violent shudder of sensation from her. Alice didn’t know how much longer she’d be able to handle him being so downright erotic without jumping his bones. He was certainly asking for it.