by Kira Barcelo
“I am, too. I was no angel, either, Ash, and I’m sorry. But, hey…” Jenna shook her head emphatically. “That’s all in the past, okay? Let’s forget it even happened.”
“Ditto! Oh…” She almost seemed afraid to deliver the next bit of news, holding up a long, slender forefinger. “One little caveat to this whole thing.”
“What’s that?”
“Well, the, um…the producer thinks it would be cute, since everybody still thinks we’re engaged, if they could cast Stone as the male lead.”
The news registered quickly, yet Jenna managed to hold onto her smile. “Oh. Oh—that—that sounds great.”
Ashley came around the island and laid a hand on Jenna’s arm. “It would be a juicy role for him. Like I said, he’s the male lead. He’s the chief of police in the show, the one who knows about the shape-shifter, and he disapproves but he’s also protective of her. She protects him, too, but they have this love/hate relationship with lots of sexual tension.”
Wrong words to use. Swallowing hard, Jenna tried to swallow her jealousy, too. “Ohhhh, that sounds really—amazing!”
“Now, Jenna, I promise you,” Ashley explained with a stern edge, “I’ve been filmed in the hottest love scenes with men, but there was nothing between us. Guess that might sound kinda slutty, but that’s the life of an actor. We’re paid to pretend we feel passion for someone and that passion’s not really there. There won’t be anything between us. Besides, there’s another character in the story, the chief’s ex-wife who’s also trying to get back with him.”
Someone else to worry about? What she really wanted to do was to run outside, find Stone, and forbid him to take the part. But she couldn’t do that.
“Who’s going to play that part?” she asked.
“I’m not sure. They have a couple of actresses in mind. The running favorite is Lacey Bradley.”
“I’ll bet she’s beautiful, huh?”
“Oh, now, Jenna!” Ashley chuckled and gave her a sisterly hug. “It’s really all make-believe. Imagine a bunch of kids getting dressed up and playing a game. That’s what we do, all in the name of entertainment.”
“So if it’s a TV show, then…” No matter how afraid she was of asking the question, she desperately had to know the answer. “…you’ll both be away in Hollywood for—for years at a time, right?”
“Years? Aww, honey, I wish TV series lasted that long! That’s if you get lucky and they last as long as your favorite bra. Unfortunately, most are axed after a season or two. Besides, this one’s being filmed in location…in Miami Beach.”
“Miami Beach? Florida?”
“That’s the only Miami I know, baby!”
“But that’s a million miles away from here. Or it might as well be.”
Toning down her own excitement in favor of consoling her new friend, Ashley patted her back. “Look, honey, Stone’s really into this whole, macho-cowboy-on-the-range thing. He’s going to say thanks but no thanks, and he’s going to stay here and ride into the sunset with you.”
Jenna arched an eyebrow at her. “You really believe that?”
“Listen, I know Stone. He’s going to be flattered that they considered him, but he’s a practical kind of guy. He’s going to choose the ranch over stardom.”
Suddenly, the back door flew open so hard, the kitchen quaked slightly. Stone stood in the doorway, his hat further back on his head, cell phone in hand, a huge grin on his tanned face. For that moment, Jenna felt as if her heart had stopped, and she was trying to steel herself for the inevitable break.
“You heard, right?” he asked Ashley.
“Uh, yeah. In fact, I did.”
Stone looked barely able to contain himself, looking like a kid who’d just gotten an autograph from his favorite ballplayer.
“Isn’t that the coolest thing you’ve heard in your life?” He sounded like a kid, too, right before breaking out in a jubilant laugh. “A series! And this one sounds like it’s gonna be crazy! Florida, here we come!”
He ran across the room, coming back only to lift Jenna in his arms, help himself to a hot, quick kiss, and then sped into the foyer and up the stairs. Stunned, Jenna stood, and then she felt Ashley’s arm encircling her.
“You know, for the record, Miami’s not a million miles away…”
CHAPTER SEVEN
First stop: Los Angeles. Fortunately, that wouldn’t be for long. First, there would be all the pre-production stuff, the behind-the-scenes, less-romantic-but-legal-and-necessary things, like going over contracts with agents before signing them. Then it would be off to Miami for an intensive schedule of rehearsals and filming.
Ashley had already left. Earlier than week, Tom Riley had offered to see her off at the airport, and Stone had stepped aside gallantly. Though their relationship hadn’t been a stormy mess, for the most part, he suspected he and his former fiancée would be getting along better than ever. With the breakup so new, the tabloids and entertainment shows like Peek into Hollywood hadn’t gotten wind of it yet. Both his agent and Ashley’s had suggested—and it was a strong suggestion—that it would be good publicity for the fledgling show to keep that tidbit under wraps, at least for the time being.
Which, Stone assumed, wouldn’t be appreciated very much by the new leading lady in his life.
Truthfully, he’d been a thoughtless jerk at first. The thing was, he was so overwhelmed by the thrill over landing the part in Secrets of the City. Speaking of which, he hated the title, but he could really sink his teeth into the meaty role of Chief Ned Overbeck.
And the male lead! Awesome. Not the villain, not the best buddy, not the husband or the shifty boss.
The male lead.
So he was excited, more than ready to hit the ground running. Yet there was the ranch to consider. And more than that, there was Jenna. His beautiful, proud cowgirl. The same woman who’d been chilly towards him for the past couple of days.
One thing was certain: That hardheaded woman was a handful. She had been purposely willful for the last day or two, steadily testing his patience. Part of him didn’t blame her, either. In his exhilaration over the new facet in his career, he’d been a bit insensitive, though he sincerely hadn’t meant to be.
What Jenna didn’t know yet about Stone Farrell was that he could be intense, just so focused on what he was doing that he bordered on obsessive. It was, ironically enough, what made him as talented an actor as he was. To her credit, Ashley Covington had understood that, being in the business herself.
Jenna, however, was another story. His being so absorbed with his plans, in her eyes, translated into a lack of interest in the ranch…and worse, that he was leaving her behind. She hadn’t said as much in so many words, but he gathered she wasn’t exactly thrilled about his being around yet another Hollywood goddess, the petite and curvy Lacey Bradley.
“Aren’t you going to see me off at the airport, baby?”
Stone stood in the stables in front of Cisco’s stall. Jenna didn’t answer right away, and standing behind the tall, proud Arabian horse as she finished grooming him, all that was visible were her legs. At last she glanced out from behind him, barely pausing in between brushing his healthy coat.
“That’s not until tomorrow morning, anyway,” she replied.
“That wasn’t my question, Jenna Sue. I asked you if you were going to see me off.”
The hand that held the large brush slowed as it moved over the horse. He’d been around the ranch long enough to know that much, that Pepper was Jake’s favorite horse and Cisco was one of Jenna’s, though her heart belonged to Thunder. Cisco, an Arabian, though a young horse had an attitude; the stallion knew who he did and did not want riding on his back. For the most part, he wanted Jenna as his rider and Jenna only.
“Fine. I can do that. I can drive you to the airport,” she said. “I don’t like goodbyes.”
“Not a problem. This is not a goodbye. This is an I’ll-see-you-later. We’re not actually going to start filming for a couple
of months.”
“And you’re going to live down in Florida.”
“But I’m coming back here. I’m not leaving for good. Look, you want to talk about this?”
“Not really—”
“Jenna.” Stone took her by her arms only firmly enough to stop her from going on with her tasks. He drew her up against him, closing his eyes. “Remember what happened the last time we were in here alone?”
“I remember you spanked me.”
Grinning, he turned her to face him. “I haven’t had to do that in a while. Guess it must have done some good. That’s not what I was referring to, though. I was talking about what happened after that.”
“After that, we found out Ashley was here.”
“Before that. Before that, I kissed you…” Running his hands along her arms, he looked from her mouth to her eyes. “And I would’ve made love to you. I would’ve taken you right here if…you wanted me to.”
“So you gonna do that, cowboy? You gonna make love and run? You know, Stone, just because they want you for that TV show that—that doesn’t mean you have to go.”
For that one, he needed to take a deep breath. At least she was talking to him, rather than clamming up like she usually did and refusing to speak to him. He felt torn by the hurt in her eyes.
“Jenna, you just don’t really know how hard I’ve worked for every little scrap that comes my way,” he tried to explain. “I keep waiting for that big break. That big role that’s supposed to make it all Easy Street for me from this point forward. I think, you know, maybe that’ll be this show, playing the police chief in this.”
“And that’s your dream.”
“Sometimes. Sometimes I hated it.” Seeing her surprise, he nodded. “Yeah, that’s true. There’ve been times, on and off during the years, when I’ve wanted just to throw in the towel. Stop trying. Every time somebody told me I wasn’t handsome enough or that so-and-so got the part because he was a big name and I wasn’t. It wears you down after a while. And then, too…there’s this place.”
She lifted her head. “What about this place?”
“This place has always been there. Maybe it’s at the back of my mind, but it’s there. Being here again has made me remember what this place meant to my father. And what it meant to me, growing up…”
Stone shook his head. Hopefully, she could decipher the mess that had just poured out of his mouth. He, himself, was having trouble understanding how to put his emotions into words.
“Somebody once told me that in Hollywood,” he explained, “you’re always playing somebody else. That’s fun, you know? Living this other life just for a little while. In two hours, all your problems are solved—or half an hour or an hour, if it’s a TV show. At the end, life makes sense.”
“Life isn’t that way for real people, though,” Jenna reminded him. “Like it wasn’t for me or my brother. We’ve been alone for a long time. First when our dad died and then a few years later when our mom had a heart attack and died right in the mill where she was working. In the movies, maybe everything makes sense. Life is messier for real people, Stone. The best years for us were here…right where we’re standing. On your ranch.”
Taking another breath, he bowed his head before meeting her eyes again. “Am I anywhere near what you thought I was, Jenna? How badly do I miss the mark?”
Before answering him, she licked her lips. Her reply was honest. “You don’t miss the mark at all, Stone Farrell. You are exactly the man I thought you were. You’re the one who doesn’t seem to know that. And…you don’t have time for that life or for me. I have no place in your dreams.”
“Jenna, that’s not true,” he insisted.
“That’s what you tell yourself.” She turned back to the stallion, resuming the job of grooming that magnificent animal. “But I don’t want to just be someone that you come and see when you’re done chasing your dreams, when it’s time for you to come back and be the cowboy. At the same time, I don’t want to stand in your way. I want you to be happy.”
“And that’s what I want for you, too.”
This wasn’t going well at all. As much as he hated to admit it, he did better with other people’s words in his mouth. Words, for the sake of expressing himself, didn’t come easily, particularly not when he could tell he was about to lose something he desired more than anything else he’d ever wanted.
Taking her by the waist that time, he drew her back to him. No longer able to restrain himself, Stone kissed her fully on the mouth. Her lips parted for his tongue, for a possessive, long kiss stemming from emotions and longing. His mouth dropped down to her neck, where his tongue trailed a little blaze along her skin. Stone could feel her beginning to writhe in reaction against him, though she stopped him with a hand on his chest.
“Not here,” she whispered.
“Why—why not?”
“My brother could show up at the door, one of the hands. Your sisters—anybody. Not here.”
Stone kissed her face, her hair, once again her lips. “You want to…?”
“Yes. Before you leave, I want us to…do this.” She smiled. “But not here. Not in the stables. In your bed upstairs. Treat me like a lady, Stone. Like a real woman. Not some make-believe girl in a movie.”
Maybe you’ll realize how much you love me and you’ll stay. You’ll stay forever.
It was the last coherent thought that crossed her mind before he locked the bedroom door and climbed, fully clothed with her, onto the bed. It was also something a naïve teenager would be thinking, rather than a woman who knew she was in danger of fully giving away her heart.
“We can’t take too long,” he said, chuckling.
“Oh, I know. They’ll come looking for us. For me…and for the boss.”
A small part of her was afraid; a bigger part of her wanted him. He had her belt off first, then his. The fun really started when he began the job of freeing her from that green tank top, which gave him more skin to kiss and massage with his tongue.
Oddly, she was shy, but not as shy as she might have been. He’d already seen her exposed…from the waist down, if not this front view. Jenna couldn’t keep the flushed color from his face, watching his appreciation expression as he admired her breasts for the first time.
“That’s pretty. How girly—that little bow in the middle,” he said, chuckling.
Stone was talking about the tiny lace bow on her bra sewed right between the cups. Girly, as in feminine. That warmed all her insides up like a fire in a hearth.
“See? Cowgirls can be girly, too,” she teased.
“Yeah, and you’re tough cookies, too. When a man gets a cowgirl, I guess he gets the whole enchilada, huh?”
More like an ice cream on its way to majorly melting, she thought, laughing with him.
Because that was how she felt: like she was melting in his arms. Whatever he was doing to her nipples now that he’d finally gotten her bra off, she hoped he wouldn’t stop doing it too soon. Whatever it was doing to her felt incredibly good, as if it were waking up all her senses. She could feel her panties becoming moistened from that little playing with her breasts.
Then her heart began beating faster as she helped him off with his shirt, though not as fast as it did as when he brought down his jeans, tossing them off the side of the bed. She’d never seen a man’s member before. Were they all that big? He caught her staring at it with curiosity and took her hand, guiding it around the length of it.
“You can touch me there.” His voice was a soft drawl. “You can hold it. Give it a squeeze.”
“I—I guess you can tell I don’t know what to do.”
“Baby, you wanna be with me?”
“’Course I do.”
“Well, I wanna be with you. You want me?”
“Yes.”
“I want you. I love you, Jenna. I didn’t think I would, but I do. You love me?”
Her head was reeling. She was still on, I love you, Jenna. Now a question had followed. The most impor
tant question she’d ever been asked in her life. She felt almost as if she would cry. But, no—she couldn’t embarrass herself that way.
“I’ve loved you for a long time, Stone,” she admitted.
His smile widened and he kissed her again, his hands tugging at her jeans.
“Then that’s all we need, baby. Just you and me wanting to enjoy each other. Just wanting to please each other. All that matters. Oh—it might hurt a little bit.”
“That’s—that’s what I’ve been told.”
“But that’s okay. Try to relax. If you don’t tighten up, it won’t hurt much. Only hurts the first time. I’ll go gentle with you, though, okay?”
“Okay, Stone.”
“Okay. Trust me. Oh—and there’s some protection in the nightstand drawer, right there.”
“There’s protection?”
Stone only nodded. Jenna understood as she reached across the bed, opened the drawer and pulled out a handful of condoms. There was something else in the drawer, tucked away beneath the rest of the condoms.
“What’s that thing?” she asked.
“What? Oh, that’s a…” He had been more interested in her adorable backside, which had been bare and up in the air when she stretched out to open the drawer. He’d helped himself to filling each hand with a chubby buttcheek, savoring the cool flesh. “It’s a hairbrush.”
“A hairbrush? What would you a hairbrush like this?”
“Well, it’s not for me, baby. It’s for you. See?” Stone was aware that he was throbbing and could hardly wait to enter her. It had been a while since he’d had sex, and his whole body was aching for him to get inside her. “It’s that Victorian-style brush. I found it in an antique shop last week. Haven’t had a need to test it out yet.”
“Oh…look at that.” What else was she supposed to say?
Jenna knew exactly why Stone had bought the item for her. And, no, it wasn’t for brushing her hair. He’d bought it with the intention of spanking her with it.
The thing was ornate, but it also looked like it could mean business, too. Rigid, with a handle that could be grasped, light enough to be swung with precision. Her bottom tingled at the very thought. She realized she was scared, yet at the same time…she was thrilled.