by Michele Hauf
For a moment I was speechless, overwhelmed by the situation. He was acting as if we were strangers. Of course, he couldn’t do otherwise, considering he was still nursing a hard-on for another woman. And, come to think of it, were we really more than a couple of strangers who’d shared one night of incredible sex? All the phone calls, the meaningful things we’d said to one another, the intimacy I thought we’d built seemed redundant now that we were face to face. Perhaps I wanted the connection between us to be special so much I’d only imagined it was.
I lifted my chin defiantly. I could act just as casually as Blake. Even more.
“Hello, Mister Tyler,” I said frostily. “It’s nice to see you again. What suggestions do you have regarding the script?”
His eyes drilled into mine, and his jaw tightened almost imperceptibly.
“I’ve made some notes. If you’ll accompany me, I’ll show them to you.”
I bit off a remark about what he should do with his notes. He took my arm firmly and steered me toward the exit, under the speculative gazes of our spectators.
“Let go of me,” I hissed under my breath, attempting to yank my arm from his grasp. “I’m very, very tired and I’m not in the mood to discuss the script right now.”
“I don’t want to talk about the script,” he replied without loosening his hold, as he nearly dragged me to the back of the building, down the irregular set of stone steps. “I just wanted to be alone with you.”
“Oh, you did, did you? Why is that?” I sneered.
“Why do you think?”
“I don’t dare speculate. Where the hell are you taking me, anyway?”
“To my boat.”
“Boat?”
“Well, it’s actually a small houseboat. It was the best accommodation Mark could find for us—me, Sandra and Marie Bell. The rest of the actors and crew are either sleeping at a hotel in the city, or in the tents.”
By this time we had reached the edge of the water, dodging tree branches and stones as we walked down the steep path. Blake still had a solid grip on my arm, but I was so tired I was secretly grateful of the support. In the other hand he held my travel bag. I didn’t even remember when he’d snatched it from me.
The boats anchored to the shore were in fact a trio of magnificent yachts, what I would call modern luxury on water. I didn’t have much time to admire them, because Blake urged me forward. Darkness was beginning to fall over the eerie scenery. As I stepped onto Blake’s boat, I saw its lights trailing random rainbows across the calm waters. The polished wooden deck swayed almost unnoticeably under my feet, and I took hold of the iron railing to keep my balance.
“No, not there,” Blake said, when I was about to open the door facing me. “This is the galley and living area. Climb those stairs.” He placed his hand on the small of my back, pointing at the set of stairs on the right.
“Where do these lead?” I asked, breathless from the hasty trip through the woods.
“The bedroom.”
I whirled around to face him, with every intention of starting back down the steps, but his body blocked mine in the narrow space.
“I don’t need to see your bedroom to talk about the script,” I said through my teeth.
“I’ve already told you I don’t want to talk about the fucking script.”
“Then what?”
“Us, damn it! What the hell is wrong with you? Why are you acting like this?” he asked angrily, forcing me up the stairs, step by step, until we reached the door. He reached behind me and opened it, then pushed me inside.
“Act like what?”
“Like we’re two strangers.”
“Oh, that’s rich!” I turned away from him, clenching my fists. I vaguely noticed the room around me, with its generous bed, large TV screen and well-stocked bar highlighted by ceiling spotlights. I was too angry to appreciate any of that right now.
Facing Blake again, I said, “You were the one who acted as though you didn’t know me.”
He closed the door, put my bag down, then moved toward me and cupped my face in his hands.
“Because I want to protect you, Kendra,” he whispered, gazing earnestly into my eyes. “One breath of scandal and you’d be in the tabloids all the time. You’ve no idea what vicious lies they’d write about you if anyone knew we were a couple. And this time they would know your name. You wouldn’t be just ‘the beautiful girl with the butterfly tattoo’.”
“Mysterious girl,” I corrected him dryly.
He still wore his robe, but it had come undone during the rushed descent down the hill. I had my hands pressed against his bare chest, not sure if I wanted to push him away or drag him to me. I moistened my lips, pondering how to phrase what I was about to say.
“Blake, I don’t think I care what the tabloids write about me. It’s a small price to pay to be with you. I mean... if we were to become seriously involved.”
“Aren’t we?”
I swallowed with difficulty, as I angled my head to look up at him. His gaze was intense on mine, searching ardently for a sign. I thought I saw anxiety in his eyes, as he waited for me to reply.
I parted my lips slowly. I didn’t know what I was going to say, but Blake didn’t need words. My body language was enough to show him what I felt. In a heartbeat, he lowered his mouth to mine. He kissed me possessively, sliding his tongue deeply over mine. Hunger and desperate need seemed to envelop us both, and he pulled me closer, moving his hands all over my body, building heat and passion. My weak legs were unable to support me any longer, but there was no need for that. Blake lifted me up against him and in a few seconds we were lying on the bed, still kissing madly. The weight of him on top of me was as exquisite as his tongue inside my mouth, and his hands on my breasts. I wanted him so badly I ached.
But somewhere beyond the haze of desire, a thought struck me as brutal as a wave of icy water. Suddenly, I pushed him off me and rolled aside on the edge of the bed.
“No! I won’t let you use me.”
My shout echoed in the spacious room, leaving behind a vacuum of silence. The only sound was Blake’s ragged breathing—and mine.
“What the hell are you talking about?” he gasped. “Use you? Why the fuck would you say something like that?”
The fact that he seemed genuinely shocked and insulted made me even more furious. I shot off the bed to face him.
“Yeah, use me to nurse the hard on Sandra gave you. Don’t deny it,” I went on, although he was gaping at me soundlessly. “I saw you, after you filmed that sex scene. You were really into it, and it was plainly obvious to anyone who cared to look,” I finished, staring pointedly at his lap.
“You think Sandra is responsible for this?” he asked incredulously, pointing at his crotch.
I snorted. “Maybe not for this one, but she’s definitely responsible for the earlier one.”
A few more moments elapsed into silence. Blake rose slowly off the bed, raking a hand through his hair and looking as though he was trying to find the best way to explain something very simple to an extremely idiotic child.
Finally, after taking a few steps around the room, he turned to face me.
“Kendra, have you ever heard of Pavlov’s reflex?”
I narrowed my eyes suspiciously. “Yeah. So?”
“So, when a man has a half-naked woman under him, rubbing herself all over him, it’s impossible not to get a physiological response. It means absolutely nothing, other than a knee-jerk reaction. It certainly doesn’t mean my mind or my feelings are involved in any way, or that I’m even attracted to Sandra. I’m not.”
“Right.” My snort of derision turned into a gasp of surprise when he caught me by the arms and pulled me toward him.
“That’s right. I’ve been sporting this hard on for more than a week, ever since I left your bed. You’re not giving yourself enough credit. Since the first day I saw you, I wanted to fuck you and only you. All the time.”
The words were barely out before he crushed me
against him once more and claimed my mouth. This time, I had to surrender or die. I responded to his kiss with all the longing I’d accumulated since the last time I’d seen him, entwining my fingers in his hair, moving my hands greedily all over his body. I yanked off his robe at the same time he dragged my T-shirt over my head, then we tumbled into bed together, locked in a searing embrace.
We tore our mouths apart only for the brief moments it took to undress. When we were naked, he pushed me onto my back, sealing our mouths again. His beard felt strangely erotic on my skin, raspy and rugged. I realized how wet I was when he slipped his fingers inside me. Moaning, I reached down to stroke him, but we were both past waiting. With a long thrust, he pushed himself deep inside me, making me scream against his shoulder. The pleasure was so powerful, the sensations so potent, I couldn’t think. I could only feel. I was drunk and dizzy with arousal, wanting him so much it took only a few thrusts to make me shatter into a mind-blowing orgasm. As I tightened around him, squeezing his hips between my thighs, he groaned and pressed his teeth against my neck. Then he came, shuddering in my arms, holding me tightly as wave after wave of fulfillment shook us both.
Our hearts pounded rapidly in unison for several minutes. When they began to slow down, Blake rolled off me and drew me to his chest, holding me tight against him.
“God, I missed you,” he murmured, kissing my temple.
I nestled my face in the hollow of his shoulder, so my words were muffled when I replied, “I missed you too.”
“Did you?”
The sigh I released was almost grudging. “Yeah, so much it was unsettling. I guess that’s why I acted like an idiot. I was mad because I couldn’t wait to see you, and the first thing I find when I get here is you and Sandra in bed, groping one another.”
He turned onto one side to face me, reaching out to brush the hair off my face.
“Kendra, I told you this is my job, nothing more. I truly am not attracted to Sandra.”
“I understand. I really do,” I added, noticing his skeptical expression. “The same happened to me with Danny, even though I don’t feel a thing for him.”
A frown creased his brow and a steely glint flashed briefly in his eyes.
“Danny? Your sleek, buffed up agent? I thought you said there was nothing between you two.”
The sound of my amusement filled the room. I was convinced now the glint was pure jealousy. It probably was petty of me, but I was enjoying it immensely.
“Buffed up?”
Blake made a snorting sound. “He probably has steroids for breakfast. I didn’t know you’re into that Dwayne Johnson type, so pumped up they can’t even turn to wipe their asses.”
“I’m not,” I said through waves of hilarity.
“Then why are you avoiding the question? Are you involved with this guy or not?”
His dead-serious tone made my laughter fade. I could see he was quite anxious to hear my answer. That touched me as much as our passionate lovemaking. I reached out and cupped his cheek in my palm.
“No, I already told you. It’s only that... He kissed me once, just after I’d broken up with Richard and signed the contract with MBM. I shouldn’t have let it happen,” I said, recalling that day in London, when my life was beginning to take so many sudden twists and turns. “I was feeling very lonely then, overwhelmed by everything that was happening so fast. Anyway, what I meant to say was that, even though I don’t like Danny as a person, I understand the body’s natural reaction to certain stimulants. I overreacted today when I saw you with Sandra. I’m sorry about that.”
“You don’t have to. I’d probably feel the same,” he said, entwining his fingers with mine on the pillow.
I cocked an eyebrow, curious.
“It must be awkward for you, actors, when you have to do something intimate like this. Have you ever filmed nude scenes?”
His mouth quirked in a smile.
“A few times. And yeah, it can be kind of awkward, but as you noticed, nothing is intimate when you’re in a room with twenty people, filming a sex scene. We have this modesty pouches...”
“Modesty pouches?”
“Yeah, well, basically it’s a cock sock one might just as well not bother to wear. I lost mine once in the john.”
“Get out!” I rolled over onto my stomach to watch him incredulously, shaken by laughter.
“I mean it. In the end, I said ‘screw it, that wasn’t much of a cover anyway’. So I filmed the rest of the scene naked as a jay bird.”
“I know that movie! It was the one where you were a paid assassin, and you fell in love with the woman you were paid to kill.” My eyebrows arched. “You appeared naked from behind. I remember drooling over your ass.”
“Really?”
“Me and a few million women all over the world. And don’t pretend you don’t know that,” I said, nudging him in the ribs.
He grinned sheepishly, but after a few moments his face sobered. Reaching out, he took my hand in his once more. He studied my fingers thoughtfully, one by one, as though weighing what he was about to say.
“I hope you know you’re the only woman who matters to me, Kendra,” he said softly, gazing earnestly into my eyes. “And I want you to understand why I acted so casually toward you on the set today...”
“I know you were trying to preserve my reputation,” I interrupted him in the same tone. “I appreciate that. It’s... Men like you are very rare, Blake, especially in Hollywood, where everyone screws everyone and then brags about it. Your discretion is legendary.”
His mouth twisted in wry humor. “Yeah, it drives the paparazzi nuts.”
I uttered an involuntary sound of derision, which expressed my opinion about that idea. But Blake ignored it and continued to watch me seriously.
“Are you sure you want to make our relationship public, Kendra? The press can be vicious, our private life would no longer be private, and you might find yourself reading ludicrous lies, about you, about me, about us.”
My eyes were steady on his as I replied, “I’m ready to face all of this if you are.”
Our gazes stayed locked meaningfully while he raised my hand to his lips and kissed it.
“I would be honored. I can’t wait to face the world with you by my side, to hold your hand in front of everyone, and be the target of every guy’s envy. Especially that slime-ball, Danny,” he added, tongue-in-cheek.
19
When the clock started beeping at the brutal hour of six a.m. the next morning, I buried my head under the pillows, searching for escape. Blake reached across me to shut off the alarm, then leaned down to kiss my shoulder.
“Why the hell do you have to wake at this ungodly hour?” I mumbled raspily from under my precarious refuge. “You’re the star, for Heaven’s sake! You should get there when you want to.”
He laughed and rolled out of bed, heading toward the bathroom.
“It takes discipline to become and stay a star, babe,” he told me over his shoulder. “Mark is maniacally professional, and I respect his work. We need to film at all hours, since the characters live in the castle for a few weeks, remember? Besides, we have to finish shooting everything by November.”
I groaned, sighed, then pushed the pillow off my head and sat up. I wanted to accompany Blake to the set, but I had to admit I was nervous about what the others’ reactions would be when they saw we were a couple. Besides, I was honestly curious to see how a movie was made. It was going to be a long day. In order to face it, I desperately needed coffee.
I got up and went to the sofa, where I’d dumped my bag last night. I rummaged through it and dug out a robe, then wrapped it around me. Bleary-eyed, I took my first good look at the interior of the houseboat, which in daylight looked even more opulent. The honey-colored wooden floors were so polished my bare feet glided over them. The bed was fit for a king, as was the black marble bar. There were very few pieces of furniture—everything being built-in to allow for movement at sea—but it was more than enough
to suit anyone’s needs.
I plugged in the coffee maker I found on the bar, then started to prepare two cups of coffee. I could hear the shower running in the bathroom. As the smell of the coffee tickled my nostrils, I sighed contentedly. I didn’t remember ever waking up so happy in my life. I thought about calling Mrs. Finch to see how Duke was, but my mind was too groggy to calculate the time difference. Surely she was still asleep, so I marked this task for later.
By the time the coffee aroma rose seductively from two mega-sized mugs, Blake was out of the bathroom, smelling of masculine shower gel. He saw the mug, sniffed deeply and bent to give me a sensual kiss.
“I could get used to this pampering,” he murmured. “If you tell me you can cook, I might beg you to marry me.”
My heart tripped with pleasure, even though I knew he was kidding. Smiling up at him I said, “As a matter of fact, I’m an excellent cook. So I guess you’re in trouble, Mister Tyler.”
“I’m gonna hold you to that.” He took a sip of coffee and closed his eyes. “Mmmm.... Perfect.”
“Glad you like it. Now I’ll shower and dress as fast as I can. Will you wait for me?”
“Sure. Want some breakfast? I think we have bagels.”
“No, thanks. No time now. Maybe we’ll grab something for lunch,” I said, rushing into the bathroom.
Twenty minutes later I was dressed in faded blue jeans and a black stretchy T-shirt, my feet comfortably tucked into ballet flats. I’d applied a minimum of makeup and twisted my hair in a braid that fell over one shoulder. Thus groomed for this morning’s crucial public appearance, I struggled to control the butterflies in my stomach. As we walked toward the castle, Blake must have sensed my apprehension, because he linked his fingers with mine.
“Hey, we’re not accountable to anyone, remember? I’ll make sure no one says anything inappropriate or nosy to you.”
I sent him a grateful smile. “Thanks. I don’t know why I’m acting so stupidly. I’ve always been able to look out after myself, but being among all those strangers, who are all so curious about me... I bet they’ll start talking behind our backs as soon as they see us together.”