Page 10 of Notorious (Hollywood Heartthrobs #2)

The doorknob turned, and the door opened an inch before there was a slight struggle on the other side, and it clicked shut again.

Ollie and I turned to each other, confused.

In the next second, the door swung open and standing there in the foyer was Spencer, who draped himself over Lee’s back while his gorgeous husband had an exasperated look on his face.

Kaid stood off to the side with his arms crossed, shaking his head.

“Hey, Con,” Spencer said.

He wiggled his eyebrows as he kept moving his gaze from me to Ollie, who blushed under his scrutiny. Long seconds ticked by as they continued to stare until Lee huffed.

“Sorry, man, we have better manners than this. I’m Lee Atreus, Spencer’s husband. He’s the man on my back because he sprained his ankle, tripping on nothing in the garden earlier today and can’t walk by himself.”

Spencer waved as though Ollie wasn’t standing a short distance from them. Ollie gave them his genuine and happy smile and wiggled his fingers at them.

“Nice to meet you both. I’m sorry to hear about your ankle. I hope it’ll heal soon, Spencer.”

“Awww, you’re so sweet.” Spencer hopped down and pulled Ollie in for a hug.

“And this is Kaid,” I said as I pulled Ollie away from Spencer.

He glanced over at Kaid and reached out to shake the man’s hand. “Nice to meet you as well. Thank you for having me over tonight. You have a phenomenal home.”

Before Kaid spoke, a gigantic muscular man in a chef’s coat and tattoos peeking out of the skin along his neck and hands walked up and snagged Kaid’s attention.

I’d seen the man grumpy at the best of times, but something about this giant of a man melted my friend into a puddle of goo, and it seemed I wasn’t the only one affected by a new man in their lives.

With a gruff voice that matched his stature, the man faced Kaid and said, “Dinner will be ready in fifteen minutes.”

“And you’re joining us,” Kaid said, not leaving any room for argument. “Everyone, this is Lewis Gallagher. He’s my new personal chef and friend.”

Another round of hellos and I noticed Ollie’s eyes trace over the man’s tattoos, looking interested. Of course, with Ollie being his inquisitive self, he said, “It’s nice to meet you, Lewis. Do you mind if I ask you an intrusive question?”

“I think I’d be okay with that.”

“Do you have tattoos… everywhere?”

He boomed out a laugh, and there was a distinct twinkle in his eye that made me uncomfortable. I recognized it because it happened every time Ollie met someone new and charmed them.

Lewis leaned closer and said, “Most of my body, yes. Maybe I’ll let you see them sometime.”

“Nope,” I declared, and once again pulled Ollie away and settled him against my side.

Kaid stepped closer to Lewis and instead of tensing, the bigger man leaned toward Kaid until their shoulders pressed together, giving him reassurances without speaking. At least my friend kept his objections silent, unlike me.

Not paying one bit of attention to my possessive nature, Ollie leaned forward and said, “I think you would make a perfect character in one of my romance novels.”

“I could see that,” Kaid said as he smiled up at his chef.

That opened the floodgates and when Spencer learned Ollie was a romance writer, he led him off toward the living room and they got into an animated discussion about story lines and why all of them lack what they tout the most, any amount of romance.

Lee moved close to me, but instead of instigating the conversation, I waited for Lee to voice whatever he had on his mind.

“It’s weird, seeing you like this.”

I blinked, moving my gaze from Ollie’s face, lit up and animated as he spoke about his favorite topic in the world, over to Lee, who stood there with a smirk on his face. All knowing was Lee. Or, most likely, just observant as fuck.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Lee chuckled and moved his gaze toward his husband and the man who meant more to me than I could even acknowledge in the private recesses of my mind.

“What I’m about to say is not a commentary on how you live your life.

But before Ollie, you would have hit on Lewis to make Kaid jealous and thought nothing of it.

And I believe this is the first time since we’ve become friends, where your focus is on one specific person and you aren’t your typical outrageous, flirty self.

But everything you are makes you Connor and a great friend and I have to say I’m happy for you. You found your one.”

I was spluttering and couldn’t get my words past my lips as I stared at Lee with such astonishment. The man laughed at me.

“Come on, it shouldn’t be such a surprise,” Lee said, exasperated.

When I found my voice, I growled, “What?”

Instead of answering, he glanced at Spencer and Ollie, who were laughing together while leaning shoulder to shoulder, already fast friends. An unfamiliar sensation kicked against my chest and I realized my heart was pounding in my chest as I watched the pure happiness pouring from Ollie.

“I kissed him.”

Lee shook his head and asked, “Tonight?”

“No, about two weeks ago. You know what surprised the fuck out of me?” I asked.

He raised his eyebrow in question.

“It rocked my world while it hasn’t had the same effect on him. We’re great friends and he jokes with me, he hangs when we watch movies and I enjoy being with him while he’s writing, but he acts like nothing has changed between us. He has no clue he upended my entire world.”

“Fucking hell, Connor, are you blind? Do you not see how he stares at you?”

He waited for me to respond before he continued.

“No, huh? Well, it’s like you hung the moon and are responsible for the stars in the sky.

I know the kiss affected him. And before you start, it has nothing to do with you being a movie star.

For several months after Spencer and I admitted our attraction to each other, Spencer kept telling himself I wasn’t as interested in him because of my stoic personality.

But I learned I needed to open myself up and tell him everything in my heart, because all things unsaid leaves room for interpretation and with us humans, we always see the negative in ourselves before we’re convinced of the truth. ”

I nodded and said, “It doesn’t help that he knows all about my past, because my loving and intrusive family keep telling him all about my conquests.

And come to think of it, he gets upset whenever it’s brought up.

Hell, thinking about Ollie with another man, knowing he’s a virgin in all aspects of the word, well, it makes me manic. ”

Lee chuckled. “Ah, man. Are you telling me you were his first kiss?”

I froze as the realization hit me. “Holy fuck, yes. I’m both panicky and proud all at once.”

Lee shook his head, giving me a smile as we moved to the dining room for dinner.

Lewis made a luscious white cheddar macaroni with brie and spiced bread crumbs for a starter, then the main course; braised short ribs and the creamiest mashed potatoes I’d ever tasted, with roasted carrots and Brussels sprouts in a wine reduction, and for dessert, a delicate carrot cake with lemon and vanilla frosting.

Before long, I was in a food coma and enjoying the company of great people.

***

“Hey, sweetness, we should turn one of Ollie’s romances into a movie,” Spencer said during a lull in conversation.

Ollie turned a bright red and waved his hands around like he swallowed something spicy as he shook his head back and forth.

“You haven’t even read any of my books… wait, have you?”

Spencer laughed and nodded. “Of course I have, especially since Con keeps bragging about how talented you are. We’re finishing up with filming next week on a screenplay I wrote and then I think we should get together and talk.”

“Oh, whoa. You wrote a screenplay, and it’s going to be a movie?” He waited until Spencer nodded, a blush of pride on his face, before Ollie exclaimed, “That’s fantastic! Congratulations!”

Lee smiled while Spencer giggled at the praise. As we all laughed, Spencer turned to his husband and said, “Can we adopt him and spoil him? He’s so adorable!”

As I growled at the uncomfortable subject for Ollie, my protectiveness flaring, he laughed.

“I’m sort of on my own for the first time in my life and I enjoy it, but if I need advice, I promise I’ll seek you two out.”

“Good, you guys can keep Ollie company when I go on location next week.” It wasn’t a secret because I’ve been talking about the possibility every night at dinner. An epic action-adventure where I would be part of a larger cast, so I’d be gone a shorter time than if I was the headliner.

I was studying Ollie’s face and noticed the flash of sadness in his gorgeous eyes before he recovered.

“Oh, that’s exciting. How…” he swallowed before he asked, “how long will you be gone?”

“Not long, three weeks. But the location is up north in Vancouver.”

Something stubborn flashed in his eyes and when he glanced back at me, meeting my gaze, he asked, “Should I take the time you’re away to find another place?”

“What?” I gasped.

“Wow!” Lee chuckled.

“Connor!” Spencer sounded outraged.

A chuckle and a hand on Ollie’s shoulder from Lewis did not make me jealous. I might have to tell myself that a hundred times before I get it through my head, but I took a deep breath and lied to myself.

“Huh, I thought I was clueless,” Kaid finished as he gave me a pointed look.

Ollie blushed hard when he realized he asked a private question in front of the group. He learned to be open with his opinions, especially around the nosiest family he’d ever met. But then, as I expected him to, he sat up straighter and a sense of determination overtook his sad eyes.

“No! If you want to find a place, I will help you when I get back, but until then, no.”

There was no way I was going to let him move anywhere. Fuck that idea.

At my outburst, I realized as soon as I blurted it out that it wasn’t my actual business to control where Ollie lived, but I knew I said the right thing when the younger man relaxed back into his chair and gave me a small nod.

As I knew he would be, Ollie became ingrained in the group as quickly as Lee and Lewis had. He and Spencer talked about the romances they read over the years and despite Spencer being an avid reader of gay or male/male romances, he hadn’t read any of Ollie’s until I mentioned them.

“Thomas and Sam are cute together. I think that if Sam slows down a bit and lets Thomas spoil him a little, he’d be ready to marry that man. But I can understand why he is the way he is. His job isn’t one where he can relax.”

We moved into Kaid’s living room and I snagged a spot right near Ollie as he continued with his conversation.

For the first time in a long while, I wasn’t craving being in the spotlight and paid little attention to the discussions because the man next to me was the center of all my thoughts.

I moved past the panic of what our kiss meant and replayed the few minutes in time where he clung to me as I traced every inch of skin underneath his tee. The tips of my fingers tingled in anticipation as I watched his animated expressions.

Had I ever been as captivated by one person before?

There was a quick and simple answer.

No.

Like my family and friends pointed out too many times to count, I indulged in whatever felt good to me.

If that was getting my dick sucked in a club by a random who I’d never see again, then so be it.

I’ve fucked and been fucked in return, had multiple partners at the same time and believed that as long as there was consent and condoms, I was up for anything.

But my avid experience didn’t compare to kissing Ollie.

Hell, with Ollie, there was no rush to move onto the main event.

I wanted to explore every single inch of his delectable body several times over, not once thinking about my dick, knowing his pleasure would be mine.

The sounds I could draw from him, the reactions my touch would have on his body; would he arch toward me, needing more, before he opened his mouth and pleaded with me to touch him?

When his arm leaned into my chest, it was as natural as breathing to pull him tight against my body. Not needing to hold myself back, I pondered if I should press my nose to his neck and breathe him in for less than a second before I followed my desire.

His breath hitched in his throat as his hand spasmed on my thigh and I groaned against his skin.

When he whispered, I strained to hear him. “Please don’t make me hard in front of your friends.”

And that was the final straw.

I jumped to my feet, silencing the surrounding conversation. As I reached for Ollie’s hand, which he slid into my outstretched one without hesitation, I hauled him against my side and wrapped an arm around him.

“Thank you for dinner, but we’re going to cut out early.”

Not being subtle at all, Spencer beamed at us while Kaid shook his head and stood.

“Spencer, call me when you’re feeling better and you can show me the production studio. Lee, thanks for the advice. Kaid and Lewis, dinner was delicious. Thank you for having me over. It was wonderful meeting you all,” Ollie said.

Not giving anyone a chance to drive me out of my mind as they pulled Ollie in for a hug, I strode out the door and into the cool spring night, my grip tightening on Ollie.

“What—“

I pressed Ollie against the side of the car and cupped the back of his neck.

“I’m going to kiss you.”

“Um, well, yeah, I don’t know.”

My brows drew down in confusion, because as his words wavered on whether he wanted me to kiss him, his arms wrapped around my waist and he pulled me closer, where I could feel his sweet breath wash over my sensitive lips.

“What do you mean?” My question came out gruffer than I wanted.

“Do you remember when I said I wouldn’t get any ideas about our last shared kiss and where it wouldn’t lead?

Well, I’m a big liar. Huge. I have several extraordinary ideas and if truth be told, your kiss went straight to my head, and now that I have them, you know, the ideas, I’m sure kissing you would be a mistake on your end. You shouldn’t encourage me.”

As I worked to interpret the jumble of words out of his mouth, which both encouraged and discouraged any more kissing, my entire brain blanked out at the soft press of his lips on mine.