Page 11 of Notorious (Hollywood Heartthrobs #2)

OLLIE

M y body vibrated, anticipating the video call connecting, wondering what Connor and I would talk about tonight.

The intensity of our conversations increased since we shared the kiss outside Kaid’s house the night I met his friends.

Despite all the evidence to the contrary that our friendship has developed into something more, evidenced from our late night talks and texting throughout the day while Connor’s been away filming, I refused to get my hopes up Connor might want more with me.

The night of our second kiss, our lips brushed, and it caused a physical need so great in me; it pulsed for hours after. But instead of leaving me with fleeting touches, he devoured me until Kaid’s porch light switched off and then he drove both of us home.

A kiss consumed my thoughts during my waking hours before seeping into my dreams. I told myself in a mantra which was getting old, that the kisses didn’t mean as much to Connor as it did me.

I kept our interactions close to my heart and no matter when it ended between us, and it would, I’d never forget my time with him.

It was both torment having Connor so far out of reach where the temptation to jump his bones was out of reach, and a benefit of being able to wrangle my expectations of something more because of his absence.

With the time I hadn’t spent with the man on my mind, I finished the first draft of the book with characters based on Thomas and Sam, which took me in directions I wasn’t expecting, but I loved the finished draft.

With my rolling thoughts distracting me, Connor’s smiling face appeared on my laptop screen, and my heart jumped in my chest. Yes, it was dangerous.

Romantic feelings for a man who could attract any man or woman he wanted should have warned my heart to stop yearning for him, but it didn’t stop me from wanting him none-the-less.

“Hey, Ol, how was your day?”

I shook off the dangerous thoughts and smiled. These unfiltered moments were the ones I yearned for, because he talked to me as though I mattered to him.

“Good, I started outlining a new book and…”

Connor moved the camera, which landed on his gorgeous chest, and I choked on my tongue.

As I kept telling myself, the man was my friend who showed me nothing but kindness when he opened up his home to me, introducing me to my favorite people in the entire world.

Those who supported me as very few had been on my side before.

I spent the next few seconds stumbling over my words before I swallowed hard.

“Ollie, please, I’m begging you, that look will be my undoing.”

Connor’s sultry voice was like a slap to the face, and my cheeks heated with a flare of embarrassment.

Fuck, I made him uncomfortable!

I pushed words past my throat, tamping down my embarrassment at being called out.

“Sorry. Anyway, I was researching artists and financial careers, which turned out to be boring, but since my book features the complete opposite’s attract scenario, it was a necessity.”

I continued to ramble so much that over the next few minutes; the conversation traveled from work to my observations about Sam and Thomas growing closer, despite Thomas being with Connor in Vancouver.

He groaned when my babbling spluttered out. “You have no clue, do you?”

I’m sure I looked confused as I stared at Connor through the screen. In the time I’d laid out what I’d done that day, he propped himself on the bed; the camera focused on the stark cut of his hips to his smooth chest, a wicked smile etched on his face.

“What?” I choked on my tongue in my mouth, before I cleared my throat and tried again. “What do you mean?”

Heat banked in his eyes as they roamed over my face, but before he could answer my question, there was a soft knock on his hotel room door and his brows drew down before he glanced at the door.

“Oh, I didn’t mean to babble on when you have something else planned. I’ll let you go,” I said.

Half of me wanted to understand his cryptic question, but the part that still felt embarrassed would like to put time and space between us, so he’d forget how I stared at him with pure need flaring in my gaze.

“No, I’m not expecting anyone, Ollie. Hold on a sec.”

Connor propped the camera facing the rest of the room, including the door, and slipped on a shirt and a loose pair of sweats before answering the knock.

He kept his body behind the door, which blocked me from his guest, but I noticed a pretty blonde woman poke her head in close to his.

When he leaned back, she revealed herself to the camera wearing a trench type coat, her long hair draping halfway down her back, and high heels.

I’ve seen enough movies in the past several months to understand how this scene was going to play out, and yet it seemed so surreal as I held my breath and watched it happen, wondering if Connor would take her up on her offer.

“Yes?” He asked, sounding confused.

For a man who attracted every single type of man and woman on the planet, he sounded way too befuddled about the situation that presented itself.

“Hello, Mr. Blake. I’m Erika.”

He nodded, yet the frown that pulled down his lips when the knock came hadn’t disappeared when he asked, “How can I help you?”

She shook her head and the gleam in her eyes brightened as she looked Connor up and down, which made me uncomfortable. “I was hoping to find you alone.”

Her hand went to the sash of her trench and when she released it, dropping her coat, her beautiful naked form was there for all to see. She reached out and placed her hand on his chest, swaying her hips, wanting to entice him.

A choked whimper escaped my throat. Fuck! So much for keeping my opinion to myself.

“No!” Connor all but shouted, and turned toward the bed.

“What?” Erika sounded confused.

I sat, frozen on my bed, both hurt by what was playing out in front of me and unable to catch my breath and get my body to cooperate, because despite all the screaming inside my head to shut off the feed and hide under the comforter, I sat there, stunned speechless.

Was this how Connor’s normal nights went? Both men and women would invite themselves in to his life and he took them to bed because of the opportunity presented?

But the air whooshed back into my lungs when Connor reached down, keeping out of her reach, and grabbed her coat from the floor. He held it out until she had no choice but to cover herself.

“I’m on a video call with my boyfriend, Ollie,” Connor pointed at his phone, still propped up near the bed, “and I’m not interested in anyone but him.”

“Oh, this is embarrassing. My friend, Tim, who is the front desk manager of this hotel, knows of my…well, never mind.”

Connor gave her a soft smile, not meant to entice her into bed, but one of understanding.

“I appreciate your situation. Trust me, I do. Ollie captivated me the first time I met him. Now, my feelings for him have only deepened. My reputation is that of a playboy, but I’ve grown to be a one person kind of man.”

“It’s sweet you found someone. I’m sorry about this, and thank you for being so understanding,” Erika whispered as she slipped through the door and shut it behind herself.

He flipped the lock and latched the chain before he strode back to the bed, picking up his phone. The smile he gave me sent a frisson of heat down my spine, and I beamed back at him.

“Wow, does that happen a lot?” I couldn’t stop the question from bursting out of my mouth, and I flinched as it came out. “Shit, not something I want to know. Forget I said anything.”

Connor chuckled and then sobered, and his frown made my heart hurt.

“What?”

“Yeah, if you asked me even a year ago if I was capable of this sensation of despicable envy, I would’ve laughed at the question.

But the thought of a man who turned his attention to you, much less if he showed up in a coat and dropped it revealing his naked body, hoping to take you to bed?

The pressure bordering on pain in my chest became indescribable. ”

He rubbed the spot above his heart while his eyes became stormy.

I leaned closer to the camera and caught his gaze.

“Hey, no, Connor. There wasn’t anyone before I met you and you are, and this is understating it more than a little, unforgettable. But, um, what you told Erika?—”

“Of course you remembered her name,” Connor teased.

A laugh punched up my chest and I snorted before I slapped a hand over my mouth and leaned back against the pile of pillows behind me. I placed the laptop down and traced over his beautiful smile.

“To answer your question, no, I’ve never had someone come up to my hotel room while on location, hoping to sleep with me. I’m not saying I’m not a bit of a man slut?—”

“Con! No! Stop putting yourself down. Despite your family teasing you, you shouldn’t be ashamed for having a healthy sex life.

And from what I know about you, and how Valentina and your father raised you, you ensured that all of those partners gave consent and were comfortable before anything happened, because that’s who you are.

All your experiences combine to make you, you, and I like you, Connor Blake. ”

His smile lit me up inside, and the following words made me lightheaded.

“I know what I’m about to say is not that much of a surprise, but everything has changed in my life since I laid eyes on you.”

Confusion, which stunned me into silence, made my face scrunch up in what was sure to be a goofy expression as I scanned Connor’s face.

“What?”

“Oh, okay, so it may not be apparent to you after all,” he said with a self-deprecating laugh. “How did you not know I wanted to pull you into my lap and kiss you breathless when the flight attendant brought you to first class?”

My brain stumbled to a halt before I blinked. And then blinked again.