Page 30

Xander

Irritation bubbled inside of me as I slammed my car door, stomping over to the front of the Studio Black building and opening the front door a little harder than was probably strictly necessary.

I couldn't help it.

I was pissed.

It had been a couple of days since I'd last seen Tristan - he'd spent the weekend at my house after the drunk incident and the mutual confessions of love when he let me top him for the first time, and it had been the most blissful fucking forty-eight hours I'd experienced in a long time - and I hadn't heard anything about being scheduled at work.

Not for photos, not for a video shoot.

I wasn't sure if Tristan had either, but I also hadn't asked.

And then earlier today, I'd gotten an email that I was scheduled for a video shoot with someone new - a guy named Hunter, porn name Gray Hendricks - and even though it had sent little shivers of unease down my spine, I'd immediately answered in the affirmative.

Just because I was most comfortable with Tristan - and was fucking in love with the man to boot - didn't mean that I was always going to have the luxury of working exclusively with him.

That was something that I'd known when I'd taken this gig, and I was frankly grateful that they'd given me this much time with only one person to get my bearings as an adult star.

I'd been all hyped up about working with someone new - and very firmly talking myself out of changing my mind and telling Cole that no, I wouldn't be working with anyone other than Tristan going forward, thank you very much - when I got another email canceling the shoot, without a reason why.

Just a vague "scheduling error" message from Cole, and that...that irritated me.

Yes, of course, I was being paid every single week regardless of what I actually did at the studio.

I was being paid for a certain amount of hours, though, and I knew that they were going easy on me.

Yes, the shoots with Tristan had been relatively intense, but they'd been short, and I'd only been scheduled for a few scant photography sessions aside.

I definitely wasn't working anywhere near as much as I'd thought that I would going into this gig, and now Cole was rescheduling me without giving a real reason why?

It wasn't rational, I knew that, but...well, I was a little pissed.

Which was why I stormed through the Studio Black building without worrying about who might see me, barely glancing down the hallway towards the conference room where Cole and the others usually had meetings on Wednesdays, according to Tristan.

The conference room was dark and the door closed, though, so I headed towards the film studio, determined to talk to someone even if it meant that I was going to see something that was going to make me blush.

I gathered my wits about me enough not to storm onto the film set guns blazing, though, instead slipping past the door and making sure that it closed quietly behind me.

As expected, they were in the middle of a shoot.

One of Brandon's, a fact that immediately made me flush, and that was before I registered what he was doing...and wearing.

Brandon was wearing a pair of leather pants and boots that laced up to his knees, a denim vest open over his chest, showcasing a full sleeve of tattoos and others down his torso besides.

The man in front of him was fully naked and kneeling, his cock hard and free and bobbing in front of him, and Brandon was fucking two fingers down his throat - and had been for a while now, if the way that he was drooling was any indication.

"Good slut," Brandon murmured, his voice rough and possessive.

"Look at you.

Your throat is the perfect sleeve for my fingers, isn't it?"

The man - his sub? I needed to ask Tristan exactly what Brandon's preferences in the bedroom were, because the intimidation he exuded in his day to day life definitely transferred to his sex persona as well, Jesus - nodded, drooling more as he mumbled around Brandon's fingers, the words muffled.

I tore my eyes away from the scene, looking out over the crowd of people who were on set watching.

There was the familiar crew, several of whom I recognized, and then Emmett and Dorian were standing near the camera the way they always were, watching.

Emmett had his camera in hand and moved silently to crouch down and take a shot as I watched, and I noticed someone new - a tall, pretty blonde musclehead in a red t-shirt and jeans - standing behind Dorian, looking simultaneously like he wanted to bolt, and like he wanted to hop right on set right then and there.

Huh.

Wonder whose place he wants to take.

I didn't let myself get lost in my musing, though, instead walking over to Emmett and tapping him on the shoulder without saying anything.

He looked up, an eyebrow arched, and I jerked my head towards the door of the set, indicating that I needed him to follow without saying a word.

"Need to talk to you," I mouthed.

His expression cleared and he nodded, standing and following me off the set.

I wandered down to one of the dressing rooms and slipped in, closing the door behind us when Emmett followed so that we could talk without being interrupted.

"What's up, Xan? I didn't expect to see you here today." Emmett smiled at me, reaching up and scrubbing his hand over the scruff covering his jaw.

"I wasn't planning on being here today," I huffed.

I pulled my phone out of my pocket and pulled up the email that Cole had sent rescinding the shoot, and I handed it over.

"What the hell is this?"

Emmett furrowed his brow as he looked at my phone, but after a moment, his expression cleared.

"Oh, that.

Nothing important, I'm sure that Cole will have something different for you in the next few days."

He handed my phone back to me, looking at me with an open and honest expression, and it was only the fact that he didn't seem upset with my obvious attitude that gave me the courage to ask, "Okay, fine, but why was it rescheduled without warning? I...I don't get it."

Understanding dawned on Emmett's face, and he offered me a smile.

"Tristan came and let Cole know about the situation regarding your relationship.

We're all very happy for you, by the way." His eyes twinkled, and he winked.

"Cole found someone else to take your place in that shoot until further arrangements can be worked regarding both of your schedules.

That's all."

I stood there, a little stunned, and...yes, a lot annoyed with my boyfriend.

"Oh, okay," I said through gritted teeth.

"Well, in that case, I think that I'm annoyed with the wrong person, and I need to go and have a little chat with Tristan."

Emmett's brows pulled down, as if confused, but I was already nodding at him shortly and pushing my way out of the dressing room before he could say anything else.

I stormed out of the Studio Black building and slammed the driver's side door of my car a little harder than necessary when I climbed in, and it took everything in me not to call Tristan as soon as I was out of earshot of anyone else to give him a piece of my mind.

No, no.

He could have the honor of seeing me in person when he heard how annoyed I was with him.

And then he could grovel good and long before he fixed this.