Page 28 of The Publicist
“Why do I surprise you, Princess?” I ask and watch her eyes darken with her given nickname.
“You aren’t how I thought you were at all. Everything you do is just a front to mask your emotions. You actually are less of an ass than I thought you were.” She smiles and licks her lips. That small movement is so damn hot. I need to feel them against mine; it’s been too long. I reach my hand out toward her face, cupping her cheek, and gently pull her toward me. She doesn’t pull back like I figure she will. Instead, she melts into my hand and allows me to pull her to me.
Our lips connect and everything is right with the world again. Her lips are soft and supple against mine, and I go to deepen the kiss immediately. I wrap my hands around the back of her neck, and she snakes her arms around mine, letting me pull her flush with me. She opens for me, and I greedily explore her mouth as she moans into me. That needy moan goes straight to my semi-erect cock, and it takes everything in me to not pull her under me and rip her clothes off. I want to be buried inside her again. The one time I got to experience her wasn’t nearly enough.
She pushes back on my chest gently, and I release her, stifling my annoyance at the too short kiss. “Please, can we try this again? Us? I promise I’ll try harder.”
“Caleb, everything has been fabricated. It’s not real.”
“What if I want it to be real?”
Her eyes widen and she stares at me.Please, don’t let me fuck it up this time.I watch her swallow and open her mouth to speak. “Caleb, we can’t.”
“Why not? Your job? Because I’m famous? Tell me why we can’t try this. I’m obviously attracted to you, and you’re attracted to me. Why can’t we see where this connection leads?” I’m desperate for an answer, so I can dispute it and make her see my way.
Her lips part and, as she is about to respond, someone knocks on the door, startling us both. She gets up from the bed and opens the door. I hear a small squeal of delight and lean over to see who is at the door. My heart is hammering in my chest as Tait spins her around then places her back on her feet with a gentle kiss on her cheek. I feel the blood drain from my face as I watch the exchange between the two.Guess I’m too late.
Chapter 25
A quiet knockon the door breaks my shocked stare, and I get up to answer it. I reach toward the handle and take a quick breath. My brain is trying to catch up with what Caleb just told me, and I blink a few times when I see Tait standing there in front of me. He smiles, his green eyes twinkling down at me. He scoops me up in a bear hug, and I squeal as my feet leave the floor and he gives us a little spin. Setting me back on my feet, he keeps his hands on my arms.
I’m smiling widely at him. “Tait, what are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be trying to kill someone or something?” I push him out into the hallway and mostly close the door so Caleb can’t overhear our exchange.
“Nope. I can’t because the star ran off the set. I figured you must have texted him because, when he was leaving and they tried to stop him, he put up a big stink about taking it out of his pay to make up for the time lost. There were a few small shots they could get with those of us who were left, but we had to wrap early.” He grins.
“Heleftjust to come see me?” I ask as I turn my head to the side, looking toward the room where Caleb is sitting.
“Yep. He’s got it bad for you, lass.” He grins widely. “Listen, Quinn, I need help, and I figure you will know what to do.”
“Once again, I’m not helping you out with that. Find some other girl to hook you up.” I laugh and he shakes his head.
“No, I’m serious. There’s a girl. She’s different from the others, and I want to get to know her, but I don’t think she’ll be willing. She’s hot as fuck, but I think she’s scared shitless of me.”
I waggle my eyebrows. “Who is she? Do I know her? Also, what the fuck did you do to scare her so badly?”
He shakes his head. “You know me; I come across kind of strong, and I think it put her off. No, you don’t know her, but I can’t wait for you to meet her. She’ll be on set tomorrow, and I will introduce the two of you. I figure Romeo is going to come busting down the door soon if I don’t set you free. I’m so glad you’re here, Quinn. We are going to have a lot of fun together.” He places a gentle kiss on my cheek.
“Probably. I’ll see you tomorrow.” I turn and push the door open, placing one foot inside the doorway.
“Quinn?” I turn to look at him, and he takes my hand in his. “You know, if you ever need anything, I’m here for you, right?”
“Yeah, Tait, I imagine you would be. Thanks.” He drops my hand, and I walk back through the door, closing it gently behind me.
I lock eyes with Caleb. He’s sitting in the chair, looking relaxed, but I know when it comes to me and Tait, he is anything but. I don’t want to give him any reason to worry, so I decide to tell him about the conversation.
Crossing my arms over my chest, I lean against the wall and smirk at him. “Heard you ran off set to come find me?”
He laughs and stands, taking the few short strides to stand in front of me. “I’ve wanted to get my hands on you for the past month.” He shrugs. “Sue a guy.” He places his hands on my hips and takes a small step closer. I can feel the heat radiating off his skin.
“Tait and I are friends. I want you to know that.” I watch something flash across his features before he schools them once more. “He’s not interested in me like that, and I’m not interested in him like that. I don’t want there to be any bad blood between the two of you. Promise?”
His voice is low. “I can’t make that promise unless he promises to control himself. I don’t want his grimy hands on you, and I don’t want him to talk about you like you’re a piece of meat.”
“Caleb,” I warn, “don’t do anything stupid.”
“I’ll try.” That’s the best I’m going to get from him, and I know it. It’s going to be a difficult task to make him promise anything more. “You still haven’t given me an answer to my question, Quinn.”
I hoped he had forgotten. I don’t want things to end badly if we don’t work out. Releasing a heavy sigh, I drop my arms to my sides. “Let’s not put a label on it, and see what happens. I’m still here to do a job, and I will still treat you like any other client.” I smirk. “Maybe with a bit more kissing than other clients though.”