Page 18 of The Starlet

I take a seat and uncap my bottle of water. The cool liquid runs down my throat, and I feel better in an instant. Bradley sits opposite me and digs into his burger.I should have grabbed a burger, too.After eating the pizza and mozzarella sticks last night though, I need to watch it. The last thing I want is to be bloated when some of the sex scenes are being filmed soon. My nutritionist will be so proud of me.

“I see you didn’t grab tuna or garlic. Guess our kiss won’t be gross after all.” He smirks and takes a bite out of his burger. I lick my lips as I watch him eat. My salad with chicken is lacking in comparison. I stab the lettuce with the fork but don’t bring it to my mouth, watching him instead. He waves his hand in front of my face. “Earth to Elena. Are you still with me?”

I focus my eyes on him and nod. “Your burger just looks really good, and I’m wishing I’d got that instead of this stupid salad.”

He holds it up. “Want a bite?”

Reaching my hands out, I take it from him and take a large bite. It’s like heaven on my tongue. “Oh my God,” I moan, chewing the food, “this is amazing.” I look down at my salad and frown. How am I going to eat that after tasting this?Willpower, girl. Think of what you have to film soon.The idea of not looking my best on screen is enough to make me hand it back to him and stick some salad in my mouth. I grumble to myself as I finally swallow and take another bite of the rabbit food.

“I’ve only known one girl who acts like you do with food. She loved it, too.”

“Then that’s a girl after my own heart.”Loved?The tense he uses weighs in my mind, and I finally ask, “Loved?”

He frowns and looks at his food, his voice dipping in volume. “Yeah. She passed away about a year ago.”

Good job, Elena. Way to kill the mood.I reach my hand across the table and lay it gently on top of his. “I’m sorry, Brad. I didn’t know.”

He shakes his head and smiles, but the warmth doesn’t reach his deep brown eyes. “It’s fine. It was a long time ago.” He finishes his burger and stands, leaving me sitting at the table alone, picking at my unappetizing salad.

* * *

“Getyour damn hands off me, Zach,” I yell, trying to slap his face. He grabs my wrist, pulling it down to my side.

He leans down, his face inches from mine. “Listen to me carefully, Sofia. I know you’re used to being treated like a damn princess, but not here. Drop the fucking attitude and get off your high horse.”

I puff my chest. “Let. Go. Of. Me.” He wraps his hand around the back of my head, and his lips come crashing down over mine. It’s hot, it’s needy, and it’s perfect. I melt into him and eagerly open my mouth, letting him take what he wants. When he accepts my invitation, I moan into him and press myself closer to his taut figure. His muscles ripple under his fitted button-down shirt as I cling to his biceps. Then I remember—I’m not supposed to kiss him back.Shit!

“Cut,” Joe yells.

We pull apart, and Bradley grins wide. “You’re not supposed to kiss me back. Although, I appreciate that you don’t taste like garlic or tuna.” I take a deep breath and blink a few times.Can you please come back to my room and fuck me senseless?

“Elena, you’re not supposed to kiss him this time. You’re pissed at him.”

I know I’m blushing head to toe, I can feel it, and I care, but at the same time—I don’t. That kiss was so right and everything I need. I fight the urge to run my fingers along my lips as the vivid image burns into my brain. I laugh, trying to calm my nerves. “I know, Joe. It’s instinct to kiss back. Let’s try it again.”

He nods and we start the scene again. We run through the lines with ease, and when he pulls me toward him for the kiss, I push back on his strong chest, trying to get free. He releases me, and I wipe my mouth with the back of my hand, glaring at him.

“Don’t youeverkiss me again, Zach.” Turning on my heel, I walk off camera.

“You’ll be begging me to in no time, princess,” he mutters to himself.

“Cut! Perfect! Let’s watch playback, but I think we’re good to move on. Do you guys want to see?”

We both walk over and stand behind Joe as he pulls the scene up. I watch on the small screen as Bradley pulls me to him, unable to stop the shivers that run down my spine as I watch us on screen. It’s not a sex scene, but it’s hot enough that I’m picturing it as my own private porno. The way his muscles flex as he holds me to him, and how dominating he is on screen makes me tingly. His finger grazes my arm, and I look at him. He’s smiling wide and jerks his chin toward the screen.Yes, we look good on screen together.If this is just acting, I want to know what a real kiss from this man feels like. I shake the thoughts from my mind.Tonight, I’ll be remembering this kiss as I work on some pent-up energy…

* * *

I’m donefor the day and head back to the hotel for the evening. It’s a nice night, and relaxing by the pool for a while sounds good. When I walk through the front door, the man behind the counter waves me down and hands me a letter.I wonder who this is from?I take it from him, placing it in my purse. When I get to my room, I take a shower to clean off the day before I get into my swimsuit.

The warm water cascades down my body, and I can’t stop replaying the kiss in my mind. I’ve never had a screen kiss affect me like this. I start picturing Bradley and me in all sorts of dirty fantasies. I imagine his fingers grazing over my body, over my breasts, and down to the apex of my thighs. My own hand follows the path I imagine his taking, and I start rubbing myself, thinking of him. It’s not long before I’m coming undone and lean against the wall to catch my breath. A giggle erupts, and I hang my head.

I finish showering, get changed into my black high-waisted bikini, and toss a cover-up over me. It’s late afternoon, but the sun is still up. I dig through my bag and find a book to bring down with me. The envelope the man handed me is sticking out of my purse so I grab it. My hands shake as I stick my index finger under the paper flap and rip it open.

I slowly unfold the piece of paper, holding my breath the entire time. The typed words on the page come into focus, and I breathe a sigh of relief; it’s just a change in start time tomorrow. I’m still a bit freaked out from the guy that grabbed me the other day and the note I received a month before coming here.

I’ve hired a detective to look into the letter, but since he has very little to go off of, he hasn’t uncovered much. I put the paper down and pick up my stuff, walking down to the pool. I find a chair in the shade and open my book. I’m a sucker for historical romance, and this one is not disappointing. I’m thumbing through the pages, waiting to find out what’s going to happen to Lady Catherine, when a hand lands on my shoulder. I jump and drop my book to the ground.Damn it. Now the pages are wet.

“Woah. It’s just me. I didn’t mean to scare you,” Caleb says. “Why are you so jumpy?”