I nod, but neither of us moves. We just lay here, breathing heavily and staring into each other's eyes. He lowers his head,and I think he’s going to kiss me.God, I want him to.I may be an idiot, but right now all I want is for him to show me some of the things he warned me about. My core practically pulses with need, and if he changed his position at all, he would no doubt feel how wet I am. I part my lips slightly, waiting for him as he closes the gap between us. He’s so close I can almost taste him when, just at the last minute, he swerves his head, burying his face in my neck instead.
“Fuck!” he yells, rolling so he’s lying on his back beside me. He places an arm over his face, his breathing even more labored than before. Having regained his composure, he calmly whispers, “Go to bed, Lucy.”
Sitting up, I open my mouth to say something, anything. But he interrupts me before I can get to it. “Please, Sunshine, just…go.”
I do. Getting up from the floor, I scurry down the hall to my room and close the door. I’ve never been this horny in my life. Reaching in my bedside drawer, I pull out my vibe, and it doesn't take long before I find my release. The orgasm knocks off the edge, but it’s not what I want. Nowhere near it. What I want is the man I left in the living room. And I don’t know how I’m going to survive this job without having him.
Chapter nine
I’m running the same way I am every time I have this dream. I used to think that knowing it was just a dream would make it somehow less terrifying, but I still feel every bit of anxiety and adrenaline. I always run, and I never make it in time. It’s the same script—a rival family bypassing my security, or infiltrating my inner ranks, always able to get to my loved ones. It’s always Kat or Dad they’ve killed, and I run and run, but I’m always too late.
I race up the staircase of a house I don’t recognize, classically designed but with pops of color throughout and a bouquet of sunflowers on the entryway table. I expect to find a body just like usual, but instead, a man in a mask is holding someone hostage. I’d know the back of that head anywhere…Sunshine. Before I can even say anything or try to jerk myself awake, the intruder spins her around to face me.
I see the tears streaking down her face first, before realizing she’s holding something. A tiny bundle wrapped in a yellow blanket. I scrunch my eyes shut as I hear a wail, and a gunshotrings out just as a hand on my leg wrenches me back into reality…
“Sasha!”
I blink rapidly, seeing Sunshine’s concerned face. Her wrist is in my hand, and I loosen my grip as I become more aware of my surroundings. Finally, I let go and flop back down on the couch, breathing heavily.
Somehow, she senses that this isn’t the time to start blabbing and allows me to equilibrate before speaking softly.
“I was going to make you a cup of coffee, but the spaceship espresso machine you bought isn’t what I call intuitive.”
Right. Coffee. I take one more deep breath before standing, thankful that my nightmare has killed my normal morning erection and that I’m wearing boxers today. Making coffee is the perfect task to get my mind off the first truly awful dream I’ve had since leaving home.
I run my fingers through my hair on the way to the kitchen, determined to shake off the night. As I begin setting things up to make her a latte and me an espresso, I take the opportunity to drink her in.
She’s worried.Aboutme.And it’s fucking cute instead of annoying, for some goddamn reason. Whatisannoying, though, is the fact that she’s wearing a suspiciously oversized flannel and pajama pants. Not only is she too covered but I’m also considering demanding to know whose flannel it is. An ex? Acurrentboyfriend? Fuck, how have I gotten so comfortable living with this woman I know hardly anything about? Before steam can pour figuratively from my ears, I turn to finish off her latte with steamed milk and hand it to her. When she does a happy shimmy at her first taste, I can’t help myself.
“I thought we made good progress last night. Was I wrong?”
She gives me a questioning look, and I make a show of turning in toward her as I prep the machine for my drink, flexing my absmore than necessary and giving her a glimpse of my no-longer-completely-soft cock.
“I mean, I’m here, committed to ourwork assignment from our boss,showing you what I’m working with so we can avoid any awkwardness on set. And instead of having more time to familiarize myself with you this morning, you’ve covered yourself from head to toe. That hardly seems fair.”
I sip my drink as she blushes, and I’m frustrated again at the flannel. I want to follow that blush all the way down. Before she has time to respond, her phone rings, and she scurries off to answer it. I’m left with my drink and my confusion about my nightmare. I’ve never dreamed of a woman other than Kat, and certainly not one holding a baby. The implication is heady, even if the ending of the dream wasn’t a happy one.
Why on earth would my subconscious go there?
Trying to put the morning behind me, I stop to pick up the packet for today’s scene and freeze when I remember what we’re filming.
The wedding.
Even with the lap dance scene under our belts, filming Blanche and Henry Jr.’s wedding feels like the most intimate thing we’ve done.
The scene is just the two of us, and the set is not what I was expecting. As Blanche explained to me earlier, we’re to depict how shefeltduring the ceremony, not the actual location. Instead of the small church where she and Henry were wed, I’m standing in a cocoon of soft fabric draped from the ceiling.Flameless candles flicker at varying heights beyond the curtains, and soft spotlights will highlight our faces for the camera without overpowering the delicate ambience.
Music swells, and one side of the cocoon opens, revealing the long aisle lined with candles. I have to hold in a laugh as Lucy takes my breath away. Iknowshe has to be fighting for her life, and I barely hold myself together. The dress she’s in ishideous.I thought I had seen the poofiest wedding dress in existence at Kat’s first wedding, but this one takes the cake. I’m not sure how she’ll even fit in the cocoon with me, but that’s Blanche’s problem, not mine.
Tears come to my eyes as I bite my cheek to keep from laughing, and by the time she arrives at the altar, I’ve managed to pull myself together. Looking at her up close, I see that she’s wearing only light makeup and her hair falls in waves underneath her voluminous veil. Her eyes shine with emotion, and I wink at her to see if I can get her to laugh first.
“Cut!”
Blanche scurries over with the crew to reposition us under the lights and make sure there’s not a hair out of place before moving on to the next stage of the scene. I expected reciting the vows to be tedious, but luckily, Lucy is up first. She gives such a convincing performance that I’m able to ride her coattails and growl out Henry’s minimalistic vows without difficulty. Finally, it’s time for the kiss.
“It’s still early in the day, so no pressure, you two. We’ve got plenty of time to re-shoot this one, and there’s no need to worry about getting it perfect early on! I’m sure you’ll find your rhythm, and in the worst-case scenario, we’ll stop for lunch and then come back.”
Okay, good to know Blanche has faith in us.
