But not the quiet. In the quiet, I had time to think about his lips on hers. Her hands running down his chest, clutching at his ass.
I’d dated actors before.
I understood the business.
Actors had romantic scenes with other actors. Most of the time, it meant nothing. Though it had meant something with Preston and his costar. However, I knew North would never do that to me. So my possessiveness shocked me. I didn’t know if it was a product of being cheated on or if it was just because it was North.
Since Barbara Benny’s attack, we’d grown closer. North’s palm needed stitches, but otherwise, he was good. Although I’d had to return to Ardnoch two days after it, we’d never been emotionally closer. Barbara was facing prison time. She’d admitted to attacking us with the Defender and to sending the threatening letters. Neither of us knew if she really thought she could kill North by coming to his hotel room. It was obvious, however, that he’d become her obsession and it probably always would have led to a rage-filled confrontation.
We’d decided to put it behind us. The threat that had hung over North was over, and I’d noted a difference in him. He admitted to me that seeing Barbara, remembering her culpability in what had shaped her son, had relieved him of a lot of guilt. And I could see that lightness in him.
We found a rhythm again, traversing the challenges of a long-distance relationship, and I think, doing it well.
Despite everything he’d had to deal with, and how busy he was, I never felt like I wasn’t a priority to North. His early-morning texts and late-night phone calls made me feel like I was the first and last thing he thought about. Every day.
My trust in him was growing.
So … why was I so freaking jealous of this stupid love scene? I couldn’t let him see it affected me because this was North’s job. His career meant so much to him, and I wouldn’t have my insecurities getting in his head while he was trying to do his job.
Mind made up, I left the cool interior of his trailer and made my way back to set because I didn’t want him finishing the scene to find me gone. Thankfully, I discovered my not being there wasn’t an issue because they’d closed the set for the scene where North and Eden’s characters made love. One of the camera crew informed me that only a small crew remained inside, along with an intimacy coordinator.
Still, I waited impatiently for the scene to be over. When the sound stage doors finally opened, I followed members of the crew back inside. I ignored the knot in my gut at the sight of Eden walking off set in a robe. North was in nothing but boxer briefs, shrugging into a pair of pants. His athletic build had filled out during the making of this film, his already broad shoulders now impressively exaggerated against his narrow waist. The muscles in his back rippled as he pulled on a shirt, and I decided not to focus on the fact that Eden Gabriel had most likely felt those muscles move beneath her hands during their scene. I really tried. But when I tried, I kept thinking about how physically perfect she was and how her belly probably didn’t jiggle when North moved over her.
I closed my eyes and looked at my feet as a wave of anxiety threatened to take hold.
Fuck.
I needed to get a grip.
What the hell?
Forcing myself to focus, I took a few calming breaths and looked up. North talked with Blake for a few seconds, nodding along with something he said.
Blake patted him on the arm and then called, “Break for lunch! Be back here in thirty!”
North scanned the crew until he found me and then strode in my direction. My eyebrows rose at his determined expression, and I let out a little gasp of surprise when he hauled me against him and hugged me like I might disappear.
At first, I welcomed the embrace, but worry seeped in the longer he held me. Pulling back, I searched North’s eyes, and saw fear and remorse in them. “What’s wrong?”
He cupped my nape in his hand and rested his forehead on mine. He whispered hoarsely, “I’m sorry.”
“North … you’re acting. I know that.”
He lifted his head to nod reluctantly but smirked sadly. “If it was you … kissing, touching another guy … I’d fucking hate it. I … don’t know if I could do it.”
The confession made me feel a million times better. I smiled, resting my hands on his chest. “Yeah, you could. Because you trust me. Like I trust you.”
“North!” Eden’s voice stopped whatever my boyfriend’s reply might have been, and we turned to find her approaching now dressed in jeans and a tee.
Anyone could see we were having a moment, but Eden Gabriel only had eyes for my guy. My fingers curled into his shirt, and I could tell by the soothing stroke of his hand down my arm that he felt my tension.
With slinky Gallic flirtatiousness, Eden sashayed up to North and ran the tip of her finger down his arm. “That went well, did it not?”
North sidled a little closer to me. “Aye.”
My lips pressed together at his blunt one-word response.
She seemed unfazed, cocking her head as she ran her gaze up and down his body. I had apparently ceased to exist.
