Forever in Hollywood Read online

  Chapter Eleven

  Outside, he turned abruptly to face me. His movement was staggered and it wasn’t until that moment I realized how inebriated he was. “What is it? Why did you push me away?” he stammered.

  “Andrew, we’re both drunk! We cannot possibly be thinking clearly. This can’t happen.”

  “But I want it to, I want you.” He reached for me, grabbed my hand, and placed it on his chest.

  I was trying to keep a safe distance from him. Fidgeting and looking around, I shifted my weight from one foot to the other and pulled my hand out of his grasp. “I’m still married,” I whispered.

  “We both know that’s over, you’ve already signed the papers. He’s an asshole who only makes you cry. This is just beginning.” He caught my hand and pulled me back to him, effectively closing the space between us. The heat from our bodies warmed me to the core, but chills ran down my back with every touch.

  He took the momentary silence as an invitation and pressed his lips to my forehead. Then he kissed the tip of my nose, and moved to the corner of my mouth before finally resting on my lips. I sighed, letting him linger there, feeling the warmth and tasting the beer on his breath.

  A little voice inside my head told me to move my lips, to engage in kissing him back. Just grip on to him and press your body against him, it will excite him and make this even more fun. Ack! What was I contemplating?

  “Stop. Stop. I. Am. Serious. Andrew. We are not going to that place. I refuse to ruin my future career, not to mention my dignity for a one-night stand so I can get my ass smacked tomorrow morning.”

  He took my face roughly between his hands and gazed fiercely into my eyes. His eyes were wide but the corners creased. “I have never pursued, nor will I ever pursue, a woman for a one-night stand. They initiate. I thought you knew me better than that!”

  My head shook in his hands from the fierce tone. “Maybe I’d better go home.” I was beyond confused already, now he was making no sense. The man had slept with so many women, I was sure his conquests exceeded the number of pages in our script. He was a notorious womanizer, someone who only pursued women for one-night stands.

  “Fine, I’ll get the car.” He dropped his hands and started to turn, but I shook my head.

  “No, I’ll take a cab.” Once the words left my mouth I could tell they’d hurt him. His shoulders sagged and he looked down and swallowed hard.

  “I’d rather you not take a cab. I promise I’ll behave if you will let me take you back.”

  I looked away; I didn’t want to admit staying close to him was exactly where I wanted to be. Andrew took my hand and led me through the crowded bar to his friends. I stumbled my way around to keep up with his fast pace.

  He addressed his friends, “I’m going to take Marissa to her place. The girl has had too much.” He tipped his hand to his face miming a chugging motion. They laughed and I heard someone tell Andrew he better not be driving. He mumbled something under his breath and placed his keys in his manager’s outstretched hand.

  I followed Andrew outside where he hailed a cab, and we were driven the distance back to my hotel in silence. Both of us sat as far away from each other as possible, I clung to the door.

  Andrew walked me to my room in silence. His face was set in concentration. I stood at the doorway and hesitated, my head still spinning. We needed to talk through what happened. I didn’t want things to be awkward on set between us.

  “Andrew…what just happened?”

  “Something I have wanted since the first day I saw you.” He breathed and moved his body close to mine. Pressing one hand on the door behind me, he leaned in trapping me with his body.

  “Our friendship?” I looked away from his penetrating gaze and bit my bottom lip. “I… It…feels…” I looked back into his eyes and found him staring deep into mine, searching frantically. My breath caught as I saw inside his deep sea of green, and once again, he took advantage of my indecision. Leaning in, his smooth full lips found mine. His stubble rasped against my skin and a soft moan escaped my lips.

  Desire took over my carefully cultivated façade. I pushed away from the door I was pinned against and curved myself to Andrew’s frame. He pushed me back into the door and combed his hands over my head knotting his hand in the hair at the nape of my neck. His fingers entwined into the locks, and he yanked my head backward, exposing my neck. His lips moved over my jawline before he laid kisses down my neck.

  What was I doing? Why was I not stopping this? If I let this continue I’d regret it.

  Another voice inside my head whispered its own sentiments. It would be criminal to ignore how I felt about Andrew. He was so warm, so gorgeous and strong. The slightest touch from him made my body sing.

  “You smell so good,” he murmured into my shoulder. His other hand left the small of my back and ascended from my waist over my rib cage ever so slowly. It was as if he were memorizing the curves of my body with his hands.

  The echoing sound of footsteps coming up to the second floor pulled us both out of our embrace.

  “Inside…hurry, Marissa!” Andrew’s voice, although urgent, was no more than a whisper. He let go of me; my skin was left feeling vacant and cold.

  As quickly as humanly possible, I turned to unlock the door, fumbling in my purse to find my key card. It felt like we were in a James Bond movie the bad guy was about to round the corner with his weapon drawn. I had to swipe the key card so we’d escape our eminent demise. Andrew didn’t make the task any easier. I could feel his breath on my neck as his fingers walked over my hip.

  Carefree laughter bounced around the room from both of us as we slammed the door shut, breathing hard. We were alone in my hotel room. For the first time, it meant everything.

  The laughter abruptly cut off when his lips found my neck again. I pulled myself back into him and ran my fingers through his hair. He skillfully found his way under my shirt. My breathing kicked up again, I could not suck in enough oxygen to keep from being lightheaded. Or was that the alcohol still? I didn’t think so.

  I traced the muscles of his back with the lightest touch. It felt like an electric current coursed through our hands—if we used more than fingertips the shock could be too much to handle.

  Dashing though he was in his blue shirt, the moment he shrugged his shoulders letting it fall to the floor he became downright salacious. His fingers made contact with my bra. As swift as the snap of his fingers and the hooks were unfastened. Next thing I knew he was guiding me from the door. I was being eased backward toward the bed.

  The back of my knees touched the edge of the mattress, and he pressed me against the bed. At the same instant his hands slipped my blouse over my head.

  His gaze traveled the length of my torso, starting at my hips. When our eyes met, he let out a low moan. I sat up and pushed my hands under the waistband of his pants. With a gentle yank I pulled him to the bed, I wanted the full weight of him on me. His lips urgently found their way back to mine, then wandered over my jaw, down my collarbone. Further still he explored my chest, his lips traced the contours of my breasts and stomach. Before moving back up my body, his lips paused at my navel. I felt something warm and wet trail up the center of my stomach. His tongue? Then my body went cold, he exhaled an apathetic breath across the path of his tongue. Chills ran the length of my spine, and goose bumps rose on my arms.

  He pulled himself back up on top of me and gazed into my eyes while his breathing steadied. I seized the moment to plant kisses on his neck and explore his strong bare chest with my hands. I gently sucked on the lobe of his ear.

  He let out a low groan and pressed more of his weight on top of me. The feel of his erection against my body made my blood heat, and I arched up against him.

  Before I knew what was happening and without instruction from my brain, my hand ran through the small trail of hair on his stomach to fumble with the button of his pants.

  His eyes flashed from my hand to my face, wide with curiosity. A little “o” f
ormed on his lips as he watched me push the button on his pants through the buttonhole. His eyebrow rose over his forehead as I proceeded to unzip his jeans. His head cocked to the side still intently scrutinizing me.

  I kicked my leg over Andrew’s hip and slid on top of him. When I did this, he caught my face in between his hands

  “Marissa, are you sure about this?”

  I didn’t care if I was sure or not. My hormones were raging; I hadn’t been with a man in over four months. The world could have come to an end at this moment, and I would still want one thing, to feel him inside me. I nodded, not wanting to speak.

  “What changed from the bar to now?” His eyes bore into me, searching, questioning. Was it really him now holding back?

  “Does it matter?”

  “I just don’t want to be a regret. Are you sober enough to make a rational decision?” He seemed genuinely concerned but made no attempt to stop me.

  “I don’t regret anything I do. And, I’m not too drunk to know I want you right now.” A rational mind might say this was a bad idea. I didn’t want to listen to that voice.

  He studied my expression, never letting go of my face with his firm hands. Then he smiled. It was not the crooked wide grin I was used to, it spread across his face slow and made his eyes smolder. His bottom lip quivered, tempting me in. Lust surged through me. I sucked in a deep breath to repress the urge to rip his pants off that moment. As if I weren’t already turned on enough, he unleashed a God damn unbearable sexy look on me.

  I removed his hands from my face and pinned them far behind his head, allowing my breasts to skim his face. By the look on his face, he relished that move a great deal.

  The moment our lips joined again the kiss deepened. Distracted by his delicious skilled mouth, I released my grasp. He maneuvered my bra from between us. I heard it thud against the wall.

  We were now both laying completely exposed from the waist up on top of each other. The warmth from his chest radiated off of him and engulfed me. I struggled to slide his pants down his legs; every kiss he laid on me was a distraction. He, on the other hand, effortlessly unbuttoned and swept me out of mine. In the same motion, he also removed my lacy panties. It was too late to regret not wearing the matching bra and panty set. I don’t think he noticed them anyway.

  With a tiny exhale, he rolled me over and positioned himself on top of me. His smile was exuberant, he seemed to find it comical that every time he touched me my hands would stutter and fumble around making it almost impossible to relieve him of his pants so he helped me with the task. When his pants finally came off; his lips never leaving my skin, he trailed his fingers up my calf, over my thigh. He lifted my leg in the air caressing my thigh.

  The air was stifling. I panted unabashed as he placed a single moist kiss on the inside of my thigh. He inhaled as he skimmed his nose up my thigh and hip leaving a trail of goose flesh behind. His lips came to rest at the smooth skin below my navel. He looked up at me then, obviously pleased with my reaction. One of his fingers pressed to his lips, and he shushed me to calm my breathing. At the same time fingers trailed further up my thigh. They were so close now, teasing me stroking my hip and thigh.

  I couldn’t stay quiet, my desire for him engulfed me. A small moan passed through my lips. “I want it now.”

  After suppressing my desires for him for weeks, we were really going to do this. I was naked in bed with one of the most desirable men in Hollywood. I didn’t feel nervous or self-conscious at all. In fact, I felt like the one on the most desirable Hollywood list, the feeling empowered me.

  “Shh, if you want it, you must stay quiet,” he teased, biting his luscious lower lip. With a glorious smirk his fingers dabbled my skin, moving toward my clitoris. I worked hard to control my breathing. I threw my hands across my face and tried silently saying the alphabet backward in an attempt to concentrate on something other than Andrew and where his hand was.

  “Please Andrew, I need it now,”

  When he decided I was calm enough, his fingers found purchase. One first, and then a second slid inside me, while his thumb traced circles around my clit. He laid more gentle kisses over my chest and stomach. My breathing grew louder, and my back arched. This simple touch would have been enough for me if that was all I was allowed. If he was this good at touching me, I could not fathom how good the sex could be. I’d had enough of the teasing; my patience was growing thin. I wanted him now.

  Taking charge, I pushed with my hands on his chest until we were both in a seated position. His fingers clung to me. I ran my hands the length of his chest and muscular abdomen, enjoying the feel of my nails running through the light dusting of hairs below his navel, but my movement was halted by fabric. His boxer briefs were still around his waist.

  “You’re still wearing underwear?” I gasped and he responded with a devilish sexy grin that I’d never seen before. “Off!”

  Andrew moved so I could pull them off without difficulty. I lowered my head and licked from balls to tip before taking him fully in my mouth.

  “Oh shit.” He grasped a fistful of my hair.

  We explored each other’s naked bodies with our hands and mouths. A slight sheen of sweat formed on my chest and his temples before he had enough teasing. He took hold himself in one hand as the other grabbed onto my behind tight enough that I was sure I’d have a bruise the next day.

  “Wait. Condom?” I panted and strained my thighs to stop his advance.

  “Right… bloody hell.” He bent to pick up his pants. After fumbling around inside them for what seemed like eternity, he retrieved the small foil square from his front pocket and slipped it on.

  With a growl, he gripped me by the hips and guided himself inside. A moan escaped my lips as he filled me. The sensation was amazing. His body was strong and warm against mine. He moved in me and with me as I lost myself in the throes of passion.

  “Possess me,” it demanded, and Andrew responded by grabbing me, holding me tighter against him, closer and deeper than ever before flipping me onto my back, never breaking our connection.

  Sometime before dawn, I fell asleep on top of Andrew—our legs still entangled. Exhausted and elated his fingers ran through my hair in a hypnotic manner. I slipped into a peaceful rest.

  I woke sometime around dawn with his forehead pressed against mine, sweating. I attempted to roll away to give him a little air so he could sleep more comfortable, but this action was met with a growl of disapproval His hand yanked me back into him. Eyes still closed, the corner of his mouth twitched up as he moved his hand from my shoulder to my buttocks, lightly caressing my skin. The movement gradually slowed and eventually stopped; it was replaced with a soft rhythmic snoring.

  When I stirred later, he woke with a jolt. I bit my lip wondering what the day would bring. Was everything he said last night a lie to get me to sleep with him? My mind raced at the thought. What did I want out of this anyway? Well, I got what I wanted the night before, and it was better than I dreamed. Far from being a selfish lover, he’d been attentive and tender. Considering his history with women, it was almost embarrassing that it had been the best night of my life.

  I peeked through my eyelashes to see what the day would bring. Our eyes met, and his lips parted in a smile. It was like the smile was permanently painted on when he was around me now and I loved it. He was radiant with his hair a wavy unkempt mess and his face still flushed.

  “Good morning?”

  I wondered why the greeting sounded like a question. I stretched, feeling relaxed and tired at the same time. It was like I had done a grueling workout the day before and my muscles were protesting against the effort.

  “Good morning.” I wanted to reach up and give him a kiss, but I resisted the urge. I was still unsure of what would happen with us now.

  My mind went into overdrive reviewing the possible scenarios. Would I be the new gossip? If I rose to kiss him, would he kiss me back or turn away disgusted? Would he have more important things to do now that he h
ad gotten me out of his system? I bowed my head letting my hair fall to hide my embarrassment. If only I’d rebuffed him at the bar, we could have avoided this unneeded stress. First Dan, now Andrew? Gah, why was I thinking about Dan right now? He was probably screwing his ex-partner and certainly not thinking about me while doing it.

  Andrew stroked a few loose strands of my hair and tucked them behind my ear with a hesitant hand. I glanced over at the alarm clock to see we only had another forty-five minutes before we were expected to be on-set.

  “Oh no, look at the time.”

  He glanced at the clock. A smile lit up his face. “We seem to like making ourselves late, don’t we? I better get back to my home before anyone catches us together.” He sighed. “I don’t want to leave though.”

  “I don’t want you to leave either.” I shouldn’t have said that. I bit my lip and looked away. Wait, did he say he didn’t want to leave? Did he say this to everyone?

  God, what have I done?

  “At least I know I’ll see you on set in a few hours.” Never taking his eyes off me, he got out of bed, pulled on his dark blue jeans, and grabbed his shirt. He placed a long passionate kiss on my lips before slipping out of the room.

  Chapter Twelve

  By the time I got to the set, Andrew was already there. He was speaking to John. When he saw me, he sauntered over. He motioned for his friend to stay where he was, but it was obvious John hadn’t seen his subtle gesture.

  “How are you feeling after last night?” John asked. His accent made the H silent.

  Images of last night flooded my memory. I could still hear the soft noises he made against my neck. I could feel his large hands digging into my back, urging my body to move with his.

  I could almost feel the color drain from my face. How could Andrew do this to me? Why did he have to tell his friend about us already? Heat and embarrassment mingled with anger flooded my cheeks. He opened his mouth to speak again and I felt an overwhelming urge to slap him.

  “Are you hung over? You were pretty drunk last night.” John winked to cover his previous comment. Oh my God, did he say that to give me a heart attack? His teasing clearly had no limits. Andrew was having fun at my expense now. “Drink some orange juice, it will help.” He handed me a small carton from the breakfast bar. I was somewhat dehydrated so I took the juice. “By the way, you got vomit on my shoe. You owe me a new pair.”