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  “I know you don’t, but like it or not, Emmy put you in the spotlight and made you more popular than you already were. Her campaign for you two to star in this movie has worked.” He sat back against the leather. “But I understand if this isn’t what you want. I’m not here to tell you which direction to take. I’m here to make whichever direction you choose happen. And rest assured I will make it happen. Just tell me which path you want.”

  I considered his stance. It wasn’t like anything I had heard before. Daniel was always trying to convince me to take the next role, make the next photo shoot, commit to the next charity event. For once, there was someone telling me he would support my retirement.

  “I need to think about it some more.”

  “Which part?” Ryan looked nervous for the first time since he had sat down.

  “Love & Bondage or retirement.” I smiled. “You, you’re hired.” I reached across the coffee table and shook his hand.

  “Wow. Thanks. Thank you. I can start immediately.”

  “Good.” I stood and walked back to the desk. “And you’re certain Love & Bondage would be the best option if I decide to do another film? Have you even read the book?”

  Ryan joined me over the stacks of papers. Any hint of nervousness he had shown during the interview vanished. I could tell he was already in agent mode. “I read most of it. You have to admit, most guys would kill to be in that movie with Emmy Harper.”

  I shook my head. “Yeah, the problem is I already lived all that with Emmy.” I ran my hand along my jaw, remembering our nights together. “Any chance it will be a different actress? Could I request someone else if I agreed to do it?”

  “They want her. She has the perfect innocent vixen look going for her and kicking her off will only make things worse. The last thing you want is bad press.”

  “But if I do this, we’re going to be back in the headlines together. I’ll be working with her every day.” I grimaced, barely able to stomach the idea.

  “Look at it this way.” Ryan paused. “Let the press think Emmy is your personal life. Feed them what they want to see. Then, back here, you can have whatever life you want. I could think of worse cover stories.”

  I smiled. Now that was an idea. Maybe there was a way to keep the press brigade away from Avery after all.

  I slapped Ryan on the back. “All right. Give me tonight to think about it. I have someone I need to talk to first. I’ll call you in the morning and let you know which direction I want that horse pointed.”

  “Call me tonight if you need to. Call me anytime. I’m here for you—” He hesitated.

  “Ryan you can call me Ryan.”

  “Talk to you later, Ryan.” He smiled and walked out of the office.

  I collapsed into my desk chair. Half of my problem had been solved, but there was a much bigger one on my plate. I pulled out my phone and dialed a number I had hoped to never use again.

  “Scott, oh my God. I can’t believe it’s you. How are you?” Emmy’s sweet voice chimed with happiness.

  “Hey, Em. Do you have a second?”

  “Of course, of course. Hold on. Let me step out of this meeting.”

  “Why don’t you call me back later?” I realized there was no way to tell who she was with and whether she could be discreet about anything we discussed.

  “No, I wouldn’t think of it. Ok. I can talk. I was meeting with my stylist, but she can wait. What’s going on?”

  “I wanted to talk to you about Love & Bondage.”

  “Oh my God, does this mean you’re doing it?”

  “No, no. Just calm down a second. I wanted to talk to you about it. That’s all. Nothing more than that.”

  “Ok, I get it. What did you want to talk about?” She had reined in her excitement surprisingly quickly.

  “I wanted to talk about us.”

  “Us? But I thought you told me last week you were seeing someone. Change your mind?” Her voice was playful.

  “I am seeing someone. I didn’t mean it like that. I’m still with Avery. That hasn’t changed and it’s not going to change. But, I need to know from you if that’s a problem if we were to work together. Because if it is, I get it. I just need to know, Emmy.”

  “Why w-w-would it be a problem? I’m a professional. You think I’m over here pining away for you? You should see my stalker scrapbook and the posters of you on my bedroom wall.” She giggled.

  “I didn’t say that.” I shook my head. She wasn’t making this easy.

  “Isn’t that what you’re insinuating? I can’t handle being around the sexy, hot Scott Sullivan if I’m still carrying a torch for him?”

  “Em, come on. I didn’t say any of those things. I’m trying to see where you stand on us working together again since we broke up. It’s not a normal situation. I don’t want to make things difficult for you or me.” I was starting to regret the call. Emmy was more playful than usual.

  “Scott, if you will sign on to do this movie, I can handle it.”

  “You sure?”

  “Positive. Besides, I think it would be fun to work together again. Like old times.”

  That’s exactly what I was afraid of. Em and her flirtatious, seductive moves. Not to mention that half of our scenes would be in bed. I tried not to think about that part.

  “All right, thanks. That’s all I needed to hear.”

  “Does this mean you’ll do it?”

  “I don’t know. Thinking about it. But I swear if you leak a single word of this conversation—”

  “Hey, I wouldn’t do that. Oh, gotta go, babe. I have another fitting. Bye.”

  I looked at the dark phone. I had to hope and pray that I hadn’t just made the biggest mistake of my life. Avery should be home from her meeting with Dalton any minute. Once we talked about it, I would know what to do.

  Six

  Avery

  I thanked Bud for the ride to town and walked into the kitchen. Lenny was humming over the stove. I tried to pick up the tune before interrupting his routine.

  “That smells amazing. What are you cooking?”

  “Just a little white sauce for the pasta tonight.” He smiled but didn’t pause from his work.

  “I can’t wait to try it.”

  He held a spoonful in front of me. “Go on, try it now. It’s one of Mr. Sullivan’s favorites.”

  “Mmm. That’s delicious.” It was savory and sweet.

  “Thank you. I have a few more steps, but I think it’s coming along nicely.”

  I wondered if Lenny cooked the same way I wrote songs—layering the right words or ingredients at all the right times.

  “See you at dinner.” I walked past him through the great room, and down the hall to find Scott. My steps felt light and airy compared to the morning’s pre-meeting dread.

  My head was still swimming from my conversation with Dalton and Reagan. My father had been advising me about the contracts and business decisions, but the only person I wanted to talk to now was Scott.

  It sounded like he was wrapping up a phone call. I waited outside of his office before peeking around the corner. “You busy?”

  “Hey, darlin’. How’d it go?”

  “Good. Better than good.” I couldn’t stand to be on the other side of the room from him. Just seeing him made my heart race. I made my way to where he was sitting.

  “And Reagan? You two get along?”

  “Oh, definitely. I think we’ll work well together.” Once I had gotten over the initial jitters, I realized Reagan and I weren’t that different. Well, other than the fact that Reagan had been in the business and made a name for herself. I smiled.

  “You look happy.”

  “I am. It was a good meeting, but I was hoping you could help me with a few things.” I sat on his lap, pushing the files out of his hands. I wanted all of his attention.

  “If it has anything to do with you, me, and this desk—I’m in.”

  My cheeks flushed. That wasn’t the plan, but now it was hard to thin
k about anything else. I wondered if he had a remote control lock for the office door.

  I adjusted so that my knees were on either side of his hips, sliding my skirt to the tops of my thighs. “Actually, I was hoping for business advice.” I tilted my head to the side, letting my hair fall over my shoulders.

  If anyone knew about being a part of a brand, it was Scott. He also knew my songs and whether I could pull off building a genre that Blue Steel wanted to promote.

  “I might be talked into that.”

  “Might?”

  “Yeah.” He ran his fingertips along my neck, lingering over my breasts. “Are you willing to negotiate?”

  “But you don’t even know what my question is.”

  “Oh, I’m not talking about your question. What are you willing to trade for my sage business wisdom?”

  I laughed. “So I have to pay you now to get advice?”

  He shrugged his shoulders. “Call it what you want. What are you bringing to the table? Or should I say desk?” His eyes trailed the space behind me.

  Suddenly, my pulse was racing, throbbing in my veins as I thought about Scott lifting me onto the desk and taking my body under his. My breath quickened. Blue Steel and girl power music could wait.

  “What kind of payment are you willing to accept?” I toyed with the buttons on the front of his shirt.

  His hands pushed the sides of my skirt higher until my legs were completely bare. I caught his hungry stare as he brought my mouth toward his. His tongue twisted against mine. I gripped the back of his neck, pulling him deeper into the kiss. I groaned when I felt his hand slide between my legs. First one finger, then another dipped inside me. The motion sent electricity through my core.

  I moaned against his ear when I heard the zipper on his jeans move. “The door. The door’s open,” I whispered. If Nan or Lenny walked in, I would be mortified.

  “Damn it.” He maneuvered to the side and sat me on the desk. He jogged across the room to close the door and turn the lock. “Better?”

  I nodded as he approached, taking in his broad shoulders and the hungry expression on his face. This wouldn’t be the first time he had thrown my plans aside.

  “You haven’t told me what you’re willing to give me for my expert business opinion.” He growled against my neck before shoving the files off the desk. I heard the pages scatter on the hardwoods. His pants dropped to the floor as he hiked my leg around his waist.

  “You don’t know?” I ran a hand along his chest, anxious to feel him pressed against me. This game had become torturously fun.

  Scott seemed to forget the banter and the negotiations. He pulled me close to him as his mouth devoured mine. We were supposed to be talking about my business meeting, his agent interview. Instead here we were tangling limbs, breathless to taste each other, desperate to forget everything but how we felt together.

  I wasn’t about to stop him again to go for a condom. I wanted him to take me on this desk right now. I skimmed through the past week quickly in my mind. Nope, hadn’t missed a pill.

  “I can’t get enough of this. I can’t ever get enough of you,” he groaned.

  His kisses turned rougher. He broke away and stooped to the floor, taking my lace panties with him. His lips grazed over my calf, my knee, and the softness of my inner thigh. He gripped my bottom and rocked me forward.

  I was dripping wet—so turned on for him. He nudged his cock to my swollen entrance.

  He thrust inside me and I exhaled, feeling the heat as the friction grew.

  I wrapped my arms around his neck and spread my legs, allowing him to move deeper.

  “Yeah.” He grinned. “Wider, baby.”

  I did as he told me, letting my knees fall so his cock could drive deeper.

  The intensity fell on us like a blanket. He reached behind his neck and unlocked my hands from him. I stilled, watching his eyes for answers, but he kept moving as he laid me on the desk until my back was against the mahogany. I couldn’t keep my eyes off him. His hands roamed over my breasts, pulling and tugging at me through the fabric of my shirt.

  One thrust followed another until I was vibrating and rolling from side to side. I was quivering between my limbs, slowly spreading throughout my body. I gripped the edges of the desk with all my strength. Scott’s hands steadied my hips as he moved faster. He gripped my ass, dragging me to the edge of the desk. Finally, the tenseness consumed me. I whimpered as I felt the last threads of tightness snap and fade away. I came hard, panting and grasping for gravity.

  “Fuck, you’re gorgeous.”

  He pumped harder, throwing my legs to his shoulders so his angle changed. Sweat dripped from his temples. He looked like a sex god and I was reeling in another orgasm as he drove deep in my pussy, grunting and groaning with satisfaction.

  Scott smiled and laid his head on my chest. “Sorry if I surprised you.”

  I shook my head as I ran my fingers through his hair. “Don’t say that. Middle of the afternoon office sex should be an everyday thing. I like this kind of negotiation.”

  “Is that your offer?”

  “Yes.” I giggled. “Every day in exchange for that sage business wisdom, as you call it.”

  He stood to retrieve his pants and handed me my lacy black underwear. “Girl, you really are going to kill me.” He flashed one of his killer grins while shoving his belt back through the loops.

  “Did you get that idea from Love & Bondage?” I teased. I remembered something about an office scene, but I was pretty sure it also involved a tie, a pair of high heels, and the guy was the one on his back.

  “What? That? No, I wanted you. I have my own inspiration.” He poured two drinks from a decanter near the couch. “Why? Did you like the kind of stuff they did in the book?”

  I hopped off the end of the desk, my underwear in hand. I blushed. I had only talked about those scenes with my girlfriends. Discussing the details with Scott was a little intimidating. “Some of it.” I chewed on my bottom lip.

  “Like what? Tell me.” He handed me a brown liquid. It smelled like bourbon.

  “I can’t tell you that.”

  “Why not? Haven’t we been sleeping together all summer?”

  “Because it’s-it’s—” I didn’t have a particularly good answer. I knew there was no one who knew my body like Scott did, and I had done things with him that I had never experienced before. But talking about sex specifics felt embarrassing. I didn’t know if I could open up to him like that.

  “Come on. I sleep with you naked. You can tell me. What if there’s something you really want and I don’t know it.” He smiled, as if he knew that wasn’t possible.

  “You know that’s not it.”

  “How about this?” He paused, and pulled the underwear from my hand, stuffing it in his pocket. “Every once in a while I’ll try something from the book. Like this.” He patted the pocket. “But you have to tell me right then and there if you want me to do it. None of this quiet, keep-your-opinions-to-yourself thing. What do you think?”

  “You want to try the scenes from the book?”

  “Only if you do.”

  I nodded. “Yeah, let’s try it.” My body was still flushed from desk sex, but I felt a new heat emerge under my skin.

  He kissed me on the cheek. “So, speaking of Love & Bondage, how would you feel if I took the role?”

  “As in, you want to be the next Jared Love?” Sure, we had talked about it in passing, but Scott didn’t seem interested. I was still surprised he read the book on the flight to Texas.

  “I don’t know. I met with the new agent today—great guy, by the way. He says I’m at an all-or-nothing crossroads. I either need to retire or do this movie. There’s no gray area. I’m thinking about doing the movie. I can’t say I’m ready to completely give up acting.”

  “I can’t imagine you retiring right now. That seems extreme. You’re only twenty-eight. Do people your age retire?”

  “I don’t know of anyone. But the movie? How would
you feel about me being in the movie?” He asked it quietly, and I knew he was worried.

  I sat on the couch. “If you want to do it, I don’t see how it has much to do with me.”

  “Darlin’, it has everything to do with you.” He paused. “Emmy’s signed up to play Evangeline. I’d be in it with her, so I can understand if that would make you uncomfortable. I talked to her today, though, and she’s completely onboard. She knows about you. She knows this would be all business. I made that completely clear.”

  It was hard to focus. Scott had just asked me to play Love & Bondage sex games. Now he was asking my permission to star in the hottest movie to ever hit the big screen—with his ex. What in the hell was I supposed to say? This was coming at me from two completely different angles.

  “I trust you, Scott. And I know it’s a movie. It’s not like you’re actually sleeping with her.” The last part came out more like a whisper. I realized I knew nothing about moviemaking.

  “Definitely not.” He wrapped an arm around me. “But, just say the word and I won’t do it. It has to work for both of us.”

  My lips were still swollen from his kisses, and I could smell his soapy-scented cologne on my shoulder. He was all around me, part of me, in my head, my heart, my body. If this was what he wanted, I wasn’t going to stand in his way.

  “Do it. I think you should do it.”

  “Really? You sure?”

  “Yes. Absolutely sure. You’ll be an amazing Jared Love.”

  “And you’re up for helping me prepare for the role?” He took our drink glasses and placed them on the table. “Because I was wondering if we could start rehearsals right now.”

  He ran the palms of his hands along my thighs until he had wriggled my skirt up to my hips again.

  I smiled. “Yes, we can start right now.”

  “Wait.” He paused. “You wanted to ask me about something from your meeting?” He crawled forward.

  “Rehearsals,” I whispered. “Let’s start with rehearsals.”

  I leaned against the arm of the couch as Scott’s hand slid between my thighs. If I had to play this part to help him prepare for the biggest role of his life, I wasn’t going to say no.