I shift, trying to ease the throbbing between my legs as his tongue comes out to lick his lips.
"No," I deny. "Okay, maybe."
He throws his head back and laughs. The heavy energy flooding the room just seconds before starts to dissipate some. I watch his throat work as his hilarity reverberates around us. God, he's beautiful.
"Oh," Kirby says, faltering as she walks into the room. Her eyes move from Kane's smiling face to my shocked one before she quickly recovers. "Mr. Masters, nice to see you again." She walks forward and reaches out to shake his hand, looking over at me with an expression that tells me she'll demand answers as soon as possible.
He ignores her hand and pulls her into a friendly hug. "Kirby, it's a pleasure. Thank you for getting here so quickly. I apologize for not coming in earlier. I had some things on set that needed my attention."
"Earlier?" she asks, knowing dang well what he's talking about.
"Yes, I should have had Willow pass on my regards, but we were busy," he pauses and looks over at me wickedly, "discussing other things."
"I'm sure you were, Mr. Masters." Her words say one thing, but what I hear is 'We'll be discussing this in more detail later, Willow.'
"Kane, Kirby. I've told you already, please call me Kane."
"Kane it is, then," she smirks. "Busy day exploding ovaries?"
I gasp at her audacity, which really shouldn't surprise me with Kirby, but Kane just laughs.
"I only care about one set of those, Kirby. Glad to see you haven't lost that sense of humor."
She smiles, and I look back and forth between the two of them, my brow crinkling in confusion. "You two are so strange."
They both look over with matching smiles, and I roll my eyes.
"I see you and Willow have made up for lost time?" she asks.
"Yes," he answers at the same time I snap out a no. His smile grows, and Kirby laughs.
"Right-o. Well, I'll leave you two while you're not making up for lost time. Alli smelled cookies, so I was on a mission. By the way, Willow?"
I meet her eyes. "Yeah?"
"Your lip gloss looks great on Kane."
My eyes shoot over to his lips--those full, delicious lips--and I feel my cheeks heat when I notice the glossy shine coating his. How did I miss that? Oh, that's right, you were too busy succumbing to his charm and falling into the desire that his touch ignites. How is it that he makes it so easy to forget any misgivings I could have about him ... or whatever this is between us?
He smiles but doesn't move to wipe his mouth, just dips his tongue out and--slowly--licks over the shiny coat. And God help me, I moan, not even the least bit ashamed he's brought that reaction out of me. What is this man doing to me? I've never reacted like this toward a man before, and Kane, a man I hardly know, knocks down all my insecurities in one fell swoop. Or better yet, a few kisses.
Kirby and Kane continue to talk about her schedule for tomorrow--going over the call sheet for the day and how early the leading actress needs to be ready for her first scene. I tune them out and move to clean up the mess I made during the last batch of cookies. Alli comes running in a few times, completely ignorant to the movie star before her, and scrambles off with as many cookies as her little hands can carry.
"Willow? Did you catch that?" Kirby questions, and I move my attention from the mixing bowl I had been scrubbing.
"Catch what?" I ask, rinsing my hands and turning off the tap.
"Kane said he needs you to help him with some things tomorrow. It will be a light day for me since only Alessandra and two other actresses are in my chair, and then I'm just sitting on the sidelines waiting for touch-ups, so it won't be a problem for me."
"Uh ... isn't the point of me being here to help you?"
Kirby looks at Kane, and they seem to communicate briefly without words before she looks back over and shrugs.
"It was the point, Willow, but I've decided things are going to be a little different now. We're at the tail end of production, so there aren't as many demands on Kirby's plate. And per her contract, she does have one other makeup artist at her disposal. Unfortunately for me, my PA, Sam, was called away for some business he needs to tend to back in LA, so I need a little help until he can return."
"Help?" I look back at Kirby for some direction, but she's avoiding my probing gaze. "What exactly do you mean by that? I'm sure I'm not qualified for anything you could need help with."
Kane chuckles. "You couldn't be further from the truth. I think you'll find you have all the qualifications I desire."
Kirby clears her throat, but I don't move my eyes from Kane. It's obvious he isn't talking about anything work related at this point.
"I'm sure your desires are not something I would be able to meet, Kane." Actually, I would love nothing more than to meet his desires, but just the thought of taking things further than the few kisses we've shared has me hitting panic level DEFCON 5.
"Yes, well ... that's the beauty of trying, Willow. You'll find I would never lead you down a path you couldn't handle while enjoying every second of it."
"You two ..." Kirby pauses and pulls at the collar of her tee shirt while fanning her face with her other hand. "You could light a fire with the amount of heat you two are sparking."
My eyes narrow when Kane winks at me.
"Take a chance," he tells me, his voice a low rumble for my ears only.
I study his eyes. Their blue depths pleading.
I nod, and his relief is evident when he lets out a deep exhale.
"If you'll excuse me," I tell them and walk around them both and through the house until I reach the bedroom I had claimed.
Yes ... if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go silently freak out where no one can see me.
I'M NOT SURE WHAT I expected when we pulled onto the set of Impenetrable, but what I got definitely wasn't it. Kane had literally taken over a good portion of one of the local high schools. Kirby explained on the way over that the school was on break for the next week, and they will be filming all of the scenes they need at this location in seven days. Seven days that she would be on set for almost eighteen hours, but because she wouldn't be needed during every second of those eighteen hours, she would be taking breaks to see Rob and Alli. They would be coming to visit her on the set as well.
"There's Kane," Kirby tells me, snapping me out of the shock over seeing my first movie set. "Watch your step," she adds, but naturally, I miss what step I should be watching because I still had my eyes glued to where she said Kane was.
"Crap!" I gasp when my foot hooks on a power cord that had bunched up despite the tape placed around it to keep it from ... well, tripping someone. I'm sure if someone had a slow-motion camera on me right now, this would be hilarious to replay. But true to my history of run-ins with Kane, it wouldn't make sense for me to just glide into the building without a mishap.
My hands hit the ground at the same time my knees painfully collide with the unforgiving flooring. Heat warms my face and my vision blurs with the tears that rush forth from the pain from my hands and knees.
"Shit, Will. Are you okay?"
I don't look up at Kirby. I just nod my head and pray that the earth swallows me up. Even with the hum of activity around us--the rush of the production team, camera crew, extras and all milling around--I know that my little spill didn't go unmissed.
I see Kirby drop her kit next to me then her rolling bag full of supplies next to it, and her face fills my vision. "Are you okay?" she asks again, this time low enough that I hope no one else hears her.
"Tell me he didn't see that?" Seriously, is there ever going to be a time when I'm not completely making a fool out of myself in front of this man?
"Yeah, I can't do that," she responds. "Come on. Let me help you up," she continues, and I shake her off.
"I've got it."
"Jesus, Willow, are you okay?" Kane rushes to my side, helping me the rest of the way off the floor. "Zander," he snaps at the young man standing off in the
shadows. "Get some electrical tape and make sure this shit is taken care of." He points down at the ripple that caused my spill before taking my hand.
"I'm okay," I tell him, but he only sharpens his gaze at Zander. "Seriously, Kane."
He finally looks away from Zander and focuses on me. "You hit the ground hard, Willow."
"Uh, yeah. I know, seeing as I was there. Nothing is damaged but a little bit of my pride."
"Smartass," he mumbles under his breath, shaking his head again. "You sure?"
"Positive."
"Right then." He holds my gaze a beat longer before turning to Kirby. "Good morning, Kirby. Follow me and I'll show you where your trailer is. I made sure that all your supplies were stocked, but if you need anything, just let me know."
"Don't you mean to let me know?" I ask remembering that I'm supposed to be helping him in his PA's absence.
He looks confused for a second before he seems to remember himself. "Right, let Willow know."
"I see you, Kane," I tell him, seeing this as some sort of ruse to keep me close while I try.
It came to me last night as I replayed every second of our talks from the day. He clearly capitalized on the situation he found me in and wasn't joking when he said he took matters into his own hands when he wanted something.
We walk into the makeup trailer, and I'm sure now that Kirby's job offer was one made in genuine need. This place is a mess of chaos and destruction.
"As you know, we had a quick departure of the old makeup lead. She, uh, didn't go quietly."
Kirby laughs and places her things next to the wall of brightly lit mirrors. "Yeah, well, I imagine when she threw herself at the boss, rejection wasn't something she had planned on."
Kane laughs. "You would be right."
"And the others?" she questions.
"Grant, your other artist, was grabbing breakfast from the catering trailer when I headed this way. I'm sure he'll be right over when he's done."
Ah. Yes. The helper not mentioned when Kirby said her job needed an assistant. Assistant, my butt.
"Grant?" I question with a raise in my brow at Kane.
He coughs and at least has the decency to look a little ashamed.
"Someone call?" I hear and look over at the open doorway where a thin man pushes through carrying two plates of food.
Kane looks at me and smiles slightly before introducing Grant to us. I ignore Kirby's chatter and continue to look at Kane. He shrugs one shoulder, and I give him a smile. I might not understand exactly what my place is here, but I'll figure it out. It took me all night, but I know without a shadow of doubt that if I ignore what's in front of me, then I would definitely be adding another regret to my growing pile.
Hello, adventure.
His motives might be a little foggy right now, but I meant it when I told him I would ride it out. Throw caution to the wind and get off the safe kiddie rides of life. If he doesn't need me here, then I go back to New York with fond memories of this little jaunt of exploration.
"Ready?" Kane asks and gestures to the door.
"Yeah, I think I am." I smile and turn to tell Kirby bye.
She walks over to me and gives me a hug, turning her head to whisper in my ear. "Don't be mad," she says.
I could laugh. But I don't. So I got played to get me here, so be it. I know Kirby, and she wouldn't have led me here if she wasn't sure it was worth it.
"I'm not, Kirb, but later, we're going to talk."
She releases me from her hold and gives me a nod followed by a wink. "I have a bottle of wine with our names on it."
"Make it two and we've got a date."
I turn to Kane, and clearly, he wants to say something, but he just holds his arm out and waits for me to exit before following.
He doesn't speak but settles his palm against the small of my back, leading me without words toward the madness set up around us. I watch people scurrying around with not a clue as to what they're doing, and we walk around them until we settle in behind where the crew is busy setting up what I can only assume is the set where today's shoot will be.
"Are you hungry?"
I sit when he points at one of the two chairs set up in front of a bank of monitors and settle in. "I'm okay."
He takes the seat next to me and doesn't question me further. A few people come up to question him about the lighting and whatnot, but I tune them out and watch the action around me. I'm clueless as to what each of these monitors mean, but given they each display a different angle of the classroom in front of us, it doesn't take much to figure things out. Kane continues to talk to a few people, directing them to change some of the angles.
"What do you need me to do?" I ask when the last person walks away.
"Have you heard about this movie?" he asks, not answering my question.
"Impenetrable. That's the title and about as much as I know."
He smiles, his dimple winking deeply in his cheek. "It's been my pet project for years. An idea I had a few years ago when the bullying stories seemed to be the highlight of every news channel. I wanted to paint light on it with a different take."
"Meaning?"
"It seemed to me everything we had heard about led us in one direction, which was obviously the negative. Nothing showed us what it was like for someone to go through such a terrible situation, and instead of drowning, they overcome and become someone better. They take the hate, the viciousness around them, and become, well ... impenetrable to the harm others wish to cause."
"So what you're saying is instead of the bullied being influenced by those doing the bullying, they are closed off from their influence?"
He studies me. "Yes and no."
"Well, that clears it up." I laugh.
"Yes, they are influenced by it, at first, but the point is to show the audience that instead of tainting their future negatively, they thrive and become a better person because of it. I want to give hope to those who need to know life isn't what others want for you, but what you want for yourself. Strength in the face of weakness."
I frown, dissecting his words. "I'm guessing by the location that we're dealing with high school age people here?"
"You would be right."
"And you think someone at that age, without a wealth of maturity on their side, is capable of seeing past the hate that such an influential time in their lives would cause them and be strong instead of crumble?"
"The point is to show that someone, regardless of their age, can make the decision for themselves and thrive instead of fail when faced with adversity."
"You're hoping to change the way society as a whole looks at the challenges they're faced in life?"
"Yeah. And give hope to those who need it."
"Hope is a fickle word, Kane."
"How so?"
I study him, thinking about the best way to explain something I know all too well about. "Hope isn't always something people can understand, regardless of the picture you paint. More often than not, the promise of something better is more terrifying than the horrible situations life can throw your way. Sometimes, they just aren't strong enough to believe in something so unpredictable. They aren't capable of being or becoming impenetrable against life."
He leans back in his chair and studies me in a way that makes me think he can see right through me. "You're right, Willow, but I believe that by showing the audience you can overcome something as huge as this, it would give someone struggling a little bit of that so-called fickle hope and plant a seed of doubt that can grow into the knowledge that their future is their own. The influence of others only holds as much power as you let it."
"That's easy for someone to say when they probably haven't had to struggle with a bully once in their lives," I return. "How will you show that the hope is worth taking a chance on? Make the audience believe in something that isn't always so easy to take a leap of faith on."
"What is the one thing someone at rock bottom needs, Willow?" he asks; the seriousness in his tone makes me w
onder if we're even talking about his movie anymore.
"That depends. If they want to change, they would need a reason to climb up and rise above. If they aren't at the point in their lives where they can see that a change is possible, well, then even the most impenetrable soul would be stomped further into the ground."
He nods. "And if the path to change is something that is forced on them?"
I ponder his question. "Well, then, I guess they wouldn't be past the influence of others, now would they?"
"Okay, that's true, but just because someone makes the choice to be stronger doesn't mean they have to do it alone, Willow. Our protagonist here is someone who has forever thought of herself as weak. The bullying did get to her, but the difference here, what makes her impenetrable to those trying to influence her future, is that she chose to take the hand reaching out to help her thrive. Using it as a shield, she made all their negativity into something that couldn't influence her further. It protected her and, in turn, showed her what it's like to live without fear and flourish instead of drown. In a way, I guess they are influenced by that hate, but instead of it turning into something that shapes their future in a negative light, they're able to use it as motivation to be stronger."
"Not everyone has that person, Kane. You know that, right? You're painting a picture that to some isn't always achievable."
God, if he only knew.
"And therein lies the beauty, Willow. Everyone has that person. And what Impenetrable will hopefully show is that person is most often themselves."
I lean back, not taking my eyes off his, and let his words sink in. He's right. I know he is. I've lived that life--where the bullies around you want nothing more than to watch you drown. It doesn't take a physical person to be your shield, but you turning into someone new. Being reborn in a sense as someone stronger. What did he say? Thriving in the face of the fall.
"In order for it to be believable, the protagonist has to want to be someone stronger, which in turn allows her not to be influenced when it comes to the distress in life and the doubt others wish to cause her. She has to be able to show others that the hope they need is within themselves and you are stronger than fear tries to trick your mind into believing."
He stops talking, and I look over, understanding what he's creating here and hoping that he's right; it does give others the hope I didn't have at that age. Hope to make the change.