After I checked in our bags I jogged back to the seat where I left Nat, but she was missing.
“Nat?” I went around the corner, then went and knocked on the door to the restroom.
“Be right out!”
I shrugged and picked up a magazine.
Fantastic. A picture of me and my glorious black eye filled the page. “Lover’s spat?”
I groaned and threw the magazine down.
Nat emerged from the restroom looking a bit pale. “Babe, you alright?”
“I think I’m just excited.” She sat down with a huff. “Plus, I may have skipped breakfast.”
I growled low in my throat. “You know how much I hate it when you skip meals, Nat. You have to take care of yourself.” I pulled her into my lap and stroked her face. “Damn, you’re beautiful.”
She sighed. “Even when I’m pale and look like a ghost?”
“Even when you wake up in the morning and your hair is poking all over the place.” I tucked her hair behind her ear and kissed her nose. “Even when you scrunch up your face and scowl.”
She did exactly that and tried to pull away.
“I love you.” I kissed her softly on the mouth.
She pulled away. “I need food.”
“I need sex,” I muttered kissing her again.
“Um, I think public nudity is illegal.” She pushed against my chest and giggled as I kissed her neck.
“Not true. I’m famous. We can do whatever we want.”
“Wow, you really just sounded like Demetri.”
“And, no more sex talk…” I laughed against her lips. “Food wins. You win.”
“I always win.”
“That’s because you’re pretty.”
“Really? I thought it was because I was brilliant.”
I rolled my eyes and helped her to her feet. “You’re that too. Let’s grab some food and get on the plane.”
“Yeah, because it’s a really long trip to—”
“—Seattle.” I froze. “Damn it, Nat! You ruined the surprise.”
“You did just doubt my brilliance. Had to prove you wrong.”
She tried pulling away from me, but I jerked her against my body and then pressed her against the wall, luckily nobody else was in the suite. “I always knew you were brilliant and beautiful. It’s why I wanted you.”
“I thought it was because I was the shiny new toy and your brother wanted me first,” she joked.
But it left me feeling cold. I never wanted her to think that. It made me sick to my stomach that she would even joke about it. “Never.” My voice was hoarse. “Never say that again, Nat. I love you because you are you. I suck at romance, you know this, but these next two days I’m going to try really hard to make you remember why…”
She snaked her arm around my neck and pressed her lips to my cheek. “Why what?”
“Why you and me are forever.”
****
Nat and I boarded the plane and sat in first class, if one could call two rows with one curtain first class. At any rate, it gave us some privacy away from people.
I’d already had my fair share of fans, what with the two teenagers who literally tripped on their own bags, only to land in my lap and then ask if they could touch my bicep.
Sigh.
Nat thought it was hilarious. She leaned across the seat and began talking about my music and when the girls asked if I was a good kisser, she blushed. Yes, blushed and said. “What do you think?”
I wanted to crawl into a tiny hole. Granted, I’ve never been shy, but the fact that both girls were pushing fourteen and probably hadn’t even kissed a guy made me feel like some sort of predator as their eyes fell to my lips. Then in a fit of giggles they handed me a marker.
I smiled and gave them my autograph.
“They were cute.” Nat laughed and then her brow furrowed.
“What? What’s wrong?” I put my arm around her and pulled her close to my chest. I swore my heart was beating so fast.
She looked up at me with her big brown eyes and cupped my face with her hand. “It’s just that… the great Alec Daniels has never given me his autograph…”
“You’ve never asked!” I burst out laughing. “What the hell, Nat? How about I just tattoo my name on your ass?”
“Ha ha, very funny.” She punched my arm. “You remember?”
“How could I forget? Hot as hell local girl telling me she was going to tattoo my name on her person and then ignored me as if I was some sort of… pathetic loser. Talk about humbling.”
“Admit it.” Nat nudged me. “I’m good for your ego.”
She was more than that. “Nat, you’re just all around good. You know that?”
“I know.”
“No, I’m serious.” I turned so I could face her. “You don’t even understand how much I love you. I don’t deserve someone like you.”
“Say it louder,” she whispered as she kissed my mouth and nuzzled my neck. What did she say about public nudity? On planes? Would we get arrested? I braced her with my hands and pulled her onto my lap. Screw it. If someone wanted to take pictures of me mauling my girlfriend, to hell with them. I wanted to show her. I wanted to kiss her without ruining the moment by using her to erase that giant load of guilt I carried around with me.
“We’re going to get kicked off the plane.”
“No we won’t.” I sucked on her bottom lip.
She sighed into my mouth. “Alec?”
“Hmm?” My lips moved to her ear.
“Can I have your autograph?”
“Baby, you can have whatever you want as long as you don’t stop.” My hands dug into her hair, grabbing the silky tendrils and combing them through my fingers.
“Yeah, I’d rather you both stopped, considering there are small children on this flight,” a voice said to our right. I promptly stopped kissing Nat and pulled back.
The flight attendant was grinning from ear to ear. With a wink she pointed to Nat’s seat. Reluctantly I set her in it and saluted the flight attendant. She nodded once and kept walking down the aisle.
My body was still in overdrive, so it didn’t help when Nat reached across her armrest and proceeded to inch her hand up my leg. Her wicked fingers grazed my knee and then higher until I thought I was going to throw her against the floor. I gripped the armrest until my hands were white, and let out a low growl when her hand reached my upper thigh.
And then she pulled back and whipped out a magazine.
A magazine!
“Oh, hell no.” I smacked the magazine out of her hand.
“Oh, I’m sorry. Is something wrong?”
I glared. “You know damn well what’s wrong.”
“How long is this flight?” She tilted her head and twirled a piece of hair around her finger.
“Long enough to make me want to jump out of the plane,” I grumbled. “Long enough to tempt me to join the mile high club in the one and only bathroom they have on here.”
“You little exhibitionist.”
“Don’t say little.” I nudged her and grabbed her hand, placing it on my neck and leaning toward her. “Please?”
“You needy little slut…” Her fingers dug into my flesh as she massaged my neck. A long time ago I had accidently told her, in a moment of total weakness while she was touching me, that I like massages more than sex. I hate that sometimes it’s true. The way her hands graze my skin, push me into a fantasy world that sometimes feels more personal, more intimate. It may just be because I used to sleep around a lot, I have no idea. All I know is that it felt so damn good that I could almost forgive her for teasing me beyond the point of no return.
Damn tiny seats and tiny planes.
I adjusted myself as best I could and leaned closer to her.
“You smell like sunshine,” I mumbled. I was already in such a stupidly relaxed state that I started to say stupid stuff.
“Sunshine, huh?” Nat moved to my ears and down my neck with both hands. “What’s sun
shine smell like?”
I exhaled and leaned closer to her, smelling her hair, her skin. “Fresh, happy… constant. Your skin is so soft… it’s like…” My voice trailed off as I leaned up and met her lips with mine, slowly teasing her with my tongue, trailing it down her bottom lip and dipping into her mouth. “Honey.”
“This is your captain speaking… We’ve just received the go ahead for takeoff. Flight attendants take your seats.”
I pulled back from Nat and tucked her head on my shoulder. “I love you.”
“I love you too.” She yawned and wrapped her arm around my body as the plane took off.
Chapter Twenty
Demetri
“You think anyone would miss her if we drowned her?” I asked Jaymeson as we watched Angelica run into the ocean, both hands in the air. The production crew took after her as she splashed around and giggled for the cameras. Gag me.
“I know I wouldn’t,” Jaymeson grumbled. “I seriously should have said no when they asked me about this damn show.” He sighed. “The things I do for my friends.”
“Oh, come on.” I nudged him. “You were the one who was complaining about not finding any hot girls. Now you’re surrounded by them. Just take your pick.” I pointed to the part of the beach that was roped off so we could have our own private beach day. Girls were screaming and holding up signs.
Jaymeson shrugged. “Maybe I’m not into that anymore.”
“Women? Holy crap, you’re—”
“Stop being an ass.” He grabbed a beer and sat on the sand. “I mean, maybe I’m not into being known as a womanizer anymore.”
“Right.” I chuckled and took a sip of my bottled water. “And I’m a dinosaur.”
“Hilarious.” He set his beer down and cursed.
“Dude, what’s wrong?” I threw some sand at his feet. “You’re more depressed than Alec these days!”
Jaymeson shrugged. “It’s my step-mom.”
“What about her?”
Alyssa ran by us and joined Angelica in the ocean, only she looked completely happy to be surfing rather than prancing around. Damn, she was hot.
“So you know how my parents had this crazy divorce last year?”
“Who doesn’t? That shit was even on CNN.”
“Right.” Jaymeson swore. “So anyways, my dad ended up having to pay a lot of money to my mom because he was caught being unfaithful. They had started a joint production company and she wanted all of it. In the end she got it because she was able to prove that as per their pre-nup, he cheated, therefore forfeiting any rights he had to the company.”
“Well, that was dumb.”
Jaymeson laughed humorlessly. “The bastard didn’t think he’d get caught.”
“Most don’t.”
“Anyways.” He took of his sunglasses and leaned back on his elbows. “Last night my mom got a bit wasted and was spouting out this nonsense about these pictures of her and some guy together the night the divorce was finalized. Granted, he can’t legally do anything, but he’s apparently threatening to go to the press with the pictures. Some of them are apparently really bad. He claims my mom’s squeaky clean reputation will be shattered, so he’s bribing her. Wants half the production company. I’m sure it helps that they were producing the new series of dystopian novels that hit the New York Times last year.”
I scratched my head. It was weird how messed up some people were. I mean, if you looked at Jaymeson you would think he didn’t have a care in the world, but now… I just felt bad for him.
“So what is she going to do?”
“Apparently the guy she was with was going to the press himself to deny it. She wants him to take the fall. She claims he was the guilty party.”
“That’s bull shit.” I snorted. “Especially if she was part of it.”
“Well…” Jaymeson took another swig of beer. “She thinks he drugged her. She’s on some pretty serious anti-anxiety meds and pain-killers for fibromyalgia. But she hadn’t taken anything that night because she was having champagne. Granted this was all from her drunken mouth last night as she stumbled around the house. But anyways, she says something was slipped into the champagne.”
“How?”
“The bottle was already opened.”
“Hmm…” I drank the last of my water and closed my eyes, leaning back against the warm sand. “That’s a lot of drama.”
“Tell me about it.”
“That why you don’t wanna whore around anymore?”
Jaymeson laughed. “Part of it. The other part is there is no chance in hell I want to get myself saddled to some chick whose just going to abuse my money and fame. I’d rather be single my entire life than fall in love.”
“Hah!” I burst out laughing. “It’s going to be a great day when you fall, Jaymeson, and believe me, you will.”
“Why the hell would you say that?”
“Because the ones who fight it the most, fall the hardest.”
****
Alyssa and I walked back to the beach house hand in hand. Maybe it was just because of all the crap going on with Jaymeson’s life and then Alec’s issues — I just felt thankful that I at least had Alyssa — we had each other.
“I love you,” I whispered once we were out of earshot of Jaymeson and Angelica.
Alyssa froze and then turned. “How much?”
“Enough to pet a bird,” I said straight-faced.
She giggled and jumped into my arms. I swung her around and found her mouth, crushing my lips against hers with such force I almost stumbled to my knees.
“Well…” She alternated between nibbling and sucking my lower lip. I needed to lean against something strong before I passed out. “I kind of love you a lot too.”
“How much?” With her legs wrapped around me I walked her into the house and slowly ascended the stairs toward my room.
“Enough to return the big bird costume I rented for Halloween.”
“Hilarious.” I fell backwards onto the bed with her on top of me.
“Fine.” She straddled me and leaned down until her lips were a breath away from mine. “I love you enough to never let you go.”
“Even if I do some crazy shit and make you pissed at me?”
“Well, that’s a given. I mean, you are Demetri Daniels.” Her tongue reached out to touch the side of my mouth. My entire body felt like an exposed wire as her nails scratched up my arms and then rested on my chest. “I love you enough to go shut the door.”
“Thank God.”
Chapter Twenty-one
Alec
“This is really pretty,” Nat said as we entered the hotel suite looking out onto the Puget Sound. “I hope we see a whale.”
Laughing, I pulled her against my chest. “A whale, huh? I’m not sure we’re close enough to open water, but we can go whale-watching tomorrow if you really want.”
“I want.”
“I want too…” I kissed her hard on the mouth, allowing the past to evaporate. It was just her and me. My phone buzzed in my pocket.
Nat pulled back. “You should get that.”
“Nah.” I continued my assault, lifting her into my arms and carrying her to the bed. My phone went off again.
“Alec, it could be important. Just get it.” She pushed me away and I relented.
With a curse I looked at the screen.
“Who is it?” Nat asked.
“Um…” I didn’t want to lie, so I shrugged and walked to the outside patio careful to close the sliding doors behind me. “What?” I snapped into the phone.
“Alec, I’m sorry to call you now, but we have a problem.”
My laugh sounded bitter as I pinched the bridge of my nose. “You have a problem. I’m happily a few hundred miles away enjoying my girlfriend. I’ll deal with stuff when I get back.”
“He wants the production company.”
“So?” I focused on the water and bit hard on my lower lip. “He’s wanted that all along. What’s the big deal now?”
“It’s not just about ruining my reputation now, Alec. It’s about yours and Demetri’s.”
“What are you saying?”
“I’m saying as of tonight if I don’t sign over his half of the company, he’s going to go to the press and tell everyone that not only is Demetri… well, you know the sordid tale, I don’t have to repeat it. It makes me sick to repeat it.”
“But we didn’t—”
“—I know.” April sighed on the other end. “I know nothing happened, you know nothing happened. We both know something was in that damn champagne, Alec. We woke up in disarray, pictures were taken—” Her soft sobs broke my heart as I leaned against the railing of the patio and cursed. “How did everything get so messed up? I don’t want Demetri to find out this way. He can’t find out this way! It will destroy him.”
“How the hell would you know? You don’t even know him!” I snapped.
“I know that no kid wants to see someone they care about in a compromising position with the person they’ve called brother their entire life.”
“Shit.” I kicked the railing and shook my head. “Where are you?”
“Seaside.”
“Just… let me think about what to do, and I’ll call you back later tonight. Keep your phone on you, okay?”
“Fine.”
“April?” I was pleading, grasping at straws.
“What?”
“Why do you want the production company so bad? What’s so awful about giving him half of it? He gets what he wants, we don’t expose Demetri to all of this and everyone’s happy.”
“—I just. I can’t, Alec.”
“Why?”
“I need to go.”
“Don’t you dare hang up, April. Tell me. Now.”
She sighed heavily on the other end. “I need the money.”
“How is that even possible?”
“Look, I knew you wouldn’t understand. I need to go.” The phone went dead. I stared at it for a good five minutes before cursing and stuffing it back into my pocket.