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ADRIANNE
“I’m really sorry about this,” Ryan said for the hundredth time. “I never thought that they would push you like this.”
“It’s fine, Ryan,” I said. “This can’t be totally pleasant for you, either.”
Ryan had tentatively suggested that we get dinner after wrapping for the day. I had called Cheswell and agreed to be photographed alongside him a few days ago, and so far, I had avoided actually leaving the studio at the same time as him. But they had to be getting anxious, so I agreed.
Callan drove us in his F150 from the studio down the street to a bar that served really good burgers and tacos. As expected, the paparazzi were waiting for us, and I’m sure they got several shots of us climbing out of the truck and walking closely together-but not touching, as I’d refused to do that-and going into the restaurant. Luckily, the owner wouldn’t allow them to actually come inside.
Callan was a table away, watching over me, and I was doing my best not to look at him. “It’s not a hardship sharing a meal with you,” he said, and for once, his words weren’t tinged with flirtation or innuendo. Instead, he just sounded like someone who might be a friend. “I’ve enjoyed working with you the last few weeks. You’re a great actress.”
I smiled. “Thank you. I’ve enjoyed working with you as well.” My smile drooped just a bit. “You do know that this isn’t a date, though, right?” He rolled his eyes at me. “I think I understand how roundly I’ve been rejected, yes,” he said. The waitress who’d taken our order came back with a tray laden with tacos. We’d decided to try a bunch of different ones to find
out which was best.
My eyes went round at the number of tacos that she put on the table. “How are we eating all of these?”
Ryan scoffed. “Leftovers are my life,” he said. “It’s literally the only way I survive.”
“That may be the saddest thing I’ve ever heard,” I said with a laugh. “No one ever taught you how to cook?”
He shrugged. “My mother tried, but I’m the type to burn water. I had a private chef for a while, but I spend so much of the year abroad. It didn’t seem fair to put their lives on hold like that.”
He had a private chef, I thought in a voice that sounded a lot like my mother’s. If she ever met Ryan, she would judge him for his complete lack of survival training. But then again, I had a team of security people. If Ryan had security, I had never seen them.
“I’ll bring you some things that you can heat in the oven,” I said. “You can pretend it’s a home-cooked meal.”
He smiled, and I could feel the eyes of the restaurant around me. The wait staff were watching. The patrons were watching.
Callan was watching.
I suddenly felt like sinking under the table to hide. “Thanks, Adrianne,” he said. “That would be great.”
The tacos were delicious, fresh and a little spicy, but like I predicted, there was a lot left over. When the waitress came by, I asked, “Can we get this boxed up for him?”
As the waitress began clearing the table, I glanced back at Callan. “He hasn’t gone anywhere,” Ryan said. “In fact, he hasn’t stopped glaring at me the entire time.”
“He’s just doing his job.”
Ryan hmm-ed. “I don’t think he particularly likes me.”
“He’s not supposed to like anyone,” I said. “He’s meant to think everyone is a potential threat to me.”
He didn’t look at all convinced. “I’ve dealt with security details before, and your crew is one of the most intense that I’ve ever seen.”
Worry wormed through my belly. Although it wasn’t entirely unheard of for an actress to fall for her bodyguard, we had all agreed that I wouldn’t have a public-facing boyfriend. I didn’t want to put that pressure on any of my men.
“That’s what I pay them for,” I said a little primly. “They’re top-notch for a reason.”
He shrugged. “If you say so.”
My breath whooshed out, leaving me feeling deflated. “I need to use the restroom before we head back, okay?”
“Sure thing,” Ryan said and grabbed out his phone.
I made a beeline for the small alcove where the bathrooms were tucked. I went around the corner, just out of sight of the restaurant, and leaned against the wall. My chest felt tight, and I did my best to breathe in and out slowly.
I must have been gone too long because Callan rounded the corner with a wide, fearful look on his face. “Adrianne? What are you-” His words cut off as he took in the state of me. “What’s wrong?”
I leaned forward, resting my forehead against his chest. “He was insinuating that you were looking at me too intensely.”
Callan didn’t appear apologetic in the least. “I don’t like how he looks at you.”
I sighed. “He hasn’t said anything remotely flirtatious all day,” I pointed out. “I think he might actually want to be friends.”
Callan wasn’t impressed. “I still don’t like it.” “It’s better than him flirting constantly, right?”
His jaw flexed. “Barely.” I tilted my head up, and he pressed a quick kiss to my lips. “Can we go home?”
Warmth bloomed inside me at the idea of my house being home. “Okay,” I said. We went back to the table as Ryan was settling the bill. There was a sack of packaged tacos. It looked like the waitress had thrown in a few extra. “You didn’t have to pay for mine.”
Ryan shot me a look. “It’s not like either of us is hurting for money,” he said. He wasn’t wrong, but having someone buy my food had always fallen into “date” territory. “Don’t overthink it, Adrianne,” he added. “You can get it next time. No strings attached, okay?” I heard Callan scoff, and Ryan rounded on him. In a low voice, he asked, “What is your problem, dude?”
Callan shook his head. His face relaxed into a deceptively neutral position. It was off-putting to see him so expressionless. “No problem, sir,” he said, voice polite but empty.
Ryan studied him for a moment and then grabbed his bag of tacos. “I didn’t think so,” he said in that haughty, Hollywood way that made me want
to gag. We walked toward the bar’s exit. “Are you ready for this?” he asked me.
No. “Let’s do it.” We walked out into the blinding flash of paparazzi cameras. They shouted questions at us, but we did our level-best to ignore them all. In the parking lot, Callan popped the lock on his F150. I would rather climb into the passenger seat, but I got into the back with Ryan, which set off another round of flashing lights behind us.
When we got back to the studio, I climbed out of the truck with Ryan. “I have a car coming,” he said. “I’m guessing tall, dark, and threatening is driving you home?”
I smiled and rolled my eyes. “It’s part of the package,” I said. “See you tomorrow?”
He nodded. “Tomorrow.”
I opened the passenger door and climbed up into the seat. I could see tension running through Callan’s whole body. “Let’s go home,” I said softly.
Some of that tension eased, and a smile touched his face. He pulled out of the lot and angled us toward the Hills. Luckily, traffic was light. Other than my little-used BMW, there weren’t any other cars in the driveway.
“Foster and Ethan are still at the office,” I said. They had to go to the Mercado Security building today to check on the staff and other clients. It was easy to forget that Ethan ran a fairly large security company and that other people reported to him all day long.
“So, we’re alone?” Callan asked as we got out of the truck. I put a hand on my hip. “What did you have in mind?”
He smiled. “How about a nice swim? To relax?”
I loved that idea. I never really got to make use of the pool that I shelled out a pretty penny to maintain. It was always ready for visitors, but my schedule just made it hard to plan for pool parties. “We should change,” I said.
Callan smirked. “Why?”
It was the middle of the day, for one, but I thought about my neighbors, the elderly woman I’d only ever seen one time, and the neurosurgeon who had worse hours than I did. A flutter of bravery and absolute arousal went through me. “Okay,” I breathed out.
Callan took my hand, and together, we went around the side of the house. I threw my purse into a lounge chair, and he did the same with his keys, phone, and wallet. Before I could pull my dress over my head, Callan
came to me. He reached down and grasped the hem of my dress. He pulled it up and over my head. “Adrianne.”
His voice was gruff, and I smirked. “Yes?” I asked innocently. “Are you going commando?”
“Maybe,” I said.
“Have you been without panties all day?”
I shrugged casually, as if we were discussing something completely mundane. “Just any time I was out of costume.”
Callan made a sound between a growl and a groan. “You had a bare pussy all through dinner with him?”
I leaned against him. “So I could be ready for you when we came home.”
“Fuck, Princess,” he groaned and slanted his mouth over mine. Callan dipped his tongue into my mouth, tasting me and groaning like he’d never done it before.
His hands slid up my back and undid the clasps on my bra. The thing went lax against his chest, and I shifted so that it dropped to the ground. I’m naked in my back yard, I thought, and things low in my stomach tightened in excitement.
I wasn’t normally the exhibitionist type-after living so much of my life in front of cameras, I wanted things completely private whenever I could- but there was something so naughty about standing here, bare before Callan and anyone who might be able to peek in on us.
Our kiss broke, and I backed up with a wink and dove into the crystalline waters of the pool. It was salt water and kept warm year-round. Perfection. When I broke the surface, I turned and got a glimpse of Callan pushing his jeans down his legs before he was jumping in after me.
A hand grabbed my ankle, and I shrieked with laughter as Callan yanked me beneath the water. We wrestled for a moment, rolling around, breaking the surface of the water before submerging again. Despite the inability to breathe at times, it was fun and childish just playing in the water with him.
We ended up on the tanning ledge, lying on our sides. “You’re so beautiful,” Callan said, dipping his head to kiss my shoulder.
I hid my face in the crook of his neck. “Stop,” I said.
“Why? You don’t think that you are?” I shrugged, and he shifted so that I had to look at him. “Seriously? Do you not know that you’re the most
beautiful woman in the world?”
I whined and tried to hide again, but he wouldn’t allow it. “It’s not like I’m completely unaware of what I look like,” I said. “I just . . . don’t see me the way you do, I suppose.”
He grinned. “Well, I would imagine not. You’d never leave yourself alone if you did.” He ran his hand down my body, outlining my curves. He kissed me, long and deep and searching. “Come on,” he said. “I don’t want to accidentally drown you.” We stood, and I shivered, but I knew that Callan would warm me up in no time at all.
I had a set of metal-framed lounge chairs by the patio door, and we lay down on one, tangling together. His hard body felt intoxicating against mine. We kissed, and he rolled me beneath him, covering me. “You taste like salt,” he murmured, and I giggled.
“We probably shouldn’t have jumped into the pool first,” I said.
Callan shook his head. “You could roll in a muddy field, and I’d still want you.”
Sweet talker, I thought and cupped his face. “I really, really hope that’s not true,” I said. “If that ever were to happen, have some patience. Let me shower first.”
He nuzzled his face into the crook of my neck before dipping lower to kiss my breasts. “I don’t think patience is possible when it comes to wanting you,” he said. He sucked one of my nipples into his mouth, and I gasped softly. “There’s something I want to do. Can I try?”
I nodded. “I trust you.” With my life, I added in my head. It seemed too heavy to say at the moment, but it was true, nevertheless.
He grinned, and his eyes practically twinkled with joy. “Turn over for me?”
I turned over onto my stomach and pillowed my head on my arms. Callan slid one hand across my shoulders, bracing me, and then the other hand went between my thighs. I jerked when he touched me, but his arm held me still. “Callan?”
“Shh,” he murmured and pressed a finger into my pussy. “You’re so wet already, Princess,” he crooned, and I knew he was right.
“I’m always wet,” I murmured as pleasure pooled in my belly the more that he played with me. “Always around you.”
Callan groaned, and I felt his lips on the back of my shoulder. His hand moved harder and faster, and I cried out as the slowly building pleasure
leapt into high gear. I wanted to move back against his hand, get more and less of the pressure that he was building within me, but he had me pinned so that all I could do was take what he was giving me. “Callan!” I moaned.
“Let it build, baby,” Callan said as he thrust his fingers over that spot inside me, over and over, and I couldn’t do much more than writhe and grow as taut as a bowstring.
“I need . . .” I panted. “Please!”
Callan didn’t slow down for a second. “In a second,” he said in a voice thick with want, “you’re going to come.” I moaned pitifully at that, my stomach quivering with that need to let go. “Then, I’m going to fuck you until you come again.”
I nodded, desperate, and my whole body thrummed with pleasure. Callan’s thumb came up and pressed between my ass cheeks, against my back entrance, and the building tension finally snapped free. There was a mighty gush from between my thighs, and I nearly screamed as pleasure roared through me. I could hear Callan saying something, probably filthy, but I couldn’t hear him beyond the rushing in my ears.
The arm that Callan had over my shoulders disappeared, and then, he pulled me up to my hands and knees and thrust into me. To be so suddenly full made me come again. My inner muscles contracted around him. “I’ve barely begun, Princess,” Callan said in teasing admonishment. He bracketed my hips with his hands and began to drive into me.
It wasn’t a fast pace, but it was steady and solid, and it was doing all the right things. “You fit me like a fucking glove, Adrianne,” Callan said. “Like you were made for my cock. I could fuck you all day long, just keep making you come until you couldn’t live without my dick inside you.”
I moaned through Callan’s dirty talk and moved back to meet his thrusts, addicted to the electricity spiking up my spine and down through my fingers. “Callan, please!” I cried, needing just a little bit more of a push. He reached around and circled my clit with the pad of his finger, and that sent me spiraling over the edge. “That’s it,” he cooed. “That’s it, Princess.” He kept circling my clit, and when I came again, it was a sharper feeling. Pleasure, but jagged around the edges. Pleasure edging on too much. It was that last orgasm that dragged Callan over the edge too, and he
groaned as his hips stuttered against mine.
Callan slowly slid out of me, and we lowered onto the lounge. He curled around my back. My head was pillowed on his bicep, and for a few
moments, it was just us breathing together, his chest to my back. “I think I needed that,” Callan said after a while.
I chuckled. “It was good, wasn’t it?”
I heard him laugh a little. “Yes, but that’s not what I meant,” he said. “I think I needed a few moments of you to myself,” he explained. “I’m usually really not this bad with jealousy, I swear, but something about Ryan rubs me the wrong way.”
I turned so that I could face him. This big man with his startling eyes and body full of tattoos was insecure? It didn’t seem possible. I reached up and fussed with his hair. “You have nothing to worry about when it comes to Ryan Jacobs,” I said. “He comes up short when it comes to you and Foster and Ethan.”
Callan smiled. “I know,” he said, “but it felt good to remind myself.”
“Well, anytime you need a reminder,” I said with a wink and leaned up to kiss him.
A moment later, the patio door opened, and Ethan stepped out with a look on his face that made my blood run cold. “Can you two get dressed and come inside?” he asked. “Please?”