Breaking Free (10 page)

Chapter 12

Sophie had barely come down from one of the most earth-shattering orgasms ever before she vaguely felt Tennyson covering her body with his. She couldn’t focus; this beat the high of any damn drug she'd ever tried, and the only experiences that even came close were when she was alone with her vibrator.

"Open your eyes, Sophie," Tennyson murmured huskily. Hell, she didn’t know she'd closed them. "There's my girl."

Jeeesus
.

While she'd been lost in the land of oh-my-gods, he had evidently found a condom and rolled it on, and the next thing she felt was his cock stretching her.

"Ready to hear more of what I want?" he gritted out quietly. She nodded jerkily, and he cupped her cheek, pushing the tip of his thumb into her mouth. "These soft lips…I want them wet with my come."

She couldn’t speak. She couldn’t move. Breathing was a chore. She was high again. Right this moment, she could swear up and down to never do anything bad again—as long as she could get fucked like this for the rest of her life.

"Keep—" A hoarse gasp slipped through her lips. "Keep g-going."

"Oh, I've no intention of stopping." He smiled darkly and pushed all the way inside. Then he grabbed her jaw, not gently at all, and kissed her forcefully.

She'd only gotten a brief look at his cock earlier, and now it was splitting her in half.

Pain and ecstasy mingled in her body, spreading like wildfire through her veins. It excited her beyond words, and all she could do was hold on and…
be the fucking ride
.

"Fuck—wrap your legs around me," Tennyson told her, out of breath.

Sophie complied, and then she was lifted off the bed. Tennyson had a firm hold on her ass, and he sat back on his heels to move her up and down his cock. She cried out, every thrust bringing more and more pleasure. He was literally impaling her, and it wasn’t long before she was meeting each pull.

"Perfect." He kissed her deeply and drew shivers from her as one of his hands trailed up her spine in a ghosting touch. He wound his fingers into her hair, fisting it as his single-handed grip on her ass tightened. "You can't get away from me." He kissed down her jaw, his beard rasping against her skin.

"You need—need to work on your threats." Sophie swallowed the harsh sting as Tennyson yanked her hair back and exposed her neck. "God, Tennyson…I can feel you inside me." His cock was throbbing within her, and she was soaking him.

In another time and place, she would've been embarrassed.

"I'm close." He let out a grunt and released her hair. His movements became harder in his chase for his orgasm, but apparently he wasn’t done yet. "Rub your clit for me. Let me watch."

Sophie flushed with arousal and slipped a hand between them. The way he shuddered and cursed as she circled her clit felt almost as amazing as the touch did.

"I've never been this wet," she heard herself whisper.

Tennyson groaned and fucked her harder.

Having a feeling she turned him on at least half as much as he turned her on, she pushed past her self-consciousness and gave him more.

"I've thought about you in the shower." She nipped at his shoulder and touched herself a little faster. "I used the showerhead."

At that, Tennyson growled and threw her down on the mattress again, his cock finding her quickly. He rammed into her and sucked on her neck, maybe not even noticing he'd just stolen Sophie's breath.
Oh, my holy fuck
. She was being pushed toward another orgasm, the buildup frenzied and rapid.

Every time he buried himself in her, his pelvis pressed her finger down harder on her clit, and she was pretty sure she was pleading for more, more, more. Or maybe it was in her head.

She clung to Tennyson for all she was worth and ground herself against his cock. As his gritty moans got more urgent, his breath hot against her neck, she accidentally slipped. Her hand slid farther down between them, causing the tips of her fingers to brush past the slick, hard base of his cock, and her palm pressed down on her sensitive clit.

Tennyson stiffened and panted out a shaky curse, and Sophie…she was fucking gone.

The orgasm crashed down on her and robbed her of a minute of her life. A minute of pure, floaty, all-consuming bliss that rendered her breathless, immobile, and left her mind blank.

Something tickled her shoulder, and she began to regain awareness to the feel of Tennyson's lips. He was placing gentle kisses along her shoulder and neck, and it was the sweetest fucking thing ever to Sophie.

She stretched beneath him, her heart still pounding, and let out a long breath. Had she ever been this relaxed and sated? She doubted it.

"You're not leaving, are you?" she asked quietly.

Tennyson huffed a small chuckle and shook his head no. "I'm not that kinda man, Sophie." Lifting his head, he gave her a firm kiss. "I do need to steal your bathroom for a minute, though."

She grinned into another kiss and released him reluctantly.

Holy shit, she definitely hadn't seen this coming—being with Tennyson for more than a publicity stunt.

*

A week later, Sophie woke up the same way she had every morning since she and Tennyson spent their first night together.

Warm and cozy, her back to Tennyson's chest, morning wood pressed against her butt, and kisses to her neck.

"You awake?" he murmured sleepily.

"Mmmmph." She kept her eyes closed and smiled lazily. She wished they could stay in bed all day. "I'm pretty sure Daniel already knows." She yawned and turned around to burrow herself closer to Tennyson.

He spent every night with her but snuck out around four, a solid hour before the set buzzed to life. But Daniel had given her a lot of strange looks the past two days, so Sophie wouldn’t be surprised if he'd figured it out.

"Would it bother you if he did?" Tennyson hugged her to him and brushed a kiss to her forehead.

Sophie bit her lip, torn. She was the one who—after their first night—had tentatively asked if they could keep this, whatever it was, under wraps. Her entire career depended on this film, and she didn’t want anyone on the set to think she wasn’t prioritizing work. Everyone knowing about the showmance was one thing; in a way, that was work, too. But she was being judged for her personal life, as it was.

Tennyson's expression had softened after she'd explained herself, and he'd agreed it was smart to be discreet.

They spent their nights and free time together as if they were dating. After a conversation about protection and birth control, they'd also gotten rid of condoms. They shared stories about their childhoods like they wanted to get to know one another. They had gone on two more dates as the new Hollywood couple they portrayed, and it had been fun and easy and carefree.

But none of that erased the fact that they were going in different directions once filming was over. Tennyson would be closing himself in with various editors, mixers, musicians, and producers for post-production work in LA. And while Sophie was heading to LA at first too, she'd hopefully land her next gig fast. She needed it if she wanted to be able to afford her own life.

She'd already asked Daniel to put out feelers for her to get her own agent, and he said it looked promising.

Too much was going on in her life to enter a real relationship fully.

"I can trust Daniel," she answered eventually. "So, no. As long as it doesn’t get out of hand." She looked up and searched Tennyson's eyes. "What about you?"

It took him a moment to reply. "To be perfectly honest, my mind hasn’t really caught up yet." He tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. "Every time I try to think about it, I get frustrated," he chuckled, and Sophie knew exactly what he was talking about. She felt the same. "Work is always my priority, but I've grown attached to spending what little free time I have with you. If one or two people happen to know about us, that’s fine. But if more know, they might steal you away for frivolous gossip."

Sophie giggled and tucked her head under his chin, inhaling his delicious scent. "You don’t want Brooklyn and the others to know what a god you are in bed?"

"Oh…" Tennyson rumbled a laugh and pinched her ass. She yelped. "As long as that’s what
you
think, I'll survive."

Sophie hummed and reached down to wrap her fingers around his half-hard cock. "It's definitely what I think."

"Don’t tempt me." He growled and thrust into her hand before loosening her grip. "Time for me to leave. Will you be on set later?"

No, Sophie wouldn’t. The big scene she'd been dreading was scheduled for tomorrow, so after her meeting with her dietician, she'd be in her trailer practicing lines.

"Not today, but text me when you take lunch. I'll join you for a bit."

"Will do. And you text me after your appointment."

*

It was so fucking weird. On the way back from the hospital, Sophie was
giddy
…because she'd gained weight. Weeks ago, that would've horrified her. Instead, she'd blushed with the praise the dietician had given her.

"Did you get laid or something, darling?" Daniel asked, smirking at her in the rearview mirror.

"Or something," she quipped. It was just her and Daniel today and they had some time before lunch was served on set, so she suggested they go shopping.

"Shopping for what?"

"Well, let's just say I want you to give Asher Wright a call today. Is that all right?"

Daniel shook his head, amused. "PetSmart it is. Wait—I should probably check if they even have that in Canada."

"Allow me." Sophie pulled out her phone and found the nearest similar store where she could pick up some essentials. "Don’t forget to add the total so I know what I owe Dad."

"Of course, Ms. Independence."

Damn straight.

While she had her phone in her hand, she fired off a text to Tennyson, too.

Gained a pound and a half! Dietician said I was a good girl. Xoxo.

Tennyson's reply made her laugh.

I'm so proud of you. And this dietician, she is female, yes?

No
, she typed back with a chuckle.

I see. I think I'll go with you next time.

He was so funny.

Chapter 13

I'm fucking Sophie Pierce
.

Tennyson was doing a whole lot more than that—like developing feelings for her—and he didn’t know what shocked him the most.

He also feared it was one of those insanely intense infatuations that would fizzle as fast as it had appeared. He'd never experienced it himself, but he'd seen it more than once, particularly when it came to on-set romances.

That was the thing. It would be completely rational and understandable if it
were
one of those romances. Tennyson's logical mind could get behind that more than entertaining the possibility of settling down with her.

It didn’t
feel
fleeting, but how could it not be? He honestly had no idea. Because he and Sophie…could they be more different?

In the past several days, he'd accepted that he was turned on by their age difference; he enjoyed being the aggressor and he had a ridiculous need to be the one who took care of her. However, there was so much more to a relationship than sex.

What did they have in common? Not much. Did they have the same priorities in life? Not likely. Were they even on the same page in life? No, not even close.

Sophie was young. She had her entire twenties and thirties ahead of her, and she probably wouldn’t be thinking about settling down for a long fucking time. As for Tennyson… Well, when he'd started seeing Trisha, he'd thought he'd found something lasting. Until she brought up marriage and he blanched. And now, he wasn’t all that sure—truth be told—but he sure as hell wasn’t looking for a casual
hookup
.

"Hey!" Someone snapped their fingers in front of his face.

Tennyson's head jolted to the left and he zeroed in on Noah. Right, lunch—actors and crew everywhere, a shitty hamburger in his hand.

Noah looked over his shoulder, toward whatever Tennyson had stared at, and then faced forward again. "Unless you've been hiding some weird fetish for lampposts…" Noah cocked a brow. "What's with the spacing out, Wright?"

"A lot on my mind," Tennyson muttered. And wasn’t that the truth?

Checking his watch, he wondered where Sophie was.

*

Around four, Tennyson wrapped the day for the actors. Tomorrow would be their last one using the house, and there was already a crew waiting to assemble the motel room where they'd shoot most of the remaining scenes, not counting some location shots and the search for Kelly.

While the actors left, Tennyson allowed the property master to begin taking photos of the set in case they needed to recapture parts later for reshoots.

Tyler, his PA, walked up and handed him a note.

"Sophie returned around one."

All right, then. Tennyson had felt a little foolish for asking Tyler to keep an eye out, but it hadn't stopped him.

"Second unit roundup!" Noah yelled. "We head out in twenty!"

"Call me if you have any questions." Tennyson would spend the rest of the day reviewing coverage that hadn't been sent to the studio, and Noah was off with the second unit to Denver again.

The producers had been satisfied with the coverage from last time, but the flyover shots didn’t show the dreary weather Tennyson needed for a part of the movie. It was nothing he wanted to use CGI or stock footage for, so he'd been granted money to send Noah once more.

It was a fairly easy day today because it wasn’t only Sophie who'd wanted to rehearse tomorrow's scene. Claire had requested it, too. Though, just because Tennyson didn’t have any more scenes to shoot didn’t mean he was off the clock.

He did take a break, though. And he checked his phone for messages on his way to Sophie's trailer.

There were two from Ash.

You'll never believe who just called me and asked if Fight for Fighters operates in Canada, so I won't tell you.

That was…cryptic, and the second wasn’t helpful, either.

Or was it your idea?

Tennyson shook his head. He didn’t have time for that now, so he tucked away his phone and knocked on Sophie's door.

She opened it with a huge smile and fisted his T-shirt to yank him inside.

"Hi!"

Tennyson chuckled and closed the door behind himself before pulling Sophie in for a kiss. "Hey. Did you eat yet? You didn’t show up for lunch."

"I know, I'm sorry." Standing on her toes, she slid her arms around his neck. "My little detour took longer than I thought. And yes, I had a pasta salad. All the carbs in the world."

Tennyson hummed against her soft lips and brushed his thumbs over her cheeks. With another kiss, he inched away slightly and noticed a few subtle changes. And it spoke volumes about her health when a pound and a half made any difference, but Tennyson could see it on her face. Mostly the color she'd regained, but also how she'd filled out a bit more.

"Beautiful," he murmured. He kissed her cheeks, feeling the heat of her faint blush, then backed off. "What kind of detour would that be?"

"You'll see the day after tomorrow." Her eyes lit up in excitement. "When are you due back to work?"

Unable to help himself, Tennyson's gaze dropped lower to take in the sight of her body. "Twenty minutes or so?"

Sophie grinned salaciously and walked backward to the bedroom. "I can work with twenty minutes. Can you?"

Tennyson was up for a challenge. "I can work
you
in twenty minutes."

*

That night, Tennyson opened up the office so Sophie, Claire, and Chris could watch the raw footage of what led up to the film's key scene. Afterward, Tennyson could see a shift in Sophie.

She was already trying to sink into the right mind-set, and Tennyson would never stand in the way of an actor working, so he spent that night in his trailer—alone.

When morning came, the set was quieter. Noah and the second unit were gone, and everyone respected the atmosphere those involved in the scene required.

Tennyson was just as focused on work because this was the scene he had the highest expectations of. He estimated it would hit around the fifty-minute mark when all was said and done, and it would be the moment the self-destruction took a break so they could go after a family member.

With Noah in Denver, Steph became Tennyson's right-hand person, and she flitted back and forth to get everything ready while Tennyson spoke quietly to the script supervisor.

"I'm having four cameras capturing them—one for the whole living room." Tennyson jotted down notes on the script. "Here" —he pointed at a line— "we'll cut later so Chris can go off the set." In the film, it'd be like he was still there, but he wasn’t on camera throughout the interaction between Claire and Sophie.

"So you're not going with a master shot for Claire and Sophie?" the script supervisor asked.

Tennyson shook his head. A master shot that flipped between the two actresses had been planned at first, which meant each woman would run all her lines and the other would feed lines behind the camera. But both Sophie and Claire would benefit from being there for each other.

"Mainly a two-shot," he said, "but I want a bigger frame too, so we'll do both."

"Understood, and what liberties do they have with the script?"

Under normal circumstances, Tennyson didn’t give a lot of wiggle room, but for emotional scenes, each word delivered had to feel natural for the actor.

"They know what to say," he responded absently, watching the actors walking over to the living room set. There was a flurry of activity with the people who surrounded them. Hair, makeup, assistants… "If they change a few words, we'll see if it works."

Tennyson returned to his director's chair and studied each actor, sensing the buzz that flowed between them. It was a heady feeling, one that lifted the entire crew. It was also a feeling that made everyone involved think about award season.

Tennyson wouldn’t go that far, but he did want to get back on the grid. He'd always enjoy solitude, but he knew now he'd taken it too far.

"Everyone's ready, boss," Steph said, walking over with her clipboard.

"Good. Thank you." Tennyson sat back as Steph yelled out orders.

Sophie rolled her shoulders and walked out through the door that led to the kitchen set, which had been broken down already. Claire took her seat on the couch with a blanket around her and Chris sat forward in his chair. Elbows on his thighs, a glass of tea—standing in for scotch—in his hands, his head bowed.

The assistant with the clapboard announced the stats and Steph called for cameras rolling.

"Action!" Tennyson adjusted his headphones.

It was silent for several seconds before Claire spoke up quietly.

"Anna might know where she is."

Chris stiffened visibly but didn’t look up. "And if she doesn’t? She'll hate our guts."

Claire smiled vacantly, her eyes dead. "That ship sailed a long time ago."

A beat later, Sophie emerged from the kitchen, a backpack thrown over her shoulder. She was typing on her phone, her shoulders stiff. She had no intention of speaking to her parents.

She was halfway to the door when Claire's voice stopped her.

"Where're you going?"

Sophie paused, and Tennyson focused on her frame on the screen.

"Well, the plan was to grab something to eat in the kitchen." Sophie threw Claire a bored look, and the corners of her mouth twisted up in a hateful smile. "Guess how much food we have, though?"

"I'm sorry. I-I'll go to the store later," Claire said.

Sophie snorted. "I wouldn’t want you to get lost on the way, Mom. Knowing you, you'd either end up in a bar or trip over some guy's dick."

Tennyson grinned. The original line had been "trip over some random guy you could fuck for money," but this was better.

Claire looked like her daughter's words had been a slap in the face, and she peered over at Chris—for help or just…
something
.

But she wasn’t getting shit from Chris. "What're you looking at me for? It's a valid concern."

Tennyson eyed the cameraman moving in close.

"Oh, yeah. Because you're better, Dad," Sophie said dryly with an eye-roll. "You guys are un-fucking-believable. I'm outta here."

As she reached for the door, Claire called out. "Wait! Anna, wait. Your sister—"

"Tina," Chris warned Claire.

"We have to find her!" Claire snapped.

Throughout their short argument, Sophie had gone from confused to pissed and worried.

"Tell me," Sophie demanded.

Chris shook his head grimly, but Claire ignored it and grabbed Sophie's hands in hers.

"We don’t know where Jo is."

Sophie's anger faded, as did any other emotion, leaving nothing but emptiness. "What?" she asked in an eerily quiet voice.

Tennyson made a rolling motion to keep going, despite that there was a break here. He didn’t want to interrupt what Claire and Sophie had going on.

"Her… Her boyfriend came by the day before yesterday." Claire swallowed hard. "He said he hasn’t seen Jo in a week."

Sophie recoiled from her mom's touch and stared at her parents in disbelief. "You've known about this for two days? She's my sister—your own flesh and blood—and you don’t care she's disappeared?"

Tennyson rubbed a hand over his jaw and mouth, ready to see Sophie bring it. He knew she had it in her.

Come on, baby. This is yours
.

Chris clenched his jaw, emotionally drained from his misery of a life.

Claire's eyes welled up. "Of course we care—"

"You don’t fucking act like it!" Sophie shrieked. Her outburst brought the set to a new level of silence. "If you'd cared—" She paused and hung her head, palming her forehead in frustration. "If you'd cared, you would've gone to the police the second Jo's guy came here. If you cared," she gritted out and lifted her furious gaze, "you wouldn’t have just sat here waiting for a miracle you don’t even give a shit about!"

Tennyson made his rolling motion again. Under no circumstances were they pausing to switch angles.

Claire wiped tears from her cheeks. "We can find her, Anna." She tried to touch her daughter's arm, but Sophie wrenched away.

"Don’t touch me," she whispered. She was doing an amazing job of looking like someone who was desperate to keep her emotions at bay. Someone who was sickened by the two people who were always supposed to be there.

This wasn’t about making a dramatic sequence that would be shown at award shows where she was nominated. It was about a teenager who had given up all the faith she'd ever had in her parents, and she didn’t want them to see her vulnerable.

"Anna, please…" Claire's face crumpled, and she threw a hand over her mouth as tears rolled down from her eyes. "I'm so sorry. I know we haven't been there for you—"

A muffled sob broke free from Sophie, and she shook her head and backed farther away from her mother. "You two are really horrible people." She whimpered. "We used to be happy—before you lost your jobs." Getting herself worked up, Sophie began to pace closer. "Do you even know how much you've ruined?" Turning to her mother, she stared hard and jabbed a finger at Claire's temple. "Do you
think
before you screw your friends' husbands? Huh?"