Guarded Desires (13 page)

The plain, simple truth was Chris enjoyed spending time with the man. On every level imaginable.

Which was pretty fucking frustrating considering tomorrow was his last full day in Sydney. He was flying back to L.A. the day after, his plane departing at six in the morning.

Two nights and one day left.

What did he do?

What
should
he do?

“Do I know you?” the taxi driver’s amiable voice yanked Chris out of his tormented reverie. “You look familiar.”

Chris forced a smile to his lips, meeting the man’s puzzled brown eyes in the rearview mirror. “Not sure. Ever been to L.A.?”

The driver laughed. “Nope. Never stepped foot outta Sydney.”

“Wow.” Chris couldn’t hide his surprise. “Really?”

Another laugh filled the taxi’s cabin. “No need. Got everything I want here.”

The happy contentment of the statement filled Chris’s throat with a thick lump. Man, how wonderful would it be to be able to say the same thing—that everything he wanted was right here in Sydney.

Maybe it is?

“You on holiday, or here for work?”

Chris snorted. The guy really didn’t know who he was. “Work.”

“Ah, that sucks.”

A few moments passed in silence. Chris closed his eyes, aware the inebriated lurching in his head was fading.

“Righto, mate,” the driver said, and the pull on Chris’s churning stomach told him the taxi had come to a halt. “Here we are. That’ll be forty-two bucks fifty.”

Chris looked at him. “Errr.”

Before the driver’s frown finished forming, Bethany appeared at his window, tapping on the glass with the back of her knuckles.

“Ah, I see.” The driver smirked at Chris. “Little woman been waiting up for you, ’eh? You gonna be in the dog house now?”

Chris pulled a rueful face. “Seems that way.”

With a chuckle, the driver lowered his window. “G’day, love.”

Bethany leaned forward, bestowed a smile on the man and passed him a credit card. “I hope he hasn’t been causing you any grief, sir.”

“Not at all. Quiet but friendly. Best fare I’ve had all night.” The driver flicked him a quick look in the mirror. “Hope the night’s not too rough on you, mate.”

Bethany cocked an eyebrow. “Are you coming in, Rupert?” she asked, using the false name Chris used whenever they were keeping his identity a secret.

He nodded, unbuckled his belt and opened his door. “Thanks,” he said, giving the driver a smile.

The man smiled back. “No worries. Enjoy your time in Australia.”

Chris swallowed. Enjoy his time in Australia.

If only he knew how to do that?

He walked toward the house, leaving Bethany to pay for the fare. He needed to burn off some tension. Needed to clear his head.

Don’t you mean you need to see Liev?

He strode through the door, doing his best to keep his pace steady.

The house was silent, the muted light cast from one of the table lamps in the living room the only sign anyone was awake. Bethany’s iPad lay on the sofa beside a collection of papers. A half-empty glass of wine sat on the side table under the lamp, the faintest pink smudge on the rim telling him Bethany was the drinker, not Liev or Jeff.

He looked around, his heart beating fast.

“They’re not here.”

He jumped at Bethany’s soft statement behind him. Swinging around, he watched her walk toward him. “Where are they?”

“Jeff hooked up at the café. Liev had something to deal with.”

The lump in Chris’s throat grew thicker. Something? Like what?

Bethany’s gaze lingered on his face. “He’ll be back.”

Hot tension flooded through Chris at the empathy in her voice. Jesus, his personal assistant felt sorry for him. And possibly suspected Chris felt more for Liev than he should. Spinning on his heel, he stormed past her, heading for his bedroom. “I’m going for a swim,” he threw over his shoulder.

Ten minutes later, his tux a crumpled pile on his bedroom floor, he dived into the cool waters of the mansion’s pool.

It cleared the remains of his alcoholic excesses out of his system. He swam from one end to the other, counting each stroke. Ducking under the surface, he spun in the water, planted the balls of his feet against the smooth tile wall and pushed off, swimming back to the other end. Fifty laps later, he pressed his chest to the wall of the pool and rested his folded arms on the side. His heart raced, not from exertion but from turmoil.

Christ, he couldn’t stop wanting Liev to be here. He couldn’t stop wishing the man would dive into the water and slide his hard body against his.

And at the same time, he couldn’t stop imagining nightmarish headlines.
Homosexual Huntley’s Career in Free-fall. Funny Fag Fails at Action Career. A
nd the best of all,
Crowds Quit Queer Chris.

It seemed his tormented mind was not only vicious but also had a cutting flair for alliteration.

Scraping his hands through his wet hair, he let out a ragged breath and propelled himself up and out of the pool. No matter which way he looked at it, he was—

“Mr. Huntley?”

Chris started at Bethany’s calm voice. He spun to his right, his heart thumping hard. He froze when he found his personal assistant smiling at him.

She stood a few feet away, dressed in the skimpiest black bikini he’d ever seen, her gaze fixed on his face. “I think you need my help.”

Chris swallowed. His cock, damn near erect thanks to his constant thoughts of Liev, throbbed. “What for?”

She walked toward him, and for a split second the tattoo below her shallow navel caught his attention. His cock throbbed again. For some reason the sight of something rebellious like ink on his poised assistant made his blood rush faster through his veins. And then he jerked his stare back to her face, her crazy mane of wild red ringlets almost hiding her eyes.

A slow smile pulled at her lips. His mind told him they were full and lush lips. Told him the rest of her was lush and beautiful. Told him
this
was what was meant to arouse him. This, not a man with a hard, muscular body, a hard, angular frame and a hard, thick cock.

He was
meant
to be turned on by womanly curves, boobs, curving hips…

So why the hell couldn’t he stop thinking of Liev fucking Reynolds?

Bethany stopped a mere foot away, her green eyes reflecting the pale blue light of the swimming pool. “You know what for.”

The lump in Chris’s throat grew fat. Hot. “Because I want…”

He couldn’t say it. Not aloud.

Because I want Liev. God, help me, I want Liev. So fucking—

His personal assistant closed the minute distance between them, slipped her fingers between the waistband of his Speedo and his hips and slid the wet item of clothing down.

His cock sprung free, fresh blood surging through its growing length. The summer night air wrapped around it, a warm caress that made his gut hitch.

“Bethany,” he said, his voice a broken croak. “What are you doing?”

“What needs to be done,” she whispered.

And before Chris could move, she lowered to her knees, cupped his balls in her hands, closed her lips around the head of his cock and sucked.

Chapter Nine

Liev let himself into the harbour-side mansion without a sound. It was almost two a.m. He didn’t want to wake anyone up.

After checking to make sure the concertina doors leading out onto the main balcony were locked, he walked into the kitchen. He’d grab a bottle of water from the fridge, check the windows and then head down to the lower floor to do the same there. After that, he’d have a shower in the bathroom attached to the gym, relieve the tension in his body he knew wouldn’t ease off until Chris Huntley had left Australia while under the running water—if then—and then head to bed.

Chris’s first public appearance later that day was at a wildlife reserve. As conflicted as he was about his feelings for the man, he still needed to be at the peak of his—

A small white sheet of notepaper stuck to the fridge caught his eye.

Need you by the pool. B.

Liev frowned at Bethany’s neat, no-nonsense handwriting. By the pool? What the hell did she need from him by the pool? It wasn’t like she required sunblock to be rubbed onto her back. Not at this time of night.

What if she’s going to test you again? Like she did on the first night? Would you be able to say no tonight? Given how fucking crazy you’re going with need for Chris?

Shucking off his tux jacket, he tossed it over the back of a chair and headed for the pool. He didn’t have an answer. All he could do was hope to bloody God he didn’t find Bethany dressed in sweet fuck all again. He didn’t think his strained nerves and taxed control could handle it.

He’d be just as likely to bury himself in her tightness and imagine it was—

He stopped, his heart smashing into his throat with violent force, his stare fixed on the sight of Bethany on her knees, Chris standing before her, his hands fisted in her hair, his cock disappearing into her mouth.

A strangled growl escaped Liev, barely audible over the moans of the two people by the pool.

He stared at them. His blood roared in his ears. The hair at his nape prickled. His flesh flushed, then ran cold.

Beads of water glistened on Chris’s body, the pool’s blue light dancing in each tiny drop. It highlighted the man’s physical perfection, the sculpted strength of his muscles. Liev devoured his naked form, unable to look away.

His gut knotted. An excruciating pressure clamped around his chest. He watched as Chris’s head lolled backward, the man’s lips parting, his eyes closing. Pleasure etched his face. Pleasure and something else. Something tormented.

A low groan escaped the actor’s throat, scraping at Liev’s sanity. At Chris’s feet, Bethany moaned in reply.

Tight heat lashed at Liev’s dick. His balls throbbed, heavy with anguished want. His stare moved to her mouth, his own mouth going dry at the hypnotic sight of Chris’s thick, rigid cock thrusting in and out of it.

Fuck, he wanted that cock in his mouth. So fucking much it hurt.

And yet there it was, in Bethany’s.

Anger ripped through him, scalding hot and bitter. He snarled, driving his blunt nails into his palms. Tiny crescents of pain cut into his flesh, but still he didn’t move. Still he didn’t tear his stare from the vision before him.

As much as it hurt him, it turned him on as well.

Fuck, did it turn him on.

He watched Bethany blow Chris and craved the man’s flesh on his tongue. Jealousy ate at him, as hot and acrid as his anger, and still he couldn’t look away. Still he couldn’t turn and leave.

Standing motionless, shrouded by the lush overhanging greenery of the garden, he stared at the erotic act and ached to take Bethany’s place.

Fucking
ached
for it. Like he’d never ached for any other thing.

Another groan left Chris, this one louder. His arse cheeks bunched. His back arched. His thrusts into Bethany’s mouth increased in speed.

From his place in the darkness, Liev grabbed at his mocking erection and squeezed, willing crippling pain into his groin. None came. Instead, excruciating pleasure scored through him. Twisted and intense and wretched.

Teeth ground, Liev glared at the two lovers, his blood boiling, his balls swelling. He let out an anguished moan when Chris slammed his cock deeper into Bethany’s mouth. “Oh, fuck, yes.”

Chris’s eyes snapped open. He jerked his stare to where Liev stood, his nostrils flaring. At Chris’s feet, Bethany withdrew her mouth from his length and turned to study Liev over her shoulder, her expression unreadable.

Liev met Chris’s gaze, the American imprisoning him for a heartbeat. Just one.

He had to go. Now.

He spun on his heel.

“Liev.”

Chris’s plaintive plea stopped him.

He turned back, hiding his pain from Chris behind a bored expression. “Yeah?”

The American stared at him. Naked. Erect. “Don’t.”

Unable to stop himself, hating his lack of self-control, Liev took him all in. His chest was free of hair, his nipples small and round and beaded. His torso was lean and sculpted, his abs a divine six-pack Liev knew would be heaven to explore with tongue and lips. To chart a journey down to the shallow dip of his navel, to follow the thin trail of honey-blond hair leading from his navel down to his dick.

Unhinged lust surged through Liev at the small bead of pre-come oozing from the tiny slit on the tip of Chris’s erection. A groan rumbled in his chest but he denied it. Refused it.

Returning his stare to Chris’s face, he crossed his arms. “Don’t what?”

He’d always known there’d be a solution to the problematic sexual chemistry between him and the actor. It seemed Chris and Bethany had discovered what that solution was. Unfortunately, Liev hadn’t prepared himself for how brutal the solution would be on his state of mind, his soul. Perhaps this was how they did things in the movie world? If that was the case, he didn’t want a bar of it.