Hollywood Lies (20 page)

Devon, Julie, my security team, and I are all on the jet I chartered. My guards are all sleeping, except for Xavier, who I think only sleeps when he knows I’m not looking. Julie is in her own world, staring at her portfolio and scribbling notes.
 

I have no idea what has happened or why, but Julie isn’t the same person she was before Boston. I’ve tried to engage her in conversation, but she refuses to talk about anything with me and is now the queen of one word responses. So far, she still performs her job functions with excellence, but I miss talking with her. It seems like I’ve lost a friend. They’re hard to come by, and even though I pay her for her assistance, I feel like we’re friends, at least we were.

Devon nudges me with his elbow. I look at him, but he is glancing out the window. His hand slides a piece of paper over the armrest. I unfold it. He has very sloppy handwriting, but I like it. It’s a visual reminder of how much he has going on in his mind. He doesn’t have time to neatly write out his thoughts.

When we get to New York, I want you to meet my family.

He still won’t look at me, and I know it’s because he doesn’t want me to see the hopefulness in his eyes. So far, I’ve been the crusher of his romantic dreams, but he doesn’t seem to have the same preservation instincts I have, and he definitely doesn’t have the same experiences of being ripped apart by the media.

I take his hand and run my thumb over his knuckles.
 

Finally, Devon turns to me. The hopeful gleam is in his eyes, but it fades when he sees my expression.
 

“We have to be extra careful in New York and Los Angeles,” I tell him quietly. “That’s where everyone will be looking for a picture of us to prove we’re together.”

“Well, why don’t we just admit it, and then they’ll move on to stalk other people.”

I wish it was that easy. “It doesn’t work like that. If we confirm it, every other week one of us will be on the cover of magazines with some kind of fabricated headline about cheating, infidelity, drugs, marriage, babies, you name it. It won’t get better.”

He looks away for a moment, then turns back and leans in to whisper into my ear. “I want everyone to know I love you.”

I hold my breath. He has been saying this stuff a lot lately and his feelings put me on edge. Life is so much easier when those kinds of strong emotions aren’t present. Although I squeeze his hand, I find myself with nothing to say. I’m thankful when we begin our descent into New York.

“You need to be incognito,” I say, handing Devon a ball cap and sun glasses as we get off the plane.
 

“No one knows who I am, Cole.”

I insist and make him put them on. We take separate cars to my apartment. Xavier arranged for a guard and driver from another company owned by a friend to take Devon. We’re meeting Anthony for dinner to discuss the legalities of the contract the studio e-mailed in advance, but Devon and I will have some time alone before that.

Devon sets down his backpack and takes in my place. “Damn.”

“Do you like it?”

He turns and flashes me a grin. “It’s . . . wow. I mean, you should’ve seen the tiny little place I had before moving to LA, and three other dudes lived in it, too. This is just amazing.”

“Thank you.”

“But that car ride was ridiculous.” He walks to me and places his hands on my hips. “We drove all over the city instead of driving straight here.”

I take his hand and lead him farther into my apartment where he’ll be able to see the view. “It’s what we have to do. We had a couple of photogs waiting for us. Did you see them?”

“No. So they were trailing me?”

In front of the large window, I stop, wrap his arms around me and lay my head back against his shoulder. “Yeah. X was in contact with your driver and said you had a few cars following you.”

I can feel his chuckle as it sounds. “That’s so stupid. I mean, who am I?”

I don’t hesitate to answer. “The next big thing and my secret lover, so you’re big news. Tonight when we go to dinner, we’ll have to do the same thing. I’ll go out the front and your security detail will take you out back. Then we’ll arrive at the restaurant at diff—”

“Look at the view. It’s beautiful.” Devon tightens his arms as he curls his body around me. I feel like I’m in a cocoon. “You can see all of Central Park.”

I point to the south. “And way down there is the Empire State building.”

His eyes go wide, like he doesn’t believe me. “No shit.” He shifts his body to see, so I take the opportunity to grab his hand and take him out on the balcony for a better look.

Devon stops. “Aren’t you afraid someone will see us together?” His tone is stiff.
 

Tugging on his hand, I say, “If someone snaps a picture all the way up here, they deserve to find out.”
 

He gets behind me again, and wraps his arms around my torso while we look out into the New York landscape. “Why don’t you live here all of the time?”

“It’s harder to secure; there’re more people in closer proximity, and I’m not great with random people.”

“You seem fine when you go to premiers and when you go to clubs.”

“Hollywood shit is easy. I can take a pill my doctor gives me, and I’m golden, but usually I’m calm simply because I’ve done it so many times. Clubs are easy because I know my people are all around. Out on the streets, it could be chaos. Right after I got out of the hospital, and I was fumbling around with how to even be, a swarm of people just swallowed me up. I had no idea where my security guy was.”
 

Anxiety had covered me like a blanket, and I’d just sort of floated to the ground and allowed all those people to take pictures, call my name, hover around me looking for a good story or the million dollar photo. Finally my security busted through and picked me up like I was a child.

Devon’s voice brings me out of the memory. “I saw that.”

How embarrassing
. I can’t do anything about it. The video of that night is out there, available to anyone.

“It must have been horrible. You looked so lost, clutching that damn skateboard to your chest.”

I’d only been twenty-three, and I thought people would certainly give me room to breathe. All I wanted to do was skate for a couple of minutes. “I was high,” I admit. “I didn’t stay with my bodyguard Scott because I just wanted to go; I just wanted to be free for a second.” A shiver courses its way through me.
 

Devon brings me even closer to him.
 

“I still get anxious when I’m out on the street. Even if my guys are with me, I can’t seem to control the anxiety.”

Devon draws in a breath.

I don’t want to talk about this stuff anymore, so I unwrap myself and pull him back indoors. With a click of a button, music fills the air, and I start to dance. I make him move with me.
 

“You should practice dancing since there’s a dance scene in
Reflections
.” I put his hands on my hips, then move my body seductively against his. Soon, he moves with me. When the song ends, I’m out of his arms and take his hat. Then I pull off the unbuttoned flannel and let it drop to the floor. My push my hands up under his white T-shirt. It makes the fabric bunch up near his shoulders until it annoys him enough to pull it off himself.

I press a kiss to his nipple and feel his cock harden. We haven’t had sex in a few days, and I can tell he is more than ready for it. I keep dancing, but he stands perfectly still, which allows me to undress him with ease. His khakis are next, followed by his black underwear.
 

As I kneel to remove his shoes, socks, and pants, I lick, kiss, and suck his shaft and head. When he is fully erect, I move him to the couch, then stand in front of him. Very slowly, I take off my shirt, then my jeans, but leave on my panties and bra. It’s not quite a striptease, but it’s more than just a little waltz.
 

By the close of the song, I’m sitting astride him, his hands spread out over my ass, his face buried in my hair.
 

“Why’d you leave these on?” He pulls down a bra strap to kiss the bit of flesh underneath.
 

“Because I like it when you do it.”

My breasts are bare in under a second, but he doesn’t bother removing my panties. He just shifts them to the side as he lowers me down onto his cock. I’ve long since stopped caring about condoms with him. I haven’t gone outside of our relationship, and I know Devon is loyal.

I rock on top of him slowly until my need grows, then I practically slam myself down on him over and over and over again. Devon holds my ass, and stops me. He returns to a slower pace and thrusts up into me. When he is satisfied I won’t take control again, he moves his hands around my back and presses me into him, with my breasts against his chest.

His breathing turns to grunts as he gets closer to his orgasm. I slide my hand between our bodies and start swirling my fingers around my clit until the pressure within me snaps and I bury my shout into his shoulder. Devon’s arms are still tight around me when his body shudders, a groan escapes his throat, and he comes into me.

For a moment, we just sit there together; our breath returning to normal.
 

“Cole, I love you.”

I sober up in an instant and pull away from him slightly. “That’s what you say now.”

Devon’s eyes are soft and his smile melts me. “That’s what I’ll say forever.”

With the contract signed early Saturday morning, Devon and I have until Tuesday to spend as much time together as we want. As always, I’m content in my space, but Devon’s restless by nighttime.
 

“Why don’t you go hang out with your friends?”

“Will you come with me?” He tosses book he has been reading onto the coffee table. He answers his own question, “Probably not, right?” He looks around as if searching for something specific, then focuses on me again. “So what do you do tucked away alone all day and night?”

I know my glamorous Hollywood life lacks the excitement and glitz he probably expects. When I’m in public, it’s all a show. No one wants to know that when I’m at home, I don’t wear designer clothing and throw lavish parties. I try to think about it from Devon’s perspective. Devon is a man in his early twenties being kept indoors by an early thirties woman. Not much fun in that, at least when we’re not having sex. “I’m sorry I’m boring.”

He laughs. “What? You’re not boring. I’m just trying to figure out how a woman who rarely sleeps keeps herself entertained. I mean, you were touted as a musical genius as a child, been honored for your impact on the film industry, and well-known for your quiet intelligence. You could
never
be boring.”

“You should write for newspapers.”

Devon doesn’t let me derail him. “How can someone like you be satisfied with just hanging out all the time?”

“Because I have no choice, Devon. Why do you want to go out all the time?” A thought niggles at the back of my mind. Maybe he wants to be seen with me because of what a relationship with me could do for his career. I push it down, especially after he gives me his answer.

“Because going out is fun. There’s a whole world out there I haven’t experienced, and I must admit, I miss the sunlight a bit.”
 

My cell buzzes. Zara’s text tells me to turn on the television to
Locker’s Confidential
. “We’ve been over this. You can push against the idea of being a hostage to your celebrity all you want, but one day soon, you’ll feel it, and you’ll understand.”

I flip on the television, and we both fall silent as we listen to reporters of one of the Hollywood gossip shows. “ . . . say they’re camping out in her Midtown apartment. The source called it a
love nest
, saying, ‘They can’t get enough of each other, but tension is brewing as the young actor wants to show off his new relationship with the world.’ ”
 

My picture comes up on the television screen.
 

The reporters turn to each other. “Well, this guy has everything to gain, doesn’t he?”

“The source said Maddox is very interested in the prestige of Stroud’s name. My advice to her is to be careful. He’s obviously using—”

“But what do you think about the rumors of Collette’s new relationship with multi-billionaire CEO—”