Inked on Paper (14 page)

Chapter Twenty-Four

Jake

Wednesday morning

The absolute last place I wanted to be was in the greenroom on the set of the
Today Show
, but here I was, wearing a hole in the carpet while I waited to go out there, smile for the cameras, and make an absolute fool of myself on national television.

Sometimes I wondered why I liked Liz as much as I did. After all, she was the one responsible for this. She knew how much I hated being in the public eye. Hell, I had anxiety attacks at book signings, but I’d managed to get used to those. But only because the readers deserved my undivided attention. Without them, I wouldn’t be where I was today.

This interview nonsense… The readers weren’t here.

No, for the fifteen minutes I was allotted on camera, I would be talking to one of the female anchors who was familiar with author interviews—or so I’d been informed. I didn’t know her name, so I was sort of going into this blind.

A knock sounded on the door.

I rushed over, pulled it open, and came face-to-face with a mousy woman sporting a headset and carrying a clipboard. “Mr. Wild, you’re up in five. I’ll take you to the set now and get you settled if you’re ready.”

There was no way I could tell her that I’d never be ready for this, so I sucked it up and nodded.

Five minutes later, I was sitting on a sofa, staring over at a pretty young woman whose name I still didn’t know, with cameras and spotlights strategically placed on the two of us while we were supposed to sit there and chat, pretending to make casual conversation.

The director, or whatever he was called, gave his signal, possibly said something, though I heard nothing over the thundering of my heart in my ears.

“I’m honored to be sitting here today with none other than Jacob Wild, author of, as many of you know, fourteen novels, eight of those having hit the
New York Times
best-seller list. My personal favorite,
Forbidden
, held the number one spot for weeks and has since been turned into a record-breaking movie. Glad to have you joining us, Jacob.”

I knew that was my cue to say something, but I was feeling a little light-headed, so I reached for my glass of water, praying like hell no one saw how my hand was shaking. Somehow, I managed a smile. “Thanks. It’s an honor to be here.”

“So, we’re going to get right to it, since I know the fans at home have been waiting anxiously for this day. It’s not a secret that since the movie’s release, you’ve sort of disappeared into the ether, and people are wondering where you’ve gone. Can you tell us a little about what you’ve been doing for the past year?”

I kept my eyes on the woman, knowing that if I looked around at the cameras or the others watching carefully, I would probably lose my nerve, what little I had. “I’d like to say that I’ve been writing,” I told her, “but that hasn’t been the case. Not until recently, anyway.”

“Right,” she said with an excited grin, glancing over at a monitor, which had information regarding things I’d told them beforehand. “I heard that you’re working on a new book. Can you tell us a little about it?”

I forced another smile, knowing I probably looked as terrified as I felt. Cameras were not my thing. It was one reason I was a novelist and not a journalist. “It’s titled…” I actually didn’t have a title in mind until right that moment. “
Unexpected
. Unfortunately, I can’t give you much detail about it yet, because it’s in the early stages.”

“Can you tell us one thing? Do you expect this one to be as hot as
Forbidden
? As you’re probably aware, women everywhere”—she glanced at the camera and smiled—“and probably quite a few men, have been somewhat intrigued by your steamy content.”

I laughed. How could I not? This was a prime-time television show, a family one, at that, so it wasn’t as though this woman could come right out and call me on the heated sex scenes. For that, I was grateful. Writing them and talking about them were two entirely different things.

“I’d like to think it will,” I told her, taking another sip of my water, ignoring the fact that I spilled some on my tie, which felt like a noose around my neck at this point.

The woman smiled politely, then glanced over my shoulder.

“Another question I know your fans are pondering…” Her grin widened. “Tell us, Jacob Wild, are you single?”

Shit. Why that mattered, I had no idea, but I forced a smile and nodded. “Definitely single.”

“Hear that, ladies?” The woman looked directly at the camera. “This sexy-talking bad boy is on the market. Any takers?”

I forced a smile, trying to pretend that wasn’t incredibly awkward.

This was brutal and I was now counting down the minutes until we were finished.

An hour and a half later, when I was safely back in my hotel room, my cell phone rang.

“Hey, Liz,” I greeted my editor reluctantly.

“Have I told you how much I love you, Jacob Wild?”

That wasn’t what I had expected her to say. “Not today, no.”

“That interview … brilliant.”

Brilliant? No,
disaster
seemed the more appropriate word.

“Everyone here sat on the edge of our seats watching you. The readers adore you. The fact that you’re so normal, I think they get that.”

“Normal?” I snorted. “Is that your way of saying screwed up?”

Liz laughed, a rough sound that I was familiar with.

“You’re not screwed up. You’re normal. Interviews aren’t easy, even I know that. But you did fine. I think it endeared people to you again. You’ve been out of the limelight for so long, I think they’ll be content just to look at your handsome face.”

Great. That was what I needed to hear. I’d screwed up so badly, the only saving grace was that I was at least attractive. I sighed.

Liz continued on, clearly not needing my response. “Well, I was hoping to get to meet you for lunch before you head back today, but I’ve got a meeting that’s come up. I hope you understand.”

“Sure.”

“But I’m excited to see what you do with
Unexpected
. Great title, by the way. We’re going to start working on a cover, and I’ll get it over to you as soon as I have it.”

A cover. The book wasn’t written yet, I wasn’t even sure exactly which direction it was going, but there was going to be a cover. Once again, I was starting to feel a tad overwhelmed.

“Oh, and I’ve been thinking…”

Great. Liz thinking. That was scary.

“When you get back home, I want you to find this Presley woman.”

“Oh, yeah?” That hadn’t been the direction I’d expected the conversation to take. Sure, I’d mentioned Presley when I’d spilled my guts to Liz yesterday, but I honestly hadn’t expected her to pay attention to that.

“Yes. I want you to find her and I want you to woo the shit out of her. Whatever she’s doing to you, it’s working. If you have to … you know …
be
with her in order to write this book, that’s what you need to do.”

I laughed and nearly fell out of my chair.

“But use protection.”

Lord have mercy. I couldn’t even respond to that.

“I’ll call you tomorrow, Jake. Have a safe trip home and let me know if you need anything at all.”

“Thanks, Liz.” I hung up the phone, knowing she was halfway out the door anyway. That was the way Liz was. She rarely sat still, always coming, always going. That was probably the reason she was so good at what she did.

As for me … I dropped into the upholstered chair and stared down at the notebook on the table. I knew I should spend the next few hours before I had to be at the airport writing, but, as had been the case for the past … too long to matter…

I had nothing.

Chapter Twenty-Five

Presley

Based on the way my luck had been going, I’d known that Gavin would call and invite me to go out tonight. And he had, asking me to meet him and Adrian at Lucky Lounge around ten. Since I’d spent most of the day at the shop, I knew I couldn’t use work as an excuse, so I had reluctantly agreed.

I hadn’t even bothered to go home and change, figuring it didn’t matter what I was wearing. The leggings and sweater I’d worn to work weren’t exactly an outfit for a night out, but again, I didn’t give a shit.

At least I hadn’t cared right up until the moment I stepped into the place to see Gavin, Adrian, and Jake talking.

Yep.

Jacob Wild.

I’d learned quickly that Gavin had run into Jake in the hall outside our place and had invited him to come along.

And here we were, standing in the corner of the room, drinking beer while I pretended not to be uncomfortable that Adrian was less than two feet away. I honestly wished I were anywhere but there. Although I enjoyed spending time with Gavin, I wouldn’t be disappointed if I never saw Adrian again.

Gavin nudged me with his shoulder. “You okay?”

No, I wasn’t, but I couldn’t tell him that, so I pasted on a smile and peered up at him. “Good. You?”

My best friend studied me momentarily and I wondered what he was thinking. We’d been at the club for nearly an hour, and I was counting down the minutes until I could politely take my leave, go back to my condo, and … do nothing. I was spending so much time worried about the fact I couldn’t come up with any inspiration to draw, I’d pretty much put my entire life on hold. Other than work, anyway. And even that was dragging since I hadn’t taken on any new clients, still trading shifts with Charlie in order to keep from having to work the busy nights. I figured before long, she would get tired of me, but for now, at least, she wasn’t saying anything.

“Where’s Gil?” Adrian asked, looking from me to Gavin, then back.

“Work,” I told him. That or he was at the condo screwing some chick. I wasn’t his keeper.

And didn’t I have a shitty attitude?

I felt the heat of Jake’s gaze on me, and I looked at him for the first time in at least twenty minutes. He was frowning.

I sighed. I did not want to be that girl. Did not want to be the one to bring the party down, but being around Adrian wasn’t easy. Mostly due to the fact that I was living a lie when it came to our breakup. Gavin still believed that I’d dumped Adrian because our relationship had stalled out. I knew that wasn’t the case and Adrian knew that wasn’t the case. Because of that, though, I had to pretend Adrian was my friend.

Only every time I looked at him, I thought about the night I’d gone over to his place to find him in bed with those bitches. He’d been drunk, they’d been stoned, but they’d all been naked, and Adrian had been buried balls deep in that chick’s ass. And though he’d definitely seen me standing there, he hadn’t stopped. Adrian’s hips had continued to thrust as he kept a firm grip on the woman’s airborne legs.

The memory made me want to puke.

Sex between Adrian and me hadn’t been phenomenal, so it wasn’t like I missed it. It had been decent, but nothing crazy wild, and no, he’d never fucked me in the ass. In fact, for the two months leading up to that night, we’d had sex maybe half a dozen times, so it was safe to say we’d been heading for a breakup anyway, but I had wanted to believe that Adrian had respected me a little more than that.

Obviously not.

“Come to the bar with me?” Jake asked, looking directly at me.

Figuring it would give me a reprieve from Adrian, I agreed.

“Something wrong?” he asked after he got the bartender’s attention and ordered two more beers.

“If I said no, would you believe me?”

Jake grinned, and the sexy slant of his mouth made me relax. “Probably not.”

The bartender handed over two beers, and Jake passed him a twenty, telling him to keep the change.

I took a drink and kept my eyes on Jake. “I don’t like him,” I admitted.

Jake’s gaze slid over to where Adrian and Gavin were standing. “Which one?”

“Adrian. We used to … uh … date.”

“Ended badly?”

“You could say that.”

“Was it serious?” Jake’s full attention was on me once again.

Just as I was about to answer, someone slammed into me from behind, sending me stumbling into Jake. He caught me with one hand while glaring at the man behind me. Rather than get into an altercation the way Gil or Gavin would have, Jake simply pulled me toward the wall, crowding me with his big body, keeping me safe.

I liked that approach. A lot. The fact that he didn’t feel the need to make a scene was a nice change of pace.

“Was it?” he repeated.

“Serious?” I shook my head. “No, but he cheated and I caught him in the act. He’s never taken responsibility for his actions, and that’s what pisses me off the most.”

Some unnamed emotion flittered across Jake’s face, but he didn’t say anything, so I didn’t, either.

We stood there for a moment, staring. I was lost in the sexual tension that was radiating between us, doing my best to ignore it. I honestly hadn’t expected to see him again, especially not like this.

And then Blaze’s words of wisdom popped into my head again:
Honey, you need to get laid. You know, by some outrageously hot guy who’s gonna pin you against the wall and make you beg for mercy.

Oddly enough, there was an outrageously hot guy standing less than a foot from me, and the thought of sex with him had my body overheating.

“So, do you come here often?” he asked, his sexy smile returning.

“Hey, that’s my cheesy line. Get your own material, Chapter One.”

His grin widened and I couldn’t look away. He truly was one of the most attractive men I’d ever met. Although I knew there were women everywhere lusting after him, I got the sense that he was definitely a private person.

Didn’t mean he didn’t have other flaws.

Jake moved closer and I took one step back, coming into contact with the wall.

I nearly swallowed my tongue when he leaned down, his warm breath grazing my cheek. His next words had my knees going week.

“I want to kiss you, Presley. So fucking bad.”

Oh, Lord.

“I’ve spent hours thinking about you,” he said. “About what you’d taste like.”

Although his words should’ve come across as tactless, they weren’t. Not to me, anyway. Perhaps it was the way he said them, or the fact that Jake didn’t touch me, other than his lips brushing the shell of my ear ever so lightly.

I swallowed hard.

“I want to see you again, Presley,” he whispered, his hand resting on the wall to the right of my head as he pulled back and peered down at me. “Without so many people around.”

Unable to resist, I looked into those beautiful blue-green eyes, but couldn’t find my voice.

“What’s up?” Gavin’s gruff words interrupted our moment. “Thought maybe you’d left.”

I snapped out of it, looking at Gavin, who was eyeing me and Jake skeptically, then over to Adrian, who was standing beside his brother, eyes narrowed on me.

“Not yet,” I said, forcing a smile.

“Hey, dude,” Adrian said to Gavin, elbowing him, “see that chick over there?”

Gavin’s attention turned to whatever chick Adrian was referring to. “Which one?”

I looked up at Jake to see he was still staring at me. The way his eyes smoldered made my body heat significantly. For a fraction of a second, I was seriously considering taking him back to my place and getting naked and horizontal.

Adrian’s voice interrupted my wayward thoughts. “Think she’d be game for a double team?”

I frowned, then looked away from Jake.

Gross.

The last thing I wanted to think about was Gavin and Adrian banging that chick—or
any
chick, for that matter—together.

“I think I’m gonna head out,” I told them, suddenly needing some air.

Gavin frowned at me. “You sure?”

Jake didn’t say a word.

“Yeah. I’m tired.” It wasn’t a lie. I was tired.

Secretly, I wanted to get back to reading. Although I knew I should’ve been putting distance between myself and Jacob, I had taken to reading his books, and I was currently halfway through
Forbidden
. And yes, perhaps I was a statistic, but I’d found myself caught up in the sexiness of it all.

What surprised me most was that I was looking forward to the happy ever after. My life didn’t resemble his stories, but they allowed me to escape reality for a while. At this point, I needed that more than anything.

“Want me to walk you?” Gavin offered.

“Nah. I’ll catch a cab. But thanks anyway.” I forced myself to look at Adrian. “Good to see you.”

“Yeah, you, too.” For a brief moment, I saw what appeared to be remorse in his navy-blue eyes.

I shrugged it off. As far as I was concerned, Adrian had missed the boat on being a stand-up guy a year ago when he let me take the fall for him being a creep. Not that I’d run it past him before I’d lied to Gavin about why I’d broken up with him, but still. He could’ve copped to it himself.

Only that would’ve been bad for everyone. Especially Gavin, who hadn’t been keen on the idea of me dating Adrian from the beginning. He hadn’t wanted me to get hurt, and though I’d told him that wasn’t possible, I’d learned that had been a lie, as well. Adrian had hurt me.

I turned to Jake. “Thanks for the beer.”

He nodded, still not saying anything.

“I’ll talk to you later, ’kay?” I gave Gavin a one-armed hug, then squeezed my way through the crowd toward the door.

Once I stepped outside, I started walking rather than hail a cab. It wasn’t far to my place and I definitely needed the fresh air to clear my head.