London Calling: BWWM New Adult Romance (Chase Brothers Book 2) (5 page)

“You’re taking the piss, right? You sent me a replacement last night.”

“Yeah, well, you weren’t supposed to shag her. She wasn’t a bloody escort. Just a friend who needed the dosh.”

“Miriam, this is so fucked up.” He pinched the bridge of his nose as he unlocked his car. “Is she—“ He swallowed hard as the question filtered through his brain. “Is she okay? She sort of skipped out on me.”

“I didn’t talk to her. She just left me a message that just said she wouldn’t be doing that again and that she’d left the money behind.” She gave a mirthless chuckle. “In the two years you’ve been coming to me, you’ve never shagged me. God, I swore you were gay. It was the only reason I sent her.”

Gay? Seriously
? “No. Not gay. And I didn’t shag her.” He slid into the front seat of his Pagani Huyra. “Not…exactly anyway. Look. It’s complicated. Do you know how I can find her?” Fuck, he sounded like a desperate twat.
That’s because you are a desperate twat
.

“I have her number, but there’s no way I’m giving it to you without her permission.”

Fuck
. “Get her fucking permission and give it to me. I need to talk to her.” He needed to do a lot more than talk to her. His gut twisted. What the hell was so special about her? She was beautiful, sure but it was more than that.

“Fine, I’ll ask. What was so urgent you wanted to see me last night anyway?”

Paris
. But did he still want to take her? Last night, while he’d been holding Imani, his sex-dazed brain had entertained the possibility that she could go with him. If that was even her name. At least he wouldn’t have to fake a connection to someone while under that kind of scrutiny.
At least I wouldn’t have to be alone
.

“I’ll talk to you about it later.”
You need her.
Maybe not. He might find Imani first.

"
Y
ou don’t have
to be nervous, you know. It’s going to be great. You’re my star."

Imani rolled her shoulders and forced a smile for her director and mentor, Charles Adams. Without him, she probably never would have made it through the program. “I’m hardly a star, Charles. I’ll be less nervous if you just tell me who my costar is.” It had been announced nearly two weeks ago that she would be starring as Carmen. But at the time of her announcement, they had still been looking for the male lead. It wasn’t uncommon to use an alumnus. Her vote was for Matthew McFayden or Tom Hiddleston if that were the case. Though she was not possibly that lucky.

“Nonsense. You have to start believing it, my girl.”

She shrugged. “I’m not looking to be a star. I just want to breathe life into my characters to the best of my ability. And get paid for what I love.”

“And that will be good enough,” he said with a paternal grin. The man was more of a father to her than her own. “You don’t have to wait any longer.” With her arm looped into his, she let him lead her down the auditorium stairs of the rehearsal hall to the stage.

“I can’t believe you’ve been keeping the male lead such a secret.”

He chuckled. “I wasn't allowed to say anything because I didn't know if we could get him released from his current filming obligations in time, but here he is. I believe you are already familiar with Ryan Ellison.”

Imani’s step faltered at the sound of the name, making Charles take the final step without her. As a result, she stumbled into the one person she never wanted to see again. Ryan was technically a student at RADA, but he’d put his studies on hold for a BBC series. After the series, he’d gotten a big Spielberg film. He was huge star now. He was also her ex, the one person with the power to hurt and destroy her.

Imani flinched from his touch on reflex when he reached out to steady her.
Run
.
Say something. Anything
. This was not happening. There was no way she could work with him. Not after what he’d done to her. How he’d hurt her. When she opened her mouth, all that came out was “I—wh-what…”

Ryan, it seemed, did not suffer the same affliction. “Imani, it’s good to see you. Congratulations on being cast as Carmen.” His smile was warm, engaging. It was the smile he’d given her a million times. The one he used to make people trust him.

Charles found the words for her. “Ryan, Imani, I’m so excited I can hardly contain myself. We’re going to make the production one for the ages. Ryan, with your star power and Imani’s rising star, there is no reason we can’t take this production and its stars to the West End.”

Panic started to overtake her. She couldn’t work with him.
But you can’t quit, either. This is your dream.
She’d worked hard to get here. And there was no way she was giving it up because of this asshole. She’d talk to Charles.

“Actually, Charles, if I could have a moment—“

But he had already slung an arm over each of their shoulders. “I have another surprise for you two. Since this production is such a big deal, the school has arranged for a photo shoot with the cast.”

“That’s great, Charles,” Ryan said. Everything about his voice made the anger simmer inside. She turned slowly to face him, schooling her expression. Projecting a calm she didn’t feel, she managed to keep her expression placid and cool.

The doors to the studio opened and in walked a pretty black girl with reddish-brown braids. She laughed as she said something to someone behind her.

"Oh, here are the photographers now. I can’t believe we were able to get Xander Chase to photograph for us. A photo shoot with him normally costs more than my car."

"Who's Xander Chase?" Imani frowned.

Charles chuckled and tilted his head. "
That's
Xander Chase."

Imani tracked the direction of his chin and the gaze of every other female in the room. They were all focused on the doorway.

Behind the girl strode in the most beautiful man she'd ever seen. And he was all too familiar. His sandy-blond hair fell over his brow and he was laughing with the girl in front of him. His smile was unfiltered and had the power to make women stare. “Oh shit.”
Alexander
.

Charles laughed. "Yeah. You would not be the first woman, or man for that matter, to say that."

“I—uh. I'm not, uh..."
Stop talking. Just stop
. There was something about the way he looked at the girl. He was totally smitten with her. A knot of pain twisted around her stomach.
Suck it up, not like last tonight was special
. As far as he was concerned, she was the worst escort known to mankind. Why was this her life? First Ryan, now this.

"Wipe the drool off your lip, darling.” Ryan’s voice was mocking. “Let’s go meet our photographer."

Charles led the way while Imani tried to find a good reason for escape. Her breathing accelerated as she drew nearer to him. Hot and sexy looked up with a smile, his gaze focused on her director. "Charles?" He stuck out his hand. "Good to meet you, mate." Indicating the girl, he added, "This is my assistant, Abbie Nartey."

"Pleasure." Charles tugged Imani and Ryan closer. There was no way to avoid it, so she went with it and stumbled forward. "These are our stars, Imani Brooks and Ryan Ellison."

She didn’t dare meet Xander’s gaze. Not that she could avoid it. Not like there was some kind of manual to deal with these kinds of situations. Like, here is what to do in the instance of pretended to be an escort the night before, then running into the person the next morning. Nor did she think there was a Hallmark card for such an occasion. Cowardly as she was, she chose to shake Abbie's hand first. It was probably safer that way. The girl smiled warmly at her. "Congratulations, I hear Carmen is a great part." Imani relaxed marginally. "You’re American.”

Abbie laughed. “It’s nice to hear a familiar accent.”

“It is. And thank you. We’ll see if I can do the part justice." Peripherally, she could hear Ryan and Xander exchanging greetings.
Be calm. Be calm. Be calm. And shit, if you can’t be calm, fake that shit till you make it.
Inwardly bracing herself, she turned her attention to Xander and offered her hand while Ryan introduced himself to Abbie.

Xander’s jovial grin had morphed into a scowl. The slight cock of his head indicated confusion and his narrowed eyes did an excellent job of communicating his anger. The intensity of his glare was enough to make her teeth lock together. Would he out her? He couldn’t. At least not without outing himself too.

He glanced at her hand, then back at her face and heat prickled her skin. She sure as hell wasn’t going to be intimidated, though. It wasn’t as if she’d planned this. Stubbornly she kept her hand out, daring him to shame himself by not taking it. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Xander. Charles was just telling me how lucky we are to have you both."

His scowl only deepened and his slate-gray eyes darkened. Lips pressed into a thin line, he took her hand and she immediately wished he hadn’t. It was like holding on to a live wire, the spike of electricity was so strong.

His much larger hand enveloped hers and his nostrils flared slightly as his pupils dilated. Despite the hostility, the flicker of awareness bloomed and as far as her body was concerned, they were the only two people in the room. Her brain did her no favors as it recalled the hot need flooding her veins as he took her nipple into his mouth, or the way he’d coaxed her orgasm out of her with his words.

Her brain tried to give the command to let go of his hand or pull back. Something. Instead, they stayed locked in that position. The charged electricity tore down the walls between them, baring their souls to each other. The only word that her brain registered was…
want
. Even after that mind-numbing orgasm last night. One he’d given her with very little effort on his part. The heat pooling between her thighs didn’t lie. Even if she’d admonished herself a million times since running out of his flat that morning, it didn't change the fact that she responded to him in a way she didn’t think she’d be able to respond to anyone ever again. What the hell was wrong with her?

And then she felt it, the stroke of his thumb over her knuckle. He might not even have realized he was doing it because his wide-eyed expression mirrored her surprise.

Jerking her hand back, she turned her attention to Abbie, who was now glaring at Xander. Imani tensed.
Shit
. Was she about to be at the center of some kind of lover's spat?
Stupid, stupid, stupid.
It was totally not her fault. The guy was walking sex appeal…with a penchant for hookers. Okay, maybe a little her fault. She plastered what she hoped was an appropriate
mea culpa
expression on her face.

But when Abbie turned to face her, her expression was just as warm as before. "Why don’t we get you set up with lighting."

Uh
,
okay
… Maybe they had some weird polyamorous thing going. No judgment. Except, maybe, a little judgment. She couldn’t imagine sharing someone like Xander.

After she cleared her throat and regained her composure, she said, "Sure thing," then led the way down the stairs to the stage, refusing to turn back. Even though she could feel the heat of Xander's scowl on her back.

What the fuck?
Xander stared at his hand flexing it, then stared back up at Abbie and Imani's retreating forms. His life had just gotten a hell of a lot more complicated. He nearly vibrated with anger and residual need. He’d known the girl was no escort, but this? She’d taken a hell of a risk last night for what? A role? Research? What if he’d been some kind of nutter?

"Is there a problem?" Charles's soft question was his first clue that he was acting like a complete nutter.
Bloody fantastic.

"Nope. Everything’s wicked. Let's get started, shall we?"

"Yeah, right this way. For this shoot, we wanted to focus on the announcement of the leads. The final play each year is usually a pretty big deal. It’s an even bigger deal this year because of the play and our actors. Ryan has been building a portfolio here in Britain for years now since he was a child, so he's well known. But Imani is a newcomer.”

Ryan interjected. "Let me just say I'm a huge fan of your work. I was at your gallery opening at The Tate."

"Uh, thanks." That opening seemed like a million lifetimes ago.

"I'm excited you're going to be photographing us. Imani's pretty nervous, so if you need help getting her to cooperate, I can help with that. We’re pretty close."

The note of boastfulness set Xander’s nerves on edge and he slid Ryan a glance. But the guy wasn’t looking at him. He was looking at Imani. Xander didn't like the proprietary way he looked at her. It was clear to anyone that this moron wanted her. And that knowledge was enough to nearly blind him with rage.
Mine
. He’d been the one making her come last night. Just the mention of her name was enough to set his teeth on edge and he clamped his jaw together. Fuck, he really needed to get a grip.
Get your shit together.

Charles continued. “Obviously Imani’s American, one of the few in the program, and she's for all intents and purposes the star, so it's really her debut and we want to make it as splashy as possible. Alex McQueen is the writer and it's an adaptation of his novel from two years ago."

Xander remembered the one. It was a gritty tale of a woman's journey from the back alley streets of Soho where her mother had been a prostitute to Fleet Street and the love she had to give up to get there. It had won a slew of awards both here and across the pond and sat at the top of the charts for months. McQueen had said that he would never turn it into a film but would only support turning it into a screenplay for stage. For RADA to have it was a huge coup, especially since it could display on the West End and on Broadway.

He had a hard time accepting that that little slip of a girl could carry a role like that. "Is she any good?"

Charles grinned. "She's amazing. And the best part is she has no idea. She embodies both the ingénue and the vamp. It's why the selection committee chose her to attend here. Imani slips in and out of characters so easily, like she's putting on a pretty frock. No matter how ugly the role is, she attacks it. You think she is the character. You should come to the opening. I'll secure you tickets."

Bollocks to that. There was no way he was sitting through a performance with that girl. Especially since he already knew how soft she was. His cock begged to differ as his erection strained against his jeans. He’d likely have a permanent imprint of his zipper.

Maybe it was possible for Abbie to do this one on her own. She’d been working with him for months now, she was good. Very good. Anything to avoid being this close to Imani.
Coward
.

In the distance, she and Abbie laughed over something and it felt like he was punched in the gut. His gaze flickered to Abbie first, but it was Imani that held it. With an animated smile on her face and her eyes lit with humor, she was stunning to look at.

Easy does it
. He sucked in a deep breath and tried to steady himself, but his brain conjured up scenarios he didn't need. He already knew how she kissed, how soft her skin was, what her pussy felt like milking his fingers. The part of his brain he normally kept under lock and key conjured up darker images that made him tight and itchy. Like that wide sexy mouth and what would it look like wrapped around his—

“I’ll just help Abbie get set up, then we’ll be on our way.” Xander unpacked his camera and attached the strap to keep his hands busy. Excusing himself, he started with the lighting set up. Normally Abbie would do it on her own, but he needed something more to do with his hands.

From the corner of his eye he watched as Charles had Ryan and Imani take their marks. Imani recited several of her lines and he stared. Hell, everyone stared. It was just a couple of lines, but for that moment, she commanded everyone around her.

Abbie’s voice broke his reverie. "You want to tell me who shoved that stick up your ass?"