Under the Lights

Under the Lights

A Scoundrels Short Story

By Mari Carr

Smashwords Edition

Copyright 2013 Mari Carr

First electronic publication: April 2013

Cover by Valerie Tibbs

This book is a work of fiction. The names,
characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s
imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be
construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead,
actual events, locale or organizations is entirely
coincidental.

Smashwords Edition, License
Notes

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authors.

Just how hot does it get under the
lights?

Part Two - Under the
Lights.
Becca Preston has been in love
with Parker Banks for years. But she’s resigned herself to the fact
her feelings can never be revealed. For one thing, he’s a huge
Hollywood movie star and a lifetime spent living with her famous
father has taught her actors aren’t exactly known for their
fidelity.

But even more problematic is Parker’s
dominance. Becca is used to calling the shots and Parker’s dark,
commanding presence alarms her, leaves her frightened,
confused...breathless.

Parker is most at ease onstage. So what
better place than Scoundrels for him to capture his elusive beauty,
Becca. Tonight, under the lights, he’s determined to set her body
on fire, bring her darkest fantasies to life…and claim her heart
once and for all.

This short story is part two of a trilogy of
stories about Becca and Parker's romance and it is connected to the
Scoundrels series, available now at Ellora’s Cave. For better
enjoyment, it is suggested that you read Behind the Scenes before
reading this book. Approximate word count is 6300 words.

Chapter One

Becca lay on the bed, trying to batten down
her desires, fighting hard to repress the need to stroke herself,
touch her clit, play with herself until she came. Hard.

Unfortunately, she couldn’t do that. Or, at
least, her modesty wouldn’t let her. After all, she was in the
center of the large stage at Scoundrels and there were no less than
three hundred people watching her. Waiting.

She felt their pain. She was waiting too. And
like the audience, she had no idea what was coming.

Before Becca took her place on the soft
mattress, Parker Banks, Hollywood’s sexiest leading man, had put a
vibrator in her pussy, a plug in her ass, and issued a promise.
He’d vowed that tonight, he would claim her. Completely.

She would have liked to
play the
too stupid to live
card and pretend his comments were strictly
limited to the erotic show they were about to enact, but she knew
better. Knew him too well to imagine he was only interested in her
for the sake of the performance.

They’d been best friends years earlier when
he—like she—was just a lowly employee at the Scoundrels nightclub.
He’d waited tables while she had tended bar. They’d had a running
lunch date on Thursdays, and there hadn’t been an action film
released that the two of them hadn’t gone to see together.

Until…fame hit. Parker had been discovered on
this very stage by a talent scout and the rest, as they say, was
history. His career skyrocketed. She was happy for him, thrilled
actually. He’d achieved his goals, seen his dreams come true. It
was all she’d ever wanted for him.

So what if his success had left her
alone?

Lonely.

But now Parker was back. And the feelings
she’d managed to shove to the wayside had returned with a
vengeance.

His final whispered words before she’d walked
onstage had shaken her to the core. He’d wrapped his arm around her
waist, tugged her back to his chest, and as his hot breath tickled
her ear, he’d simply said, “Fight me. I dare you.”

He didn’t have to worry about that. She’d
spent the past four years building up her armaments, strengthening
her defenses. She was perfectly prepared to wage this battle. Hell,
after so long, it was time to finally put the war to rest. Tonight,
she’d prove to Parker once and for all, they were incompatible.
That his proclamations declaring he wanted her were based on
nothing more than lust—a short-term and passing phase. He’d get
over it soon enough and move on to the next gorgeous bimbo to throw
herself at his mega movie star feet and then, once again, Becca
would be alone.

Lonely.

He’d caught her unaware in the dressing room
earlier. She’d allowed him to take control of the situation…and her
body. She wouldn’t make that same mistake again. As she lay on the
bed, she sucked in several long, deep breaths and steadied her
nerves. She could do this. She had to.

She heard the slight tinkling of glasses as
the waitresses continued to deliver drinks to the patrons. She
should be pouring those drinks from behind the safety of the bar.
She didn’t belong here.

Why wasn’t Parker coming out on stage? Why
wasn’t he—

The vibrator inside her began pulsing. She
jerked, releasing a moan that seemed to confuse the audience. No
wonder. She’d been lying like a corpse, alone for nearly five
minutes. Now she was groaning and helpless to remain motionless.
The vibrations from her pussy increased as the heartless bastard
holding the remote took her from low to high speed in one fell
swoop.

She’d make Parker pay. Somehow, someday, the
power would be in her hands, and she’d get revenge. With
interest.

Her hips thrust involuntarily as her hands
flew to her pussy. Originally she’d thought to cover herself as her
gyrations caused her flimsy nightgown to creep higher. That plan
was quickly cast aside and instead, Becca discreetly sought out her
clit through the silky material, trying to covertly stroke the
swollen bud, seeking more stimulation.

A quiet, approving murmur filled the room. So
much for inconspicuous. She was center stage and alone. Every eye
in the place was on her and obviously the audience was enjoying her
show. Jesus. Was she really masturbating on stage? Apparently she
was.

Well…in for a dime, in for a dollar. She
continued to play with herself while keeping her eyes firmly shut.
Maybe if she didn’t see the crowd, she could pretend she was alone.
The fantasy was a familiar one to her, so her actions certainly
weren’t forced.

She’d described her dirty sex dream to her
friend, Emma, one afternoon after they’d consumed too many
margaritas at lunch. Tonight, Emma—damn her—had decided to bring
Becca’s fantasy to life…onstage. And she’d recruited Parker to play
the starring role.

Another quiet cry escaped as her arousal
grew. Her nipples were tight, sensitive, begging for a pinch.
Giving in to the urge, Becca used her free hand to give her breast
a firm squeeze. The audience released an audible sigh, which
encouraged her to up the ante. She took one taut nub between her
fingers and pressed hard.

“Oh God,” she murmured, shocked when the
softly spoken words filled the large room. Damn. She’d forgotten
about the boom mic hanging directly above the bed. Every sound,
every word she spoke tonight would be broadcast throughout the
nightclub.

She recalled exactly how loud, how vocal she
could be in the midst of sex. And while she and Parker weren’t
going to do the actual deed, she knew him well enough to know he’d
give a damn fine impersonation of it. If the vibrator wreaking
havoc on her libido was anything to go by, he probably wouldn’t be
satisfied until she’d come for real in front of God and everybody.
This was bound to be embarrassing.

Fuck it. She’d signed on to
play a role. That was
all
this was. She was an actress in a performance. If
she could hold on to that thought, it would make the next half hour
or so a hell of a lot easier to take.

If only Emma hadn’t orchestrated this
particular fantasy…

If only Parker wasn’t the leading man…

Parker had driven her to orgasm less than
half an hour earlier in the dressing room, but rather than satisfy,
it had merely inflamed her, left her hungry for so much more.

The vibrator continued to
beat away at her sensitive pussy muscles. Each time she clenched
around the too small, too ineffective toy, she was reminded of the
plug in her ass. Anal play wasn’t in her normal repertoire, but she
couldn’t deny there was something about having her ass filled that
triggered a latent
wow
button. She liked it a lot more than she ever would have
expected.

Leave it to Parker to toss her into the deep
end. The man had consumed too much of her attention the past few
years, causing her to feel things she didn’t want to feel, want
things she had no business wanting.

Parker was an actor. A gorgeous, sexy,
sought-after movie star. Having spent a lifetime living under the
same roof with that exact brand of man, there was no way Becca
would sign on for the pain her mother had suffered. Her father
hadn’t even tried to honor his marriage vows or hide his
affairs.

And after only three years in the spotlight,
Parker had racked up his fair share of torrid front-page tabloid
love affairs. Becca had no interest in adding her name to that
list. Thanks to her famous father, she’d already been subjected to
all sorts of conjecture about her love life. The latest rumor
speculated that she was a lesbian, and a picture of her shopping
with Emma had made the rounds. People really needed to get a life.
Unlike the Kardashians, she didn’t enjoy their unsavory attention.
Besides, they always managed to get everything wrong.

She’d probably pay for her appearance on this
stage tonight. She clearly hadn’t thought this through. How many
people in the audience recognized her and were tweeting to the
world that Jared Preston’s supposedly lesbian daughter was acting
in an erotic show at Scoundrels. She blew out a long, annoyed
breath. Her father would love it, boasting that she was finally
following in his footsteps. Her mother would be horrified.

What the hell had she been thinking?

She hadn’t. She’d seen Parker. Let him
overwhelm her with his take-charge sexual advances in the dressing
room and then she’d let him shove her onto this stage like a lamb
to the slaughter.

The problem was her heart
was too engaged when it came to Parker. She needed to keep her
emotions contained. Platonic love was all she could safely offer
him. Despite his assertions they would be perfect for each other,
she was far-too-well aware of exactly how long
perfect
lasted in Hollywood. She
ventured to guess her manicure would survive longer than any Parker
Banks romance.

The lighting on the stage began to change
colors, washing her in a sea of blue, then red, then green that she
could see even beneath her lowered eyelids. The background music
until this point had been soft, melodic, almost a lullaby. Which
was appropriate. After all, her role was simple. She was a woman
alone in bed at night, having naughty, sexy dreams.

Dreams that would be fulfilled by Parker…and
friends. She hadn’t seen the other men Emma had hired to
participate in this sex fantasy, but knowing her girlfriend, she’d
have found two unbelievably gorgeous specimens, which would only
put Becca in a more painfully aroused state.