Falling From Grace (4 page)

“After a while they all start to look the same. Besides, I’m more focused on delivering a healthy baby than the body part it’s coming out of.”

“Okay, I have to ask…doesn’t that kinda ruin the allure of a woman’s body?”

“Why would it?”

“I mean…if you see women’s pink parts all the time, where’s the excitement when you’re on a date?”

He cleared his throat, not quite able to believe he was having this conversation and in fact, realized it was time to change the subject
when sweat threatened to pop along his hairline at the memory of burying himself between Dani’s pink parts.
Yeah, definitely not a safe topic to casually talk about
. “Tell me about the guy I tossed out of here this morning. If he’s not a boyfriend, was he a friend with benefits?”

She made a face. “No. He’s an asshole
who gave me a ride home last night and decided I should pay him with sex this morning.”

He chose his words carefully. “So, is that something that happens often?”

Dani hit him with a frosty look. “I don’t believe that’s any of your business.” And you know what, she was right. What the hell did he care who she was messing around with? Not his business and he didn’t care. After an uncomfortable pause, she continued with a slightly less brittle tone, adding, “No, it doesn’t happen often” but he got the impression that she was holding something back, as if there were other situations that’d happened that were just as dicey. Dani opened her mouth as if to share a little more when she was interrupted by the sudden appearance of a loud blonde who slammed into the house with the force of a tornado in designer heels.

The woman skidded to a stop and openly slid her gaze up and down Miles until her generous lips
curved in an appreciative smile and Miles felt distinctly stripped bare and in need of a shower. “And who are you, aside from my newest crush?” she purred without a hint of bashfulness.

Before he could answer, Dani jumped up and stepped in front of the
platinum blonde. “His name is Miles and he’s not interested. What are you doing here, Raina?” she asked in a lowered tone but Raina pushed Dani aside and shocked him when she settled herself in his lap as if that were completely normal or acceptable.

“Have we met?” he asked, not the least bit interested in the porn package she was selling but he found it very interesting that Dani looked ready to toss the woman from the highest building. The fire in Dani’s eyes couldn’t possibly be jealousy, right?
And even if it were jealousy…did he care? No, he didn’t care but he’d be a liar if he didn’t admit to finding the show mildly entertaining. Let’s wait and see where this was going, he thought as he allowed the woman to remain perched on his groin.

“Raina! What the hell is wrong with you?”
Dani practically screeched, her eyes wide and disbelieving. “Get off of him!”

But Raina was more interested in Miles than what Dani was squawking about. If he hadn’t been oddly struck by the feeling that he was, somehow, being unfaithful to Dani, he would’ve enjoyed the feel of the woman in his lap but as it was, he
suffered a growing discomfort in spite of his previous curiosity and was tremendously grateful when Dani pulled Raina from his lap with a muttered expletive.

“Ouch,” Raina exclaimed, rubbing her arm and sending Dani a reproachful look. “This one you’r
e not into sharing? Okay, fine.” And then as if the incident were completely forgotten, she launched into something different with dizzying speed. “So, I totally had to get you to reconsider your lame decision to stay home tonight because you’re never going to guess who is going to that party tonight…Wayne Dietch! Yes, the director who totally helmed that epic piece of work known as
American Fly Boys
and guess who was pretty keen to make your acquaintance when I did a little name dropping…yes!
Wayne
! Darling, this is the party that could make your career. Now, try and tell me that you’re staying home.”

Miles narrowed his stare at the intrusive woman, already not trusting the vibe he was getting from her. “
American Fly Boys
…wasn’t that the film that started off with a NC-17 rating and that critics were calling one step up from a pornographic movie?”

Raina, irritated at his input
and no longer eyeing him like an adult-sized piece of man candy, smiled sweetly and said, “That’s the kind of press you can’t pay for, right?” Then she returned to Dani with a bright grin, tugging at her as she said, “Let’s plan the wardrobe choices. You totally need to impress. Something that shows off that gorgeous skin and those succulent boobs is my vote, of course.”

Now he really didn’t like her. Time to end this little meeting. He stood and fixed Raina with the stare he reserved for difficult patients, saying, “Sorry, Danielle will have to sit this one out.”

“Oh? And why is that?”

“Because she’s under my care for the time being and as her physician, I say she’s not well enough for an outing.”

Raina turned to Dani, daring her to tell Miles to shut up but Dani remained silent. “Oh? I didn’t know you were under a
physician’s
care…” she said, narrowing her gaze with speculation at Miles and then Dani. “I hope it’s not serious.”

“She’ll be fine,” he assured Raina and gestured for the door. “However, she needs some quiet time
without any stress. Meetings with pornographic movie directors will have to wait.”

“I’d hardly call Wayne a porn director. What are you, Amish?”

“Not Amish, just calling it as I see it. You’re just going to have to pimp someone else tonight because Danielle isn’t available.”

“
Wow. Restrictive much? Jesus, are you her warden or something?” She turned away from him and directed her stare at Dani, silently willing Dani to override his decision. Dani’s gaze fluttered with anxiety as she wavered and Raina capitalized on Dani’s weakness. The woman was like a shark on the trail of blood, saying, “These kinds of introductions don’t just drop out of the sky and with your recent negative press…it might be a good idea to circulate…you know, put yourself out there in a good way.”

Something akin to frantic anxiety flooded Dani’s formerly confident gaze as she twisted her hands and
bit her lip in indecision. “Miles…maybe I could just make a quick appearance?” she suggested in a timid tone that didn’t fit her personality at all and Miles knew right then and there that this Raina character was a bad influence. Dani was disintegrating right before his eyes and he wasn’t about to watch it happen without putting up a fight. If Lindy needed Dani, well and back to normal, then the first thing to go had to be this toxic blonde.

“No. Tonight you stay in,” he said firmly, his hard stare directed straight at Raina.
Yeah, I see right through you
. “She’ll call when her treatment is complete. Until then…no more visits.”

“You’re a little young to be her daddy, aren’t you?” Raina shot back with a fair amount of sarcasm. “Last time I checked Dani was a full-grown adult and could make her own decisions. Hell, last I heard she was even capable of cutting her own meat and pouring her own milk into a big girl glass.”

“Are you finished?” he asked calmly. “If so, you know where the door is.”

“Raina…I’ll call you later,” Dani said, trying to placate the woman but Miles wasn’t going to let that woman influence Dani while he was trying to fix what was broken.

“Nope. No calls either. You’re going cold turkey on everything and
everyone
I feel is standing in your way of treatment.”

“
So that’s it? And you’re okay with this?” Raina pressed, her stare boring into Dani. “Are you sure?” At Dani’s imperceptible nod, Raina barked a short, incredulous laugh as if she were watching a freak show and then she shrugged, saying, “Whatever. It’s your funeral, not mine. Don’t come crying to me when no one takes your calls any more.” Raina slow walked backward to the door, adding an extra dose of venom. “That’s the thing about this town babe…if you can’t be seen, you can’t be seen. You know?”

Miles opened the door and the minute Raina stepped over the threshold, he slammed the door behind her and locked it.

Miles closed the door and locked it, meeting Dani’s look of open distress as he decided right that moment, “We’re not staying here. Pack your bags.”

“What?”

“I said pack your bags. You’re coming back to St. John with me. After that display, it’s very clear to me that this place — and that woman — is toxic. There’s no way you’re going to escape the influence of these parasites around you unless you leave for a while. So…pack light. It’s very humid in St. John.”

“I can’t just pack up and split L.A.,” she protested. “I have a job here.”

“No, what you have is a deteriorating reputation and if people like Raina have their way, you’ll have nothing but porn directors looking your way when it’s all said and done. If you come with me, clean up, and get your head on straight, you’ll actually have a shot at landing that part in
Falling From Grace
, and honey, that’s the real prize — not some chance meeting with a lecherous director who probably uses the casting couch to pick his actresses. You feeling me?”

Dani bit her lip and her eyes welled but she nodded
. He’d never seen her so fragile, so unlike herself. What had this place done to her? “Okay,” she murmured, still not quite sure of what to do or say in the situation. She was so turned around and backwards, she didn’t know which way was up anymore but he’d help set her straight. No one deserved to feel so lost.

Not even Dani.

-4-

Dani, packed and already boarding the plane, was a bit dazed that this was all happening so fast. Two days ago, if someone had told her she’d be boarding a plane to the Caribbean with Miles Lassiter she would’ve laughed in their face and told them to sell that shit to someone who’s buying. And yet, here she was, settling into the seat beside him, inadvertently catching a whiff of his cologne and shuddering with private awareness of every soft and tender part in her body. How was this possible? Did she care? Well, a little bit, if she were being honest. A part of her was so grateful for Miles’ intervention even though she could never admit that out loud.  There were so many things she’d like to say to Miles, maybe even to explain how everything had gone sidewise so quickly, but then she worried that he didn’t care any longer to hear her reasons. That was the part that hurt the most — the indifference. Maybe he’d been The One. Heaven knew that when she’d been with him, she’d never been happier. Of course, she hadn’t actually known that what she craved had been in her grasp all along. No, she’d been too hungry for fame. And who was she kidding? She
still
hungered for that elusive high, which was why her stomach was unsettled and her nerves were jangled at the realization that she was leaving Los Angeles. You had to be around to be seen, as Raina reminded her. She looked to Miles. “How long is this little vacation?” she asked.

“At least a week. Possibly two.”

She swallowed the anxiety in her throat. “Two weeks? I can’t take that much time away from the scene.”

“Sure you can.”

“Miles…you don’t understand, Hollywood has a terribly short memory. I have to be around in people’s faces so that they don’t forget who I am.”

“That’s bullshit. Nobody forgets about Meryl Streep and as far as I know she’s not out clubbing every night in the hopes of catching attention she doesn’t need.”

Her cheeks burned. “Well, I’m not exactly Meryl Streep.”

“Not yet.”

His quiet confidence warmed her insides with unexpected joy and she smothered the irrational fear making her edgy. There was truth to his statement. Since hanging with Raina in the hopes of catching the right people, she’d done nothing but push the right people away. When she’d started this journey, she’d been so sure of how to shape her career but since her fame exploded, she’d been unsure of what the right move was and had leaned heavily on Raina and her crew for guidance. Maybe that’d been a mistake. “What did you think of Raina?” she asked, more for confirmation of her own misgivings than a true curiosity.

“She’s a parasite. Where’d you meet her?”

“At a club called Crimson,” she answered, glancing out the small window. “At first she seemed so much fun and for awhile, it was a lot of crazy fun but lately…I don’t know…I’m not sure Raina is good for me.”

“Let me erase all doubt –
 she’s not. She doesn’t care about you or your work. You’re a meal ticket. There’s a reason people who become wildly famous stick to their original base of friends — because they can’t trust anyone else. I can almost guarantee that your ‘friend’ Raina has her own interests at heart, not yours.”

Dani nodded, feeling like an idiot for letting someone like Raina run her life for the past six months. “After
Judgment
, things went haywire and everyone wanted a piece of me. I didn’t know how to handle it all. Raina seemed to have all the answers.”

He grunted with a shake of his head. “Yeah, well, it’s what you wanted, right? Everyone wanting a piece of you? I seem to recall that was your biggest dream —
 total fame. I guess it’s true when they say, be careful what you wish for.”

She shot Miles a reproachful look. “That’s not fair…everyone has dreams. It’s not nice to beat me up over mine. Besides, I didn’t know what I was truly getting into
.”
Or what I would lose
. “Not everyone has everything in their head figured out.”

“You’re right,” he agreed, adding with a shrug, “but somethings just come with the territory you’ve pegged as your destination. It’s up to you to keep your head straight when the world is turning.”

Wasn’t that basically the same advice her dad had once given her? Thank God, her dad passed away two years ago, he would’ve been mortified to read the tabloids about her. Some of it was true, some of it was pure lies but no one ever took the time to sort it out. “How long is the flight?” she asked, fighting a yawn.

“Long enough for you to take a nap if you want,” he said.

“Do you mind if I use your shoulder?”

“No,” he said, his gaze darkening ever so slightly, causing her breath to hitch. But he looked away before she could say anything aside from a murmured word of gratitude. She settled her head against his shoulder and closed her eyes, loving how secure she felt snuggled against him like old times. There was just something about Miles that’d always felt safe…like home.

#

It was going to be a long flight, Miles realized the minute Dani’s head touched his shoulder. Within moments, she was sleeping like a baby. Risking a stupid move, he bent to inhale the unique scent of her crown, closing his eyes against the wash of memories that threatened to drown him. Why did this feel perfect? No woman had ever fit him so well, as if they were two puzzle pieces interlocking together. So cliché, he wanted to groan b
ut the truth was hard to shake and the memory of their first night together was even harder to stop.

“Nice place,” Dani had offered,
checking out his luxury apartment, openly appraising his pad, her fingers trailing along the marble countertop in the kitchen. “Doctors still make bank?”

“I do well enough,” he said, grinning. “Nothing compared to actors, of course.”

“Well, I’m still in the starving artist category so this still counts as impressive. My last job paid me exactly $450, which didn’t even cover my half of the rent for my crappy apartment. My roommate had to spot me a few hundred and she was not happy about it. I’m good for it, but it just means I have to take on a few more day player gigs, which sucks because aside from the craft services — which I totally raid — there’s not much opportunity for advancement and it eats up my audition time.”

“Tough business,” he said, handing her a glass of wine. “White okay? I’m all out of red.”

“It’s all the same to me. I’m not exactly a wine aficionado,” she said, taking a short sip. “So tell me, Dr. Lassiter…how’s a guy like you still single?”

“I could ask you the same.”

She averted her gaze with a sly smile but didn’t answer, and instead took a place on his sofa, patting the seat beside her. “Pretty lonely over here,” she said, smiling when his brow climbed in playful suggestion. She tucked her bottom lip under her front teeth and he nearly busted out of his pants. Damn, she was sexy. She took another sip before asking, “So, you have me here…what are you going to do with me?”

“I’ll do whatever you want me to do to you,” he answered with complete honesty. “But the question is…what do you want?”

“I’m down for whatever.”

“Are you always this accommodating?”

“No,” she answered, placing her glass on the coffee table and reaching for his. “But there’s something about you that I can’t quite get out of my head.”

“Same here.”

She climbed into his lap and settled right over his already straining-to-be-free cock. His hands went straight to her plump ass, cupping her firmly. She smiled with approval and slowly pulled off her top. Her breasts, two mounds of soft, squeezable flesh, pushed the limits of her dainty bra and the spit dried in his mouth. “Like what you see?” she’d purred and all he could do was nod. “Good. Now tell me what you want. Don’t be shy. Chances are I want what you want, too.”

“I want to fuck you,” he barely got the words out and God, he sounded like a horny teenager but she didn’t seem
to mind. In fact, she liked it.

“Tell me
more.” Her smile deepened with dark pleasure and she rocked her hips, rubbing herself on his cock. “I like it when you talk dirty.”

“
From the first moment we met I wanted to bury my cock inside your hot pussy. Is that what you want to know?”

She answered by unhooking her bra
and tossing it to the floor. His eyes widened at the sweet, pink nipples pearling under his hungry gaze and he was certain he’d never seen such perfect, natural tits. Without hesitating, his hands left her ass to fill with her beautiful, full breasts. She shuddered as he squeezed, teasing the nipples between thumb and forefinger and she fell forward to seal her mouth to his, grinding her hips against the seam of his jeans, riding the cock beneath until he was desperate to shuck the offending material keeping him from those hot folds. “God, you’re so gorgeous,” he said, moving his mouth in a voracious path down the column of her neck.

“Tell me how you wanted to fuck me,” she encouraged breathlessly. “Tell me what you wanted to do to me.”

He closed his eyes and recalled his dirty thoughts from earlier. It’d been hard to play the gentleman when nothing but filth had been saturating his mind. “I wanted to bend you over the craft services table and fuck you while everyone else watched. I wanted them all to see what they couldn’t have…what was all mine.”

“You want my pussy, baby?” she crooned, then gasped when his finger
slowly entered her, pushing between the slick tender folds, while his thumb found the hard ridge of her clitoris and gently caressed the responsive button until she squirmed, breathless. “Then show me what you want!”

He didn’t waste time.
His thoughts were on fire and his body, taut with need. He’d never been so consumed with crazy lust to fuck a woman. Within seconds, he had her on her back, skirt around her hips, his jeans on the floor beside her bra, pushing her into the sofa, legs thrown over his shoulders, pussy lips dewed and ready.
Holy shit…this was insane,
he thought, desperate to guide his aching cock into her willing heat. No protection, no forethought, hardly any foreplay…and yet, she was grabbing at him, nearly mindless herself with the desire to be fucked. Sweat beaded their bodies as he pushed himself in, burying his cock to the base, going balls deep, sinking into that hungry orifice as it sucked and clenched his flesh like a beast trying to eat him alive. His eyes rolled up into his head as intense pleasure whited out his brain.

Nothing seemed out of range between them. He fucked her raw but she was insatiable and when he came and she hadn’t
yet, he didn’t hesitate to bury his face in her well-fucked pussy to suck and lick her clitoris to a crashing end. Hearing Dani break apart had been an insane turn-on and his softening cock had roused with near lightening speed, a feat he’d never in his life accomplished without more recovery time. But there was no denying, he couldn’t get enough of her and within seconds, he was bending her over the sofa to plunge into her soft, yielding flesh again and again. And when that wasn’t enough, he banged her against the wall, knocking down pictures — including one of the orphaned kids in Africa he’d helped give polio vaccinations to during one of his Doctors Without Borders stints — but he didn’t care about anything but that hot pussy gripping him from the inside, wrenching out an even bigger orgasm than the previous, melting him from a place of total abandon.

They both collapsed to the floor, sweaty and breathing hard and Miles knew there was something special between them even if he didn’t know how to put it to words —
 or maybe he was just afraid to voice what was in his head for fear of sounding like a clingy asshole who didn’t know the meaning of a good time fuck. So imagine his surprise when Dani turned to him with wonder in her dazzling green eyes and admitted with a dazed grin, “I think we’re soulmates.” And his heart had answered before his mouth could catch up, sealing whatever fate had been scripted for them.

“Yeah, me too.”

Ahhh…fuck
. The sound of his own voice echoing that misguided sentiment rang in his mind and he let out a tight breath as he roused himself from the memory and wiped the sweat from his brow. He glanced down at Dani as she slept, completely unaware that his trip down Memory Lane had left him with a raging erection and no way to settle it down. She was like a drug, clouding his judgment and making him do and say things he’d regret in the morning. Why else would he possibly think bringing her to his sanctuary was a good idea? He rubbed at his forehead with his free hand and Dani nuzzled his shoulder in her sleep, murmuring his name in her dreams. He stilled. What kind of memories was she replaying in her mental theater? Did she dream of his touch? Did she remember how good they’d been together? Epic wasn’t the word and even he could admit that what they’d shared sexually was out of this world. He hadn’t been able to find another partner who’d rivaled what he’d felt or experienced with Dani. He’d always told himself it was unrealistic to hope for the same connection with someone else but now he had to wonder…was the reason he and Dani connected so perfectly something far more deep than just sexual chemistry? Had Dani been…The One?

No. Don’t go there. You’re here to clean her up and send her on her way
. This was for Lindy. Not to rekindle a broken love affair that never should’ve started in the first place. A sigh built upon endless layers of frustration and confusion rattled from his mouth and he closed his own eyes, determined to quiet his brain…and the memories.