Idolized (Hollywood Stardust Book 3) (19 page)

Caught in the rhythm of the car, the breeze, even Ryder, her mind wandered. Chargge, Ultracom, CEOs and servers all faded into the background while she wondered what this night with Ryder would entail.

They drove through Beverly Hills and into West Hollywood, home of some of the most famous restaurants and hot spots. People, dressed in all designer clothes and trying to set the latest trend, lined the streets.

“When we stop, do not get out of the car until I get you. Look only at me, but keep your face in my shoulder as if you don’t want to be seen.” Ryder pulled up to the valet stand.

“Yesterday you told me to be prepared for pictures and to smile.” Cora furrowed her brow. The man had issues about exiting cars, that was certain.

“Right and today I’m telling you to be camera shy because now we’re in a serious relationship, and you don’t want anyone infringing on our private time together.” He put the car in park.

He wanted her to play the role of shy and demure? That didn’t fit her.

“Then why are we at one of the most popular restaurants in Hollywood?”

“Exactly.” His amazing smile took her breath away.

Before Cora had the opportunity to ask one of the hundred questions that streamed through her mind like a bad feed, the valets descended upon them. The first one opened Ryder’s door.

“It’s brand new. I trust you’ll take good care of it?” Along with a hundred dollar bill, Ryder handed over the key thing.

“Of course, Mr. Scott. Welcome.” The valet took the cash and the key and shook his hand.

She watched the exchange as a second valet came to her side of the car.

“Miss Caine.” The man stepped back.

What? He knew her name? This wasn’t her circle.

“Excuse me.” Ryder rushed around the car, and he held his hand out to her.

Her head spinning, she put her hand in his and not only allowed him to help her out of the car, but with the gathering crowd and the flashes already going off, she clutched on to him and gazed up at his face. At least she had a view.

As if protecting her, he put his arm around her. Rather than the charming Ryder who signed autographs and chatted yesterday at the charity event, tonight he held her close, guided them through the crowd, and made his way into the restaurant.

The restaurant was packed, with little room for even standing. Even she couldn’t get a table at this hour, but Ryder was definitely many steps above her in the connections department.

“Two please.” Ryder leaned over the podium with the host and hostesses.

“Of course, sir.” The man lifted his hand, obviously signaling someone, and spoke into a microphone attached to his ear. “Ryder Scott and Cora Caine need a booth in the back for two.”

Since she had never been to this restaurant, the fact everyone seemed to know her name unnerved her.

While they waited, Ryder faced her and hooked his finger under her chin, tilting her face up to his. “How are you doing?” His tone low, dreamy, no doubt rehearsed.

Though she tried to resist, she couldn’t help but gaze into his dark blue eyes. “How does everyone know who I am?” In her own world she was well known, but seriously, how many people could pick out CEOs among the mix of the population?

He moved his face closer to hers. “Baby, it’s their job to know.” His finger grazed her lower lip.

Her mouth watered, anticipating his kiss.

“Mr. Scott, your booth is ready.” A woman in a skintight black dress that barely covered anything and stilettoes that added at least six inches to her height joined them. “Right this way.”

They followed the woman through the crowd.

“Is there anything special you would like tonight?” the woman asked.

Cora glanced around. Everyone’s focus was on them, people pointing and lifting their phones.

“We’re celebrating tonight. Please bring over a bottle of champagne and an arrangement of appetizers. For desert something chocolate, I trust the chef.” Ryder finished their order right as they reached their destination.

He guided her into the tiny booth and slid in next to her, putting his arm around her and staring into her face. “Even after a long day at work, you still look stunning.”

Shit, she blushed, she knew it. The heat in her face had to produce some color. She needed to keep her act together, remember what they were. “I have to say, I’m impressed you can pull all this off.”

In record time, the champagne arrived. While one waiter poured the beverage, another came and arranged several dishes of appetizers that seemed more designed to provide a decoration for the table rather than give any actual food value.

“You should like this it’s sweet and sparkly.” After the waiters left, they were alone, well except for the public at large keeping their eyes on their every move. Ryder handed her a glass. “How about we have a little toast?”

“To our new arrangement.” Maybe if she said it aloud, her cheeks would cool down.

He gave her a slow shake of his head. “To the dream.”

The way he whispered the words made her shiver. Needing to end the moment, she tapped her glass against his and took a sip. The bubbles went up her nose, and she laughed.

“You need to smile more often.” He took his turn, tapping their glasses.

They drank again. To abate the heat swirling around her, she finished off her glass.

“Thirsty are we? Let’s remedy that.” Never taking his eyes off hers, he refilled her glass.

This time she managed to stop, gulping down only half the glass. The man wouldn’t stop looking at her. Talk about making someone self-conscious.

He scooted closer and casually moved her bangs off her forehead. “It’s our first official date, so why don’t you tell me something about Cora Caine?”

“Is it really a date since we moved in together and have an official arrangement?” At her words she polished off the champagne.

In one smooth motion, Ryder gave her some more of the tasty liquid. “Let me ask you a question.”

She waited, this time going back to sipping the drink.

“Is that what you want the public to see?” He reached over to one of the appetizers, a mushroom stuffed with something that smelled almost better than Ryder’s cologne, if Ryder was a food, of course.

Somewhere between him taking a bite of the mushroom and then feeding her the other half and another glass of champagne, she considered his question. “Absolutely I want the public to see us. Isn’t that what I said this morning when we made our deal?”

“That’s not what I’m asking. I know what the deal is, but I also know that every time I look at you, your cheeks turn the most delightful shade of red.” He brushed his fingertips over the side of her face.

Damn man noticed everything.

“What I’m asking is do you want the public to know we are in a so-called arrangement, or do you want them to think this happened organically?”

After three glasses or was it four of champagne, she didn’t know how her throat could be parched, yet she still finished off another glass. At last she opened her mouth to answer him, tell him about his own reputation, and talk about trending on the Internet.

He put his finger over her lips. “I know what people say about me, I know what you want to achieve, but what I want to know is are you interested in merely playing a role or do you want to get into character?”

For a woman with three degrees, she had no idea what he was asking and she shook her head.

“Why don’t we stop talking about arrangements and deals and insurance cards and let things happen as they come?” He leaned in and replaced his finger with his lips. “I think the performance will be much more convincing.”

Before she even realized it, she found herself kissing him, a light kiss but still passionate, one that made every bit of her tingle. Every bit. “Ryder.” Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed people staring at them, taking their picture.

“Now tell me something about Cora Caine.” He treated her to another kiss and then sipped some champagne. “Why Chargge? What was the spark?”

The people continued to gawk at them. Was this what his life was like? The obvious answer was yes. “Ryder, everyone is looking at us.”

“Of course they are, this whole city has been waiting for us to make our debut since the second they saw us on your website.” He put his glass to her lips. “When you created Chargge did you ever think you’d be the trending story?”

“I was always the woman behind the scenes.” To keep her faculties about her, she grabbed the nearest thing to her hand, his leg.

A low growl rumbled through him. “So tell me why Chargge?”

“It started as a site dedicated to movie musicals when I was a teenager and then morphed into an entertainment site. There’s something comforting and innocent about musicals, yet romantic. Something we lost.” Her voice trailed off, and she shrugged. “I wanted to see if I could create a site that would be larger than my mother’s, and it was actually one of her customers who gave me my first big feature on a celebrity, even though I was only seventeen.” She laughed, but wasn’t sure why. Nothing was funny, but she just wanted to giggle.

“Your mother has a site as well? Which one?” With their faces mere inches apart, he fed a different appetizer, a delectable piece of butternut squash tempura.

She nodded and chased the treat down with some more of her new favorite beverage. Once more, she felt her cheeks heat, and she pressed her forehead to his. “My mother is Madame Sublime.” At her admission, she closed her eyes. The room seemed to move.

“Madame Sublime as in Madame Sublime will give you and your partner a fine time?” He rubbed his thumb along her neck.

Yes, her mother was one of the first on the technology train and brought sex toys, books and other pleasurable accessories to the Internet and therefore, to the masses, all with free shipping and a twenty-four hour hotline. “She may have been one of the first with a million-dollar site, but mine’s worth over a billion.”

“You’re sexy when you get competitive, even when it’s with your own mother.” He chose a different appetizer, a delicious date with a sweet spicy nut.

When his fingers grazed her mouth she had no choice but to give them a little lick. Call her the human napkin.

With a low moan, he used his fingers to trace her lower lip.

“You know what else I have that my mother doesn’t?” She swirled her tongue around the tip of his finger.

“I can tell you what I have that no one doesn’t.” He moved her hand to the bulge in his pants.

“She only has a tennis pro. I have a real star.” As she leaned back, the whole restaurant seemed to want to go with her, so she stopped and stared into that gorgeous face.

“That you do.”

“What else is on our agenda for tonight?” Since she only had a half a glass of champagne left, she finished it off.

“Club, dancing, more champagne?” He put his hand over hers and pushed down. “Maybe you had something else in mind?”

All she wanted was to get this man home, throw him on her bed and have her way with him. No wonder the public flocked to him. They all wanted what she bought and paid for. Still, she paused. Could they do this, just leave without another stop? Would it be all right to miss the photo opportunity when her career was at stake?

“For once, why don’t you let go and do whatever you want.” A raise of his eyebrows punctuated his sentence.

“How about we go home?” The words left her mouth too fast.

“I want you right now, and I’m glad we have a fast car.” He motioned for the waiter, pulled her in tighter and kissed her.

Dizzy, she held on and went with it, got into the role. With Ryder it was way too easy to slip into the character he wanted, even though she watched him pay with the credit card she gave him earlier.

* * * *

“HERE, LET ME SHOW you around the apartment.” Cora pulled Ryder inside, tripped on the edge of the carpet in the entryway, and fell into his arms.

“All right.” Ryder held her steady as he closed and locked the door.

“This was formerly my apartment at the Sierra Towers, and now it is our apartment at the Sierra Towers.” She swiped her arm in front of her, the force of her own movement causing her to spin around and face him. “Ryder.”

“Cora?” He swallowed back a laugh. For the first time since he could remember, he was looking forward to calling a place home.

“This is the entry way.” Her gaze took him in, and she pressed her palm to his cheek. “You are really a handsome man.”

“Thank you, you’re quite gorgeous yourself.” He wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close. After getting her to loosen up and stop worrying about their public audience, they had an amazing time, one he wanted to duplicate again and again. Cora was sexy, smart and sassy. Of course, now he could add smashed to her list.

“Will you kiss me now?” She kicked off her shoes, making her a few inches shorter.

Before giving her what she wanted, he made a mental note to keep champagne on hand at all times. His little drunken CEO was absolutely delightful. He dipped his head down and kissed her. While she proved to be an active participant in their private moments, this time she flung her arms around his neck, opened her mouth and returned the gesture wholeheartedly.

Though a bit less elegant than her normal kisses, he loved the way she guided his tongue into her mouth and took her time sucking down to the tip. Since the restaurant, he’d been struggling with a waxing and waning erection that could use some of her attention.

“Oh my god, I almost forgot our tour.” In a sudden move, she broke the kiss grabbed his hand and pulled him into the dining room. “Here is the dining room, we can eat here if you want.” She pointed to the perfectly staged glass dining room table even set up with dishes and flowers. “I’ve never eaten here, but this is where we would eat if we were to eat here.”

“What do you do here?’ He came up behind her and wrapped his arm around her waist.

“Usually nothing, but it’s so hot, I think I’m going to take my shirt off here.” She made one haphazard attempt to unbutton her shirt, laughed and placed his hand between her boobs. “I think I need help.”

“Let me oblige.” With an ease born from years of practice, he flicked open her buttons using only one hand.