No Matter What (17 page)

She kissed him back, helping him by shrugging off her shirt and flinging it on the floor.

“You’re gonna make me late, Mr Ross,” she whispered, not putting up any argument as his fingers gently stroked her thighs.

“I can stop, if you want me to,” he smiled, sliding a hand between her legs, making her gasp.
 
“Do you want me to stop?”

She shook her head, their mouths locking in a long, deep kiss as he pushed her back and all India could do was close her eyes and realise that, out of everything that had happened to her over the past couple of years, this was the real dream come true.

CHAPTER
13

Terry sat at the breakfast bar in Reece’s kitchen, looking out at the view of the ocean.
 
This was all completely crazy, all of it.
 
Just a couple of years ago he’d been a half decent, almost famous footballer with a normal sister and a good life.
 
Now here he was, sitting in the home of a famous actor, his career in tatters and his sister a Hollywood star.
 
You couldn’t make it up!

He stirred his tea and flicked through the morning’s papers, which still carried anything they could get on
India
and Kenny’s sudden marriage.
 
The paparazzi had managed to get some photographs of
India
on the set of her new movie, and one of her and Kenny walking along the beach, arms wrapped round each other, wedding rings on full view.
 
Any photographs of the actual wedding still hadn’t been published, causing some of the less reputable tabloids to cast doubt as to whether it had actually taken place or not.
 
A huge publicity stunt, that’s what some of them were calling it.
 
But, according to Reece, it was definitely all signed, sealed and 100% legal.
 
He’d spoken to Vince Maine in
Las Vegas
, the owner of the hotel where they’d got married.
 
It was just up to Kenny and
India
as to whether they wanted to publish any photographs or not.

Terry still hadn’t seen her yet.
 
He’d only arrived in
Los Angeles
last night and Reece had seen to it that he was picked up from the airport and taken back to his house, and it was more than generous of Reece to let him stay there while he was in
L.A.
 
Reece lived close to
India
and Terry wanted to be close.
 
He wanted to keep an eye on her, whether she thought she needed it or not.
 
He certainly thought she did.

This city was fast turning his sister into someone different, some crazy kid that made snap decisions on important issues and it just wasn’t like her, but what could he do?
 
Reece couldn’t be with her twenty-four hours a day either, although God knows he was doing his best.
 

He closed the newspaper and let his mind wander to Charley.
 
What was she up to now?
 
Did she look different?
 
She was bound to; she was a porn star, the tame days of glamour modelling were well and truly behind her.
 
Christ, even thinking about her and what she was doing now made him feel uncomfortable.
 
He’d thought his sister having to do the odd love scene was bad enough but when he thought about what his ex-girlfriend was doing for a living ...

He finished the rest of his tea and was still sitting staring out of the French windows when Reece arrived, all smiles and movie star good looks despite the fact it was only
half past seven
in the morning.

“Do you want to go on set and see
India
today?” Reece asked, grabbing a mug and filling it with black coffee.
 
Terry still couldn’t think about drinking anything other than tea first thing in the morning.
 
“I can take you, it’s not a problem.”

Terry shook his head.
 
“No.
 
I’ll wait until tonight.”

“She’d want to know you’re here you know.”

“I know.”

Reece sat down opposite him.
 
“She’ll be ok, Terry.
 
She knows what she’s doing.”

“Does she?”

“I’m sure she does, yes.”

Terry looked at Reece, with his dark eyes and handsome face.
 
He was sure there was something familiar about him, something he couldn’t quite put his finger on.
 
There was certainly something about this man that wasn’t quite sitting right with him.

“Why do you care so much about her?” Terry asked, half of him not actually intending to say that out loud.
 
“I mean, I know you were the one who brought her over here, the one who gave her her big break, but ...”

“I just want to make sure she’s ok, Terry.
 
Simple as that.
 
There’s something very special about your sister and this can be a tough town.
 
So I just want to make sure she’s ok.
 
Nothing sinister, nothing untoward.
 
I just want her to be ok.”

Terry ran a hand through his hair as he stood up.
 
He wasn’t going to push it but he was starting to feel there was something deeper in all of this, something Reece wasn’t telling him.
 
Or
India
.
 

“Is it ok if I have a shower?”

Reece smiled.
 
“Of course it is.
 
Then how about I take you out?
 
Show you some of
L.A.
?”

Terry just nodded and left to get ready.
 

Reece sat back in his chair, threw back his head and closed his eyes for a second.
 
He’d seen the look in Terry’s eyes just then, he knew he wasn’t being completely honest with him.
 
Oh, of course he wanted
India
to be safe and happy but there was more to it than that.
 
And he had a feeling Terry wasn’t going to settle until he found out exactly what that was.

***

“You have got to stop visiting me on set, Kenny, you’re a total distraction.”

“I’m bored.”

“Go and surf or something.”

They were in
India
’s trailer on the set of her movie, waiting for her to be called for the next scene.
 

Kenny’s movie had finished filming a few days ago so he had some time off now, and although
India
loved him being around, he really was distracting her.
 
And today wasn’t the best day for him to be around anyway.
 
She had a big scene with Michael this morning, which called for her getting naked on an almost closed set, and she was extremely nervous about the whole thing.
 
It was the first time she’d ever done anything like this before and she could do without Kenny watching.
 
That wasn’t going to help her at all.

“Surfing’s not the same without you being there.”

She looked at him, sitting on the sofa, sexy as hell in jeans, t-shirt and black converse baseball boots, his dark hair shorter than it had been due to the movie he’d been making but still long enough for him to carry that messed up almost scruffy look he was famous for.
 
She felt her stomach do a little somersault as he caught her eye and she smiled.

“You managed to surf fine before
I
came on the scene.”

“You know what I mean,
India
... what’re you doing?”

She slid off her wedding ring and put it in the small safe placed underneath her dressing table.
 
“I can’t wear it for filming, Kenny; I’m not married in the movie.”

There was a hint of the bored, spoilt child about him this morning.
 
She’d gathered that he hated being at a loose end but what could she do?
 
She had to work, although it went without saying that she’d much rather be on a beach somewhere catching waves and drinking beer with her new husband.

She sighed, getting up and going over to him, kneeling astride him, sliding her arms round his neck.
 
“What do you fancy doing tonight?”

He slid his hands up her thighs, underneath the robe she was wearing.

“I fancy going out on the bike ...” His lips started kissing her neck, “... finding a totally deserted beach ...” He started to gently stroke her inner thighs and she could feel herself giving into him again,
 
“... then making love to my beautiful wife.”

“Jesus Kenny, I hate that you do this to me every single time.”

“It’s my job, babe.”

She wanted to let him do what he was already half way to doing but she really didn’t have the time, so, after giving in to one long, deep kiss, she gently took his hands and held them in hers, stopping him from going any further.

He groaned and threw his head back.
 
“
India
!”
 

“I don’t have the time, Kenny.
 
Besides, stopping like this is going to make sure I give this morning’s scene everything I’ve got.”

He looked at her.
 
“That’s not exactly something I’m happy to hear.”

She put her hands on his face and kissed him quickly.
 
“You’re not getting jealous on me, are you?”

“I’m never jealous, honey; because I know you’re always gonna come back to me.”

She laughed, climbing off him and wrapping her robe back around her, checking her make-up in the mirror.
 

“Are you gonna be naked out there?” Kenny asked, getting up and going over to the trailer window, looking outside.

“You know I am ... Kenny, listen, I’m really not comfortable with you being on set today.
 
It’s a tough enough scene without knowing you’re watching.”

He pushed a hand through his hair and leaned back against the window, folding his arms.
 
“It’s gonna be tougher for me, sitting in here waiting for you, knowing you’re having sex with another guy.”

“I’m not having sex with another guy and you know that.
 
We’ve
done this kind of scene before, if you remember.
 
You know the drill.”

“Yeah, and that’s what I’m worried about.”

“This is Michael Walsh we’re talking about, Kenny.”

Kenny laughed, pushing the hair back off his eyes again.
 
“And you think he doesn’t like what he sees when he looks at you?”
 
He suddenly realised he was getting irrational now, surprised by his own feelings of insecurity over something like this.
 
It was a scene for a movie, a controlled situation, and he was getting it all out of proportion.

 
“You’re so like a bloody little kid when you’re bored, Kenny Ross, do you know that?”
 

She was right; he was only being like this because he had nothing to take his mind off things.
 

He looked at her.
 
She was amazing; Kenny knew he’d struck gold with
India
.
 
She wasn’t only beautiful, she also had a body that could make a dead man come, Jesus, he’d gotten close to it himself sometimes just thinking about her.
 
Maybe that’s what he was going to have to do to get himself through the next few hours.

There was a knock on the trailer door and India wrapped the robe she was wearing tighter around herself, kissing Kenny quickly, smiling at him, leaving him with a look that told him he could have it all the second she was back, but, for now, he was going to have to amuse himself.
 
In whatever way he could.

***

Michael had hardly slept.
 
It was like Christmas was here and he was about to unwrap the only present he’d ever wanted.
 
He’d lain awake in bed remembering what it had felt like to kiss her.
 
Sure, it was only for the cameras but he’d got to hold her close, feel her against him and when his mouth had touched hers he’d felt every proverbial firework in the world go off.
 
And today - today he got to touch her skin, feel her naked body on his and he had no idea whether this was going to be a good thing or not.
 
Yes, it’s what he’d always wanted, but not in this situation.
 
There was a time when he’d have been happy with anything he could get but now he wanted more.
 
The fact
India
was now married had seemed to raise the determination in him.
 
He wouldn’t be really, truly happy until they were a couple, until she slept in his arms and woke up beside him, and he’d get there; he knew he’d get there, eventually.
 
It was just a matter of time.