Pulse: A Stepbrother Romance (22 page)

It’s a hell of a lot warmer here.

I’d never been to California before. I’d never been much of anywhere outside of New York. It was tough to justify spending money going on trips when you had to help support your mother and three little brothers.

The cabbie pulled to a stop. “Here’s the studio. That’ll be thirty-four bucks.”

I nodded and handed him two twenties. “Keep the change.”

As he sped away, I noted how easily I already threw away money. It was a bad habit to get into.

The studio was a big place, with lots of different buildings. I stopped in at the security booth.

“Hi, I’m here to see Leah Allen.”

He looked me up and down. “Does she know you’re coming?”

I grinned. “No, actually. But I’ve arranged it with Deborah, Herschel Drummond’s assistant. There should be a pass for me.”

“Chris?”

“That’s the one.”

“Can I see your ID, please?”

I passed it over.

“Here you are, sir. You’ll find them shooting in lot thirty-two.”

I thanked him.

It was a good walk to get there, but thankfully there were signs pointing out which direction to go. Once on the property with a pass around my neck, no one gave me a second look. I wasn’t able to say the same.

Was that Jennifer Lawrence?

I did a double-take, but she was already past me so I couldn’t see her face again.

When I got to the lot, they were in the middle of a shot. I crept in.

Leah stood at a bar with a handsome actor whose name I couldn’t recall. There were a bunch of extras milling around, pretending to have conversations as the cameras rolled.

“That’s the thing you’ve got to understand about me, Rick. I’m a woman with a lot of secrets.” Leah had on a stunning red dress that accentuated her curves.

The man leaned forward and put his hand on her arm. “I only care about one.”

“Cut! That’s the part we were missing. Take a break, everyone.” Herschel himself stood up from his chair and walked away from the set, holding his phone to his ear.

I edged closer to the actors standing on the set. The extras made actual conversation now, and it was impossible to hear anything over the general cacophony.

The male lead and Leah remained where they’d finished the scene, chatting. I snuck up behind her.

“I should give you one of my boyfriend’s songs. They’re amazing. It’s like the music just reaches inside of you and sets your heart racing.”

I placed my hand on her elbow. “Now, that’s nice of you to say. Do you always talk about me like that when I’m not there?”

She spun. “Chris!” Her arms came up around my neck and pulled me to her for a quick, deep kiss. “What the hell are you doing here? Did you get time off from the studio?”

I wasn’t able to give her the answer; she didn’t give me a chance. She kissed me again, this time long and slow enough to savor.

“Actually, I’m out here for good,” I said. I nodded toward the actor, who looked a bit sheepish at having a front row seat to our reunion. “I convinced Trevor to give us time at the Los Angeles studio instead.”

“You’re staying?” Leah’s green eyes lit up like Christmas morning. “For real?”

I wrapped my arm around her and brushed her hair back from her face. “I’m all yours."

I took Chris on a walk around the campus to show him some of the more interesting sights. There was a gigantic tank that held millions of gallons of water for shooting scenes as if they were at sea. At the moment two Spanish galleons stood off on the waters, cannons smoking as if they had shot actual cannonballs.

“This is so unreal,” he said, gazing at the tank. In real life, before the computer magic happened, it was obviously fake.

I smiled. There were two ways of looking at it. “We create dreams here, and weave stories from thin air. Even if the props aren’t real, the emotions they generate are.”

Those dark eyes sought my own, and as always my pulse pounded in my chest when he looked at me that way. “I guess that’s what we do, the two of us. My music and your acting… we try our best to make people feel emotion. We do what we can to pull people out of their day to day lives and make them a part of something bigger, if even for a moment.”

“Are you getting philosophical on me?” Chris had become more serious than I was accustomed to, and I couldn’t resist a chance to bring attention to the fact. We kept each other grounded.

“Maybe it’s just the moment,” he said.

“The moment?”

What is he talking about?

“I didn’t want to wait.” Chris took my hands in his and kissed me deeply. It wasn’t the bruising, passionate kiss that set instant fire to my loins, but rather the slow, deep kind that flooded me with love for him. The kind that showed me how much he cared for me.

He knelt down in front of me.

“Leah, I have never felt this connection, this fire with anyone else in my life. I know I’ll never feel anything like it except with you.”

He pulled a little box out of his pocket. It opened to reveal a sparkling ring, not small, but not ostentatious, either.

My breath caught in my throat. My heart hammered a crazed beat in my chest as my mind refused to connect the dots.

“Chris, what are you doing?”

He kissed my hand.

“Leah, will you marry me?”

I had thought of it—daydreamed about it. But I’d never in my life imagined that Chris would ask me, especially not this early in our relationship.

We had so little time together as a couple, but months of denial in which we’d discovered that no matter how much we tried to resist the temptation, there was an unstoppable pull that drew us together. An unlikely match, we perfectly balanced and complemented each other.

There was only one answer I could give.

“Yes. With all my heart, yes.”

When he slid the ring onto my finger and pulled me into an embrace, I kissed him with everything in my body.

Caught in his spell, I could hear his music in my pulse as it carried us away.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

D.G. Whiskey is a world traveller who uses experiences earned and relationships forged on the road to create vivid portraits of humanity. Number of countries visited is at 18 and rapidly climbing, with innumerable friends made along the way.

The heroes are always hot alphas and the heroines are clever and independent. The writing is confident, sexy and layered.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to take this opportunity to thank my editor Amber and all of my beta readers. This book would not be what it is today without your advice, guidance and input.

L.J. at Mayhem Cover Creations deserves massive recognition for designing a truly unique and eye-catching cover. I’ve fallen in love with it and so have many of my friends.

Finally, to every reader who has reached this point, I want to say thank you. Writing stories has been my passion for almost my entire life, and thanks to you I have a chance to live my dreams. I hope you enjoyed Pulse, and if so please review and share with family and friends!

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