Relentless (Relentless #1) (2 page)

I lowered my foot into the water, testing the temperature. As I glanced over my shoulder, one of the most beautiful men I’ve ever seen was staring straight at me. My lips turned up in a shy smile and I dipped my head. He smiled back, a little embarrassed that he’d been caught staring. When we made eye contact, a shiver ran up my spine. I sat down on the side of the pool, dangling my feet in the perfect water soaking up the California sunshine.

From the size of our group, the casting director had been busy. Most of the people I knew from working with in the past, or because they were big Hollywood names. I wasn’t surprised to see the production team hadn’t wasted time or money getting this project started. This was our first official team meeting and I couldn’t wait to see who would show up. 

Gage Baker was one of the big names that the productions studio had wrangled. His dark sexy, brooding looks and piercing grey eyes let him get away with anything he wanted in life apparently. He made a few hit movies and his career exploded. Unfortunately for me, he was also an asshat. Laura warned me he would be my main romantic interest in the movie.

I had briefly reconsidered accepting the part for a few moments when she told me, but the role was too awesome to pass up. Working with Gage in the past had proven to be difficult; he was a sexist pig that believed every woman in the world wanted to fuck him. On set, the animosity between us goes both ways though because we can’t get along to save our lives. I wasn’t looking forward to working with him. The loathing between us would make for some long days ahead.

Amanda Connelly was another big Hollywood name. She must be my best friend in the movie. Everyone who has worked with her says she’s a sweetheart. With her honey blonde hair and bright blue eyes, she’s literally the girl next door. They say she’s shy and quiet off-screen; not what you typically run into with actors, but I hoped we would get along well.

That left the hunky guy for the second half of my love triangle. His name is Jaxon Garrett, but he’s kind of an unknown. He’s Australian, which is sexy as hell in my book. A few years ago he moved to the states only to be discovered on the beach by a producer or director. I looked through my lashes at him and tried not to drool over his golden tan skin, amazing abs, and awesome tattoos. The script on his chest, swoon.

I had also heard he was funny and one of the nicest guys around. His emerald green eyes were mesmerizing, even from across the patio I could see the gorgeous color. The crew had nailed the perfect actor for the part he would be playing. It wouldn’t be a hardship to act with him at all. To have his lips on me. To be pressed against him. Why couldn’t I stop staring at him? Oh fuck, I was in trouble. And I needed to stop before I got myself all worked up. He looked familiar, but I couldn’t place where I might have met him before. Racking my brain, nothing came to mind.

The only person missing had to be Amanda’s love interest. None of the other guys were gravitating towards her, so I assumed it wasn’t any of them. I hoped the casting director had picked someone easy going, because with Gage being cast opposite of me, I would need someone to help lower the tension. There were a few guys I had worked with in the past that had been cast as extras. I waved at the ones I recognized and said hello.

I lost track of time as I soaked in the warmth of the sun. Someone called my name, pulling me out of my embarrassing daydream about Jax. It was way too early for those thoughts to be circling around in my head, but here we were.

Hands grabbed my shoulders and acted like they were going to push me in the pool. I grabbed onto the legs behind me, because if I was going in, so were they. When I looked up, golden brown eyes stared into mine. Stephen’s jet black hair hung down in his eyes like normal. We had been friends for as long as I could remember. Even though I was semi-retired, Stephen wasn’t and his career was better than ever.

“What are you doing here?”

“I’m in the movie. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be here.” He smirked at me and I wanted to smack him.

“Smart ass. When did you even audition and why didn’t you tell me?”

“It was a last minute thing. I didn’t think I would get the part, so I didn’t bother. You don’t tell me about every audition you go on.” He stepped back, and I craned my neck to look at him. “Tell me this, how did you get the leading role without a callback or the casting director even considering someone else? Who did you fuck to get the part?”

“Not funny, Stephen. Someone’s going to hear you and think it’s true.” I looked around to see if anyone was listening. “You know how attached I am to the book. I guess it just came through in my audition.” I shrugged, trying to blow off his question.

The scene I chose for my audition was the hardest to portray out of the whole book. I’m so obsessed with the characters that all the emotions came naturally.

Stephen held out his hand to help me up. Once he pulled me to my feet he wrapped me up in a huge hug. He was attractive with his perfect smile and chiseled body, but I had never noticed him that way. He just didn’t do anything for me, which was a good thing considering his sister was one of my best friends too. Casting a glance over at Amanda, I told Stephen we should go introduce ourselves. He nodded, and we started across the patio.

Before we even got three feet in her direction, Gage stepped into my path,

“Well, well. Looks like I won’t be getting any since your fuck buddy showed up. Too bad, Vi; I know how much you like to screw your co-stars.”

I shared a look with Stephen. Of course Gage thought we were sleeping together, most people did. Apparently it’s weird when a guy and a girl can be friends without having sex. Gage wouldn’t understand the sentiment.

“Gage, unless I’m being paid, I don’t want to deal with you. By the way, you know that the role you’re playing is supposed to be a gentleman, right? I can’t believe they even let you audition for it,” I mumbled under my breath.

“He also fights and beats the shit out of people.”

“That’s his job, not his personality. Harper and Brandon have this amazing connection and it’s because of the way he treats her.”

“I’m an actor right? I can fake it.”

“That’s what she said,” Stephen said under his breath and I tried not to laugh.

“Sure Gage. Let’s just hope it transfers on camera.”

I brushed past him and started towards Amanda, dragging Stephen behind me. Jax stood next to her talking and my steps faltered as our eyes met. Stephen stopped short, trying not to run into me. His deep chuckle sounded and he leaned down to my ear. “Seriously? Pull it together, Vi. You have sex scenes with this guy remember?”

I scowled at him as he stuck his hand out to introduce himself to them. Amanda asked Stephen a question, and it gave me the opportunity to study Jax up close. He was paying attention to what Stephen way saying, so I peaked up at him through my lashes. The striking green of his eyes was even more breathtaking up close than it was in photos. Jax turned his head, and I turned away quickly, praying I didn’t just get caught staring.

“Isn’t that right, Vi?” Stephen asked. I could tell by the smirk on his face, he was intentionally trying to make me look like an idiot. The asshole knew
exactly
what he was doing.

“Sorry. I wasn’t paying attention, you blabber too much.” Amanda laughed, and I changed the subject. “Does anyone want to get in the pool? It’s hot out here and the water looks amazing.”

Jaxon snorted a laugh. “I’ll go with you if you want to get in. We should probably get to know one another.”

The smile that lit up his face made my knees weak. I was in serious trouble here. If I couldn’t even take him smiling at me, what in the hell was I going to do when we had any of those sex scenes that Stephen mentioned before?

Jaxon’s hand rested on my lower back as he guided me to the edge of the pool. The air crackled from the electric attraction between us. His touch felt like it would burn my skin and his sharp intake of breath told me he was just as affected as I was, but he didn’t pull his hand away. I looked up at him from under my lashes. He awkwardly shoved his hand in my direction.

“I’m Jaxon Garrett, but everyone calls me Jax.”

I stifled a laugh. “I’m Violet Montgomery.” As his hand touched mine, another shiver ran up my spine. “So do you actually want to swim, or were you just humoring me? Stephen was being a dick, so I wanted to get away.”

“I thought the Gage was the dick?”

“He definitely is too, but my friend is winning right now.”

“Friend?”

“Friend,” I confirmed with a shy smile. He smiled back at me and a flush covered my chest.

“Come on Violet Montgomery, let’s get in.”

Our conversation lasted for hours; it felt like I had known him forever. Topics flowed between us and we had a lot in common. At one point, he absentmindedly brushed a lock of hair out of my face; the second our eyes met a shiver went up my spine. His emerald eyes blazed, and my hazel ones mirrored the heat in his. The instant connection we shared shook me down to my core. Jaxon was witty, smart, and he had an amazing sense of humor. He threw me off balance, there was no way I could have a connection this strong with someone I just met.

“I like your dimples,” he said running a finger down one of my cheeks. I ducked my head, but a smile crossed my lips as his fingers lightly brushed over them.

“Tell me about your tattoos.”

I watched as he pointed to each of them individually telling me the story behind them, script on his chest, a cross on his back, and a half sleeve on his left arm. The ink was amazing; I admitted I was too scared to go through with it, but I had tried to get a tattoo several times. I told him I had even gone as far as sitting in the chair, but sprinted as soon as the artist turned on the gun.

We laughed so loud that conversations around us paused and people looked over to see what we were talking about. A light flush covered his cheeks, and I giggled even harder. Jax tugged a pair of lounge chairs to the side of the pool when we tired of swimming. Stephen walked over and smirked.

“Do you guys plan on coming in any time soon?” I scanned the area and realized we were the only two still outside.

“Wow. Did we really just spend all that time talking?” I asked Jax.

“Yeah, we did,” he said biting his lip for a second. “I’m starving. Let’s go grab something to eat.”

Jax took my hand and led me through the door to the kitchen. We shared a plate of food, each of us pointing to things we liked and making faces at things we didn’t. The sound of country music filled the house. He took the plate out of my hands and set it down on the counter. Again, I had that nagging feeling I had met him somewhere before, but I still wasn’t able to place him.

He tugged me into the middle of the living room and started a perfect two step. I giggled and tried hard to keep up as he dipped and spun me around the room. Stephen grabbed Amanda and they danced alongside us. We all laughed and sang at the top of our lungs while we danced.

Standing around on set a few days later, I remembered why I had taken time off from acting. Jax wrapped his arms around me, pulling me back into his muscled chest. I leaned into him and his lips lightly brushed against my ear.

“Go on a date with me.”

He didn’t ask, he told me we were going. The confidence in his voice and that damn accent made it impossible for me to tell him no. I might melt into a puddle one day if he kept that up.