Just before he slid it on, she moved swiftly until he lay beneath her. “My turn.” She smiled down at him, taking the condom from him.
He held still as she ran her mouth over him, down his chest, stopping to enjoy his flat nipples and all those sexy muscles, which were covered with a light dusting of dark hair. When she took him into her mouth, he tensed while his fingers dug into her hair.
“My god, Bella.” He groaned as she moved up and down his length, enjoying how hard he was, how perfect he felt.
When he nudged her up, she sat up and slowly slid the condom over him before climbing to sit across his thighs.
His eyes raked over her, then he reached up and touched her breasts as he pulled her down onto his full length.
“Perfect,” he sighed as she embedded him fully in her heat. It was even more perfect than before.
She had expected him to fall asleep after such a perfect moment, but just as she was drifting off to sleep, he rolled out of the bed.
“Don’t tell me you’re going to leave?” she asked.
“Yup,” he sighed as he slid on his shoes.
She must have fallen asleep. He’d turned on the hall light so as to not wake her. She’d only woken when she’d reached for him and found his side of the bed cold.
“It wouldn’t do if I showed up to work in the morning in the same clothes I wore today.” He chuckled. “Besides, I’ve already texted JT.” He glanced at his phone. “He’s going to pick me up in five minutes.” He stood up, leaned over the bed, and kissed her. “Go back to sleep.”
“Calvin,” she said as he turned away.
“Hm?” he asked from the doorway.
“I don’t regret being with you,” she said with a smile.
He nodded. “Me either. Night,” he said as he left.
She snuggled back into the bed, pulling the pillow he’d used close to her face to enjoy the lingering scent of him as she fell back to sleep.
She woke to her phone chiming and was going to ignore it, but then it exploded with notifications.
Groaning, she rolled over and grabbed it, yanking the cable from the charger as she peered at the screen, blinking a few times until her eyes adjusted.
She sat up quickly and gasped. With shaky fingers, she swiped through the images.
When her phone rang in her hands, she jumped and squealed, then answered it when she saw Maggie’s face appear on the screen.
“Tell me this can be controlled,” she said before Maggie could say anything.
“I was hoping you’d have some insight as to what we could do to stop this,” Maggie replied with a sigh.
Bella glanced at the clock and estimated that it was just past five in the morning for Maggie.
Sitting up, she pulled her iPad to her lap and flipped it open. “Is it everywhere?” she asked.
“I’m afraid so. The sun isn’t even up here. All the notifications woke me.” She heard her agent yawn.
“Well, there’s nothing we can do right now. Get some more rest. I’ll think it over and see what I can come up with.” Bella closed her eyes and wished she could go back and kick Michael in the balls the last time she’d seen him.
“Okay, if you need anything…” Maggie added.
“Outside of a hitman?” she joked, causing Maggie to chuckle. “Call me when you’re fully awake.”
“Will do,” Maggie said before hanging up.
Bella scoured the full interview Michael had given an online magazine, which had gone live first thing that morning.
She didn’t know what upset her more, the fact that he disclosed some of the stuff she’d said to him or the fact that he accused her of harassing him and stalking him.
When her phone rang an hour later, she had almost worked herself into a panic as all the hate comments started flooding in on her social media.
Her brother’s voice did little to soothe her as he tried to convince her that it would blow over and that she should do her interview.
Maggie had suggested the same thing, but she didn’t think that fighting fire with fire was the road she wanted to take. Besides, Michael was an established Hollywood staple. She was only an up-and-coming singing star with one successful album under her belt. Why would anyone believe her story over his?
The things he’d said in the interview made it seem like she was a nutjob. When asked about the picture of her and Calvin on the boat, Michael had laughed it off as a stunt to throw the media off her crazy trail. He produced some of her text messages to him, which were taken completely out of context. He even tried to convince everyone that the texts were from that same day she’d been on the boat with Calvin.
The fact was, she’d only texted him a handful of times, since they’d only gone to three events together. After that, he’d been the one to text her and her responses were usually one sentence long.
“We’re going to come there for lunch,” Ben told her. “We’ll help you figure something out.”
“No,” she told him, “don’t. You guys were planning on going to Boston this week. Don’t change your plans for me. Besides, I’ve found the perfect hiding place, and Calvin is here to watch out for me.” She smiled remembering last night.
“Fine.” Her brother sighed loudly. “What do you want me to tell the folks?”
Bella groaned. “We both know whatever you say to them won’t matter.”
“Yeah.” Ben sighed. “Okay, if you need us, we’re only a call and a short helicopter flight away. I’m going to call Calvin now and make sure he has your back while we’re gone.”
She smiled. Oh, Calvin had her back all right. She held in a chuckle. “Thanks,” she added. “Have a safe trip. I’m sure the folks will be so busy loving the girls that they won’t even ask about me.”
“Isn’t it funny? As parents go, they sucked royally, but as grandparents… They dote on the girls.”
“It’s a good thing,” she admitted. “Your girls enjoy them. That’s all that matters.”
“Okay, see you in a week,” Ben added before hanging up.
She slid out of bed and walked into the bathroom to get ready to head down for brunch. She was starving and didn’t want to eat alone in her room again.
Taking her time to prepare herself to see Calvin again, she dressed in a striped blue cotton romper and tied her long hair to one side with a loose French braid. She checked to make sure her makeup was perfectly in place then grabbed her iPad and headed downstairs.
It was so hard not to immediately look around for Calvin when she stepped into the dining room. She was seated in the booth along the windows and had just placed her order when Calvin strolled in talking to a young couple holding a small child.
He looked so relaxed and comfortable talking to the couple. That was, until he spotted her. Then she saw heat flood his eyes. Moments later, he excused himself and made his way across the room towards her.
“Good morning.” He smiled down at her.
She motioned for him to take the seat across from her. “Morning.” She smiled back at him.
“Sleep well?” he asked.
“I did. You?” She sipped her coffee, hoping that it would soothe her throat.
He nodded, then his smile slipped a little. “Your brother called.”