I reach over and pull a long-sleeve shirt off one of the racks and pull it over my head. Letting a smirk come to my face, I look him dead in the eye. “You better make good on that promise.”
And then I walk away.
Just in time too. As soon as I exit the wardrobe closet, I hear the first of the production staff come in. There’s a sense of relief and also an adrenaline rush from the possibility that we could have been caught. I can see how that feeling could be addicting, and I should be careful of that. But right now, I have work to do.
And work I do, even though every time I look at Peter I’m fighting a blush because I think about this morning and the fact that he marked me. I’m wearing him on me, and he’s wearing me on his cock, and no one knows but the two of us.
He gives me looks that send heat searing straight between my legs and I’m amazed that no one notices. It’s after lunch when I hear a commotion behind me, and turn to find that Clay Markham is on the set. He smiles and waves as he comes over to me.
“Hi,” I say, standing awkwardly to give him a hug.
He pats my back and then lets me go. Clay is old enough to be my father, and even though he’s an ass most of the time to most people, he’s always had a soft spot for me. It’s probably why I have this job at all. “I thought I’d stop by and see how it’s going. I’ve heard really good things.”
“Really?” I raise an eyebrow.
He laughs, because I always call him on his bullshit. “Fine. I wanted to see how badly you’re fucking up my show,” he says good-naturedly. “But I actually have had some good stories coming off the set. I can’t wait to see what you’ve done with it.”
“Thanks,” I say. “I think we’ve done some good stuff.”
“I’m sure you have. And you’ve proven that you’re a serious director. A serious female director. Not everyone does that.”
I shake my head. “What do you mean?”
“Nothing, dear. Nothing.” He waves a hand. “Just Hollywood drama. Nothing more.”
“Oh.” I nod. “We’ve been kind of isolated from that here. Not paying attention to the gossip and just trying to create the best show that we can.”
“Excellent,” he says. “Well I didn’t have much time today, but I still wanted to say hello. Can I stop by again sometime?”
“You’re always welcome,” I say. “You’re the reason I’m here.”
Clay winks at me and taps me on the nose. “You did plenty of the work to deserve it. See you later!”
He sweeps out of the room leaving half the crew staring after him, and I can’t stop the smile that comes while I shake my head. Clay Markham is one of those classic Hollywood characters that everyone imagines, but doesn’t think can possibly be real. But he’s real all right.
I have no idea what he was talking about with drama, but I know someone who will. “Gloria!” I call, and she materializes by my side like a genie from a lamp.
“Yeah?”
I jump. “Geeze. You’re stealthy.”
“And proud of it. What’s up?”
“I have a gossip question.”
She holds out her hands like she’s bracing herself. “My entire life has been leading to this moment. What can I tell you?”
“Mr. Markham just made a comment that I don’t get. He said that I was proving myself a serious female director and that not everybody does that. He said it was just drama. You know anything about that?”
Her face lights up like a fucking light bulb. This girl loves gossip way too much. “I know everything about that,” she says. “June Cavallaro, over on Calamity Mountain.”
“Yeah?”
Gloria clears her throat, then whispers conspiratorially, even though if she knows this probably the whole city does. “Yesterday there were a whole bunch of pictures released of her and one of the actors on the show. Not just any of the actors, one of the young ones. He’s eighteen, and she’s going down on him like his cock is made of candy.”
A cold chill runs through me. A director and an actor. “And people are pissed because he’s young?” I ask, praying that that’s the reason that they’re upset.
“It’s that, but it’s also like, one of her first gigs and she’s fucking the talent. It’s not really a good look, you know?”
“Yeah,” I say.
“I’ll be back, I need to check with the script coordinator about Alex’s dog tags.”
And then she disappears and I’m left practically panting. Oh shit. Oh shit. This isn’t good. What if that were Peter and me? It easily could have been. We weren’t particularly careful. What the hell was I thinking? Letting him fuck me in the wardrobe closet?
This isn’t a good idea. We both need this project to succeed. Maybe an informal partnership is what we should stick to. It feels like a knife in the gut to even consider going backwards now, but what happens if we get caught and both our careers go up in flames?
Peter looks at me across the room, and I feel the familiar flash of heat, but this time it’s coupled with an overwhelming feeling of dread.
23
Peter
Present
Amber disappeared after we finished shooting for the day, and I got a text to meet her at her place. That’s fine with me. For a second I was worried that she might be having second thoughts, but then I remembered the wardrobe closet this morning. There wasn’t any hesitation there.
I got the updated script for the next episode, and I glanced at it while walking to my car. The changes that were made look really good, and they add depth to both my character and Genova’s. I haven’t been quite as excited to shoot something since the nightmare scene. The upcoming scenes are going to be amazing, and I fully plan on picking Amber’s brain after I’ve fucked her breathless.
Stopping briefly, I pick up some lilies. Amber has never been a roses kind of girl. But she loves lilies, and there’s nothing I wouldn’t do to see her smile.
I hear her footsteps come to the door after I knock, and she opens it, eyes wide with surprise when she sees the lilies. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
I close the door behind me and pull her in for a kiss. She doesn’t resist, but she’s not present. She doesn’t kiss me back, she just lets it happen.
She puts the flowers in a vase and I watch, trying to figure out what’s bothering her. I can’t think of anything that happened on set today that would have upset her. All the scenes went really well, and everything with us was fine when we left it.
Maybe I can get her to tell me. “I got the new script. Like what they’ve changed. I think filming that will probably be the most fun we’ve had so far.”
“Really?” Her tone is absent.
“Yeah.”
“That’s good.”
I clear my throat. “What’s up, Amber?”
She turns like I’ve startled her and her name has finally drawn her attention. “Huh?”
“You’re trapped in your head and barely listening. What’s going on?”