A STELLAR AFFAIR (A Hollywood Bad Boy Romance) (6 page)

She was tense, he could tell. Good. He didn’t want her to think she had the upper hand here and called all the shots. She may be the one who hired him but he wouldn’t be manipulated by her and her team. He’d get what he wanted from this business arrangement, fulfill his part and then make Ava Ryder his woman in the process. That wasn’t written in the script. That was HIS script and he won’t have any co-writers.

Ava was talking to a pretty girl sitting next to her. He caught the girl’s covert glances a few times and he wondered who she was. A pop star or something for sure. The music industry wasn’t his circle, though he knew the most famous ones like Jlo, Beyonce, Katy and Rihanna. They were all residing in LA and he’d gone to shindigs with some of them in attendance in the past. But this babe sure knew him from the way she’d been stealing glances at him way too frequently as the night progressed.

 
He was feeling ignored by Ava who hadn’t uttered a word to him since they sat down, so he decided to assert his presence. He leaned forward and smiled at the other young woman. “Hey.”

The babe looked flustered. “H-hey…”

He extended his hand across Ava toward her seat mate. “Wesley Stoner.”

She shook his hand, gripping it. “I’m Aleya.”

“Pleased to meet you, Aleya.”

“I know you, of course. I’m a fan! Darko is so badass!” she breathed out in a too excited voice so familiar now as he’d gotten it from way too many females, famous, semi-famous or unheard of. He’d gotten laid mostly because of Darko, bless his evil soul.
 

Aleya was a waiting lay, if he was interested. “Thank you.” He gave her a Darko smile, mysterious and seemingly not interested. That will get her all worked up and try harder. He’d played this game one too many times.
 

He caught Ava giving him a hard look. He ignored her. “You’re also a musician, I suppose?”

Aleya smiled shyly. “Yeah.”

“Hers is the best-selling album this year,” Ava pointed out, as if he was some kind of stupid. Well, he was mainly into hard rock and some blues. He knew little of pop music.

“Is that so? Congratulations, Aleya,” he said.

“Thanks, but when Ava’s new album comes out, I’m sure it will take the top spot easily,” Aleya replied modestly.

He nodded. Poor babe bowed to the Empress, a testament to Ava’s influence and weight in the business. “You nominated for something tonight, Aleya?”

“Yeah. Best Pop Video.”

“Nice. I bet it’s really good.”

“You wanna listen to it some time?” Aleya asked with a bolder smile. There it was. That didn’t take long. He knew it was an invitation for something else, like listening to her hit the highest notes while he played her.

Ava suddenly grasped his hand and put it on her lap in a possessive manner, linking their fingers together. She smiled at Aleya all too sweetly.

Aleya’s eyes travelled from Ava to him then back to Ava again. “Don’t tell me…Are you guys…?” her voice trailed off,
 
disbelief and disappointment in her eyes.

This was awkward, but damn was he was thrilled. Ava was gripping his hand tightly. Territorially. She was staking her claim, alright. He imagined her pussy gripping his shaft like she owned it. The thought added more centimeters to his already engorged member. Man, this was a freakin’ public foreplay, but he was loving it, his whole body hot with anticipation.

Now how would he blow a hot chick off gently after her sweet invitation? He should have stayed quiet in his seat, dammit. But before he could say something lame to turn her down, Aleya’s name was called.

She gasped then put her hand against her mouth to muffle her ecstatic scream. She embraced Ava. She embraced him, too. Then she was rushing up the stage to receive her award amid a standing ovation.

Ava was looking at him with murder in her eyes. Fierce. He could picture her looking at him exactly like that as he moved between her legs, hitting her deepest depths.

Shit. How long before he can have her? One week tops. A few days. Two. He couldn’t wait longer than that.

“Jealous, Empress?” he teased her.

“You’re fired!” she snapped at him.

He just grinned and raised her hand to his face and kissed it.
 

Ava didn’t know why
she was so mad. She hated it that she couldn’t define the source of her anger. She didn’t even want to consider it was because of Aleya. Her poor friend didn’t have a clue what was going on between her and Wes. In fact, no one knew anything yet, though the press had probably caught them in one frame by now holding hands and him kissing her hand. He was already playing the part like a pro, damn him! She refused to check Twitter on her phone. Not yet.
 

His hand was burning a hole at the small of her back. She wanted to slap it away but they were surrounded by people. Cameras were everywhere, even at the backstage.

Aaron was putting them on cue. They were about to present Best Video.

The next thing she knew, they were walking across the vast stage toward the podium. The Microsoft Theater was jam-packed tonight and screams erupted when they both came out. It didn’t die down for a full minute.
 

The people were chanting “Darko, Darko!” For the first time in her stellar career, Ava was not the center of attention.

Wes took command of the stage. “Hello, L.A.! It’s good to be here!”

Deafening screams. As she’d predicted, the Ryders were going gaga over Darko.

She couldn’t believe this. She was being upstaged by a villain in a superhero movie.

“It’s a great honor and an utmost pleasure to be standing beside this…” he turned to her, “…lovely vision tonight.”

Screams.

“This is the first time I’ve met Ava Ryder in the flesh and now I know why you call her the Empress.”

Louder screams.

“Oh no, Darko! Don’t say it!” Someone screamed at the front.

That elicited laughter from the audience.

He chuckled. “Thank you, honey, but I’m afraid it’s too late for that.”

Wails of protest this time.

“For the first time, Darko is willingly going down….” He paused for dramatic effect, “For the Empress!”

Ava’s mouth dropped. Was this in the script? She couldn’t remember. She went over it earlier. She was sure Wes knew what he was supposed to do or say. He was embellishing the plot, pre-empting everything!
 

She turned to him and opened her mouth to speak but he cut her. “See, your beauty almost made me forget what we came here for, my Empress.”
 

 
His tone was so possessive as he uttered “my Empress”, as if it was the most natural thing in the world for him to say. It was triggering her sense of self-preservation. He was taking over and she was losing control of her business!
 

He had to be stopped.

She put on a cheeky smile. “Yes, I’m afraid you’re gonna break the internet with that epic sappiness. So un-Darko, my god. You’re so gonna get fired from your movie,” she said in a droll tone, pretending boredom when she was nothing but. She was freaking out.

His face transformed to pure Darko mischief. He grinned that famous evil grin that had captivated legions of women across the globe to become DDH—Darko Die Hards. Yup, the fan club did exist, according to his website.

“I am Darko and I came here with a mission,” he declared to the audience with that imperious tone teeming with haughty, British accent.
 

Hysterical screams.

Ava wanted to roll her eyes. She hoped those weren’t Ryders screaming.

He put his forefinger across his lips in this imperious Darko gesture. “Shhh.”

The noise was wiped out from the stadium as if he got everyone hypnotized by that shushing sound he made.

Seriously?!

“My mission tonight…” he paused and turned to look at her again. As a professional presenter, she was supposed to look back at him, but she refused to. “…is to give your Empress a happy ending.”

She almost choked on her saliva. What in the ever-loving hell…?! This was definitely not in the script yet!

The stadium was quiet again.

“Would you like that?” he asked the audience in this, soft, soothing tone of a sorcerer.

Collective wails of denial, but they sounded weak. “Nooooooo!”

“No? Won’t you want Darko to be happy for a change? He might stop wanting to kill his brother in the next movie,” he said teasingly.

As if on cue, at the change of his tone, the audience came alive again.
 

Screams of approval this time.

Desperate to stop him from railroading her plans, Ava grabbed him from behind and bit her nails into his flesh. She realized seconds later she was gripping one cheek of his firm ass! She pulled her hand back as if scalded. She hoped the cams at the back didn’t catch that!

“Alright, alright, my Empress is telling me I’m being overkill about this but you know me, I’m always
over-killing
. You know the body count.”

Laughter from the audience.

His throat rumbled into this Darko chuckle that had been made into countless memes all over the internet for all occasions— especially when you’re recovering from a broken heart and wanting revenge so you’re contemplating a fuckaton with the first sexy plumber or mechanic in sight— and finally opened the envelope. “The nominees for Best Video are…”

She exhaled in relief.

God, he was definitely, absofuckinglutely FIRED!

C
hapter
F
our

Ava climbed into the limo,
the furious flashes of the cameras leaving globs of white light blotting her vision. Even after almost a decade in this business, she hated it. She was so relieved when Norton, her chauffeur and bodyguard, slammed the door shut and she was finally private.

Only, the devil was with her!

“Get out,” she told him, feeling the normally spacious interior of her stretch limo shrink into a little box. She felt trapped with him inside, sharing her space.

Wes didn’t move, lounging indolently on the plush seat opposite her, hands resting casually on his upper thighs.
 

She fumbled with her phone from her clutch bag and called Reena. “Where the hell are you? I’m already in the limo.”

“I’m just talking to Tim. I’ll be right there. Is Wes with you?”

“Yes, he is and he’s acting all pyscho. Hurry up! Tell his manager to come get him, too!” She cut the call.
 

Wes just grinned at her, his fingers tapping his legs, looking so relaxed while her heart was practically jumping out of her chest in agitation.

It was time this asshole knew who was boss here. “The deal’s off. You’re fired.”
 

He didn’t even blink. “You can’t fire me.”

“I definitely can.”

“We already had a verbal agreement. That’s binding. I already started working, too.”

She threw him a scathing look. “We haven’t even
 
discussed how it’s going to play out and now you’ve ruined it!”

“I did? How? I thought the audience was quite happy tonight. They’re buying it.”
 

He looked so smug she wanted to smack his arrogant face. The violence inside her shocked her. She rarely lost her temper with anybody, if not at all. She’d always been the cool-headed, analytical type, but this man could set her off so quickly she felt bewildered by her own behavior. All in one night, too!

She inhaled deeply. “Look, I’ve changed my mind. The deal’s off,” she said in a calmer, business-like tone.

“Why?”

“Because I said so.”
 

Her phone rang. It was Reena.

“Hey Av, since Wes is with you, you guys go ahead and have a nice drive downtown. It’s a beautiful night. Get to know each other. I’ll ride with Tim in Wes’ limo and we’ll meet you in an hour at Yzzabel’s for the after-party.”

“What?! No, Reen, you get your ass in here right now—”

“I’ll see you later, Av! Mwah-mwah!”

The line went off. She stared at her phone, unintelligible words forming in her mouth. Her manager just abandoned her with the devil incarnate! She picked up the intercom handset at her side and spoke to her chauffeur. “Norton, let’s go.”