Claimed by the Alpha Celebrity (Rockstar Romance, Alpha Male Erotic Romance, Billionaire Romance) (The Star Struck Trilogy) (6 page)

He pulled me into his embrace. “Actually, nice is an understatement. I hate to be crude but I can’t wait to get under that hot little dress of yours.” His forwardness made my entire body tingle but I wanted to get out
on the town so I didn’t encourage him.

“Christoff!” I admonished as I swatted him away from me with my purse. “Let’s get going so we can make our reservation.”

“Oh, when did you suddenly become so punctual?”

I gave him a cutting glare. He let out a self-s
atisfied chuckle. I led the way and Christoff trailed behind a bit. I knew he was checking me out, so I let my hips swing as I strutted ahead. I felt his eyes linger on my bottom for awhile, before he picked up his pace and caught up to me. Christoff told me he had been to Chicago several times, but he had never been to Paris Club. He said he was pretty excited to see what all the fanfare was about. It had been far too long since I had been, so I was delighted that we had gotten a reservation. And I was about to burst at the seams with excitement about going to Trump’s rooftop. The air was warm and sultry, and the city glowed as the sun sank into the horizon. The evening could not possibly have been any more perfect.

I noticed that everyone we passed was che
cking me out. Christoff actually noticed before I did and he pointed it out. “Wow, every guy in town is checking you out tonight. They aren’t even bothering to be discreet about it.”

“How do you know everyone isn’t looking at you, celebrity?”

“Trust me. I know what those guys are thinking because at times I think just like them. I am completely invisible right now and all eyes are on you and they should be. You’re the star and you deserve it.”

I was so flattered that I was actually getting more attention th
an Christoff Diemacht Hartmann. I secretly wanted the paparazzi to jump out of the bushes and start snapping photographs of us, but this wasn’t L.A. and there was no paparazzi. “I’ve been with a lot of men who get jealous and possessive when I get too much attention. There must be some part of you that is jealous that all of these men are looking at me.” I prodded.

“Jealousy is not an issue with me. It never has been. I don’t care about other men checking you out in your hot dress and your sexy heels,
because I have no doubts about who is going to be the lucky guy to get all the deliciousness underneath that dress.” Christoff’s eyes seemed to look through my clothes. “Let them look, but if they try to touch there will surely be trouble. Those guys should be jealous of me. Not the other way around.” Christoff smirked arrogantly. Ordinarily I wouldn’t approve of such premature over-confidence, but Christoff had me and he knew it. There was no way I could argue otherwise with a straight face.

We were about
a block away from the restaurant, and the sidewalks became more packed. I was delighted by the hustle and bustle of the city. I was strutting alongside Christoff, and telling him just how excited I was, when my heel got stuck in a grate on the side walk, and my ankle rolled sharply to the side. I tried to catch myself but I couldn’t. I hit the ground fast and hard and lost both shoes in the process. I let out a loud shriek as I went down. Everyone on both sides of the street looked at me.

“Gia!” Christoff g
asped.

“Ow!” I let out an involuntary groan. “I’m okay,” I reassured, even though I had tears in my eyes from a combination of pain and embarrassment. Several people stopped and stared but no one offered to help me up.

Christoff squatted down next to me and took a good look at my ankle. He tried to put one of my shoes back on for me but I winced in pain. “You’re not okay. I think you sprained it.”

“No, I’m fine.” I whimpered as a single tear rolled down my cheek.

“Let’s get you home.” Christoff said tenderly, as he handed me both my shoes and effortlessly scooped me into his arms.

“No, I want to go out.” I pouted.

“Well then, do you want me to put you down? You can put your shoes back on and I’ll race you to the restaurant.” Christoff feigned like he was going to put me back on the ground. I gave him a look of defeat as tears continued to well up in my eyes. He pulled me in close. My ankle really hurt, but not being able to go to Paris Club and Trump Tower was even more painful than my sprained ankle.

“It’
s okay, we’ll just have a quiet evening in and get some take-out,” Christoff soothed.

“But I’m sure you didn’t come all the way to Chicago to stay in and eat take-out,” I whined.

“Gia, stop it. You know I didn’t come to Chicago to sightsee and eat at restaurants. I can go anywhere I want in the world at any time that I please. I came here to see you and you know that. Now relax and just let me spend time with you.” Christoff spoke firmly but compassionately. He made his point and I was quiet.

He carried m
e into the nearest restaurant and requested a bag of ice. He set me down on a barstool while he summoned Arman. In less than 10 minutes, Arman was outside with the town car. Christoff laid me down on the back seat and walked around to the other side and sat next to me. He held my feet in his lap and placed the bag of ice on my swollen ankle. When I complained that it was too cold, he took off his shirt and wrapped the ice with it, so that it was warm enough for me to tolerate on my skin. I was pretty independent and wasn’t used to being taken care of like this, but I don’t know what I would have done if Christoff wasn’t there when I fell. I’m so glad he insisted on meeting me and us walking there together. I should have just taken him up on his offer for a ride in the first place, then my fall would have never happened. But I guess that was water under the bridge at this point.

We rode to my apartment in silence, with Christoff holding the bag of ice on my ankle in five minute intervals. I really didn’t want
him to see my apartment, but I knew he would get annoyed if I objected so I stayed quiet. He scooped me out of the car and carried me to my apartment. I handed him the key and he unlocked the door and laid me on the couch. He made sure I was comfortable before asking me what I wanted to eat. We decided on sushi and miso soup. I continued to silently sulk over not being out while we waited on the food.

“Hey!” Christoff’s voice interrupted my internal pity party.

“Yes?”

“I know you have a lot of work to do in
the coming weeks, but I just came up with a great idea.”

“What is it?”

“How would you like to be my date to the Awards show this Sunday? I think it would be fun for you, and you’ll be able to meet some important people. What do you think?”

I didn’t have t
o think for long. “Yeah! Yes! I’m going to the Music Madness Awards... with you!” I squealed as I pointed dramatically at Christoff. I could not stop smiling.

“I knew that would cheer you up. I think you will really enjoy it. We’re nominated for a few awar
ds and we’re performing. I’ll see if they will let you watch our part of the show from the side of the stage.”

“Oh my fucking goodness! That would be ridiculous!” I usually tried not to show Christoff all my cards but there was no hiding my excitement abou
t the Awards show.

We had a lot of great conversation over dinner. We talked for hours. I told Christoff about some of my most memorable interviews and he shared stories about some of his favorite performances. I was captivated by every moment with Christo
ff, and I could tell he really liked having me around. I’ve liked guys before, and I have had guys like me, but I’ve never experienced the mutual magnetism that I shared with Christoff. He warned me several times that he doesn’t like to get too close too soon because when he falls, he falls hard. And he begrudgingly opened up enough to admit that he wasn’t ready to get hurt again. I was similar to Christoff in that I had my own walls up. I was quite crazy about him, but I was nervous about how vulnerable I was allowing myself to become with him. He made me feel safe. I liked it but it wasn’t something I was used to. It almost made me uncomfortable.

I started to withdraw, as I wrestled with my emotions. I literally couldn’t believe that the breathtaking rock
star that I had been captivated by on television and on stage was now sitting on my couch being captivated by me. I connected so deeply to his music and I was super intrigued by all of his interviews. For years I longed for the opportunity to meet him in person, look into his smoldering, cerulean blue eyes, and hear his melodic baritone voice speak directly to me, even if the only word he uttered was ‘hello.’ And now that and so much more was actually happening. I almost couldn’t wrap my head around it. I had actually been intimate with Christoff Diemacht Hartmann, and not just on a physical level. We were actually connecting on an emotional level as well, despite the fact that both of us were so desperately trying to keep our guard up. The idea was mind-blowing. Just being in Christoff’s presence made my body pulse with excitement. I almost couldn’t handle it. I nursed my cold miso soup as I tried to calm my racing thoughts. Christoff had gotten quieter as well. He seemed pensive, but then again he always seemed to be deep in thought.

Christoff startled me out of my thoughts by placing his hand on my thigh. It caused my body to jump. I hope he didn’t notice. “Gia, I need to ask you something. And I need you to be honest with me okay?”

The seriousness in Christoff’s tone made my heart skip a beat. “Yes, what is it?” I asked timidly.

“I need to know if you are on some sort of birth control. You are taking something, right?”

“Well isn’t it a bit late for that question?” I furrowed my brow in confusion.

“Yes. I’m
usually much more careful, but with you... when you do what you do to me, I can’t even think straight. I’ve been kicking myself for being so reckless. Please tell me you’re on something.”

“Yes, Christoff. I’m taking birth control. I’m on the Pill.”
Christoff exhaled, but his features still looked tense.

“And you’re going to stay on it, right? You aren’t going to suddenly start forgetting to take it?” Christoff’s tone was slightly accusatory. It made my face flush red.

“What are you asking me Christoff? Do you think I would purposely try to get pregnant?” My voice came out in a high pitch that I didn’t recognize.

“Gia, don’t be upset. I didn’t mean it that way. It’s not personal, I just have to cover my own ass. You work in the media. I’m sure you’ve h
eard the stories about what girls try to do when they meet celebrities.”

“Yeah, but clearly I’m nothing like those girls, right? You don’t think I’m that way do you?” My voice quivered a bit even though I tried to stay calm.

“No Gia, of course not.” He put his arm around me and pulled me close. I hung my head and stared at the floor. This conversation was making me unreasonably uncomfortable. I felt tears well up in my eyes but I choked them back. “Are you okay? I really didn’t mean to hurt your feelings, Gia.” Christoff’s tone was surprisingly gentle.

“I’ll be fine.” I tried to compose myself. “It’s just what you said reminded me of the things my family says to me. I barely even talk to them anymore. They don’t understand entertainment journalism. They don’
t think it’s a real job. My mother insists that I’m not a real journalist. She says I’m just a starstruck groupie. And my older sister says the same thing, only she doesn’t use such PG-13 language. There is no way I would let myself get pregnant by a rock star. I’d never hear the end of it from them. They already think I’m some sort of frivolous groupie whore, who doesn’t have a real career. If they knew what you and I were doing, they would think even less of me if that’s at all possible.” I was on the brink of tears, but somehow I held myself together.

Christoff pulled me into his lap and stroked my hair. “Well, what do your parents do for a living? And what does your sister do?”

“My sister sells real estate in Florida, and she’s married to some hot shot attorney. My parents are so proud of her, and they never let me forget it. My mom works in the housekeeping department for a hotel and my dad is a mechanic. They live back home in Ohio.”

“They must be proud of you for finishing college and moving to the big
city on your own. I actually heard about you before we even met. You’re only twenty-six, and you’ve already had quite the impressive career. There is no way they aren’t proud of you.”

I shrugged. “I don’t know. I was the mistake baby. My sister was planne
d, but they didn’t want another child. My whole life my parents told us how they couldn’t afford two children. We didn’t have much growing up, and by the time I was fifteen they told me anything I wanted I had to buy myself. And both my sister and I know that my parents expect us to make enough money to take care of them when they get older.” I sighed.

“No need to have a heavy heart over it. A lot people grow up without a lot of money. And everything actually worked out for you. I can tell you worked hard a
ll your life. You came out to be such a strong and independent woman. You’re like superwoman. You are clearly unbreakable.” Christoff’s words soothed my soul and made me feel confident inside. I smiled and laid my head on his shoulder in gratitude.

“What a
bout you? I bet your family is really proud of you. You never talk about them in interviews though. Are they really private or something?”