Malibu Betrayals (21 page)

“Sweet Jesus.” Her words came out of his mouth in a drawn out breath.

Sam leaned backward, forcing him to support her lower back. Clenching her muscles, she pulled up and then relaxed to slide back down his shaft. Each slippery glide increasing her building pressure, the hot water, his hotter flesh, sensations close to spiraling out of control, she wished to die in that moment if she had to go at all.

He sucked on her lower lip and swept his tongue into her mouth, salty sweet, and she moved faster. Harder.

She slammed down his length again and again, water sloshing over the rim of the tub and hitting the floor in a trickling waterfall. Her heart raced, pounding in her ears. The water lapped up her naked sides, drenching her covered breasts with heated water, only to have the air leaving the fabric cool and her nipples tightening to an almost painful peak. His body providing a seductive friction against her every nerve ending.

In one final drop, with him fully inside her, Sam threw her head back as an intense contraction pulled from her core and then burst out in pulsing waves.

Gage followed, holding her in an iron grip, bending over her as his body bucked deeper into her hot, wet, body. “Fuck.” The expletive came out in a throaty masculine groan.

Sam wiped water from her face and buried her nose in his neck, hiding her smug smile. Her breath came out in short gasps, and her heart continued to thunder against her chest. She leaned back and looked into his dazed expression, and then she pressed a wet kiss against his mouth.

His lips kicked up into a smile.

She returned with a grin. “Exactly.”

Looking about the tub and floor, she wiggled her brows. “We’ve got to clean this mess up before Anita comes back tomorrow.”

Gage smacked her ass with a playful swat, and standing, set her on her feet. Reaching for the band of his pants, hanging about mid-thigh, he pushed them the rest of the way down. He picked them up, wrung them out, and then sent them flying toward her sink. Turning back to her, he challenged her with his gaze, crooking his finger at her.

She looked at him out of the side of her eyes, a giddy excitement humming through her and barely able to stand. “What are you doing?” She loved this playful side of him, so comfortable with his body, with her. If she’d been holding anything back, he’d obliterated any chance of her keeping it that way.

“I think I hear your shower calling.” He grabbed her hand, stepping out of the tub.

And she followed him.

She could see things so differently now. They’d do more than create a life together; they’d live one.

…

Gage and Sam tripped over their feet, laughing, as they stumbled through the front door of the film set house. The front foyer remained clear of equipment and movie fodder, leaving an open space with stone tiled flooring, a front table crowned with an impressive iron mirror. Two plush cream chairs and a low bench warmed the space, an invitation for visitors to sit. So they did.

Sam clapped her hand over her heart. “Oh, my God, that was too funny.”

Gage leaned back against the light gray wall and blew out a breath. “Whew. At the time it wasn’t.”

She laughed. “The girl’s locker room? How could you make that mistake?”

He chuckled and threw his hands up in defense. “I was fourteen and in a school I didn’t know. I’m innocent.”

“I’m sure
they
didn’t believe you, either.”

Gage opened his mouth to speak, but Martin walked in and stood before them with a knowing gleam in his eye and a slow nod.

Gage and Sam looked at one another with a grin and then back to Martin.

A smile spread across Martin’s tanned face, chiseling his lines into deeper grooves. His black brows rose toward his hairline in stark contrast to the thick white thatch on his head and his salt-and-pepper beard. “Finally.”

Sam grinned, she imagined like an idiot. Leaning into Gage’s warmth, she waited for Martin to continue.

“It’s like the two of you have known each other for years.”

Sam tensed. She couldn’t help it.

Gage nodded. “We have actually. I met Sam a few years back, both out of town on business.” He glanced at her. “Haven’t been able to get her out of my mind since.”

Martin sunk into a chair to their right, leaning forward, his interest unmistakable.

Gage shrugged. “But Sam was married, and I was heartbroken.”

She elbowed him in the side. Tension rolled from her shoulders with his deep chuckle, and she smiled at Martin. No censure showed in the depth of her mentor’s eyes and relief washed over her. The fact remained Martin’s opinion mattered.

He waved away Gage’s words. “I know, your timing was just off, boy. Good thing you don’t have that problem with acting.”

“Seriously off.”

Martin studied Gage and shook a finger. “You are brilliant. This movie, well, you’ve exceeded my expectations.”

Gage dropped his chin, a hint of pink flushing up his neck, and Sam’s heart warmed. Humble was not the word that normally came to mind when Gage Cutler’s name came up in conversation, but she witnessed it now. Another layer. Another way he was different from other celebrities.

He continued to surprise her.

With a half smile, he extended his hand toward the director. “Thank you for the opportunity. I’ve been wanting to dive into the directing side for a while. A couple years back I would have without worrying about whether or not I could actually pull it off. Studying under you has shown me sides of it I’d never have seen on my own, and I’m better for it. You can imagine what would be said if I’d have flopped.”

“Gross rumors. Fodder of Hollywood’s entitled, covetous, and bored,” Martin interjected. The older man stood, elegant in his dark hounds tooth blazer. He scanned the open space of the house they’d used for the past weeks. He glanced back at the two of them. “Raquel and Dani booked a weekend for the two of you at the Sunset Marquis in West Hollywood.”

Sam blinked. She got to her feet. “Martin. We can’t accept that.”

“Girl, Raquel and I love the both of you like one of our own children. I wanted to do something to say thank you for saving me by agreeing to work on the film.”

Warmth suffused her heart. “Martin.”

“Get that wide-eyed look like you’re about to bolt off your face. This is a gift. The choice is yours, but if you give it back, I’m not the one telling Raquel.” Martin winked.

“Ahhhh, here she is.” The director gestured to the arched doorway, dismissing Sam.

Dani stepped into the circle and handed Sam a travel envelope. “Your reservations and the information for the weekend are inside.” She grinned, and Sam’s own lips quirked up at the corners, but the young girl wasn’t looking at her, she was eyeing Gage from head to toe and back again. Well, she couldn’t blame the girl. Who wouldn’t look at Gage that way. She caught herself doing it all the time.

She took the envelope with a chuckle. “Thank you. I hate for you to have gone through so much trouble.”

Dani waved the words away. “Are you kidding? It’s like shopping with someone else’s credit card. All the glory and none of the consequence.” She smiled and headed back toward the main set with a small wave.

Sam turned the envelope over in her hand, studying the intricate design on the back flap. Glancing up, she held Martin’s gaze, gratitude clogging her throat. “Thank you.”

He pulled his dark brows together. “You’ve been like a daughter to me. Raquel and I both. With a house full of boys, you’ve been a refreshing addition.”

Martin leaned in with an avuncular hug. “Have fun. Quit thinking.”

“I try to tell her—”

Sam cut her gaze to Gage. “Really? You’ve been quiet all this time, and that’s what you want to add?”

The director laughed, a loud boisterous bark. “Smart man.”

Affection shone from his eyes as he looked from one to the other. “Don’t forget the party.” With that he gave a salute and disappeared into the great room of the film set.

Gage shook his head. “I’ll never be as wise as he is, but it’s a good aspiration.”

Sam let her gaze run the length of Gage from the dark hair of his head, to the distressed leather of his dark square-toe loafers. Such a big man, full of power, and an energy that pulled with inexplicable force. Combined with observations like that, and she was a goner.

Martin had always communicated with her in a way that left no room for argument, and in those moments she couldn’t resist. He drove every point home as to why he was right. Same way he handled his films, his manuscripts, his actors. He wielded a special kind of enchantment otherwise absent in Hollywood these days. Gage saw that.

And that said something. He had what it took to follow in Martin’s footsteps, and Sam wanted to be around to watch it happen.

Chapter Twenty-One

The thump and swell of music followed Gage and Sam as they made their way to the car, arms wrapped around one another’s waist, heads close.

“I’m glad we’re going. I think this is going to be really good for us,” she said.

“Me, too. A little time away, just you and me.” He took her hand. “Martin really knows how to celebrate.” Gage’s low rumble sent shivers down Sam’s spine.

“You mean Raquel.”

The party had been a collaboration of music and beauty—Hollywood style. Flowing silks and alcohol. Art for the ears and eyes alike. A spread of delectable dishes decadent enough to tempt the most dedicated super model.

“You can never give a man the credit, can you?”

Sam laughed. “No. I can’t.”

Gage chuckled as he closed her door and made his way around to the driver’s side. He shook his head, still smiling, as he lowered into the car.

Giving into impulse, she leaned over and pressed her lips to his warmth. He tasted of spice with the promise of lingering heat. This weekend belonged to them. Starting now.

She pulled away, and Gage’s lips slowly widened into a grin. “What was that for?”

“That was for me.” Sam settled into her seat and cast him a sideways glance. “I’m ready for some time away, alone. How about you?”

“I’ve been ready for years.”

She returned his grin. Her fears and hesitations were on holiday. “Let’s go.”

Gage followed the winding road out of the hills and turned south to follow the Pacific Highway to I 10 east into Hollywood. Clear skies boasted a glowing moon and clusters of little diamond nightlights.

The air cooled since the setting of the sun, Sam rolled up her window and snuggled into the warm leather of the seat. She turned, angling her body toward Gage. “What do you want to do first?”

His focused gaze made her stomach roll, low and slow.

She bit her lip. “I like the way you think, but in addition to our lurid affair with the hotel bed—”

“You mean
on
the hotel bed and in the shower, the pool, the—”

“Ha! I get your point.” She squeezed her hands together in her lap, anticipation stretching the fifty-minute drive into a lifetime. Wanting to be close, she slid her arm through his and settled with resting her hand on his thigh. His muscles clenched under her touch. She giggled.

Gage cut a look her way, a look of surprise on his face. “Did you just giggle?”

“Shut up.” She slid her hand higher on his muscled thigh and squeezed.

His leg jerked and the car surged forward. “If you don’t knock it off, we won’t make it to Hollywood.”

Sam relaxed her hand, enjoying the heat radiating through his slacks. The freedom of the moment released her tension, calmed her nerves, and joy spread from tip to toe. She’d almost forgotten what an existence free of ridicule and loneliness and guilt felt like. If she could only hold onto it for a little while.

Gage pulled up to the front entrance, and a valet jogged to open his door. With little hassle and loads of courtesy, they stepped into their villa and waved good night to the staff.

Sam turned in circles. “Wow. Martin gets brownie points.”

The villa flowed from a richly ornate living space and dining area out to a terrace overlooking a tree-lit garden. She could forget time and responsibility in a place like this.

Rich warm wood, deep burgundy, and pumpkin lent a heat to the space that frankly, she didn’t think they’d need. She turned to find Gage and bumped into his chest. He steadied her without thinking. It was his way, taking care of people as natural to him as breathing. She studied her hands.

“Hey.” He placed his fingers under her chin and applied a gentle pressure.

She met his serious gaze, wishing with all her heart she could be his forever, but she knew the chances of that were slim. “What if we can’t do this? We both have so many issues we’re still trying to work through.” She shook her head, the truth of it all clogging her throat.

“Sam, don’t you see? You and I are a great team, and that is why we’ll come out of this not only okay, but stronger than we ever imagined.” He picked her hand up and placed it over his heart. “I promise to always protect you, to always consider your needs and your wants. This won’t be a relationship about me, Sam, but about us. I will choose you, every time.”

She tilted her head, wanting to believe every dream his words evoked. Her chest burned with emotion and she smiled. To be chosen—every time? What an amazing way to be loved.

He pulled her to him, keeping her hand under his. “I’m a better man with you. Don’t you get that? I’d never risk losing you.”

She slid her hands up and around his neck, dragging her nails lightly against his skin. The tension building inside her had everything to do with the man in front of her and nothing else. “Show me.”

A strong hand touched her stomach, then slid to the buttons on her slacks. Deft fingers made quick work of the clasp, and he pushed her pants and panties to the floor. He bent forward and gathered her up into his arms. She wrapped her legs around his waist as their tongues tangled with and tasted each other. His hands were everywhere, and the night air cooled her skin before she saw her shirt on the floor. Gage turned and pressed her back against the smooth surface of the closest wall.

Sam gasped for breath.

Gage leveraged her weight against the wall and thrust his hands into her hair. He ravaged her mouth, leaving her ability to think nonexistent.

Frantic to touch him, Sam tore at his shirt and sank deeper into the kiss. Her stomach fluttered, and pressure grew between her legs. The buckle of his belt pressed into her sensitive flesh, and she pressed into him, trying to increase the sensation.

Gage pulled away just enough to slide his hand between their bodies. She moaned, “Don’t stop.”

“Never.”

Sam pushed his hands away; he gave a low growl. She released his belt, shoving his pants past his hips, and then closing any distance between them. The length of him, hard and hot, pulsed against her folds. She was ready and in control, the feeling heady, giving her a new kind of power and strength. She flexed her fingers in his hair, tugging at him. “Gage, now.”

He held her, leveraging the weight of her with his hips and bracing her against the wall as he rolled on a condom. She ran her fingers up and down his arms as he finished.

“Look at me.” His fingers flexed into her skin, his arms trembling.

She obeyed his husky demand, holding his gaze with a lift of her chin and got lost in the intensity of his green eyes, as he pushed in. “It’s you and me, Sam.” The intimacy of eye contact as he entered her body sent her senses spiraling. Stars exploded, and her periphery went black, but she held his gaze.

Gage thrust into her hot and fast, his body surrounding her in a way that claimed an open invitation. Clinging to his shoulders, she pressed down against his pubic bone. She rubbed, desperate to relieve the pressure building deep inside. She held on tight, running her lips along his jaw and down his neck.

Without pause, he pulled from her heat and then thrust back. Again. And again. Gage slid a hand between their bodies and pressed his thumb against her most sensitive part in slow rhythmic circles. He chose her; he’d choose her. She knew the truth of his words as he loved her with his body.

Sam went blind with need, nothing but the bright sparks of pleasure and crashing, convulsing, waves penetrated the pleasure focused center of her mind. Sensation rolled through her. Over her.

She pressed. He pulled. She squeezed. He thrust. Wet skin smacked with purpose. A deliberate sharing of hard pleasure and sweet pain. Once again flowing into a partnership, they moved as a team, effortless, seamless. Giving all of themselves so the other might rise higher, and the effort was returned tenfold. Sam was in awe. The sensation of being one so great, tears burned the back of her lids. Oh, how she loved this man.

His own groan of release joined hers, and he gripped her hips, digging his fingers deep. Their frenzied movements slowed until he sagged into her, and they slid down the wall, limp and sated.

Gage’s low rumble barely audible over their gasping breaths. “I love you.”

Sam melted into the floor, welcoming his weight, and keeping her arms wrapped around him. “I love you, too.”

She always thought she knew what love was, but she hadn’t, not really. There was an extraordinary sense of wonder to be chosen by someone, a recognition, an acceptance, of being forever changed from inside the heart out.

…

Gage stretched, muscles aching, and a satisfied smile curving his lips. Totally worth it.

Sam lay on her side with her back to him. Carefully, so he didn’t wake her, he slid closer to her warmth—her radiating, musky warmth of sleep. His chest met her silky skin, and she rolled back into him with a sigh. Waking to this would never get old. Every time they were together surprised him with its intensity, the depth to which she grabbed him. It was the difference of having sex and making love, and he never wanted to go back.

The first golden glow of morning tiptoed through the window sheers and cast the room in a sheen of copper. The hum of the fan the only break of silence. Ferns fell in a waterfall of green from the corners of the room, lending a feel of paradise even if they weren’t already in the lap of luxury. He owed Martin for this one.

Sam peered over her shoulder through her lashes.

“Good morning.” His whisper was barely audible.

She sighed again and turned to face him. Snuggling in, she mumbled against his chest, “Good morning. I’m so hungry.”

He chuckled, and joy allowed room for nothing else in his heart. “You should be.” Sam had surprised him, taking charge, telling him what she wanted. He couldn’t help but feel they were headed in the right direction. She needed time, and he wanted to give it to her.

“Yep, so feed me.”

“But you’re so warm.” He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in closer.

“You are, too.” She released a contented hum. “But I’m starving.”

Rolling onto his back and pulling Sam onto his chest, Gage reached out toward the bedside table, grappling around until he closed his hand over the hotel phone.

A short time later a knock sounded from the main door. Gage grabbed a thick robe, then shoved his arms into it and tied it at the waist. Minutes later, he returned to find Sam propped up in bed. He wheeled a cart laden with fresh fruit, sweet cream, an assortment of pastries, scrambled eggs, avocado and tomato slices, and smoked salmon. Coffee and orange juice topped it off.

Sam clapped her hands together and rubbed, practically salivating. “Perfect.”

He pushed the cart against the side of the bed with a grin, and Sam scooted closer. She pulled the sheet over her breasts and tucked it under her arms, sitting with her legs crisscrossed in front of the cart. Gage joined her and looked around. “This kind of place is perfect for us. There’s no paparazzi, on the inside at least, since they cater mostly to celebrities. We all have our starry-eyed moments, I mean come on, Al Pacino is Al Pacino, but we’re less rude.”

Sam mumbled her agreement through a pastry.

“This is just one of the things we can do to protect what we have, Sam.”

Swallowing, Sam studied him. “This place is great, but we can’t do this all the time. We have to be able to live, Gage.”

“And we will.”

She drank half of her orange juice and then set her glass down. “I’ve been thinking a lot about what I need for this to work, and I think one of the things that makes me nervous is the time apart.” Her phone buzzed. She glanced at it and then set it aside.

“I can understand that. I know my next film will be on location in Australia for two months, but you can go with me.”

Her smile froze on her face. “I can’t do that.”

“Why not?”

“I have my work. This film is my jump back into the arena. I can’t just disappear for two months.”

He lifted his hands in the air and then dropped them back to his sides. “When I transition more to director, I’ll be able to stay close to home more if I choose, but I need some time to make that happen. You asked me once to give you time. I’m asking you to do the same.”

She pulled in a deep breath and released it with a smile. “Time.”

“Look, it won’t be perfect at first. But give us time to figure things out, and then later we can make the rules. Agree to never travel without each other, and if there’s an international location, we’ll go together. We make a good team on set, Sam. Our relationship will be no exception. We just need to build up to that within our careers.”

She tilted her head. “My career, which is why I can’t go with you. You career is pretty much there. You get to pick the roles you’re in.”

He pressed a firm kiss to her mouth. “I can’t pass this one up. It is a leading role, and I’m hoping it will allow me to start transitioning while at my peak.”

“I’m not asking you to give it up.”

He breathed her in, flexing his fingers with the hope he’d never have to stop. One more kiss on her mouth, and he looked her in the eye. He might not have all the answers right now, but he’d find them. “We can do this.”

She nodded, but the look on her face wasn’t very convincing. Tension clamped down on his shoulders with each tick tock of the clock.

They ate their fill, drank the coffee, everything casual and light-hearted, until Sam’s phone buzzed. She glanced at it and then tossed it back to the bed. With a nonchalance to her voice that immediately set him on edge, she brought up Cecilia Lombardi. “Why do you still care so much?”

Gage studied her, the familiar knot heavy in his gut, competing with his breakfast for room. Pushing away from the almost empty cart, he settled back against his pillows.

Sam cradled a cup of coffee and shifted to face him, her head tilted, quiet, and waiting. Her phone buzzed again. She hesitated and then picked it up. With a sigh, she tossed it back down to her bed.

“What’s going on?”

She bit her lip. “I didn’t want to bother you with it, but Cecilia keeps texting me.”

“What? Let me see that.”