Beyond Famous (Famous #3) (22 page)

I had snuggled into my bed wearing one of his T-Shirts that he'd worn the day before; his scent floating around me and his velvet voice in my ear.  So sexy...

"Brook, I miss you... I bloody hate this."

I sighed and rolled onto my back, searching for the words he needed to hear.

"Me too, but we'll be okay.   I still love you... even if it is from across the country," I said softly.

He sighed heavily on the other end of the phone.  "Yeah, but it sucks to be without you, love."

I felt my body flush at the words and my heart swell.  "I know.  I feel it too, but I am trying so hard to stay positive.  Feeling like crap only means I love you. I'd feel worse if I didn't miss you this much. So I want the ache.  I want it," I whispered.

"Ugh... God, Brook," he moaned into the phone and my body tightened and throbbed at the sound.  "Believe me, I ache too.  In
several
places."

I laughed, happily. "I'm wearing your T-Shirt.  It still smells like you.  I never want to wash it."

"Mmm. I miss you."

"Just think how much I'm going to climb all over you when I see you next.  Mmm...” I teased.  "And the pictures tomorrow; are just for you."

"Has it only been fifteen hours since I've touched you?  It feels like fifteen fucking years."

"Uhhh, Cade.  I hope it gets easier.”

"Impossible." 

I smiled into the phone.  "Tell me what you've got going on tomorrow."

He proceeded to tell me about the production schedule and meeting the co-stars, and how Denise was working to get him some time off, maybe around the Fourth of July.  My mind was already reeling about how I could get some time off to surprise him in New York as well, knowing that we couldn't go ten weeks without seeing each other.  We stayed on the phone for almost two hours and it was very hard to let him go, but I heard him yawn and knew he'd have to be up fairly early. Given the time difference, he’d only have three or four hours of sleep.

"Baby, you need to sleep.  I'll call you tomorrow."

"I don't think I'll sleep without you, Brook."

"Do something to relax.  Take a shot of something, take a shower, or...”

"Your hands are the only ones I want on me, if you're suggesting what I think you're suggesting." He laughed softly.

"It's just a thought," I said softly and smiled into the phone.  "Better your hands than someone else's."

"Brook." His voice hardened a little.  "That isn't going to happen.  You aren't seriously worried about that are you?"

"No.  I trust you, but there will be women throwing themselves at you, and your new co-star will probably—"

He cut me off.  "Stop it, right now.  None of that matters anymore here than if you're right in front of me.  Don't you know how much I fucking love you?"  His voice was angry and shaking slightly.

"Calm down, sweetie.  I know.  I'm sorry.  I shouldn't have said that.  I guess I'm a little insecure.  It's sort of me against the entire world when it comes to you."

He sighed loudly.  "Yes it is.  And the entire bloody world doesn't stand a chance in hell, Brook, okay?" He paused for a few seconds.  "Just... please don't make me feel like you don't trust me.  I've got issues too.  David is in L.A. and I'm not.  Don't think that hasn't crossed my fucking mind."  I could hear the exasperation laced in his voice.

"David?  Who is he again?"  I tried to tease him and laughed quietly, hoping Cade would join in.  He didn't.

"I’m trying to forget."

"Okay, baby.  I'm sorry.  Love you," I promised.  "Go to bed now and tomorrow when you see pictures of me on those gossip bastard's websites, I'll be sending you a message, before and during the shoot, okay?"

He finally laughed then.  "Yeah, okay, my love.  I'll send you a song for when you wake up.  By the way, I read the journal on the plane and saw the note in the margin about Ingrid Michaelson.  We have that incredible love."

I remembered writing how my body and heart had ached for him while that song played in my room that night.

"I love that song.  Fill me...” I moaned at the memory.

"Yes… Spill me..." he said softly in return, both of us echoing the lyrics.

"Oh my God.  I have to go... you're killing me."

"What a way to die.  I love you so much.  Goodnight, honey."

"Love you... you hang up first."

"You hang up first...” he laughed.

"Okay, but only because you need to sleep.  I really love you, Cade.  Have fun tomorrow."

"Love you too, baby."  I hung up the phone and rolled on my side and missed him.

THE DAY WENT BY
relatively quickly, laced with hot text messages to and from Brook.  I had a shit-eating grin on my face the entire day since this morning when I got that damn song. 

Bloody Hell, it was hot.

It had me jazzing all day to see the damn photos as soon as possible.  I never thought I'd be happy to have something leaked online, but I couldn't fucking wait.

The director, Alan Cortman, and I spent part of the day going over production and I had some wardrobe fittings.  I didn't know why they bloody needed that shit, and wondered why I just couldn't wear my own clothes.  The character was basically an unkempt slob and hell if I couldn't do that without any fancy help.

I was able to go back to my hotel late afternoon and went to PopSugar and Googled Brook.  There she was in her signature tight jeans, and an I Love New York T-Shirt, sunglasses and her earbuds from her iPod hanging from her ears.  She looked right at those damn paparazzi and smiled wide for the cameras.

The first message delivered to me and hinted to the world.  I fucking love New York. 
Bloody Brilliant
.

The earbuds were probably pounding out Oh My God, Oh My God, Oh My God... My body swelled and throbbed painfully at the thought. Damn if she couldn't make me come from three thousand miles away.   I smiled to myself and tried to spend the remainder of the afternoon going over the script.

I wished I was able to run around the city, but I realized it wasn't possible.  I'd asked Daniel to visit on the coming weekend and so maybe I'd get out a little then.  I was trying to fill up what little free time I had so the time would pass more quickly.

The storyline of
Only Us
was a good one with many layers and I tried to look forward to it and dive into it full on.  I ordered room service and went over the script for a couple of hours before my phone vibrated.

Shoot ended a couple of hours ago.  Let me know when you see them.  They're all for you.  OMG! XOXO

I moved to the desk and turned on the laptop and Googled Brook and Allure Magazine.  The pictures popped up immediately.

Holy Hell!

I sat down and stared.  She was so fucking beautiful, her light eyes magnificent against her pale skin, dark eye makeup, and windblown hair.  I felt my dick harden and I thanked God that she was mine.  Shot after shot, she was smoldering, her lips full and open... wanting. 
Dear God
.  My mouth went dry and the blood raced all around my body at the speed of light. I sat mesmerized by her eyes, her hair and her bare skin.

Fuck me.

Every shot was hot and showing skin.  Her shoulder was bare in some of them, but the ones with the short skirt and the thigh-high boots were my undoing.  I saved all of them and put one on my desktop and just stared at it, until I remembered that she wanted me to play that song as I looked at them.

I opened iTunes, started the song and then took out my phone to text Brook.

Oh my fucking God.  You are the hottest, most beautiful thing I've ever seen... I love you so bloody much.  I'm such a lucky bastard.

Forget the bloody script.  I wasn't moving from this computer for the rest of the night.  The song flooded through my head... and I sat back in the chair and ran my hands through my hair, my body throbbing to the point of pain. The song was sex set to music, and Brook was smoldering in the photos.

Jesus Christ. 
She knew how to torture me, and make me want so fucking bad I could barely stand it.  She was a temptress and I loved every bloody minute of it.  She made me happy, despite the distance.  My heart was so full, thudding so fast it would fly from my chest and my body so turned on, I couldn't bloody breathe.

My phone vibrated on the desk next to the computer and I opened the message from Brook.

That's what you do to me.  Oh my God'em, oh my God'em... OH MY GOD!

The breath rushed from my lungs and I smiled to myself as I searched for a song to send her that would make her scream for me.

Two could play at this bloody game
.

THE NEXT TWO WEEKS
passed by in a blur of music, tears and hard work.  The day after my Allure shoot, I had my hair cut and dyed.  I tried to be brave about it, but afterward, I fucking lost it.  Cade's sexy song selection for the day hadn't even helped. He'd sent me
Freek
by George Michael in response to the Pink song I'd sent him the day before.  It was super hot, but I was in a funk over my stupid hair.

The dark color made my skin look even paler and my blue eyes pop, but I hated it. I never wanted to go out in public again.  The paparazzi followed me out of the salon and were relentless, asking me personal questions about whether I had relationship with Cade.

We both decided that maybe it wasn't such a good idea to stay together in Beverly Hills in light of the new wrath of shit raining down on us about it, but I wouldn't trade one minute of it for anything.  It was beautiful and painful, but like everything else with Cade, completely worth it. That night he listened to me cry on the phone for two hours, telling me I was beautiful over and over again, his velvet voice trying to comfort and reassure me.  We hadn't had more than a ten-minute conversation since that one, and I was missing him in a major way.

He’d been very busy and so had I, meeting with Patrick Armstrong and some of the cast, getting final costume fittings, makeup tests and fitness training for hours on end.  I spent endless hours trying to get the mannerisms, facial expressions and general quirks for my character down and it was time-consuming and exhausting.

Cade's friend, Daniel Mayfield, came to the States to spend his first weekend with him so he’d have someone to explore New York with.  Cade said it had been a good time and the first and last time he'd been able to go out without huge mobs of girls chasing after him.  It was completely insane and I worried about him.

He'd seen some of the Internet pictures of my new
look
, for lack of a better word, and he'd been so supportive.  Deep down, I knew he had to hate it.  Hell
, I
hated it, so how could he help it?

Our schedules were so nuts that we lived on the song exchange and countless text messages.  Our managers were working on the plan to distance me from David publically at the same time as Pinnacle was doing their best to hook Cade up with his new co-star, Davina Duchman.  It was expected to promote his new film,, but it literally made me crazy.