Glitter on the Web (22 page)

“Eli,” I started, with a protest immediately springing to my lips.

“Don’t be scared,” he said. “Not now. Not you. Not ever.” His voice softened even more. “Show me.”

I sighed. Just one convincing romantic weekend. That was all we needed. Slowly I began to move my hips, my eyes locked with his, as I watched for any clue that he might mock me or disrespect me in some way. Instead those eyes became unreadable as he guided my movements with his hands. We didn’t kiss. We didn’t talk. Yet it was breathtakingly intimate as I used these primal movements, undulating like a snake in his lap.

His hands slid up my back, resting finally near the tie for my halter top. He released it with one pull and I felt the material give way. I gasped and held it to my chest. “Eli! There are people around.”

“So?” he challenged. “You don’t care. You never cared. That’s what is so goddamned sexy about you,” he growled before he pulled me closer and branded me with a blazing hot kiss. It was a kiss that demanded my submission, and I found myself bracing against him, holding on just like he was another wave in the ocean. He grew rock hard against me, so I knew his desire wasn’t fabricated.

I pulled away, breathless. “Eli,” I said, because I couldn’t say anything else for fear of being overheard.

“You drive me crazy, Carly Reynolds. Now take me upstairs before I fuck you right here in this hot tub.”

I nearly sighed in relief. The charade was over. I could clock out and go home. Or at least escape to our private suite. I nodded my head and, holding my swimsuit to my chest, I stumbled out of the hot tub. He followed behind, grabbing an enormous white towel as he did so. As I turned to face him, he wrapped me in that towel completely. I gasped as I felt him grab the top of my suit and rip it away from my chest. He dropped it on the floor beside us. I was topless in front of him, with just a towel to keep my modesty intact from all our witnesses. His eyes didn’t even leave my face as he told the attendant, “Make sure that Miss Reynolds’ suit is cleaned and returned to her by morning.”

The command was so firmly issued that it even gave me a little chill.

“Yes, Mr. Blake. As you wish.”

With that, he took me by one hand and led me from the pool area. I kept the towel clutched around me with my free hand as he pulled us into the elevator. He pushed me up against the wall.

“There’s nobody here,” I pointed out.

“Cameras,” he countered, before he kissed me again. Unlike the ones before, this was urgent… like it was leading somewhere.

My stomach dropped. What would Doris Day do?

I was even more nervous after the door of our suite closed behind us, and he turned to me with that same predatory stare. He wasn’t Cary Grant anymore. He was a Neanderthal ready to knock me over the head with his club and drag me by the hair to the bed.

“Eli,” I started again, backing up a step.

He closed the gap effortlessly. “Fuck me, Carly,” he commanded at once, his hand cupping my neck and pulling me closer.

“No,” I said softly.

“Why?” he asked, even softer.

“Because…,” I started, and then my brain just suddenly quit working. I had a bazillion reasons to reject Eli Blake a few months ago. But in the last day or two, he had actually shown me a human side, a decent side. If I met that guy at a bar, maybe I would have ended up in bed with him.

Oh, who am I kidding? I would have jumped on him before either of us could have motioned for the check.

But still… this was Eli Blake. And there were still a million good reasons to hold onto my virtue. “Because it’s not real,” I finally said.

He pulled me close, so I could feel the hard lines of his body press against mine. “Tell me that’s not real,” he murmured before he reached for another kiss. “We could have it all. We don’t have to pretend.”

My eyes met his. “And in a year, when the contract is satisfied, and everyone has forgotten about the scandal, what then?”

“Can’t we worry about that in January?” he whispered against my lips.

Again my stomach dropped. Eli Blake was an asshole, but at least he was an honest one. He wasn’t promising me anything. He couldn’t. It was up to me to protect myself. As usual. “No,” I repeated softly as I pushed away. “We can’t.”

He didn’t stop me as I walked from the living room to the bathroom, to change into something a little more modest than my swim skirt.

He was already in bed when I reemerged from the bathroom in some shorty pajamas Clem had picked for the trip. It was like Clem herself couldn’t figure out if this was real or just another game. They were just sexy enough, but nothing too obvious… just in case.

She knew me so well.

I had dallied so long in the bathroom that Eli had already changed into some pajama bottoms. He was lying in bed, on top of the covers, waiting for me. He said nothing as I rounded the large bed and crawled in the other side. I had already taken a hydrocodone while in the bathroom. I needed it for the pain in my foot, which after our active day was making itself known.

The added benefit was that it would knock me the fuck out, and I could get through the night without doing something monumentally stupid… like sleep with Eli Blake of all things.

For the first time since I met him, I was actually tempted. It was only for a moment, but it was enough to scare me straight. I blamed Hawaii. I blamed the Mai Tais at the luau. I blamed his acting like a decent human being for nearly two days straight—a streak as far as he was concerned.

None of that was an excuse to sleep with the man. Sure he was sexy. Sure he was a good kisser. Sure he had embodied Cary Grant and “whisked” me away to paradise, like every romantic fantasy any hopelessly romantic girl had ever entertained.

But he was Eli Fucking Blake. He needed to fuck up again fast or else I’d forget it and throw everything away like some clueless bimbo.

Little did I know, the next day in paradise would remind me just how much of a conniving asshole he could be, and why I could never, ever,
ever
sleep with him.

Ever.

It was the sound of Eli’s muffled voice that eventually dragged me from narcotic coma the following morning. It was muffled mostly because I had used all the extra pillows to create a fort between us, to let him know that if any part of him ventured over into my territory, I would consider it a hostile takeover and respond accordingly.

I might have slept in the other bedroom altogether, or even the couch, but his warning that we couldn’t trust service staff rang in my ears, keeping me in line throughout our trip. I wouldn’t risk something like two rumpled beds to cast dispersion on our romantic getaway. Not when I was
thisclose
to freedom.

Especially since one look at social media indicated that people not only bought the fact we were a couple in love, many championed it. Just like his rabid fans at the awards ceremony giving me a round of thunderous, enthusiastic applause, many showed their appreciation and support online whenever he posted photos of us or updated his status about our getaway.

All of this was par for the course. Most of this I expected and accepted.

The part that was completely new? Overhearing Eli in the other room, as he conferred with Donna about our day’s itinerary, and his use of the words “film crew.”

“Both Tempestuous and Graham are excited by the footage you got yesterday,” Donna gushed.

“I couldn’t have done it without you, Donna,” he praised warmly. I could practically feel her preen through the walls.

“By the time you leave here on Friday, you should have plenty of footage from Hawaii to use in your new video. We are so honored to be a part of it.”

I barely waited for Donna to leave before I pounced all over that. I joined him in the living room just as he shut the door behind her. “What the fuck is she talking about, a new video?”

He glanced at me before he fetched the room service cart, which contained our breakfast for the morning, including more mimosas. I could see now he was trying to keep me drunk and compliant on this trip. Now I knew why.

“My new video, the one for my next single,
She’s a Winner
, the one we’re going to debut on
Fierce
.”

I glared at him. “I know which video, Eli. But what does it have to do with me?”

Again he was completely unapologetic. “We figured we’d make it personal this time, using video footage of you and me to sell the love story. Miles O’Rourke inspired the idea, actually. Said you could be a model, just like those interviewers on the red carpet. For once he was right.” He sat at the table, where he set his plate. I stared at him in open-mouthed disbelief until he finally said, “What?”

“You’re not going to ask me to be in the video, just covertly film me without my knowledge?”

He shrugged. “We’re constantly being filmed anyway. I figured we might as well make it work for us. Why audition anyone else when I’ve already got the perfect girl?” he asked as his eyes made a shameless inspection of me head to foot. “Julie figured out who the PING operative was that would film us in Hawaii, and we made an offer she couldn’t refuse. Professional video credit in a major music video. We can even give a sneak preview on St. Patrick’s Day at FFF. It’s a win/win for everyone.”

I continued to scoff as I stared at him. “And it never occurred to you to talk to me about any of this?”

“What’s to talk about?” he asked. “Your whole job is to say yes. Yes to the relationship. Yes to the trips. Yes to the events. Yes to making out with me in public for the whole world to see. Yes to being filmed and connected with me, wherever I happen to be. What’s the problem?”

“The problem is you didn’t treat me like a partner in this. I’m just supposed to nod my head and go along with everything, like the good little woman?”

He stuffed his face with pancakes covered in pan-seared bananas and nuts. “I would have talked to you about it, but you have this annoying habit of turning every reasonable conversation into a battle of wills. Right now for example.”

I was incredulous as I stared at him. “You leave me out of everything. You tell me about nothing. Yet I’m supposed to stay happy and compliant?”

He thought about that for a moment before he nodded. “Yes.” I growled in frustration and stomped back into the bedroom. He was quick to follow. “What’s the big deal, Carly? You get a free trip to Hawaii. You have the time of your life. You get to be with me,” he added and I stared daggers at him. “And you get to become a star in the process. Where’s the down side?”

I stomped back over to face him. “I didn’t want to be a star. Did you ever think about that?”

He shrugged. “Too late now. Might as well make it work for you. All those clothes,” he said, pointing towards the closet. “Those are all exclusive to Tempestuous. You could become the new face of a plus-size boutique.”

“They’re expanded sizes,” I gritted between clenched teeth, echoing what Darcy Masters had said to me.

“There you go,” he said. “You’re already changing the conversation. It’s everything you said you wanted.”

I bit back a scream of frustration. I knew my confession to him months ago would bite me in the ass.

He walked over to the desk in the bedroom, which was filled with paperwork. “They’re willing to pay you a pretty penny, too. Frank negotiated quite the deal.”

I couldn’t believe this. Both Frank and Eli had played God behind my back. What sexist… dirty… underhanded…

When Eli brought me the paper, I glanced down at the number. It was, indeed, a pretty penny. A bunch of them. Thousands of them. Hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of thousands of them. I snatched it from his hand anyway. “Who asked you to do any of this?” I demanded.

“I don’t get you, Carly. I really don’t. This is a huge opportunity. It’s everything you said you wanted. And it pays. Where’s the problem? What are you so afraid of?”

I practically hissed at him. “I told you I’m not afraid of anything.”

Without another word, he slipped the white terry cloth robe from his shoulders, showing me that he didn’t wear a stitch of clothes underneath. I didn’t know why I was surprised, but I was. I didn’t know why I gasped, but I did. He missed nothing. “Care to get in bed with me and prove that theory?”

I clenched my jaw. “You only have one arrow in your quiver, don’t you, Robin Hood?”

He fetched his robe from the floor and slipped it back on. “If it ain’t broke,” he repeated again with a shrug. “You should really eat something,” he said as he walked into the other room. “We have a full day ahead of us.”

I called after him. “You’re so right. It’s going to take me all day to get back home.”

He paused at the door and turned to face me. “You’re not going anywhere, Carly.”

I crossed my arms in front of me and arched an eyebrow. “Why not?”

He walked towards me. It took all I had not to take a step back. “Because you’re my yes girl, that’s why. That’s what you get paid for. That’s why you’re here. You get to sell this relationship to the masses, however possible. Now, if you really want to leave, you can pay me back every single cent I’ve already paid you, including what you gave to Clem and Antoine for the club.” He referred to the piece of paper in my hand. “That amount should just about cover it. Oh, but then you’d have to stay here and complete the video, wouldn’t you? Such a tangled, tangled web.”

Anger boiled in my blood. “I hate you.”

“I know,” he said. “But that didn’t stop you from almost fucking me last night.” He bent closer. “And we still have ten more months to go. You might want to do whatever you can to ensure you have some money left at the end of this thing. Because as it stands? You’ll be paying me back every penny before summer.”

I wanted to punch him in his arrogant face. But as mad as I was at him, I was madder at myself. I had voluntarily walked into this mess, foolishly thinking a mere million dollars would cover it.

Now I wanted a raise. Thanks to the contract in my hand, I had one.

I was on the phone to Frank within minutes. “Next time you want to play God with my life, you might want to ask me first. You’ll get a lot further,” I advised.