Making Love (Destiny Book 1) (19 page)

Costume Design was the first Will-related category and Blood Moon won! Will didn’t collect the award, he wasn’t the costume designer, obviously, but he was pleased.

Next up was Visual Effects, also for Blood Moon, but it lost to Jurassic World.

I felt as if it might be a bad omen.

Sound Editing was the next, but Ludwig lost to Spectre.

When Blood Moon also failed to win Film Editing, I was sure it meant that Will wouldn’t win. His luck had clearly turned and the universe was not on his side tonight. Which was a ridiculous thought, because the votes for this, cast by fellow industry professionals, were finalised days, maybe even weeks ago, so nothing that happened tonight could jinx him.

Actress in a Supporting Role was the final category before Best Actor, but Elizabeth Olsen, who was also in Ludwig, lost out to Keira Knightley.

I
knew
at that point that Will wasn’t going to win, and the disappointment I felt was crushing, especially considering my initial ambivalence regarding this nomination.

When the category of Best Actor was announced, I took Will’s hand. My heart was racing, my palms were sweating and I badly wanted to chew on one of my newly shellacked nails, and I’ve never been a nail biter.

While the clips of the films played, I looked to Will, whose nerves must be so much worse than mine, yet he looked as cool as a cucumber. Bastard!

Will was up against Jake Gyllenhaal, Henry Sharpe, Leonardo DiCaprio and Matt Damon and as the clips ended, I actually felt light-headed.

He deserved this and I wanted it for him, so
so
badly, but that didn’t mean he’d get it.

“And the Oscar goes to…”

Please say Will Braxton. Please, please, PLEASE!

‘
Will Braxton, Will Braxton, Will Braxton, Will Braxton
,’ became my silent mantra, as if somehow, I could will the words out of Julianne Moore’s mouth.

“Will Braxton.”

He won? HE WON!

Will’s grin was massive and he looked a little disbelieving. He kissed me and shook hands with a few people as he passed them, then he was running up the stairs and accepting the award.

“Oh, wow. Well,” he blew out a puff of air. “I do believe that, for perhaps the first time in my life, you’ve rendered me speechless!”

I laughed, of course. As expected, Will soon found his words, thanking everyone he could think of who was connected to the film, or was a role model-slash-mentor in his life.

“And finally to my beautiful Elle, who makes everything in life just that little more special and who, judging from the lack of feeling in my left hand, wanted this for me even more than I did. I love you, my darling.”

And now I had a camera in my face to catch my reaction, and tears running down my face. I hoped the make-up lady used waterproof mascara.

After a few moments, when the camera moved on, Lee got up.

“Come on,” he said, and led me backstage. I hadn’t thought I’d be allowed back there, but no one questioned me or told me to get out. I stayed with Lee mostly, watching as Will gave interviews to the world and his wife in the press room, but I did manage to find a few seconds to give him a big hug, kiss and tell him how proud of him I was.

Watching him now, holding his Oscar and looking happier than a kid at Christmas, I wondered how I could have ever dreaded this moment. He was simply ecstatic with the accolade, probably because it was his peers who voted for him, and his delight was a joy to behold.

The rest of the night was a whirlwind of celebration, interviews, after parties (yes, that's plural) and champagne. We didn’t get back to the hotel until 5am, but we managed our own private celebration before falling asleep.

***

“On today’s Erica Show we have Hollywood’s Golden Boy, Oscar winner, Will Braxton, and his beautiful fiancée, Elle Greystone. They’ll be dishing the dirt on how they met and we’ll be seeing if we can squeeze any secrets about the wedding out of them and of course, the upcoming Shadow Watch movies, Firebolt 3, which has just begun filming in London. Later in the show we also have YouTube sensation, Dancing Bunny Girl with us and she’ll ...”

I turned away from the screen as Erica continued with her monologue.

“You okay?” Will asked. He knew this was worse for me because something about being in a studio brought home the fact this was for television, while the red carpet had felt different, even if most of the interviews would appear on television.

I nodded. I was nervous as hell but I would probably be okay once we were out there. “I wish I could drink in the afternoon and not feel like an alcoholic.”

Will got that predatory gleam in his eyes and took a step towards me. I took a step back.

“Well, you know what else is good for nerves, don’t you?”

“No.” I kept backing up as he continued to advance.

“Orgasms,” he purred.

“I am not having sex with you in the green room!” My bum hit the refreshments table and I had nowhere else to run.

As if I weighed nothing more than a china doll, Will picked me up and sat me on the table top, stepping between my legs before I could close them.

“Sex, no. Fingering, oh yes.”

His right hand slipped under my skirt and he rubbed a finger over the crotch of my panties.

“We can't,” I protested, rather half-heartedly.

“Watch me.”

“What if someone comes in?”

He pinched the gusset and pulled it to one side, then he trailed a finger through my slit.

“Then they’ll get an eyeful,” he teased. “Now just close your eyes and relax, darling.”

He used those long, elegant fingers of his to tease and excite me, quickly working me up into frenzy.

I began to pant, wishing I could cry out.

“Don’t hold back, darling,” he said, increasing the pace. “Just think, any second now, someone will walk in here and say-”

The thought of being discovered was naughty enough to push me over the edge and as I cried out, unable to stop myself, he kissed me, swallowing most of the sound.

“You’re so beautiful when you come,” he told me, prolonging my orgasm for another few moments.

As I sat there panting, he pulled my panties back into place and withdrew his hand, then he raised his fingers to his lips and proceeded to suck my juices from his fingers.

“I’m not going to wash this hand, darling,” he pushed his index finger past my lips and I eagerly sucked on it. “Not until later, so every time you feel stressed, think of these two fingers and what they were doing to you minutes earlier, okay?”

I nodded dumbly and he withdrew his finger from my mouth; I had been sucking so hard that it gave an audible pop when he withdrew it.

“That’s my girl.”

He kissed me again, just as the door opened.

“We’re ready for you,” the woman said. If she knew what had been going on in here, she gave no indication of it.

I hopped down off the table and Will took my right hand in his left as we followed her to the backstage area. As I stood there, trembling, Will raised my hand and began absently stroking the back of it with the first two fingers of his right, the two that had been pleasuring me so very recently.

And yes, I was getting turned on again.

“So I want you to give a big hand for my guests today, Will Braxton and Eleanor Greystone!”

The assistant pointed us forward and we walked onto the set. Will raised his right hand to wave at the audience then before he sat down, he gave a two fingered salute.

Well, that innocent action would never be innocent again, not to me.

“Please, please, sit,” Erica told us. “I’m so glad you could make it.”

“Thank you for inviting us,” Will smiled.

We had two individual seats but Will kept hold of my hand, resting them on the armrest. I had to admit, I didn’t feel nearly as nervous as I thought I would, and that was probably due to Will’s little escapade in the green room.

“So, Mr Academy Award Winner, what’s it feel like to win an Oscar?”

“It feels amazing,” Will gushed, and they spoke about the film and the ceremony for a minute or two before Erica turned to me.

“So I gather from Jeannie that the Oscars was your first official outing, is that right?”

“My first time talking to the press,” I corrected. “We’ve been to other award ceremonies and premieres.”

“From what I gather, you two have been very private about your relationship before, so what changed?”

“As you may have heard,” Will fielded the question, “The story of how we met broke and the media attention just got unbearable, so it was a case of go with it, or go home.”

“When you say ‘go home’ you don’t mean, break up, do you?”

“I wasn’t considering that,” I answered before Will could. He began to stroke his lips and chin with the two fingers he’d used on me. It was incredibly sexy. “Not really, but people think fame is wonderful but for me, it’s just been one huge betrayal of trust and privacy, after the other.”

“When you say betrayal?”

“I mean my father sold the story of how we met to the press for $5,000.”

Erica’s jaw dropped. “No!” No one knew that little tidbit yet. “Really?”

I nodded.

“So I guess you guys aren’t close then?”

“You could say that. He was hardly ever around when I was growing up, I saw him maybe twice a year, then nothing once I got a bit older. He didn’t even pay his maintenance unless Mum took him to court, and when he heard I was dating Will and tried to reconnect, I foolishly trusted that maybe he wanted a relationship. It turned out, he only wanted Will’s money, then when he couldn’t get that, TMZ’s money.”

Will was squeezing my hand, offering silent support.

“Wow, it’s got to be hard to trust people, when things like that happen.”

“I think the trick is knowing who to trust. I didn’t actually trust my father enough to tell him, but my sister did. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t blame her, but it’s true what they say, the only real secret is one you don’t tell to anyone.”

“And how does that make you feel, Will, seeing what your fame did to her life?”

“Well, it feels awful,” he admitted. “I even considered quitting at times, going back to the stage and hoping people forgot about me.”

“You never told me that,” I turned to him. He gave me that ridiculously cute, sheepish shrug.

“And why didn’t you quit?” Erica asked.

“Because the harsh reality is, when people forget about you, you don’t get offered the best roles.”

“I’d never let him quit.” I squeezed his hand and turned to him. “You’re too good.”

“Aww,” Erica grinned before continuing. “Now, I gather that things have been rather rough for you since that news broke.”

“That’s one way of putting it,” Will agreed. “The press are like sharks who have caught the scent of blood, endlessly circling, looking for weakness.”

“Well the story certainly does capture the imagination. What was it like, meeting under those circumstances?”

I allowed Will to explain.

“For those who don’t know, a psychologist called Arthur Aron devised an experiment whereby he tried to artificially create an emotional connection, using 36 questions. As you get further and further down the list, the questions become deeper and ask about some very personal things. The idea being that if you both make yourselves vulnerable to each other, that creates trust between you, which can sort of jumpstart the emotions.”

“Well, seeing how sickeningly loved up you two are, it must work,” Erica teased.

“I don’t know the success rate of the study, but it certainly worked for us.” He kissed the back of my hand and offered me a shy smile.

“So why did you agree to do it? Not enough pretty women in Hollywood for ya?”

Will laughed. “The woman leading the study is an old friend of mine and when she told me the parameters, it fascinated me, so I agreed to take part.”

“And what about you, Elle, did you know Will Braxton was going to be your partner?”

“No,” I shook my head. “I’d probably have backed out if I had known.”

“Why?”

“Because it’s really intimidating to sit there and share your deepest dreams and darkest times with someone you know from the cinema, especially if you already fancy them. Luckily, it didn’t turn out that way; Will’s really personable and put me at ease, but that would have been my feeling had I known beforehand.”

“So were you two matched at all, or just randomly put together?”

“Random,” Will confirmed. “Although I had such a tight timeframe, that I suspect Elle might have been chosen because she could be there on short notice.”

“Are you calling me easy?” I teased him.

“No, just available- That came out wrong.” The audience laughed.

“Now, I don’t want to presume anything, although I will,” Erica teased me. “But do you have any idea of the amount of jealousy directed towards you right now?”

Will laughed slightly awkwardly as he always did when people made reference to him being any kind of sex symbol.

“Oh, I know,” I assured Erica. “They like to send, tweet and email me hate mail, so they make sure I know.”

“And how do you respond to that?”

Oh fantastic, we were on to the serious questions.

“I don’t. There’s a new setting on Twitter so I only see replies from people I follow, my regular mail is redirected to Will’s people now, and they open and check it before I do. I’ve started new personal and professional email accounts, and I only take on new work from people recommended by existing clients.”

“That’s got to be hard.”

“It is. Honestly though, I try to keep it in perspective, 99% of people are somewhere between perfectly fine to very nice, it’s just a tiny but vocal minority that ruin things, and I keep reminding myself that only unhappy people want to make others unhappy, and since I put these steps in place, I only see a tiny amount of hate.”

“Didn’t someone attack you last year, because of your relationship?”

“Yeah.” My left hand unconsciously went to my eye, recalling the bruise that had taken two weeks to fade. “That shocked me and put me out of sorts for a while.”

“What did she say when she hit you?”

“She just insulted me and told me I didn’t deserve Will. I try not to think about it too much but I will say, she got one punch in, but I got two and knocked her on her arse.”

“Arse,” Erica repeated, laughing. “I love the way you Brits talk. You even make beating someone up sound classy.”

Everyone laughed.

“So do either of you ever Google yourself?”

“Oh no,” Will shook his head. “I did once or twice early on and quickly realised that’s a very bad idea.”