Not Your Damn Dom (Denial #2) (9 page)

“
I’m gonna hold you to that.” I hated wearing tuxedos, and the only reason I’d let Alex wheedle me into this was the possessiveness that had taken hold when I’d thought of her on some other guy’s arm.

“
Please do,” she purred, and took my hand as the chauffeur opened the limo door. “Let’s go!”

Hank Rollins and Jessica McGlynn—TV star friends of Alex’s breaking out into their first movie roles—exchanged nervous, excited glances, then stepped out
into a storm of paparazzi camera flashes and called questions. We waited thirty seconds or so before following, and I relaxed a little as most of the press assessed us, realised we weren’t headline-makers and resumed frantically trying to get the attention of the actor and actress already on the carpet.

Alex
took my arm, giving no sign that she was perturbed by the lack of press interest in her. She probably wasn’t. We’d only been together a week, but she had yet to show any signs of being up her own ass about her career.

As we walked past the posing
stars, a voice from the crowd called Alex’s name. She glanced around, then smiled and halted me for a second. “Do you mind?”

“
As long as you don’t leave me here to stand in the middle of the red carpet like an ass,” I told her, and she grinned.

“
Come on, you big baby. They’re only newshounds out for celebrity blood. I’m not famous enough for them to leap on me yet. Let’s just get this done.”

I let her tow me over to where a female reporter stuck a microphone in her face.
“Ms. Ashford, I loved you in
One Last Look
. We’ve just seen the casting announcement for
Walk on Glass
. Could you tell me how a relative unknown like yourself managed to get the part in such a high-profile movie?”

I kept quiet, though I wanted to give the woman a piece of my mind for the subtle put-down. Alex didn
’t look fazed, however.

“
I read for the role because I was a huge fan of the book the movie’s based on. I didn’t expect to get the part, but if I hadn’t at least tried, I’d have been kicking myself for it for the rest of my life, you know? I just about dropped dead when they asked me to come in for a second reading. I think it was my martial arts knowledge that helped me to get the part.”

If
the reporter asked who I was, I was going to leap over the barrier and disappear into the crowd. I didn’t want to end up in some gossip rag.

“
Your character, Marina Lane, will be kicking some serious ass. Are you ready to do the same?”

“
Absolutely,” Alex agreed with a grin. “I’m sorry—I have to move on, but thanks so much for your interest.”

Before the reporter could say anything else, we
moved a few steps farther down the red carpet—not that far, but a dozen reporters away.

Seeing the first one
’s interest, a couple more people had realised who Alex was, and she posed for pictures and answered a couple more questions while I waited in the theatre doorway, glad to be out of the limelight.
God, famous people.
I could never understand how people strived to get to this stage.

“
Thanks for putting up with that,” Alex said, once we were safely inside the theatre. “I forget how weird it must be if you’re not used to going to these things. I mean, I don’t get out much, but I do go to the occasional premiere to give friends moral support. You’d probably rather be back at the gym, huh?”

“
Hey, you promised me you’d owe me. What guy could resist that invitation?” I resisted the urge to kiss her in favour of ribbing her instead.

She rolled her eyes.
“Well, let’s get this over with so you can start collecting.”

We headed deeper into the theatre and found our seats. As we got settled, I
noticed a familiar couple sitting a few rows ahead of us. “Hey, is that Callum?”

Alex craned her neck and smiled.
“And I assume that’s his lady. I didn’t realise they were gonna be here tonight.”

The theatre was filling up fast and ushers were scowling at people who left their seats
. I pulled out my phone instead and sent Callum a text.
Look behind you.

He did, frowning, and Alex waved, standing up to catch his attention. He noticed her and grinned, then raised both eyebrows when he registered I was her date.
Quickly, he sent a text back.
YOU in a tux? This must be love. Either that, or you’re the sub.

I made a face at him and put my phone away before Alex could see
what he’d written. I sensed her curious gaze, but refused to tell her what the text had said. It was way too early to be thinking about the L word. And the S word was definitely nowhere near accurate.

Callum tapped his date on the shoulder, and
Kat’s familiar face turned up to seek me out. I gave her a small wave and got a warm smile in return.

Then Kat saw whom I was escorting and her eyes widened. I had to laugh as she nudged Callum excitedly.

“You have a fan,” I said to Alex.

“
I do?” She noticed Kat staring at her and laughed, waving hello. “I see. Callum said she was a
One Last Look
fan. I assume she recognises me from that.”

“
That’d be a good bet.”

“
If the ushers didn’t look so stressed, I’d suggest going down there to talk to them.” Alex sighed. “Guess we’ll just have to catch up afterwards.”

The theatre was
almost full now, the premiere highly anticipated. Romantic comedy wasn’t my favourite genre, but I’d sit through it if Alex was beside me.

She reached out to take my hand when the lights faded and the movie was introduced. It had been forever since I
’d experienced such simple public intimacy.

I could wait through this movie. For her.

And didn’t that just make me a total sap?

* * * *

Alex

After the movie—which wasn’t too bad, though a little less than what it had been hyped up to be—we met Callum and Kat at the exit to the theatre. Kat glowed and shook my hand enthusiastically when Callum introduced us, which was sweet. Tonight had turned out to be a little more high-profile than other premieres I’d been to, though since my casting had been announced for
Walk on Glass
, I shouldn’t have been surprised. The book had a hardcore following, and I was starting to get recognised a little more already.

Callum and I caught up quickly as Spencer and Kat
greeted each other. I cast them a sideways glance, but there didn’t seem to be anything besides friendly affection between them, which was more of a relief than I’d have liked. Even though I’d been the one to push for this advance in my relationship with Spencer, I still wasn’t sure I liked how strong my feelings were becoming.

Callum invited us back to his place for drinks, but I had a promise to keep. I declined, saying I had some rigorous training to go through in the morning and that my trainer was a total slave
-driver, so I should probably get an early night. Both Callum and Kat seemed to find that way too funny. I wondered if my need to get Spencer home and rip him out of that tux was that transparent.

“
Come on, let’s get out of here.” Spencer held out his arm and I took it, smiling. We bade farewell to the grinning couple and headed down the street towards the nearest taxi rank. The big stars had yet to leave, so I was unaccosted by the media.

“
Did I say something funny?” I asked, as soon as we were in the taxi heading for my place.

Spencer shook his head.
“Private joke. It wouldn’t make any sense to you if I explained it.”

I wasn
’t sure that was the case, but I was willing to let it drop. “Okay…”

“
So when do I get to start reaping the rewards of accompanying you tonight?” Spencer asked, his voice low and husky.

“
The very second we’re alone.” I batted my eyelashes at him. “Just remember not to rip the dress. It’s on loan from a friend who’s considerably wealthier than I am.”

He eyed it appreciatively, not for the first time. He hadn
’t said anything when I’d appeared wearing it, but his gaze had eaten me up, telling me all I needed to know. I wasn’t about to make a fuss about the words not actually coming out of his mouth.

“
Do I need to tell you how very fuckable you look in that tux?” I asked him in a whisper.

He shifted in his seat, and I was willing to bet the words were hardening his cock even as I spoke them.
“I think I could stand to hear the word ‘fuck’ from your mouth a few hundred more times tonight.”

Imagining what he might do to get me to say it, moan it, scream it, I wriggled a little myself.
“Maybe not hundreds of times, but I think I could use it a few fucking more.”

He grinned.
“You’re more foul-mouthed than Lena Heady.”

I laughed. I hadn
’t met the woman personally, but I’d watched her DVD commentaries of
Game of Thrones
episodes. “I’m gonna take that as a compliment, Mr. Hyde.”

As though seeing me ponder as soon as the name came from my lips, he cautioned me,
“Don’t make that joke.”

“
What, the one about how you must have a split personality, and Mr. Hyde only comes out when you fuck?”

He closed his eyes, a silent curse forming on his lips.
“I hadn’t heard that one before, but something along those lines.”

I laughed. It was so easy to sexually frustrate him, here in the back of a taxi zipping out of Hollywood. In a few more minutes we
’d be at my place and all bets would be off. I was pretty sure Mr. Hyde would come out then. “So have you been Dr. Jekyll all this time?”

He snorted.
“I barely finished high school. That’s pretty far from a doctorate.”

I shook my head.
“You’re not working with my story, Spencer.”

He kissed me, hard and hungrily, and my Jekyll and Hyde comparison flew out of my head almost immediately. It wasn
’t that important anyway, just something to provoke him. I slid my hand into his lap to confirm that he was pretty damn provoked.

The next few minutes were spent trying not to jump his bones, and after we paid the surly cab driver we all but ran to the house.

Tobias was home, which was clear from the fact that the downstairs lights were on. As I turned the key in the lock, he asked, “Are you gonna ask me to make nice with your housemate when I have a killer hard-on?”

I grinned.
“After all the times he’s stumbled into the house with someone and not bothered to introduce them before heading straight upstairs? I think I can get away with it.”

I was right. Tobias didn
’t even bother to call hello when he heard two sets of footsteps, but the volume of the TV noise coming from the lounge did increase a little. I towed Spencer up to my room immediately.

“
If you want that dress to stay in one piece, I suggest you remove it right now,” he told me, his eyes darkly ravenous as they moved over my body.

I kicked off my shoes, shimmied out of my pantyhose, then removed the dress as slowly as my libido would let me. Then, not pausing for him to get a look at me fully naked, I dropped down to my knees in front of him and reached for his belt buckle.
“Let me thank you for being my date tonight.”

He stared down at me, his hands in fists at his sides, as I freed his cock from his pants and licked all the way up to the head.
“Fuck, you’re killing me, Alex,” he murmured.

“
Think you can stay standing up?” I asked, then kissed his cock right at the tip.

“
I’ll do my best.” He put his hand on my head and guided me forward as I took him into my mouth.

He was so hard, and I was determined to pay back the favour he’d done me by accompanying me tonight
. I gazed up at him as I sucked him off, and he brushed his hand over my cheekbone as if I were so much more than just the woman he’d been sleeping with over the past few days. I moaned softly, and he groaned in response, tightening the fingers of his other hand in my hair. “Fuck me, you’re good at this.”

It didn
’t take long to push him over the edge—we’d been teasing each other with words for almost half an hour, and he was desperate for release. He growled as he came in warm spurts into my mouth, and I revelled in his unsteady stance, his undone expression. I knew women who hated giving head, saw it as debasing themselves or being used, but I loved the complete power of having a man’s cock in my mouth. I had the potential to give him pleasure or pain as I chose, and it was a heady feeling.

I cleaned his cock with my tongue, then resumed my task of undressing him, starting with his pants. His tux
’s shirt had way too many buttons, and he was able to distract me with kisses, pulling me backwards towards the bed and onto his lap as I tried to finish up. The white material finally parted, and I pressed my breasts against his chest, unwilling to wait until I’d stripped the thing off his arms. He surprised me by closing the shirt around us both. It wasn’t big enough to get the whole way around my body, but it got the message across—he was trapping me here with him.