Rumor Has It (Limelight) (14 page)

“Didn’t take you long to find a fuck buddy in Virginia did it?” He laughed.

Troy never did treat women with any respect. I hadn’t been perfect, either—I’d had my share of one-nighters. I gave them whatever amount of respect they demanded for themselves. I was always honest. At times Troy treated them like they were lucky to be in his presence.

“Whatever, man. Just make sure those pictures don’t see the light of day.”

“I’ll see what I can do.”

“Don’t see about it, do it. That’s why you’re my manager. To manage shit like this.”

“Fine. You’re gonna love the next phone call I got,” he said the sarcasm in his voice evident.

“What else could there possibly be...”

“I got a call from the E Network. They’re also considering Little Mac for the reality series.”

“That waste of skin?” Most people remember the whole east coast rapper versus west coast rapper drama from the 90’s. Well, that was a pretty apt description of the situation between Little Mac and me presently. He was my biggest competition in an already competitive industry. That’s not why I had no love for the guy. I can admit he puts out some good beats. We’d both grown popular around the same time and for some reason the guy loved to try to get under my skin. He was a total poser acting like some hard-core gangster rapper, when the truth was he was from Orange County and grew up with a silver spoon in his mouth. He subscribed to the theory that all media attention was good so he’d say shit about me to the press and try to get me to respond, or purposely date someone I had. He was the guy who was always competing with someone, even when he was the only one in the competition.

“They’re trying to cover all the bases.”

“We can’t let him get that show. What do we need to do?”

“I’ll provide damage control and let you know how I make out.”

“Keep me updated.”

Troy hung up and I walked back into the bedroom to see Ellie gazing at me with sleepy eyes. She pulled the covers up over her waist. Damn. As I strode toward her she began stifling a laugh to the point that she covered her mouth with her hand to hide her grin.

“What’s so funny?” I asked with a smile.

She nodded toward my lower half and I looked down to see my junk standing at full attention underneath my white boxer briefs. Guess my lower half was still thinking of Ellie in bed while I was on the phone.

I bounced onto the bed beside her, careful not to crush my junk. “You can take credit for that. I was lying here thinking of all the ways I could wake you up before my phone rang.”

She laughed again. God, I loved seeing that gorgeous smile on her face. It sounded cheesy as hell but it really did light up the whole room.

She looked a hesitant then said, “Who was on the phone? You sounded angry…was it about your mom?”

“It was my manager, Troy. The E Network is doing a reality show based on a hip-hop artist’s life. I was at the top of their list, now they’re thinking of offering the job to Little Mac.”

“Oh, I’m sorry.” She grabbed my hand and gave it a small squeeze. “I’m surprised you’d want to do a reality show. I didn’t get the impression you like having everything about your life on display in the press.”

“I’m not excited about having a camera crew follow me around twenty-four/seven, that’s for sure. But it’s a great way to find a larger audience. I don’t want to be a middle-aged man slingin’ rhymes for a living. I want to branch out. Get out of the pigeonhole I’ve been put in, show that I can do more.”

“What else do you want to do?” she asked.

“Act, direct, maybe run a clothing business. It’s cliché as hell, I know.”

“I don’t think so.”

“If I could use the show as a platform to show there’s more to me than just the hip-hop persona, I think it’d help to get people in the industry to take me seriously. That, and the pay is killer.”

Ellie scrunched her nose up in the cutest way. It was all I could do not to pinch her cheeks it was so endearing. “Can I say…no, never mind.”

“What?”

“Nothing.”

“Ellie, tell me what you were going to say,” I said, my voice firmer now.

“Well, from the looks of the house in Texas you bought your mom, and the fact that you charter a private plane, and you can afford to rent this house for a month…I’d say money didn’t exactly seem like a problem for you.”

“No, but—”

“That came out all wrong. It sounds like I’ve been adding up your assets in my head,” she said.

“I understand what you mean. What I was going to say was that no, money is not a problem, but I want to make sure that Justin and Olivia are set up. For life. I don’t ever want them to have to want for anything. I want them to have the freedom to do whatever they want when they get older.”

Ellie was quiet and sat there thoughtfully. I felt the need to keep talking and fill the void, fearful of her judgment.

“I know that sounds ridiculous. It sounds ridiculous to my ears but you’d be shocked at how easy it is to burn through money, even when you have a lot of it. There’s a reason there are so many broke ex-athletes and child stars. You can get caught up in the lifestyle. If there’s more than enough in the bank, it won’t matter what happens. They’ll be safe and secure. No matter what.”

Ellie raised her hand to cup my cheek and the sweetest smile crossed her face. “I get it,” she said. “You’re trying to give them the life you never had growing up.”

As soon as I heard the words escape from her plump lips I knew they were true. I’d never thought of it that way. How was it that this girl got me so completely?

I turned my head and kissed the inside of her palm. “I guess, Yeah,” I said softly. A small smile crept across her face and she looked into my eyes, her deep brown ones pulling me in until the only thing I was cognizant of were those deep pools of chocolate. “What are you doing today?” I asked and leaned down, brushing her hair away from her neck and kissing her lightly.

She let out a soft sigh and my dick twitched, wanting nothing more than to bury itself in the heat in between her legs so that I could elicit more sighs like that one.

“I have a bunch of résumés that I have to get out. I…ahh, Mason…” she said as I stroked and nibbled on her neck with my tongue. “I…I didn’t have a…mmm…chance to get…oh, Mason…to get any out this week.” Her hands scratched lightly down my back as she enjoyed my ministrations.

Feeling bolder, and I suppose, horny as all hell, I pulled the sheet down to her waist and moved my hand under the T-shirt she wore. There was something innately sexy about seeing a woman wearing your shirt, and not much more. Some primal part of me loved seeing it, like it was some kind of proclamation that this girl was mine.

I grazed lightly over her nipple and felt it harden further. I rubbed it between my thumb and index finger and she arched with a moan. I moved my mouth along her jaw line and met her lips with a crushing kiss. She responded by wrapping her legs around my waist. My eyes rolled back in my head as she ground herself against me. Minutes later she pulled her lips away from mine and I missed the contact immediately.

“What time is it?” she asked in a breathy voice, panting heavily.

“Hmm?” I’d heard her but couldn’t get my brain to function properly to answer her. Most of the blood in my body was headed south of the border at the moment.

“Time, the time?” She unwrapped her legs from around my waist and moved from underneath me. I groaned my disappointment. Sitting up against the bed frame she grabbed her phone off the night table to check the time. “It’s ten o’clock. I should probably be going.” Disappointment hit me fast and deep. I wanted to spend time with her, even if it meant I only got to hang in her company.

“We were just getting to the good part.” I wagged my eyebrows up and down.

She giggled. “The good part will have to wait. My mom’s already texted me a couple times to see where I am.”

“Mind if I have a quick shower before I take you home?” I needed either a cold shower or to take care of myself on my own, the second option seeming more likely.

“Of course. Mind if I make some coffee while you’re in there?”

“You could join me,” I said in my most cajoling tone.

“If I join you I don’t think I’ll be getting home any time soon,” she said getting out of the bed. I followed her.

“That’s the point.” I smiled.

She looked down to my waist. “Actually, I think that’s the point.”

She laughed and went to make her way out of the room. I came up behind her and wrapped my arms around her front, pinning her to my bare chest.

“Mason,” she said in a voice that was half playful, half warning.

I bent my knees and rubbed my obvious arousal across the globes of her perfect ass. Her breath hitched and she leaned her head back against my chest.

For whatever reason at that moment the possible leak of the pictures from the day before popped into my head. It was like having a bucket of cold water thrown on me. I pulled away from Ellie and spun her around to face me. Her eyebrows scrunched together, clearly wondering what was up.

“My manager said something else you should know about.”

“Okkkaay,” she said, seeming to sense my trepidation.

“
The National Examiner
called him to get a comment about the girl I was with in Texas.”

“Those photographers…”

“I’m trying to put a lid on it, make it so the pictures won’t be published but I can’t promise it’ll work.”

She took in a big breath and nodded. “Okay, I knew this was a possibility.”

“You’re not angry with me?”

“Why would I be angry with you?”

“I know you’re trying to fade out of the limelight…not be thrust back into it.”

She put her hand on my cheek again. It was an intimate gesture and I loved that she was sharing it with me. “I told you last night I’ll try to deal with whatever happens. Besides, you think after the orgasm you gave me last night you’re going to get rid of me that fast?” She chuckled.

I pulled her into my chest and hugged her fiercely. It was the first time in a long time that I didn’t feel the giant weight of responsibility on my shoulders. Oh, it was still there lurking in the background. People were still counting on my success: Justin and Olivia, Troy, the record company, the people who worked for me. Somehow it all seemed easier to handle, though, with Ellie by my side.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

It was a couple of days before I could see Mason again. It took me longer to get my résumés out than expected and Monday night I had to work late and went home and crashed.

Saturday night had been remarkable. The time spent in the pool, or ahem, on the edge of the pool, was epic. We’d shared a connection beyond the physical…it was intimate and comfortable. Maybe it was because we both understood what it meant to have a less than ideal mother and we didn’t have to explain exactly what that meant.

It was clear Mason struggled with his feelings toward his mom. I’d already dealt with my issues, accepting a long time ago exactly who my mother was, but Mason couldn’t say the same. When the subject of his mom came up he was intense and steely; like the window to his emotions had closed and was impenetrable. I wished there was something I could do to make him feel better but I knew nothing I said would make up for a childhood with a mom he couldn’t count on.

I shook the negative thoughts from my head as I knocked on Mason’s door. My mom had had dinner ready when I’d gone home to change after work so I’d eaten with her and Ralph before heading over to the beach house. I didn’t know what Mason had planned but I hadn’t worn the PP’s tonight.

I’d gone back and forth on that, but after what had happened in the pool the last time I was here, what was the point?

Mason opened the door with a giant grin. He was wearing dark grey cargo shorts and a light blue V-neck t-shirt. He made a quick appraisal of my beige shorts and fitted white tank top and pulled me in for a kiss. He smelled like high-end cologne, and the feel of his muscular arms around me made me want to press my thighs together.

I curbed the urge and let out a small sigh as his tongue came into my mouth and I tasted him again. It only fueled my desire and I forced myself to pull away from him to try to maintain some semblance of respectability around him. I didn’t want to jump him with one foot in the door like a cat in heat.

“I needed that,” he said as he took my hand and pulled me into the house. “It’s been a long couple of days.”

I laughed. “Didn’t you come here to relax?”

“Yeah, but then I met you and since then that’s been the furthest thing from my mind.”

We were in the kitchen and he backed me up against the fridge and kissed me again. He placed his hands on either side of my face. He started off slow and began building from there until we were both breathing heavy and clutching at each other.

He leaned his forehead against mine. “It really has been torture not seeing you. I was left with just the memory of you and the memory isn’t near as good as the real thing.” He kissed my forehead before turning around to grab something out of one of the cupboards.