Stage Left (Bright Lights Billionaire #1) Read online

  Jace called, surprising me a little.

  "Hey." I leaned back against the couch.

  "Hey yourself, sexy. You need some stress relief?" He chuckled.

  Bastard. "Yep. Come over and fuck me. I'm at Charlotte's place."

  "I'm headed that way. Give me fifteen minutes. I gotta drop off a paper for my psych class first."

  "All right. Bring condoms." I tried not to think about just how stupid I was being in my current mood, but guilt had a way of lingering around until it was acknowledged and dealt with. "And hurry before I change my mind."

  "All right, sexy. I'll be right there."

  I hung up the phone and pursed my lips. It was a mistake to call him.

  I grabbed the phone and stared at it, thinking through how badly I wanted to call him back and say never mind, but I couldn't. I hadn't been with a man in four months at that point. There was no way I could shake like a leaf in Ethan's hands later that night. That shit wasn't happening no matter what. He was far too much man for his own good. I wasn't playing the role of ego feeder.

  A knock on the door a few minutes later had my hormones standing to attention.

  "Coming," I called out and opened the door.

  "Not yet you're not, but you will be soon." Jace walked in and dropped his keys on the table before turning and wrapping me in a tight hug. He lifted me off the ground and gripped the back of my neck, pulling me down to press his lips to mine.

  I groaned softly and opened my mouth to him, sucking on his tongue as he walked us back to my new bedroom. My hands ran down his chest to tug at his shirt as I wrapped my legs around him and ground against his thick erection.

  "Hell yes. I love it when you don't have sex for a few weeks." He licked at the side of my neck as he sat me down and we started to tear at each other's clothes. He was a god in his own head, and I was willing to do a little bit of worshiping. It wouldn't go to his head... not too badly.

  "It's been four months." I reached down and ran my hands over his stomach, gripping his cock and stroking him as my eyes moved back up to his. "God, you're hot."

  "Yeah, I am. Take advantage of it." He laughed and pulled me from my current activities. "You want me to eat you out or you just want the dick?"

  "The dick." I got up on the bed on my hands and knees, feeling very much like the whore I was acting like. Had we not been fuck buddies for the last five years, I never would have offered up my ass like a hot dish served on a platter.

  "Damn, Ri... you're so fine." He got up on the bed and gripped my ass tightly. "How is it that you don't have a man?"

  "Do you have a condom on?" I reached between my legs and groped him before letting out a long sigh and stretching my hands up the length of the bed. I pressed my face to the soft mattress below me and rocked my hips, teasing him. "I don't want one. They're too much trouble, and besides... I have you."

  "Yeah you do, baby." He pressed into me, and I lifted up to my hands as pleasure shot through my center.

  "Oh fuck." I pushed back as I glanced over my shoulder to watch his face contort with sensuality.

  "So tight. Has it been four months? Fuck. We gotta start hanging out more. It used to be a few times a week. What happened?" He rocked against me, and I turned back around, pressing my hands to the bed and letting my head drop.

  "We grew up." I pulled forward and slammed backward against him. "We'll reminisce over tea and cake later. Right now I want to be fucked. Hard, please."

  He laughed and ran one strong hand up my back, gripping my shoulder as he rammed into me again. The power of his thrust jolted me forward and the world melted. I was going to come before we even got started. He would eat that shit up.

  "Like this?" He thrusted again.

  "Shut up and go faster," I growled and bounced back on him.

  "Anything the lady wants." He stopped talking and worked me hard and fast. I gripped the sheets, falling deep into the high the feeling of his hands provided.

  A scream ripped from my chest as I lifted my head and arched my back hard.

  "Hell yeah. Damn, girl." He reached around and gripped my throat, pulling back to hold me in place as he lifted up and pressed in deeper.

  I cried out again and dug my nails into the bed, lost to him and the insanity of his thrusts. Life was far too short to live without the type of pleasure Jace could provide. Who needed the pipe dream of Ethan Lewis anyway?

  "Not me," I whispered and closed my eyes as Jace took good care of me for the next few hours.

  *

  Jace left the minute we were done taking turns making one another scream, which was good. No need to give me hope that maybe he had the possibility of changing from the whore he was to a guy I could see myself with. It wasn't going to happen, which was fine. I wasn't sure I could handle that massive of a shift anyway.

  I showered and got dressed in a navy cotton dress before strapping sandals on my feet and fixing my hair and make-up. As much as I hated to get all dolled up, it wouldn't do me any favors to not look my best at the audition.

  The front door opened as I grabbed my keys and walked toward it.

  Charlotte smiled and lifted her eyebrows at me. "You look great! Where in the world are you going?"

  "To my next audition." I had a wild thought. "You want to come?"

  "Are you shitting me right now?" She dropped her purse and stood in shock.

  "Nope. It's a love scene though, so no getting jealous. He doesn't have feelings for anyone but himself. I told you... he's a dick." I moved up beside her and picked up her purse for her. "You got ten minutes to freshen up if you're going."

  "Am I going? Are you nuts? Of course I'm going." She darted past me, screaming like a school girl and talking so quickly that I couldn't keep up. I was too relaxed to even try.

  "Time's up," I called down the hall a few minutes later. "Let's go."

  "Really?" She walked out looking like a million bucks in her tight jeans and pretty pink shirt. "Does this scream whore?"

  "No, but letting Jace fuck me for hours today and going through five condoms does. I'm playing whore today. You look hot, but not slutty. Let's go. I don't want to be late. Ethan is the kind of guy that will use just about anything to get pissy over. He likes being pissy from what I can tell." I smirked and opened the door. "This train is leaving the station."

  "All right. Jeez. I get the biggest opportunity of my whole life, and you're going to rush me." She gave me a playful glare as she walked out of the apartment. "I'll drive if you need to go over your lines."

  "Sounds good, but there aren't many lines. It's a sex scene, so it should be fun seeing how this goes off." I rolled my shoulders and tried to stifle the need to run to the bathroom and crap my guts out.

  "Are you wearing your bra or are they expecting you to show your boobs to him?" She glanced over at me with a look of wonder mixed with horror.

  I couldn't help but laugh. "I don't know. I assume the bra is good, but if not... it's part of the deal, right? I think in the actual film I'm topless, but I don't think they're going to show it in the movie."

  "He'll still see you though, right?"

  "Yeah. He'll be naked too. He’ll probably have the cock cup on that we're always talking about." I laughed and got into my side of the car. My nervousness was all but gone after having Jace worship me for the afternoon. I felt centered, steady, like Ethan nor his approval mattered. Getting the part mattered, but taking the pressure off of me that he mattered helped. A lot.

  "Please tell me that he'll be mostly naked today." She reached out and pawed at me.

  I swatted her away. "I doubt it. It will probably be undies for both of us."

  "How are you not freaking out right now? I know you play it cool when I talk about him, but he affects you, Riley. How can he not?" She started to pant softly.

  "Hey, no panting or acting like he's a god or any of that. Okay? No crazy school girl crap. We're going to play it cool and act like grown women for the first time in our lives."

 
"You are. I can't help the fact that my dreams are coming true." She bounced in her seat as my stomach turned farther. She was going to lose her fucking mind when she saw Ethan. Any woman would.

  "Right. Maybe you shouldn't come then. It's going to affect the audition if you act like a fool and I was the one that brought you there." I gave her a look, even though my words were a little harsh. "Unless you can act like you're cool even though you're not?"

  "All right." She sighed and pulled into the studio parking lot, turning off the car and glancing over at me. "How long do we have?"

  "Fifteen minutes, and we're not going in early. I'm sure he's going through the motions with some other actress now." I shrugged and pulled the small mirror above me down so that I could reapply my lipstick.

  "I still can't believe this is happening." She pulled her mirror down too. "Do you think I could change my name?"

  "What?" I glanced over at her as I pursed my lips.

  "My name. It's too old fashion. Maybe you should introduce me as Jade or Sicily?" She shrugged and gave me a nervous grin. "It's not like he's going to ask me out. He doesn't need to know my real name."

  "I like your real name. It's you." I lifted my eyebrow at her and unlocked the door. "Come on. Let's stand at the back and wait for him to get done. Then I'll introduce you to him."

  "Call me Jade though, okay? Seriously." She got out of the car and gave me a stern look over the top of it.

  "I'm not introducing you as Jade. If he does ask you out, or I get the part and we all hang out for the next year, then what? That's dumb." I reached into the backseat and grabbed my duffle bag. "You're Charlotte. Always have been, always will be."

  "You are a complete dud. Total and complete dud. You hear me?" She pushed her shoulder against mine as we moved toward the large gray building ahead of us.

  "Yeah, you're right next to me." I laughed. "Stop being a turd. This is going to be fun, but no getting jealous."

  "Of you? How can I not be? Anyone with half a brain and a crush on Ethan would be." She slid her arm against mine and let out a soft squeal as we walked into the studio and moved to the back. "Oh my God. There he is!"

  "Shhh..." I glanced over at her. "Seriously. Don't mess this up."

  "Never. I promise." She bounced on the balls of her feet as I groaned internally. She was going to lose her shit when Ethan walked over.

  Hell, I might too.

  Chapter 12

  Ethan

  "Promise me that you're going to behave today." Deza gave me a side glare as we walked toward the set.

  "Nope. That would take the joy out of my life. I thought you cared about me, D. Why would you ask something like that of me?" I winked at her before stopping by the snack table and picking up a Twinkie. I'd almost gotten Riley off my mind, but the thought of seeing her left butterflies dancing in the center of my stomach. It was weird, and yet I knew what it was. Lust.

  I wanted to put the pretty girl to the mattress beneath me and see what she was made of. Nothing else.

  "Let's go. Dani is early." Deza popped my butt as I shoved half the Twinkie in my mouth and glanced over my shoulder.

  "Fine. Why do we have to start with the wicked witch of-"

  "Hi, Ethan." Dani moved up beside me and gave me a scathing look. The woman was hot as sin and would probably sell more tickets than having me naked for a good ten-second clip in the film would, but no. Just no.

  "Hi, Dani. How are you, pretty lady?" I smirked, knowing that she heard me calling her out. She was known for being a man-eater, a meat-grinder. It was almost comical how bad her reputation had gotten. I wanted to find her high school yearbook to see if there was a line beside her picture that said, 'most likely to be alone forever'.

  "Good. I'm not here to put up with your shit like all these other girls do." She walked up on stage and dropped her robe. She was in a little black g-string and nothing else.

  "We're going full scene today?" I turned and found Frank. "Hey... what's up with not telling me that we're going fully engaged on this thing? It's a fucking audition."

  "Stop being scared and get up here," Dani called to me.

  The smirk on her pretty face was more appealing than her fake tits and perfectly ribbed stomach.

  "I am scared. You have an eight-pack like a man." I turned back to Frank. "I'm not getting naked with her. She eats dicks for real."

  He laughed loudly. "I swear you're a twelve-year-old boy in your head."

  "Yes, and this is like you guys asking me to crawl in bed with a monster. Naked. Not happening." I moved closer. "Tell her to cover the melons or I'm out of here."

  "Ethan. Seriously?" Deza moved up beside me. "This shit is getting old."

  "So are you, but it's called wrinkle cream," I snapped at her. "Fine, but I'm not taking my undies off."

  "Come on, Mr. Lewis." Dani moved to the edge of the stage, completely unfazed by her own nakedness. "I have other things to do today."

  "You mean other men's lives to destroy. Awesome. Let's not keep you from that." I jogged up onto the stage and tugged my robe off my shoulders as she turned and ran her eyes across me.

  "Don't wear a cup. I like feeling my co-actors get turned on. Makes it more real for me." She smiled and walked to the bed as she licked at her teeth.

  I turned to Deza and Frank and flipped them off before following her. I didn't need the cup or anything else. My dick had shrunk to a normal size just thinking about having the beast on top of me.

  "All right. Let's do this once and hopefully that will be enough." Frank clapped his hands. "Places."

  I crawled up on the bed and laid back as she moved to sit on top of me and smiled. "Relax. It's going to be okay, little boy."

  "Little boy?" I laughed. "Sounds good, old lady."

  "And... action," Frank called from the side of the stage, and I reached up, gripping Dani and flipping her hard.

  The scene went off without a hitch, and we managed to play our parts well, me more than her. She pulled her robe on as she glanced over at me when it was all over.

  "I'm impressed."

  "Why is that?" I tugged my robe over my shoulders and kept my voice monotone. I couldn't stand the woman, neither could most people with any sense of goodness in them.

  "You didn't get an erection." She smiled. "Need meds to get it up?"

  "Nope. I need a hot chick with more flesh and blood than plastic." I shrugged and hopped off the edge of the stage as Deza moved up to stand in front of me.

  "That was... wow. I loved it." She gripped my shoulders and studied me. "No? You didn't think it went well?"

  "My job is exhausting most days of the week. Today I want to crawl back in bed for the month. I don't like Dani as a person. I wouldn't offer her a hand if she were falling off a cliff and the bowels of hell were ready to catch her below." I smiled. "Get my drift here."

  She rolled her eyes. "So dramatic."

  "I'm an actor. You guys usually have to pay for this level of entertainment." I glanced over to see Riley walk in with a pretty blond beside her. "Is Riley next or Trish?"

  "Trish." Deza released me and glanced over her shoulder. "Oh good. Riley is early. Did you ever text her?"

  "No. I'm not looking needy, and she and I have nothing to talk about." I shrugged and smiled as she smiled at me. "She's fucking hot though."

  "And you're not sleeping with her. She's most likely going to be your co-worker soon."

  "Good. Let's have her try out next. I want to get my hands on her." I growled softly as Deza turned back and popped me in the stomach.

  "Stop it. I'm serious. We're not getting a harassment charge because you think you're cute enough to get away with dry humping one of our staff."

  "She's not your staff, but I'm almost positive she wants to be dry humped." I moved past Deza and walked toward Riley, casually tugging on the belt to my robe. It opened as I stopped in front of her and smiled.

  She lifted her eyebrow and shook her head. "Ethan. This is my friend..." She glanced at the
girl. "Jade."

  "Hi, Jade." I turned and extended my hand, recognizing the girl as a class-A stalker type. She had tears rimming her eyes as she shook my hand and tried to mouth something to me, but got nothing out.

  "Jade." Riley tugged on her friend’s hand to get her to release me. She glanced back over at me and let out a sigh. "She's been a fan of yours since the Mickey Mouse Club."

  I chuckled, feeling much more peaceful in front of the pretty girl who was stealing my thoughts far too often.

  "Those were the days." I let my eyes run across her impossibly stunning features. "Anyone ever told you that you look like one of the classic beauties? An Aubrey Hepburn or-"

  "Marilyn Monroe." She smirked. "Yeah, just before they asked for my number."

  "Oh... had lots of those guys, hm?"

  "Dime a dozen." She kept her pretty blue eyes on my face, which was a little disappointing. My cock was rock hard and sitting thick and long down the side of my thigh in my briefs. As sick as it was, I wanted her to catch a glimpse of it and ogle at me a little. Any other woman and I would have kept cover, but not in front of this one.

  "Ethan. Trish is here. Let's go." Deza walked up and patted my back. "Now."

  I rolled my eyes and turned. "All right. Two more women and then I'm going to bed for the day. This acting stuff is hard work."

  This acting stuff is hard work?

  I rolled my eyes at myself and walked back toward the stage. Why did Riley turn me into a babbling idiot? It was annoying and made me want to kick a baby.

  Trish turned and smiled as I walked up onto the stage.

  "Ethan. How are you, love?" She moved toward me and gave me a casual hug and quick peck on the cheek. She was a beautiful girl with a good heart. Sexy? Not so much, but stunning nevertheless. She'd do really well in a Hallmark film with me, but the Bond films required something a little more edgy.

  Something like... Riley.

  "I'm good. Let's do this and then you can get back to living your real life." I gave her a warm smile and moved to the bed, tugging off my robe and laying down.