Living Dangerously

Chapter Twenty-Two



Julie stretched in the big bed and opened her eyes as the afternoon sun threw brilliant rays through the window. Troy’s arm tightened around her waist and pulled her more snugly against his chest. She molded to the curve of his body, enjoying the feel of his growing erection against her ass. The man had stamina.

He fascinated her with his contrasting character. His behavior said I’m cool, but his body said I’m ready to get down and dirty whenever you are. He didn’t act like a rutting stud, didn’t constantly handle her or seem to need to touch her. She didn’t get any type of possessive vibe from him, but as soon as they locked lips or touched each other, he was all about making the sparks fly. He was unlike anyone she’d ever dated.

Dated. A word she absolutely could not use when thinking about this man simply because they’d never been on one date. Not the traditional kind anyway. Sure, they’d spent time together, and recently all their meals together, but could she classify any of their time together as a “date”?

Had he picked her up and taken her to dinner or a movie or all the things couples were supposed to do when they begin a relationship? Had they shared a first kiss at her doorstep? None of the old-fashioned ways she used to date applied to this man.

So what? It didn’t change the fact that, yes, dammit! They were in a relationship.

So what if their beginning hadn’t been traditional. So what if they hadn’t talked about it. He’d been there for her through the toughest parts of her life and nothing had scared him off. He didn’t react to her in any way she was used to and now, as he rolled her over and nibbled her earlobe, as his big, warm hand eased down her stomach and ended between her thighs, she couldn’t think about anything but the way he made her feel. Maybe that was it. Because he treated her differently, she felt different around him. He made her feel special by letting her just be herself. She didn’t have to be the movie star, didn’t always have to be “on” or looking great every minute of the day. He’d seen her at her worst—multiple times—and liked her anyway.

The pressure of his warm palm on her mound made her moan and push into his hand.

“Like that, do you?” His question rumbled into her ear and a shiver raced through her. He slid two fingers deep inside her and another sound of need purred in her throat. His lips skated across her skin, down to her chest where he swirled his tongue around her hard nipple over and over until by the time he sucked it into his mouth, she was arching off the bed. His fingers still penetrated her, pushed inside her over and over, driving her closer to sweet release.

She could’ve come just from his mouth at her breast and his fingers pumping inside her, but Troy slid his lips farther down until his mouth replaced his fingers, and Julie lost complete thought. Blood rushed through her veins and the pounding in her head built to an all-time high. Troy alternately sucked, licked and lashed. He drove her crazy with intense need, overwhelming desire. She rode that sweet edge, the cusp of absolute heaven. Every new touch brought her an increment closer. She loved that wondrous spot, the point of no return. The seconds of bliss before the bliss. She pushed up against him, ready to take the final fall, ready to drown in repletion. Soaking wet, she whimpered when he spread all that moisture along the crease of her ass. Nerve endings popped and sizzled as he ventured to intimate territory, circling, pressing and going where no man had gone before. When he shoved two fingers inside her, one in each hole, she came with a force so intense, she cried out, her muscles clenching tightly, her spasms rocking her from the inside out. It was the most shockingly, surprisingly intense fall of her life.

Shudders still wracked her as Troy slipped on a condom and pushed into her. The sudden thick invasion had her gasping for breath. His arms wrapped beneath her as he held her tight and pushed in over and over. It was so good. Just feeling his power, the way he wanted her, listening to his ragged breathing and touching his muscled back and sculpted ass. In four more hard thrusts, his orgasm tore through him as he stiffened on top of her, his hips tightly against hers, their bodies joined intimately.

His harsh breathing tickled her ear and she smiled, loving the connection they shared. She hoped he felt what she did. Wanted him to know what they had was something special. Something she personally had no experience with.

She really needed to tell him how she felt. The sooner she got that off her chest, the sooner she could move on. His lips hovered near her ear. His warm breath sent tingles across her nape. “Good afternoon,” he rumbled.

She smiled and stretched beneath him, loved feeling his weight on top of her, his body still semi-hard inside of her. But even as the thought entered her mind, he pulled out gently and she sighed at the loss of his heat, his substance filling her.

“It’s a good afternoon, now. That’s for sure.” She purposely kept it upbeat. Held onto her smile for all she was worth, which by Hollywood standards was a good amount. She would not be a clingy wimp.

Screw it. If she didn’t say something, she was going to burst. She took a breath, opened her mouth. “I—”

The phone rang.

Gah. She couldn’t catch a break.

She glanced at the clock as he reached for the receiver on the nightstand table. Almost two p.m. Who would be calling? His uncle, probably. The poor guy had probably been on pins and needles waiting for Troy, his son, to read the diary. The weight of that knowledge seemed far more important than her issue of telling Troy how she felt about him.

“Mills,” Troy said, answering the phone. He sat up and adjusted the sheet around his waist.

Julie took the time to admire his six-pack abs and the muscles that defined his chest and accentuated his narrow waist. Despite the crazy mondo orgasm she’d just had, she felt her insides go all melty just looking at the man. She’d done things with him—and let him do things to her—that she hadn’t with anyone else. She trusted him on a level she almost didn’t understand. It went deep down where she felt it in her heart.

“No, it’s okay,” Troy said on the phone. He put his arm around her and pulled her close. She rested her head against his chest and listened to the comforting thump of his heartbeat. Yeah, she could get used to this very easily. “You didn’t,” he said into the receiver. “We weren’t busy.” He squeezed her shoulder and she smiled. They’d been busy all right. Troy most especially had been busy. “A half hour?” he said, glancing at the clock. “Sure. That’s fine. We’ll be here.” He paused. “I understand. Yeah. Me too.” Troy hung up and turned on his side to face her.

“Uncle Zach’s coming over, eh?” she asked, despite knowing the answer.

Troy nodded. “Sorry.” He wrinkled his forehead in that way that made him look so adorable. “I couldn’t really tell him no.”

She stroked his cheek. “I don’t expect you to. I’m sure he’s dying to talk to you. How long has he had this information and how long has he been wishing to see you? Years,” she said answering her own question. “It’s only natural that he wants a private conversation.”

He took her hand and kissed her palm. “You’re a very understanding...”

She waited for the word. Girlfriend? Chick? Actor? What the hell did he want to say?

“...person,” he finally said.

He’d opened the door wide to have the conversation she wanted to have, but it didn’t seem fair to heap relationship matter at his feet when he had a different relationship to work on in about twenty-seven minutes.

“I should get in the shower,” she said. But she didn’t budge because she loved looking into his dark intense eyes.

“We could conserve water, but we have to be careful with your stitches,” he murmured, his eyes growing darker.

“That’s very eco-friendly of you, Mr. Mills.” She threw the sheets off, lunged for the bathroom and ignored the pressure in her thigh. “Last one in the shower is a rotten egg!”

* * *

Troy finished shaving as Julie ran a hand through her wet hair. She looked like a model for a soap commercial. Fresh, clean and absolutely flawless. Except for the scars from two bullets and the shrapnel wound on her leg, barely covered at the moment by a thick beige towel. He hated those reminders. He glanced at a similar scar on his own arm and fought an involuntary shudder. That had been one hell of day.

Julie wrapped her arms around him from behind and the fresh clean scent of her shampoo went straight to his head. He’d never been so...so...domesticated in his life. Had never shared a bathroom with a woman, ever. The tips of her fingers slid beneath the waistband of his unbuttoned jeans and Troy held his breath. She glanced in the mirror and caught his eye. One eyebrow waggled suggestively and Troy laughed. It didn’t matter that they’d made love before they got in the shower, or that they’d made love again in the shower, she still wanted him. Damn if he didn’t feel the same way about her. Apparently her leg wasn’t bothering her as much as it had a couple of days ago.

But the clock ticked on.

“You know my uncle is going to be here in—”

“About twelve minutes.” She took her hands out of his jeans and reached for a comb on the counter. “Bummer. Maybe after he leaves we can pick up where we left off.”

“You wouldn’t be getting any complaints from me.”

This time she waggled both eyebrows. “I better not. I’d hate to have to do something against your will.”

“You know, that sounds kind of kinky. I like it.”

She faced him, her smile soft and as beautiful as the woman herself. “Well, I like...” She paused, her eyes serious despite her grin. “I like you,” she said quietly. Then she turned toward the mirror and combed out her hair.

Yeah, okay. He was in serious trouble here because he more than just liked this woman. He had serious feelings growing for her, which in the long run would probably only destroy him. She was a movie star for God’s sake. Known worldwide. It wasn’t so much that he felt unworthy of her; he just had a hard time picturing them together in the real world.

Troy went back to shaving and covertly watched as Julie got ready. It helped take his mind off the coming conversation with his uncle. He’d been doing his damnedest to avoid thinking about his father and uncle and how the roles had been reversed. Part of him understood why his mother had done what she’d done. She’d wanted a name for her baby, wanted a roof over her head. Hell, she’d all but sacrificed herself for him, but her sacrifice had also been him.

He’d loved his mother. He couldn’t be angry with her for making a choice she clearly hadn’t wanted to make, in hopes of a better life. She’d just made a mistake. But maybe she felt as if she’d done the only thing possible.

“Thinking about your uncle?” Julie asked. She’d lost the towel and had slipped into some chic, loose-fitting sweats. Even dressed down, she looked like a Victoria’s Secret model.

“Thinking about a lot of things.” He rinsed the razor and stuck it in his toilet kit.

She stroked her thumb across his cheek, her eyes clear blue and intense. “Clean shaven. Very sexy. I like it.” The emotion in her eyes spoke more than her simple words. A blush crept up her cheeks and she faced the mirror. “Now go away before you distract me more. I need to put on some makeup.”

Troy dropped a quick kiss on her lips and left the bathroom so she could finish getting ready.

He checked his watch. Eight minutes. Eight minutes until he’d see his uncle. Father. Zach. Troy sat on the sofa, ran his hand through his hair. He’d managed to dodge thinking about it because he’d lost himself in Julie, but now, with only a few minutes until Zach arrived, he had to face it. His stomach actually felt a little queasy.

On one level it made perfect sense. He’d always gotten along with Zach so much better than his father. He sure as hell looked more like Zach than he did his father, Jim. Who was really his Uncle Jim.

God, so many things made sense now. His fath—Jim—must have known. Why else would he have treated Troy and his mother so cruelly for so long? What other reason could there have been for him to move them so far away after his mom died? Unless her accident really hadn’t been an accident...

He couldn’t do anything about it this exact moment. Right now, he had to get used to the idea that the next time he saw Zach, he was really seeing the man as his father for the first time.

Troy wiped his palms against his jeans. Why the hell was he so nervous?

The bathroom door opened and Julie came out looking like a million bucks. In about five minutes, she’d managed to make herself perfect. It wasn’t that she had a ton of makeup on or expensive clothes. Her damp hair dried in soft waves around her face. Her porcelain skin made her a work of art all by itself, but with a little bit of makeup, she was beyond breathtaking. He marveled again at how easily she could switch from comedienne to beauty queen.

She took one look at him and somehow she knew. “It’s going to be fine.” She pulled him off the sofa and ran her hand through his hair, smoothing down a spot he must’ve wrecked in his nervousness. “He loves you. And you love him. You’re both still the same people. Now you have another connection, that’s all.”

Her simply stated words cut right to the heart of it. She was so damn good at seeing the meat and bones, and she absolutely had burrowed under his skin.

Yeah. Okay. That about sealed it. He loved her.