JUST AS I settled into the back of the Sprinter and rattled off an address for my driver, Scotty, the door slid open and East cocked his head.
âGoing somewhere?â he said.
âYeah. To your momâs.â
âPunk-ass. Where you really going?â
âIâve got a shoot in Newport. Wanna come?â
Eastâs lips curled in distaste. âJersey? Why the fuck?â
âDoes it matter? You in or you out?â
âOut,â he said, but hopped in the van anyway, followed by Preston. âScotty can drop us off on the way there.â
âYou mean on the way . I canât be late.â
East let out a dramatic sigh as he sat down and kicked his feet up on the seat. âFiiine,â he drawled, running his hand over the cardigan tied over the shoulders of his striped button-up. âI need a nap anyway.â
At seven thirty in the morning on a Saturday? I couldnât believe his ass was up and at âem in the first place.
âIâm the first stop. Then these fuckers,â I called up to Scotty before turning toward Preston. He wore a lightweight cream sweater over his collared shirt and was busy rolling the sleeves up his forearm. âSo what trouble are you guys getting up to?â
âNone, unfortunately,â East muttered, and Preston rolled his eyes.
âI got roped into helping out at Elysium for their event next week.â
âBullshit you got roped into it,â East said. âMore like volunteered. Damn do-gooder.â
Prestonâs eyes met mine. âMy father requested my presence and told me to bring a friend.â
âAnd you thought was the right person for the job?â I couldnât help but laugh. I couldnât imagine East lifting a finger to decorate or pitch in, or whatever it was theyâd be doing. He only knew how to be a bossy shit. Was there a position for that?
âEveryone else was busy.â Preston smirked, and that told me he wasnât telling the entire truth. Most likely he thought it would be fun to see East get his hands dirty. Couldnât blame him there. Hopefully heâd take a few blackmail photos.
âWhat did you have to promise him? I know he didnât agree without a fight.â
âYouâre right. I didnât.â East adjusted the gold luxury watch on his wrist as his mouth curled up on one side. âI get a two-hour spot with Raúl.â
I frowned. âWho the hell is Raúl?â
âMy massage therapist,â Preston explained. âHeâs the best-kept secret in the cityââ
âThat Preston keeps selfishly all to himself.â East shot him a glare, and Preston shook his head.
âBecause with East on his client list, Iâll never get a damn appointment again.â
âHow come Iâve never heard of this guy?â I said. âI could use a massage.â
My entire bodyâespecially the more private areasâwas still a bit sore from the outdoor scene with Kelly a couple days ago, though really, I would prefer hands rubbing me down.
âI bet you could.â Eastâs gaze fell to my hands. âWhatâd you do, bust your ass on the pavement?â
I turned my palms up and gently traced over the scrapes that still decorated my skin. I hadnât even noticed until Iâd gotten home Thursday night that bracing myself on the rough brick while Kelly pounded into me from behind had cut up my hands. The high that had followed me back to my apartment lasted until the heat of my shower stung the shit out of the raw wounds.
It had been worth it, though. I didnât even care that my agent would bitch me out when she saw them.
âUhâ¦yeah,â I said, dropping my hands. âSomething like that.â
Was I still hiding Kellyâor Sin, as they still knew himâfrom my friends? Damn right I was. If they knew we were fucking theyâd want details, and they had the resources to pry until they found out what Iâd been doing in my spare time.
And my fellow Park Avenue Princes knowing my secret?
Not happening.
Changing the subject, I bullshitted with the guys for the next half-hour, grateful that Scotty had managed to get me to the shoot location on time. The early hour meant traffic hadnât been too bad, but I had a feeling Preston and East would run into a few standstills on their way back in.
Not my problem.
As Scotty drove off, I shrugged my bag over my shoulder and headed down the Hudson Riverfront Walkway. I could see the huge white sculpture from here, the one Iâd be shooting in front of called . It faced the New York City skyline and depicted the head of a woman holding her finger up to her lips.
Several white tents were set up nearby for catering, wardrobe, hair, and makeup, and also to keep the models out of the sun during breaks. As I stepped under one and pushed my sunglasses on top of my head, I immediately spotted my agent, Mira. She didnât usually accompany me to shoots, but sheâd wanted to see the sculpture up close and had never made the time to do so before.
âGood morning,â she said, giving me a double air kiss that I returned, bending over to reach her barely five-foot frame. She took a step back and ran her eyes over me, scrutinizing every detail. âHmm. Whatâs different?â
I looked down at myself, didnât see anything out of place, and shrugged. âYou realize Iâm now an eleven on a scale of one to ten?â
She shook her head even as amusement played on her dark, berry-colored lips. âSmartass. Somethingâs different, though. I donât know what it is. Did you go on vacation?â
âNot since summer.â I didnât want to explain that maybe all the orgasms Kelly had been giving me had probably given me a nice, healthy glow. Sex could do that. At least, I thought it could.
âWell, anyway. Theyâre not quite ready for you in hair and makeup. Want a coffee?â
When I nodded, she headed to the makeshift beverage station under the catering tent. When she handed me a paper cup and I reached for it, I saw her eyes widen, and she grabbed my wrist, tugging me forward. The cup fell to the ground.
âVan, what the hell is this?â
Well, shit. Of course sheâd noticed the scrapes on my hands. I knew she would, because nothing got by her, and it was just my luck sheâd shown up here today.
âI fell,â I said, starting to pull my hands away, but her grasp on me was tight for such a tiny woman.
Her dark eyes narrowed as they met mine. âYou did not fall.â
âWere you there?â
âWhere?â
âWhen I fell.â
â
did you fall?â
I shrugged. âOn campus.â
âWhere on campus?â
âIn the courtyard.â
âIn the courtyard in front of all your friends and peers?â
âYeah.â Jesus, she was relentless, and the lies flew out of my mouth easily.
She pursed her lips and dropped her hold on me. âYouâre such a bad liar, Van. I know what rough sex looks like.â
âIt wasnâtâ Wait, how do you know?â Actually, on second thought, I didnât want that bit of personal information at , but Iâd rather have the focus on her naughty deeds than mine.
Mira turned back to the stainless-steel coffee urns and held a cup under the dispenser.
âNever mind that,â she said. âWhat have I told you?â
âDonât be a clumsy ass and fall on pavement?â
âIf you were vertically challenged in the slightest, you wouldnât be a client.â She left her coffee black and popped the lid on as I poured a cup of my own. âThe rule is, you mark others, you donât let them mark you.â
I sighed, knowing she was right, but there wasnât much I could do about it right now. Iâd enjoyed myself a little too much in the moment, and Iâd have to be more careful.
Not that it was happening againâ¦right? I hadnât actually been propositioned, and I wasnât sure if it was a smart idea to keep it going. It a sexy idea, and part of me wanted a round three, but a selfish part of me wanted that to happen away from the cameras this time.
âYouâre right,â I admitted, ignoring the sting in my hands from the heat of the coffee.
âI know Iâm right. No sex marks. You need to be flawless for all the big things coming your way.â
I choked out a laugh at that comment, because all I could think of right then was, wellâ¦Kellyâs massive dick coating my face in his release andâ
Nope. I couldnât follow that train of thought right now. I blew on my coffee and took a sip, shoving the visuals of Kelly to the back of my mind for later. But something Mira said had snagged, and I asked, âWhat do you mean by big things? Is there something youâre not telling me?â
Her eyes darted elsewhere as she lifted a shoulder. âI can neither confirm nor deny until weâve got an offer, but there isâ¦talk.â
âOf?â
âI canât sayââ
âYou mean you .â
âFine, I wonât say, but what I tell you is that you need to stay in peak condition, and that includes your skin. Got me?â
âYeah, yeah. I got you.â
âGonna make a household name out of you yet,â she said, patting my cheek, and then her attention moved past me. âOh look, theyâre ready for you. Off you go.â
I finished off my coffee and headed to the makeup chair. There were several other models Iâd worked with before lined up along the tent, each of them at a separate workstation.
The next half-hour was spent getting my eyes painted in black liner that Travis would be proud of, and theyâd slicked my hair back to keep the focus on my face. A pair of loose-fitting pants and a structured jacket completed the look. I barely recognized myself, but that was part of what I liked about the jobâdisappearing into someone else for the day.
âYou look perfect,â the photographer said when he stopped by to say hello. He checked his watch. âWeâll start in twenty.â
As he moved down the line, I pulled my phone out of my bag hanging on the back of the directorâs chair. I had a feeling Kelly would get a kick out of this look. Maybe itâd inspire him for an upcoming scene, because I could only imagine that heâd look fucking amazing with slicked-back hair and dark eyes.
The line rangâ¦and rangâ¦and then finally the video chat connected.
âHey there,â I said, grinning as he came into view.
Fuck me, that wasâ¦a seriously sexy visual. Kellyâs eyes were half open, his blond hair loose and spread across the white of his pillow. He was still in bed. I forgot that not everyone woke up early on the weekend.
I couldnât stop myself from taking a screenshot of what a hot picture he made half-asleep and shirtless.
âDonovan?â He rubbed his eyes. âIs that you?â
âYeah, itâs my new look. What do you think?â
âI think my dick just woke all the way up.â
I grinned. âOh, this does it for you, huh?â
âIâm beginning to think if it has to do with you, it does it for me. You look fucking amazing.â Kelly ran his fingers through his hair and rested his head on his arm. âWhereâs your shoot?â
âWhy? Wanna watch me?â
âI wish I could. Iâve got some interviews for the studio in a couple of hours.â
I hadnât called to ask him to come down here, but for some reason his answer still disappointed.
What the hell was reaction about?
âNah, if you were here youâd probably only get me in trouble again.â
He picked up on my teasing tone. âAgain? When did I get you in trouble the first time?â
I lifted my hand, showing him the scrapes across my palm. âTurns out my agent isnât a fan of sex marks.â
âShit.â He sat up, and all that gorgeous hair fell around his face. âI did that?â
âWell, technically the brick wall you fucked me against did that.â
âDoes it hurt?â
âNot at all.â
The concern that heâd hurt me melted into a more curious expression. âLet me see it again.â When I held up my hand, he ran his tongue along his lower lip. âNot gonna lie, thatâs hot as hell.â
âItâs a reminder of a good time, thatâs for damn sure.â
âThen is it bad Iâm not even sorry?â
âYes. But I like that.â I lowered my voice in case Mira was roaming around nearby. âNext time youâll have to mark me somewhere a little moreâ¦private.â
He cursed, falling back against his headboard. âThat sounds like a challenge.â
âOnly if youâre up for it.â
His lips twitched. âAlready told you I was.â
God, that was the last thing I needed. To think of him naked and hard right before I had a high-def lens aimed my way.
âWhen can I see you again?â he said.
I didnât bother hiding my smile. âWhenever you like.â
âI mean outside of work.â
âEven better.â Someone called my name from the other side of the tent, and I looked up to see the assistant motioning for all of us to join him. I nodded and held up a finger before returning my attention to the screen. âSorry, theyâre ready to start.â
âNo problem. Do you have plans later?â
I vaguely remembered the guys mentioning something about tonight, but whatever it was, theyâd have to do without me. âLook at that, my schedule just cleared.â
Kellyâs slow, sexy smile and the fact Iâd get to see him in a few hours had my pulse speeding up. âGlad to hear it.â
âWhy donât we meet at my place? Go from there.â Like weâd really be going where once that happened. âIâll text you the address.â
âLooking forward to it.â He gave me a wink, and I ended the call before the assistant could make his way over here to snatch the phone out of my hands.