Locked (PresLocke Series Book 2) (10 page)

“Yes, something like that,” Ryleigh said. “I swear, that girl needs better time management.”

“Hmm, yes. She should plan to leave at least an extra forty minutes before she has to go anywhere. Isn’t that right, Miss Phillips?” Hunter asked, as he passed behind his lady and kissed her on the side of her neck. When Ryleigh’s cheeks turned a sweet pink color, he looked at the three of us, grinned like a devil, and then turned to the back to get some glassware.

“So what’s it gonna be tonight, Ace? A Master Baiter shake or a Boatload of Seamen shake?”

Dylan sputtered next to me, and then burst out laughing. “
That’s
the name of the drinks?”

“I told you,” I said, and wrapped an arm around his shoulder. “These are adult alcoholic milkshakes.”

“You didn’t tell me they had filthy names,” Dylan said, leaning in to kiss my lips lightly. “No wonder you like them so much.”

“Mhmm,” I agreed against his mouth, until Paige began an elaborate coughing fit off to the side.
 

“Get a room, you two.” She paused and picked up a maraschino cherry from a small bowl in front of Ryleigh, and then chomped down on it. “Oh, that’s right, you already did. It’s all over the news.”

I rolled my eyes and flipped her off as she twirled the stem of the eaten cherry between her fingers. “I’ll have a Boatload of Seamen, and I think Dylan would like the Master Baiter tonight.”

“Is that a hint?” Dylan asked.
 

I flirted my lips across the shell of his ear and whispered, “Or an invitation.”

“Okay, okay, you two. You’re even worse than the practically married couple over there,” Paige said, nodding to Ryleigh and Hunter as she walked around to insinuate herself in between the two of us. She looped her arms through the crooks of our elbows and looked up at Dylan first, and then me. “So…tell me the truth. You two doing okay with all of that? The press? I know they can be nuts, and that night I dropped off some clothes when you got back from Vegas they were camped out in front of Ace’s gates like a pack of hungry hyenas.”

“It’s been intense,” Dylan admitted, but then his eyes found mine and softened. “But totally worth it.”

“Oh God,” Paige said. “Don’t you even start, Locke. All this sappy shit is seriously starting to kill any residual horniness that may, or may not, have been aroused when you two were kissing.”

And that was Paige. Blunt and offering no apologies for her lack of filter.

“Well, all I’m saying is if you need someone to kick some ass, to distract, run interference, play beard to either of you hot,
hot
men—”

“Paige,” Ryleigh said as she slid two drinks across the counter to us decorated with,
what do you know
, pink umbrellas and all.

“I’m
just
offering my services.”

“Sure you are. Let them head into the party. That
is
what they’re here for, remember?”

“Fine, fine. But remember. If you two need anything, call me.”

I smiled at her, knowing she truly meant what she’d just said as she moved out of the way, allowing me to put my hand on Dylan’s lower back where I’d had it earlier. “Thanks, Paige. We appreciate it, really.”

“You better,” she said, snatching up the drink Ryleigh had put in place for her. “I don’t offer myself to just anyone.”

“Now that’s way too easy,” Hunter quipped, and took a chug of the beer he’d just taken the cap off. “Where’s Dawson when you need him?”

And as I steered Dylan away from the three of them with a wave, I thought I heard Paige say, “No doubt off somewhere being a dirty dick.”

I shuddered at the thought of her and Richard Dawson’s volatile run-ins the handful of times I’d seen them, and didn’t envy that guy what he would have to go through to soften her up.
 

“So…you ready?” I asked, and watched as Dylan’s smile faded and he nodded like a man fated to an unwanted destiny. Right now, I knew exactly how he felt. But this wasn’t going to be over until it began. So it was time to face the music.

* * *

AS ACE’S HAND smoothed down to rest at the curve of my lower back, we headed in the direction of the open doors Hunter had indicated earlier. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d felt this nervous, but the idea of stepping through those doors and into a party full of people who no doubt would be waiting for Ace’s arrival had my pulse racing.

But that’s stupid,
I told myself. All of these people had worked on set with us for weeks. It wasn’t like this relationship was new to them, so we had nothing to worry about…
right?

I swallowed back my nerves, trying to hang on to the relaxed feeling that Ryleigh and her friends had managed to instill in me, and just when I was starting to feel a modicum of calm, Ron walked out in front of us.

“Ace,” he said, stopping to look up at my date.
 

Ace came to a halt beside me and his shoulders stiffened much like mine had.
Damn it
, oh well, at least we could say we’d had fun for the first five minutes of the night with his friends.

“Ron,” Ace said in a clipped tone.

“Look… I… Uhh…” Ron glanced in my direction, probably waiting for me to excuse myself, but that wasn’t going to happen—not tonight. I wasn’t on set anymore, and this guy didn’t own my actions when I wasn’t working for him, so if Ace was happy to keep his arm around me while they talked, then I was more than happy to stay.

When it became clear he would need to keep speaking or leave without saying anything at all, Ron faced Ace once more and started again. “I owe you an apology.”

Well, how do you like that?
I tried to keep my mouth from falling open, but it was hard because never in a million years had I expected
that
to come out of Ron King’s mouth.

“I shouldn’t have taken my frustration over certain situations out on you. And I apologize for that.”

As far as apologies went it was fairly half-assed, but considering it was a shock to be hearing one at all, I wasn’t surprised when Ace held his hand out to the older man.

“I appreciate that, Ron. I’ve always enjoyed working with you.”

“And I you, Ace,” Ron said, and then his eyes drifted to mine. “You aren’t bad either, when you’re not busy ogling the lead.”

Ace’s laugh made my eyes fly to his, and the slight nod he gave had me turning a smile of my own toward Ron. “Well, it’s a compliment to you, really. Just means you have a magnetic leading man.”

“Yeah, he sure is a draw at the box office. People love him. Make sure he remembers that, okay, kid?” When Ron held his hand out to me, I felt a deep swell of pride in my chest, because Ron was right: Ace was a
huge
draw all over the world, and the fact that he wanted to be with me was still somewhat shocking. “For your first movie you did pretty good, all things considered.”

“Ha,” I said, shaking his hand. “I don’t think movies is the life for me, but I thank you for that slight boost in my fragile confidence.”

As the pressure of Ace’s hand increased slightly, I looked his way and saw a healthy dose of the same emotion I’d been feeling, pride, shining back at me.

“Okay, then. I won’t hold you two up any longer. I just wanted to clear the air.”
 

“It’s much appreciated, Ron,” Ace said as the director headed off inside the club, leaving Ace and me still several steps from the main entrance.

“Wow,” I said with a disbelieving shake of my head. “I did not see that coming.”

“I kinda did. Ron’s not a bad guy. He’s just a hothead, and our relationship brought up a lot of questions in the press about the movie he didn’t want to deal with in the last few weeks.”

I guess I could understand that. “Yeah, when you put it like that.”

“You ready to face the rest of them?”

I scrunched my nose up. “Sure we can’t slip out the front door of Licked?”

“I wish. But we should make an appearance.”

“Okay, you’re right. I’m sure it won’t be that bad anyway. It’s not like we’re news to them.”

“I guess we’ll soon find out,” Ace said, and we took the several steps needed to put us through the open doors and into the After Dark, and as if time stood still, all music, dancing, and conversation ceased.
 

9

BUG UNDER A MICROSCOPE

JESUS, AND HERE I thought Ace and I could just slip in unnoticed.
 

I scanned the sea of people standing around high-top tables in small groups laughing and chatting with drinks in their hands, and tilted my head up to take in the exquisite pink and purple fabric that lined the ceiling. It was stunning in the way that it swept out to each corner of the room, and then flowed to the floor, giving the place an intimate and elegant feel. I recognized several actresses from the golden era hanging on the walls, and thought what a perfect location this was for a movie industry wrap party. The lighting was low, the center chandelier giving off a muted glow, and there were booths lining the walls that were U-shaped and looked comfortable enough to sleep in should one want to, though currently they were all claimed and filled to capacity.

Although the space was vast and I could see a cleared area a little ways away from us and through the crowd, it seemed like the walls were closing in on us. I moved a little closer to Ace’s side and didn’t miss the way his fingers tightened around mine. My heart thumped at all the eyes on us, and I could feel my cheeks heating as though we were under a fucking spotlight. I swallowed around the lump in my throat, and just as I was about to try and say something witty to Ace, who was frozen beside me, he took a step forward and began walking through the familiar faces of the cast and crew and the not-so-familiar but
curious
onlookers in their partners.
 

It was like being a bug under a microscope. Ace’s warm palm was pressed intimately against mine as he strode ahead of me, and with each group of people we passed, it didn’t escape my notice how they smiled at Ace, but then their eyes would travel down to the hand he had wrapped around mine.
Nosy fucks.

There was no way Ace had missed the scrutiny we were under as he continued through the crowd, but he greeted each and every person who managed to say hi instead of merely gawk at us. He was heading toward the shadowed corner I had seen when we’d entered the After Dark, and the direct beeline he was making was an indication he was in need of a moment, or perhaps five, to get himself together.
 

When we reached the empty space, he maneuvered me so I was standing with my back to the wall and he was caging me in, giving all those in attendance a fantastic view of his broad back, and not a whole lot more.
 

“Christ,” he said.

“Yeah,” I said. “Intense, huh?”

Ace shook his head. “I figured this would be okay, you know? We worked with these people daily. They saw us and knew we were together, but…”

He didn’t have to say it. I knew exactly how he felt. We’d both thought tonight would be a good time for our first somewhat public outing as a couple because it would be around Ace’s friends and our peers. But we hadn’t counted on the instant gossip and murmurs from their partners and spouses that had begun the second we’d left Ryleigh and her friends.
 

Yeah,
the second we’d left their side and stepped into the party we’d become the “entertainment,” and if it was making me nervous, someone who’d been out and proud most of their life, I had no idea how Ace must be feeling.
 

Trying to be the calm one here, the one to reassure him, I squeezed my fingers around his and shot him my most winning smile. “Hey, they’re just curious.”

“They’re fucking nosy is what they are,” he said, expressing my exact thought from earlier. “You’d think they’d never seen a gay couple before. And living in L.A., I find that difficult to believe.”

I gave a small shrug, understanding his frustration, but also had to break it to him: “They’ve never seen
you
as part of a gay couple. Do you really think they’d be looking if I walked in here holding some other guy’s hand?”

A frown furrowed Ace’s brow. “How about we
don’t
test that theory.”

I chuckled, and Ace took a step closer.
 

“I wasn’t meaning we should. All I’m saying is, it’s the fact that it’s you that has everyone gawking at us.”

Ace sighed, and I reached out to run a soothing hand down his cheek, but at the last second stopped myself. When his eyes fired and shifted to the hand I’d just lowered, he said, “Don’t for one second feel like you can’t do what you want to me in public. If you want to touch me, you fucking touch me. That’s the reason we came out, remember?”

Ohh, I like that.
The pissy attitude because I hadn’t touched him. So I raised my hand and trailed my fingers along his jaw. “I believe you might be right. But I don’t think I should do
everything
I want to…”

That made Ace’s lips tug into a grin. “No?”

“Unfortunately, no. I don’t think this is the time or the
place
for that. But if you’re ever interested in performing in public, I know somewhere we could go.” I made sure to add a sexy wink as I thought back to that forbidden night at Syn. Ace’s eyes lowered to my lips and I ran my tongue along them, keeping his mind off being the object of so many, and instead letting him know he was the sole focus of one—
me
.

“Are you trying to distract me?” he asked.

I cocked my head to the side. “Why? Is it working?”

When Ace closed the remaining gap between us and lowered his head by my cheek, I almost hyperventilated. It wasn’t that he was so close, but the fact he was so close out in public. It was doing serious things to my heart
and
my dick.

“The reminder of you naked with my cock inside you? Yep, pretty much one hundred percent distracted over here,” he said.

I was about to turn my head and tell Ace that not only was I distracted, I was now really fucking hard, but before I could, a couple moved into my line of sight. I recognized the woman in an instant—Mallory Jacobs. She’d played Ace’s wife in
Insurrection 2
and was one of Hollywood’s sweethearts. Her long blonde hair had been swept to the side and cascaded over her left shoulder in beautiful, soft waves. However, the siren-red dress she wore with a plunging neckline made it quite clear that while she may have been dubbed a “sweetheart,” Mallory was more than capable of pulling off seductive bombshell too, and standing by her side…
oh my God
, was that really Alejandro Mendez?
Shit, it really is.
If Mallory was America’s sweetheart then her longtime boyfriend had been dubbed her prince. True Hollywood royalty, that is, with his parents both being bigwigs in the industry. He had an arm wrapped around her waist and was nuzzling into her neck as she giggled, and when her eyes met mine she grinned as if we were both sharing the same predicament. Ace’s lips then pressed to the side of my neck and I chuckled at the accuracy of the assessment, and gave him a gentle shove.