Riding the Line (23 page)
‘I fell down some stairs. My arms were full of clothes so I couldn’t stop my fall. But at least they cushioned the impact.’
‘You fell or were you pushed?’ Jay felt around her skull.
She shrugged, the movement way too careful. ‘I’m not sure. It happened so fast.’ She winced as his fingers settled over the side of her head. ‘Ouch.’
‘Yeah, definitely an ouch. You’ve got an egg-sized bump just above your ear. You’ll need to put some ice on it.’ He stared into her eyes. ‘You might have a mild concussion, but nothing too serious.’
‘Good. I think the rest is just bruises.’ She continued to smile shakily at Jay as Dakota sank down on to his knees beside her. Strangely reluctant to see her attention fixed on his brother, Dakota took her hand.
‘If you’re done, Jay. I can take it from here.’
Jay got to his feet. ‘You OK with that, Robyn? Do you trust this idiot to take care of you?’
She nodded carefully. ‘Thanks for your help.’
‘No problem.’ He gently squeezed her shoulder and then turned to Dakota. ‘Keep your temper and call me or Grayson if you have any worries in the night, OK?’
Dakota let out his breath. ‘Will do, thanks, Jay.’
‘See you tomorrow.’
Dakota waited until he heard the sound of the door shutting behind Jay. ‘What happened?’
Robyn glanced down at him and then looked away. ‘I told you. I went to get some of my clothes and documents. Damien wasn’t there so I decided to go in. Unfortunately he turned up just as I was about to leave.’
‘And he shoved you down the stairs.’
‘I told him to get out of my place and that I no longer considered myself his client. Not surprisingly, he didn’t take it that well.’
Dakota frowned. ‘What do you mean, you’re his client?’
‘He’s my agent. The guy who’s supposed to get me work and help my career.’
Dakota simply stared at her until she sighed.
‘I know, I made a piss-poor choice, but it was when I first got out of rehab and no one else in Hollywood would touch me. I thought he was a godsend and I signed my life away.’
‘But you want to get away from him now, right?’
‘Hell, yeah.’
Her fleeting smile displayed a little of her old sass. Dakota kissed her hand.
‘I reckon we should set Grayson’s lawyers on this. If anyone can get you out of this mess, they can.’
Her slight smile faded and she tried to get to her feet. ‘I don’t want you getting involved, Dakota, let alone your brother. I’m not his problem. I’m not anyone’s problem.’
‘And if I choose to make you my problem?’
He stood too, held her steady as she clutched onto the back of the seat, her face a sickly green. She touched his cheek, smoothed her thumb over his lip.
‘You have no idea what that means. I’m not worth it. I’m too high maintenance for a nice uncomplicated guy like you.’
He stared down into her eyes; let her see the hurt in his. ‘You can’t stop me wanting to take care of you.’
‘I can’t but I like you too much to drag you down along with me.’ She hesitated. ‘Things are probably going to get a bit rough here on in. Perhaps I should move out.’
With a growl he carefully picked her up and headed for the bedroom. ‘There’s one thing you need to understand about me, honey. I’m no quitter.’
She curled her arm around his neck and held on tight. ‘Dakota . . .’
He eased her down on to the bed and set about removing her clothes. She had a big packet of official-looking documents in the back pocket of her jeans which he set on the bedside table. His breath hissed out in a curse as he uncovered an ugly bruise over her hip and her still bleeding elbow.
‘Hang on, I’ll get a cloth and some ice.’
He left her there and went into the bathroom. As he soaked a washcloth, he hardly recognized the grim reflection that stared back at him. For the first time in his life, he could see a resemblance to Beau, his birth father. Whether Robyn agreed or not, Damien, or whatever the fuck his name was, was toast.
And yeah, he would be talking to Grayson as well about how his lawyers could help unravel any contractual nightmares Robyn had gotten herself into. There was always a way out, even if it meant he had to pay Grayson back for the rest of his life.
He smiled into the mirror. Whether Robyn knew it or not, he was hers for the rest of his life. He squeezed out the washcloth and grabbed a clean towel. She would just have to get used to it.
Robyn woke up with a pounding headache and closed her eyes again. Spooned against her back, Dakota snored away, one hand tucked between her legs, the other cupped her breasts. After his initial outburst, he’d been incredibly gentle with her last night. Cleaning out her cuts, bringing her ice and pain pills and generally coddling her like a baby.
Despite his care, she knew him well enough to understand that Damien was in big trouble. She worried her lower lip. What would happen if Damien spilt all her secrets to Dakota? Would he hate her enough to walk away or would his sense of chivalry force him to hang around a woman he could only despise?
Something else nagged at her conscious mind, something about last night she’d almost forgotten. She tried to picture Damien’s face, the avid interest of the woman he’d been with . . .
‘How are you feeling, honey?’ Dakota kissed her shoulder, his voice hoarse and rough with sleep, his body tucked intimately against hers.
‘I have a headache.’
‘I bet you do.’ He nuzzled at her neck. ‘Stay there. I’ll get you some more painkillers and see if our breakfast has arrived.’
God, he was so nice. Unaccustomed tears rose in her throat and she turned to bury her face against his muscular chest. How many more nights would she get to share with him before she had to give in and let Damien find her work to pay her bills?
‘Are you OK, Robyn? Hell, honey, don’t cry.’
She pressed against him, ignoring the aches and pains in her body and her pounding headache, intent on his scent and the strength surrounding her. At least she knew there were good men left in the world, even if she wasn’t quite ready to take one on.
His arms closed around her and he rocked her, crooning nonsense into her ear until she relaxed against him and simply enjoyed being held and being wanted. She might have to walk away from him but she’d never forget how he felt or tasted.
She slid her hand down between their bodies and wrapped her fingers around his thick shaft. He groaned against her neck.
‘Careful, honey, it’s morning and I’m primed and ready to blow.’
Ignoring the protest in her muscles, she shifted down over him until her mouth hovered over the crown of his cock. She used her tongue to delicately lick at the pre-come emerging from the tip.
‘God, Robyn, that’s fucking nice.’
She lowered her head and took his cock into her mouth, sucking him hard and deep, loving the sensation of him filling her mouth. His hips jerked upward as she took him deeper, the crown of his cock so far down her throat that she didn’t even taste his come as he climaxed with a groan. His hand slid into her hair.
‘Ouch!’ She winced as his fingers brushed the bruise behind her ear.
‘Damn, I’m sorry. I forgot about your head.’
He rotated her around until she faced him again, his expression full of concern.
She tried to smile. ‘It’s OK. I’m fine.’
‘What the hell are you doing giving me a blow job when you obviously feel like crap?’
She stared into his eyes. ‘I don’t feel like crap and I wanted to give you a blow job. Are you really complaining?’
He started to smile. ‘Not really. I’m just trying to justify taking advantage of an invalid.’ He touched her arm. ‘Are you sure you feel OK? You don’t have to go in today if you don’t want to.’
She kissed his cheek. ‘I’ll be fine once I take a couple of painkillers. Staying in bed would be the worst thing I could do, I’d just get all stiff.’
Dakota glanced down at his cock. ‘I like stiff.’
‘You might, but right now I need a hot shower.’
‘Race you there.’
She glared at his perfect muscled ass as he jumped out of bed and ran into the bathroom.
‘Some people are so competitive.’
His voice carried back to her over the roar of the shower. ‘Some people are just bad losers.’
She had to laugh as she followed him into the steam-filled bathroom. Despite her worries, it was hard to be miserable around Dakota. He just made her react to him all the time. Her smile died as she opened the shower door. She’d only known him for a few days. How on earth was she going to move on without him? It frightened her to even think about him like that, as if they could have a future together, as if she might be in love with him . . .
She’d never been in love before, had no idea how to handle it. What did she know about love? Only that it hurt.
‘Are you OK, honey?’
Dakota touched her shoulder and she managed to smile.
‘I’m fine.’
But she wasn’t and now she wondered if she ever would be again.
Chapter Seventeen
Dakota grimaced at the guitar in his hands. He was supposed to be strumming it while a couple of his ‘friends’ danced around the fire, all wearing Jay’s boots of course. He couldn’t play the frickin’ guitar, so how was he supposed to look relaxed and natural?
He glanced around the set, located Robyn talking to Joe the director in the corner and beckoned to them. They both turned and came over. Robyn pretended to bow.
‘You called, master?’
‘I can’t do this, I feel like a complete asshole.’
‘You’ve said that about every take so far, Dakota,’ Robyn said firmly. ‘You can do it if you try.’ She eased the guitar out of his grasp. ‘I’ll teach you a few chords if you like.’
He grinned at her. ‘Of course, you sing like a bird, don’t you? You were always singing on your show.’
‘What show?’ Joe turned to stare at Robyn, his gaze suddenly sharp. ‘What were you in?’
Robyn’s smile was tight. ‘Nothing you’ve heard of, just small-town stuff. Dakota’s trying to be funny and failing as usual.’
‘Yeah, that’s it and I’m just
so
not funny.’ Behind Joe’s back, Dakota grimaced an apology to Robyn but she wouldn’t even look at him. How the hell was he going to get out of this one? He cleared his throat. ‘Teach me a couple of easy chords then, so I won’t look so dumb.’
so
not funny.’ Behind Joe’s back, Dakota grimaced an apology to Robyn but she wouldn’t even look at him. How the hell was he going to get out of this one? He cleared his throat. ‘Teach me a couple of easy chords then, so I won’t look so dumb.’
Joe walked away and Robyn muttered something under her breath.
Dakota cleared his throat. ‘Sorry, honey, I forgot.’
‘Yeah, I noticed.’ She handed him back the guitar and stood behind him, her fingers over his. ‘Put this hand on the frets and the other over the strings. I’ll show you two chord changes so you can at least look like you’re playing.’
He waited while she positioned his fingers and tried to memorize the order. Then she moved his hand again and resettled his fingers into a new configuration. After repeating the pattern several times, he realized he’d got it. The noise that came out when he strummed the guitar wasn’t great but he didn’t care. At least he looked like he knew something.
‘Thanks, that really helped.’
‘You’re welcome.’ Her smile was polite but not too friendly.
‘Are you still mad at me?’
‘When am I ever not?’
He fought a smile. ‘True, but I don’t think you need to worry. Joe doesn’t know who you are. He’s way too small a fish to swim in the circles you used to frequent, isn’t he?’
She shrugged. ‘Hollywood is an incestuous place, Dakota. People are either on their way up or on their way down. And trust me, they are far more dangerous on the ride down.’
‘I hear you.’ Dakota glanced around the set. ‘I’m glad I don’t have to do this as a job. It sucks big time.’
‘I’m glad I don’t have to do it either.’ She laughed. ‘I can’t believe I’m saying that, but coming back to this artificial madness has made me realize I don’t want it anymore.’
Surprised, Dakota met Robyn’s gaze. ‘I would’ve thought you’d want it all back. It must be hard to live without all that adulation and money.’
‘At first I thought it would kill me, but I realized there are far better ways to live your life.’ Her smile was crooked. ‘I yearn for the day when no one on this planet connects me in any way with my TV career.’
Hope rose in his gut as he studied her face. Maybe he didn’t need to watch her walk away from him after all. ‘What are you going to do instead?’
She looked down at her feet, scuffed the toe of her sandal into the ground. ‘I thought I might go back to college.’ She raised her head to glare at him. ‘Don’t you dare say anything.’
Dakota pressed his lips together as firmly as he could and shook his head. He was so proud of her he wanted to pick her up and swing her around until they both got too dizzy to stand.
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