Shatter (11 page)

Alec

Five days later and we were still in what Demetri refer
r
ed to as H
ell
W
eek
,
a
.
k
.
a
.
Teambuilding
W
eek.

How was it teambuilding if we did nothing but fight?

Wonder of all wonders, my black eye made the five o’clock news
,
as well as my little toss with Nat in the sand, which had me looking like a player.
Great. That’s just what I needed bef
ore Angelica went to the press.

I
knew what I needed to do
. I just didn’t know how to go a
bout it without hurting people.

If I lied, I hurt Nat. If I told the truth I hurt Demetri and Nat. If I denied everything
then I was lying to myself
—
but the sick part
wa
s I still d
id
n’t know everything that went down
last year
.

I shook my head and sighed, a
t least
now
it was Friday night
,
and we were having a barbeque. I was in charge of cooking
,
because last time Demetri let Bob
,
our security guard
,
cook something
,
he nearly burnt the house down.

Demetri and Alyssa were inside making salad while I tossed burgers
. I was still irritated that I had to wear the stupid apron Nat had made for me.

It said
,
“Kiss me, I’m Alec Daniels.”

I looked down and sighed. That’s just what I needed. A kiss? Sex? Maybe a massage?
Speaking of all of the above, where the hell had Nat gone?

The smell of roses floated through the air. Breathing became strained as I clenched
the cool metal flipper
in my hand. I knew that smell.

“What is that?” I asked stepping
unsteadily into the hotel room.

“My own scent
,
”
s
he announced proudly
,
lifting her wrist to my nose
. “
I’m signing a deal with a cosmetics company and we’re picking out perfumes.”

“It smells like roses.”

“But not old person roses right?” She winked
. “
I want people to buy it
,
not spray it on their grandmas.”

I snorted in disgust
. “
Please, you look nothing like a grandma.”

“You’re only
fifteen
years younger than me, Alec Daniels. How dare you even accuse me of such a thing
?
”

“Once a cougar, always a cougar.” I laughed and then tripped
,
falling onto her bed. Just how much had I
had to drink
?

“Champagne?”
s
he asked.

“Sure.” I held out my hand as my vision suddenly blurred. “What the hell is wrong
with me?”

“What?”

“Oh.” I shook my head
. “
I hadn’t meant to say that out loud.”

“Hmm.” She handed me a glass and clinked hers against it. “So tell me, pop
star, what has you so blue?”

“Life.” I drank the sparkly dry liquid and swore.

“Me too, champ
,
me too. Divorce.” She sighed
. “
We’re sure a pair aren’t we?”

“Pair?” I repeated suddenly feeling really hot. I took off my shirt without thinking
and then apologized
. “
Sorry. I’m just really hot all of a sudden.”

“Me too.” She fanned herself
. “
Want me to open a window or something?”

“Yeah.” I sighed
. “
That would be nice.”

Soon a cool breeze floated into the room. Rose perfume permeated every pore of my
body, soon it felt like I was the one floating. I opened my eyes to see her
straddling
me.

“I don’t feel like myself
,
”
s
he admitted.

“Why
t
he champagne?” I asked
,
suddenly
realizing how beautiful she really
was
. Blonde hair just like Nat and deep brown ey
es. My body hummed in response.

“Ex-husband.
He sent it over a few minutes ago.
” She lifted her glass into the air. “Cheers
,
and here are the divorce papers. It’s why we’re in separate rooms.”

“Clearly.” My hands moved without thinking
.
I rubbed up and down her arms and then leaned in and kissed her neck.

She moaned low in her throat as the champagne fell from her hand onto the g
round.

I kissed her neck, tra
i
ling my tongue down her pulse
.
T
he
rose perfume invaded my senses.

“Hello, Alec.”

Reality sucked. I turned slowly and came face to face with her. The one person I h
ad no desire to see ever again.

“April.”

“You look good.” She tilted her head to the side and took me in, her eyes scanning
from my feet all the way up to my face. “It’s been a while.”

“Wouldn’t have been if you would actually pick up your damn phone
,
” I said through clenched teeth.
I’d been trying to get a
hold of her ever since she hung up on me last week.

“I’ve been busy
this week with
the kids.”

I began to sweat as she neared me. Her perfume made me absolutely sick. It reminded
me of that night, of the lies, of the
betrayal
, of everything really.

Every
thing but what really happened.

Yes. I’d made
the choice to walk into a room.

I even kissed a
still
-
married woman.
Or at least in my mind she was
,
since she
still
had the final papers to sign.

But none of it even compared to the fact that I had no idea what the hell happened
o
ver the course of twelve hours.

Or that
she was
…
shit
,
I couldn’t even say it.

“Guys!” Jaymeson rounded the corner into the
back yard and threw me a beer.

“Mum! Looking good.” Jaymeson pulled April into his embrace and kissed her on the
forehead. “Do you know Alec?”

She seemed to struggle with her response before shaking her head
. “
I think I met him at one of your father
’
s premieres last year, but it’s so hard to keep those things straight.”

“Right.” Jaymeson took a swig of beer and smiled.

He smiled as if I
ha
dn’t just descend
ed
into the
S
eventh
C
ircle of
H
ell.

He smiled like he didn’t know that the last person to spen
d the night with his mom naked
…

Had been me.

Demetri

“Salad
’s
made!” I announced as I chomped down on a carrot and moaned. I was so hungry I could
eat an entire flock of sheep
,
wool and all.

Alyssa came back into the kitchen and nodded approvingly. “Well done. Maybe next time
I’ll let you actually
do more than cut
the vegetables.”

“Score
,
” I said dryly. “Where’d Nat go?”

Alyssa shrugged
. “
She went outside to see what was taking Alec so long with the burgers.”

The camera crew was taping us, but I didn’t care. I pulled Alyssa in for a much needed
kiss. Pressing her against the counter, I lifted her up and moaned as she wrapped
her legs tightly around me, pulling me firmly agai
nst her.

“This apron’s kinda hot
,
”
s
he
murmured
against my lips.

“I’m hotter out of it.” My hands dove into her thick dark hair. Groaning, I slipped
my tongue
into her mouth and tasted her.

“Excuse me
—
oh
,
sorry
,
um
…
”
a
voice said from behind us.

We jerked apart.

“Don’t let me interrupt you. I was just looking for the bathroom.” The
woman must have been in her mid
-
thirties and was really striking. She had long
blonde hair and an easy smile.

“Just down the hall and to the left
,
” Alyssa answered while I was still inspecting the woman. I don’t know why, but there
was something about her that seemed
…
off
. Call me crazy, but I wasn’t sure I wanted any more new crew members on the show
,
and
she looked like a gold digger.

“Thanks.” The woman smiled and held out her hand
. “
I’m April, Jaymeson
’
s step-mom.”

“Ah
hh
,
” Lyss and I said in unison.

April laughed.
“He said I should stop by for a little vacation
.
”

“Right.” I snapped my mouth shut
,
so I didn’t look like an idiot
. “
I remember him saying something about that. I think you’re staying at our beach house,
right?”

“That’s right.” She stuffed her hands into her jean pockets and swayed on her feet
a bit
. “
Jaymeson said it would be okay if I stopped by to grab the keys and say hi.”

“It’s fine. I’
ll just go find Alec and snag the keys from him.”

“Alec
,
” April repeated
, her eyes slowly taking me in
. “
He’s your brother?”

“Yup. I like to think he’s the
lucky bastard
to have me as his other half.”

“He is
.” She winked and
smiled sadly at the ground
.
I immediately felt Alyssa tense next to me.

As if April just remembered that Alyssa and I had been acting all kinds of
inappropriate
just a few minutes ago
,
she blushed and chuckled
. “
You two carry on
.
I’ll just
…
”
H
er words trailed off as she walked down the hall.

“I don’t
know if I
like her
,
” Alyssa whispered once April was out of ear-shot.

I helped her off the counter and sighed
. “
You have no reason not to like her.”

Alyssa’s eyes narrowed
. “
She was eyeing you like…
I don’t know
.
L
ike she wanted to strip you naked and lick you.”

“That could be arranged if y
o
u feel so inclined.” I grinned.

Alyssa swatted me in the stomach
. “
Shut up. I’m serious!”

“Babe
.”
I wrapped my arms around her and kissed her forehead
. “
It’s fine, okay? Besides, she use
d
to be married to one of the biggest producers in Hollywood. I’m sure she’s just used
to the attention
,
okay?
Besides, she’s Jaymeson
’
s step-mom
.
I
f anything
,
she was just putting two and two together
,
ok
ay
?
”

“Fine.” Alyssa sucked in her lower lip and grabbed my hand
. “
But if she makes a move for you
,
it won
’
t be just Nat throwing punches.”

“Deal.” I chuckled as we approached Jaymeson and Alec.
Whoa. The brooding was officially back. Crap. Now Alec looked like
he was ready to murder someone.

“How’s it goin
g
?” I directed the question at Jaymeson while anger wash
ed
over Alec’s face until I was pretty sure that he was going to start
chucking burgers into the air.

“Great.” Jaymeson elbowed Alec
. “
Anyway, where was I? Oh right, so my father is a maniac. He’s refusing to pay child
and spousal support
,
and I mean, he’s the guy
who
cheated in the first place! And then had the nerve to ask for a divorce.” He shook
his head
. “
At any rate
,
I think the stress is really getting to my m
o
m, so thanks for letting her stay at your place.”

“Anytime.” Alec handed me the metal hamburger flipper and stalked off mumbli
ng something about finding Nat.

“He alright?” Jaymeson squinted at Alec’s disappearing form. “I hope the story of
my parents didn’t upset him.”

“Nah, he’s just…” I shrugged
. “
H
ormonal.”

Alyssa took the hamburger flipper from my hands and ordered me to move. Apparently
I hadn’t graduated t
o cooking live food yet either.

“Where’s your girl?” I begrudgingly shoved my hands in my pockets and watched
my girlfriend cook up a storm.

“How should I
know?” Jaymeson snorted.
“I can’t even lie. I’m trying
,
man, really tryi
ng to be nice to her
,
but she’s—”

“
I
nsane
,
” Alyssa grumbled. Clearly she was still upset over the whole I
-
slept
-
with
-
the
-
devil thing.

“There
’
s that.” Jaymeson nodded.
“But she’s always on her damn phone. On top of that
,
it
’
s like she
’
s plotting something. I don’t know
.
M
aybe I’m paranoid. But I don’t trust her.”

“World domination.” Alyssa piped up
. “
She’s going to take over the world.”

“One text at a time
,
” I agreed.

“Jaymeson!”

“Speak of the devil.” I grinned and slapped Jaymeson on the back
. “
I think Angelica needs you.”

Angelica rounded the corner in platform heels, a mini skirt, and a midriff shirt that
real
ly shouldn’t be called a shirt.

It was smaller than a scarf and strategically wrapped around her body in such a way
that I wasn’t sure if I should gape or avert my eyes. Alyssa made the decision for
me when she pulled my head to hers and kissed me firmly across the mouth.

Hmm. I could get used to such
distractions
.

“Lose your clothes again, Angelica?” Jaymeson asked from behind me.

“Ha ha, you’re hilarious. And no. I was just hot
,
so I decided to put someth
ing on that would cool me off.”

The camera crew filtered into the backyard, as they always did when Angelica decided
to put on a strip tease. She fanned her face with her hand and stretched. Seriously,
they were going to have to cen
sor every scene with that girl.

“Angelica
.”
Ruben
cleared his throat
. “
You said we needed to have a chat?”

“Off camera
,
”
s
he demanded.

I rolled my eyes.

“Fine.” He directed her
toward
the corner of the yard.

“Hey
,
Ruben
.”
Jaymeson sneered
. “
If I promise to take off all my clothes can I have a few minutes without cameras too?”

Ruben
ignored him and followed Angelica to the fence, leaning against it as she talked in
hushed tones.

“Plotting.” My eyes narrowed
.
“I would sell Jaymeson to learn what that gi
rl was saying right about now.”

“Thanks man.”

“Anytime.” I slapped him on the back and kissed Alyssa’s cheek
. “
Can we eat now?”

She flipped all the burgers over and checked them. “They look fine, why don’t you
go find Alec and Nat so we can eat?”

“I’ll do it!” Jaymeson offered
,
running off
toward
the garage.

I shrugged and looked back to
Ruben
and Angelica, she was showing him something on her phone and he looked like he was
about two minutes away fro
m shitting his pants.

“He looks way too happy to be talking to her
right now.” Alyssa pointed out.

“Right? I was thinking the same thing.”

Ruben
clapped his hands together and then hugged Ange
lica like a long lost daughter.

Alyssa dropped the hamburger flipper in the grass and cursed. “You’ve got to be kidding
me! He hates her just as much as we do!”

“Cameras.” I coughed as the cameraman
zoomed
in on Alyssa. Her little nostrils
flared
just slightly
before she grabbed my
body and pulled me against her.

“It’s hard f
or them to hear when we whisper.
” She nipped my ear and then licked my neck
.
“Can we get closer to the action
,
you think?”

“Action?” I repeated, my body strumming with
heat as her hand dipped under
neath my shirt.

Alyssa lightly slapped me across the face
with her free hand
. “
Focus, Demetri! We’re going to find out what’s going on.”

“Right.
Focusing.” I exhaled
through
tightly
clenched teeth as her smooth hands caressed my abs and wrapped around my back as she
walked me backward
toward
the corner of the yard where
Ruben
and Angelica were standing. “Damn, that feels good.”

“Demetri
.”
Alyssa moaned and then pinched me in the side
. “
This isn’t for you
.
T
his is so we c
an find out what the devil
’
s planning.

Yeah, I’m not gonna lie. I caught like one word from that last sentence
.
I
t was like I blacked out as her nails scratched my back and her lips found my ear.
Right. I’m going to be absolutely no help for this little spying mission if she keeps
playing a
round like that.

“Just a little f
a
rther
,
” Alyssa whispered in my ear.

I was officially embarrassed as I started counting backward from one hundred to keep
myself from taking off my clothes and ravishing her against the picket fence. A little
f
a
rther? Did the woman have no concern for my mental health? I was going to die. Well,
at least I
’d die with a smile on my face.