Beyond Famous (Famous #3) Read online

  "Make love to me, Brook," he whispered against my lips before he claimed my mouth in a deep, soul wrenching kiss, our mouths moving together in perfect union. It was so beautiful, too perfect.

  Without breaking the kiss, he bent, placing one arm beneath my knees, the other around my back, he lifted me as if I weighed nothing and carried me to the bed.

  He laid me down without taking down the covers and stepped back to remove his pants and boxer briefs.

  "Damn it," he said when he struggled to kick his shoes off at the same time as he kicked away the pile of material at his feet.

  I laughed softly, as he came back and moved over me. He spread my legs wide with his as he settled into the cradle of my body, my arms coming around his shoulders to pull him closer and I arched up toward him. I felt his hard cock, soft and urgently pressing against my thigh. It did amazing things to my insides; I was full of want and I needed him inside me.

  I put my lips to his ear and tugged the lobe between my teeth, pulling away until it popped from my lips. Cade gasped as I whispered against the curve of his jaw, "Cade, don't play, don't be gentle. Just fuck me. I'm ready, and I want you."

  His eyes met mine as one hand moved to guide the head of his dick to my opening, feeling the wetness waiting for him there, he rubbed it up and down my core, teasing my clit until I gasped and begged for him to enter me.

  "Cade, please... please." I pulled his mouth to mine as I felt him fill me to the hilt.

  "Jesus, Brook. Oh God, you feel so good," he moaned as he started to move within me. Hard and fast; we matched each other's rhythm and he moved his hips in circles so that his pelvic bone ground onto my clit. It felt so incredible.

  We were breathing hard and moaning each other's names over and over again. My heart thumped in my chest as he continued to kiss me as hard and fast as his body was pounding into mine.

  "Yes, babe," I panted against his mouth as I felt my body start to clench around him, the sensations exploding within me and leaving my hips surging hard against his as I urged him to let go. "Cade, come on...”

  The muscles of his back and ass were flexing under my hands as he continued to thrust into me, until finally, he tensed against me. "God, Brook. I love you," he moaned softly into my neck as he came hard inside me.

  I kissed his sweat-dampened shoulder and then his temple as he jerked against me. "Oh, babe. I missed you so much, Cade."

  The minute I said the words, I felt my eyes sting and my throat ache as once again the reality of our situation came back into focus. "I'm... going to miss you...” I began.

  His face turned toward mine and he kissed me again. "Shh... Shhh, my love. I still have five days with you and every second is going to be glorious, I promise." His blue eyes were liquid as they burned into mine. "There will be plenty of time to cry later. Just love me right now. We're together, so let's concentrate on making memories and not dwell on the summer, okay?"

  I blinked back the tears and nodded.

  "That's my girl."

  "Always," I whispered as his mouth found mine again.

  OVER THE NEXT DAYS, we didn't talk about the coming separation. We went sightseeing with Jennifer, Dawson, and Martin, and then lounged around at local restaurants for dinner and nightlife before heading back to the villa.

  The nights we spent alone together, talking, playing music and making love over and over again. We were soaking as much of each other up as we could.

  I'd never got enough of Brook. I wanted to memorize every line of her body, how she tasted, her scent, the sound of my name on her lips, how her hair felt on my skin as we loved each other... everything.

  I told her we should try to make these last days as joyous as possible and we were happy, but the cloud that hung over us was ever present. Just because we didn't talk about it didn't make it go away, and the pain I saw in her beautiful blue eyes at times when I caught her watching me, made my heart literally stop beating.

  The last two days we were in Italy would be spent at the festival, making appearances and giving interviews. Like magic, Denise and Jeanne showed up to herd us around like cattle and make sure all of our ducks were in a row.

  Brook and Jennifer, along with Dawson and I, rented two Ferrari F12berlinettas to drive around when we managed to get away. We tore over the streets and country roads between Venice and the villa. The cars were sweet. We had a black one, and Dawson was driving an atrocious yellow one. I didn’t understand why anyone would ruin a car like this by painting it such a hideous color.

  When I told Brook I liked it; she snorted playfully. "And I thought you were too talented and deep to care about material shit."

  The next day our sightseeing plans were put on hold because Martin got a call from the second director on the film and there was a problem; editing lost an entire segment of one of our most important love scenes. To keep the film on schedule, it would mean a reshoot in a short amount of time and by some miracle, Martin managed to arrange a sound stage with an Italian production company and have a part of the bedroom set reconstructed. It wasn’t perfect, but the scene was dark and the camera operators were told to avoid shots that showed room proportions too well. Martin would have to keep the shots tight, very close to our bodies and faces. Instead of being annoyed I was happy to have another day of shooting with Brook, and one that kept us close and intimate, though I would have preferred a different scene being lost because we nailed it the first time.

  Brook was basically bare above the waist beneath a man’s white button-down, except for flesh-colored panties. I was dressed in sweats and a T-Shirt, but she’d strip those off of me during the take.

  She giggled and rolled her eyes as they started working on her makeup while I grabbed a water bottle and downed the contents. I watched them work on her, brushing her hair and dusting her face with powder. She sneezed as one of the brushes tickled her nose. My heart skipped a beat at how beautiful she was.

  When she was finished, Martin called us over to go over the scene.

  "Okay, guys, so first we're going to get the whole piano scene. We'll be filming from a lot of angles and we're starting from where you come out of the bathroom while Cade is playing the piano, just like in the previous takes, okay? Let's roll."

  "Cade, we only have three days left until you leave. That's what I'm working off of in this scene," she whispered to me as she gently touched my stomach. My eyes met hers and I saw the pain there and I felt my heart squeeze. She was so smart. She knew that if we let ourselves feel the loss and desperation that we would face, we'd smoke this shot; maybe even better than the first time.

  I swallowed hard as the feelings rushed over me. "Okay. I'm with you."

  Her chin jutted out and she bit her lip as she moved to her mark offset and waited for Martin to cue the sound. I took my place at the piano and ran my fingers over the keys.

  Martin held his hand in the air and spoke into his headset. He dropped his hand, and motioned for the cameras to roll. "Get ready. Action!" he said.

  Brook came to sit next to me, her creamy thighs straddling the piano bench so she could face me, the tails of the shirt pooling between them. I let myself forget about Martin and the camera crew, and just melt into the scene; letting the love between us show. The love between these characters echoed our own, and I was so thankful they’d brought Brook into my life.

  I played the song and she leaned against me, resting her head on my shoulder, her hand ghosting down my back and making goosebumps cover my skin and then said my lines.

  "Do you remember anything about that song? Other than the lyrics?" I asked in a husky whisper, my lips still up against the top of her head. She smelled so enticing and my body stirred anew, but her nearness was something I had to have; as Ryan; as myself.

  "Yes. I gave you that sheet music, right?" Her words were low and sensual and my body began to react for real.

  "Uh huh. We've done this before. I play, you sing." I brought my arm up and around her, pulling her closer. "Are you okay?
"

  "No," she began. "I don't think I am." Her voice was weak and shaking. I wasn't sure if it was from sadness or desire.

  "Julia, what can I do to make this easier?"

  She shrugged but didn't raise her head and her hand reached out to slide down my thigh to the inside of my knee.

  "Tonight, dancing...it felt so right to be in your arms, Cade. I want more."

  With the speed of light, my arms swept around her and I pulled her onto my lap as my mouth slammed into hers. We kissed as if we were starving, both of us holding each other's heads as we kissed over and over again.

  This was Brook, the love of my life, and I needed her, needed to convince her that I loved her and always would. The people around us vanished, the cameras all gone, as we lost ourselves in each other.

  "Cut!" Martin said after a time, but we continued to kiss. "Uh... cut!!!" he admonished as he came and touched me on the shoulder.

  I pulled my mouth from Brook's and we locked eyes. I let out my breath as she pulled her arms from around me and slid off my lap, running a hand through her hair.

  "Uh, that was really great guys, but Brook, you called Cade's name, not Ryan's," Martin said with a smile and rubbed his chin. "And... the kisses can't have tongue, guys." He winked at Cade.

  "No, I didn't," Brook said with an embarrassed laugh. "We... uh...”

  "Yes you did, honey, but that's okay. I can edit the other takes.”

  I threw up my hands and grinned at Martin. “What? She likes it when I tongue her. I thought you wanted it to be realistic.” I laughed softly, amused when Brook gasped.

  Martin shook his head. “Keep it in your pants, Cade. Let's do it again. Places."

  I started to run my hand through my hair but stopped when I came in contact with the stiff hair gel they'd used to plaster it in place. I felt my skin flush as I looked at Brook. She was trying hard not to smile as she rubbed the back of her neck and made her way back to her original mark for the next take.

  Later that evening, Brook was in a bathtub full of bubbles lost in thought, when I knocked on the doorframe. She'd left the door open so she could hear the music playing from the bedroom. Our room in the villa was smaller than we were used to, but very nice and painted in soft tones of sandy yellow.

  She didn't hear me come in and I watched her for a moment before I sat down beside the tub and took her hand in mine. She glanced at me and her eyes focused on me while I brought her fingers to my lips.

  "Are you okay?"

  My hand was still holding hers and she pulled it up to her mouth, kissed the top of it then laid her velvet cheek against it.

  "Yeah," she said softly, her eyes soft as she looked at me, before she closed them.

  "You seem so lost in thought. What are you thinking about?" I was almost afraid to ask, but I really needed to know.

  "Nothing really.” Brook shrugged slightly. “And everything, I guess."

  My eyes ran over her features and her blonde hair piled on top of her head. Wet tendrils had escaped and were sticking to the side of her face and neck. I reached out to brush them back and then traced the line of her chin with my fingers.

  "I'm sorry I called your name today. I feel so stupid."

  "Don't be, love. I bloody loved it. It was brilliant." The corners of my mouth lifted in a slight smile as I watched her eyes open again. They were clear and bright and I wanted to drown in the blue depths. “It was us, and it’s very difficult not to let that show now.”

  You're so beautiful, I thought.

  “It is.”

  “I'll turn down the bed and then I'll come back in and get you when you're ready, babe. Okay?"

  "Okay," she sighed and leaned her head back on the tub as she sank further down into the water. My chest tightened and my eyes began to sting as I walked back into the bedroom.

  Jesus Christ! Just pull it together, Cade. You can fall apart in New York.

  I turned down the bed, lowered the volume on the music and lit one small votive candle before turning off the lights. I went to the ice bucket and wrapped several ice cubes in a towel and set them on the bedside stand, and then stripped off my shirt and jeans, leaving only my boxer briefs on.

  I was tired, the jet lag and the shooting schedule had exhausted me and I knew Brook was wiped too. I grabbed a couple of beers from the small refrigerator near the loo, set them on the bedside table and then went to help Brook from the tub.

  Her eyes were closed and her breathing was deep and even. She had fallen asleep.

  "Brook, my love, wake up. I have to get a towel around you then you can go back to sleep," I said as I kissed her forehead and slid my arms around and under her to lift her from the tub.

  "Why are you so good to me?" she said sleepily, her lids still closed as her head fell onto my shoulder. I carried her into the other room and laid her on the bed and proceeded to dry her off as she lay back on the pillows.

  "Because I love you more than life," I said simply. It was the truth.

  "No... don't dry me off. It feels good to go to bed all wet."

  "What?" I was astonished at the notion.

  "Pull the covers up to my neck. The evaporation relaxes me and it steams up under the blankets. It feels nice. You should try it." I sat down on the side of the bed and leaned in to kiss her softly on the mouth.

  "I would have rather looked at your sexy body, but uh, your wish is my command."

  She lifted her drowsy eyelids and smiled. "Will you try it with me sometime?"

  "Hmmph." I shook my head in disbelief. "Sure, love, of course."

  She rolled onto her side and closed her eyes again. "You'll like it, I promise," she sighed as she drifted back to sleep. I lifted the covers and propped her ankle up on a pillow before holding the ice on it for a while. When it started to melt, Brook shivered and I took it off and threw it in the sink before stripping off my underwear and sliding into bed beside her.

  My arm snaked around her body as the heat coming off of her radiated toward me. I pulled her close against me and spooned her body with mine, before kissing her shoulder and neck and letting sleep overtake me.

  "Cade?" Somewhere in my sleep-drugged brain, I heard Brook call my name. "Cade!"

  The candle was almost out but still casting flickering shadows throughout the room. I rubbed my eyes and looked at the clock. 3:12 AM.

  Brook stirred beside me, but seemed to be fast asleep. I untangled my arm from under her head and sat up, grabbing the now warm beer from the nightstand and taking a long pull from it.

  I stood up and went to use the bathroom and when I was finished, I heard Brook tossing in the bed. "Cade! Where are you?"

  "Shh... Brook," I murmured softly as I crawled back under the covers. "I'm right here beside you."

  Her hand reached out toward me and mine closed over it so I could pull her closer, but she gasped and then her eyes opened suddenly.

  "Cade?"

  "I'm right here, Brook. Did you have a bad dream?"

  She turned toward me and reached out to touch my face. "Just that you were gone and I couldn't find you... that's all I remember."

  I propped myself up on one elbow and looked down into her face. Her eyes were searching mine and her hand came out to trace patterns on my chest.

  "I'll be back in a minute," she said tightly. She kissed my mouth lightly and turned from me to get out of the bed and pad into the bathroom. She closed the door almost all the way but didn't turn the light on. I could tell by the look that she'd had on her face that she was hurting.

  I rolled onto my back and sighed, covering my face with my hands and then rubbing the stubble on my chin as I waited for her to come back.

  "Brook? Are you okay?" I asked after a couple of minutes.

  When she didn't answer, I pushed the covers back and moved toward the door of the bathroom and leaned in so I could hear beyond the door. I could hear her crying softly and I pushed the door open with my fingertips. The candle from the other room filled the bathroom with soft lig
ht and I saw her naked body, leaning over the counter, braced by both of her arms and her head dropped.

  I walked up behind her and put my hands on her shoulders. She straightened; leaning into me. I slid my arms around the front of her body as I turned my face into the curve of her neck and started placing kisses on her neck and shoulders.

  "I'm sor... sorry, Cade," she whispered brokenly as her arms covered mine around the front of her body. "I'm trying so hard not to be sad...”

  "Shhh... I know, my love. We’ll be okay."

  I let my hands roam over her as I watched her in the mirror. She was so perfect, the candle light casting soft shadows over the swells and curves of her body, and I wanted to memorize how she looked and how she felt underneath my hands. Her head fell back against my shoulder, her mouth fell open and she gasped as one of my hands slid below her waist, and the other up to cup a breast and to ghost over a nipple; echoing the scene we’d shot that day.

  "I'm going to miss you so much, Cade... oh God. Make love to me."

  My dick had already hardened against her, and I couldn't resist pressing into her. I groaned against her shoulder. The emotional and physical bond between us was overwhelming.

  "Brook...” Her hands reached behind her to move between our bodies and close around my erection. It felt amazing to have her hands on me, moving up and down, pulling, squeezing, driving me insane. My breath left my chest in a rush.

  My hand parted the flesh between her legs seeking and finding the little bundle of nerves, I began to rub soft, gentle circles until she was gasping. My mouth moved up the side of her face, from her chin to her temple and I could taste the salt of her tears.

  My heart was breaking, even as she set my body on fire.

  The hand teasing her breast moved around to her back and up to her shoulder as she leaned forward, silently asking me to take her. I pulled my hand down her back and she shivered. I continued to stimulate her clit with one hand while the other held her hip to steady her as I pressed into her. She was so wet, and I entered her easily.