Chapter Three

Mina

He doesn't recognize me.

My hand finds my chest and I move it in soothing motions trying to rub off the ache, but it stays. I thought Alex Adams couldn't hurt me anymore, but I was wrong. This man is capable of breaking me to pieces if I let him.

I mean, sure the last time he saw me I was in pigtails and braces, but I don't think I've undergone any major transformations through the years. I'm still the girl who used to stand in front of a crowd of less than twenty people and yell out his name. Heck, my own brother who was also his best friend, was in the same band with Alex, but I never once yelled out his name in any of their concerts. Jared was a decent guitarist, but he was no Alex.

No one comes close to the perfection that is Alex Adams.

Alex was the name on my lips. The name in my heart and it seems little has changed in the years since I last saw him. Well, for me at least. The man doesn't even recognize me.

"Miss Hendricks, I need you to change into this," the blue haired stylist with a measuring tape slung over her shoulder says, passing me a red lingerie with way too many strings. I stare at the two-piece set in alarm, afraid to touch it. "T-this is what you want me to change into?"

She chuckles warmly. "Don't worry, you will have a shirt on."

"But the guy inside said I need to strip for the camera?"

"Yes, but you only need to loosen a few buttons and show a little shoulder and cleavage, and expose a little thigh." She studies me for a while before adding. "Most actresses I have worked with never have reservations about showing skin, you don't have to do this if you don't want to. I'm sure the team will understand if you tell them you don't want–"

"No!" I cry out, grabbing the set from her, my voice almost desperate. "I'll do it. I don't mind. I've just never stripped in front of a celebrity before, is all." Or anyone ever.

The smile is back and she pats my shoulder. "Alex is a nice guy, trust me. I have worked with enough perverts in this city to tell and Alex is one of the good ones. He won't do anything inappropriate or make you uncomfortable."

Oh, I know Alex better than anyone thinks – better than the man himself knows – but I don't bring that up. I walk behind a curtain to change into the new lingerie, feeling a little self-conscious when I step out, but she hands me a knee-length white shirt to cover up.

The walk to the set is short and with every step, I feel my pulse drumming faster against my skin. Someone opens the door for me and my eyes immediately zoom in on the massive king-sized bed in the center of the room, decorated with pillows and fitted with a white sheet. There are dozens of pieces of equipment positioned around the bed – on the spot where Alex and I are going to be lying.

Shit, not even an hour into seeing my childhood crush again, and now we're going to be in bed together.

"Nervous?" rasps a deep, sultry voice into my ear, sending a storm of goosebumps across my body, I jump back and into a solid chest. Warm hands clasp my shoulders to steady me, and it takes sheer strength to not lean back into the man and nuzzle his neck the same way I have imagined myself doing so many times. Christ, he smells so good too, like a mix of freshly cut grass and a hint of musk cologne. The crisp and earthy scent makes me want to bottle his scent and spray it around my apartment so I can always feel him.

With him pressed so close to me, I can feel how hard his heart thumps in his chest and it's doing things to me. As is his massive frame. At six-five, Alex has always been tall, even when he was a teen and now at thirty-four, he's so big – so much bigger and taller than me and so…. warm.

Wait, is he naked?

I push back from the man and turn around to find him shirtless. My breath catches in my throat when my eyes connect with those icy blues staring down at me. His eyes are like piercing sapphires – I've always thought so – but it seems the time away has hardened them because they've never felt this… intense.

I can't afford to ogle this man and fall back into his trap.

God, I hope there is no drool on my mouth, but I reach up just to make sure and his eyes follow my fingers to my lips. Something dark and heated crosses his eyes causing my heart to drum even faster but… I am helpless to do anything about it.

Alex Adams has always had this effect on me with his freakishly handsome face that has matured over the years. Damn his artfully messy jet-black hair that I long to run my fingers through and damn him for making me wonder how that short scruff would feel if he leaned down and kissed me.

"Are you okay, Mina?" he whispers, his voice deep and raspy, sending a heat rocking my core and I have to force my eyes away when his gaze shifts back to mine.

"I'm fine," I say, dropping my gaze from his face but with him so close to me, there is nowhere else to look but at his massive chest, beautifully tanned skin resting over thick muscles, and those massive biceps that speak of time spent in the gym. His abdomen is a tight ripple of muscles with a trail of dark hair that dips into the waistband of… gray sweatpants!

Wait, no… I am not getting on that bed with this freakishly good-looking man dressed in sweatpants under the watchful eyes of a dozen cameras. My breathing is growing labored and my nipples are already pebbling and we are not even on the bed yet.

My stomach churns at the thought and I question if it's too late to back out.

"Okay everyone, we are going to start the rehearsal now!" calls out the director, forcing me out of this Alex-induced stupor. I move a step away from the man and tug nervously at the hem of my shirt, which barely touches below my knee. "Alex, we need you on the bed."

Alex winks at me in a move I suppose is meant to put me at ease but quite literally does the opposite. I try not to watch him climb over the bed but even that is done with the grace of a panther. Oh, I bet all the ladies in the room want to be on that bed with him. The thought sends jealousy clogging my thoughts and I have to remind myself that this man is not mine.

He never was. He never will be.

I stand awkwardly out of frame, my heart thumping in my chest at the thought of what is going to happen next. I've always wanted to be an actress, but this is a lot for someone who is just debuting.

For the tenth time, I consider running away but that would kill my chances of ever working as an actress ever again. I would hate to be labeled as the run-away actress or heaven forbid, the no-show actress.

Oh, who am I kidding? A part of me – that little part of me that obsessed over this man for years – wants to know what it's like to feel his hands on me. To be in bed with him.

To be a couple, even if we're just acting.

I nearly jump when the music starts playing. This is not the first-time hearing Alex sing or this song in particular – it was played back in the meeting room – but something about listening to Alex's voice drawl about a love affair with the man lying on the bed staring at me proves to be too much for my system.

I wonder who he wrote that song for.

Am I helping him act out a song he wrote for another woman? Would he look at me like that if there was another woman?

"Miss Hendricks?" I jump, forcing my gaze away from the man on the bed and to the director. "So, you are going to slowly crawl into bed and climb onto Alex's lap. Make sure you maintain eye contact and move slowly to make the scene as sexy as possible. Don't look at the cameras. You don't need to seduce the viewers, just the man on the bed!"

Climb on his… Did this man just ask me to climb onto Alex Adam's lap?

Breathe Mina. You can't pass out in front of this many people.

I force in slow deep breaths, wading off the panic attack that threatens to set in before walking to the foot of the bed.

Be sexy. I need to be sexy like those models I see on TV. It always looks easy when they do it. Surely, I can do it too, right?

"You can do this," I mutter under my breath before hoisting myself up except I misjudge and plonk my knee on the edge of the bed, causing me to topple backward. It all happens in slow motion, my hands flailing about as I fall back and every second that it happens, I am conscious of all the people and the cameras in the room.

Oh, please just kill me!

I don't hit the ground, no. Someone grabs my arm before I can touch the ground or smack my head against the closest cameras. I don't dare look up at the person who did me this disservice. I could have used a good head-smacking to send me right into the afterlife because now I have to deal with the embarrassment. A concussion… that's what I need. Anything to forget this moment.

"Are you okay?" Alex's deep voice sends my eyes welling slightly and I bite hard on my lip to stop tears from spilling. I did not just embarrass myself in front of a dozen people, but also the one man I have always wanted to impress.

No. I am not okay. Far from it.

"Cut!" yells the director. "I know this is just a rehearsal, but I need you to take this seriously."

"Mina, look at me?" Alex whispers, ignoring the director's call. I bring my gaze to those beautiful blue eyes watching me with concern and something akin to heat. "Are you okay?"

"A little embarrassed," I confess.

"You are just nervous. Don't worry, this is just the rehearsal. Do you think you can do it again, Angel?"

My eyes widen at the name and with the way surprise crosses his expression, I figure it was an accident on his part too. "I… I'll be careful."

He lets go of my hand once I straighten up and when the director yells for me to start, I carefully place my knee on the bed in a move that is anything but sexy. I make it on top of the bed without falling this time, but the director is none too pleased with me.

"Cut!"

I climb off the bed and try once more, my eyes locked on Alex when I do so.

"Cut!"

My hands and knees are shaky when I climb on the bed once more but this time, my ankle catches on the twisted sheets and I topple forward, landing on my stomach.

"Cut!"

Jesus, when did climbing on a bed become so hard? I've gotten into bed nearly every night of my life. Not once did I topple off the bed but now, I can't get on without something going wrong.

"Cut!"

I climb out of bed and look around to see most of the staff huddled together whispering. I don't need to hear what they are saying to know I am not meeting their standards but… I have no idea what I need to do.

Seduction? The closest I have ever gotten to seduction is when I witnessed Sheila seduce a man out of his watch and every penny in his wallet. While most might call it theft – and it was – it was so artfully done that the man probably figured it was all worth it.

I bet Sheila wouldn't have any trouble seducing Alex and everyone in here with a simple smile. I bet she wouldn't have to climb on and off a bed a million times.

The thought of anyone else seducing my Alex or him watching any other girl the way he is watching me now sends jealously rearing its ugly head again.

"Cut!"

I close my eyes and force back tears, nearly jumping out of my skin when I feel hands caress my shoulders. I look up to find his massive frame hiding my face from the view of the cameras.

"I think that is enough for today," he calls out over my head. "Mina is probably nervous from having everything thrown at her at once. I bet she'll be perfect tomorrow."

My eyes widen in alarm. He can't say that for certain. I don't even know how they want me to perform, and I doubt that will change in a day. Is Alex trying to buy me time? But why? Whatever the reason, maybe I can practice in my bed tonight, and ask Sheila for a few pointers.

"This is not how we do things, Alex." the director calls out. "If the actress cannot act, then we find someone who can."

"No!" Alex says firmly, his voice carrying throughout the room, causing it to fall still. "We are not bringing anyone else in. We start the shoot tomorrow. I will fill her in on what she needs to do."

I gape at the man. That is not his job! I know enough about Alex to know he has so much authority in this room with so many people working under him. Why not ask them to do it?

He clearly doesn't recognize me so… why not ask for my replacement? I assume they have a list of other actresses – better actors. Why is this man protecting me like this, making me fall deeper in love with him amidst the heartbreak of his ignorance?

My eyes look up and I question why he is so sure I will be better tomorrow. All we did was climb in and out of bed. I couldn't even get to the part where I sit on his lap, and that feels like a mountain compared to the little anthill I couldn't even pass.

A long tense silence carries through the room as everyone waits to see which one of the two men will cave.

"Fine!" The director finally says, and I force in a deep breath.

Thank God, I'm not getting fired. I was so sure I would be booted off the set, but it seems they are going to give me another chance. I peek around Alex and notice people start to pack up, ready to leave the set and I figure it's my cue to do that as well.

"Thank you for that," I whisper, pushing back to meet the man's gaze. "I promise I'll work on it all night with a friend, and I'll be better tomorrow."

His eyes flash with something dangerous, almost feral. "Who are you going to practice with?" he grinds, his voice low and threatening. I look around to notice a few gazes focused on us, but Alex doesn't seem to care that we are not alone in the room. He grabs my chin and forces my gaze back on his. "Tell me!"

"A friend," I whisper, unsure of why he is acting this way.

His sharp eyes travel over my body before settling on my breasts and I fight the urge to cover myself… or expose even more of myself to him. It's a conflict between my heart and mind, I give in to neither. Standing still in case this isn't a dream. I'm not entirely convinced I am not dreaming up everything that's happened today.

"No!" he growls deeply. "I don't want you practicing anything with anyone else."

Is that in the contract I signed earlier? I don't understand. "It's my best friend and she–"

Alex dips his hand into my nape and leans in to whisper something in my ear, his warm breath brushing my neck and causing my sex to grow sleek with arousal. He's touching me. Alex Adams is touching me, and I don't want him to stop.

There are a few people in the room with us, but I can't seem to focus on that with the man's lips so close to my skin. The feel of his hard body pressed against mine, teasing me and making it hard for me to think straight.

Is he going to kiss me? I want him to kiss me!

Please kiss me!

"Mina," he breathes unevenly into my ear, the pulse between my legs beating faster and slicking my folds and bottoms. God, I hope they don't expect me to return this lingerie or something because there is no way someone will miss my arousal. The hand on my nape feels good and when he dips his fingers into my hair, I whimper. "If someone is going to teach you the art of seduction, then it's going to be me, Angel."

"Alex–"

"That won't do," he hums. "On screen, we're not Alex and Mina. Try again."

I chew on my bottom lip as I think of all the pet names Sheila calls the customers to get them to tip her more. Baby? No way. Sugar? I cringe at the name. Those will not do.

What else. What else can I call Alex? I've never had a boyfriend before, so I have no clue. My gaze finds his just as a bulb lights up in my head as a name easily slips into my thoughts and it feels right. A title befitting the man thirteen years older than me, but I couldn't possibly be thinking of calling him… that.

It's a dangerous game to think of this man as anything but Alex. My childhood crush who doesn't remember me. My older brother's best friend. I definitely should not be thinking of a sexy name to call him but… it's not wrong it we're acting, right?

"Daddy?"

Alex sucks in a sharp breath, the grip on my hair tightening in pain and pleasure, causing the ache between my legs to grow intense. "Daddy's perfect," he drawls.