Chapter 24

Twenty-Four

Harlowe

Irolled over, bumping into something hard. I groggily opened my eyes, expecting to see a bolster pillow, but what I was staring at was huge and olive green. I sat up, instantly awake.

Roc. I was in bed with Roc.

Then I remembered why I’d collapsed into bed with my bodyguard the night before and my cheeks burned. My gaze lingered on his bare chest scattered with dark hair, but I’d seen much more than his sculpted muscles while we’d been going for round two up against the cabinets and round three in bed.

I rubbed my forehead. Harlowe, Harlowe, Harlowe. What have you done?

I’d jumped from one publicity disaster and right into a potentially even bigger one. Fans already weren’t happy that Zander and I had broken up and considered me the villain, but what would they say if they thought I’d cheated on him with my orc bodyguard? It wouldn’t even matter that it wasn’t true or that I hadn’t even laid eyes on Roc when I’d ended things with Zander. People would spin it as me being the bad girl and Zander being wronged. For some reason, fans loved that handsome prick.

“Because they have no idea what a dick he is,” I mumbled, as dark thoughts of my manipulative ex filled my head.

“I hope you aren’t talking about me.”

I jumped and put a hand to my chest. I’d been so distracted by my own thoughts, I hadn’t noticed that Roc had opened his eyes.

“Of course not.” I laughed it off, as I self-consciously wrapped the yellow sheet around my chest and swung my feet off the bed, almost banging my toes into the wall. The sleeping area in the back of the trailer was snug, but even more so with a massive orc taking up more than half the bed.

I’d had no regrets last night, especially not when I was coming for the third time, but in the bright light of day I wasn’t so sure about my impetuous decision. Most of my career had been defined by careful decisions, not wild nights that made my cheeks flush when I thought about it.

Roc hadn’t seemed like a mistake when I was straddling him in bed. Then again, the best mistakes never felt that way in the moment.

I stood, tugging the sheet with me. When I glanced over my shoulder, I saw that I’d taken all the fabric with me, leaving Roc completely exposed. My face burned even hotter as my gaze locked on his dark-green cock that was impressive even when it wasn’t rock hard. “Crap, I’m sorry.”

“I should get up anyway.” He stood without any trace of embarrassment and padded barefoot across the trailer, plucking his clothes from the floor as he went. My mouth became as dry as Palm Springs as I watched his perfect ass and his long, muscular legs. When I got a glimpse of his cock swinging between his legs from behind, I forced myself to stop staring.

“I’m glad I only have a few more scenes to shoot.” My voice sounded artificially bright to my ears, but anything was better than silence and me gaping at him like a creeper.

Roc pulled on black boxer briefs and turned to face me. “You’re eager to get home?”

“It’s always nice to get back to normal life.” I traded my sheet for a white, terrycloth robe hanging on a hook near the bed and slipped into it without rushing too much or appearing to be some kind of sex kitten turned nun. “Won’t you be glad to get back to your own place?”

His eyes didn’t dart from mine as he watched me tie my robe closed. “I won’t lie and say that I’ll miss these trailers.”

I laughed. The trailers might be considered luxurious, but they were still houses on wheels. “This is my first trailer with a bed. The one for the show has a decent couch but I never have to sleep there, so…” I let my words drift off when I realized that I was babbling.

“Sometimes beds come in handy.”

The husk of Roc’s voice sent an arrow of heat through me, and for a moment I considered throwing myself at him again. His lips were curled up at the edges and his meaning was clear. If I dropped my robe, he wouldn’t object for even a heartbeat.

Our gazes held as we stared at each other across the length of the trailer. Should we talk about what happened? Was it necessary to say that it had been a one-time thing, or did he know that? He might have said that I was his, but I was pretty sure that was just sex talk, right?

I was the first to look away, as I cleared my throat. “I should probably get ready for the last scenes.”

Roc stepped into his black pants, which were wrinkled from their night on the floor, and then shrugged on his shirt, tucking it into his pants without responding to me.

I was riveted watching him dress, the process of him buttoning his shirt mesmerizing me as if he was performing magic. He caught me watching him, and his fingers stilled. “Harlowe, I—”

I held my breath in wait for what he was going to say, but a sharp rap on the trailer door cut him off. I almost stamped my foot with impatience as I stepped to the door and opened it a crack, preparing to tell whichever production assistant had interrupted us that I needed more time. But it wasn’t a production assistant.

Cold chills went through me, as if I’d been doused with freezing water, as I tried to process who was outside my trailer.

“Surprise, babe!”