15. Josephine

15

JOSEPHINE

I mages of Luca's muscles flexing, contracting and releasing as he pulls several orgasms out of me is enough to distract me from the imploding chaos of my life. I wonder if we can have another moment of release. That's when it hits me. The chaos is trickling into the lives of everyone I care about. Monique is still in the hospital and I have to keep my promise.

I pull Luca to the side. "Is there any way we can have my friend Monique in the film? Either is fine. I told her I'd put in a good word for her."

Luca keeps his eyes on Jett as he plays behind the news desk. "When we do the rewrite, we can write her in as a moral compass for our villainous siren."

"I've never played the bad guy before," I admit.

He grins, stroking the side of my face gently. "I can tell. I think we should have another session to bring that out of you. Get angry. Be vengeful. Sexy on screen and off."

A ripple of lust travels down my body. Luca's desire for me isn't a question. It's a certainty, given the way his eyes devour me in these stolen glances.

"Mom." Jett's voice cuts into the passion sparking between us. "Mom! Can you get my phone out of the car? I want to send a video to Grandma and Grandpa."

"Sure," I sigh, looking at my phone with a memory that's too full for me to even think about suggesting to use mine. "I'll be right back."

Luca nods as he approaches Jett with other crew members to show him how the cameras work. A family full of people in the film industry. Hm. I can't help but think of adding Luca to that family dynamic. He's been more than helpful. He's been a lifesaver.

The sun is shining brightly, mocking me as if this morning didn't get off to a horrendous start as I weave in and out of parked cars. I forget what the rental I'm driving looks like, having to use the alarm to find it. But my search gives me time to check on Mojo.

"What time should I come get you from the hospital?" I ask her as soon as she answers the call.

"Well, good morning, Jo, and don't worry about it. There's this hot doctor who wants to take me to lunch since his shift's about to end. I'll grab a taxi from his place?—"

"His place?" I ask with a knowing grin.

"It's exactly what it sounds like. Are you okay? Any more issues with Duke?" she asks.

I don't want to spoil her lunch and hunch date, so I keep this morning's events to myself. "Nothing out of the ordinary. What about you? How are you feeling?"

"I feel fine. I must have bumped my head when I fell back, but that's my fault. I let him provoke me when I should have followed through with calling the police. The silver lining is this date with the doctor. So don't let Duke bother you, I refuse to let him get to me."

"I'm thinking that's because you're about to get laid. Sex is always a great distraction."

She laughs. "You're right. It's only right that we both distract ourselves. Forget about Duke the Douche and go get distracted. Love you, later."

She disconnects the call, but I barely have time to take the phone away from my face when I spot a guy walking toward me. I'm not sure if he's an actor with the way his royal blue silk shirt flows in the wind. It's light and shiny, a contradiction to the muzzled, menacing aura exuding from his gait.

"Hey there," he calls out with a howdy kind of wave that doesn't make him any less threatening. There's at least a ten-inch height difference between us, and he clearly outweighs me by a solid fifty pounds or so.

"Hey," I answer, hoping I can duck between the parked cars to get away from him if need be.

"Aren't you the new Luca Scream Queen?" he asks.

I raise an eyebrow. "Who told you that?"

He holds up his phone, but I can't see the screen because I'm keeping at least two cars away from him. I hate judging a book by its cover, but there's nothing about this stranger to say this is a friendly conversation.

"You're going viral, Miss Hansen. I was at the Parliament Studios hosting auditions for my new movie. I'd love to give you the opportunity to show me what you got." The sliminess of his words doesn't sit well with me.

"No thanks," I tell him. When I turn to walk away, I finally notice I'm not alone in the parking lot with this weirdly aggressive stranger wearing an offensively glaring silk shirt. Two men flank me from each side, ready to corner me.

I start fumbling with my phone in one hand, trying to keep it out of sight. I swipe across my screen without looking directly at it. The hope is to use the reflection of the device in a car window beside me, slowly texting Luca to get security outside.

"Aw, don't be that way, Miss Hansen. I'm Vito Dacosta. I make movies and would love for you to play a role in any of my films. I don't want to miss this opportunity, and neither do you. If you don't work with Dacosta, it'll cost ya." He flashes an eerie grin with a laugh at his own joke, if that's what that even is.

"I'm truly sorry, but I need to get back inside. I'm fully booked. You can find my profile on Central Casting if you'd like to send the information for the audition there."

"We're not done here, Miss Hansen. You see, Luca and I have something of a silent agreement. If he steals one of my actresses, he gets to loan me one of his. I want you."

"The problem with that, Mr. Dacosta, is that neither you or Luca can tell me what to do or who to work with. I'm already under contract for two films and simply don't have the time to take on another role. Thank you for your offer, but I'm going to decline." I take a step back, noticing that every time I take a step, the three men move with me. "What exactly do you think is going to happen out here? Do you plan to scare me into working for you?"

"Scare is such a strong word. We like to use the word persuade . Please don't make us physically persuade you, Miss Hansen. Ask the last actress what happened when she failed to comply." Vito's tone carries the threat effectively. He pulls out something small, white, rectangular, and places it on the top of the car between us. Thankfully, it's just a business card.

I don't remember seeing him close the gap to get closer to me. Fear pricks at my skin like a thousand ants crawling up my body. Vito snaps his fingers as I hear a commotion behind me. Thank heavens. People coming out the building.

"Miss Hansen, did you call the calvary?" he asks, pretending to be insulted.

"I don't have to call anyone. There are security cameras all over this place and you three are caging me in like it's not the middle of the afternoon." Exhaustion plows through me as I try to bluff my way out of this. Too many men who don't deserve it, feel entitled to my time and space.

Vito looks around before snapping his fingers. The two men who were making their way closer to me retreat from behind the cars as Vito takes a step back. He taps the business card on top of the car in front of me.

"I look forward to working with you, Miss Hansen. Tell Luca, I said hello." Vito chuckles as he walks away back to wherever he came from.

Two security guards from the entrance of Luca Brisco arrive at my side.

"Miss Hansen, please allow us to bring you back to the studio." The larger of the two says to me with a voice so deep it sounds like he can control the weather with a simple command. I wonder if he acts. He'd make a great extra as a zombie henchman to the siren.

I think it's time to focus on getting this movie made instead of everything else. Yet, that's so much easier said than done as I walk into the lobby of the studio where Luca is waiting patiently with Jett, who doesn't appear to have any idea of what's happening.

"Are you okay?" Luca asks, cupping the side of my face with a sigh of relief.

"I'm okay. Thanks for sending them."

"What happened, Mom? You get lost or something? Did you get my phone?" Jett asks, wide eyes and making me forget that's the reason I went to the car.

"Um, Jett, let's give your Mom some time to cool off from the heat out there," Luca suggests, to which Jett shrugs and runs back onto the news anchor set. He turns to me as we watch him through the large window behind the reception desk. "What happened?"

"Vito Dacosta, because if you don't work with Dacosta, it'll cost ya." I repeat the words with disgust and a roll of my eyes.

"Fuck. Maybe it's best if we forget these projects until I can deal with him," Luca sighs.

My heart rate skyrockets. "Wait. I need the checks, not to mention the production crew who could probably use the work, too. What if, instead of giving me a rental, you use that money to hire extra security? I don't mind a bodyguard until shooting wraps."

He groans. "I'd rather you be with me and a bodyguard. Vito isn't a movie producer."

"I got that much from the way he tried to intimidate me into working on his movie."

"It's porn, Jo. He starts by offering someone a role. They get called out to his strip club, Trips . First, he'll pay you to dance or work the bar. Then he offers you a small role that gets you behind his fucking curtain. Once you're on his set, he's liable to talk you into anything and out of everything you're wearing."

"Ew, really? Him? He's so, so, yuck."

Luca offers me a timid smile. "You'd be surprised by what people do when they need the money."

There's something there, something more than the agreement Vito mentioned, but I don't push Luca.

"What should we do?" I ask him. "Duke is going to keep showing up to my house unless I get a restraining order or something. Even then, if I'm not around, Collin's liable to get into a fight with him and he's in enough trouble."

"This might sound a bit crazy, Jo, but what if you let me put you and Jett up in a hotel?" he asks.

"That's way too much. I'm still calculating how much I'll need to deduct out of my check for car repairs."

Luca touches me gently at the elbow, making sure our eyes connect. He makes me feel like we're the only people in the room as he pulls me into an embrace. His hands wrap around my lower back. "You're too strong for your own good. Can you let me help you, please?"

"I don't understand why you're doing so much. No one is this nice for the fuck of it," I blurt out. An insecurity I didn't realize I had. Why don't I deserve someone as handsome and wealthy as Luca helping me, helping Jett?

"Everyone out," Luca calls. The people behind the desk scatter while the security guards step outside to ensure no one walks into the entryway.

Before I can ask him what he's doing, one hand presses flat against my back, holding me still against him as he lowers his face to mine. Luca kisses me. His lips, tongue, mouth capture my attention and my passion. Swirling his tongue around mine is a familiar feeling that turns my lust into an intense yearning.

I want to feel every inch of him moving in and out of me again, but I settle for this kiss. A reminder of how attracted we are to each other. There's something incredibly disarming about how safe Luca makes me feel in his arms.

I moan as our kiss deepens. The urgency in our connection heightens right before we force ourselves to pull apart at the sound of small feet scurrying in our direction.

"Did he see us?" I ask with a glance over my shoulder at the large window has me in a panic as Jett pushes the large door open to stand in the lobby.

Luca takes a deep breath, clears his throat, winking as he steps away from me.

"Where did everybody go?" Jett asks.

"I needed to talk to your Mom for a minute, Jett," Luca answers him.

"Did you yell at her? She doesn't like it when people yell at her. I don't like it either," Jett tells him, and it breaks my heart for the perception he must have of me. My strong boy shouldn't have to be seeing me behave like this.

"No." Luca lowers himself onto one knee in front of Jett. "I'm not going to yell at you or your Mom, but I'm going to tell you the truth, Jett. Sometimes I yell when I'm angry or scared. Your Mom needed a minute alone because she was scared and upset. I wanted to let her know I'm going to do everything I can to keep you both safe."

Jett eyes Luca with a questioning glare in his eyes, as if he’s trying to decide if Luca's telling the truth. A part of me is still wondering about that myself. The kissing is great, but he still hasn't explained why he's being so nice.

Jett's voice barges into my thoughts with the reason he's standing in front of us. "Um, one of the ladies in there said something about crafty. It's food and snacks and she said I can have some. Can I go get snacks, Mom?"

"Where is it?" I ask him.

"Down the hall, the room next to the one you auditioned," Luca tells me, and I nod to give Jett the answer he's looking for. Once he sets off down the hall, we follow as Luca signals to the security guards it's okay to return to their posts.

As Jett enters the room full of free food and snacks, Luca slows his pace until we stop in front of room 103. The room where our paths crossed and my life changed. For better? For worse? It's been like fighting three fires with one hose.

Duke removes himself from our lives one minute, then wants to reinsert himself the next. I land the supporting role for my audition but get roped into a lead role that's being monitored by federal agents. I finally get kissed and deliciously fucked by the man of my dreams, but he's hiding something.

Of course he is. Why should I know everything about Luca a few hours after meeting him?

"Can you please tell me why?" I whisper the words.

"Because you put yourself on the line for me. Why did you go along with my story that you're the lead actress of Starlight?"

"That kiss, our chemistry during the audition. I didn't think the role would go beyond this room." I run my hand over the placard bearing the room's engraved number. "Giving me the chance to chase my dreams, to change the way I've been living my life, this all seems too good to be true, Luca."

"It's not," he states firmly. "What we're about to do is no small task. It's not going to be easy. It's going to be a passion project. Even if only you and I are in the film, there's still sets that need to be built, costume and wardrobe, hair and makeup, grips, crew, and a horde of other people that have to come together to bring this film to life. We still have to rewrite the script and that's only the beginning."

"We can't stay in a hotel," I tell him, addressing his suggestion from moments ago. "Every hotel is a nightmare trying to get Jett to school in the morning. And I am truly grateful for everything you're doing for us, Luca. But I won't feel right knowing we're running up a bill in some unbelievably expensive hotel."

"How do you know it's going to be unbelievably expensive?" He grins.

"My little blue hatchback is in the Ferrari service center."

"Fine. I won't spend an obnoxious amount of money putting you and Jett up in a hotel. I don't think your home is safe and that's going to be a distraction for you and Jett."

"On top of Duke showing up and sending more influencers to my doorstep? I'm going viral according to Vito."

Luca grunts out a breath of frustration. "I don't want you guys in danger. What about my place? There's room for you, Jett, and anyone I hire to do security. We can work on the script and Jett can get driven to school."

"I want to, but this is crazy."

"So, let's do it for a few days, you guys can stay at my place and I'll stay at the hotel."