Aced (5 page)

“Oh yeah? What gave me away? The fact that I was checking your ass out yesterday?”

This time Russ beckoned to me with the same gesture I’d used earlier, and then he flashed a smile at me that lit up his face.
Huh,
Russ was…
well, fuck
, he was a good-looking dude. I’d been so caught up in Ace’s presence that I hadn’t taken the time to really look at Russ.
 

“That might’ve tipped me off.” He chuckled. “Now, how about you aim for my leg so the boys can stay functioning, yeah?”

I lined him up in my sights, and ran through everything the coordinator had said to do before following through on the move, and then kicked my leg out, connecting in exactly the right spot I was supposed to.

Russ whooped and bounced up on his toes. “See, there you go. You totally got it. You’ll be a professional in no time.”

“One time hardly counts as a professional. I’ll be lucky if I don’t castrate the entire cast before we begin production.”

Russ walked over to me and clapped me on the shoulder. We were around the same height and his chocolatey brown eyes were warm as he continued to grin at me. “Well, if worse comes to worse, you can always just stand there and look pretty.”

“Or kill me off early.”

“Nah, you can’t die. You have to help
the
Ace Locke,” he said as he gestured with his hand as though seeing the name in lights on a marquee, “save the day.”

I laughed at the low, dramatic inflection Russ had just adopted, and then elbowed him in the side. “Yeah, yeah. Well, maybe we should switch off so you can get in a few shots of your own and remain in one piece.”

Russ walked a few paces away from me and nodded. “Okay. You’re on.”

I moved into the defensive position, widening my legs slightly to ground myself, and raised my arms with my palms up.

“Ready when you are.”

Russ’s eyes narrowed on me, and I could see him getting ready to attack. But just as his arm swung in my direction, the sound of familiar laughter echoed off the training room walls, and I turned my head ever so slightly to see Ace walking through the door. It was enough of a move, however, to have Russ’s fist connecting with my jaw just as Ace’s eyes locked with mine.
 

“Oh, shit—” I heard Russ say, but all I could focus on was the pain that shot through my chin. More than that, though, was the embarrassment from a certain someone having watched me get knocked around.

Awesome…just fucking spectacular.

But I wasn’t about to show so much as a wince in front of Ace, so I straightened and worked my jaw around to make sure the damn thing wasn’t broken—okay, slight exaggeration—as Russ rushed over.
 

“I’m sorry, you moved and it was too late to—”

Holding up my hand, I said, “It’s okay. It’s my fault I got distracted.”

Russ’s gaze went past my shoulder. “Yeah, that guy’s a helluva distraction, all right.”

Still mortified, I wasn’t about to turn around and look at the man he was referring to, so I gave Russ a playful push to his side. “My turn.”

“You’re not planning on a retaliation punch, are you? Because I’d be tempted to tackle your ass to the ground, and I’d rather not have to do that in front of everyone.”

“But you’d be okay with doing that in private?” I asked, and a faint blush crossed Russ’s face. Then I winked. “Good to know.”

We settled back into switching off the different combinations, this time without direct contact. But always out of the corner of my eye I kept up with what Ace was doing across the room. How could I not?
 

The guy moved with the stealth and speed of a lion attacking its prey, which in this case was Angelo. Ace showed no mercy as he doled out a series of kicks and punches before tackling the man to the ground, and
fuck
did I wish I was the one currently pinned underneath him. Just as the thought flashed through my mind, Ace looked up and caught my gaze. The look in his eyes was predatory, hungry, and all for me. At least that was what I let myself believe for the seconds we were connected. But then the man he’d pinned to the ground maneuvered his way out of Ace’s hold, and Ace jumped to his feet, guarding himself against the onslaught of attacks. When he was able to get the upper hand again, Russ gave a low whistle under his breath. “Jesus, the guy is a machine.”

I was trying to unglue my tongue from the roof of my mouth as I stood there ogling the play of muscles on Ace’s built body, then I nodded and said the first thing that popped into my head. “I wonder if he’s like that in bed?”

“Yeah, like we’ll ever find out.”

“You’re probably right,” I said with a shrug.
But I’d sure as hell like to.

* * *

THEY WERE WATCHING me again. I could feel their stares as acutely as if they were standing right in front of me instead of across the training room. When I lifted my head to meet their eyes, the blond one looked away quickly, but Dylan…that bold fucker was looking at me like he wanted me to push him to his knees and make him suck my cock.
 

And isn’t that a tempting thought.
With his hair now shorter and spiked in the front, it only accentuated how striking the guy was, and drew my attention down to his strong jaw and full lips.
Lips made for wrapping around my dick and driving me crazy.
 

The ache between my legs was insistent, and before I knew what I was doing, my shirt was up and over my head. I tossed it onto the mat, and when I casually glanced back at Dylan, he was biting down on his lower lip and his eyes roamed my body.
 

Hell yes.
The way he was looking at me was with the same daring expression he’d had on that fucking billboard. The one that said
come taste me
, though in this case, I wanted his mouth on my body instead.
 

Before I tortured myself into a full-on erection, I turned back to Angelo and cracked my neck.
 

“Is that all you got?” I asked, needing a diversion from the sexy-as-sin man watching my every move.

“Ohhh, look who brought his A-game today,” Angelo said. “How about we show these guys how it’s done?”

“Bring it the hell on.”

Angelo’s face turned into an expressionless mask, and then he lunged toward me and swiped at my neck. As I caught his arm, we went into a series of exchanges, each of us battling for the upper hand. He always did give me a fair fight, never bothering to take it easy, which I appreciated and, hell, even enjoyed when I needed to work off some…frustration.

Angelo’s arm wrapped around my neck from behind and his mouth was at my ear. “Keep your eyes on the target, Ace, and not the hot ass behind me.”

I wrenched him off and shoved him back. “The fuck are you talking about?”

He laughed. “You think I don’t see you looking over my shoulder, but I see you. I’d hate to have to pin you in front of your new friend.”

“You can fucking try.”

My eyes flickered for the briefest moment over to where Dylan was watching, and this time when Angelo lunged, he didn’t go for my upper body. In a surprise move, he slid to the ground and kicked my leg out from underneath me, and I fell, hard, to the mat. Then he leaned over me, pinning me with his hand on my chest, and, with a victorious smile, said, “Checkmate.”

I grumbled and shoved him off me, and when he held out a hand I clasped it, getting to my feet. “You’re an asshole.”

Angelo laughed and released my hand, taking a step back to get into position once more. “Well, the studio doesn’t pay me to coddle you, sweetheart. Not my fault if a pretty face is distracting you.”

“Jesus, you’re mouthy this morning.”

“Am I wrong?”

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Dylan bob down to dodge a right hook from the blond, and I willed my face to remain neutral. “What you are is a gossipy girl. And I hardly think the studio pays you to be
that
.”

“They pay me to get you worked up. I think I’m right on the money with that.”

I raised my arms and braced myself, getting ready to grapple with the guy again, when Ron walked in and let out a shrill whistle.
 

“All right, ladies, take lunch. I need to talk something over with Angelo. Make sure you rehydrate so he can kick your ass all over again after.”

A chorus of groans echoed around the building as the groups broke up and everyone headed toward the catering tent. I shook Angelo’s hand and gave him a cocky smirk to let him know I was gonna bring it when we got back, and then turned to head toward the bag I’d dumped on a chair when I’d first arrived. Rifling through it, I found the container with my pre-made meal from LeanNGreen, and then I spotted Dylan heading back inside with a plate in one hand and a bottle of water in the other.
 

I shoved my bag onto the floor and took a seat as he continued across the space, and there was something extremely compelling in the way he held my stare. I couldn’t remember the last time anyone had been so confident around me, which I know sounds egotistical, but it was the truth. People usually stuttered or fell silent when they met me, but this guy was all about the intense eye fuck, and shit if that wasn’t doing things to my overactive imagination. As he gained on me, I wondered if I should stand, then I thought better of it as the twitch in my cock became a steady throb.
 

Jesus, how am I going to stay decent around this guy?
Hell if I knew, but I needed to work it out, and fast, since Dylan was coming to a standstill directly in front of me.

“Not eating the same food as the other commoners today?” he asked.

I glanced down at the container I was holding and then to the fried chicken on his plate. “Well, you get to keep your clothes on for the movie. I spend most of the time with my shirt off.”

As soon as the words left my mouth, Dylan’s eyes shifted to my still-naked chest and the corner of his lips tipped up, revealing…
fucking hell
, a dimple I wanted to lick.
 

“Hey, no one’s going to complain about that. Least of all me. So if you’ve gotta eat kale and shit, then have at it.”

I knew exactly what was going on here. Dylan was actively and openly flirting with me. And while I wanted very much to back the guy up to the nearest wall and respond by crushing my mouth to his, I was well aware that I was surrounded by curious eyes.
 

“Uhh, not so much a fan of kale,” I told him, and saw his eyes narrow, knowing he hadn’t missed the fact that I’d totally bypassed all flirtatious comments. Trying to keep the conversation as platonic as possible so my dick would behave, I glanced around him and said, “Where’s your buddy? You guys not so close anymore after he socked you one in the face?”

One of Dylan’s eyebrows rose, and instead of looking embarrassed, he turned his grin into a full-on sensual curve. “He stepped outside to make a call. But we’re still friends. After all, wasn’t his fault. If I was going to lay blame anywhere, it would be with you.” I frowned, and Dylan was quick to answer my unasked question. “You distracted me, I lost focus, and he caught me on the chin. Kind of the same way you ended up on your ass.”

My mouth parted, and I was about to refute his claim when he added with a wink, “Want to kiss my bruise and make it better? I’ll do the same for you.”

Holy shit.
I’d been right when I’d first thought Dylan would be trouble, and as I sat there staring up at him, my brain was shouting,
Stop
.
Stop this now before it gets out of hand.
 

I got to my feet to make me feel a little more in control of my suddenly uncontrollable urges, but Dylan remained exactly where he was, holding his ground as I stood there, paralyzed in place with that direct way he had about him. I swear, he was a hypnotist.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” I said, even as my cock was positive I was a fucking idiot. I had never been so attracted to someone in all my life, yet the thought of acting on that was utterly terrifying. I had so many thoughts looping in my head in that moment, but the loudest voice was that of my buddy Kenny warning me of everything that could go wrong.

Dylan cocked his head to the side, and when his eyes trailed down my body it took everything I had not to be the one to take a step back.
 

“What’s not a good idea? You kissing my cheek or me kissing…yours?”

Smartass,
I thought, wanting to smile at him, but also knowing this needed to be shut the hell down right now because he was…
well,
he was dangerous.

“Any kissing of
any
kind is not a good idea.”

When Dylan’s eyes moved up to my mouth, I realized I’d never been more aware of every beat of my heart than I was in that moment. He hadn’t even touched me and I was more aroused than I’d ever been in my life.
 

“Really? Mhmm, maybe you’re right. Or maybe…” He tossed his water bottle in the air, caught it, and shrugged. “Maybe you’re chicken shit.”

My eyes widened slightly, and the cocksure way Dylan was watching me practically dared me to throw my weight around. He was goading me, and fuck if I didn’t want to take him up on it.

“You’re pretty arrogant for a newbie on set. You do know I could have you fired quicker than you could unscrew that bottle of water.”

Dylan slowly backed away and shrugged. “You could. But then you wouldn’t be able to look at me all day, and we both know you like picturing me in your mind.”

I gnashed my teeth together, willing myself to leave it alone, but for some unexplainable reason I couldn’t let him leave without getting the final word in. “True, but I have a great imagination. Be careful, Dylan. Someone’s always watching.”

4

GET OUTTA MY DREAMS, GET INTO MY CAR

IT WAS THE end of the rehearsal week, and to my surprise, I’d survived. I thought I’d been physically prepared enough by simply keeping in shape, but once we hit day three and had to take what we learned and do it in a fake storm, my stamina was beat to shit. Thank God we had the weekend off before shooting began on Monday.