Aced (7 page)

“Ace, you’ve been watching that door like a hawk,” Shayne said as she sidled up next to me with a pomegranate martini in one hand and gave me a nudge.
And damn.
She had gone full sex kitten tonight in a low-cut black pantsuit, and her signature long red curls were pinned up to take advantage of the backless outfit. Her grey eyes flashed with curiosity as she regarded me. “Is there someone in particular you’re looking for?”

I shook my head. “Just keeping an eye on things. Speaking of, does Nate know you came here looking like that? I’ll have to put my bodyguard on you tonight.”

“Oh please. It’s not often I get to rub up against Hollywood stars, so I figured the more naked I could get for that, the better.”

“Uh…” I looked around us for her other half, and when I didn’t see a gorgeous guy in suspenders with Shayne’s name tattooed on his forehead stride across the balcony, I stepped back and put my hands up. “Where did you say Nate was again? He will come after my balls if anyone touches you tonight.”

“You wish he’d come after your balls, babe,” she teased as she grinned at me. “Besides, Paige is my date tonight, and I think she could do more damage to someone than any guy I know. No offense.”

“That’s the damn truth,” the feisty blonde in question said, coming up behind Shayne and flashing me an impish smile. “Why do you think I wear heels so damn high? The better to stab someone with if necessary.”

“See? She’s vicious,” Shayne said.

“I’m that,” Paige agreed with a nod. “I’m also a killer fucking event planner who gets offended when the birthday boy isn’t downstairs with the rest of the party enjoying himself.”

“I’m enjoying myself,” I protested.

“Bullshit. You look like a king surveying his loyal subjects and waiting for them to bow down and pay their respects. So how about you pop down from that perch and let’s get you a drink.”

Instead of agreeing and following her lead, I lifted Shayne’s martini from her hand and downed the drink in one big gulp. When I handed Paige the glass, I said, “Feel free to refill.”

Her mouth fell open, and then she shook her head. “I always hear such sweet things from Shayne about this guy named Ace Locke. Is he here? I don’t seem to have met him yet.”

“Nah, I’m”—I glanced at Shayne—“what’s the term you used the other day? A cocky fucker?”
 

“Are you?” Paige looked down at my hips and made a motion with her hand for me to go ahead. “Drop ’em and let me see for sure. I’m familiar with many,
many
cocky fuckers. Let’s see how you compare.”

I raised an eyebrow at my mouthy event planner. “You know, if I knew you better, I’d tell you to screw off.”

“You can still tell me that, but I might bill you extra,” Paige said, a devious twinkle in her eye. “You know, it’s too bad you had to come out of the closet. I totally would’ve been your type when you were bearding. Blond, nice rack, sparkling personality.”

“Paige,” Shayne said. “You’ll have to forgive my friend here. She comes without a filter.”

I had to laugh at the brazen woman—well,
women
, since Shayne was no wilting flower herself—in front of me. Pointing at Paige, I said, “I like you. Maybe I’ll see about having you organize our
Insurrection
wrap party.”

Paige’s eyes narrowed. “
Maybe
I’d consider it.”

“
Maybe
clear your calendar for a weekend about twelve weeks from now.”

“
Maybe
I’ll permanent-marker that fucker.”

With a smirk, I said, “Pleasure doing business with you.”

Shayne looked back and forth between Paige and me. “Are you two quite done? Because I need the deets on who’s who and where to go rub elbows first. I’ve got some lonely clients looking for love in all the high-profile places.”

“And as an investor in Happily Ever After, Inc., I fully support the cause. Let’s see…” I said, and then pointed to the left, where a group of mostly men had gathered at high tables over bourbon lowballs. “Over there you’ll find the biggies: the producers from a few of my films, as well as Ron King, the director of
Insurrection 2
. On the dance floor it looks like it’s a mix of some of my fellow cast members, and then over by the far right bar pounding shots are the craziest motherfuckers you’ll ever meet. Also known as my trainer and the stunt crew. Have at ’em.”

Shayne tapped her finger against her lips and considered the choices. “Decisions, decisions. What do you think, Paige?”

As the girls mapped out their networking strategy, I tuned them out, my gaze falling again on the front entrance.
 

And just as the thought
Enough already. Go enjoy the party
crossed my mind, the door opened again, and that was when I saw him. It was as though the music pumping through the sound system faded as Dylan Prescott finally crossed the threshold and entered my territory.
 

God
, even the way I was thinking of him was so unlike me. I felt possessive…greedy for his time. I wanted him here in my home.
Here
in my domain, and I knew I had no right. In fact, I had
zero
right, considering he’d arrived at my house with another man. But as I took note of what Dylan was wearing, one thing became obvious—he’d dressed tonight with
me
in mind. Because the man currently standing just inside my front door was a close-to-perfect replica of my billboard fantasy.
 

Dylan’s hair was styled in a sexy faux-hawk. But the thing that made it abundantly clear that he knew what he was doing was the wicked leather jacket hugging his lean body like a second skin. It was the same jacket he’d worn in the ad. I knew this because the collar had a buckle that hung undone on either side of his neck, and in my fantasies I’d always imagined him hovering over me in those damn Calvins while I used that buckle to tug him down on top of me.

Fuck.
That was so hot.

Without realizing I’d done it, I took a step toward the railing and reached for the wooden banister. I curled my fingers over the smooth surface, and as my eyes focused on the two men now standing in my foyer, Shayne moved up beside me and said, “Okay, which— Oh my God.”

There was no way I was taking my eyes off my target, so I merely said, “The one in the—”

“Leather jacket.” She gave a dreamy sigh, and that was enough to have me quickly glancing at her. “What? You don’t think I have eyes? I’ve driven past Hollywood and Highland too, you know. How in the world did you find him?”

I turned my attention back to where Dylan was up on his toes and looking around the crowd, and when the blond touched Dylan’s hand, Dylan leaned in to say something in Russ’s ear.
 

I straightened and looked at Shayne with a grin. “I didn’t. He kind of…found me.” She frowned, and I leaned in to kiss her cheek. “I’m going down there before I lose him in the crowd.”

I made a move to step around her, and she reached a hand out to touch my arm. “Ace?”

“Yeah?” I knew what was coming before she’d even said it. “I know. Be careful. Got it. I’m just going to welcome him and his friend.”

“I was going to say have fun,” she said, surprising me.
 

“Got it. Careful fun. Doesn’t the first word negate the second?” I asked as I gave a quick wave and headed for the stairs.

* * *

ACE’S HOUSE WAS like something out of a movie.
I mean, holy fucking shit.
 

After he dropped me home yesterday, I’d had every intention of throwing away the card with his address on it. There was no way I was going to take a date to Ace’s obnoxiously over-the-top party, and I’d been dead set on going to West Hollywood with Russ. But the more I stewed over it, the more I knew I’d regret it if I didn’t go. So I’d stupidly called up Russ, and when he was excited about the prospect of checking out Ace’s pad, I was locked in and committed.
 

What in the world had I been thinking? Well, considering I’d dressed tonight in the tightest, whitest pair of briefs I owned and my leather jacket from Ace’s favorite ad—not like he’d ever know what was
under
my jeans—it was pretty obvious what I’d been thinking.

Shit
.
This is so unlike me.
I was not the kind of person to be on a date with one guy while I was busy thinking about someone else. But wasn’t there a rule somewhere about having a freebie with someone who was unobtainable? And…well, for all intents and purposes, Ace had said no. He was an A+-list movie star. And most
certainly
unobtainable.
 

So then why the fuck did I get myself off last night thinking about his mouth on mine and the way his lips felt when I pressed my finger against them?

“This place is insane. I can’t believe there were all those photographers outside the neighborhood,” Russ said, interrupting my train of thought, as we stepped farther into the elaborate foyer.
 

The music was thumping and people were everywhere, laughing and drinking, and some shouting over the beat, trying in vain to hold a conversation. I moved up onto my tiptoes, searching the crowd, telling myself I was trying to spot Ace so I knew where he was and how much time I had to get myself together if he decided to talk to us—which he probably wouldn’t anyway. When I came up empty, I decided he must be in another room, because there was no way a person could miss someone like Ace Locke even in a crowd this big. Figuring I’d run into him eventually, maybe…I turned and put my mouth close to Russ’s ear so he would hear me, and answered, “Yeah. It’s massive. I’ve never seen anything like this before. I think most of L.A. is here.”

Russ’s lips tipped up. “Well, the people who count, anyway.”

He was probably right, but the way he said it made me feel defensive on Ace’s behalf. I didn’t think Ace was like that. That he’d invite people to his house just to look good. But I kept my mouth shut because really, what did I know? It wasn’t like I was well acquainted with the guy, even if I had spent ten of the most intense minutes of my life in his Lamborghini.
 

Instead, I nodded and slipped my hands into my pockets, and noticed several people turning toward a sweeping staircase where the man of the hour was walking down.

I want to say I was super suave and not affected at all by the sight of
the
Ace Locke walking down a staircase made for grand entrances…but I’d be lying. The sight of him made my mouth water, and any coherent thoughts I’d had vanished. The man was larger than life. And really fucking hot.

“Wow,” Russ said next to me, and it was a relief to know that I wasn’t the only one having an intense reaction to Ace’s appearance. “Imagine walking into a room like this and knowing it’s all yours and that these people are all here for you.”
 

Okay, so maybe he wasn’t having
quite
the same reaction I was. I couldn’t take my eyes off Ace, but for reasons other than what Russ had just mentioned. The last thing on my mind was how it would feel to
be
Ace. No, I was too busy thinking how it would feel to be
with
Ace.
 

How would it feel watching Ace walk down his staircase, knowing earlier in the day all of those muscles now wrapped in a snug black shirt had held me in place while he fucked me against his bedroom wall?

Yeah, like I said, my thoughts were slightly different to Russ’s.

When Ace reached the bottom of the stairs, his eyes found mine and the heat in them matched the flames that were now licking through my veins.
Jesus,
I felt as though I was about to combust, and all from a single look. But it wasn’t just the look. It was the promise in that heated expression, and in that instant I knew—Ace was coming for me.

As he passed by several people milling around the bottom of the steps, Ace smiled at them broadly, shook hands, kissed cheeks, and every time he finished with someone his eyes would rise to find mine, letting me know without a doubt that
I
was his final destination.

I swallowed, wondering if Russ was noticing what was going on, but he’d turned away and was busy looking at the lively crowd in the living room as Ace advanced on us.

It would’ve been wise to take Russ’s hand right then and make a move toward the other room to let Ace believe there was nothing there between us. But the thought of even standing by Russ now felt wrong as Ace finally came to a standstill in front of me.

Good God.
Not only did he look fucking sexy, he smelled delicious.

I opened my mouth, determined to be the first to speak, but nothing was coming. Then Russ finally turned around, and as though Ace was aware he needed to school his
actual
thoughts, he flashed a smile and held his hands out wide.

“Guys!” he shouted, and took a step forward, insinuating himself between us to drape his arms around our shoulders. “So glad you could make it.”

The consummate actor,
I thought, when what I really wanted to know was what Ace would’ve done had it just been me standing there in that foyer. As it was, there was no way Russ would suspect the guy had just hunted me down with the focus of a hungry animal.

“Yeah, man,” Russ said. “Thanks for inviting us.”

“No problem,” Ace said. Then he turned his head so those blue eyes found mine and added, “I wanted you here.”

The private meaning was not lost on me or my cock, but Russ seemed blissfully ignorant to the fact that his date had just been hijacked. Then Ace flashed a wolfish grin and urged us through the crowd.
 

“Let’s get a shot. I feel like a shot. Don’t you?”

Without waiting for an answer, Ace turned, and as the crowd parted to let him by, Russ nudged me to follow. As Russ trailed behind me, I let Ace lead us through a hallway that opened up into a tremendous living room and kitchen, and I won’t even pretend that I wasn’t checking out the way Ace’s designer black pants molded so perfectly to his ass. He was dressed in all black tonight, which somehow made him more potent. When Ace reached the bar, he held up three fingers to the bartender and then faced us, and with his hair freshly buzzed and his blue eyes piercing, the guy was fucking magnetic.