Riding the Line (17 page)
‘Kind of.’
‘Well, I’m not. I feel like a freak.’
She put her sunglasses on top of her head and gazed into his eyes, her expression serious. ‘All you have to do for this shot is pick up your saddle from the top of the log fence and toss it into the back of your pickup truck.’
‘I’d never toss a saddle, they’re way too expensive.’
She sighed. ‘But this is make-believe and it’s not even your saddle. Just pretend you’ve got your shirt on, forget about everyone else around you and move the saddle, got it?’
He folded his arms and leant back against the fence. ‘Wow, that’s really helpful. I can see why you were such a fabulous actress.’
‘At least I learnt to take advice.’
He dragged a hand through his hair, dislodging all the careful waves. ‘Shit, Robyn, I’m just . . . I’m just out of my depth here. When I did the magazine ads I just had to sit there and show off the boots.’
‘Then do what I said. Pretend you’re at home. Forget about the audience and do what they ask you to.’
He found himself smiling at her determined face. ‘But what’s my motivation?’
‘Money?’ She put her sunglasses back on. ‘The desire to get this done without 300 takes? Whatever works for you.’
She turned to walk away and he touched her shoulder. ‘I’m OK now. Tantrum over. I’ll get it done.’
‘Good for you. I promise you’ll enjoy the oil later.’
Dakota let out his breath and turned back to Joe the director. Joe stared at him and then shouted into his microphone, ‘Make-up! He needs more oil on his chest and undo the top button of his jeans, that’ll look real sexy.’
Dakota groaned and watched the make-up artists run toward him like vultures to a corpse. More oil, more sex appeal. Wasn’t the commercial supposed to be about cowboy boots? He sure hoped Jay was going to pay him well for his trouble. It was the last time he was going to do something nice for a family member for a long time.
Robyn glanced sideways at Dakota as he slumped in the back of the Mercedes, booted feet splayed out in front of him. He looked dog-tired and smelt of baby oil and warm leather. She reached out and slid a finger between the buttons of his shirt. He’d looked so hot today, dressed only in a faded pair of jeans and fancy cowboy boots. All the women in the film production company had come out to take a look at him doing his thing.
Even better, no one had seemed to recognize her. She’d kept her sunglasses on most of the day and braided her hair tightly to her head. It had even been fun to see the process from the sidelines again, to hear the director’s shouts, the film crew’s awful jokes and watch Dakota suffer.
How strange that after all this time she could admit that she actually missed some of the things she’d been forced to do as a child. She nursed a small glow of pride. With all her film experience, she’d helped Dakota a little and translated between him and the director.
What Dakota didn’t seem to realize was that on film he had a natural presence. One’s eye was drawn to him as he moved around the set. She’d heard the comments of the director and his crew, their surprise at Dakota’s ability and their growing excitement.
‘God, I’m tired,’ Dakota said.
‘From standing around looking pretty all day?’
He grunted and opened an eye. ‘I had to do that first take thirty times. Have you ever hefted a saddle before? They’re damned heavy.’
‘But you got better with each take.’
‘Yeah, once I stopped worrying about my jeans falling down and all that crap on my face sliding off.’
She took his hand. ‘Wow, you are quite the charmer this evening, aren’t you?’
He turned his head to look at her. ‘And you sound just like me. What’s happened? Have we entered a parallel universe?’
‘This is LA, baby, a.k.a. la-la land.’
She scraped her fingernail along his warm oiled flesh and he shuddered.
‘And where the hell was Jay? He was the one griping about me getting here on time.’
‘Call him when you get to the hotel.’
He settled deeper into the seat. ‘I sure will, the bastard. I know why he’s not here. He knows how much I’ll hate this and he wants me to suffer alone.’
‘That’s family for you.’ She edged closer, laid her head on his shoulder. His arm came around her and held her tight. ‘Jay is your half-brother, right?’
‘Yeah, our father is a serial marrier. He’s on his fifth wife now I think. Every couple of years he updates to a younger model.’
‘Sounds like my mom and her men.’
He chuckled, the sound weary. ‘I have two older half-brothers, Jay and Grayson, and two younger half-sisters on my father’s side. I also have two half-sisters on my mother’s side.’
‘How did your mom feel about being downgraded?’
‘She didn’t. After her suicide attempt and his violence, she wised up real fast. It was enough to get her packing our bags.’
‘She did the right thing. If a guy hits you once, he’ll usually try it again.’
Robyn stared out of the window. The traffic moved with a glacial slowness that defied explanation. It probably would’ve been quicker to walk after all. He touched her cheek, made her look up at him.
‘Why did that sound like you spoke from experience? Did that guy you lived with hit you?’ Anger simmered in his hazel eyes and his arm tightened around her shoulders.
‘Only once. That’s why I ended up in New Mexico. I was running away from him.’
‘And he’s the guy in your apartment, right?’
Robyn stared at him. ‘Yeah, but he doesn’t live with me full-time. Dakota, you are not going near him, OK? He’s not worth it. I’ll handle him myself.’
Unfortunately, Damien wasn’t just her ex-lover but her current agent. There was no way she ever wanted the two guys to meet. Damien held a lot more of her secrets than she was prepared to admit. He’d hit her when she’d refused to consider making porn movies for an old buddy of his.
‘Robyn, I like you. I want to help you. If all you need is some protection when you go back to your apartment to get your stuff, I can do that. I’ll even promise not to mess with the dickhead.’
She had to smile at him. He was so transparent. After his own experiences with his mother, there was no way in hell he’d let another man get away with physically abusing a woman. For the first time in many years, she felt safe and protected, no longer alone.
The car stopped again. Robyn abruptly sat up and took the dreamy smile off her face. There she was again, fantasizing about a man, this time a brave cowboy saving her from peril. She was a big girl, she would handle this herself.
‘We’re here, Dakota.’
He sat up too, his watchful gaze still fastened on her. She’d evaded a direct response to his offer of help but she knew he was stubborn enough to insist on an answer eventually. He yawned as he thanked the driver and stepped out of the car.
Robyn eyed him critically. After some food and sex, she doubted he’d be moving far tonight. Maybe she could creep out after he’d gone to sleep and find a way back to her Long Beach apartment by herself.
Dakota watched as Robyn called in their food order to room service. He was way too tired to eat out. Who would’ve thought that it would take most of a day to capture two minuscule scenes of a two-minute commercial? Or that it would prove so exhausting? At least he didn’t have to speak. Some other poor fool got to do the voiceover.
He’d put the fancy saddle in the back of the truck and then he’d taken a bale of hay out of the back of the truck. All frickin’ day. Damn, he hoped Jay would pay him well for this. Family loyalty was the only thing that kept him here, apart from Robyn and her encouragement.
She was plotting something. It was amazing how well he knew her after just a few short days. He reckoned she planned to sneak out on him and go back to her apartment. There was no way she was going to do that without him by her side. The thought of her confronting the guy who’d hit her made him feel cold. In fact, he’d wait till Jay appeared and take his brother along too. No wussy woman-beater would be able to stand up to both of them in a fight, fair or dirty.
‘The food should be here in about fifteen minutes,’ Robyn said, her smile so bright his suspicions were instantly confirmed. ‘Do you want to shower first, Dakota?’
‘I thought you had plans for my chest.’
She sat on the couch beside him and eyed him dubiously. ‘Are you sure you don’t want to shower?’
‘Are you sure you don’t want to run your hands over my firm abs and pecs?’ He winked at her and started on the snaps of his shirt.
She licked her lips as he revealed his chest, her gaze fixed on the play of his muscles in the soft lamplight.
‘I know you hated it, but you sure looked good all buffed up like that.’
‘Did I, honey? How good?’
She crawled along the seat toward him. ‘Good enough to eat.’
‘Then eat me and we’ll worry about the rest of the feast later.’
He pulled his shirt free of his jeans and urged her even closer. She straddled his lap and placed her hands on his shoulders. With a sigh, she closed her eyes and slid her palms down over his warm-oiled skin. He shivered as she passed over his nipples, which immediately tightened along with his cock.
He relaxed until his head met the soft couch behind him. ‘Mm, honey, that’s nice. I like your hands on me.’ She kissed the corner of his mouth, nipped at his lower lip and sucked it into her mouth. He groaned as her fingers settled over his nipples and rolled his hard flesh into two aching peaks. So she thought to distract him as well, did she? Hell, he was more than willing to play that game.
Her hand slid lower, unzipped his jeans and cupped his balls. He sighed as she gently squeezed.
‘You did look good today, Dakota, so good I wanted to steal away with you into a dark corner and have my evil way with you.’
‘So why didn’t you? It would’ve been more fun than the rest of my day.’
She kissed his mouth, licked her way along the seam of his lips. ‘I was too busy engaging in a little fantasy all my own. You and me down on the farm. Me watching you load that truck with hay, all bulging muscles and sweat until I was so hot for you I couldn’t stand it anymore.’
‘Yeah? Tell me more.’ Dakota drew her tongue deep into his mouth for a long kiss. Her fingers gripped his shaft and started to slide up and down in a slow regular rhythm that drove him crazy. ‘So what did you do then?’
‘I got you a towel and a long tall glass of home-made lemonade, and as soon as my daddy’s back was turned I came over to talk to you.’
‘Did you shove your hand down my jeans in your fantasy too?’
She smiled down at him. ‘Not so fast. I handed you the towel and watched you wipe away some of the sweat and drink the lemonade. Our fingers touched when you handed me back the glass.’
Dakota faked a sad sigh. ‘Jeez, why do you women take so long to get to the point?’ He shuddered as her fingernail grazed the crown of his cock and dipped into his pre-come. ‘Did I fuck you, or did you fuck me?’
She pushed his jeans down, exposing his ass and his erection. He held his breath as she slowly stripped off her T-shirt, bra and black Capri pants. She gripped his cock around the base, covered him with a condom and slowly lowered herself down. His shaft was swallowed into her heat and tightness.
‘I think you fucked me. I was just a sweet naive country girl in my fantasy.’
‘Yeah, I can just picture that.’
She held still over him, her mouth a tantalizing two inches away from his, her breasts and tight nipples teasing his chest. Her hands slid up his arms to his shoulders and gripped him hard. Internally, her muscles did the same thing to his cock. He opened his eyes wide to fully appreciate her.
‘Am I supposed to fuck you, now?’ He tried to move his hips. ‘It’s complicated from down here.’
Her smile was as sweet as candy. ‘Then I suppose I’ll have to do it instead.’
‘That’s OK, honey, I’ve got it.’ He wrapped his arms around her and fell sideways off the couch, his cock still firmly wedged inside her.
‘Dakota!’
He had her where he wanted her now, underneath him, his weight pinning her to the floor, his arms around her. He began to move hard and fast, grunted as her feet crept up the back of his legs and came to rest on his ass, her heels digging into his flexing muscles.
No way was she going out tonight without him. He’d keep fucking her until she couldn’t think, let alone move. All she needed to do was focus on him inside her, nothing else but him.
Robyn moaned as Dakota drove his cock into her again and again. She was going to climax any second now and she desperately wanted him to come with her.
‘That’s it, honey, all nice and tight around my cock, come on, give it to me.’
His sexy murmur set her off into another series of spasms, his cock keeping a steady pounding pace that made her climb higher with every powerful thrust of his hips. He gripped her ass and angled her hips, pressing even deeper, until she gasped for breath and struggled to tear her mouth away from his in case she bit him.
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