Underneath It All (Sexual Misconduct Volume II) Read online

  He shook his head. “It’s not. Being here is driving me crazy. This was the place I came to escape everything. I knew I’d come back here and prove to myself and Jessica that I could make it. Now that I have…” He shrugged. “I just want to slow down for a while.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “It means you can stop worrying your lip. I’m not staying here. We’re not staying here. We go to the award show, make an appearance at a few parties, then we jet out of here in two days or less. I want to try my hand at some screenwriting, and there’s no better place to do that than my little house in Washington.”

  “I still can’t believe you’re buying that house.”

  “Why not? Don’t you like it?”

  I loved the little house. It was a secluded bungalow, quaint and cozy—not at all what you’d expect from a famous actor. His decision to buy it a week ago was rash, and I thought he’d come to his senses, but he was determined. I didn’t want to get my hopes up, but I was relieved he wasn’t trying to run back to L.A.

  We pulled up to a high-rise building, and an attendant stepped out and collected our bags. We walked through a lush lobby with marble floors. There was a doorman, a receptionist, a security guard, and an elevator man. Everything I would expect for Xander the movie star to have. It was just so different than the Xander I’d come to know.

  The elevator took us up to the twelfth floor. This condo was nothing like his bungalow in Washington. This was what I expected of a movie star. Floor-to-ceiling windows displayed a view that could be seen throughout the open-concept floor plan. Cherry cabinets and dark countertops in the kitchen, black-and-red furniture in the living room, and two nice gray loungers out on the balcony.

  The attendant arrived with our bags and left them at the entrance. After tipping him, Xander pulled me into his bedroom. The bed was big and obnoxious. I guessed that made sense since he didn’t sleep much and only needed it to lure in unsuspecting women. I grimaced.

  “Why are you making that face?” He pulled me out of my thoughts.

  “Just thinking of how many women you’ve fucked in that bed.” I tilted my head toward the monstrosity.

  “I’ll throw it out if you want. I can call the furniture store and they’ll have a new one here by tomorrow.” He pulled out his phone and I snatched it from him.

  “I’m not that insecure.” I wrapped my arm around his neck and kissed him. “As long as we agree there’ll be no one else in there but me from now on, you can keep the bed and your dick. Now if you break this deal, I make no promises to what might happen to either one.” I cupped his cock in my hand and he scowled.

  “You would never hurt it. You love it too much.”

  “That’s exactly why I don’t want anyone else having it.”

  He leaned in and kissed my jaw. “And no one else will.”

  Marcus Fucking Wilder!

  Avery

  I woke with Xander’s head between my legs, on the verge of an incredible orgasm. The gentle glide of his tongue against my clit was an intense way to be yanked out of sleep. I tried shutting my legs as the jolts of pleasure became extreme, but he spread them wider with a hand on each thigh. It didn’t take long before I was rocking into his strokes, chasing my orgasm. He sucked my clit sharply, then flicked it with his tongue. By the third flick of his hot, slick tongue, I rocketed. Came so hard my legs shook and my muscles tightened so hard I felt like I was locked in an ongoing circle of orgasms. His tongue was relentless, torturing my sensitized clit and stretching out my orgasm until I was begging him for mercy.

  I was boneless by the time he backed away, fading in and out of reality. But when his cock delved into my wet flesh, I was suddenly centered again.

  There were no words to describe the first moment of impact. That moment when we became one and the pressure of his cock filling me stole my breath away and sent shivers up my spine. The moment he spread me open and made me feel nothing but hard flesh and raw emotion.

  He braced his palms on the bed as he took slow, leisured strokes. He was fucking me like he wanted to stay in me all day. And I didn’t doubt he’d try.

  “Now that’s what I call a show,” someone said, but I figured it must’ve been the television we’d left on.

  “Go away, Marcus.”

  What? Someone’s actually in the room.

  I covered my chest with one arm and tried to push Xander off with the other. That didn’t work. Xander became more determined, speeding up despite our audience of one.

  “Come on, Xander, you could do better than that.”

  What the fuck is wrong with this guy? I was so glad the sheet was at least thrown over our lower half.

  “Fuck off, Marcus.” Xander spoke of Marcus before, but I never imagined I’d meet him while Xander was eight inches deep in me.

  “And miss the finale?” Marcus said. I couldn’t see past Xander, so I still had no idea where he was in the room.

  “Xander, stop,” I hissed. My face was on fire, but my body was still hyperaware of Xander. My nipples were hard, and my pussy demanded I ride this out until I orgasmed again, but there was no way I’d climax with a stranger in the room.

  Xander growled, gritted his teeth, slammed into me, and came. His hot cum filled me while his friend whistled and made catcalls.

  He fell over me.

  “I can’t believe you just did that,” I chided.

  He chuckled through his heavy breathing. “Weren’t you a little turned on by someone watching me claiming you?”

  “No,” I whispered.

  “He couldn’t see you.” He assured me like that made a difference when I’d just been a participant in a live sex show. He pulled out of me and got up, making sure the sheet concealed me.

  I pulled it over my head, then peeked out. Marcus followed Xander into the bathroom, not at all fazed by Xander walking around naked. I hopped out of the bed with the sheets still clutched to my chest and grabbed a shirt Xander had tossed on the floor, threw it on, and hastily buttoned it up. I took a pair of shorts out of my bag and pulled them on even faster.

  Marcus walked back into the room like a bellow in a quiet night. He was nothing like Xander described him to me. He was boyishly cute, aggressively outgoing, and as wild as his surname. He was almost as tall as Xander’s 6’2” with a mess of dirty-blond curls on his head.

  “Avery,” he shouted as though I were a childhood friend he hadn’t seen in a while. He surprised me with a hug that I didn’t return, my arms just awkwardly hanging at my sides as he squeezed me. I gazed over his shoulder at Xander, giving him a confused look. He shrugged and walked into the closet to get dressed.

  When Marcus finally let me go, he held me back by my arms and analyzed me with his dark-brown eyes. “So you’re the woman who’s out to prove Xander has a heart.”

  “If I didn’t have one, I’d have fired you years ago,” Xander shouted from the walk-in closet.

  “Then who would do your dirty work and deal with all your bullshit?” Marcus smiled as he looped an arm around my shoulder. “Come on. I brought us breakfast,” he said, pulling me toward the kitchen with his arm still draped around my shoulders.

  ~*~*~

  “Is everything ready for tonight?” Xander asked as we gathered around the table for breakfast.

  Marcus nodded because his mouth was full. He picked up his cup of coffee and gulped it. I wondered if maybe people like him—who already seemed super-hyper—should be banned from coffee intake.

  He never sat down. He paced around the kitchen and living room, only coming back to the table to take a bite of his bagel. “So, Avery… first time to California?”

  “Yes.” I watched Marcus rock back and forth on the balls of his feet. He can’t stay still.

  “No family vacations when you were younger?”

  Xander stopped eating and stared at him.

  I wiped my mouth with my napkin, swallowing before answering. “Before my parents passed, we took vacations, but never came here.�
�

  “Oh. I’m sorry about your parents.” He took a sip of his coffee. The sipping thing seemed off—like he was biding his time—since he was gulping before. “Who took care of you after they passed?”

  “Marcus!” Xander glared at him as he stood, grabbed his arm, and pulled him out onto the balcony. He didn’t talk loud enough for me to hear, but judging by the angry gestures he was making, Xander wasn’t happy with Marcus bringing up my parents. I got that he was trying to protect me, but I was beyond the point where it hurt to talk about them. I’d come to grips with it all years ago.

  Marcus came back in first, picked up his coffee, and emptied it in a few gulps. Then he looked at me and said, “It was nice meeting you, Avery. Thanks for the interesting morning.”

  He picked up his phone and keys off the table and finished with, “Nice tits, by the way.” He winked, then pointed down. I followed his finger and noticed in my haste I’d missed a few buttons, exposing half my breast.

  I pulled it shut, then looked up, but Marcus was already out the door. I glanced at Xander, and he just stood in the balcony doorway with his arms crossed, shaking his head.

  I didn’t have a way to describe quite how rash and loud and pushy he was. He had no filters. He lived out loud. He was just Marcus fucking Wilder!

  Mr. Hollywood

  Xander

  This fucking bow tie is suffocating me.

  Or maybe it was the clamoring press. Usually, I was on during these things, but having Avery here was making me nervous. Never had I presented myself on the red carpet as an official couple. Combining my life with Avery with my Hollywood life felt off. I’d become accustomed to our quiet times without the flash of cameras. Suddenly, what I’d loved and craved for years felt invading.

  “Xander! Over here.” I led Avery over to the line of reporters, knowing I’d never get inside without making a few stops.

  “Mr. Pierce, is it true you co-produced Wild Nights, which is up for an Academy tonight?” Every reporter on this carpet already knew the answer to this question, and it felt like she was leading. As in, leading to the question that would piss me the fuck off.

  “Yes, I began production of the film and left it in the hands of a colleague when I knew it was going to be everything I’d imagined.”

  “Did leaving in the middle of production have anything to do with your stint in rehab?”

  And that is what the lead-in was all about. “I had a family emergency I had to handle.”

  That went exactly as I expected it. I smiled as I moved Avery over to the next station because once someone started digging, the evading shit was only going to last so long.

  “Mr. Pierce, it’s very unusual to see you on the red carpet without Victoria Abrams. Who has the privilege of being your arm candy tonight?” I knew the questions about Avery would come. I wanted to scream, she’s mine and what we have is private, not to be exploited by the lies I know you are capable of!

  “I’m the arm candy on this brilliant woman’s arm.”

  I’m done.

  Marcus was going to kill me for not sticking it out and making a good impression with the press, but I needed to get Avery away from my Mr. Hollywood persona. Suddenly, everything I’d worked for paled in comparison to what Avery meant to me.

  Everything since we landed in LAX seemed different. Marcus and his investigation were starting to piss me off. I didn’t want him digging through her past or trying to interrogate her anymore. She’d waited patiently for me to open up to her, and that’s what I wanted to do with her. If there was some big dark secret that caused Avery to seal her records, then I wanted to hear it from her, when she was ready.

  As we walked to our seats, I watched the way her evening gown clung to her as she swayed. Every time I looked at her, I saw her naked, gasping, eyes glazed over with passion, and clinging to me. No matter if she wore a sexy evening gown like tonight or baggy pajamas, all I ever saw was her cradled in my arms, coming apart all over my dick. She caught me watching her and smiled. The heated look that crossed her blue eyes went straight to my cock.

  This is going to be a long night.

  I went through the rest of the night on autopilot. Winning the award, my acceptance speech, the interviews—they all seemed like part of another life now. This was what I’d always wanted to do, but after Jessica died, it became debased. It became a way to prove to my dead wife that I could make it, that I was worthy of her love. All of it just made me feel empty now.

  I was tired of living my life weighed down by Jessica’s memory. I wanted the happiness I had with Avery. I wanted the life we’d begun to build together. With her, I was no longer Mr. Hollywood. I was just the broken Xander Pierce, and she accepted me that way. And she was willing to put me back together.

  Starry-Eyed

  Avery

  Xander was dashingly sophisticated and had all the right answers for the press. Anyone watching would say he was in his element, but I knew he wasn’t. This was making him anxious. I could see it when his jaw clenched when asked, “Who is your arm candy for the night?” Xander did not appreciate that comment, but he kept his cool and said, “I’m the arm candy on this brilliant woman’s arm.”

  I’m not afraid to say I melted a little when he made that comment. The reporter lifted her eyebrow and tried to continue before Xander rushed us inside. I had a feeling my name was going to hit the tabloids soon, and I wasn’t looking forward to being fodder for the vultures.

  We’d arrived at the after party late, but if it were up to Xander, he would’ve skipped it altogether. He mingled for over an hour, keeping me strictly at his side.

  “Where are you going?” he leaned over and whispered into my ear as I tried to pry myself away to get a drink at the bar.

  “I’m just going to the bar.” He was way too on edge.

  “Don’t talk to anyone,” he warned me before I made my way across the room. I quickly ordered my drink and was able to get away from the bar without any small talk.

  As I made my way back across the large ballroom, I noticed Xander pretending to be engrossed in his conversation while his eyes followed my movements around the room. I didn’t get why he’d become overly possessive as soon as we hit the red carpet. I was so wrapped up in my thoughts, I accidently bumped into someone as he passed in front of me.

  “I’m sorry.” I balanced my martini glass and was able to keep it from spilling on his jacket. This scenario seemed oddly familiar, and I was beginning to think I had a thing for spilling my drink on handsome actors.

  “Don’t worry. I’d forgive a pretty redhead with eyes like that for anything.”

  I looked up and froze.

  Is Luca Reyes flirting with me? He was older than me, maybe early forties. I remembered watching his movies with my mom when I was a teenager. She had the hugest crush on him, and his beauty hadn’t changed over the years. He looked better, more distinguished. And that sexy lilt in his tone was mesmerizing.

  “So, Miss…”

  “Shaw. And it’s Dr. Shaw.”

  “Doctor?” He lifted his brows and nodded. “What do you practice?”

  “Psychiatry.” My glass faintly shook. Am I getting star-struck?

  “Really?” He grinned. “And you’re here with Xander Pierce?”

  “Yeah… Yes, I am.” My God, the man had a daunting charisma. His dark, wavy hair dazzled, and his olive-colored skin made him appear to have a permanent tan.

  “You don’t seem like his type.” He tilted his head thoughtfully.

  “What do you know about his type?” I was half annoyed, half intrigued.

  “That they’re usually pretty groupies who last about a week. You don’t come off as a groupie.” He smiled.

  “No… No, I’m not a groupie. Just a really good friend.” Why did I just call Xander my friend? Maybe I was a little star-struck.

  “Would it be too much to ask for your first name?”

  “Avery.” I took a small sip of my martini.

  “W
ell, Dr. Avery Shaw, I’d love to take you out to dinner sometime, if you’ll allow me to.”

  Oh… “That’s really sweet of you, but—”

  “She’s not available, Reyes.” Xander sidled up next to me, placing a hand at the small of my back, a possessive move that didn’t go unnoticed by Luca.

  “If they’re with you, they’re always available, Xander.” He smiled, tipped his head at me, then disappeared into the crowd.

  Xander hooked his arm around my waist with his fingers digging into my side. Then he leaned down. “We’re leaving. Now,” he hissed into my ear.

  He led me toward the exit, barely stopping to say good-bye to anyone except for a few whispered words to Marcus. His expression remained neutral the entire way out.

  In the limo, he sat across from me, gazing out the window. He leaned his elbow against the armrest, rubbing his chin with his thumb and forefinger. I didn’t even attempt to talk to him. I knew he was angry based on the clenched muscles in his jaw and the utter silence in the car. This lasted throughout the ride and up the elevator to his place. But once we stepped into the condo, the calm ended and the storm ensued.

  “What the fuck was that?” Xander screamed, slamming the door with forceful emphasis.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Don’t play stupid. We both know you’re too smart to pretend otherwise.”

  I sighed. “We were just talking.”

  “Really? What were you talking about? His movies? Or maybe you were talking about how we’re just friends.” His glare burned straight through me.

  I stared at him, dumbfounded. How’d he know I said that? How long had he been standing there?

  “Yeah, Marcus overheard your conversation.”

  “Of course he did.” Marcus fucking Wilder had his eyes on everything, including our private sexual moments. “It was a harmless conversation.”

  “You know what I don’t get?” He closed the distance between us, glaring angrily. “How is it when you met me, you were all clueless to who I was, but the minute you get here, you’re all starry-eyed over Luca fucking Reyes!”