* * *

She didn’t speak to me for the rest of the day but there sure was a lot of buzz on and off set. Her people were fielding calls all day from what little I heard.

After the first asshole got in my face like he was really going to ball me out for getting her pregnant and I threatened to flatten his ass, they pretty much left me alone.

I couldn’t believe all the racket over one little peanut that wasn’t even here yet. I found the whole thing preposterous but I did draw the line when they went after her. I jacked up the little runt who seemed to run all things Tara and put the fear of hell in him.

“Listen you, I don’t know how the fuck you people do things around here, but where I’m from when a man and his woman decides to have a kid they don’t need to ask permission from anyone. She signed a contract to make movies I’m pretty sure she didn’t sign away her rights to her body and if she did I didn’t so back the fuck off or I will hurt you brother.”

No matter what he threw at me I knocked it back. Once he accepted that his Hollywood clout didn’t hold any sway with me he took his ass off elsewhere and left her the hell alone.

No wonder she was freaking the fuck out. These people really did take the cake. Who the fuck knew this kinda shit was going on behind the scenes in this fucked up town.

I made her take lunch when the director wanted her to work through after twelve straight hours of that shit. He at least knew better than to get in my face unless he wanted me to fuck up the last week of taping.

“You’re becoming one of those.”

“One of what?” I opened her door for her and cursed under my breath when I saw the group of vultures hanging out just outside the lot.

“There’s a group of spouses on a very infamous list. They’re known to be temperamental troublemakers who are never allowed on the set when their significant others are filming.” She laughed and put on her shades.

“I’d like to see them try.”

I stepped on the gas and the vultures scattered to their cars. “Put on your seatbelt princess.” I wasn’t about to have lunch with those assholes taking shots of us through the damn glass with every bite.

We lost a few but some actually beat us to her favorite spot. I try to change shit up but she has such few pleasures it’s almost barbaric.

That’s something else I’ve noticed. Apart from the crazy stalker shit her life beyond the screen is fucked. She can’t go two feet in this town without someone following or waiting for her there.

It’s sad, but I won’t say that to her. I’ve just made up my mind to do something about it. I’m pretty sure they won’t be hanging out in my hometown.

First they’d have to find it, and even if they did, I have my ways of keeping them the fuck out. I walked her into the little canteen like restaurant that was a throwback to the fifties, with my hand protectively in the small of her back.

I saw and heard the cameras going off but pretended to ignore them as I led her to a table a safe distance away from the row of windows in the front.

“I could eat a horse.”

“That’s a kinda dicey thing to say for a farm girl.”

“Oh hush you. I just meant I’m starving, I think I’ll have a burger.” Get the hell outta here. I raised my brow and looked her over-over the top of my menu.

“What, no freshly mowed lawn and bean sprouts for lunch?” She grinned and patted her stomach suggestively and I almost fell out the booth. I thought it would take at least another six months for her to accept but here she was, the one bringing it up.

“Okay one side of beef coming up. If he’s anything like his dad he’s gonna be one carnivorous little beast. I’d be surprised if you didn’t start eating the shit on the hoof.”

I love making her laugh the way she was now. That light that comes into her eyes and brightens up her face does strange things to my heart.

For the next half hour I made sure she forgot that there were strangers staring at us and documenting every second, every detail of something as simple as lunch.

I started to imagine our life together, my damn kid’s life in that fishbowl. Didn’t these people know how dangerous this shit was?

I understand that this is all part of her fame, but there has got to be something I could do to make this shit easier for her.

She had no idea as she sat there enjoying her burger and fries that I was rearranging her life. I wasn’t above using her present situation to my advantage.

There had to be some judge in this town with half a damn brain who’d give her a restraining order. The more I thought about it the better it sounded. I knew an even better way to get what I wanted.

By the time we were ready to leave I was feeling better. I didn’t even try to walk through the asshole who got in my face as we headed to the car. I couldn’t hold back the glare though and that was enough to have him backtracking fast.

* * *

I made some calls while she went back to filming and set things in motion. If her handlers knew what I was about they’d boot my ass outta the state.

I knew damn well they loved her being hounded. I’d heard her manager say that the more exposure she had the more popular she’d remain in the public eye. I say the public can enjoy her in the movies she make and leave it at that.

I saw some of my work in action when we left and there were only a handful of carrion swarming around, they didn’t get the memo. I give it until the next day.

She was so upbeat I didn’t bother bringing up the fact that we were closing in on her stalker asshole. I’d finally found a way to reverse hack him and though I still didn’t know what he looked like, I knew where he was and where he was heading; right at her.

I listened to her babbling back there and couldn’t believe that my ears hadn’t started bleeding. The girl gets away with shit I’d never have let slide if she were anyone else.

“So, you gonna pee on the stick when we get home or nah.” She stopped in the middle of her diatribe and growled at me. “We’re not talking about that now remember?”

“That’s your deal, I wanna know.” She hadn’t said anything since lunch when she touched her stomach and I felt like a giddy teenage girl because she wasn’t completely freaked out.

When you think about it, this whole thing was on steroids. It felt like I hadn’t taken the time to breathe since I accepted my feelings for her.

I can’t believe that after years of taking things easy, always making sure there were no surprises lingering around the corner to bite me in the ass, I’d done this thing that would change my whole life and done it without a second thought.

Maybe that’s what being in love does to you. Turns shit upside down and have you doing shit that makes no damn sense.

As we pulled into the driveway I realized how crazy the whole thing was. It’s this fucking town, where everything exists under a veil of distorted reality. I could use the excuse that I’d got caught up, but I knew that wasn’t true, that’s just not me.

“Ha, I thought you said you already knew.” I watched her ass as we headed inside and my dick got hard. That little twist in her walk going up the stairs didn’t help matters any.

“Get those shorts off baby and lean over the bed.”

She did as she was told and looked over her shoulder at me with a grin as she shook her fine ass.

“I thought you wanted me to pee on the stick?”

“Later, think good thoughts, this is going to be hard and quick.” I just unzipped and released my cock, leaving my jeans on.

I cut her off mid-laugh with a hard thrust into her already wet cunt and after that, all that was heard were her moans, my grunts, and the bed knocking against the wall.

She took a quick nap after I pulled out of her and I took the opportunity to grab a quick shower. She rolled over when I walked back into the bedroom, eyed my semi hard dick that was tenting the towel and spread her legs. Fuck if I didn’t dive right back into that shit.

I had her legs behind her ears and her pussy stuffed with cock in ten seconds flat. This round lasted a little longer and this time I took it nice and slow.

Her lips were bee stung from all the wild kissing and her neck and tits were a mess from my teeth. I crawled off of her and dragged her back into the shower with me.

We made a light dinner since apparently she’s only allowed one real meal a day. She was fine until her phone went off and everything went dark. It was literally like the lights went off, but it was just her. The smile fell off her face, but more than that some of her essence just dissipated.

When she did look at me, she had that same look she did the day before when she got so sick. Like death slightly warmed over. What was it she’d said? It was someone she didn’t want to work with? My ass!

“You wanna tell me what that’s about?” She damn near jumped out of her skin and the phone skidded out of her hand and under the table. I would’ve gone after the shit and read it, but I was trying not to be that guy. Then again if she didn’t come clean soon all bets are off.

“It’s…nothing, just an annoying person who won’t take no for an answer.”

“No in what way? Personal way, or….” I just let that hang out there but inside my blood was on a slow boil.

“Work, definitely work.” She jumped up from the table, “I think I’ll go take a nice hot shower.”

I let her leave…for two minutes. That’s how long I was able to sit there like a stump before going after her, before I remembered we’d just fucked in the damn shower.

She squealed when I pulled back the shower door, like something straight outta Psycho. “Okay that’s it, start talking.” I switched the water off and helped her out of the stall, soap bubbles and all.

“Hey, I’m trying to take a shower here.”

“Tough, I told you not to lie to me right. Now I wanna know who keeps putting that look on your face every time they call or text or what the fuck.”

I didn’t much like the way she shied away from me like she was afraid I’d haul off and smack her, but she’d learn soon enough that my anger doesn’t take me there. For now my only interest was in getting to the bottom of this shit.

“Somehow I get the feeling that this has something to do with the asshole who’s been sending you those letters. If you don’t tell me what’s going on I can’t help you, now fucking talk.”

Okay so I’m a little pissed off. She’s the only woman I’ve ever loved and maybe I’m going overboard here but then again, I don’t really give a fuck.

“Some asshole has been threatening to hurt you for the better part of a year before I came along, now you’re getting phone calls that make you look and act like the boogeyman is hanging out under your bed.”

I’ve killed for less but I didn’t say that to her, she was spooked enough. I toned it down a little when I realized I was scaring her. The fact that we really didn’t know each other that well was never more evident.

“Look, in about a month and a half my life has made a complete three-sixty, I’m dealing with it. You came out of left field and I wasn’t expecting you or this, but fuck it, I’m here, and I’m not going anywhere. I didn’t know this about me, but when I love, I love hard as fuck.” Her freaky ass grinned at me.

“I’m not talking about that get your mind out the gutter. What I’m saying is I find that with you, I’m willing to take a lot. Like when you talk my ear off for hours on end about your stupid ass boy bands and the other shit that tickles you. All shit that would usually make me want to shoot myself, with you, it’s all good. But what I won’t deal with is being lied to. Not by you!”

“So I’m gonna ask you again, who the fuck was on the phone?” She looked miserable and my mind went in a million different directions at once.

“Would you be upset if I asked you for some time? It’s not…not something I like to talk about.” I didn’t want to, but she looked so pitiful, I caved. Everything in me said get to the bottom of this shit right fucking now. But this love shit put the skids on my crazy.

“You got a week. I turned the water back on and joined her in the shower. I needed to work this shit outta my system.