Chapter Seven
Toni wasn’t the only one who slept late the next morning, although she was probably the most surprised. It wasn’t like her to crash and not move until the sun was high in the sky, but that’s exactly what she’d done.
She stumbled into the shower, hoping to shampoo some sense of order back into her brains along with her body. She was foggy from sleep and wondered if she was supposed to be doing anything more than pulling herself together.
Her last scene would be filmed this evening, so she finished her ritual and shrugged, figuring if anybody had wanted her, they’d have woken her before now.
Slipping into her shorts and a tank top, she grabbed her sandals and noted the growling of her stomach. There had to be something to eat somewhere downstairs. Fran was too good an organizer not to have a muffin lurking around with Toni’s name on it.
Sure enough, there was food in the kitchen, along with—thank you, Fran—coffee. Snagging a plate and a few delectable pastries, Toni filled a mug and decided to take her breakfast outside.
She wasn’t the only one who’d succumbed to the lure of a crystal clear California morning. Tiffany sat comfortably in the shade of one of the big patio umbrellas, her feet up on a padded chaise, a bottle of water beside her and—to Toni’s surprise—large glasses perched on her nose. She was apparently doing a crossword puzzle.
Toni hesitated. There was the whole etiquette thing to consider. How, exactly, did one say good morning to a woman whose husband one had fucked enthusiastically the day before?
Where was Miss Manners when you needed her?
Tiffany turned and saw her. “Hey. Come on over and join me.” She put the paper aside and took off her glasses. “I’d love someone to talk to for a while.”
“You sure I’m not disturbing you?” Toni walked to the table and rested the plate on it, holding her coffee in her hand.
“Shit no. I’m bored, if you want the truth.” She frowned. “Sorry. I’m trying to watch my language.”
Toni blinked. “You are?”
“Yeah. The baby might hear.”
“Oh.” Toni pulled out a chair and sat down. “Guess moms-to-be have to worry about that sort of thing.”
Tiffany giggled. “Don’t know about other ones, but I sure do.” She rested a hand on the curve of her belly. “This little one’s gonna have enough to deal with. So we’re trying to keep it clean, you know?”
“Sure.” Toni sipped her coffee. “How you feeling?”
“Good. I think this rest is what I needed.” Tiffany stared morosely at her feet. “Of course, I’ve kinda given up on my ankles. Guess I won’t get those back until after I give birth.” She sighed. “Not easy.”
“I believe you.”
“Especially seeing you all sleek and gorgeous.” Tiffany smiled at Toni.
“Oh hel—” Toni caught herself. “Oh good grief.”
“No, seriously, Toni. You’re really really stunning. Haven’t you seen yourself in the dailies?” Tiffany blinked.
“Uh, no.”
As a matter of fact it hadn’t occurred to Toni to see herself on the replay of the day’s filming. She knew what she looked like naked and didn’t really have the urge to see herself having sex. That was just on the other side of kinky pervert stuff.
Tiffany leaned back. “You’re really not the usual kind of actress on these things, are you?”
“There’s a usual type?” Toni picked up one of the pastries and took a moment to appreciate the artistic dollop of chocolate cream on top of it.
Tiffany sighed deeply. “Yes. And if you share that, I’ll tell you about it.” Her gaze fixed on Toni’s hand.
“Um…”
“I shouldn’t. Not good for me or the tadpole. But I swear, if I don’t get a mouthful of that I will kill.” She grinned. “Unless you’ve got some avocado on you. Got me a fierce craving for that too, now and again.”
With a sympathetic smile, Toni broke the pastry in half and shared it. She just hoped she wasn’t contributing to any nasty medical complications in a mother-to-be.
“Mmmm.” Tiffany surrendered to the bliss.
Incredibly, her nipples hardened at the tips of a very ample set of breasts. Whether it was hormones or a really good plastic surgeon, Toni had no idea, since they were draped in a loose cotton maternity top. All she knew was that apparently a chocolate covered, cream-filled pastry was having a very sexually arousing effect on Tiffany Spalding.
Toni took a bite. It was good, but not that good.
“Damn. This is better than sex.” Tiffany licked at the cream and savored every flaky crumb.
“If you say so.” Toni wasn’t sure how to answer that one.
“Okay, I’m kidding. But it’s close.” She sighed. “And you’ve had Ryan. So you know what a compliment I’m paying to the pastry here.”
Toni gulped, coughed and grabbed for her coffee.
Tiffany laughed out loud, then looked anxious and clutched her belly. “God, if you could see your face. And I shouldn’t laugh. It makes me pee.”
“Sorry.” Toni wasn’t quite sure where to look, but she knew she was blushing. “You caught me by surprise there.”
“It’s okay. Really.”
Toni wrinkled her nose. “I don’t get it, Tiff. How can it be okay? You’re sitting here next to a woman who f—sorry—who got intimate with your husband yesterday. Doesn’t it feel weird?”
The other woman smiled. “It used to. Back when Ryan and I were first married. But we knew that our marriage was the real thing.” She shifted a little on the chaise. “It’s only sex, Toni. That’s all. Something we’re both good at and something that we make a lot of money from. It’s bought us a nice house and a good start for the tadpole. With luck there’s gonna be a college fund waiting too…” She tapped a finger on her belly.
“Yeah, but still…” Toni paused. She couldn’t get her head around the idea that one’s husband fucked other women on a regular basis.
“Look.” Tiffany gazed calmly at her. “Sex is a physical activity. Like…like…a martial art or something. You do it and then it’s over. Ryan’s very good at it. It’s his job, his career. It was mine too until recently. But…” She tipped her head toward Toni and stared at her intently. “It’s only a job.”
“Okay.” Toni knew she probably sounded doubtful.
“What matters is that at the end of each day, we go home—together. We make a life—together. A marriage is a helluva lot more than ripping up the sheets with night after night of hot sex. It’s being there when one of us has the ‘flu. It’s being there when the other one catches it as well. It’s grocery shopping. It’s cooking dinner or eating out. It’s talking and listening and doing laundry and paying bills.”
Toni listened as Tiffany made her point emphatically.
“It’s about the love that covers so much more than just sex, Toni. Do I wish sometimes that Ryan and I were real estate brokers or something? Sure. He gets a zit, I get bloated—whatever—there’s good days and bad days. But the sex? It’s only a job.”
Toni shook her head. “I’m in awe.”
“Of what?”
“You’re so—so—normal. So well-adjusted.”
Tiffany chuckled. “All part of the deal, Toni. If we weren’t, it wouldn’t have worked and we’d be divorced by now.” She leaned back and closed her eyes. “Mind you, if we hadn’t been able to adjust, if we’d been more the star types…” She made little air-quotes with her fingers, “…it would have been a disaster from the beginning. Most relationships that form within the business crash and burn pretty damn quickly.”
“Can’t say I’m surprised.” Toni spoke with feeling. She still couldn’t quite grasp Tiffany’s complacent outlook, but shrugged. It did work for her and Ryan. The soft glow on Tif’s face was clear evidence.
And when she jumped… “Oh Toni…”
“What?” Toni jumped too.
“Look.” Tiffany stared down at her belly. There was a tiny movement beneath the soft cotton. “Tadpole’s awake.” She held out her hand. “Come say hello.”
Toni carefully stood up and went to the chaise, letting Tiffany take her by the wrist and rest her palm over the fluttering inside.
The two women gazed at each other in a moment of pure female delight that was completely new to Toni. “Oh wow…” She breathed out the words. “That’s Tadpole, huh?”
Tiffany nodded. “Yep.”
“Wow. Hello, Tadpole.”
“Cool, huh?”
“Honestly? Scary as hel—all get out.” Toni blinked and withdrew her hand.
“Yep.” Tiffany laughed and nodded. “You know what else is scary?”
“What?”
“I can’t do my toenails any more. You got time to help me out here?” She reached into her bag and came up with a brilliant red bottle of polish.
“Sure.” Toni smiled. “Gotta keep Mom looking her best.” She sat on the end of the chaise by Tiffany’s feet.
“You’re a doll. I’m not keeping you from anything, am I?” Tiffany sighed with pleasure as Toni moved her feet into position and shook the bottle.
“Nope. I’ve got my last scene tonight. And I’m not sure where everyone else is at the moment. I slept late.”
“I know Ryan’s working with Suze on the scene for tonight. And I think the others are filming Nick in the gym. Weights and stuff. Just a few shots to cut into the movie if the need them.”
“Ah.” Toni put a thin coat on Tiffany’s left foot and blew on the nails. “At least that’ll keep things quiet.” She glanced up. “Do Nick and Suze always scream at each other?”
Tiffany frowned at the question. “They’ve never been buddies, that’s for sure. Nick’s an…” She put her hands to her lips and mouthed the word asshole.
“I kinda got that impression.”
“He’s a camera hog, which doesn’t endear him to anyone he works with. But he’s good, looks good and has a lot of fans. I guess it’s the bad-boy thing.” She shrugged. “This time though…” She paused, the frown deepening. “This time, well, Ryan told me he didn’t think Nick was himself.”
Toni switched feet. “What do you mean?”
“There’s something edgier about him this weekend. That mean streak’s gotten a whole lot wider and meaner and his temper’s on—like a knife edge or something.” She pushed hair behind her ear. “Ryan thinks he noticed a bit of a shake in his hands. And a mood swing that wasn’t real typical of Nick, although he’s a moody jerk at the best of times.”
“So what’s going on with him? He stressed or something?” Toni blew on the second set of nails, admiring the blood red polish.
“’Roid Rage.” Tiffany whispered the words.
“What? What the f—heck’s that?” She was getting better at this clean language thing.
“Steroids.” Tiffany grimaced. “Nick’s been using. Stacking ‘em maybe.” She glanced at Toni. “That means using steroids with some other stuff. Like in a stack, you know?”
“That’s bad news, isn’t it?”
“Yeah. At first it’s all muscle and cool goodness. But too much and other things start happening. And you get a temper that can turn real bad real quick. Out of control. That’s why they call it ‘Roid Rage. Ryan reckons Nick’s on the edge of those other things. Bud has to have noticed. If he hasn’t, he’ll know before we’re done here because Ryan’s gonna drop a word in his ear.”
Toni absorbed that piece of information as she finished the second coat. “That’s too bad. Hate to see stuff like that sneak up and mess with people’s heads.”
“Me too. Of course, there wasn’t much in Nick’s head to mess with from the get-go. It was all in the other head.”
Toni glanced up and met Tiffany’s gaze.
There was silence for a moment or two then both women began to laugh.
~~~~~
Leaning against the kitchen doorjamb, someone else laughed too. Paul had been quietly observing Tiff and Toni as they sat and chatted and did that girly stuff—nail polish. His nose wrinkled. That shit stunk to high heaven.
He’d finished with Nick, thank the good lord, after an hour of trying to get him to slow down, flex his muscles not his mouth, and generally do what he was told. It had been—fucking hell.
Now he had to go sit in on Ryan and Suze’s setup meeting, just to make sure he had the camera in the right place and the lens cap off. It wouldn’t be much more than that, since Paul knew what the hell he was doing. But he had to do it anyway.
He’d stopped in the kitchen for a bottle of water and seen the little snapshot of girl-talk outside under the umbrella.
It had been a picture he couldn’t resist, so he’d moved quietly to the door and just watched, overhearing a little of the conversation, but mostly enjoying the scene they made.
Blonde and beautiful Tiffany, glowing—yeah, to Paul’s amazement, pregnant women really did glow—in the sunshine. And at her feet, intent upon her job as toe painter, Toni. Dusky and natural, quite at home straddling the chaise without a thought to what she looked like. The sun dappled her incredible skin and backlit the spiky black hair as she moved.
She didn’t seem to notice any of it. There was no preening or posing. No endless chatter about herself, her footage, her scenes or her future.
Nope, from what Paul could tell, these could have been two women anywhere sharing a moment, bonding over girl-stuff. And Tiff was smiling, chatting—having a good time talking to Toni.
Toni wouldn’t know, but Tiff wasn’t one to get friendly with just anybody. She was selective and could freeze people with a few words if she wanted to. It was a skill she’d had to learn when she started dating Ryan. Too many porn actors thought that doing sex on screen gave ‘em a license to do it off screen as well with whoever they wanted.
Tiff had shut that one down pretty damn quick.
Paul winced.
Kari hadn’t. He looked out over the patio and realized once again that it had been way too long since he’d met a “normal” woman. One who wasn’t so deep into the business that she’d gone under six months ago and was simply drowning in sex. He wasn’t sure if he’d ever talked to Kari as easily as he’d talked to Toni.
Sure as shit he couldn’t have done it now—Kari would have been too busy telling him all about her latest fuck-fest.
And it left a bad taste in his mouth, for more reasons than one.
He stared out at Toni wondering at himself for the attraction he knew he felt all the way to his bones. And it was so soon, too. She was laughing about something, an easy smile curving those lips.
Shit. He was half hard just watching her mouth. Yeah, he lusted after her, but not in the way he was used to. He wanted to fuck her so bad he could damn near hear his cock begging for it.
But he wanted to hold her, too. Sleep next to her and wake up to her face on the pillow. There was a shitload more going on in his head—the one on his shoulders—than there had been before with Kari. And there was a lot going on in his other head too.
It was like his brain had decided to get in on the action with this woman. Like she was a rainbow of colors he wanted to explore, not just a simple black and white fuck.
He shook his head and took a drink from his water. This was too freaky and he had work to do. Still, he’d keep an open mind to the possibilities. He wasn’t about to rush her. She’d said she was his friend and that was all-too-often an “f” word for guys.
Whether they’d end up more than friends? Well, he wanted that. But he’d wait a bit and make sure she was okay with the idea before he did anything about it. He wasn’t a Nick-type macho stud taking pussy without asking.
Of course, a guy couldn’t be blamed for thinking sex. It was what they did. A lot. Especially here where naked people were all over the place. So he’d see what developed—if anything.
And do his best to keep his hard-on under control around Toni. Even if it took a bottle of iced water down his shorts to do it.
He turned away and headed upstairs, pushing the image of Toni and Tif away for now. Tonight would probably be tough though.
Toni would be in the hot tub. Slick and naked.
And masturbating.
Gritting his teeth, Paul lowered the chilled bottle to his fly—and held it there for all of two excruciatingly painful seconds. It worked, but shit, it wasn’t much fun.
~~~~~
“Here. You might enjoy this.”
Fran held out a large glass with something creamy and frothy in it, along with skewers of fruit and an umbrella.
“What is it?” Toni took it and blinked.
“My world-famous piña colada. People would kill for my secret.” She grinned. “I haven’t shared it yet. But I think you’ll enjoy it.”
“I’m sure I will.” Toni nodded. “It’s okay with them?” She motioned upward to the balcony where Paul had one camera set up to film her before the main scene with Suze and Ryan in the bedroom.
“Yep. All part of the business. A few props here and there make it look natural. Make you feel natural too.”
“Yeah.” Toni snorted. “It’s really natural to go strip off, jump into the hot tub and…er…do—well, you know.”
“Relax.” Fran chuckled. “It’ll be over before you know it.”
“Thanks.” Toni walked toward the pool area. “Better mix up another batch. I might need one when this is done.”
“Already in the blender.” Fran called after her as she turned and went back inside.
Good to know.
Toni waited a few moments, uncertain, not sure if she’d get a cue or not. This was a little odd, since there were no cameras or lights in her face for this scene. She would simply do what came naturally to a naked horny woman in a hot tub.
The idea was that she’d be watched by Ryan and Suze from their balcony. They would then rediscover their passion for each other after their fantasies and all the other stuff. And, of course, consequently fuck like minks on camera.
“’K, Toni. You’re up.” Paul’s voice sounded from above. “Go for it.”
There was the clack she’d come to expect at the start of each take, so she moved to the side of the hot tub, put her drink and her towel down on the carefully landscaped rock table next to it and slowly walked into the bubbling waters.
It was blissfully warm, heating her skin and taking away the little chill from the night air. There were blue-green lights beneath the water and a couple of accent spots on the flowers, but that was pretty much all. She’d be a silhouette against the colors, a moving shadow of sexual pleasure.
Of course, she had to get naked first.
Dunking her shoulders beneath the ripples, she stood again, letting the water sheet down over her body, lifting her hands to the back of her neck and turning into the right position.
She’d had the seat pointed out to her, the one spot that caught what little ambient light there was and could be captured without interference from the balcony. Moving slowly, she reached behind her and undid the top of her bikini, swiftly pulling the halter strap over her head and tossing it to join the towel.
With a sigh that was one of genuine pleasure, Toni slipped to the underwater ledge and sat down.
It was pretty damn good, all things considered.
Now what? Hmm. Toni thought for a minute as the water lapped around her breasts and she spread her arms wide along either side of the tub. The drink. Yes, that would be ideal right about now.
She reached for Fran’s award-winning cocktail, pushed the umbrella to one side and took a sip through the blue straw. She managed not to choke, but it was close. Apparently Fran’s secret involved—among other things—twice the rum and half the pineapple juice.
But damn, it was one helluva drink. Toni took another couple of sips and felt the liquor seeping through her muscles, relaxing her.
A tiny drop of icy condensation dripped from the foot of the glass onto her naked breast, tumbling down to catch on her nipple. It was a chilling touch from an icy finger that burned into her body like a lover’s kiss.
“Mmm.” She couldn’t help the moan since the water was lapping away the cool moisture with heated tongues and turning her on.
This is gonna be easier than I thought.
She set the glass down and brushed both hands down over her breasts as if pushing away the droplets. Then she cupped herself, lifting them from the water, touching the nipples gently as they beaded in the cool breeze.
Remembering she was supposed to be in character, not sensually sloshing in her own private paradise, Toni glanced around as if checking to make sure she was alone. Of course, she was.
Sort of.
If she ignored the fact that Paul was on the balcony shooting her while the others got ready for some intense fucking behind him.
She wondered how he stayed so sane in this sexual insanity, then dragged her thoughts back to what she was supposed to be doing.
Shifting to her feet once more, she slithered from the bottom half of her bikini with a smile, making sure she’d turned a little so that Paul could get a good ass shot. He’d said she had a nice ass.
He was so sweet. And cute. And hot. And easy to talk to. And hot. And—fucking hell. Toni had to concentrate or she’d be doing take after take all night and her toes would wrinkle.
“Just go with a fantasy, Toni.” He’d grinned when he’d said that. “Do whatever makes you feel good.”
You’d make me feel good.
Yeah, that thought was going to hang around for a bit. Nothing she could do about it. But the kiss of the water against her naked skin distracted her a little. Bubbles were popping and bursting gently around her as she sat down once more, this time letting her legs float and her body lift a little, bobbed by the current the jets were creating within the tub.
It was—delicious. Decadent even. There was something incredibly sexual about the feel of naked flesh and water meeting without any clothes in the way. Toni was cradled in the hands of an element molding itself to her, around her, in all the places that were usually protected or covered against such a touch.
She felt slippery and free and more than a little aroused, just from the experience of skinny-dipping. What on earth would it feel like to have the ocean around her and be naked?
Without much effort on her part, her hands drifted once more to her breasts. She lay back, resting her head on the edge of the tub and really floating now, simply enjoying the sensations of water bubbling around her, caressing her spine, playing along her thighs—and if she moved an inch or so to the right—oh fuck, yeah. Right there.
A stream of bubbles softly tickled her pussy and she couldn’t help parting her legs to give it better access.
Her hands slithered down her body over her hips without hesitation, stroking up and down, emphasizing the kiss of the water as it lapped at her, a thousand hungry lips touching her in all the right places.
Fuck, she was turned on by this, no question about it.
Slowly, she turned over, an easy movement that brought her ass out of the water to meet the cool air. Moving to the side of the tub, she reached for her drink, lifting her breasts as her chest emerged from the foam, loving how the bubbles slid away and clung to her nipples before dropping back down.
This time, she touched the icy glass to her body, her head falling back as the shock made her shudder. Hard buds welcomed the cold burn, her pussy throbbed and one sip was all she could manage before returning to her sensual cocoon.
With scarcely a thought, Toni plunged a hand between her legs, finding the precise spot that ached to be aroused even more.
She was a mermaid, a water sprite, a nymph belonging to a world where everything was rippling sensation, liberating flutters of liquid over and around her body. She squeezed her breasts with one hand while the other began the delicate strokes that would send her flying further into the vortex.
She loved this, loved playing like this in the water. And here, now, in this decadently luxurious hot tub—well, it was a helluva lot better than her bath and her vibrator in her small apartment.
There, she bumped her knees on the hard porcelain. Here she could sprawl, could let her nipples bob into the air or beneath the surface. Here she could part her legs as wide as she wanted, get the best access to all the right spots, lean back and know that the weight of her body was held gently buoyant within the blue-green waters.
Toni knew she was a sensual woman. She knew her body, had no issues with exploring it or examining her own responses to a variety of stimulations. She enjoyed sex—with the right partner—and had found enormous pleasure in the exhausting session with Ryan.
But this—this moment of private arousal—well, it was doing more to relax her and get her body thrumming than most of what she’d seen and done here at the beach.
All she needed was a willing partner. The right partner.
And the image of Paul flooded into her mind like a dam bursting.
Oh God, he’d be good. She just knew it. He’d know how to touch her—like this—and how to prolong the exquisite moment—like this.
She felt the texture of her own liquids as they flowed from her pussy to cover her fingers and lose themselves in the hot tub. Yeah, Paul would like this.
Lazily, she floated, a body trembling with knowledge of its own response, a brain leisurely turning over the possibilities, a woman adrift in a sensual spell.
Which was shattered moments later by a loud yell.
“Cut.”