CHAPTER SEVEN
Ben
I loosened the ties from Chelsea’s wrists and unlooped the ends from the bedpost. She smiled and rotated her wrists in circles. It had been three days. We had locked ourselves in my room, barely coming out for food or water. Lenny left trays of food by the door as if it was part of the Baldwin Ranch room service package.
“You ok?” I looked at her wrists, hoping they weren’t bruised.
She smiled. “Better than ok. That one was a yes.” She crawled toward me on the bed.
I couldn’t explain it, and I doubted she could either. But ever since I had signed the contract to play Julian Love in Love & Bondage, we couldn’t get enough of each other. We had tried almost every scene in the book, improvising on some and getting creative on others. For three days, we had worn clothes only to answer the door, or if they were a prop needed in one of the scenes.
Owning the decision for me to star in the movie had ignited something in our primal sides.
“You realize we have to get back to the real world some time?” Chelsea teased.
“I thought this was our real world.” I swooped her underneath me and feathered kisses along her collarbone.
“Stop, stop.” She laughed. “I’m going to take a shower.” She rolled out from under me and sashayed to the bathroom.
“Hey, what if we go out tonight?”
“You mean out of the bedroom or the house?” she called over the shower water.
“The house. I think we could use some air.” I ran a hand through my hair. Air was the last thing I wanted. All I wanted was her. She was my air, but something in the back of my head told me that maybe we needed to get out of the ranch walls for a while.
The contract with Scott was signed. The contract with Heart Shock Studios for Love & Bondage was signed. According to Valerie, the foundation was running smoothly. Everything was back on track. But at some point, we had to emerge from our sex spell.
“Sure. You want to take me to a real cowboy bar? I’ve been in Texas over a week and I still haven’t been to one.”
“Yeah, baby. Let me show you Texas.” I smiled. Over the summer, she had taught me how to shag and introduced me to beach music. Now it was my turn. This girl was going to two-step.
“Ok. I need a few minutes. Do you think Lenny would fix us something before we go out? I’m starving.”
“Sure thing.” I punched the button on the intercom and called the kitchen. “What do you want me to tell him?”
“Surprise me,” she called over the shower’s running water.
“You got it.” I wasn’t sure after the past few days if that was even possible. She had been the one surprising me one move after another. Her adventurous side had never been more evident. I looked at the ties I had left on the sheets.
“Yes, sir? Did you need something?” Lenny’s voice piped in through the speaker.
“Yeah, could you fix us a quick dinner before we go out for the night?”
“Certainly. What would you like?”
“How about something with grilled chicken? Doesn’t matter what.”
“Ok. I can come up with something.”
“Thanks, we’ll be down in an hour.” I thought that would give Chelsea plenty of time to get ready—after I joined her in the shower first.
***
There weren’t many places I could go near the ranch where people didn’t wait in line for autographs and pictures. The Gold’n Spoke was an exception. It was far enough outside the Austin city limits that it didn’t attract tourists. The locals who hung out there had seen me more than enough times to not get excited when I walked through the swinging doors.
I led Chelsea by the hand and found a table on the outer edges of the wooden dance floor.
“So this is a real cowboy bar?” Her blue eyes took in the scene.
There was a band playing tonight. Lonely Roads. I hadn’t heard of them before. The whole damn bar was shouting and screaming to every note that came out of their mouths.
“Yep, this is it. What do you think?”
She smiled. “Looks like fun. That band must be popular.”
“I’ll go get us some beers. Sit tight.”
I pushed through the crowd and joined the line at the bar. It looked like everyone had turned out tonight. I threw a twenty in the tip jar and carried two beers back to the table.
“Here you go.” I handed one to Chelsea.
“Thanks.” I watched as her lips circled the mouth of the bottle.
“You excited about going into the studio with Quinn tomorrow?”
She nodded. “I am. The whole thing is surreal. I’m going to hear her sing one of my songs.”
“I can’t wait to hear it. But, you know, I think we’ve been sidetracked the past few days. You needed some business advice, didn’t you?”
“It’s no big deal.”
I remembered how she had come to me a few days ago after her first meeting at Blue Steel. But all I could think about at the time was her and Love & Bondage. I felt like an ass for taking the spotlight away from her big moment.
“It is a big deal. This is your first contract. Tell me what’s going on. I want to help you.”
She sighed. “Ok, so it’s not about the music I’ve already written. It’s about what they want me to write.”
I nodded, waiting to hear the entire story.
“Brandon wants Quinn and me—mainly Quinn since she’s the face of the label—but anyway. He wants us to put out music that will bring the female listeners back.”
“I don’t follow.” I swallowed the beer.
“There were all these charts and reports. Brandon said they had focus groups and had done surveys. I don’t know. But they want us to make it more girl music. Not girl power, but whatever we can write that will speak to girls like us.”
I listened to her words. She would pick up speed then slow down. I hated seeing her unsure of herself. Her music was beautiful. This was the nasty part of any business, breaking down artists who just wanted to make art.
“Darlin’, I love your songs and a million other people are going to love your songs. Brandon has a business to run. God love ‘em, and I get it. But that doesn’t mean you have to write music that isn’t still important to you. Look at me. I’m a brand, a damn label because that’s how the game’s played.”
“But I don’t want to play a game. I just want to write. That’s all.”
The look in her eyes had me convinced I should buy my own music label tomorrow and let her write whatever songs she wanted. This was pure garbage. Hell, it was insane.
“Chelsea, you are talented and they want that talent, but you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to once your contract is up. I think sticking with Quinn is the way to go to start with. She’s strong and she doesn’t usually bow down to the boys club, if you know what I mean. If you’re looking for my opinion on whether you should write these songs, I think you can do it and still be you.”
“You do?”
“Of course I do. I think you can do anything. You have the one hundred percent Ben Baldwin seal of approval.”
“She wants to start writing together next week, as soon as the current songs are recorded. It seems kind of fast.”
“Speaking of that.” I leaned closer so she could hear me over the steel guitar. “You know I have to leave to start the movie shoot.”
“I knew it was coming up, but when do you have to go?”
“Next week.”
She bit her lip. “That soon?”
“Yeah, darlin’. I know it’s soon, but I want you to stay at the ranch while I’m gone. I can fly back and forth on breaks, and maybe even fly you out when you and Quinn wrap up. How does that sound?”
“Well, I had kind of thought about getting my own place in Austin. Everything I have is still back at the beach house, but if things work out with Blue Steel, I was planning on moving to Texas.”
I beamed. “Then just move your stuff into the ranch. You don’t need some place in town that’s going to be forty-five minutes away. The ranch is plenty big for both of us, don’t you think?” I waited for her to see how perfect this plan was.
“I-I don’t know, Ben. Isn’t this kind of fast? And I can only imagine what my father would say.” Her eyes drifted toward the band.
“Hayden knows you’re a grown woman. You have a job, your own money, and you’ve got me. It doesn’t make sense for us to live apart. Besides, I’m going to be gone a lot for the next three months, so the ranch is going to be just sitting there. Who will Lenny cook for?” I winked, hoping I could charm her into this idea. I didn’t like the thought of leaving her behind while I shot the movie, but it felt better thinking about her sleeping in my bed while I was gone.
“Think of it this way. You’ll have all the added security, and I won’t have to worry every second of the day. What do you say?”
Her eyes met mine. “I’ve never lived with anyone before. It just seems like a big step. A really big step. Have you?”
“Have I what?” I knew where she was headed.
“Seriously? Don’t dodge the question. I’m asking if you’ve lived with someone before, or would this be the first time?”
I didn’t consider my nonstop traveling with Rebecca living together. Or the apartment I’d shared with a young actress in L.A. as part of a friends-with-benefits situation. Those were different. Rebecca and I were on the move so much that we only ever stayed in hotels together. But looking back on it, I realized we were seldom apart. That was, until she went to Hawaii. I knew what kind of shampoo she used, her favorite TV shows, and the threadbare old T-shirt she liked to wear around the hotel room. Somewhere in the dictionary, that probably qualified as living together.
“Ben?” Chelsea waited for an answer.
“Not like this. I’ve never had this conversation and I’ve never asked a girl to move into the ranch with me. This is different. It’s you.” I reached for her hand, massaging her fingertips where the beer bottle had left traces of cold.
“Can I think about it?” Her question surprised me.
“I guess so.” I took a swig of beer. “But what did you have in mind? Long distance? You going back to the island? Me here? Me in L.A.? Trying to squeeze in time between the studio and my movie?” My voice escalated and I knew the table next to us had probably overheard my side of the argument.
“I don’t know. I hadn’t thought that far. I was only supposed to be here a few days and I’m already past that. I don’t know what to think right now.” She sighed, her shoulders slumping. “It just feels like we started over again and it’s good. I don’t want to make the wrong choice.”
I instantly regretted pushing her. I hadn’t meant to sound angry, but the thought of spending time apart had gotten under my skin. I wanted to see those eyes every morning when I woke up. I wanted to kiss her whenever I wanted. I had already jeopardized that by lying to her once, and the loss almost broke me. Letting her go was not an option.
“How about we dance? We can figure this out later.” I stood and reached for her hand.
“You sure?”
“Darlin’, come on. You and me out on the dance floor. I need to see that pretty smile again.”
She slid out of her seat and followed me through the sea of dancers.
I wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her body against me until I could feel her heart beat against my chest. This was what I wanted. Chelsea. I was going to figure out a way to make sure she never slipped away again. Tonight, that started with a slow song on a Texas dance floor.