Chapter 3

 

 

First stop, the obstacle course. O’Neil demonstrated once before parking himself at the end. He glanced at each of the actors and smiled. “Who’s first?”

Raven stepped forward, one brow arched. “Me.” She sailed through the course. Everyone but Ryan watched her. Ryan’s eyes were glued to Shannon with a faraway look.

O’Neil couldn’t tell what was on his mind, but Ryan was distracted.

Raven made it to Shannon without any trouble.

Luke followed without a word. He wasn’t as graceful or quite as fast as Raven, but made it without trouble.

Ryan shook his head. “I’ll go.” His eyes focused on the balance beam. In no time, he was standing before O’Neil, one corner of that sexy mouth tipped up. For being distracted, the man was physically prepared for the role.

Keenan followed, and Ryan moved out of the way, glancing back to watch Keenan, then sneaking a look at O’Neil before dropping his eyes.

Keenan stumbled at the end, landing badly, and reaching out to catch himself on Ryan who stumbled. “Damn it, sorry.”

Ryan helped him up. “You okay?”

Keenan looked around and laughed. “Sure. Just foolish. You all nail it, then I flub it.”

Ryan lifted a shoulder and glanced back at the course. “My trainer had me doing stuff like this the last two months. I just have practice.” His shoulder brushed O’Neil’s as he stepped back.

A shiver worked through O’Neil as Ryan met his gaze with a hint of smile on his lips. A few second later he looked away and pushed out a breath.

Alexa charged down the course, fumbling here and there, but she made it, on her feet. “Give me a few more tries, and I’ll have it down.” She smirked at Shannon.

He nodded slowly. “Time for water exercises.” He started toward the lake.

Alexa hurried in front of him, pulling her t-shirt over her head, revealing a barely-there bikini.

O’Neil held back the sigh. “I’d suggest a one piece tomorrow. When we get to the water maneuvers, you’ll want something more functional.”

She turned back, a taunt in those dark eyes. “Don’t like what you see?”

That wasn’t the problem. Alexa spent the day flirting shamelessly with both him and Keenan. He knew her type. She wanted the attention to somehow prove something. What, he wasn’t sure, but he didn’t care to find out.

“Not here for that,” O’Neil replied, stopping as she stepped back a little too far and fell in the water in her shorts and bikini top.

Keenan hurried to help her out of the water.

O’Neil stopped and crossed his arms over his chest. Someone ran into him and briefly grabbed his side.

Blue eyes locked on his. “Sorry,” Ryan murmured, holding his gaze for a moment as he wet his lips. Then he stepped away and dropped his gaze.

O’Neil did is damndest to ignore his body’s response to the actor who’d starred in too many fantasies to count. He felt the spark. He hoped like hell he didn't imagine it. Best to proceed cautiously in case he’d read the situation wrong.

“Everyone in. We’ll go from there,” O’Neil announced.

Ryan peeled the shirt over his head, and O’Neil’s attention was drawn to the thin white line across his ribs. Then he took a look at the rest of Ryan as he pushed the sweats down to reveal trunks.

He wished he was getting rid of everything. But then he had to remind himself, he just told Alexa they weren’t there for that.

Ryan glanced back, his gaze lingering. Then his eyes closed as he turned away again.

Right, back to the physical assessment.

 

* * * *

 

Ryan had survived the first day of training. Sliding into his Infinity, he pulled out his phone. Two texts from Manny, asking when he would be done. He pushed his fingers through his hair and considered lying, saying he was never going to be done, but that was an asshole move.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” he muttered, staring at the phone.

A tap on his window brought his head up.

Shannon O’Neil stood there, hot as fuck with piercing green eyes. He looked concerned.

Ryan rolled down the window. “Hey, something I can do for you?” That put fantasies into Ryan’s head.

O’Neil’s brow cocked, one corner of his mouth tipping up. “You okay? Today too rough?” The snark in his tone irked.

He huffed. “No. I was looking forward to going home and unwinding, but it looks like I need to pull my brother out of this funk he’s in.”

“What funk?”

And for some damned reason, Ryan didn’t keep his mouth shut. “You hear about the mess Luke Chance went through a couple months back? Crazy stalker bitch used my brother to get close to him and then tried to ruin his relationship with Leona by drugging him, with plans to fuck him in a club bathroom? Only he nearly died. Because he was allergic to the drug?”

“I gather your brother feels guilty?” O’Neil asked.

“Yeah, and depressed because the woman he’s currently seeing asked about the whole mess. Not to mention that the women he normally goes for want to get to his movie star friends or family, not the screenwriter he happens to be.”

“That’s rough. But maybe I can help with the guilt part, if you’d like me to try.” He slid his hands into his pockets and Ryan fought temptation to follow O’Neil’s hands with his eyes.

“How?” Ryan asked.

“He drinks, right? Think he’d go to a dive bar?”

Ryan snorted. “A dive bar?”

O’Neil smirked. “What? Too good for a dive bar?”

“Not at all. My brother, however, likes the night clubs filled with famous people and beautiful women, but I’ll convince him. First, I have to ask. How do you plan to help?”

“I’ve seen survivor’s guilt firsthand. And sure, Luke lived, but it’s close enough. If you don’t mind hanging out with a nobody, call to tell me you’re coming. I’ll be at Ricer’s Pub in two hours.” O’Neil produced a card and held it out. “If he’s too good for that, then we can figure something else out, but I was looking forward to a beer in a quiet place.”

Ryan kept eye contact as he took the card. “I can’t guarantee it will be quiet with me there.”

“Doubt it will be an issue. Just don’t wear your designer clothes, and we’ll be fine.”

Ryan bit his bottom lip. “Not wearing designer anything now.” He looked up at the ceiling a moment, then shook his head. “Nope, nothing.”

O’Neil chuckled. “Okay. Sorry. Last time I worked on a movie like this, I was surrounded by douchebags who thought they were better than everyone. I’m finding that not to be the case this time.”

“No, but Alexa would take you home in a hurry. Unless you’re looking for a one-night stand, don’t bother. She likes variety, and I haven’t seen her keep anyone around for more than a few nights.”

“Not looking to break contract over some T&A. Besides, she’s not my type.”

“What’s your type?” Ryan asked without a damned thought until after the words were out of his mouth.

“Someone real.” Standing, he said, “I think Ricer’s will work, as long as your brother doesn’t mind hanging with a bunch of plain people.”

“I’ll twist his arm.”

O’Neil walked away, and Ryan couldn’t stop himself from watching that firm ass. The worn denim hugged every damned inch. Adjusting his growing erection, he took a look at the business card, then put his headset on and dialed his brother.

Manny answered, “Thought you’d never call.”

Ryan sighed. “Just got out of training. What’s up?”

“Busy tonight?”

“Sort of. Want to come to some dive bar with me and the guy training us?”

“You want to hang out with the Navy SEAL guy?” he asked in disbelief. “At a trashy bar?”

“Why not? Let’s do something different. Aubrey’s not in town. You’re not trying to hook up with someone else, are you? And if you are, maybe the change in scenery will help with that. What do you say?”

“Okay,” he answered slowly. “Sure, why not.”

“Good, I’ll pick you up in an hour and a half.” Ryan hung up, then started the car.

O’Neil stood against the hood of his truck, watching with an intensity that woke his dick up once more. He wanted to know what was on O’Neil’s mind.

Maybe he should have said no. Could he keep the desire in check? This was a casual night out to help his damned brother. Not a date.

Ryan snorted. A date. He hadn’t had one of those in years, not since he realized women didn’t do it for him.

Raven’s ringtone played from his phone. He pressed the talk button. “Hey, what’s up?”

“O’Neil?” she playfully taunted.

“What about him?” Ryan asked, playing dumb.

“You want him. I know how you get when you find someone you want to try.”

“Stop. We saw him go home with a woman the other night, remember?”

“We did?” she asked, then laughed. “Oh, he’s that guy. I was too distracted by Rocco to remember.”

“Okay, fine. I noticed him at the club. He went home with a blond woman who could be a body double for Alexa.”

“I think he may like men too. I saw the way he watched you all day. Then the way he came over to talk to you while the rest of us were leaving.”

“Yeah, because he seems to think I look down on him or some shit. I corrected him, told him why I was glaring at my phone. Now he wants to help me pull Manny out of his funk.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah, I guess I didn’t move my ass fast enough out of the parking lot. And he thought I might bitch about the way he ran things or something. And fine, I was distracted, thinking about all the things I’d like to do to him.”

Raven giggled. “I still think he wants you.”

“Look, he already said he doesn’t mix business with pleasure. Maybe he wants me to have my head in the game so he doesn’t get fired for failing. But I’m not going to let him down. He’s doing his job. I’ll do mine.”

“Shut up and feel things out, okay? Seriously, don’t whine you can’t have him until you make sure you really can’t.”

“What am I supposed to say? Hey, I know you like pussy, but do you like dick too?” He rolled his eyes.

She snorted. “No, that might backfire. Just go out, see where it goes.”

“What are you doing tonight?”

“Staying in. Reading Leona’s new book. The one Luke wouldn’t tell me about until he handed me a copy I can’t share with anyone else.”

“Enjoy. I’m sure tonight is going to be a mess. We’re going to a dive bar, which I’m down with. Manny isn’t the least bit excited.”

“I doubt he’d want to help your brother if he wasn’t interested in something more with you.”

“He doesn’t do clients,” Ryan answered. “Besides, maybe the woman he took home wasn’t a one-night stand.”

“You are no fun when you’re in a mood.”

“Blame my brother. If he hadn’t interrupted my evening, I could go home and deal with a problem I’ve had all day.”

“Maybe O’Neil will help you with that.”

Ryan sighed. “Not happening.”

“We’ll see about that.” She ended the call.

At least he had time for a shower before picking up his brother.

 

* * * *

 

There was a spark between them. O’Neil felt it. He saw it in Ryan’s eyes whenever they locked on him. Did Ryan even realize it?

Damn it, why the fuck did I offer to go out with him and his brother? And I had to bait him, didn’t I?

He climbed into his truck and headed home. Time to get ready. Nothing fancy, nothing to stand out. He just wanted to see what was up with the brother, see if he could help. And maybe that spark would catch fire with Ryan.

He wanted to push Ryan against a wall and taste his lips. How would his skin feel against his? He shook his head, forcing those thoughts down for the moment.

Whatever happened, he wasn’t rushing into things. He told them all he didn’t get involved with clients.

That was the truth—mostly.

He hadn’t gotten involved with clients in the past, didn’t plan to make a habit of it, but Ryan might be his exception, as long as he had some guarantee it wouldn’t blow up in his face.

First, he needed to know if Ryan liked men. And if he was single. Something he had no way of knowing.

The trip was quick, thankfully. He wanted to run this by Peter before pushing things too far.

“What’s up, O’Neil?”

“Do you foresee a problem with me going out with Ryan and his brother?”

“Ryan King?” he asked slowly.

“Yeah. Just to a bar. His brother has something like survivor’s guilt. I want to see if I can help him out.”

“Should be fine. There’s nothing saying you can’t be seen with them. And if you do wind up with one of our clients, keep it on the down-low. At least until after the training.”

“Only one I’m interested in, and I don’t plan on making any kind of move until I have some kind of confirmation he’s into men and not with someone else.”

“I don’t see a problem. You’re not someone looking for attention, and you wouldn’t drag Ryan through the mud. And if he is, he obviously won’t either.”

“I don’t want to fuck up this job.”

“You won’t. Now, there is one person on that cast I’ve been warned about. Alexa Scarlett. She loves drama. So, I’d avoid her.”

“Oh, I am. She has that vibe. I’m not into that.”

“Trust me. I know. Go have fun.”

“That’s not what tonight is about. First, I want to build a friendship and gain his trust.”

“Good luck.”

“Thanks.”