CHAPTER THREE
Ben
Sure, I knew it would be different and Chelsea would probably have questions, but I didn’t expect that look on her face. I didn’t know how to describe it. Her blue eyes looked more bewildered than confident. Her smile didn’t look natural. Every time I glanced at her, she was fidgeting with her hair or biting her bottom lip. She was uncomfortable, and I knew it was because of me.
I hoped a hot shower would change all of that. I wanted her introduction to the ranch to be perfect. Lenny and Nan had God-awful timing.
With each step we took up the winding staircase, I became more conscious of the immensity of the ranch. We had passed the great room, a sitting room, my office, my official man cave, a sports room, and a reading room, not to mention the wing that housed Nan’s private apartment. There were a helluva lot of rooms.
After spending three months inside the confines of Silver Sand Dollar, and most of my time around a campfire on the beach, the ranch felt slightly unfamiliar. In some ways, it hadn’t changed. The leather scent from the couches, the stacks of mail on my desk, the friendly exchanges with the staff. But I couldn’t shake the foreignness. Did I really need fifteen flat screens? Was it that important to have speakers in every room wired to my phone’s playlist?
When I bought the place from a Texas oil tycoon, I had been searching for privacy, comfort, and a way to establish my star status. The ranch did all of that, but with Chelsea trailing me to my master suite, it seemed too opulent, too rich, too much.
I liked nice things, and I didn’t want to apologize for that. I had more money than I knew what to do with, but seeing the ranch through her eyes—I wasn’t sure this was the way to spend it.
I turned the handle on the bedroom door. I hadn’t been here in ages. Before Brees Island, I’d been staying in a temporary Atlanta apartment. I wasn’t sure I remembered what the mattress felt like anymore.
“And here we are.” I waved my arms in midair.
“Oh my God.” Chelsea stared at the massive bed that dominated the center of the room. “This is your room?” She moved toward the footboard, her hand resting on the carved wood.
I scratched my head. Usually when I brought women here, they were so distracted that they didn’t stop and look at the furnishings, and they sure as hell didn’t question it.
I smiled. That’s why Chelsea was different. She wasn’t like the other women.
“Yep. This is it.” I tugged on her hand. “Let me show you the best part.” I shoved open the door to the master bath.
Finally, the smile I had been looking for since the moment the wheels touched down on the Texas tarmac.
“Ok, this is amazing.” She grinned, taking in the decked-out bathroom.
“I was hoping you’d like it.” I slammed the door behind us and dimmed the lights.
“Wait, what are you doing?” Chelsea backed up until she was pressed against the vanity.
“What I’ve wanted to do since we got here.” No matter where we were, I wanted her to know one thing—I was in love with her. Her eyes, her auburn hair, the lyrics that popped out of her head, her stubbornness, her softness. All of it. I loved every square inch of her. And I had a lot of making up to do today.
I felt the burning in my belly take over as my lips sought hers. At first she nipped at me lightly, toying with me. But the playfulness turned to something primal as she wrapped her legs around me and urged me toward her.
I gripped the lapels of her shirt and smiled when I heard the buttons hit the floor. “I’m going to have to buy you a new shirt.” I slid it off her arms and tossed it on the floor.
Her hands ran along my stomach, and I breathed in sharply as she worked the latch on my belt and slid down my zipper.
“Wait right here.” I held up a finger and took a few steps backward to the shower. I opened the glass door and pressed the control button until six showerheads were running. I closed the door, and the steam billowed from the top.
I strolled toward Chelsea, taking her in. The girl who had spun my world upside down. I wouldn’t trade a single day of the past three months, even all the horrible damn mistakes, because this is where we were supposed to be. We were supposed to be in this moment, on the verge of devouring each other, until we were so wrapped up in the other there was nothing left. I wanted her like I had never wanted anyone. It was consuming and exhausting. Powerful and uncontrollable. My veins pulsed with drunkenness even though I’d only had two swallows of beer. What had she done to me?
“Ben?” she whispered.
“Yeah, darlin’?” I traced her jawline with my finger, holding her gaze. It was still new hearing my name on her lips.
“You think anyone can hear us?” She smiled wickedly as her fingernails scratched along my skin.
For a second, I thought she could take me to my knees just like that. Toying with me, teasing me. I dropped my jeans to the floor.
“Nah, they’re downstairs.” I tilted her chin upward.
“You sure?” She pulled my T-shirt over my head and tossed it on the tile. Her fingers dug into my skin, bringing me dangerously close to a growl.
“Positive.” I cupped her bottom with both hands, dragging her across the counter until I was pressed against her.
I was pulsing with want and possession. I needed her. I slid my fingers under her thigh to the sink drawer for a condom.
“Then, why haven’t you taken me already?” She giggled. The come-hitherness in her voice threw my last threads of restraint out the window.
I lifted her off the counter and wrapped her legs around my waist. Steam rolled through the bathroom, fogging the mirrors and glass. I carried her to the shower.
“Clothes, I still have on clothes,” she muttered.
I eased her onto one of the shower’s benches and tore every shred of fabric from her skin, just as the water began to seep through. She gasped as I stripped the last bit of cotton covering her, tossing it to soak in the corner with the rest.
There was something both exotic and innocent about seeing Chelsea in this shower. She was my fresh start. My chance to break old habits. My chance to make amends for the lies I told. My chance to be the man I really wanted to be. Right now, all I wanted was to be a part of her.
“God, I want you,” I growled as I pulled her against me, water gliding between our bodies. I ripped the corner from the foil packet but she took it from me. Her eyes burned into mine as she rolled the condom slowly down my shaft. The heat blazed in my gut.
I hoisted her leg around me, gripping the smoothness of her skin. I closed my eyes as I thrust inside her. Her warmth wrapped around me, seizing my cock with force. My knees almost buckled under the intensity, but the need to be a part of her, to feel all of her, drove me. She rocked her hips, coaxing me against her.
“Say it. Say what you told me on the ferry,” she pleaded, her hands gripping my shoulders.
I couldn’t take my eyes off her. The way her skin glistened under the water, the way her eyes bore into my soul. She was everything to me.
I had said it once this morning, and I would say it every time she wanted to hear it.
“I love you, Chelsea.”
She exhaled into my ear. The quiver her breath sent down my spine made my knees buckle. I braced myself against the glass shower wall. My fingers cleared long lines through the steam, giving me a striped view of our reflection in the mirror.
I crushed my lips into hers, swirling my tongue against her mouth. Eager to taste her. I clenched her ass and shifted her hips higher, driving my cock deeper inside. Filling her, claiming her, taking her as if she had always been mine.
“Oh shit,” she groaned as I slammed into her.
“Fuck.” My mind was gone. White oblivion. I pumped inside her.
We spiraled. Her breath quickened and I knew she was on the edge of her first orgasm. I bit at her lips, coaxing it from her body.
“Come for me, baby. Come hard.”
“Ohh,” she whimpered as her body began to vibrate.
I watched in awe as she let the climax take over. She clenched my cock. She shook and dug her nails into my back.
It was fucking nirvana.
I couldn’t hold off any longer. I was wild and restless, driving myself home.
One.
Two
Three.
And my release catapulted through me.
I pressed my forehead to hers as her legs slid to the shower floor.
“Welcome to Texas, baby.”
She laughed.
I couldn’t think of a better homecoming.
***
The sunlight smacked me in the face. I had forgotten to close the blinds last night. Granted, I had a good distraction. Chelsea nuzzled under my arm, wisps of her auburn hair curling over her shoulders.
I wasn’t sure what time her meeting was with Brandon, but I couldn’t miss my appointment with my prospective new agent. Rick had done a number on me, and there was no way I was bringing someone else into the fold without a complete vetting first.
The new guy had high recommendations, but so did Rick and look where that got me.
It was the first morning in months I didn’t wake up to the sounds of crashing waves on the beach. Alice wouldn’t be outside parading in her leopard bikini, and Carl wouldn’t be setting up for a day of fishing on the shore. There was no doubt I would miss Brees Campground, but I had brought the perfect medicine home with me to ease back into ranch life.
I maneuvered out of the bed, careful not to disturb Chelsea. Yesterday had been a long day of travel—the ferry ride, the drive to the airport, the flight, and then of course the extended shower tour. I smiled, watching her sleep. It was hard to believe she was here in Texas. But it felt right. She was supposed to be in my bed.
I closed the door behind me and jogged down the stairs. I wasn’t sure I had ever felt this happy at the ranch before. Corny as it sounded, every step felt lighter.
The kitchen was bright and smelled like coffee. God, I had missed being home.
“Good morning, Mr. Baldwin. I have coffee and was planning on making fresh omelets for you and Miss Chelsea.” Lenny stood behind the kitchen island, a clean white apron starched against his chest.
“Good morning. Coffee sounds good.” I straddled a bar stool, watching him work. The paper was lined up near an empty coffee mug. “I’ll wait for Chelsea to have breakfast.”
I shook the paper open and flipped to the entertainment section. There we were. Front page of the Austin Pop page.
Baldwin home with new love interest
I scanned the article. I had only given a few quotes, and Chelsea had remained silent through the maze of reporters. It wasn’t the Texas greeting I wanted for her. I shook the page out so I could finish reading.
Ben Baldwin, Hollywood heartthrob and star of America’s favorite movies, is starring in his own real-life drama. Spotted at the airport last night with a new leading lady on his arm, the well-known bachelor returned home for the first time since April. Speculation continues to grow whether he will star in Love & Bondage with Rebecca Campbell, his ex and the film’s most popular choice for the role.
“Dammit.” I folded the paper in half.
“Everything all right, sir?” Lenny filled the mug with dark coffee, so dark I wondered if he had added something to it.
“Yes, just press. You know how it is.” I pulled the sports page from the center. There had to be something better to read than this shit.
“Yeah, we’ve had a few reporters at the gate over the summer, but nothing we couldn’t handle.” Lenny paused. “I think there’s a crew out this morning. You might want to call up at the gate.”
“What do you mean ‘a crew’?” The coffee was hot, but I liked whatever brew it was.
“Looks like they camped out last night. I haven’t talked to Bud, but it’s the press for sure.”
“Dammit.” I grabbed my phone. It had been awhile since paparazzi had followed me to the ranch. There was a reason the house was in the center of two hundred acres. “Hey, Bud, what’s the situation at the gate?”
I had hired Bud to run the ranch security two years ago. He cleared his throat before giving me the rundown. “I’d say there are about seven camera crews—not too big—and they are staying on the other side of the road so not much I can do about it.”
“Good. Good.” I chewed over the information. “No one tried to cross the fence?”
“Nope. They’d get a pretty good shock if they tried.” He laughed a deep, hearty laugh. I had always liked Bud. He was more like a character you might see on the Dukes of Hazard than a top Jason Bourne agent, but he was from this part of Texas and I appreciated that about him. He knew the land, he knew the people in town, and he knew how to set up obstacles that had managed to keep prying eyes off the property. That’s all that mattered.
“Keep me posted if anything changes.”
“Will do, sir. And by the way, good to have you home.”
“Thanks, Bud.” I shoved the phone in my pocket and resumed my seat on the stool.
Chelsea shuffled into the kitchen, her hair piled high on her head, my T-shirt draping off her shoulder.
“Hey, darlin’.” I smiled, hoping she hadn’t heard any of my briefing with Bud.
“Hey.”
“Good morning. Can I get you some coffee?” Lenny seemed eager to make her comfortable, a gesture I appreciated considering all we had dealt with in the past twenty-four hours.
“Yes, coffee. Thank you.” She nodded then wrapped her arms around my shoulders.
I wished Lenny wasn’t here, and that the kitchen was quiet and vacant so we could be alone and talk about last night. Or pick things up where they started on the counter. But I couldn’t dismiss him in front of Chelsea. That would only make things more awkward.
I squeezed her palm instead and pulled out the stool next to me. “How’d you sleep?”
I noticed the crimson on her cheeks and the blue flare in her eyes. “Good.” She chewed on her bottom lip. “I like your bed,” she whispered.
“I like you in it.” I leaned over and brushed my lips against her ear.
“How does a bacon and cheese omelet sound?” Lenny hovered near us on the other side of the sprawling island.
“Sure, man. Two omelets.” I spun around on the stool, pinning the outside of Chelsea’s leg next to mine. It was hard to be this close and not touch her how I wanted.
She reached for the paper. “Any news?”
My instinct was to grab it from her and toss it in the recycling bin, but what would that do? If we were going to survive the hounds, we would need to do it together. That meant sharing more with her than I ever had before.
“Actually, we made the Pop page.” I unfolded the section and laid the paper flat so she could read the headline. I searched her face for a reaction.
“Love & Bondage? So that’s really a thing? You might be in Love & Bondage?”
What the hell? That was her takeaway?
“No, I’m not planning on it.”
“But did you finish reading it?” She looked serious. “How far did you get in the book on the flight?”
I scratched my head. “I’ve got a few chapters left, not much.”
“And you seriously don’t want to be in it? It’s huge. Huger than huge.” She smiled at Lenny as he placed a hot cup of coffee in front of her.
“I don’t know. I’m kind of taking a break.” I mumbled the last part. I wasn’t comfortable discussing my hiatus from acting in front of one of the staff. Nondisclosure agreement or not, I didn’t like taking a chance.
“Hmm.” Chelsea twisted her lips. “But it’s hot. It’s Love & Bondage.”
“Yeah, it is.” I had tried to focus on the plot when I read it to figure out the cult fascination with the story. But it was hard to ignore the pure sexuality of the book. I knew why women were insane over it. A millionaire playboy with a kinky sex fetish that drove women to toe-curling screams. Yeah, I got it.
“Here you go.” Lenny delivered two piping hot omelets with sides of fruit and two glasses of orange juice. “Let me know if you need anything else.” He hung his apron on a hook and walked toward his apartment.
“Thanks, Lenny,” Chelsea called after him. She took a bite of the omelet, cheese oozing off her fork, bits of bacon crumbling on the plate. “I can’t believe you have someone who cooks for you. You know this is unreal.”
“I guess maybe it is.” I popped a grape in my mouth and thought about the breakfasts I had made in the Sand Dollar. For the first few weeks, beer was my breakfast staple, but eventually I moved into more of the basic food groups.
It had been nice to have to take care of myself, cook my own meals, even do my own laundry. But I wasn’t about to downsize the ranch staff. I was reminded during the summer of who I really was. The simple things in life helped clear my head, but I was back in reality. This was part of Hollywood ranch life. And I enjoyed it.
“So back to the movie. What’s holding you back?” Chelsea asked.
“The break, remember? I’m trying to ease out of the spotlight, not jump back in it.”
“Right. You’re going to disappear again? Find another island?” she teased.
I chuckled. “No, that kind of break is over. I have too many responsibilities to keep that charade up, but I don’t know if getting involved with another film is such a good idea. I thought I could focus on my foundation, maybe hang at the ranch. Spend some time helping a pretty girl write some music.” I winked.
“I don’t know anything about your foundation.” Her forehead crinkled. “It’s one of those things you never mentioned.”
I felt a sharp stab in my chest. There were so many things I had kept from her as Jake Grady, the fictitious writer. The secrets were over. I wouldn’t keep things from her again.
“Well, the foundation is a pretty big deal to me. I wish I could take all the credit, but it was my sister’s idea. She runs it, but I’m still the ultimate decision-maker, and I have to make appearances from time to time.”
“But what is it? What does it do?”
I smiled. The foundation was one of my proudest accomplishments. But few people even knew it existed. If only it got the same amount of attention as what I ate for lunch.
“It helps kids from underprivileged families get involved in sports. We pair them up with mentors and coaches. Help them buy gear that they need, practice, work on homework. All that stuff. It’s unbelievable. Really, the best thing I’ve ever done.” I paused, remembering the last time I played football with a group of sixth graders. “When I get a chance to spend time with the kids, it makes all this work seem worthwhile.”
She turned toward me with a smile. “It sounds amazing. I can’t believe you have that on top of everything else. You have a lot going on, Mr. Movie Star. And all this time I thought your biggest problem was screwing up the kayak rentals.”
“Hey, that only happened once. And I think it was only my second day. You’re never going to let me forget that, are you?”
“No, never.”
My phone rang. “Hey, Bud, something wrong?”
“Just thought you would want to know the crew numbers have almost tripled. We went from seven to twenty.”
“What the hell? Why?”
“I don’t know, but I’ll see what I can find out.”
It was the first time since I fired Rick that I missed the guy. He might have been a snake, but he could scour news reports and had more sources than I could fathom. Too bad I still hadn’t interviewed the new guy. I needed an agent.
“Is there something wrong?” Chelsea looked worried.
“Nah, just press gathered up at the gate. Don’t worry. I promise they can’t get in here. You have nothing to worry about.”
“Are they going to follow me to Blue Steel?” A sudden look of panic swept across her face.
“No, no. They want some kind of statement or interview. Hell, I don’t know, but I’ll go with you and make sure they leave you alone.”
I noticed she shifted on the stool and started biting her lip again. “Wait, you don’t want me to go with you?” I asked.
“It’s not that I don’t want you to go, but maybe I should do this on my own. That was the plan, right? I was headed here to sign my contract and meet with Quinn and Brandon. If you go, it might turn into…”
I didn’t need her to finish that sentence. I knew exactly what she meant. If I was there, a media circus would descend on Blue Steel Records. Brandon was a friend, but that kind of attention on his label might not be wanted.
“All right, well if I’m not going, I need to send someone with you. You can’t go out in that by yourself.”
“Like a driver?”
“More like a bodyguard.”
“Bodyguard?” I thought she lost a little color in her cheeks. The idea was supposed to make her feel better, not worse.
“Do I really need that?” She pushed her omelet around on her plate.
“It’s your first time in Austin, right? Might as well have someone get you to your meeting on time and keep the press out of reach. You don’t want to have to worry about parking downtown. It will be no big deal.”
“Ok.” She picked up her coffee cup. “If you think it’s the best thing.”
I nodded. She accepted it, but I was having a hard time believing she was up for this. This was my life, not hers. Putting her in the fishbowl was tearing at me. There had to be another way. I just didn’t know what it was.
“I do. What time is your meeting?”
“Two o’clock.”
“My interview isn’t until three, so sounds like we’ve got some time. All right, how about I give you a tour of the ranch?” I jumped off the stool. I knew if I let her sit here all morning, she would worry about the meeting, worry about the press, and worry about the bodyguard. Best to keep this pretty girl distracted.