Risk Taker by Sonia Stanizzo

Chapter 17

Later that day, Ethan bounded from the chair in the catering room startling Holly, his mother and the actors that were taking a break. “Son of a bitch!”

This couldn’t possibly be the script Ralph said would transform his career? It was a load of crap. He flicked through the pages. Scene after scene had him bare arsed naked and fucking like a rabbit. His agent had promised it wasn’t another action film. What he conveniently forgot to mention was this script read like a freaking porno.

“What’s the matter sweetheart?” his mother asked, sidling next to him.

“Ralph’s idea of a good film is ridiculous.” He threw the script on the table, the pages fluttering as it slid onto the floor where it belonged.

“Is this what you were waiting on?” His mother bent and picked it up and flipped through a couple of pages. “Oh my…”

Ethan shoved his fingers through his hair and paced the room aware of the crew and Holly’s gazes tracking him. What a way to turn a great day to shit.

“I need some air,” he said and stormed out.

Or not. Met with film crew bustling around, getting from one studio to another, Ethan made his way to his private dressing room instead.

“Ethan, wait!” Holly called out to him.

He didn’t want her witnessing his foul mood. That’s not what their two weeks together would be about. But he couldn’t ignore her either. He stopped and turned to face her. “I’ll be in makeup in five minutes.”

“That can wait.” She held onto his hand and the simple touch calmed him down a notch, and he led her to his dressing room.

Once inside, she stepped closer, the smell of her floral perfume drifted over him and he wanted to hold her tight and breath her in.

“Nancy gave me a quick explanation. Any chance you’ll take the job?”

He scoffed, “No fucking way. I should fire Ralph’s arse for even thinking I’d be interested in that piece of shit. I requested something different and he delivered. I only have myself to blame.”

“You don’t like the movies you’re doing? They’re huge.” He could see by her expression this confused her. “Yeah, they’re huge. Same old thing. I fight and catch bad guys. Do they make people see me as a serious actor? No, and obviously my agent doesn’t have much faith in me.”

“What movies do you want to do?” she asked.

When he began pacing, she took a seat on the sofa.

“Something with meaning. Something that will have people leaving the theatres thinking about what they watched on the drive home or days later. Films people talk about.”

“You don’t get that now?”

“Have you seen any of my movies?” When she nodded, he asked, “And what do you remember about them?”

“They’re entertaining.”

“What else?”

“There’s a lot of action.”

“Anything else?”

She scanned the room like she was hoping the right answer was written on the wall. “In the end, you always save the day.”

“There’s nothing special about them. They don’t leave a mark or tell much of a story. I bet you can’t remember the storyline of any of my movies you’ve watched.”

She averted her gaze for a second looking guilty. “If you want to leave a mark, what’s stopping you from getting those kinds of roles?”

“No producer can see past the action hero. They don’t believe I’ve got the acting chops to pull it off.”

“Why? I think you’re a great actor.”

He gave a ghost of a smile. “My first job after doing commercials and T.V shows was a drama film. I scored the lead. I was thrilled. It was going to be my big break.” He rubbed a hand down his face. “The movie tanked. My acting was criticized and I couldn’t land another role for two years. Until Ralph landed me a part in an action film. The rest is history.”

“Surely, they can see you’ve grown as an actor since then and can do it?”

“People in this industry have long memories and rarely give second chances. Anyway, I have other things I want to think about right now. Something that will put me in a better mood.”

“Oh?” Her eyes widened as he stalked closer, he was sure his intention was written all over his face.

He knelt down in front of her, spreading her legs to nestle between her thighs.

“Here… now?” Her voice rose with each word.

He slid his hands up her jean clad legs to her hips and with one swift tug, they were pressed against each other. The fabric of their clothing annoyingly in the way. “You said we have two weeks. I’m prepared to make the most of the time we have.”

“You are?” This time her voice was low and husky as she moulded her body against his. And when he rocked slightly against her, her eyelids fluttered shut. “Yes, you are,” she answered her own question on a sigh.

As much as he wanted to take things further, he couldn’t risk someone looking for her to get back to work. Once again, he stopped them. It killed him to pull away. “They’re probably waiting for you back at makeup. When we do this, I want to take my time to explore every inch of you. Nobody waiting. Nobody but you and me.”

“Nice speech.” She leaned forward and skimmed her hands up his chest. “Nancy gave me a thirty-minute break.”

They were the best words he’d heard all morning.

“It’s a good thing I only need ten,” he said.

A bubble of laughter burst from her lips. “I thought you wanted to take your time?”

His breath quickened as she unbuttoned his shirt and slipped her hands under the fabric. “Honey, the way I’m feeling, I’ll be lucky to last five. Don’t worry, I’ll make it up to you by doing it all over again and again and again…”

And like a fire had been lit under her, she stripped him of his shirt, unzipped his pants and slid them down as far as they could go. He stood and kicked them off, leaving on his boxer briefs.

“Whoa! Holy batman.”

He chuckled at her reaction and inwardly puffed his chest with male pride.

Now she was overdressed and he needed to do something about that. Taking her hands, he pulled her to her feet. Then made quick work of getting her jeans off, stumbling as he tried removing her black boots. He was as clumsy as a teenager during his first time. Then she took off her top, leaving her in silky pink underwear and bra. Full creamy breasts heaved under the flimsy fabric. A small waist led to curvy hips and his mouth watered at the sight. He was definitely taking his time the next round; he wanted to kiss and touch every curve and valley of her magnificent body.

Right now, he had more pressing issues to deal with and it was pressing against his boxer briefs. He reached down for his wallet in his jeans, pulled out a foil packet and tossed it on the couch. Pulling his boxers down, he watched her glassy expression as she followed his movement. Her tongue darted out to lick her lips and he groaned knowing exactly what he wanted her to do with that mouth.

He dropped onto the sofa, slid her panties off and pulled her down to straddle him. Her breasts were the perfect height for his mouth and he filled his hands and kissed them, going from one to the other. One hand slipped between her legs and his finger slid into her hot centre. She threw her head back and panted. “Feels so good. If you keep doing that… Won’t. Last. Ten. Minutes.”

He’d laugh if the situation wasn’t so serious. Serious because if she kept squirming on his lap, it’d be over in seconds not minutes.”

He removed his hand and cupped her face, kissing her long and deep. When he thrust his hips up and didn’t enter her, she groaned with frustration.

“Stop teasing me,” she panted as she bit lightly on his bottom lip.

“Believe me when I say it’s killing me to hold back.”

“Then don’t.” She wiggled her hips.

Ethan threw his head back and gripped her hips to stop him from pushing inside her. Standing, he lifted Holly up with him then he placed her on her back onto the sofa.

Sprawled out in front of him, she was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen.

Pulling his gaze away, he got the condom out of the wrapper and rolled it on. He braced his hands on either side of her head, lowered himself and slid between her thighs. Her legs wrapped around his waist, locking on tight in case he planned on leaving. There was no way in hell he was going anywhere.

Her hands landed on his arse and she arched her back, encouraging him to push inside her. His body wanted to take her hard and fast, instead he held back and slid in painfully slow. They both stilled at the connection, breathing deeply.

Holly clenched onto his arse and rocked against him, pushing herself closer to him. He slid out and slammed back into her. She tossed her head back and cried out. He repeated the action and she bucked against him.

Stroke after stroke, skin against skin. Her hands caressed his arse up his back and down again giving him open mouth kisses along the side of his neck. Speeding things up, her body vibrated under his touch. Her head tossed from side to side—she was almost there. Sliding a hand between their joined bodies, he slipped a finger into her wet folds. Her breaths quickened and she squeezed her eyes shut.

“Keep your eyes open. I want to see when you lose control.” He said hissing through clenched teeth.

She did what he asked before shattering in his arms. With one more deep thrust, he exploded alongside her.

It took a moment to get their choppy breathing back to a relatively normal pace and he kissed her long and slow before they sat up. His head fell on the headrest of the sofa, his body heavy. It’s the best he felt in a long time.

Two weeks might not be enough of Holly if the quickie in his dressing room was any indication to what lay ahead. He predicted hot and a lot of fun. Unfortunately, they didn’t have time for round two. He tossed the condom in the bin and pulled up his pants. They both needed to get back to work before someone came looking for them. It surprised him Trudy wasn’t already banging at the door.

Holly collected her clothes from the floor. Watching her dress was the most erotic display he’d ever seen and she had no idea how she was affecting him. She hurried to a mirror on the wall and finger combed her wavy locks. Once he assumed she was satisfied with what she saw, she turned to him and smiled.

And his heart hammered against his ribs.

Man, the way she looked at him made him want a repeat of what happened a few moments ago. To hell with getting back to work. He made to reach her when someone knocked at the door.

Holly’s eyes grew wide and she whispered, “I don’t want anyone to know I’m in here. They’ll think we… we…”. She pointed to the sofa.

“Had sex?” he supplied.

“Shh!”

“Ethan, we need you on set in ten minutes,” Trudy’s voice came through the door.

“Sure thing.” He smirked, “I can do a lot in ten minutes.”

Holly laughed and nudged him toward the door. “You leave first. Bang on the door three times if no one’s around, then I’ll come out.”

“I don’t care who sees us.”

“Well, I do. I don’t want people thinking I’m working here because we’re having…”

“Sex?” It was adorable how she had a hard time saying the word. What she did to him was far from cute and he couldn’t wait to do it again.

“Just go.” She placed a hand on her hip.

Before she could shove him out of the room, he cupped her behind the head and kissed her so deeply, she melted against him. When they pulled part, the dreamy expression he’d put on her face gave him a burst of satisfaction.

* * *

Two weeks! Good Lord… Rushing back to makeup, Holly imagined what the next few days might be like. Because damn, their first time had been electric. She nearly tripped over her own feet in her rush just thinking about it. It was all going to end when she finished the job so why not make the most of it? A little fun never hurt anyone. Her heart fluttered and she ignored it. There was no way she’d get attached, right?

As she hurried to the makeup room, Ethan walked out wrapping his arms around her. And the fluttering in her heart turned into a strong drumbeat. He held onto her longer and closer than necessary smiling down at her like they were both in on a secret. As she glanced over his shoulder, Nancy stood at the door of the makeup room giving them a knowing look.

“You told your mother?” she whispered. She’d heard of close families—this was too much.

“No. You left a little mark and it needed covering up.” He tapped the side of his neck. “So, she knows we’ve been up to something.”

She gasped, mortified that she’d given him a hickey. Was she back in high school? “Whatever Nancy must think of me can’t be good.” Then realising Ethan’s arms still held her, stepped away.

“She threatened to castrate me if I hurt you.”

“She did? Why?”

Shrugging he said, “She likes you.”

Nancy was worried about her feelings? Why couldn’t her mother have defended her own daughter like Nancy did for someone she’d recently met? Tears pricked the backs of Holly’s eyes. It wasn’t the time or place to worry about that now. Or ever. Her mother was biologically her mother and didn’t have a maternal bone in her body. Unless you lived your life exactly the way she wanted, like Ruth did, then you got praise. That’s not affection.

Trudy approached them looking at her clipboard. Holly tried leaning towards her to get a peek at what was so important on that damn thing. She lifted it to her chest like Holly was trying to cheat on an exam.

“We’re running late. Victoria’s on set. We need you now,” Trudy said.

“I’ll see you later.” Ethan leaned forward and planted a quick kiss on Holly’s lips. She let out a little surprised squeak at the show of affection in front of his assistant.

Trudy was looking at her clipboard once again oblivious or maybe pretending not to notice.

Ethan left and Holly went back in the makeup room trying to avoid eye contact with Nancy. It was bad enough she’d had sex with her son, and she’d done so at work. Unprofessional.

“If you want to fire me, I understand.”

“Fire you. Why would I do that?” Nancy asked.

“Because of what you must think of me. And to act so unprofessionally at work.”

“What you do in your break is your business and you’re both adults and what you do together is also your business. Just be careful. I love my son, he’s a wonderful man. His relationship status isn’t great. As much as I want to see him settled down, he’s putting all his energy into work. Nothing’s getting in his way.”

“Why are you telling me this?”

“Because I’d hate for you to get your heart broken.” It surprised Holly that Nancy cared so much.

“Oh no, it’s nothing like that, it’s just—” Sex. She stopped herself from blurting out. Holly’s cheeks burned at the near slip. Nancy was becoming a good friend, she often forgot she was Ethan’s mother. “I mean… we… it’s not… Oh God, just shoot me now.” She slapped her hands on her flaming cheeks.

Nancy chuckled, “Just be careful. Now, grab your kit and head off to set for touch-ups.”

Holly stood, collected her gear, grateful to get away from any more embarrassing conversations.