She laughed along with him, and they were in accord once more.
“I still don’t know what’s going to happen next as far as work.” His fingertips slid slowly up and down her spine, and she sucked in a hard breath at the teasing contact. “My agent will be at the wedding, since he represents my ex too. I’m meeting with him first thing tomorrow morning, and we’ll probably go over our options then. Last I heard, there were a couple of upcoming projects that hadn’t fired me yet. Then again, I blocked his number a few days ago and haven’t checked my emails, so …”
He shrugged, and she stared at him in disbelief.
“You blocked his number,” she said slowly. “Youragent’snumber. At a time when your career is possibly imploding.”
“I told you. I needed time to think.” His teeth sank into his lower lip, and she couldn’t drag her eyes away. “Even if someone would cast me, I don’t know that I want to do another big-budget series. Now or ever. Not after my experience withGates.”
What other options did he have? “What about movies?”
He lifted a shoulder again. “Maybe? I don’t know. I love being on camera, and I’d miss the camaraderie of working with a cast and crew, but I couldn’t handle a repeat of the Bruno Keene situation. And again, that’s assuming anyone would even hire me.”
Don’t feel guilty,she ordered herself.He told you not to feel guilty.
She drummed her fingers against his back, thinking. “Have you considered directing or producing something yourself?”
“Nah.” He shook his head. “Too much organizational responsibility. My poor brain would explode. That said, it’s probably what Marcus will do. Maybe I can beg him to cast me.” His grin lit the cloudy afternoon. “At least he’ll know what to expect, right?”
If Marcus didn’t know by now, he never would. Alex sent his BFF a million complaining, all-caps, ridiculous texts per day.
“New topic,” Alex announced decisively, maneuvering them so they could both watch the gentle surf’s endless rush and retreat along the beach. “I love the ocean. And I love selkie AUs, so maybe we should act out that trope sometime. What do you think, Wren? You’ll be the fisherwoman, and I’ll be the naked seal-man lapping at your personal seashore?”
She had to laugh, even as a rush of lust weakened her knees.
No one else was within sight, so she employed her one sure means of shutting Alex up: her tongue in his mouth, her fingers fisted in the hair at his nape.
When she broke the kiss, they were both panting. And when he pinned her with his frank, hot stare, she deliberately licked her lips, leaving them obscenely wet.
“You’re theworst,” he told her again, rough and low, and she didn’t argue.
She just laughed again.
26
“IF YOU’RE NOT INTO THE SELKIE IDEA, WE CAN PRETENDI’m a werewolf instead.” Alex smirked at Lauren from across the table. “Clearly, I’m quite talented at making animal noises.”
When properly inspired, anyway. Or, rather,improperly inspired.
If Alex hadn’t already agreed to attend Stacia’s wedding, he wouldn’t have let Lauren out of that bed in Olema for days, because holyfuck,she was a goddamngoddess. An improbably short Venus, ripe and round and responsive, and luckily, much less prone to slapping him than his on-screen mother.
Huh. That was an idea.
He dug his phone from an inner pocket in his suit jacket and tapped out an addition to his ever-growingFIC TROPES TO MAKE DIRTY AF WITH WRENlist.Ancient god falls in love with human. Preferably a sex god of some sort.
“On the contrary.” As he tucked away his phone, she pointed at him with her fork from across the table. “People weren’t certain whether you were a coyote or a lion, so I’d argue your skills are sorely lacking.”
A small, self-satisfied smile curving her wide mouth, she finished the last bite of her blueberry mousse cake.
They’d driven through the forests that afternoon to reach the luxury resort, which nestled amongst the redwoods and beside a lovely river, and had arrived in plenty of time for dinner at the elegant on-site restaurant.
The lighting there was dim and romantic, the tablecloths pristine, the seating generously sized and plushly upholstered in velvet. The forest-green-and-navy-blue color scheme highlighted her extraordinary eyes, and he couldn’t stop looking at her.
He leaned forward, elbows on the table, and enjoyed the way candlelight gilded the soft curve of her jaw. “You didn’t complain about my skills last night.”
Her cheeks went rosy, and she glanced around the room.
As far as he could tell, there were no cameras pointed in their direction, and he didn’t recognize any of the other diners. Even if a dozen cell phones had been trained on them, though, wielded by a platoon of producers, he wouldn’t have cared.
