Page 22

Eight

Micah vacillatedabout what time he should arrive at the bar. He didn’t want to seem too eager, and he knew the crew had at another hour of clean-up after he was dismissed from the set atnine.

He decided to shoot for eleven, filling his time with a light dinner in his room while he ran lines, followed by a shower to scrub his makeup and the lingering scent of Heather Wainwright from his body. Not that Heather was unappealing. They had good chemistry, having hooked up a few times over the years. Now Heather almost seemed repulsive after he’d had the sweet taste of Maddie in his mouth.

Ah, Maddie Bauers. Thoughts of her roused his cock. He mentally repeated her name over and over while he took care of his hard-on in the shower, recalling her fingers in his hair and her firm breasts pressed against his chest.

Jesus, this woman had a hold on him. And if he played his cards right, he hoped to have a hold of her too, preferably naked. Perhaps even later that night.

After he’d finished cleaning up, Micah dressed in tight dark jeans, a white T-shirt and a thin gray button-down shirt. He met Fudge in the lobby and they hailed a cab to the Golden Well, the bar next to the crew’s hotel.

The Golden Well was brightly lit and crowded. Micah stood with his bodyguard near the door while he scanned the room, hoping not to be spotted by any fans. He preferred dimly-lit restaurants and exclusive nightclubs, and he felt awkward and exposed, but his resolve to see Maddie was not diminished.

Fudge seemed to share his displaced feelings. “Why are we here again? You never hang with thecrew.”

“I should try something different.” He hated the way Fudge’s words made him sound snobby. Really it was the nature of the business—different call times and jobs on set—that created different social circles for production crew and actors.

Fudge shook his head. “It’s her, isn’tit?”

“No. Not at all. Who?”

“Fuck, Micah. Just bang her and get it overwith.”

Micah frowned. “I’m not going to bang her. God, don’t be so crude.” Banging implied hard and fast, and though Micah imagined some of that with Maddie, he was also counting on long andslow.

“You’re pathetic.”

Micah turned his attention back to the crowd. “You don’t have to be here. I gave you the nightoff.”

“What else am I going todo?”

Micah spotted the back of a brunette head, hair pulled into a neat, high ponytail, and he knew it was Maddie. His breath caught as she turned to—what? Look for him?—and their eyes met. She was so beautiful. He could stare at her face for hours.

“Isn’t that the A.D. over there?” Fudge didn’t realize Micah had already seenher.

There were a dozen or so people sitting around the tables with Maddie, but Micah didn’t register any of their faces. “Yeah, it’s her. Them.”

He moved toward where she sat in the back of the bar as if pulled by a string. He vaguely sensed the recognition of a couple as he passed their table, heard the hushed whispers that often accompanied his outings—“Isn’t that the guy in that superhero movie?” “Isn’t that Micah Preston?” But he ignored them, his full attention on the lovely woman in front ofhim.

As he got closer, she smiled, and Micah’s dick twitched. He couldn’t remember the last time a girl turned him on so easily.

“Well, look who’s here,” Joe said, not hiding his surprise.

Greetings passed through the group. Micah recognized a handful of them—a couple of P.A.s, the sound crew, Bruce from lighting. In all they occupied three tables.

The petite, punky sound technician—maybe her name was Claire?—was the only one to give him pause about the appropriateness of his presence. “Wow. Are we being graced with the company of ‘the talent’? What made you decide to join the lowly likes of thecrew?”

“I hear you have the best parties,” Micah said smoothly.

“Right you are.” She lifted her beer. “Good to haveyou.”

“Good to be here.” Chloe. That was her name. And she preferred to be called the Sound Goddess according to her introduction at the first cast and crew meeting. Fudge took the empty seat next toher.

“Hey, Fudge. Micah.” Sam raised a hand in greeting.

Micah glanced at the boyish P.A. sitting next to Maddie, much closer to her than he needed to be. “Hi…Shawn isit?”

“Sam.”