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This time was worse.
By the time they finally cleared me to resume my everyday life, my career was long over. The things I once did with ease were no longer possible. The life I'd built for myself was just fucking gone. People who once worked side by side with me couldn't stomach looking at me. The whispers and jokes were endless.
Jackson Reed, my business partner, took on the brunt of the work. I faded into the background, training stunt doubles to do what I used to do. Every once in a while, an actor will seek me out, wanting to learn what I know, but those instances are few and far between. Most don't want to risk their pretty faces when those pretty faces make them millions.
I can count on one hand the number of times a woman like Laura Groves came looking for me. Those who did took one look at me and never returned. In a city where physical beauty is the golden standard, I'm a walking, talking reminder that the clock runs out on everyone eventually.
"Why are you here, Laura?"
"I need you," she blurts.
A menacing growl erupts from my lips before I can call it back. Fuck, I want to hear her say that while she's spread eagle on my bed and her first orgasm still coats my tongue.
"Say that again," I demand, even though I know she doesn't mean it.
"Um, I need you?"
I step toward her, compelled by the throb in my cock from my hiding place. Yes, I'll give her what she needs. I'll fuck her right and proper, let her make a mess of my back with those pretty nails. Whatever she needs.
She isn't short, yet I tower over her, dwarfing her. Christ, my sheer size eclipses her like the moon swallowing the sun. She doesn't shrink from me, though. There's strength in this innocent little starlet, courage that goes bone deep.
"What does a girl like you need with a man like me, princess?"
"Your scar," she gasps, her green eyes filling with distress.
I flinch, taking a step back as her reaction cools the fire running through my veins. "Doubt that's what you need from me."
She shakes her head, her cheeks turning pink. "I'm sorry. That's not what I meant. I didn't realize…." She trails off into awkward silence. I can practically see her fighting the urge to squirm from foot to foot in her thousand-dollar heels. "I'm so sorry. I promise I'm not usually so rude. You just caught me off guard."
"I'm used to it," I rasp. "Most of you react the same way when you first see me." I rake my gaze over her, hot and predatory. She's so fucking pretty. Does she know how badly I want to put my filthy hands all over her? "Your world is glitz and glamour, not scarred old relics."
"My world is faker than a can of spray tan," she mutters.
One dark brow rises, pulling the edges of my scar taut.
"You were injured in a stunt."
My face falls into a scowl. As far as the world knows, that's precisely what happened. That's the story we all told. We certainly didn't do it to protect Alastair McDonald, the director. His predatory ways were revealed long ago. He was one of the first to be tossed into a cell when women in Hollywood started speaking out. I popped a bottle of champagne that night. But Damen Montero and his little sister deserved protection. Had Marissya been my sister, I would have driven a truck through McDonald's fucking trailer too.
"Sorry." Laura grimaces. "I'm nosy. And nervous."
"I make you nervous."
"Yes," she admits, slipping her hands into her coat pockets to hide the way she fidgets with her fingers. "You're a legend. I've heard stories about you since I came to Hollywood. But no one told me that you're so…."
"Uncouth? Hideous?" The left corners of my lips turn up in a sardonic smile.
"Sexy," she blurts.
I throw my dark head back, a burst of rusty laughter escaping my lips.
"I don't appreciate being laughed at," she growls, scowling up at me.
I slowly tip my head down to look at her. "And I don't appreciate being played for a fool," I growl. "Whatever you want from me, you don't need to butter me up to get it."
"You think I'm lying to you to get my way?" She gapes at me, her plump lips parted in shock.
"Wouldn't be the first time."
Indignation stiffens her spine. "You don't even know me."
"Like I said, most of you react the same."
Her face turns red with fury, her emerald eyes shooting sparks in my direction. She opens her mouth to issue a scathing retort and then bites it back before she can give it a voice. Something shifts through her eyes too quickly for me to read, but her expression falls. So do her shoulders. My little starlet deflates like a balloon.
