Page 76 of Stone Promises

“What? Why?”

“Because I want to see you in the hoodie. Andonlythe hoodie,” he says, with a low growl. “And then I want to make you come while you’re wearing it.”

“Chad!” I squeal in surprise. I think my insides just melted, spreading warmth between my legs. Could I do such a thing knowing he could see me?

“We’ll do it together,” he says, reading my mind. “I’ll be right there with you.”

A bothersome thought flashes through my head. “Have you ever—”

“Never, Mal. You’d be my first,” he says. “You’ll be my only. And I promise you, you’ll be my last.”

I think he just made my heart flip over in my chest. How can I say no to him? And I might as well get used to this now. We’ll be spending a lot more time apart in the future. I take the stairs two at a time. “I’m beginning to really like your promises,” I say, locking my door behind me.

And then with his words, he makes the most passionate love to me.

~ ~ ~

Chad and I have spent a lot of time on the phone in the six weeks since I left L.A.A lot.He came out to visit every other weekend and for Kyle’s med school graduation. Ana came with him on several of his weekend trips so she and Julian could get to know each other. They hit it off well, and now Julian is here with me at their press junket photo shoot. The four of us are going out to dinner after.

Julian and I are sitting in director’s chairs, tucked away in a corner of the studio as Chad and Ana get dolled up for someBlind Shotpromo pics while they are here promoting the upcoming release. Julian is tinkering around on his phone. “I wonder what shit they’ll think up to print after they get pictures of the four of us tonight,” he says.

I laugh. “Maybe that we’re swingers?”

The press has been having a field day printing all kinds of rumors. First, I was stepping out on Thad with our longtime friend, Julian. They showed pictures of me hugging him at my door and pictures of our ‘double date’ with Mel and Steve. And when Julian escorted me to theBlind Shotpremiere, we caused quite a stir. But Chad’s manager insisted Chad only show up with Ana on his arm, and since it wasn’t Courtney, I told Chad not to bother arguing the point. Then one night, when I crashed at Julian’s place, the pap even got pictures of me exiting his building early the next morning.

The second big story the press is salivating over is that Courtney Benson has been MIA for weeks. They say she’s in hiding because she was dumped by Thad for ‘the school teacher’ and she’s too heartbroken to make public appearances. We have no idea why she’s gone off the grid, and I could care less. Chad is worried she’s lying in a ditch somewhere after having OD’d on drugs. His only concern is that she be able to fulfill her obligations for theDefconsequel.

I try not to think about the filming he’ll have to do with her this summer. Eight weeks of filming, four on location in Sedona. Day in and day out they’ll be together. They will have kissing scenes and sex scenes, and even though Chad has tried to tell me how it’s not as bad as I would think, she will still have her lips on his lips and her hands on his body. The thought of it makes me ill.

“Whoa!” Julian says, grabbing onto my arm.

I look up to see Ana coming out of her dressing room. She’s wearing a short red dress that barely covers her ass cheeks, and her legs look a mile long in the six-inch stilettos she’s wearing. Her platinum-blonde hair has been made to look windblown and her flawless makeup screams that her face should be on the cover of every fashion magazine. “You get to have dinner with that tonight, you lucky man,” I whisper to him.

“Holy shit, Mal. She’s gorgeous,” he says. “I mean, she’s always beautiful, but . . . damn, is it wrong of me to want to take off my shirt and cover her with it? She’s barely dressed and everyone will see her like this.”

I stare at him, watching him watch her. “You really like her, don’t you?”

They met the first time Chad brought Ana out last month. And she came out a second time with him a few weeks later. That was when they had their first official date. Julian can’t stop talking about her. Chad says Ana is the same way. Julian doesn’t even bother looking at me when he answers. “I do.”

I smile. Maybe this one will stick. I’ve never seen him so giddy over a woman before. Not even whenwewere dating. It makes my heart feel good knowing that he’s finally let his heart move on from me.

My own protective senses go into overdrive when I see Chad come out of his dressing room. My eyes bug out and I wipe the proverbial drool from my chin. “What was it you said about wanting to cover them up?” I ask Julian.

Julian laughs at me as my eyes are glued to my super-hot-and-sexy boyfriend. He’s in black jeans. Jeans that are slung so low, I can see the beginning of his happy trail. And he’s wearing a black leather jacket. With no shirt underneath. His perfectly ripped abs are showing.Oh, God.

“Andyouget to go out withthat,” Julian says. He elbows me. “Do you think they will let them keep the clothes?”

They pose Chad on a motorcycle and Ana next to him with her hand smack in the middle of his bare chest. She looks over and flashes an apology at both Julian and me. But somehow, neither of us seem to be bothered by it. This is Ana. You’d have to look far and wide to find anyone as sweet as her. She wouldn’t hurt a fly. And she says she thinks of Chad as a big brother. Of course, it helps that they never dated. I wish she were Chad’sDefconco-star instead of Courtney. If I have to watch Chad stick his tongue down someone’s throat, I’d rather it be her.

For the next hour, Julian and I stare at our dates as they make fuck-me eyes at each other, laughing and joking between photos. I have to admit, they look stunning together. They could even pass for brother and sister, both having gorgeous blonde hair and blue eyes.

Just before they wrap it up, Chad calls Julian and me over, having the photographer snap pictures of the four of us and then each couple. For our photo, Chad stands behind me, wrapping me inside his jacket as I gaze up at him out of the corner of my eye. His expression is even hotter than when he posed with Ana. There’s so much emotion passing between us. Admiration, desire, love. I know these photos will become some of my most cherished possessions.

I walk Chad back to his dressing room, peering up at him in disbelief.

“What?” he asks.

I shake my head, smiling. “I just can’t believe you’re mine,” I say, raking my gaze over him.

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