Page 63 of Salacious Star

It took a moment for my pleasure-soaked mind to realize what he was asking, and I swallowed. The urge to deny, to say that it was just something that had spilled out in the heat of the moment, was strong, but I wasn't a fucking liar.

"Yeah," I breathed. "I meant it."

A beat, and then a brilliant smile spread across his face. "Good," he said simply. "Because I love you too."

He kissed me again, and even the fact that we were covered in my come and I desperately needed a Tylenol - or ten - couldn't detract from the beauty of the moment.

He loved me. I loved him.

This man was mine. For fuckingever.

29

I walked into the Studio Black building with my head held high, my shoulders straight. I walked right past the front desk - empty, for now - and down the hallway towards the executive offices, bypassing the doors that I ordinarily walked through in order to make it back to the studio spaces.

I wasn't scheduled for a shoot today, and that wasn't why I was here.

The meeting room at the end of the hallway was lit from underneath the closed door, and I only took a moment to wonder why the door was closed - Cole, Tanner, Emmett, and Dorian always had meetings on Wednesdays and they were usually open, in case any of us had anything that we needed to discuss - before I knocked, and a moment later Cole called out, "Come in."

I opened the door, and arched my eyebrow at the sight of Cole, Dorian, and Emmett - no Tanner, interesting - sitting around the table with someone new. A tall, blonde guy that looked like he spent most of his time at the gym, his muscles broad and defined even under the fabric of his red t-shirt.

"Where's Tanner?" I asked, looking between them.

Something flickered across Cole's expression before it shuttered, and then was the same casual, friendly face that he usually wore. "Not in today. Can I help you with something?"

The new guy was looking at me with his blue eyes huge, practically taking up half of his face, and Emmett and Dorian were both looking at him like he was their newest plaything.

A new actor already? Xan's only been here for a few weeks...

I shook off the oddity of the thought, and I smiled at Cole, jerking my head towards the hallway. "Didn't mean to interrupt, sorry. Can I talk to you for a moment? It'll be fast."

Cole nodded, smiling at the new man, whose cheeks had pinked. "Of course. Oliver, I'll be right back."

Cole followed me out into the hallway and then closed the door most of the way again before looking at me, his arms folded over his chest. He was a little shorter than I was when we stood face to face like this, though I was under no impression that he couldn't handle himself in a fight if necessary. His demeanor immediately relaxed, and he smiled at me, cocking his head to the side. "What's up?"

I smiled; Cole was a good boss, despite the sensitivity of the industry that we called work. It was the only reason that I felt comfortable approaching him like this. "I just wanted to talk to you about something. About Xander," I clarified.

He cocked his head to the side, his smile turning a little sly. "Yes, the work that the two of you have been doing is...something else."

There was a twinkle in his eyes that told me that Xan and I hadn't been anywhere near as subtle as we'd thought in our feelings on camera, but I wasn't going to feel sorry about that. If he already knew, that was going to make this conversation that much easier.

"Right. Well, I'm going to guess that you already have a bit of an idea of what I'm about to tell you, then," I said, keeping my voice casual as I tucked my hands into my pockets. "Xan and I...we've been dating. Properly, outside of our work here."

Cole nodded, his gaze steady. "Congratulations."

"Thanks." I grinned, unable to help the dopey expression. "And...it's serious. I mean...as serious as it can be. We're not married or anything, yet, so don't worry about that," I added hastily when Cole cocked an eyebrow at me. "But we're exclusive. So...I'm coming here to tell you that I don't want to be scheduled with anyone else for work. I'll do solo work, of course, but I won't work with anyone other than Xan on partner shoots."

Cole nodded, his expression thoughtful. "And I assume the same goes for him?" He cocked his head to the side. "You understand that means that we'll be scheduling the two of you closer together without as much room for a break? We've been going relatively easy with Xander's schedule, but going forward..."

I nodded. "I know that," I assured him.

Cole nodded. "Okay, good. Your work has made our subscribersveryhappy, so as glad as I am that the two of you seem to have found something special with each other, we still need to adhere to contracted work."

I inclined my head in another nod. "I know that. I just..." My stomach twisted at the thought of Xander working with anyone other than me, even if it was only for photos, and I blew out a breath, unwilling to let the spill of jealousy come out. "I don't want anyone else touching him, Cole. I know that makes me a possessive caveman, but that's how I feel. I love him."

Cole's eyes widened a little, his lips parting. Clearly, I'd surprised him with that, but...well, I'd told Xander, and I didn't want to keep it in anymore. I was fucking gone for the man, and I didn't care who fucking knew.

"Wow," Cole finally said. He reached up and ran one hand through his hair, making the dark-and-gray strands mess a little before he looked at me again. "I wasn't expecting that. Congratulations. Really." His expression softened. "I'm really happy for you, Tris."

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