Page 46 of Sweet Virgin

My face was stone, ignoring the onslaught of hoots and hollers. I was told to pretend no one was there, to not give them one thing to feed off of.

Marc climbed up into his high chair, holding a megaphone. “Alright people, quiet on the set!” Waving his hand, he ushered me in towards the fountain, patting two fingers for me to sit on the edge. “Right there, Allie, perfect.”

Crossing my legs, I awkwardly leaned forward, hoping the wind would stay dormant and not blow my skirt higher than it already was.

I felt like a fucking barbie doll being paraded around for the rest of the world to scrutinize. This business, the whole haze that hovered over being a virgin and letting everyone watch, had gotten more than a few disgruntled complaints.

For every one person that found it exciting, three others thought it was ludicrous and absurd. I had seen the highlights before I disappeared. People wanted to ban the show, they thought it would cause more young girls to give away their virginity way too soon.

But that negativity drove the curiosity to levels I had never seen. Talk shows debated it, tabloids drew pro and con articles with what I was doing. And in the end it all came back to me, like this was my idea, my creation.

I didn't care either way, it wasn't my idea to make it real. But I did know one thing, and that was I didn't want to be the poster child of the promiscuous boom in the younger generation.

And I didn't want to be the one doing it on screen.

“Okay, here we go!” Marc yelled through his microphone, signaling my new date.

The crowd's voices hushed to barely an audible breath, making my heart pound harder. I sat with my face down, watching a small trickle of ants crawl in and out of a tiny hill at the base of the fountain.

My head should have been in the scene, it should have been trying to focus on my lines. But all I could think about Kealen and how his hands felt on my body, how his lips felt on my skin.

I couldn't get him out of my head. He was sitting there, blanketing my thoughts and sending electric sparks through my veins. Every deep husky voice, every subtle scent of pine or sound of moving water—He was there.

I couldn't even shower this morning without thinking about being in the ocean with him and how it felt to have his fingers run over my skin. The rough touch was mixed with salt and sand, scruffing my flesh in sexual tension.

Marc said something, but I wasn't listening. Lifting my eyes up, I watched him nod his head and lean back in his chair.

My date was coming, that was the signal, that was the cue for me to gaze off into the background, pretending to be unaware of his presence.

Heavy feet padded on the concrete behind me, the thick heat of a man's body wafted over my shoulders.

Alright, show time.

Before I could turn, before I could bat my lashes and put on my sexiest smile, a firm hand tickled over my arm, slipping sensually over the back of my neck, and down my spine.

Wait, that's not what he's supposed to do.

He's got it all wrong.

Tensing, I cocked my head towards Marc, waiting for him to stop production.

But he didn't yell cut, he didn't stop the introduction.

He made changes, of course he took the liberty of making changes.

It wasn't uncommon for things to change in a blink without the producer informing everyone. So I went with it, tilting my head and arching my back.

A deep voice whispered into my ear, the sound puncturing my heart with hot needles. His fingers worked their way over my ribs as he spoke so low only I could hear him.

“I found you.” His lips met my neck, kissing with need, with passion.

The world around me faded away as I recognized the voice and lips on my skin. My body trembled as prickles broke across my flesh, riding my body in waves.

I didn't expect to see him again and I never expected to see him here.

Kealen had found me.

And he found me just in time.