Page 55 of Gluttony
“We didn’t want to say anything in there to overshadow the film, did we, honey?” Maggie addressed the paparazzi. “But since you’re all here, you may as well know. We’re together, and I for one think it’s nobody’s business what his agent is or isn’t doing.”
“No.” Tony shook his head, aghast.
“No what?” The man in the brown suit asked. “No to the question about the agent?”
“No to Maggie.”
But Maggie didn’t hear him, nor seem to care. “Yes we are. After working so closely for months, Iknow youTony.”
Oh no, she didn’t.Nasty bitch.
Heat flared up Bailey’s neck to cloud her mind. She ground her teeth. Maggie wasn’t the one. Bailey was. She pushed between them, took hold of Tony’s jaw between her finger and thumb, and smashed her lips onto his in a swoon-worthy close-mouthed kiss. The shock move sent Maggie careening to the side, and a chorus of gasps and flashes exploding into the atmosphere. But it wasn’t until Tony placed one palm behind her head, one on her lower back and tipped her, that the energy became effervescent. It bubbled up and spilled over. Chaos erupted around them, but it all seemed to fade away under the scent of Tony’s soft lips, his musk and familiarity.
She heard nothing but her heartbeat pounding in her ears, could see nothing but the way he adored her. And then her Aviators fell off and reality hit.
They had to get out of there.
She took his hand, and yanked him away, rushing down the driveway and out of the hotel complex. Pursued, but together and in agreement, they jogged along the sidewalk. The paparazzi were hard to shake, and damn, they could run fast with those big cameras.
“Where are we going?” Tony flashed his teeth, clearly having the time of his life.
“We’re giving them the slip. There. The night markets have opened.” She pointed down the sidewalk to the end of the street. Beyond the city buildings was the entrance to the Quadrant Central Park where people filed through an enormous wrought iron arched gate covered in ivy. Cyprus trees loomed on either side, gilt leaves coming alive in the dying sun. The dense park and market stalls beyond were the perfect place to get lost.
Darting in and out of the crowd, they continued into the markets. The smell of cooked pretzels and garlic filled the air. Immediately inside the park, lined on either side of the double width walkway were food trucks, street vendors, and amusement games. Parents with children and prams, businesspeople finished work for the day and the public idled along, enjoying the last street festival of the season before the weather cooled down too much.
It didn’t take much to duck and weave into the crowd, losing themselves in the activity.
Bailey checked over her shoulder and saw a group of unapologetic photographers chasing them, heads swiveling to see where they’d gone. She pulled Tony close to her, behind a stand of sunglasses, then handed him a random pair before putting on her own and hiding behind the turnstile. The makeshift stall was a repurposed open caravan with an annex for wares. The next stall was another caravan selling Jamaican jerk chicken, its mouthwatering aroma of spices invading the space.
Laughter and chatter filled the air. While she kept her attention on the crowd, Tony perused the sunglass selection with avid fascination.
“You know,” he joked, pointing a pair of Rayban knockoffs at her. “If this were a movie, we’d be in the montage.”
“How can you joke at a time like this?”
“What, this? This is nothing.Thisis a collection of misguided photographers trying to make a living.” He pulled out a pair of gold John Lennon glasses. “Now these are more your style.”
She put them back on the rack and then added the ones from their faces. “We’re not really here to buy sunglasses. We just need to look different.”
She removed her bomber jacket and tucked it behind the caravan. She’d pick that up later if they had a chance. She then made the gimme sign to Tony.
He watched her, eyes sparkling with some kind of mischievous thought. Slowly, he peeled his jacket from his sculptured shoulders, and slung it around hers, enveloping her in the warmth he’d left behind. He retrieved his baseball cap from his back pocket and slung it on his head, turning the peak to the back. It made his face even more devastatingly handsome. With a growing grin, he dug his fingers into her hair and gently tugged on the tie that secured her ponytail. Never breaking his intense eye contact, he slid the tie down the silken length until her hair cascaded around her shoulders. She watched the amused light in his eyes heat as he took in a breath of her scented shampoo. And when he touched his nose to her head and inhaled again, he hummed deliciously. The velvet smooth timber of his voice penetrated deep within her body, hitting hotly between her thighs.
God, he was...
He made her speechless.
And when he looked at her like that, her heart pounded.
Satisfied with his handiwork, he cast an appreciative eye over her transformation and gave her hair a final fluff.
“That’s better.” Then he crowded her with his big body and pushed her toward the shadowed gap between the two caravan stalls. Against the side, he pinned her with his hips, driving her into the corrugated metal wall. She gripped his broad shoulders for balance. His hands slid up her waist, grazed over her breasts and continued up to her collarbone where he pressed her in place while he said, “We’ll just have to stay here until they’re gone. I’m sure we can think of something to do.”
Dipping, he placed his lips on her neck. Nerves combusted. Shivers ran down her body. Sparks of pleasure zipped up her spine, and all from the simple press of his mouth against her skin. She was usually more reserved than this, but her body arched into him, her breath hitched. The swell of her breasts pushed into his chest, and a long strangled growl came from his throat.
“When I get you alone,” he promised against her skin.
A lick up the tendon in her neck, a nip on her jaw, a nibble on her earlobe. He would feast on her, and she would like it.
