ELENAI rubbed my hands over my face, ignoring the guilty twinges in my lower stomach. They popped up the second Chloe smacked Aiden on the head yesterday and explained everything.Extra media attention on Dirty J. was the worst thing that could happen. Even if the #AidenSexTape trend on Twitter told a different story—and wow, were these girls so obsessed they’d watch him have sex with some girl?I knew this was a risk, taking this job. I wasn’t, and am not, naive to the fact that I was very much in the public eye. I was not so stupid as to think I wouldn’t get snapped on camera at least once or twice, but it didn’t matter, because petty celebrity matters were far beneath my family and the Diazs. Even my friends rarely checked the tabloids.Hell, I only did it on my phone when I went to the toilet, then I had to clear my browser history.No, this job was the safest risk I could have taken. Not least because I was constantly surrounded by big, strong-as-hell men nearly sixteen hours a
Yay for your parents choosing your future husband and forcing you to fall in love with him.Maybe I needed to start a bucket list.Kiss just for fun: I can tick that off.Have random sex.Fall in love.I leaned against the doorframe as Dirty J. finished up their practice. They were singing the song Conor introduced when they were back home a few weeks ago without clearing it with their label or manager. Turned out it was so popular among fans that they were forced to practice and perform it on tour, ready to record the second it was over.They were incredible, truly. Four brothers, each so different, so unique, yet they jelled together like they were quadruplets. I didn’t think it would make a difference if Bray and Titus weren’t twins. I thought the four of them would fit together in the most perfect way anyway.It was easy to see why America—and no joke, the world—loved them. It was easy to see why they had rabid, crazy fans. Why even moms and grandmas sang along to their songs.Dir
AIDENThat look was far too fucking attitude-filled for my liking. And that smirk on her pink lips. Damn.I left my guitar leaning against my chair and got up, following her out the door. Having dinner alone my ass—there wasn’t a chance in hell she was gonna do that. I was going to follow her ass through this hotel and up to her room because I wanted to. Besides, with the others not around, it was the perfect chance to pull some of that past of hers out of her, to make her talk.I wanted to hear her talk.You don’t run from one night of abuse. That much is painstakingly clear.“Hey, sugar,” I drawled, leaning on the receptionist’s desk.“Mr. James.” She glanced up through her hair.“C’mon, now, I’ve told you to call me Aiden . . .” My eyes flicked to her badge. “Tracey.”She blushed. “How can I help you, Aiden?”“I can’t seem to get hold of my assistant on the phone, and she’s sick. I know she’s in her room. I’m real worried about her. What are the chances of you givin’ me her room ke
She slapped my bicep with the back of her fingers. “My voice is pretty? For real, Casanova? That the best you got?”I tugged on a lock of her hair. “I’m tryin’ to be nice here, which is, again, somethin’ most chicks don’t get. Give me a chance, all right?”“But if I did that, I’d be one of those dumb chicks you associate with.”“True story that, darlin’. Although I ain’t doin’ that for now. I’m being good. Except for that chick at reception.” I brushed my fingers down Elena’s jaw. “I had to agree to buy her a drink before she’d give me your room card.”“Hmm,” she hummed. “I wondered how you swindled that one.”“I’m a regular Romeo.”“Seems it. Are you sure this dinner isn’t getting in the way of meeting Ms. Receptionist?”“Nah, I don’t have to grace her with my awesome presence until tomorrow evening.”“What time?”“She didn’t say.”“Shame. You’re busy all evening, practicing, per your manager’s orders.” Elena smiled and sipped her wine. “Part of his plan to keep you on the straight a
ELENAI grabbed five water bottles from the bar, charged them to the James account, and hopped into the elevator. My arms chilled quickly against the ice-cold bottles, and I was thankful when the doors opened and I could run down the hall to the gym.I bumped the door open with my butt. “Water.”The guys all looked up from the floor where they were completing push-ups. “You’re a doll,” Titus said, getting up.Aiden, Bray, and Conor each grabbed a bottle from me and then they all dropped to the mats on the floor. Aiden held the cold bottle against his forehead, while Bray rolled it back and forth across his chest, and Conor drunk it quickly.Titus stared at them, still standing, and cut his eyes to me. “Bunch o’ pussies.”“Fuck off,” Aiden replied immediately. “You did half as many push-ups as us. Kept stoppin’ ’cause your lil baby arms couldn’t take the pressure.”“Shut it or my lil baby fist will meet your face, asshole.”I coughed and smiled sweetly when four pairs of eyes snapped t
I opened my mouth, but closed it again seconds later. Purse my lips. Licked my lips. “Well, I don’t not like it.”Chloe’s eyes flicked from the cheesecake to me several times, her lips twitching. “So like it some more. And, Elena? You’ve been a lot happier the last few days. Like . . . you’ve come out of that tight little shell you had yourself wrapped in. You’re givin’ the guys as good as you get, and from what Conor said, you gave Charlotte a real ass-kickin’ earlier. You wouldna done that when you got here. Just . . . I dunno, doll. Let whatever happen. It won’t kill either of you, and you sure as hell deserve some fun.”I guess she was right. I was just not sure Aiden James was the right kind of fun. In fact, I was positively sure he was the worst kind of fun. Not least because we essentially lived together for the next few weeks. What if . . . what if I like the man behind the mask and, as soon as his bad behavior quarantine is over, he grabs some random chick?“Fucking shit.” Ai
AIDENI caught her keys in the palm of my hand and my grin widened. Damn—she didn’t look like she was pinned against a wall less than five minutes ago. Clearly I was not kissin’ her fuckin’ hard enough.I meant every damn word I said to her, though. Tracy who? Who the fuck was that chick I just wasted forty-five minutes with? She was never getting into my hotel room anyway, and that was before Elena sat across the restaurant with Chloe and consumed my every thought.Because—fuck. This girl was killing me. And not in a good way. I wasn’t lying when I said I’d be inside her by the time we leave Atlanta. I would fuck her within days. I couldn’t not. I already broke all the working-for-me rules a million times by being incapable of not kissing her.So, yeah, I was gonna fuck her. I was gonna kiss her and worship her body, and I was gonna fuck her until she succumbed to overwhelming pressure.I slid onto the chair next to Elena, grabbed her fork, and put some of her cake in my mouth. She g
ELENA“Are you insane? I can’t go for dinner with Aiden!”Chloe ran her teeth over her bottom lip. “You kind of have to. The table is booked. I just kinda . . . beat him to this information.”“What!” I stared at her. What? “No. I’m not doing it. I’m not going out with him.”I walked into the small kitchen area and turned on the coffee machine. I didn’t even want coffee. I just wanted something to distract me.Dinner with Aiden James? Like a date dinner? Or even just dinner dinner?No. No. No. No.“Okay, in my defense, I spoke to him two hours ago and I thought he’d already asked you,” she sighed. “But, Elena, it’s just dinner. Maybe he wants to talk . . . business.”“Oh, you know that is not true!” I raised my eyebrows and pointed at her. “He cannot be alone with me without invading my personal space and his tongue getting all up and personal with mine!”Chloe paused, then hid a giggle behind her hand. “In private. In public he might be a little more . . . reserved.”“Really?” I gripp
I was kind of annoyed at his short response, but I was equally amused at his smugness about it. And his amusement—damn, I wanted to laugh while I slap it off his handsome face.For the first time, it stroke me that this fake relationship could be rather dangerous.I stayed quiet as we drove down the country road that’ll take us to Percival Town, a couple of miles up the coast. I had been before—it was the stereotypical little beach town, more so than Santa Monica, even—but it wasn’t my favorite place. For one, the size of the town and its population made Santa Monica looked like a minuscule village unworthy of a supermarket or school of its own, and almost everyone who lived there acted like they were from a city, when they were not.We also had a high school football rivalry, so that could play in, especially since I was head cheerleader and may or may not have gotten into a catfight with Percival’s head cheerleader in senior year.Who also happened to be Titus’s girlfriend at the tim
IVANA“You’re going out with Titus James? Like on a date? Or out out? Or just as friends?” Sussy’s eyes bugged out of her head. “And you didn’t invite me?”I paused from applying my mascara and looked at her incredulous expression in the mirror. “Come right on into my room, Sus. It was okay. I only might have been naked, or you know, masturbating or something.”“That’s gross.”“So is your obsession with Dirty J.” I gave her a sarcastic smile and went back to my makeup. “But no, it is not a date.”“Uh-huh . . .” she trailed off, and when I screwed my mascara brush back into the tube, she shoved her phone at me. “Then why does Twitter say you’re his girlfriend?”I shrugged and brushed my bangs out. “I saw this meme on Facebook that said Abraham Lincoln once said you shouldn’t believe everything you read on the Internet.”My sister looked at me like I was dumb. “The Internet was invented after Lincoln died.”“Precisely. It’s called sarcasm.” I rolled my eyes and grabbed my phone from the
“You really want me to say it again?”She rubbed her hand down her face. “Are you insane? She hates you!”I smirked.“Titus . . .” She rolled her eyes. “Okay, obviously not that much, but a fake relationship? Do you even know what you’ve gotten yourself into?”“Yep,” Aiden replied for me. “Because unlike the rest of us, he’s the only one who’s had a successful relationship.”“As evidenced by the fact I am currently single,” I drawled sarcastically at my big brother. “Get a load of that success!”“Don’t be a little prick.”“Every big prick needs a little one.”“Dollars!” Milka shrieked, stomping across the room with her hand out and her chubby fingers clenching in a “gimme” motion. Dutifully, we both dug dollar bills out of our pockets and handed them over. “Tankoo.” She narrowed her bright blue eyes, then pointed at the space between us. “No fight! Bad Uncy Aid and Uncy Titus!”Chloe smiled behind her glass of juice.“She’s real bossy, you know that, right?” I looked at Chloe. “She’s
TITUSHoly. Shit.I was never, ever fucking putting this chick on the back of my bike ever again.If her arms around me wasn’t bad enough, it was her tits pressed solidly against my back and the fact I knew her pussy was rubbing my ass. Fuck. And in the tiny shorts she was wearing right now? It was a mega mindfuck.In fact, it was a fuck, fuck, fuck, kinda situation.As in why the fuck did I kiss her this morning? Why the hell did I bring her close just to shut her ex up? I shouldn’t give a shit. I should’ve taken the damn coffees, paid, and gotten the hell outta Dodge. But no. I had to plant some fucking seeds in Dodge, didn’t I? And then I had to water them by telling that douchebag that I’m her boyfriend.I had the funniest feeling that wasn’t gonna go down well.In fact, I was almost certain it was gonna go down like a shit ton of loose bricks in an earthquake.Still, though—I could feel her arms wrapped around me tightly, holding her body flush against mine, and it was different
“I always wondered what it’d be like to fuck you. Now I know.”“Isn’t this a conversation for your right hand?”“No, but it could be for yours.”“Only if that hand is around your neck.” I snatched said hand out of his and placed it on my hip. “What do you want? Why are you here?”“Come with me,” he said, his shoulders rising and falling. “Please?”“A James boy saying please? Did I die and go to hell? ’Cause y’all sure ain’t goin’ to heaven.”His lips twitched. “Vanny.”I took two steps away from him.“Ivana,” he corrected himself. “Come on. Just for ten minutes.”“Take me home,” I demanded, turning back to him. “Let me get changed, and then I’ll consider it.”He took a deep breath, his eyes intent on me as he obviously considered it. “Fine.” He grabbed my hand once more and tugged me between two buildings and onto Main Street.I shielded my eyes from the sunlight before sliding my sunglasses down as we stepped from the shadows created by the alleyway, almost falling after him. He led
“A frying pan to the face? Sure. Be my guest.”“Coffee, Ivana. I’d like to keep my job.”“Nah, it’s okay. I’ve gotta face him sometime.”“Ken!” She yelled into the kitchen at the chef. “Keep the fryin’ pans away from Jessie here!”“Yes, ma’am,” he called back, laughing.I might have a temper.“Y’all are like pins and needles in my ass,” I mumbled, finishing my coffee and putting the mug into the empty dishwasher. Adrina’s laugh rung through the café as she danced her way to the front door with the key dangling from her pointer finger.Chelsea was the first person through the door, and I blinked harshly. “Don’t look at me like that,” she hissed, stalking toward me. “You didn’t come home last night, did you?”“Say it a bit louder, Chels. I’m not sure my mom heard you.”She rolled her eyes and, glancing at the people behind her, ordered. “Latte, please, to go.” One more glance as I grabbed the takeout cup and she continued, “Why didn’t you text me? You should have texted me!”“Dude, seri
IVANAIt shouldn’t bother me.But, really, he must have a serious lack of class to just disappear while I slept.What kind of son of a bitch is Titus James? He’s sure as hell a disrespectful little shit, his sexual promises be damned. The fact he delivered on them can be damned, too.He’s real lucky I’m the kind of girl who sticks to her word. When I said no stories, no second times, no whatever it was I said while under the influence of cosmos, I meant it.As long as we never have to see each other again. That’d be fabulous. So basically, Santa Monica needed to expand by another few thousand people. Several thousand would be great. Like, twenty thousand.The chances of this happening are, I know, slim. But a girl can dream. A girl’s gotta dream if she wants to stay sane.A last-minute tour for Dirty J. would be epic. An impromptu concert on Mars would be even more epic.Jesus, what the heck was I thinking? Sleeping with Titus James? Did I have a temporary lapse in sanity last night?
Blondie’s smile dropped. “Yeah. Why? She your assistant or somethin’?”I smirked. “No, but I’m hirin’.”“Well, how about this.” She stepped forward and ran her finger down my arm. “I give you my number, and when you’re ready to interview, you can call me.”“Or how about you come back here this time next week and if I’m standing right here, you’ll know you got the job.” My lips tugged up even more.Agreeing to call a girl.Fuck. That.That was an amateur move.“Well played,” she whispered in my ear before stalking past me, making sure her tits brush my arm. Her hard, fake tits.I prefer real.The bathroom door opened and I looked up straight into the eyes of . . . my little sister. Leah took a deep breath and held her hand up at me, touching two fingers to her temples. Her ponytail swung as she shook her head. “Aw, hell no. I am not going to think about the fact that I just helped one of my best friends out of Spanx so she can fuck my brother.”She opened her eyes, and I scratched the
TITUSIvana Lawson reached back and grasped my forearm firmly, shoving my arm away from her like I was fire and she was gasoline. “I mind you touching me,” she replied. “What’s takin’ so long?” she yelled to the bartender.“Chill out, Ivana,” I murmured, moving closer to her and meeting the bartender’s eyes. “Can you hurry with that, babe?”She nodded and within two seconds, a cocktail glass full of perfectly red-pink liquid was placed in front of us.“That’s—”“And a bottle of Budweiser, thanks,” I demanded before she said the price. “Put it on my tab.”“I can pay for my own drink,” Ivana argued, her eyes sparking with defiance.“Sure you can, but that don’t mean you’re gonna.”“It means I will.” She riffled in her purse and slammed a ten into my chest. “Thank you, Titus, but no thank you.”I took the crisp bill from her hand and crumpled it up, crooking my finger in the collar of her dress. She gaped at me in disbelief as I pulled the fabric from her body and dropped the balled-up n