Tragic

And before I know what's happening he's lying down next to me, leaning down and pressing himself over my stomach. I sigh at the dress, because it's the only thing separating my bare skin from his. "Just a few shots like this, Rook, then we'll sit up and have some fun." He's got a devilish grin as the words come out.

"Finally," I say with mock exasperation. "I'm starting to get bored."

He growls down at me and then goes back to kissing my neck so he can whisper in my ear, "I'd have you naked by now if Elise wasn't here."

"Ohhh, you're being bad," I whisper back, being equally discreet. "I bet she grounds you if I tell her what you just said."

We stare at each other for a few seconds, his eyes searching me for a moment. "Date me, Rook."

"What?"

"Let me take you out."

I look over at Elise who is distracted by an assistant who has joined us. "Are we allowed?"

"Pffft." He rolls off me and sits up, then pulls me up and sets me on his lap. I'm breathless with the quick change of position and almost gasp when he leans in to whisper in my ear again. "Pay close attention, Gidget." And then Antoine is giving orders and Ronin is fixing my dress so that it flares out around his legs.

It occurs to me then… I have no f**king underwear on.

And the reason it occurs to me is because his excitement is right underneath my completely bare girly parts.

Antoine is on Ronin's left, so Ronin's left hand begins to caress my foot with small circles, a touch so light it actually makes squirm because my feet are totally ticklish. He takes the hint and slowly sweeps up my calf, which is just about the most sensual feeling I've ever experienced. I moan out a little and his bruising kisses are back, crushing against my mouth.

Just as Antoine takes his attention to our lips Ronin's right hand also begins at my foot, swirling his fingertips around the soft pad of my arch. I laugh into his mouth and he pulls me close, my hair hiding our faces for a moment, and says, "Shhhh, now. Be good, Gidge." And then his right hand sweeps up my leg and under my dress, caressing the same small circles along my inner thigh.

"Oh, shit," I whimper as I bury myself in his neck. Just a few more inches and I'm going to come undone. My neck tilts back as the sensations all crash together and he takes his kisses to my plunging neckline, his left hand, the one still out in the open slips up to my breast just as the hidden hand drops down a little farther, just a flutter of a touch against my crease.

He reaches over, not with the hidden hand, and picks up a glass of wine and hands it to me.

My fingertips barely understand what to do with the glass because the only thing on my mind is where his other hand is. We each take a sip and then he bites into a cherry, taking half of it in his mouth, and spits out the pit.

Antoine barks something harsh in French and Ronin laughs. "It's a f**king pit, Antoine, it's not litter." He rolls his eyes at me. "Sit still now, Rook, and keep your mouth closed for a moment."

My mind is still on his fingers as they caress my inner thigh, but I do my best not to squirm.

He brings the cherry to my lips and I keep my mouth closed. This makes him smile and then he traces my lips, dripping juice as he paints them. I'm just about to let my tongue dart out and get the juice when Ronin's mouth reaches up and licks it off, stopping to suck on my bottom lip, and then gives it a little nibble that makes me cry out.

He bites into another cherry and again, to Antoine's disgust, woofs out the pit into the grass. Spitting is a skill only boys really acquire. They are so good at it. It might gross out Antoine, but not me. I think just about everything Ronin is doing with his mouth is astonishing right now. The secret hand under my dress appears again. He lifts my left hand and paints each fingertip pad with cherry juice, then sucks it off, nibbling them one by one, just like he did my lips.

I just stare at him and his eyes never leave mine. "What?" he finally asks.

"You—" I say.

He raises his eyebrows.

"—are bad."

He laughs. "If you were naked right now I'd drip this juice all down your belly and let my tongue—"

"OK, that's enough," Antoine says. "Excellent job, Rook."

Fucking Antoine.

I bite my lip as Ronin licks my fingertips one more time and then grins up at me like an idiot. "Want to come over and watch a movie, Gidget?"

I nod enthusiastically as Elise helps me up, and then Ronin bounces to his feet and puts his arm around me protectively. "You fell asleep pretty quick last time, are you sure you're up for a movie?"

I'm not sure if a movie is the code word for sex or not right now, but either way, I'm definitely up for it.

Chapter Twenty-Eight - RONIN

"Hold on, stud!" Elise calls out before I can swoop Rook back inside and up to my apartment.

"Go change and I'll meet you outside the dressing room, OK?"

Rook nods and walks off and I watch her until the glass doors close behind her and she turns the corner. I turn back to my meddling sister who is already shaking her head at me. "What? That was some shoot, eh? Don't you think? She's perfect. I can't wait till tomorrow." I laugh a little because while I really am excited for tomorrow, I know mentioning it like this is pissing Elise off.

Bad.

"You are not dating that girl, Ronin. I mean it. She belongs to the studio for now—when this contract is up, you two can talk about having babies and all that shit. But for now, you stay out of her pants, do you hear me?"