Love under the Lights (Whole Lotta Love) Read online

  She didn’t say anything as Paul moved to stand next to her. She simply lay there, one hand over her butt. She couldn’t look at Paul. Perhaps she knew she’d pushed him past the point of no return. Perhaps she was ashamed. Or perhaps she was trying to think up a good excuse.

  Whatever she was thinking, Paul had had enough. “This is it, Kari. I can’t deal with all this shit anymore. I know you’re a porn actress. We dealt with all that. But this…this isn’t about what you or I do. What you’ve done here shows a total lack of respect. In my house too. I just don’t want this anymore. We went from friends, to lovers, to just fuck-friends. We don’t care about each other—I wonder if we ever did. For a while, it’s just been sex between us. After tonight it’s not even that anymore.” Paul sat on the bed and sighed. “Leave the key on the table and get your shit. I don’t want you here when I get out of the shower.”

  Paul stood up then blinked as he heard a flushing sound, followed by the door to the master bathroom swinging open. He stared as a midget walked out waving his hand in front of him like a fan and wrinkling his nose.

  “Dude, you don’t want to go in there for a few minutes. Extra spicy bean burritos and beer don’t mix. See you at work, Cherry.”

  The guy whistled and toddled out the door, closing it quietly behind him.

  ~~~~~

  True to his word, Paul was parked outside Toni’s apartment and beeping his horn promptly at nine o’clock the following morning.

  Hurrying down the stairs with her small suitcase, Toni was grateful he hadn’t wanted to come inside. It was clean but it sure as hell wasn’t anything elegant. And the neighborhood could have been better. She felt safe there, since she knew quite a few of the other residents in the building.

  But there were some things she just didn’t feel like explaining at that hour of the morning and her economical lifestyle was one of them.

  Fortunately, Paul didn’t seem interested in either her apartment or her. He was all business, merely nodding at her as he leaned over and opened the door. “I didn’t want to leave this stuff.” His head tilted backward and Toni followed his gaze, seeing several large metallic boxes clamped shut with strapping and an assortment of locks.

  “The cameras.”

  “Ahh.” Toni settled herself and fastened her seatbelt. “Smaller than I’d have imagined.”

  Paul blinked and Toni could’ve sworn for a second he glanced down at his crotch. “Oh you mean the camera stuff, right?” His face crinkled into a grin, making him look suddenly boyish and very charming.

  She couldn’t help grinning back. “Of course.”

  He chuckled as he started the engine and they headed out of town. “Looks like a good day.”

  “Yep.” Toni glanced at the sunshine and the blue skies. “No smog. I guess it’ll be warm at the beach.”

  They were both silent for a while as Paul negotiated the traffic and got them onto the freeway heading south. Then he leaned back in his seat and clicked on his cruise control. “Whew. We’re making good time.”

  “You’ve been there before?” It was a natural question. Paul seemed to know where he was going.

  “Yes. There’ve been a few location shoots there. Makes sense since it’s Bud’s house. No fees. Anything to bring the film in under budget.”

  “I guess.”

  Paul glanced over at her. “Nervous?”

  “Kinda.” She bit her lip. “It’s all new to me.”

  “You’ll be fine. Bud wouldn’t have brought you on board if didn’t think you’ve got what it takes.”

  “Thanks. I think.” Toni wrinkled her nose. “I guess it’s all routine to you, huh?”

  “Too routine most of the time.” His voice sounded a bit strained. “Maybe I’ve been in the business too long. Five years shooting sex scenes…well, it all runs together.”

  Toni listened to what he wasn’t saying rather than what he was. “Hmm. Rough night?”

  “How did you know?”

  “Something in your voice, I guess. Sorry. I didn’t mean to pry.”

  “That’s okay. It was kinda rough.” Paul’s gaze remained on the road.

  “Girlfriend troubles.” Toni nodded her head.

  “Girlfriend? Not wife?” He lifted an eyebrow at her.

  She stared at his hands on the wheel with a little smile. “No ring. No tan lines where one used to be. Therefore—no wife. Which leaves a girlfriend. Or maybe a boyfriend…”

  He looked appalled. “Hell, no. No boyfriends for me. And no girlfriends now, either.”

  “Damn. I’m sorry.” Toni grimaced.

  “Don’t be, I’m not. I closed a book last night on a story that had gone on too long and had a lousy ending.” He straightened his spine, took a hand off the wheel and stretched, a long rippling of muscles that brought a groan to his throat. “Jesus, that felt good.” He smiled at her. “You don’t have a ring either. So I’ll make the same guess.”

  She smiled back. “Okay. We’ve established that neither of us are involved, gay or married.”

  “Sounds interesting. And pretty good for less than twenty miles.” Paul grinned, waggling his eyebrows at her. It could have been a joke, but there was something there, some heat lurking in his attractive brown eyes. Toni found herself wanting to pursue it.

  But he spoke again. “Anyway, we’re headed for a blissful few days at the beach, lots of great scenery and hot sex…we should be singing our heads off or something. Looking forward, not backward.”

  “Works for me.” Toni took a breath, letting her tensions ease a little and trying to keep her errant and torrid thoughts off a guy she’d known for less than a day. “D’you know who’s going to be there? Who I’ll be meeting? It would help to get an idea of what’s gonna be waiting at the end of the road.”

  “It’s a small shoot.” Paul sounded thoughtful. “Bud’ll be there of course. And Suze you know already. Me with the cameras. Sam Dodger, soundman. He usually brings Fran along, his wife. She won’t let him go to the beach without her.” He chuckled. “Can’t blame her. Wait til you see Bud’s place.”

  “I’m looking forward to it. Go on. I’m guessing Ryan, of course.”

  “Yep. Probably with his wife, Tiffany. She likes to come on his location shoots, especially now since she’s out of commission for a while.”

  Toni frowned. “Is she all right?”

  “Oh yeah. Just a slight case of pregnancy.”

  “Wow.” Toni digested that information for a moment or two. “That’s kind of weird. Wonder what it’s like being in the business and married to someone in the business. Not to mention being pregnant at the same time.”

  “Seems to work for them just fine. They’re real excited about the baby. As a matter of fact, most of us are. Almost like family. Ryan and Tif are nice people, you know?”

  Toni nodded. “Yep. Picked that up when we met in the office. Not many guys could make a naked woman feel comfortable, but Ryan did.”

  “No naked woman who looks like you could make a guy feel comfortable.” Paul winked at her, a tiny flicker of an eyelid that suddenly seemed to heat up the interior of the car a lot more than the bright California sunshine.

  Toni battled down a blush and settled her seat belt more comfortably.

  Paul continued. “Anyway, besides them, there’ll be maybe one or two other techs unless Bud bullies someone from his household into doing makeup chores. He’s done it before. Other than sound and camera, all we really need are the actors. Just about everything gets cleaned and tidied in the post production phase.”

  “You mean like sound and music and stuff?”

  Paul nodded. “Yep. It’s amazing what we can do with our digital editors these days. Saves a helluva lot of time and money.” He grinned. “You got a mole on your butt? We’ll get rid of it.”

  Toni laughed out loud. “Don’t worry. I don’t.”

  Paul agreed. “I know.” He let the words lie there between them for a moment or two. “But there are others who do. W
e fix it.”

  Toni cleared her throat. “Good to know.”

  Paul turned off the freeway and headed toward the Pacific Coast Highway. “We’re almost there.”

  He turned as she let out a small sigh. “Look, Toni. You’re gonna do fine. Just relax, don’t push anything or try too hard. Keep yourself real, okay?”

  “Real? Um…I don’t understand.”

  Paul was silent for a moment or two. “I guess I mean don’t try and be a porn star. Don’t go overboard with the whole sex thing. It’s too easy to use sex as some kind of basis for being famous. It turns you into somebody you don’t want to be. Believe me.”

  He ran one hand through his hair, messing it up. On him it looked damn good. Toni watched his face, aware that he was trying to help her in some odd way.

  “You’ve got what it takes to come over real great on film. Trust me on this, I’ve done enough work behind the camera to know the goods when I see ‘em. But there’s an attitude thing that can get to you if you’re not careful.”

  He turned the car again and the ocean appeared, a glitteringly beautiful expanse of blue green water, dusted with haze in the far distance.

  “Okay.” Toni wasn’t sure what Paul was saying.

  “I’m sorry. That sounded stupid, didn’t it?” He grinned and seemed to shake off the strange mood. “You’re gonna do great. You’re gorgeous with and without clothes. And, if you’ll take this as the compliment it’s meant to be, you’ve got the best ass I’ve seen in years. I’m gonna enjoy every minute of filming it.”

  This time, there was no way Toni could fight down the blush.

  ~~~~~

  Stupid fucking asshole.

  Paul cursed himself. What the hell was he thinking making a comment like that to a woman he barely knew? Sure, they’d just spent an hour or so together in the car but that still didn’t mean he could talk about her ass, for Chrissake.

  Although God knew it was something he wouldn’t mind talking about. Or touching. Or a whole bunch of other stuff.

  She’d gotten to him pretty damn quick.

  He sure wasn’t looking for a new girlfriend, or a new fuck buddy. He’d had enough of those to last a lifetime. After the episode with Kari last night, Paul figured a few months of celibacy would do him just fine.

  And above all, he wasn’t looking to fuck anyone in the business. That had proved to be nothing short of a recipe for disaster.

  So what the hell was it about Toni Sinclair that had turned him on? Sure she was a babe and a half. The coffee-colored skin, the spiky dark hair and those laughing eyes of hers, all put together in a real nice package.

  Okay, he was a guy. She was a good-looking woman and then some. He’d seen her naked too. But he’d seen other women naked and hadn’t wanted to flirt with them five minutes after being introduced.

  She did have a good sense of humor. He liked that in a woman. She was sharp, didn’t seem real aware of her own appeal and came across as a very normal, natural type of person.

  Paul winced to himself as he made the turn off the Pacific Coast Highway toward Bud’s house. He’d gone and done it. He’d found himself attracted to a woman’s frickin’ personality. If it ever got out, he’d find his pass to the “Bodies before Brains” club revoked in a blink.

  “Wow…”

  The gasp from beside him recalled his wandering thoughts and he looked ahead, trying to see what Toni saw and imagine it as his first time too. He had to admit, Bud had really grabbed himself a helluva piece of real estate.

  “Yeah. Cool, huh?” He stared at the massive iron gates as he pulled up to the electronic monitoring system and pushed the button. It clicked and hissed. “Two burgers, two large fries and an order of slaw. A couple of extra large chocolate shakes. Make that to go?”

  There was a moment of silence. “Hey, Paul.”

  Toni snickered next to him. He ignored it. “Hey, Sam. What are you doing manning the gates?”

  “C’mon in. The boss’s having one of his yippy fits. I was just walking past when you buzzed.”

  “’Kay. See ya in a few.”

  The gates swung silently inward and Paul drove through. “That was Sam Dodger, the sound man I told you about. I guess Bud’s figured the script he got didn’t work. Sounds like he’s rewriting it, which means everyone else is taking a break at the other end of the house.”

  “Script?” Toni lifted one eyebrow. “You mean like words and stuff?”

  Paul laughed. “Yeah, I know. Sounds stupid, doesn’t it?” He drove slowly up the long driveway to the house—if one could call it that. It was more of a mansion, or a starter-castle. Low shrubbery lined the driveway and a few taller palm trees dotted the landscape, but nothing seemed to interfere with the view of the ocean this place enjoyed from its nook on the slightly rolling hillside leading to the water.

  They crunched over gravelly stuff as they neared the parking area and Paul saw Toni staring at the three stories of gleaming gold stucco, the huge windows and the balconies that ringed each floor. The gardens were pretty amazing too, more colorful toward the back of the place where the ocean winds couldn’t quite lash at them over the winter.

  As they parked, Paul saw the sparkle of light on water. The pool, of course. Although he’d never quite figured out why people who lived spitting distance from the Pacific Ocean needed a pool as well. Of course, it wasn’t always a perfect bathwater temperature in the sea.

  Toni cleared her throat. “Bud’s doing rather well for himself, isn’t he?” She blinked and her head swiveled as she tried to take it all in.

  “I guess so. He’s good. Good pays off.” Paul killed the engine and unbuckled his seat belt.

  “No kidding.” Toni swallowed. “This is nothing short of spectacular.”

  “Sure. If you like hot and cold running servants, priceless antiques, state-of-the-art security systems and a view of the ocean that’s better than anybody else’s.” He opened the back of the SUV. “It’ll do, I guess.”

  Toni flashed him a quick grin. “You’re impressed too, huh?”

  Paul rolled his eyes and smiled back. “Here. Take your bag and if you can manage mine too, we might be able to get most of this inside in one trip.” He unloaded an assortment of stuff and set it down on the gravel. “And if you think the outside’s nice, wait til you get an eyeful of the inside.”

  “Hoo boy.” Toni took the two smaller cases and shifted her handbag more securely on her shoulder. She turned and headed for the house. “This is incredible. And scary. I think I’m going to be a bit out of my depth here.”

  I’m kinda scared I’m gonna be out of my depth too.

  Paul’s gaze lingered on the firm rounded curves of Toni’s ass as she walked away. The woman was going to be trouble. He knew it all the way to his boner. Er—bones.

  Chapter Four

  The day flew past for Toni and she was sitting down to dinner as the sun set before she realized it.

  Suze had arrived about an hour after Paul and Toni, giving them both hugs and kisses and then disappearing for what she termed a “restorative nap”.

  Toni’d met Ryan again, this time with his wife, Tiffany. Who was just as nice as Ryan, thrilled about the baby-on-the-way and peed a lot. Which was only to be expected, given the little critter dancing around on her bladder. Tif had winced and hurried away several times, announcing on her return that it was only going to get worse, but as long as she was within thirty seconds of the nearest bathroom, she’d be okay.

  There was Sam and his wife Fran, a middle-aged and motherly sort who seemed to know who wanted what and when and was everywhere at once. Fran was familiar with the house, the staff and just about everything else too, showing Toni to her room and making sure she had what she needed. Obviously the crew’s “go to” gal.

  Bud finally appeared waving a sheaf of papers and calling an immediate production meeting, which meant everyone ended up on the huge patio under massive umbrellas sipping cold drinks while he talked.

  Meet
ings like this, Toni could handle.

  She listened silently as the plot of the film—such as it was—unfolded.

  Ryan’s character was having marital difficulties with his wife, played by Suze since Tiffany was out of commission at the moment. This shoot would be located in a tropical “spa” type hotel, where Ryan and Suze had come to re-invigorate their relationship. Sexually, of course.

  The foyer would be the hotel registration desk where Toni would be filming a brief welcome scene and farewell scene, setting her up as one of the characters in both Ryan and Suze’s “fantasies”…the footage for these fantasies being shot here on location.

  There would then be a girl-girl-guy fantasy scene, a guy-girl fantasy scene and a voyeur scene, one that would precipitate sex between Ryan and Suze.

  As near as Toni could tell from Bud’s rather confusing notes, she’d be one of the girls in the first scene, the girl in the second and the focus of the two voyeurs in the third.

  It was all a bit vague and informal, not really what she’d been expecting at all.

  The afternoon was spent working out the registration desk set and finally, after several hours of fussing about, there was a brief period of actual filming.

  Which was repeated quite a few times, until Toni figured she’d wake up in the middle of the night screaming “Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Todd. You have the executive suite booked and your reservation is confirmed.” Or, alternatively, “I hope you both enjoyed your stay.”

  Apparently, this was the way things worked. Toni found herself with a new appreciation for all those television shows she’d casually surfed through. If this was how they worked a shoot, then the “live” audience must have been a pretty dead audience by the time the final episode was in the can.

  She was exhausted by the time dinner rolled around and more than ready to just sit and pick her way through whatever was put in front of her. The wine Bud served was, as expected, a really nice California vintage and went straight to her knees, making Toni aware of the aches she’d been ignoring all day.