Wicked Heart (Starcrossed #3)(85)
Before I even have to ask, Josh is on the phone to the local precinct to get the cops on-site. He knows the drill by now. We might have to live with this madness, but we can at least keep it a little more under control.
Angel and Liam push through the crowd with as much composure as they can, but I notice they’re both finding it more difficult to keep up the charade these days. Especially Liam.
“You guys okay?” I ask as I usher them inside the foyer and lock the glass doors behind them.
“Just great,” Liam says through gritted teeth. He smiles and flips the bird to the photographers, who are now pressing their lenses against the glass. “Haven’t punched anyone out yet, which I’m claiming as a win.”
Angel grabs his arm and pulls him up the stairs. “Yeah, but you’re getting that look that means you’re close to it. Just chill, dude. is can’t go on for much longer. When the buzzards fly away, we’ll magically fall out of love with each other, go our separate ways, and start macking on people we actually want to bang.”
I notice her eyeball Josh at the end of the hall when we reach the top of the stairs.
“Do you have anyone in particular in mind when you say that?” I ask.
“No,” she says with a flick of her hair. “Just general people. No one you guys know.”
Josh glances over and gives her a tilt of his chin. The smile that spreads across Angel’s face is brighter than the sun. Josh frowns at her. For all his bluster and bravado, I don’t think he ever truly expected Angel to think twice about him, and he probably believes she’s only paying attention to him now as a practical joke. I’m tempted to let him know that Angel finds him hot, but it’s much more fun to watch him squirm.
“See you guys in the production meeting,” Angel says, not sparing me and Liam a backward glance as she heads over to talk to my bestie.
Once she’s gone, Liam surprises me by grabbing my arm and pulling me down the hallway to my office. When we’re safely inside, he locks the door and shoves me against the wall in a crushing kiss. For a couple of minutes, we’re a mess of urgent, needy hands and mouths, and when he finally pulls back, we’re both panting way too loud considering there are other people in the building.
“Not seeing you every night is killing me,” he says as he cups my face. “Didn’t Anthony get the memo that I’m owed six years of Elissa time? Why the hell is he torturing me?”
All week, Liam and Angel have been putting in overtime for their PR appearances. It’s meant we’ve barely seen each other outside rehearsal, and neither of us is coping with that.
“Let me ask you this,” he asks, assessing my skinny jeans and combat boots. “How feasible would it be for me to fuck you right now? I know we have the production meeting in five minutes, but I promise, I could be done in two. Maybe less.”
I fist his T-shirt. “I’m sorry, but the standard procedure is seven minutes in heaven.”
“Not sure I can last that long. I fantasized about you all last night.”
“Wasn’t that awkward, considering you and Angel were having a very public romantic dinner? Right in the front window of one of New York’s trendiest restaurants.”
“Saw the pics, did you?”
“Of course. How convenient the paps knew you’d be there. I assume Anthony tipped them off? That kiss was very believable, by the way. And seemed to go on forever.”
“The funny thing is, our mouths weren’t even touching. I put my head in front of hers and then pretended to kiss her while we had a conversation about how to get you into my apartment without anyone seeing you. Eventually we decided you’re small enough to fit in a suitcase. We can load you into the car here, then get you to my penthouse through the service lift in the garage. We also planned a citywide chase scene in which paps on motorbikes swarm us before dying in horrible ways. On a related topic, don’t ever piss off Angel, or she’ll invent a grisly end for you, which will include having to sit through a Broadway musical composed entirely for banjos and bagpipes. I mean, no one deserves that sort of torture. Not even paps.”
“You spoke about all that while you were pretending to kiss?”
“We’re multitaskers.”
“Prove it.”
He kisses me again, and what he’s doing with his hands at the same time makes me seriously consider taking him up on his offer of two minutes in heaven. He’s undoing the top of my jeans when there’s a sharp knock at the door.
“Elissa? You in there? It’s Anthony.” We jump away from each other at the sound of Anthony’s voice. The door rattles. “Hello?”
I straighten myself up as Liam looks around for somewhere to hide. I shove him behind the door, then unlock it and open it a crack.
“Anthony, hey. What can I do for you?”
Anthony looks over my head and frowns. “You okay? Why is your door locked?”
“Uh . . . I’m on the phone. With my . . . gynecologist.” I inwardly cringe, but what else can I say that won’t invite further questions? “Did you need something?”
He hands me a piece of paper. “Just wondering if you could photocopy this agenda for our meeting.”
“Sure. No problem.”
“And have you seen Liam? I thought I heard him arrive a few minutes ago, but now I can’t find him.”